Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  “I guess they got bored.”

  “They’ve lost their minds. This time, they’ve truly lost their minds.” Shauna turned away from Karen and back to the crowd when the voices rose several decibels. The color that had flushed her cheeks suddenly drained. “Rose! No!”

  Shauna sprinted to Rose’s side. Karen followed. Shauna grabbed Rose’s hands and held tight. “Stop it,” Shauna hissed at Rose then turned to Karen. “Will you button her up?”

  The singing continued around them, everyone now joining in and the volume inching up. The only one who wasn’t singing was Rose. She’d succeeded in unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse before Shauna stopped her and while the result probably still warranted a PG rating, she hadn’t been far from garnering an X.

  Rose looked at her hands then frowned at Shauna. “Don’t you remember how to have fun?” Shauna glared at her. “You used to be a lot more fun,” Rose added with an eye roll.

  “Fun? You think this is fun? What was your plan? Strip down to nothing? Good Lord, you had your shirt unbuttoned so far your boobs were nearly hanging out!”

  “It’s not like anyone would see anything. I do wear a bra, missy,” Rose scoffed.

  “A bra? You mean this bra?” Shauna leaned over and picked up the purple bra Rose had dropped to the floor, probably to free her hands to start unbuttoning.

  Rose tilted her head in confusion for a moment before tossing that head back and giggling. “Oh, that’s right. I already took that off, didn’t I? It’s a fun trick, taking off your bra without taking off your shirt. Do you know how to do it? I can teach you. You just have to reach—”

  Kate interrupted her sister with a shout. “I taught you that trick years ago. Don’t go trying to take credit for it.”

  “Both of you, stop. Just stop.”

  A whoop went up from behind them. Karen turned to see a woman she recognized from her visits to Kate and Rose’s apartment building fling a flag-patterned blouse across the room. Thankfully, she was still wearing a red t-shirt but by the looks on the faces of the men and women clapping and cheering, things were deteriorating faster than ever.

  Voices crescendoed on a gusty amen. Beside her, Rose hooted and egged on the others in the room. Shauna had clearly reached the end of her rope. She put one hand on Kate’s shoulder, the other on Rose’s. Karen didn’t need to see the grimaces on the sisters’ faces; Shauna’s white knuckles told the tale.

  “I’m going to get Mom,” she threatened.

  Both Kate and Rose sniggered, but Karen saw a flash of resignation in both their eyes. If anyone could control them, it was Anna.

  Karen knelt down between their chairs, intending to try to help calm the two, and picked up Rose’s lemonade to move it out of the way as she did so. She stretched her arm toward the end table intending to set down the glass, but as it passed by her face and she caught a whiff, the singing made a lot more sense.

  “Um, Shauna?”

  Shauna looked down at her, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

  “I know your mom was keeping an eye on the liquor cabinet, but…”

  Karen held up the glass for Shauna. Rose made a grab for it, but Shauna deflected. She sniffed at the drink and her eyes flared.

  “Gin? Are you serious? You promised Mom you’d stick to a glass or two of wine.”

  “The wine stinks,” Kate said.

  Karen looked around the room. Most everyone had a glass of lemonade in their hand or within reach.

  “Yeah, well so does this gin,” Shauna said as she scooped up Kate’s glass.

  “Give me my drink!” the sisters shouted in unison.

  “Not a chance,” Shauna said. Then she looked around the room and came to the same conclusion as Karen.

  “They’re all drinking, aren’t they?” Shauna asked Karen.

  “Looks that way.”

  Shauna turned her steely eyes back to Rose and Kate. “Where did you get the gin?”

  “None of your beeswax, girlie,” Rose said.

  “Rose, did you take it from Dad’s liquor cabinet? Did you take anything else? How much, exactly, has everyone been drinking?”

  Rose mimed zipping her lips, locking them, and throwing the key over her shoulder. Her grin stretched from ear to ear.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Shauna huffed.

  “Kate? What else did you take?”

  “Just what do you think? We’re too old to get to the bottle shop ourselves and have to resort to stealing? Let me tell you something—”

  “Please don't,” Shauna said.

  Grumbling sounded from around the room as the revelers tuned into the back-and-forth between Shauna and her great aunts. Karen noticed several of them start chugging their drinks.

  “How about some coffee?” Karen suggested.

  “Good idea,” Shauna said. “Lots of coffee.” She began plucking glasses from unsuspecting hands.

  “It’s too hot for coffee,” Kate said.

  “Put ice cubes in it,” Shauna answered through gritted teeth.

  Rose, apparently forgetting she’d sealed her lips, broke into a rousing chorus of her song.

  “When it’s hotter than heck outside…”

  That got everyone’s attention, and the amens started again with gusto.

  Shauna threw her hands up in the air. “Mom!” she shouted, her eyes narrowed at her great aunts and her tone daring them to continue. “You’re not going to be invited next year,” she threatened.

  “They’ll be invited next year because they’re going to settle down,” Karen said. “Let’s get you buttoned up,” she said to Rose as she finished securing the woman’s buttons. “And you,” she said, turning to the owner of the flag-covered blouse, “why don’t you put this back on?” Karen handed the wide-eyed woman her shirt. “It’s lovely and it would look so much better over that red t-shirt than it does on the floor.”

  Karen scanned the floor in search of any other wayward clothing. She saw that Shauna still held Rose’s bra in one hand while the other was again firmly clasped on Rose’s shoulder. Movement out of the corner of Karen’s eye caught her attention. Sheepish eyes belonging to a small man with giant tufts of white hair on either side of his head met hers. The man’s upper body froze, and those eyes never left Karen’s, but his left leg inched outward as far as the short little leg could go and his bare foot dropped on top of a white tube sock. He dragged it toward him and tucked it under his chair.

  Swallowing a chuckle, Karen said, “I’m going to make coffee. I know, it’s hot outside, but I have a recipe for vanilla iced coffee that’s delicious. You’ll love it. While I do that, how about a game? I know Anna and Sean have dice in here…” Karen went to the cabinet under the TV and found the bag she was looking for. “Here we go. How about liar’s dice? Kate, Rose, I know you know how to play. Why don’t you start a game, I’ll start the coffee, and we’ll all enjoy the air conditioning and do our best to forget about the heat.”

  “Liars dice can be fun,” Rose said begrudgingly. She wiggled free from under Shauna’s grip and snatched the dice from Karen. “Fine. Let’s play.”

  Kate’s face lit up. “Maybe when you lose, you have to take off something, kind of like—”

  Karen pitched her voice above the din. “Maybe it’s just a fun game and we leave it at that?”

  One by one, the seniors moved to the table and joined Rose who was seated at the head, relishing in her role as the teacher. With things under control, at least for the moment, Karen joined Shauna who stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl aimed at her great aunts.

  “Crisis averted. At least I think so,” Karen said.

  Shauna didn’t respond right away, just shook her head in the direction of the table, her scowl deepening as she did so.

  “I don’t know how you do it.” She turned to Karen. “How do you keep your cool around those two? There are times I’d like to wring their necks.”

  “Oh, that’s not true. You usually handle
them like a pro. Today, well, today they pushed you to the brink. It’s hot. You have so much going on. That all adds up to your patience probably being a little less than what it usually is. I’m glad I was here to help.”

  Now it was Karen’s turn to be on the receiving end of Shauna’s stare. Shauna cocked her head and tapped her finger on her chin. “You’re different. Actually, you’re the same. The same like you used to be, but like you haven’t been for a long time. What’s up?”

  “Nothing’s up. I’m sorry for the long time when I wasn’t the same. The pregnancy, the twins, I guess it all took a toll.”

  Shauna didn’t seem quite convinced but shrugged. “Well, whatever it is, I’m glad you’re back. And I’m really glad you were here to keep me from possibly strangling a relative. That would sure put a damper on the Fourth of July party now wouldn’t it?”

  Karen laughed. “I suppose it would. Should we tell your mom what went on in here?”

  “Oh, I’m telling her everything, but I’ll wait until tonight. I don’t want to add any more stress to her day. She seems tired.”

  Karen nodded in agreement.

  “Cort told me he needs to stick around for a little while tonight to talk to you and Joe. Do you think you could drop him at my place once you’re done?”

  “Sure.” Karen made a quick decision. “Do you want to stick around too? I’d like to talk to you. To everyone, I think.”

  “There is something going on. Are you okay?” Shauna paused, and then her eyes grew huge. “Oh, my gosh. Are you pregnant again?”

  Karen’s eyes grew almost as huge. “No! No way. And nothing’s wrong. I just have something I want…I need to…nothing’s wrong. I promise.”

  Maybe it was the result of growing up with four older brothers, but Shauna was never easily fooled and seldom content to take no for an answer. Right now, Karen knew Shauna wanted to argue, to demand, but reined herself in.

  “Tonight? You promise we’ll talk tonight?”

  “Promise.”

  “Okay.”

  When Shauna left it at that, Karen looked to the table where an enthusiastic game was well underway. “Think we can trust them?”

  “Hah! Not a chance. I’m staying right here until someone else comes to supervise.”

  “I’ll check on the kids then find someone to relieve you once I get the coffee started.”

  “Thanks. For helping, for the coffee, for everything.”

  Karen winked and headed to check on her kids who, she decided, were capable of sleeping through anything.

  Later, as evening approached, Karen found Susan watching a hotly contested game of horseshoes between Riley and Frank.

  “Who’s winning?” Karen asked.

  “Frank, but Riley’s staging a comeback. It’s getting vicious. Name calling, heckling, dredging up embarrassing stories. They’ve done everything but throw the horseshoes at each other.”

  A shout went up as Riley’s horseshoe ringed the stake. He proceeded to dance in circles around Frank, taunting him as he sidestepped Frank’s swipes.

  “They’re kind of idiots, aren’t they?” Susan asked.

  “They’re boys. They’ll always be boys,” Karen answered. “Everything under control at the inn?”

  “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a busy week, there’s more coming with the wedding reception this weekend, but everyone is out for the day so I’m hoping Molly has an easy evening. I felt bad taking her away from the party, but she insisted.”

  “I talked to her earlier. She seemed happy to be leaving and getting out of the heat. Although, she and Stu left just before the excitement in the living room.”

  Karen told Susan about Rose and Kate’s antics. Susan laughed so hard, Riley and Frank stopped their game to find out what was so funny. They all wanted details, they all asked questions, and they all cringed when those questions were answered.

  “Thanks for helping Shauna handle them,” Frank said. “They know how to push her buttons and sometimes she lets them.”

  “They can push anyone’s buttons if they put their minds to it,” Karen said.

  “But it sounds like you kept your cool. First you did a ton of work getting the party ready, you cooked and baked—including my bars for which I thank you again—and now you handled the Terrible Twosome. I spotted you earlier organizing some sort of game for a bunch of kids. You seem to be doing well, I mean, you seem…you’re…” Susan looked helplessly at Riley.

  “You’re on, Karen. You haven’t really been on for a while.”

  Susan elbowed him in the ribs. “That’s a little tactless, but I guess he’s right. You’re like you again. I’m glad.”

  Karen smiled, but inwardly winced at the all-too-apt descriptions. She’d affected them—all of them—more than she’d realized.

  “I’m good. If you guys can stick around for a bit after fireworks, I’d like to talk to you. Cort and Shauna are staying, hopefully Jake and Sam. I’d like it if you could be there.”

  “Is there something wrong?” Frank asked. “Cassie and I can stay, no problem, but is everything okay? Do you need help? Need anything?”

  Again, she felt that now-familiar stab of guilt when she saw the worry and concern on the faces of those who cared about her. The temptation to tell them something to ease their minds was great, but she knew it would be best to wait until she had them all in one place and could get through the whole story, answer all their questions, in one shot.

  “Nothing’s wrong, I just have something I’d like to tell everyone at the same time. And no, I’m not pregnant,” she added before anyone could ask.

  Karen talked to Sam later and the conversation was nearly identical to those she’d had with the others. And like the others, Sam didn’t hesitate before saying she and Jake would stick around or before offering whatever assistance Karen might need.

  With each conversation, Karen gained confidence that she could do it. That she could tell them what had happened, that she could listen to what Cort had to say and deal with whatever the ramifications might be, and that she could sufficiently apologize for her behavior over the past year.

  But she faltered when it came to Anna and Sean. Fireworks were over, and they were ready to tackle the last of the cleanup. Karen took a platter from Anna’s hands and walked with her into the kitchen.

  “Anna, I was wondering…”

  And panic seized her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t possibly talk to Joe’s parents about what she’d done, about the hurt she’d caused their son, about how she’d put her family—their grandchildren—at risk. Her hands started to shake, and the platter clattered to the floor.

  “I’m so sorry! Let me get that.”

  Karen dropped to her knees and began sweeping the scattered plastic cups and silverware into her arms. She kept her eyes down, the idea of facing her mother-in-law suddenly more than she could bear.

  Anna didn’t seem to notice Karen’s distress. “This kitchen has seen many worse crashes and spills. It’s nothing to worry about.”

  While Karen continued to fetch wayward cups from around the room, Anna picked up the platter and dropped it on the counter.

  “You know, I’m tired. I’m going to go peek at my grandkids and then get these old bones into bed. It must be the heat, but I’m beat.”

  Karen stood. “Of course. Go. We’ll finish straightening up and see that everything’s taken care of in here and outside. I’ll find Sean and make sure he joins you.”

  Anna nodded. “Thank you, dear, I think that’s a good idea. He worked hard. He may not admit it, but he’s worn out. Thank you for all your help.”

  Anna gave her a quick hug, then disappeared down the hall. Karen stood and stared after her then closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks. She’d talk to her in-laws, just as she’d talk to her own parents, but not that night. It could wait.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE HOUSE AND yard were clean, the garbage was piled at the curb awaiting pickup, and countless
tables, chairs, coolers, and bowls were in the front yard to be claimed over the next few days by those who’d left them behind. It had been a long day, but when they all gathered in the McCabe’s basement family room, Karen was greeted with alert, albeit curious, eyes. After a little chitchat about the day, about who’d done what, and a rehashing of Kate and Rose’s spectacle, conversation stalled, and those curious eyes turned to Karen.

  “Thank you for sticking around. I know you’re tired and that you want to get home, so I really appreciate this. I just wish I knew where to start.”

  She looked from one to the other, then focused on Shauna.

  “A couple of weeks ago I asked Cort to help me with something, something I’d been trying to handle on my own for a long time. I was out of options, desperate, and I turned to Cort. Shauna, I asked him—begged him, really—not to tell you. I’m sorry.”

  Shauna glanced up at Cort for a quick moment before looking back at Karen. Karen saw questions and, if she wasn’t mistaken, a little hurt.

  “I’m sorry I asked him to keep something from you, but it was almost impossible for me to discuss it with him and I couldn’t bear the idea of you knowing. Of all of you knowing.” Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “I hadn’t even talked to Joe at that point. Last year…”

  It was so much harder than she’d expected to say the words. After the joy of the past week, she’d thought she was over all of it. She wasn’t. Joe slid his arm around her waist. The contact helped, but she still couldn’t find the right words.

  Riley could. At least he found some words. “You didn’t kill someone, did you, Karen?”

  “Riley!” Susan scolded.

  “Well, it’s obviously something serious. She said she went to Cort for help. Frank and I wouldn’t know how to get rid of a dead body. I mean, Frank could maybe come up with some sort of chemical to dissolve it, I have all sorts of tools, but there’d be a lot of trial and error. It would take time. I’m guessing Jake would know, but it’d probably be a conflict of interest. Cort seems like the logical choice.”