Page 24 of Between the Lines

Essie stood there, listening. She couldn’t hear anything but Mattie’s car noises. Maybe Liliana had closed the door to keep the kids from going in there? Essie moved closer to the guest room door and knocked lightly.

After a moment, the door opened a few inches. Sophie appeared, hair rumpled, eyes unfocused, like she’d surfaced from a deep sleep.

“Hey, there,” Essie said. “I didn’t realize you were home.”

“Yeah,” Sophie said. She rubbed her face with the heel of her hand. “I fell asleep.”

Essie nodded. “We just got back from the beach. The kids are clean and fed, but there’s still chicken nuggets and mac and cheese if you’re hungry. I was going to put a movie on.”

Sophie looked past Essie toward the living room, where the low murmur of Liliana’s voice carried. Sophie’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You’re welcome to join us,” Essie said. She kept her tone light, the way she always did. “No pressure.”

Sophie shook her head. “I’m tired.”

“All right,” Essie said. “If you change your mind⁠—”

“I won’t,” Sophie said, firmly. She stepped back and closed the door. The click of the latch sounded loud to Essie’s ears.

Essie stood there for a few seconds longer, staring at the door like it might reopen if she waited. It didn’t.

She went to the master bedroom and plugged her phone in. Frank was on her mind as she sat on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to dramatize things. She didn’t want to minimize them, either. Frank deserved to know how it was going—the good and the difficult, mixed together the way things usually were these days.

She typed slowly. Beach with Liliana and the kids today. Mattie had a great time. Mira slept through most of it, which was fine, too. We came back, did baths and supper. I’m about to put a movie on.

She paused, her fingers hovering, then continued.

Sophie was already home. She’d been sleeping in the guest room. I asked if she wanted to join us, but she said no and closed the door. I let her be.

Essie reread the message, then added one more line. I’m trying to give her space, but this is hard. Doing my best and hoping she’ll let me in, at least a little.

She hit Send and set the phone down before leaning back against the pillows to stare at the ceiling fan turning slowly overhead. She was doing everything she could.

She went back to the living room and got the movie started. The kids settled in to watch. Essie sat at the end of the couch, hands folded in her lap, watching the screen without really seeing it.

She ran through the possibilities of what to do with Sophie. Say less or say more? Give her space or stay available? Every option seemed to cancel another out.

She didn’t want to knock again. But she didn’t want to leave Sophie alone, either. Essie didn’t know which choice would do less harm.

She sank back against the cushion and listened to the movie play on, the house full and quiet at the same time.

She consoled herself with the knowledge that Sophie knew Essie was here if she wanted to talk.

All Essie could do was wait and hope that would be enough.

Chapter Ten

Maude was halfway through a slow vinyasa when Darcy Lane crept back into her thoughts. Hard not to think about the woman while doing yoga, since an interest in yoga was one of the few things Maude had found out about her.

She held a low lunge, back knee hovering, hands braced on the purple mat. Breathe in. Breathe out. The instructor’s voice drifted from Maude’s earbuds, calm and encouraging, telling her to sink a little deeper if she could.

Maude ignored that part. She’d sunk deep enough. She stayed where she was, feeling the pull in her hip flexor and a faint tremor in her thigh.

What else did she know about Darcy besides she was from Atlanta and liked yoga? Not much.

Maude stepped back into downward dog and let her head hang, eyes on the mat, and tried to be mindful of her body. Yoga usually helped quiet her brain. Today it seemed to be forcing her to think.

Darcy Lane had the kind of careful online footprint that looked intentional without advertising that it was. It felt very deliberate. Maude shifted forward into plank, held it longer than necessary so she could really feel it, then lowered slowly to the mat. She didn’t trust people like that. At least not without context.