Upstairs, she packs a suitcase, gets the crate down, and leashes up Sababa for a last walk before the long drive. She’s halfway down the block when she hears the sound of footsteps behind her. She turns to see Lisa approaching, waving wildly.
“Hey, hey!”
Gwen turns her back on Lisa and tries to keep walking, but Sababa has found something pungent to smell and resists her tugging.
“Hey, Gwen—” Lisa, breathless, is beside her all of a sudden.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Gwen says without looking up. “We’re not friends.” She finally yanks Sababa free and starts walking away.
“Fine. I know that. I know that you hate me, that you think I’m a terrible person,” Lisa calls after her. “But you love Aimee, and so do I.”
Gwen halts. She can’t believe she’s about to fall for this line, but she is. Aimee is her Achilles’ heel with Lisa. She turns around. “So?”
Lisa takes a few steps forward. “I just want to know how she’s doing. I called. I texted. She’s not responding. I’m worried.”
Gwen wrestles with her impulse to tell Lisa to get lost. But Aimee needs all the love and support she can get right now, and if Gwen’s at her parents’ in Richmond, Lisa will be the only one here to check on her.
“She had a bad day,” Gwen says begrudgingly. “She saw Scott. And I don’t think he’s coming home.”
“I’m confused. He’s okay?” Lisa tilts her head, her thick black hair falling to one side.
“He’s physically fine.” Gwen hesitates, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. “But it turns out there’sa warrant or something for him in California, so he ran.” This barely scrapes the surface of the story, but she figures it will suffice for now. If Aimee wants Lisa to have the details, she can tell her later.
“That’s crazy.” Lisa covers her mouth with her hand.
“I guess you were right about it being a bad idea for Noa to go over to that woman Cathy’s house, by the way.”
“Oh no, is she involved in all this?”
“Yeah, it’s very complicated. I’m sure Aimee will tell you.”
“Thank you for filling me in,” Lisa says. “Poor Aimee. I can’t even imagine what she’s going through.”
Gwen yanks on Sababa’s leash. “Well, I better get going. I’m driving to my parents’ house tonight. I’m not sure if Aimee’s sticking around here or heading up to her dad’s. But maybe you could check on her.”
“Oh, I will. Definitely. Marcus is gone this weekend, too. He and Kai are at a soccer tournament in Delaware,” Lisa says. “Aimee shouldn’t have to be alone at a time like this. Maybe I’ll pop by with a bottle of wine. She may have just turned her phone off. I mean, can you imagine? Finding out your husband was wanted for murder all these years?” Lisa scrunches up her nose as if she’s just smelled something rotten. “Hold on, do you think he might have, you know, Anton? I mean, if he has a history of violence.”
“No. I don’t.”
At home, Gwen heads straight into the kitchen to grab her bag and car keys. She’s ready to leave Nassau Court, maybe forever. But something is bothering her about her exchange with Lisa. It was as if Lisa was pretending to act how she thought an adult woman would behave, but there was some human element missing. And the way she was so excited to play nursemaid to Aimee creeped Gwen out. As if she had been waiting ages for this moment to step in and be Aimee’s savior.
She’s dragging the crate to the front when the doorbell rings. Gwen yanks it open to find Lisa on the stoop, holding agold-colored box of chocolates. “These are for Aimee. She loves their sea salt caramels.”
“What do you want?” Gwen asks, annoyance swelling within her.
Lisa slips through the narrow opening of the door, past Gwen, who is forced to move back.
“Actually, I was on my way out.” Gwen motions to the suitcase and dog crate. She wants Lisa out of her house. It physically disgusts her to be near this woman, close enough to smell her sickly sweet perfume, to see the thick bronzer on her face. What did Anton see in her? “It’s a long drive, and I want to get going.”
“Right, sure! I’m heading to Aimee’s in a minute.” Lisa hoists the box, at least pretending to be full of good cheer. “I just wanted to talk to you for a second, you mind?” Lisa shuts the door behind her.
Gwen is startled by her boldness, and then it hits her. She realizes what was bugging her about the earlier conversation with Lisa.
I mean, can you imagine? Finding out your husband was wanted for murder all these years?
Lisa knew about Scott’s past.
“How did you know Scott was involved in a murder?” Gwen blurts out. “I didn’t tell you that.”