could come and go on the property without question.
“I’ll get it,” Jack said. He knew enough to make himself scarce once Christine was inside.
As Caroline expected, Christine entered the living room alone.
“Hello, Caroline.” She was distant, formal. Christine used that tone frequently, but she only did it with those close to her when she really didn’t want to have to deal with them. It drove Caroline nuts.
“Hi,” Caroline said. “Thank you for coming over.”
Christine’s voice was terse. “I had some time this afternoon. What do you want?” She sat down on the couch and started staring at a freshly manicured hand.
Caroline wasn’t about to put up with being blown off. “Excuse me?”
“I apologize. I meant to say, what can I do for you?” Christine used a much more polite phrasing but her tone was sharp.
Caroline resisted the urge to swear at her. “You think I invited you here because I want something?”
“Did you intend for us to bake cookies and talk about boys?”
Holy Christ, was Christine in a mood. Caroline didn’t care if it was a defense mechanism or passive-aggressive bullshit; it infuriated her. She clenched her fists reflexively. “Is this how it’s going to be?”
Christine would never admit it, but she hated confrontation even more than Caroline did. Her mood changed instantly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I presumed this wasn’t a social call.”
Caroline watched as Christine folded her hands into her lap. “Well, to be honest, it’s not purely social. Although I would much prefer if it was. And I hate when you’re right,” she added.
Christine’s voice relaxed. “What is it?”
“Did Susannah and her husband get off to France all right?”
“Yes, thank God,” Christine said. “I was surprised she had the pull, but once she got the firm to agree to move her to Paris, she jumped on it. Smart girl.”
“And you said fluency in French was a pointless skill.”
“I guess I was wrong.”
Caroline would save that one for later. She was fluent in both French and Spanish, the latter proving to be much more useful in political circles. Christine had made a number of jokes at her expense during the past couple of years, asking Jack when he was going to start sending his wife out to cultivate better relations between Pennsylvania and Canada.
“I, um, met with Susannah before she left,” Caroline said.
Christine couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. Caroline and Susannah were friendly, but not close. “About what?”
Caroline retrieved a large envelope from the coffee table. “I probably should have asked you first,” she whispered. “I haven’t updated these documents in years. But I hoped – I took a chance that you’d be okay with this.”
She handed the envelope to Christine, who took the papers out and scanned them briefly, then rubbed her eyes. “You appointed Thomas and me as guardians of the girls,” she said.
“The financial stuff is in there too,” Caroline said. “So you and Tom don’t have to worry about anything in that regard.”
Christine continued to stare at the documents. “That is the least of my worries right now.”
“I should have asked, shouldn’t I?” Caroline hugged herself. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have done this without talking to you beforehand.”
Christine looked up at Caroline. The hand holding the papers trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. “Caroline, it’s okay.” She reached over to pat Caroline’s knee. “It’s fine. It’s just unexpected. I thought your best friend from college was their guardian.”
“She was,” Caroline said. “But I’m not sure she’s in the best position to serve in that role anymore. She’s so far away. And she hasn’t really kept a low profile either, if you catch my meaning.”
Things were better in Chicago than they were in the northeast, but they were getting worse. Caroline’s best friend and her family were in the process of moving to London to stay with relatives. The UK and its former colonies, including Canada, had been mostly friendly to American ex-pats and citizens seeking political asylum or wanting out for the time being. The international community voiced their occasional opinions on the hypocrisy of the current American political situation, but also remained largely silent. An odd move, since it seemed as if now would be the time to gloat. Or take action. But if foreign nations were making any move to intervene, they’d done a good job of keeping it under wraps.
Christine flipped through the papers again. “Susannah drew these up for you? Seems a little out of her range of expertise.”