“Okay.” She kissed his cheek and tried to smile. “I’ll go talk to them.”
* * * * *
Caroline heard both girls talking in Marguerite’s room. Good. They were together. This would make it so much easier. She looked inside the small bag she had in her hand, willing herself not to cry. This was the hardest thing she’d ever done, aside from the night she had to tell them about Nicky. She wanted Jack with her, and contemplated going back to the bedroom to get him. She wished she hadn’t decided to do this alone. But she owed that much to her daughters.
She knocked on the door. “It’s mom. Can I come in?”
Marguerite flung it open, bowing theatrically as she did so. An old routine. “Of course you can. Aren’t you a taxpayer?”
One of their little jokes. It wasn’t their house. It belonged to the people of the Commonwealth. Mo was growing up to be a goo goo. In a different world, she would have ended up running a federal agency someday.
Caroline spontaneously kissed her on the cheek, ignoring the nonplussed look on her daughter’s face. “I need to talk to you both. It’s important.”
Marguerite gave her an uncomfortable smile. Smart kid. She probably knew what was coming. “Okay.”
The two of them sat down on Marguerite’s bed next to Sophie. Caroline reached into the bag and pulled out two small jewelry boxes.
“I have something for you,” she said.
Marguerite opened hers first. “It’s a Miraculous Medal,” she said.
“Just like yours.” Sophie pointed at her mother’s neck.
Caroline’s parents had given the medal to her after she graduated from Marquette. It had held up for more than twenty years. She wore it off and on over the course of her life, but started wearing it on a more consistent basis after she was shot. Now she didn’t even think about it anymore. She just put it on every day, even though she was no longer sure whether she appreciated its significance.
“Exactly like mine,” Caroline said. “I got Aunt Chrissy one too.”
Their family wasn’t overtly religious, but all of them were still practicing Catholics. Since Mo and Feef had spent the past few years in parochial school, they were well catechized. Maybe more so than their parents. Caroline’s faith had weakened over the past several months and Jack generally only went to church to placate conservative voters. They weren’t exactly stunning examples of spiritual devotion. Which engendered a ton of guilt, at least for Caroline.
She wasn’t even sure she still believed what she was about to say next, but her children would understand what she meant. “Our Lady will protect you,” she said. “She will always intercede on your behalf, even if Jack and I aren’t there.”
“What are you saying?” Marguerite asked.
Caroline took a deep breath. She really didn’t want to do this. She’d put them in so much peril already and she couldn’t guarantee that this decision was the right one.
“Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Tom are getting you out of here,” she said. “Tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow?” Marguerite said incredulously.
Even quiet Sophie couldn’t let that slide without comment. “Mom, no!”
Caroline struggled to keep her voice calm. “We don’t have any choice. It’s not safe for you to be here anymore. Look at what happened in church today.”
“We’re not going to school tomorrow?” Sophie asked.
“No. We’re going to pack. And talk.”
Marguerite narrowed her eyes. “Does this mean you and Jack are coming with us?”
Caroline lowered her head. She couldn’t look at either one of them. “No,” she whispered. “We’re staying here.”
“That’s bullshit,” Marguerite said.
“Don’t curse.”
“I don’t care. Take away my allowance. Why aren’t you coming with us?” she asked.
“You know why, Mo. It’s safer this way. It sounds awful, but it’s true.”
Sophie started crying. “I don’t want to leave. Especially not without you.”
Caroline wanted to keep herself in check but couldn’t help it. She started crying too. “I’m sorry, Feef. I am.” She threw her arms around her youngest daughter. “But we need to get you out. It’s better for you to be with Chrissy and Tom than it is to be with me and Jack. Being around us puts you in enormous danger. We can’t guarantee your safety anymore.”
Marguerite scooted over and put her chin on her mother’s shoulder. “I want to stay here,” she said softly. “I want to stay with you.”
Caroline wiped her eyes. “You both have to leave.”
Her eldest daughter sat back and clenched her teeth. “I don’t want to. I’m almost sixteen,” she pointed out, as if that