I choked out, “Oh my God, what have we done?”
Kevin’s tone was emotionless, as he asked, “Meg, what’s going on? I thought you were missing. You had everyone here real worried.”
I was beginning to focus on the enormity of our prank and the repercussions of it.
“Kevin, I’m so sorry. We had no idea it would go so far. We were just trying to...”
Con’s words broke through mine. “Kevin, come clean. Where are they?”
Kevin’s look of complete surprise only lasted a moment before his mouth turned up in a smile and he began his apology.
“I’m sorry; those two put me up to this. I told them I couldn’t pull it off. Con, after you said you were going to talk to the police, they figured out what was up.” Motioning toward the couch, he said, “Have a seat, I’ll get them.”
It took a second for his words to penetrate. I had barely regained my composure when Cory and Charlotte entered the room through the patio doors.
It was like a scene from one of our college parties when we drank too much, each of us talking, laughing and crying at the same time and barely making any sense.
Unable to hold back my tears, I cried, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“That was a horrible thing to do, Meg.” Charlotte chided.
“So was faking Cory’s overdose.” I rallied back.
Cory said, “We’re sorry, too. We shouldn’t have abandoned you like that... oh my God, what happened to your face?”
Releasing them from our embrace, I replied, “A little collision with a tree, I’m okay...” Glancing toward Con, I added, “and don’t be sorry for that.”
Giving Charlotte a playful slap on her upper arm, Cory teased, “See, didn’t I tell you? I have a goddam gift for this matchmaking stuff... what tree?”
“The one with all your carved hearts. It seems you were quite busy down at the pond!”
Cory laughed. “Hell, that’s just the short list.”
“So, how did you guys know what we were up to?”
Cory answered. “Well, at first he had us fooled, but once we had time to think about it, we realized that had you really been missing, he wouldn’t have waited, like, two whole days to tell anyone. He would have walked back to the city on his hands if he had to.”
“Am I that obvious?” Con joked.
Cory placed a hand on her hip, and said, “Hell-o! You were that obvious the first time we saw you at the café.”
Kevin broke in, “Con, a piece of advice... when they get into one of these huddles, it’s best to speak only when spoken to. If not, you’ll end up the only buttercup in the middle of a field of hungry bees.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
I couldn’t get into any of the details about my wonderful weekend as long as Con and Kevin were in the room, but before we left Cory’s, I promised the girls that we’d meet at Sal’s in the morning and I’d fill them in on everything.
I was relieved to put thoughts of the girls and our prank behind me but that left a lot more time to think about my grandparents. I had questions that needed answers, like why Con said his grandmother killed his father and why Gramp went to jail for the very same crime.
I had always respected my grandparent’s privacy and stayed out of any business that didn’t concern me, but now was the time for that to change. It had become clear that the past and the secrets it produced involved me directly and I had the right to know exactly where I fit into the secrets they guarded so fiercely.
I almost hated to disturb his thoughts. “Are you up for a question or two?”
“Fire away.”
“You said that my grandfather didn’t kill your father. Why do you think that?”
“I’ve always known that. My mother will tell you the same thing. I was wondering why you thought your grandfather did it.”
“My grandfather spent over twenty years in jail for murdering your father.”
A genuine look of disbelief filled his soft blue eyes. “I wasn’t aware of that, but why... my mother wouldn’t lie about that.”
“Maybe she was lied to but I’m certain that my grandfather killed your father. He admitted it to me not very long ago.”
He remained quite for several miles, and then asked, “Are you still sure that you want me to go with you when you talk to your grandparent’s about all of this. I know it’s going to be pretty intense and I wouldn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable in their own home.” As an afterthought, he said, “Especially when I’m trying to endear myself to them.”