Is he talking through his issues and figuring out why he has difficulty staying sober?
The longer I think about everything he said before he left, the more I wonder if he was telling the truth. Calling the lawyer to find out would put the inheritance at risk, so I settle for the next best thing: Iris and Zahra.
We exchanged numbers before I left the night of Cal’s birthday dinner, but I hadn’t taken advantage of it until now.
Before I chicken out, I text them.
Hey.
Their replies come in at the same time.
Iris
What’s up?
Zahra
Hi!
I release a shaky breath as I hit send on my next message, which I spent ten minutes mulling over.
I was wondering if one of you could help clarify a few things for me about the will.
Iris’s reply is instant.
Iris
I can be there in forty minutes.
Forty minutes? How is that even possible from her house in Chicago?
Zahra
Ugh. Wish I could be there!
I busy myself with cleaning up the already-spotless house while I wait for Iris. The loud thrum of propellers interrupts me in the middle of scrubbing down the stovetop, and I rush outside to watch a helicopter land in my backyard.
“What the fuck?” I shut the door behind me.
I didn’t know it was legal to land in someone’s backyard.
Are you really surprised? This is Lake Wisteria. Anyone can be bought with the right price.
The moment the blades stop spinning, Iris dashes out of the helicopter. She rushes to the nearest set of bushes while clutching a hand to her mouth.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?”
She heaves once in a godawful reply. I wince as I help gather her braids in my hand to prevent them from falling in front of her face.
She throws up twice before being able to stand upright. “Well, that went a lot worse than I expected.”
“I have 7 Up and Alka-Seltzer inside.”
“Sounds lovely.” She wipes at her mouth with a frown.
I shuffle her into the house and find her a spare toothbrush. While she cleans her teeth, I pull out some snacks that my mom always said helped a sour stomach.
“You’re a lifesaver.” Iris drops onto the stool and pops a saltine cracker into her mouth.