I glanced around the room and waved my mother and Grandma M. over. “I swear, I had no idea she’d react this way,” I said.
Klara, my mother, shook her head. “Rose was always too sensitive—”
“You think it’s too sensitive to have your feelings hurt when your own sister doesn’t include you in her wedding party?” Leave it to Grandma McGrady to take Rose’s part. She always had.
“I’d call being a bridesmaid being in the wedding party. She knew perfectly well that Murray was going to be the maid of honor and she never said a word before today,” Klara retorted.
Grandma M. glared at her. “Perhaps she’d talk to you more if you hadn’t spent her childhood working. Instead, the poor darling had to come to me—”
“Poor darling my ass!” One thing I’d give my mother: she didn’t take bull off of anybody. “Nanna looked after both Rose and Emerald without a problem the entire time. The girls didn’t suffer a bit. You’ve just never been able to accept that your son married a German girl while he was overseas—”
“He never even told us he was getting married—”
I’d had enough. The old arguments were making their way to the surface and unless I wanted World War III to erupt in Murray’s living room, I had to put a stop to the bickering.
“Will you two give it a rest?” My mother and Grandma M. stared at me as if I’d suddenly grown horns or a beak or something. “I will not have you turning my bridal shower into a battle zone. Last night was bad enough with Roy’s antics. I refuse to accept an instant replay from my own relatives.”
Klara sighed, loud and deep, while Grandma M. ignored me and focused her attention on Rose, who was sobbing now.
“I’m sorry,” Rose said. “It’s just so hard, seeing you happy and in love, especially now that Charles is moving out.”
Say what? Rose and Charley had been married for fifteen years. I’d never once heard rumors of trouble between the two. I was about to ask what she was talking about when I felt a gentle hand on my arm. White Deer, Murray’s aunt—who happened to be a medicine woman in her tribe—nodded me aside.
“Can it wait?” I asked. “My sister—”
“I heard, and I know you need to talk to her, but I have to tell you something.” When we were off to one side, she leaned close and cupped her hand around my ear. “Emerald, I sense a lot of chaos around you today. I don’t know what it is or where it’s coming from, but whatever the source, I’d be careful if I were you. I can’t tell if it’s in your aura or just hanging around, but I think a psychic leech might have taken up residence.”
I frowned. “I’ve been really dizzy since last night, but I thought it was the champagne. Since I don’t usually drink, my system goes into mild shock when I do. I just hope it’s not something like Mr. Big & Ugly again. I’ve been so frantic over wedding arrangements and family squabbles that I haven’t even had a chance to check out my aura lately.”
“Okay, but don’t forget. Whatever it is sure caught my notice.”
The doorbell rang and Murray hurried to answer it. My father, Kip, and James were standing there, shopping bags in hand. I glanced at the clock. They were half an hour early, but at this rate, I was just anxious to get the party over with.
Rose had recovered enough to be escorted to the bathroom. I joined her, sitting on the edge of Murray’s peach-colored tub while my sister splashed her face with water and redid her makeup.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were having problems?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I was hoping it would blow over, I guess. Charles has been fooling around with his secretary, and I gather she’s pregnant now. He’s going to leave me and marry the little tramp.”
That hit a little too close to home. The only differences between my former situation and Rose’s were that Tyra hadn’t been pregnant when Roy had been screwing around with her. At least Rose didn’t have children—that would have made it ten times worse. “I’m so sorry. What are you going to do?”
She shrugged. “Soak him for all I can get, sell the house, move. Maybe I’ll go to New York. Maybe I’ll travel. I don’t know yet. All I do know at this point is that I’m going to make him pay through the pocketbook.” She patted her face with a tissue. “Damned laugh lines. Did you know that I’m already four Botox injections into my attempt to halt time?”
Rose was a year and a half younger than I was. That she was already shooting away the wrinkles worried me. “Are you going to be okay, sis?”
She shrugged, then broke into a cheerless smile. “I have to be, don’t I? What other option is there? By the way, I’m sorry about that little scene out there. Of course you wouldn’t ask me to be your matron of honor. Why should you? I’ve never bothered to try and be anything more than a distant relation.” When I started to protest she stopped me. “Don’t bother. It’s the truth and I know it. But maybe that can change.” She paused in the rearrangement of her hair to turn and clasp my hands. “What do you think? Maybe we can be friends?”
I pulled her in for a hug. “Of course, Rosy. Of course we can. But Murray’s still my maid of honor, so will you be okay with that?”
She nodded, giving me a muffled “Uh-huh.”
I pushed her back, bracing her by the shoulders. “Now come on. We’ve got a barbecue to go to. You haven’t tasted anything until you’ve had some of Jimbo’s home cooking.”
She snickered and I caught a resemblance to myself in her face. “He and Anna make quite the couple, all right. You know, she’s come a long way since you two were in college together. Okay, let’s go get greasy with some ribs.”
Everybody who wasn’t going to the barbecue had left their best wishes and been ushered out. Murray raised one eyebrow when Rose walked over to her and apologized for her outburst, but she assured my sister that everything was fine. Grandma M. was fretting about how long it would take to get out to Jimbo’s and whether or not he’d have any comfortable chairs, and my mother had enlisted Randa to help her rush around, making sure the gifts and party favors were packed in the car.
We were just about to set out when the doorbell rang. Mur opened it and I heard an exclamation of surprise before she led Deacon into the room. I waved at him, but the smile died on my face. Something was wrong. I could feel it. I slowly approached him, my gaze fastened on his.