Two weeks. That was all the time Poppy needed to get back into the swing of Granger life. In the fourteen nights she’d been home on the Adler Estate, she hadn’t left the grounds. Not once. None of the Granger women had.
Only her father, Clark Granger, ventured beyond their perimeter walls. He had to go to work, to meetings and had other things to deal with. Important things. Given how much security he had access to and the fact he went from the house to a car then into a building, the press didn’t hound him. Not as much as Poppy and her sisters would be hounded if they tried to go out to say, a nail appointment.
Going out wasn’t necessary for the women anyway. Nails, hair, clothes, whatever they needed was brought to them. That was the advantage of money. Her sisters and mother didn’t mind filling their days with massages and personal fashion parades. Poppy wished that she could be so easily satisfied.
Grammie was still playing up her faux senility. The longer it went on, the more likely it was that her mother would be driven insane by the antics. Still, Grammie was who she was. After enduring decades with her mother-in-law, Poppy figured her mom should’ve learned that.
Just as Grammie had insisted, Holden hadn’t been allowed anywhere near the estate. And Violet wouldn’t look at her youngest sister much less speak to her. More than once, Poppy had gone to her sister’s bedroom door to beg entry. Violet just ignored her. At the dinner table, it was the same scenario. Her eldest sister wouldn’t even look in her direction.
That Friday night, the family had gathered for dinner, just like always. There was so much drama in their lives, yet they’d given up trying to talk about it, so no one said a word during the appetizer. The entrée was just as silent. Dessert was served and wine glasses topped off. Going through the motions was a Granger specialty. Rather than arguing and giving the staff something to whisper about, all of them did their best to eat fast and get through the meal without addressing each other.
In the previous times her mom and sisters tried to converse, Grammie would end up either needling them or trying to bring Poppy into the conversation. The latter would silence Violet and remind them all of the animosity.
Her father had other things on his mind so didn’t have much time to worry about family drama. The man often only made the situation worse in his attempts to fix things anyway. Unlike his wife, he had learned from past behaviors.
Sitting with her family was a huge contrast to the always moving, always active Maddox house. Dinner with the Maddoxes was an event; a celebration just of being together. On pizza night, they made their own pizzas from scratch. Arguments over the toppings and who got what shelf in the oven were common. On pasta night, there would always be a rush to scoop up the last meatball.
Poppy hadn’t had the pleasure of barbeque night at the Maddox house. Apparently, when Turner had the time to come over and spend an evening with the family, they grilled steaks on the deck. Imagining the scene and atmosphere put a smile on her face.
After two weeks, she’d hoped that the Maddox family wouldn’t be so prominent in her thoughts every day, every minute. Throughout the first week, it was a struggle just to breathe. Despite the time that had passed, her struggle wasn’t getting any easier.
Turner was still out there. Still working to support his family, fulfilling his responsibilities. He was doing what he was supposed to do, why couldn’t she do the same?
From seemingly nowhere, her mother, Silvia, suddenly thrust her shoulders back to sit up straighter. “This is ridiculous!”
“Finally, something we agree on,” Grammie Marigold said, though there was no way she could have any inkling what her daughter-in-law was talking about.
Sometimes Grammie just enjoyed aggravating people. She wasn’t quite the doddering old lady she portrayed herself to be.
“We have to know, Marigold,” Poppy’s mom demanded. “What is your plan?”
“My plan?” Marigold asked, casting her round eyes around the table. “Do I have a plan?”
“I think we should talk about Vi and Poppy first,” Primrose said. “You two have to start talking to each other.”
“She stole my fiancé,” Violet said to Primrose. “What do you want me to say to the woman who seduced away the man I was supposed to marry?”