Page 53 of A Thousand Little Goodbyes

The speech, Chrissie knew, wasn’t meant for River. But River was the one who spoke first.

“What did you do?” she asked. “When your world fell apart?”

Scarlett glanced at Chrissie then, but it was only a brief flicker in the rearview mirror as she pulled the car up in front of a two-story apartment building of dark red brick.

“I can’t tell you that,” she said as she turned the car off and plunged them all into silence. “I made a promise a long time ago to take that secret to my grave.”

* * *

Chrissie liked Great-Aunt Rose on sight.

“Oh, finally.Finally!”

Those had been her only words when the door swung open to reveal three women standing on the landing—one of whom she recognized and two of whom could have been saleswomen peddling Avon through the portals of time, for all she knew. She hadn’t hugged River or burst into tears—two things Chrissie felt sure she would have done in the same situation—but she did usher them inside without a moment’s hesitation.

The house smelled strongly of cat and turpentine, but not in an unpleasant way, especially to one who had long since become inured to the power of ammonia-scented urine. Equally strange, but not necessarily in a bad way, were the stacks of half-finished canvases resting against every available wall.

“I wasn’t expecting company, and I wouldn’t have bothered cleaning if I had, so you’ll just have to excuse the mess,” Great-Aunt Rose said as she led them through a narrow, cluttered hallway to the kitchen. Three cats lay curled up on the table, each one taking a woven placemat for itself. “I don’t have anything to drink but tea that went stale a good three years ago, and you’ll have to drink it black. Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera got the last of the milk this morning.”

Chrissie smiled at the names of the cats—the three Furies, if she wasn’t mistaken—but politely accepted the offer of a beverage.

“We can’t stay long,” she said as she poked a tentative finger at one of the cats, a calico with half an ear bitten off. “We only came to drop River off before we continue on our way. We, uh,canleave her here with you, right? She said you invited her, but—”

“But I’m a cranky old recluse who looks like she cooks children in her oven and eats them for dinner?” Great-Aunt Rose suggested. Since she did, in fact, look exactly like this, with a paint-covered smock and her long, steely gray hair held up with a spatula shoved through it likea spear, Chrissie kept her mouth shut. “Don’t worry. River doesn’t have nearly enough meat on her bones to make a decent meal. It’ll take me at least a year to fatten her up properly.”

At this, River promptly burst into tears.

Chrissie’s heart lurched at the sight of the heavy mascara starting to run down River’s cheeks, but Great-Aunt Rose was already on top of things. With a short but maternal cluck, she handed the teenager a napkin.

“No need for waterworks, girl,” she said. “I won’t eat you unless things get really desperate. Why don’t you get the table cleaned up while I finish this tea?”

Chrissie was forced to acknowledge the effectiveness of this approach in place of the comforting embrace and gentle nothings she’d have offered in this situation. River straightened and dabbed her eyes. “Thanks,” she said, a little shy. “I’m not usually like this. It’s been a rough few months.”

“Of course it has,” Great-Aunt Rose said as she turned back to her task.

This was also the right thing to do. Faced with nothing but this stringent, no-nonsense support, River drew a deep breath and immediately set to work. She gently lifted the cats from the table, cleared off the stacks of newspapers and other debris, and even managed to wipe a dish towel over the surface before the four of them sat down to enjoy their stale tea.

Chrissie was too busy marveling at the success of both Scarlett and River’s aunt in handling the girl to pay much attention to River’s competence, but Scarlett’s soft chuckle soon pulled her back.

“I’d offer to help, but you seem to have a handle on things,” Scarlett said as she lifted the cat that had resettled onto her seat. “How’d you get to be such a good little housewife?”

“Stepsisters, remember?” River said. “Before I left, I was on nannyduty every day after school. Most weekends, too. My stepmom said I had to do my part.”

Great-Aunt Rose fell to her own seat with the full force of her weight, which was on the generous side. Unlike her great-niece, she’d have made a delicious meal for any witch craving fresh meat.

“That woman,” she spat—as in, literally spat—before making the motion of a cross over her chest. “I told your father she only wanted to get married for the free labor, but he never listens to me—not even when he was a kid and I had some actual sway over him. I’d have given anything to see their faces the morning after you left, with no breakfast on the table and that pack of brats howling to be fed. A more selfish, self-involved, self-serving pair of—”

“It’s okay.” River reached across the table and touched her great-aunt’s arm. “I’m with you now. I mean…Iamwith you, right? I know you always said I was welcome to visit, and that you’d come get me if it was at all possible, but—”

“But nothing.” The older woman pushed out her jaw in a way that reminded Chrissie forcibly of Scarlett at her most determined. “You’ll stay with me for as long as you need. I’m only sorry I couldn’t do more to get you here. I’m sorry for a lot of things I can’t change, but I was never one to cry over spilled milk. That’s what the cats are for.”

Scarlett had yet to sip her tea, but she sat blowing on it as though the movement of the steam across her lips was enough. “Amen to that,” she murmured.

Great-Aunt Rose and Scarlett shared a knowing look. “You too, honey?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

A pause settled over the table, but it didn’t last long. Scarlett flashed a tight smile and pushed back from the table, her tea still largely untouched. “If everything is good here, should we hit the road,Chrissie? We’re ahead of schedule to reach Vermont, but there’s still that other thing we need to take care of…”