Where Secrets Lie (8 page)

Lee tried to convince him they should move to Denver since he spent most of his time at that office, but Paul refused to consider it. He grew up in Boulder, and he wanted his kids raised there too.

“
So tell me when you two met,” Jack said. “I think Paul mentioned something about college. Is that right?”

“
Yes, freshman year, we were both literature majors, and we met in an American Lit class. We used to debate interpretations endlessly. God, I loved those conversations.”

“
Paul majored in literature? That’s surprising.”

“
Yeah, not that common for a C.P.A.”

“
How did he end up in accounting?”

“
That was always the plan. His father didn’t care what he majored in as an undergrad as long as he got an M.B.A. and became a C.P.A.”

“
And went to work for him?”

“
Of course,” Lee said.

“
Did Paul ever consider doing something else?”

“
Not that I know of, he always talked about his future like it was set in stone. If he wanted something else, he never told me about it.”

“
He toed the line,” Jack said.

“
Yes, I suppose he did.”

“
Do you think he ever regretted it?” Jack asked. Despite all the blessings in his life, Paul didn’t give the impression of a content man.

“
I don’t know, he’s so good at what he does, and I think he’s proud of that, but he doesn’t ever get excited about it. Not like he did with books. He had an absolute passion for books. We both did.”

“
I’ve never heard Paul talk about books.”

“
That’s because he doesn’t anymore.”

Lee’s heart ached for the days when their mutual enthusiasm for books drew them together into deep discussions that spanned the entire night, for the time before work and children necessitated their energies be focused in different directions, thus creating a sense of disconnection between them.

“
Once he went to work for his father, he stopped reading. I used to give him books after I’d finished them, hoping he’d find the time to read them, so we could discuss them. He’d put them in his briefcase and never mention them again. Eventually, I gave up.”

“
I would think he’d miss it,” Jack said.

“
You would think so, I know I would’ve.”

“
So when did you marry? After college?”

“
After graduate school. We both got masters, we got married, and he went to work for his father.”

“
And what did you do?”

“
I kept working toward my Ph.D. I wanted to be a professor.”

“
A literature professor?”

“
Of course.” Lee’s smile broadened at the fond memory. “By our first anniversary, I was pregnant with Sara. I stayed in school part time after she was born, thinking I would still be able to finish, but by the time Katie came along, I wasn’t in school anymore.”

“
You could still go back,” Jack said.

“
That’s what I tell myself, we’ll see.”

“
I guess we never know what the future holds, do we?”

“
No, I guess we don’t.”

They watched the girls romp all over the swing set without any sign of tiring.

“
Where do they get their endurance?” Lee asked.

“
One of the perks of childhood.”

“
I suppose,” she said. “They sure look happy, don’t they?”

“
Yes, they do.”

“
Thanks for this, Jack.”

“
My pleasure, it was a fun way to spend the weekend.”

“
Yes, it certainly was.”

~

Just after the 4
^th
of July, Lee decided to make a batch of homemade green chili, which was a Mexican sauce she used to smother burritos.

She made it several times a year, and she always made a large stockpot full, so there was enough left over to freeze for several meals.

She began by roasting her own special blend of chilies and ended by simmering the concoction for hours. Her kitchen was saturated with the aroma of roasted chilies, pork, onions, and garlic when Jack walked in.

He took a deep breath. “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

“
You’re just in time,” Lee said. “I’m ready to put my feet up and have a drink. What’d you bring us tonight?”

After the weekend they spent assembling the swing set, Jack began to come over early whenever they had dinner plans. He would bring the ingredients for a specialty drink. Lee would make them an appetizer, and they would sit on the porch and chat.

When Paul got home from work, Jack would jump up and mix him a drink of whatever they were trying out that night. Lee would leave the men on the patio while she made the final preparations for dinner. It grew into a ritual, which they enjoyed several times a week on whichever nights Paul did not have to work late.

“
You said Mexican food, so I brought margaritas.”

“
Oh good, what flavor?”

“
Mango, of course.” Jack knew it was Lee’s favorite flavor.

“
You’re a good man.”

Jack mixed the margaritas. Lee went to the stove and stirred the green chili.

Jack glanced over. “Do you thicken that with a roux?”

“
What did you say? I thought you didn’t cook.”

“
I don’t, I reheat.”

“
Then how do you know what a roux is?”

“
I had three older sisters who talked about cooking at the dinner table. They were always debating how dinner should have been prepared. Of course, my mother always had the final word.”

“
I bet your father loved that.”

“
He just kept his head down and ate. The food tasted good, that was all he cared about.”

Jack poured the blended margaritas into glasses and poured the remainder into a pitcher, which he put into the freezer.

“
I wound up learning the vernacular and the theory. I just never got the hang of the execution.”

“
Hence the reheating,” Lee said.

Jack smiled. “Exactly.”

Lee pulled a bowl of guacamole out of the refrigerator and a bag of tortilla chips from the cupboard, which she emptied into a large bowl.

“
Can you grab the drinks?” she asked.

They went out to the patio and got comfortable on the lounge chairs. There was a small table in between them for their food and drinks.

“
Where are the girls?” Jack asked. They usually played in the backyard while he was there.

“
Sara went to the pool with the Wilson girls, and Katie’s over at Amber’s.”

Most of their friends lived in the neighborhood, and Jack was familiar with their families.

“
So are you ready to hear the latest?” Jack asked. He had a knack for finding out the inner workings of their neighbors’ lives, and he always filled Lee in.

“
Of course.”

“
There are rumblings about the nuns,” he said. Late last winter three nuns moved into the house next to Jack’s.

“
Rumblings, about what?”

“
It seems some people are intrigued by their lifestyle.”

“
What’s so intriguing about being a nun?”

Jack laughed. “I thought the same thing, but that just goes to show our total lack of imagination.”

Lee took a sip of her margarita. “I have a feeling this is going to be interesting.”

“
You and I look at nuns and think devotion to God, life of service to others, that kind of thing, right?”

“
Right.”

“
Other people look at them and wonder what skeletons are in their closet.”

“
What? Why would anyone go there?”

Jack dipped a chip into the guacamole. “Don’t ask me, I’m just the messenger.”

“
How do you find this stuff out anyway? I talk to our neighbors too. No one ever says anything like this to me.”

“
I just ask them what’s new.”

“
That’s it?”

“
Yep.”

“
You don’t ask anything else?”

“
No,” Jack laughed. “After that, I usually just stand there and nod.”

“
Well I can’t imagine anything sinister about those nuns. Sister Mona isn’t even here this summer, is she?”

Mona’s mother had a stroke the year before and had to move in with Mona’s older sister. She and her husband wanted to take their children to the northeast during their summer break to visit various members of her husband’s family, so Mona was spending several weeks at their house with her mother.

“
I don’t think so, but it’s not her everyone is buzzing about.”

“
It’s Sister Abby and Sister Clare?”

“
Yep.”

“
They’re two of the sweetest women I’ve ever met.” Lee ate some guacamole.

“
Some people wonder if they aren’t sweet on each other.”

“
You don’t mean…”

“
Yep,” Jack said and took a drink.

“
But they’re nuns.”

“
Does that matter? And come to think of it, I don’t think they are nuns. I think they’re sisters.”

“
What’s the difference?” Lee asked.

“
Nuns are cloistered. Sisters aren’t.”

“
But you call either one Sister so and so?”

“
Yes, I think that’s how it works. I could be wrong though.”

“
Well, either way they’re celibate.”

“
True.”

“
You know,” Lee said, “I’ve always wondered why that is. Other religions allow their clergy to marry. Why can’t they devote their life to God and still have sex?”

“
You got me there.”

“
I still don’t see why anyone would think there’s something going on.”

“
They’ve been roommates for over ten years, and no one ever sees one without the other. This summer they’re traveling together in the Canadian mountains.”

“
They’re probably just close friends.”

“
Probably.”

“
Well, I hope that’s all it is,” Lee said.

“
Why? Would it bother you if they were lesbians?”

“
Certainly not, but it would matter to their church. I’d hate to see them get into any trouble. They really are very sweet women.”

Jack finished his drink. “You ready for a refill?”

“
Sure, if you are.”

Jack went into the kitchen, came out with the pitcher, and refilled their glasses.

“
I saw some children’s books on the counter,” he said. “Did you make a trip to the library recently?”

“
Just this morning, Katie got quite a haul.”

“
Any of my favorites?”

Both girls inherited a love of books from their parents, and Katie was always asking someone to read to her. Jack was happy to oblige whenever she asked him, but Dr. Seuss was his favorite.

“
You know Sara, she always grabs Katie at least a couple of those.”

Sara liked helping Lee pick out books for Katie. Whenever she came across a title she remembered liking when she was younger, she was always excited to show it to her sister. Sometimes they would sit down right there on the library’s floor and start to read it.

“
I better go stir the chili,” Lee said. She picked up the empty bowl of guacamole. “I can make some more of this too.”

“
In that case, I’ll join you.”

They went into the kitchen. Lee uncovered the green chili and stirred it.

“
That smells even better than it did before,” Jack said.

“
That’s the liquor talking.”

“
Are you suggesting I’m drunk?”

“
No, I’m suggesting the alcohol made you hungry. Everything smells better when you’re hungry.”

“
Good point, should I make another pitcher so we can be ravenous?”

“
Sure, we have plenty of food.”

Jack went to the counter and grabbed the bottles of tequila and Grand Marnier. He moved them to the island next to Lee who was preparing more guacamole. He got the mango out of the refrigerator and placed it on the island with the alcohol.

Just as he started to walk around Lee so he could retrieve the blender from the rack next to the sink, she turned to go to the refrigerator. They bumped into each other and started laughing.

They each tried to maneuver around the other, but they kept moving in the same direction, blocking each other’s way. They laughed harder.

“
Maybe we shouldn’t have another pitcher after all,” Lee said.

Jack grabbed her by the shoulders.

“
Now you hold still,” he said.

He started toward his left, around her right side, but when he got close to her, he stopped. Lee looked up at him.

“
What’s wrong? I’m holding still.”

Jack stared down at her. “I know.”

Instead of letting go of her shoulders and moving around her, Jack leaned down and kissed her.