Renee chewed her lip. She looked at the house, at her car, back to the house. There was something else, something new moving into her eyes. “Okay. Ten minutes. Literally ten. And then I’m out.”
“Hooray!” Maya said.
“Hooray,” Hannah said. She thought of what Blue’s reaction would be. Wondered if it was too early for Xanax.
They headed inside in single file as if traversing a simple suspension bridge, everything tense and wobbly as they crossed the strange terrain of such a loaded reunion. Across Nana’s driftwood floors scuffed by years of sandy feet, past the minimalist furniture in the living room, the mindless summer reads lined up on the shelf, and back into the kitchen. Hannah remembered the first time she’d walked into this house, standing in that beautiful foyer, the light so soft and pretty it felt staged for a photo. Her whole body had breathed, deep and free.
Now everything was stressful. The silence strained against her desire to break it. She couldn’t think of what to say. She didn’t know how to be around Renee anymore. It was so strange the way they were struggling with the most basic interaction when once they’d been like particles in a quantum entanglement. She tried to remember how it all went down, how they’d gotten so separated from Renee to begin with. In the aftermath of that night, they’d spent so many hours together, in and out of the police station giving witness statements, long nights in the hospital waiting to find out if Henry’s condition would improve. Everyone operating in a zombielike daze. The anxiety was relentless, and whatever life there was beyond Henry was happening on the periphery of her consciousness. Dimly she recalled Blue actively avoiding Renee, the two of them sitting on opposite sides of the waiting room. But at the time Hannah had no energy for anyone else’s dramas. All she cared about was Henry waking up. Then somehow amid all of that, September appeared, its sharp blue skies startling her with the reality that life kept moving, had not stopped for him. Her friends were, unfathomably, off to college. She remembered Renee stopping at her house to say goodbye, her car piled to the roof with luggage. They’d hugged each other tightly, made all the right promises, though Hannah had seen in Renee’s eyes that she was already gone.
For a few years after she would occasionally get a handwritten card from Renee or a voice mail, always thoughtful, always concerned. But Hannah could feel a distance that lived beneath the words, and she understood that which went unsaid, that Renee was doing what Renee was best at—she was running. From that night. From the blood. From the taint of memory. From all of them. And both Hannah and Maya had let her run because what else could they do? And besides, Hannah understood it. Sometimes she wished she could do the same.
Now she looked around for Blue while Maya dug into the grocery bag of snacks she’d brought and ordered Renee to sit. Hannah grabbed a plate to put cookies on and whispered to Maya as she passed, “Blue’s going to kill you.”
“Blue’s going to kill us,” Maya whispered back. “You’re abetting.”
As if on cue, she heard the side door close and then Blue appeared stone-faced in the kitchen.
“There you are!” Maya said with a big ingratiating grin. “You done hiding the body?”
Blue ignored her, went over to the counter and leaned against it. She glanced quickly at Renee.
“Hi, Blue,” Renee said, softly.
Blue nodded, quick and gruff. “Hey.”
Twin souls, best friends, all those years of love and rescue before everything went wrong. Hannah held her breath, willing repair between them. If it was going to happen, this would be the place, in this house where they once bantered and gossiped as Nana quietly chuckled in a nearby room, enjoying their presence. Hannah had loved that—being quietly enjoyed. It made her feel so safe.
“So,” Maya said. She smiled expectantly at Blue and Renee. “Here we all are.”
“Cheers,” Hannah said. She held up her Oreo, the only available object, and then quickly put it down when no one else did.
“Let’s crack open that delicious wine Renee brought, shall we?” Maya said. “Blue, point me to a corkscrew.”
Blue nodded toward a drawer and Maya went and retrieved it. She handed it to Blue along with the wine. “If you would be so kind as to do the honors, madame...”
Blue rolled her eyes, took the bottle, expertly uncorked it, handed it back.
“Effortless.” Maya beamed. “You should’ve been a waitress.” She pulled out four glasses and began to pour.
“I’m good, thanks,” Renee said.
“Nonsense,” Maya said, filling up her glass.
Hannah grabbed hers, took a big gulp, held it back out for a topping off.
“So Renee, did I tell you that our brilliant friend here—” Maya pointed to Blue “—was recently profiled in the New York Times? The paper of record. Our little Blue! Isn’t that amazing?”
“That is amazing,” Renee said, smiling tentatively at Blue. “Such an accomplishment.”
Blue responded with a tight, close-lipped smile.
“She’s going to be the next George Soros! Tell Renee how they named you number one in Wall Street’s ‘Top Thirty under Thirty.’”
Blue looked at her steadily. “You just did.”
“Well, yes, but I thought you might want to elaborate.”
“No thanks,” Blue said.
“Okay, to be revisited,” Maya said cheerfully.
Hannah and Blue exchanged looks, shook heads. Maya was undeterrable.
“Renee has great news, too, don’t you, Renee?” Maya said, plopping down in front of Renee.
“Well, no one’s calling me George Soros,” Renee said.
“Nor me,” Maya said. “Of that I can assure you.”
“Who’s George Soros?” Hannah said.
“Like I said, Hannah doesn’t get out much,” Maya said. “So Renee...spill the news.” Before Renee could answer, Maya said, “Renee’s getting married! Our very first wedding of the group! Isn’t that great?”
Hannah smiled politely. Her face was beginning to hurt from all the polite smiling.
Blue looked out the window.
“Second, actually,” Renee said.
Every head jerked in her direction. Even Blue’s.
“I beg your pardon?” Maya said.
Renee gave a nervous little laugh. “Yeah. Technically I’m a divorcée.” She paused, blushed. “It was... We were very young obviously. Just graduated—I had no clue what to do with my life. He was Italian and I was there studying art. We got married like a week after we met. Broke up in front of the Trevi Fountain, of all places.”