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Phoebe approached, and without hesitation, Billy slid over in the booth to make room for her. Her presence seemed to fill the diner with an intensity that had nothing to do with the hustle and bustle of the dinner crowd. She took her seat beside Billy, but her blue eyes were locked in on Trish.
"Aunt Trish, this is getting ridiculous. I know that Mom lied earlier today. Just tell me whatever it is that she is keeping from me. The fun and games are over."
Trish parted her lips as if to speak, but then shut them when she couldn’t come up with any words. She reached for her water, but she never lifted the glass.
"It isn't about Jenna," Trish eventually stated as she stared at Billy instead of Phoebe. "You really should speak with your mother."
"I've tried that. Numerous times. My attempts obviously haven’t worked," Phoebe said, lowering her voice when Chloe cleared her throat to warn them that people were attempting to listen in on their conversation. "I'm done waiting, so just tell me. Uncle Billy? Do you want to help me out here?"
Billy glanced at his wife for understanding. The unspoken communication between them was clear—Trish was wrestling with something heavy, and he was worried that if he tipped the scales, she would never forgive him. Before he could formulate an answer or decide on his course of action, Trish interjected by finally coming to the right conclusion.
"No." Her voice was stronger now. There was almost a finality in it that meant she was about to defy her sister. "I won't put that on you, Billy. Besides, you're right. She should have known a long time ago."
"Known what, Aunt Trish?"
Chloe glanced around the diner, and it appeared as if everyone had gone back to their meals after Phoebe and Trish had lowered their voices. Betty was still glancing their way, but that was probably because their food was getting cold just sitting on the counter in takeout bags.
"You aren't the only one in our family who can…" Trish whispered as she waved a hand to indicate something mysterious before clutching her glass of water once more.
"I'm not the only one who can…" Phoebe let her voice trail off, probably in hopes of Trish finishing the sentence. Chloe didn't think the insinuation really needed to be spelled out, but that didn't mean there shouldn't be some processing time. "Are you saying that you and Mom can see Jenna, too?"
"No, no," Trish denied emphatically as she stared at the ice in her glass. She blinked rapidly, as if she were fighting against her tears. "Your grandmother."
"Nana?"
Chloe recalled Phoebe mentioning her grandmother a time or two, but the woman had died when Phoebe and Jenna had been very little. Billy seemed to sense that Trish was already regretting her choice to override Lilith's decision. He reached out and took his wife's hand.
"Yes. I guess the family gift actually does skip a generation.”
“I need you to be more specific, Aunt Trish,” Phoebe directed with a tremor in her voice. “Nana had the ability to…”
“Your grandmother saw dead people.” Trish sharply inhaled after stating such a mind-blowing detail. “We didn’t believe her, of course. Well, not then.”
"What Trish means to say is that Lilith never believed that Marie could see the dead. Lilith always thought Marie was spinning tales," Billy said in a low tone, clearly attempting to smooth over any hurt feelings. Chloe doubted that he would succeed given the disbelief written on Phoebe's features. "When you claimed to have seen Jenna after her funeral, it took the family by surprise. Your mother was certain that you were imagining things, and she blamed your grandmother's penchant for telling stories."
Chloe studied Phoebe’s body language. It was evident that she didn't remember such bedtime stories.
"Please don’t be mad at your mother,” Trish begged as she reached across the table. Phoebe ignored such an attempt to smooth things over. “Lilith thought she was doing the right thing.”
“Therapy? Sleeping pills? Anti-depressants?”
“Look, Trish is right. Lilith believed that you were having difficulty accepting your sister’s death. Lilith made you appointment after appointment with different therapists, hoping they could help you deal with such a tragedy." Billy shifted in the booth to implore Phoebe's understanding of the situation. Chloe figured such understanding was long gone. "You were the one who said you no longer had visions of your sister. Your mother and aunt believed at the time that they had been right all along."
Chloe wasn't the only one to catch Trish's reaction, and Phoebe finally spoke after hearing Billy's explanation. Chloe was beginning to think she should have held off texting Phoebe. Having such an important and rather sensitive discussion in the diner probably hadn’t been the wisest of decisions.
"You believed that Nana could see the dead, didn't you?"
"Shhh," Trish quickly hushed Phoebe as she glanced around the diner. "I've always had a more open mind than your mother. That doesn't mean she was wrong in her decision to keep this from you. As Billy already said, you told us that you had stopped having visions of Jenna. We thought it was just…"
"What? That I was a headcase? Mental?" Phoebe asked as she rested her arms on the table. She leaned in close, preventing anyone from hearing her next accusation. "You all let me think that there was something wrong with me."
"It wasn't like that, Phoebe," Billy protested as he straightened his back to defend his wife. "You said yourself you didn't see Jenna anymore. Trish and I began to think that your mother had been right the entire time. It wasn't until this past week that we realized your grandmother might have been telling the truth."
When all three of them seemed to be out of words, or maybe just collecting their thoughts, Chloe figured it couldn't hurt to get a better understanding of the so-called family gift.
"Trish, you and Lilith can't see…things?"
"No." Trish paused long enough to take a sip of water. She set the glass back down on the table hard enough that the ice cubes clicked against the sides. "Our mom said that she had inherited the gift from her grandmother. Mom said that she never knew what the dead wanted, so she would just ignore them. Eventually, she said they would go away and leave her alone."
