That means, as usual, you need us. Does it look to you like we need you? Not from where I’m standing, it doesn’t. Do we need him, girls? Tell us, what’s wrong with this picture?”
Gus struggled to find his voice. Why in the damned hell had he thought his family would welcome him with open arms and make his world right side up again? Why? Because they had always done it before. They were his cushion, his buffer, his safety net. In a million years, he never thought they would turn their backs on him. The realization that they had just kicked him to the curb hit home like a freight train running over him at a hundred miles an hour.
Gus opened the door and picked up the pink laundry basket. He set it inside on the floor near the door. He waited a moment to see if Wilson would attack the basket. He didn’t. The shepherd stayed where he was, with Winnie, on the little rag carpet by the sink. That hurt almost as much as his aunts’ and grandmother’s unbending attitude. “See ya,” he said in a strangled voice as he closed the door.
Rose sat down at the table and buried her face in her arms. The twins rushed to console her. Their voices were soothing as they tried to ease their sister’s anguish. “We have options, Rose, if we want to pursue them,” Iris whispered.
“No, we don’t have options, Iris. It would take us months to relocate. It simply is not feasible. Actually, it’s impossible. We have a system that works. Remember the last time we deviated, and what happened,” Violet said. “It took us almost a year to recover. I, for one, don’t want to go through that again, and I’m sure Rose doesn’t, either. I suppose it’s possible to make some adjustments, but, at this time, I don’t see how we can even do that. There are too many people who count on us and are involved now. Rose, look alive here. We need to talk seriously now.”
Rose lifted her tear-stained face to stare at her sisters. “Did you see his face? It just about broke my heart. He’s just a boy.”
“He’s not a boy, Rose. Augustus is thirty-two years old. He’s a married man. He has to take responsibility for his actions. My conscience is certainly clear. We gave that young man a good life, we raised him properly, we sent him to the best schools, we were there for him every step of the way. We helped him start his own business. You bought and paid for that fancy house he is now going to lose to that gold digger. We did not do anything wrong, so get over whatever guilt you’re feeling,” Violet continued to rant.
“Maybe we could help him without his knowing we’re doing it,” Rose said.
“Get that idea right out of your head this very minute, Rose. We are going to go on with our lives, more alert than we’ve been, and we’ll let this play out however it’s meant to play out,” Iris said softly.
“I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here, but have either one of you given a thought to the wife? What if she files for divorce, which I’m sure is her intent, and her lawyer starts asking questions on her behalf? She’ll hire a real sleazebag, we all know that. I’m thinking ahead here. We might need to hire some security or shore up this place. Maybe build a security fence, hire someone with guard dogs to patrol at night, things like that. Before you know it, some smart-ass lawyer will be wanting to take our depositions, then they’ll want to see our tax returns. Try explaining those to anyone, Rose,” Violet said.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Violet, will you give it up already? That’s not going to happen.”
“It could happen,” Iris said. “I saw that same scenario on television last week. We need to move our money offshore. Liechtenstein is where they sent their money on the TV show.”
“Stop it right now!” Rose shouted so loud, Wilson barked to show his displeasure. “We are not moving our money to Liechtenstein or anyplace else. Because, we do not know how to do that. We can, however, take it all out of the bank and the brokerage house and bury it in the root cellar if you want.”
“That’s stupid!” Violet said.
“So is Liechtenstein!” Rose snapped back.
“I hear Henry,” Iris said, and ran to the door. Everyone