Page 53 of The Newcomer
“I had a bad breakup with my boyfriend, and I just wanted to get out of town, so I got in my car and started driving.” This was all true, if you stretched a point, which she didn’t mind doing.
“Isabelle tells me the little girl is your niece,” Alice said. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re raising her. I have a grandniece up home in Traverse City that I’m very close to. She usually flies down in April and drives back home with me at the end of the season.”
“She’s quite the little swimmer, your niece,” Billie commented. “Shouldn’t she be in school, though?”
“That child isn’t old enough to be in school yet, Billie,” Wilona said. “Not even five yet, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right,” Letty said. “Maya’s only four.”
She found an old-school aluminum Coleman cooler in the closet and set it on top of the table for the bar, then headed into the bathrooms with a roll of paper towels and spray cleaner.
When she emerged, the girls were intently critiquing Vanna White’s outfit, which today consisted of a short, slinky red halter dress. “I liked it better when she wore those pretty long formals,” Trudi said. “But these young girls today, all they ever want to wear are those awful yoga pants and hoodies.”
“Vanna isn’t exactly a young girl,” Billie said. “I bet she’s fifty if she’s a day.”
“That can’t be right,” Arlene protested. “I read inPeoplemagazine that she’s got grown kids.”
“Okay, ladies,” Letty said, pausing at the door. “Have a nice day!”
Shefelt giddy but guilty, wheeling a shopping cart full of groceries around the supermarket without Maya, sipping a Starbucks latte and breezing past the aisle of sugary cereals without having the child clamor for Froot Loops.
Motherhood, Letty reflected, was the most exhausting thing she’d ever done. She adored her niece, but bearing sole responsibility for another human’s well-being was overwhelming. Not to mention terrifying.
For once, she thought wryly, she’d discovered something Tanya had not overexaggerated.
“You have no idea how tired I am. I can’t remember the last time I had an uninterrupted night of sleep,” Tanya would exclaim on Sunday mornings when Letty arrived for her regular playdate with Maya. “You have her for three hours, but the rest of the time it’s just me.”
“And the help,” Letty pointed out. “A nanny, a once-a-week housekeeper, and preschool.”
“You try it sometime,” Tanya had shot back. “Now I get why Mama was only too happy to ship us off to Mimi every chance she got. If I never have to wipe another snotty nose or poopy butt, I will die happy.”
The thought of her sister brought sudden tears to Letty’s eyes, but she shook them off. Crying wouldn’t bring Tanya back and it wouldn’t help Letty figure out how to bring Evan to justice. She’d been scared and powerless long enough now. It was time to fight back, she decided. Just as soon as she figured out how.
Anhour later, she was unloading groceries when the door to unit 11 opened and Sheila Bronson emerged. “Help!” she cried, spotting Letty. “Come quick. I think Harry’s having a heart attack.”
Letty dropped the sack of groceries she’d been toting and raced to the unit. The bedroom door was open and the first thing she saw was Harry Bronson, stretched out on the bed, clutching his chest and groaning. “I’m okay,” he protested, rolling onto his side. “I’m okay.” He didn’t look okay to Letty. His face was pale and flecked with perspiration. He was a beefy man, built, Letty thought, like the beer trucks he’d driven before retirement.
“Did you call 911?” Letty asked.
“He won’t let me call,” Sheila said, wringing her hands.
“No,” Harry growled. “I’m fine.…” His face contorted in pain. “Shit, it hurts.”
Letty reached for her phone. “Then I’ll call.”
“Goddammit, I said I’m fine!” Harry tried to sit up, but sank back down onto the bed. “Just leave me alone.”
“Harry! You don’t have to yell. She’s just trying to help,” Sheila said, starting to weep.
Letty backed out of the motel room, followed by Sheila. “He’sso stubborn, but he’s been having these chest pains since lunch. He swore it was just heartburn, because he ate kielbasa, and it always gives him heartburn.…”
Ava came out of the office and trotted over to where the two women stood in the breezeway. “Sheila? Is everything okay?”
“Well, not really,” Sheila said, her voice trembling.
Letty spoke up. “Harry might be having a heart attack. He’s been having chest pains for over an hour, and he’s pale and sweating, but he won’t let her call for an ambulance.”
“He doesn’t trust doctors down here,” Sheila said, glancing over her shoulder into the unit, where they could hear the husband softly moaning.
