promised to help in any way they could.
“I’ve told Max they can move in with us after graduation.”
“That’s a very generous offer,” Elizabeth said.
“Of course, if you’d rather have Cleo here, I understand.”
“It’s really up to her. I doubt she’ll want to come back here.”
Weezy felt very sad for Cleo just then. If Martha or Claire were pregnant and abandoned, she’d drag them back home whether they wanted it or not. She’d make sure they knew they had their mother for support; she’d be in their faces every day.
“You’re handling this all quite well,” Elizabeth said.
“I’m just handling it,” Weezy said. She tried to sound humble, but it actually came out sounding like she was bragging.
After lunch, Weezy wandered up Amsterdam, popping into some of the little boutiques. She was a little light-headed from the wine, but found it refreshing not to care who saw her. She ended up buying a ridiculously expensive pair of booties with giraffes on them. They were so tiny and perfect. She tucked them into her purse and went out to get a taxi back to the train station.
CHAPTER 16
This was what a psychotic break looked like. Claire was pretty sure of that. Sometimes, she wanted to stand up in the middle of the office, at dinner with her family, or while she was in Fran’s basement watching ESPN with him, and scream, “I am having a psychotic break, people. I am having a breakdown and no one is noticing.”
But that only happened if she let herself think about it, which she tried not to do most of the time. She found it was easier to ignore everything that was going on and just get through the day. She stayed busy. If she wasn’t at Fran’s watching a movie or drinking a beer, she was running around the neighborhood with her iPod on, sprinting down the dark streets in the cold until her chest was too tight to breathe and her legs hurt. Anything to make sure that when she got into bed that night, she’d fall asleep quickly.
AT HOME, THE AIR WAS FILLED with Max and Cleo. Weezy was acting like someone with a brain injury, sometimes slow and spacey, sometimes sharp and wild. The day after Thanksgiving, she’d told them the news in the kitchen, and although they’d already guessed, it was still a shock to hear.
“Don’t tell anyone,” Weezy said. She looked nervous, like they might have already spread the news around town.
“Of course not,” Martha said. “Oh my God, we won’t tell anyone.”
“People are going to find out eventually,” Claire said.
“I know that,” Weezy said. “But let’s just hold off. It’s no one else’s business.”
“People are so gossipy in this town,” Martha said. Her eyes filled with tears.
“Why are you crying?” Claire asked.
“They’re so young. How can they handle this?” Martha’s nose was running.
“Martha,” Claire said, “stop acting like you’re the one that’s knocked up.”
“Claire, that’s enough,” Weezy said. “This isn’t easy on your sister. This isn’t easy on any of us.”
“Why isn’t this easy for her?” Claire said. “What’s so hard about it? Just because you’re embarrassed doesn’t mean you can act like this is all about you.”
“This has nothing to do with being embarrassed,” Weezy said.
Martha looked up at the ceiling then, just as the tears poured down her cheeks. She let out a strange squeak and left the room quickly. Weezy turned to Claire with a look that said, Are you happy now?
“Jesus,” Claire said.
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer to your sister.”
“It actually might.”
None of them spoke to one another for the rest of the day. Will looked like he wanted to get out of the house. He’d been angry in the morning, but by the afternoon, he looked exhausted. He and Weezy had been holed up in their bedroom having whispered conversations. Around dinnertime, Will tried to act normal, asking if anyone else was interested in warming up some leftovers, then going ahead and taking out the Tupperware containers and warming up the turkey, stuffing, and gravy until the whole house smelled like Thanksgiving again. He was the only one who ate.
They didn’t apologize to one another. That isn’t how they worked. The three of them were just short and chilly to one another for a few days, and then eventually it went away. Even Martha and Weezy spoke to each other with pursed lips and stilted conversation, although Claire was pretty sure they hadn’t been fighting with each other. It was like