Secrets and Lies | ✔️

Chapter 18 - Enid

Ch.18 - Enid

"How does this look?" Enid asked, shielding her eyes from the midday sun. She set the hedge shears on the ground before swiping her forearm across the beads of sweat on her brow.

Talia stepped off the porch and walked over to her, carefully scrutinizing the freshly trimmed bushes. She cocked her head to one side. "Um, they look a little crooked, and a whole lot smaller than I thought you wanted." She turned to her with a question in her eyes. "Why'd you take so much off?"

Enid raised one eyebrow as she regarded her daughter-in-law. "You think they look crooked now, you should have seen them ten minutes ago." She peeled off her gardening gloves and tossed them next to the shears. "Next time I say I can do just as well as the landscape guy, tell me to shut up, would you?" She held up her hands in surrender as Talia began to laugh. "No, I mean it. It's not worth saving a few bucks if this is how they're going to turn out. Curb appeal is everything. This isn't just my house, it's my business. Who's going to want to stay here if the landscape looks like this? Nothing says, 'Trust me with your accommodations' like some hideously pruned plants in the front yard."

Talia continued to giggle as she shifted Carter in her arms. "Come on, they're not that bad. You're your own worst critic."

Enid stepped back and studied the bushes once more. "No, they really are that bad. I might as well dig them up and plant a new ones. Such a shame," she said, shaking her head. "They used to be beautiful until I murdered them."

"You didn't murder them. They'll be fine. Just give 'em a little time to. . .fill in. They won't look nearly as—I mean—they'll eventually even out. . ." Talia tilted her head to one side, trying to find an attractive angle. Finally, she brought a hand to her mouth, defeated. "Okay, you got me. They look. . .not so good."

"Ah ha!" she cried, pointing her index finger at her. "I knew it! Even you think they look horrible. And you're the most accepting person I know."

Talia scrunched her eyebrows, a wounded expression covering her face. "Hey, wait a minute. I accept them! I think they're just fine. And they'll be even better after they have a couple of months to recover."

"Recover? You mean after they return to their normal state?" Enid put her hands on her hips. "That's it. They're coming out. Where's my shovel?"

She glanced at Talia and saw her gaze had drifted off, staring into the distance at something Enid couldn't see. Carter squirming restlessly in her arms wasn't even enough to jostle her from her trance. Enid reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey, honey, what is it? You've been quiet all day. Somethin' bothering you?" She knew something was, she could tell there was a lot on her mind the moment Talia and Carter had arrived at The Ivy House that morning, but she gave her some space, hoping her daughter-in-law would eventually open up. Some days Talia was like an open book, sharing stories from her past—happier ones when she lived with her parents. And other days it was like she was back to square one, keeping secrets and hiding feelings like a thief in the night.

Startled, Talia looked at her and sighed. "I found out one of the women at the shelter went back to her husband this week."

Enid opened her mouth and then closed it again, her eyes dropping to the grass. Talia was fiercely protective of the clients at Healing Hearts and she needed to choose her next words carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was downplay the enormity of the situation. In her experience, asking an open-ended question would be best. Something that required more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Something that would allow Talia to talk, if she felt so inclined. "What happened?"

Sitting on Talia's hip, Carter began to fidget in earnest. Talia shook her head and shifted the baby to the opposite side. "I'm not sure. Laura said Janice left in the middle of the night. Her roommates woke up in the morning and found a note on her bed. She didn't give any explanations why, she just said she was sorry."