“So, I think…” she paused then said on a rush, “you’d get me.”

“I’m sorry?”

She was quiet a moment then said softly, “No one gets me, Nina.”

I walked backwards to the bed, feeling my way with my feet and when I hit it, I plopped down.

“Bitsy, I don’t know,” I said honestly.

“I know what happened to Charlie, Nina,” Bitsy said gently. “So, I know you’d get me.”

I felt tears hit my eyes at what she was saying and I whispered, “Bitsy.”

“I had my moments, Nina, it’s terrible to admit but I understand Charlie.”

I swallowed and whispered, “Okay.”

“I’m sorry for you and for him.”

“Thanks.” I was still whispering.

“But my husband was fooling around on me,” she whispered back. “And I don’t blame him because, you know, the way I am. But I have to talk to someone about it. Someone who gets me.”

I heard the tears in her voice when she stopped talking so I said, “Oh, sweetheart.”

“And you also get what it’s like to have Shauna involved, seeing as she was after my man and she’s after yours too.”

“I’m not sure Max is my man.”

“Oh he is. Never seen him like that with anyone except Anna.”

I sucked in a silent breath and my body locked.

She kept speaking. “The whole town’s talkin’ about it. We’re all real glad. Thought Max’d never find anyone after Anna died. It’s been ten years, that’s a long time. Lord knows, I know that.”

I couldn’t think of her open talk about Anna, I had bigger things coming at me from her words.

It seemed now I was up against my own idiocy, my mother, Steve and the whole town of Gnaw Bone. My only ally was my father and right then Max and Steve were running him out of town.

I wasn’t in trouble, I was screwed.

“Bitsy –”

“Brody told me all you’ve done with Mindy and, I gotta say, I’m glad you’re nice. Anna was my best friend and I loved her. She’d want Max to end up with someone nice.”

Yes. Screwed.

“I don’t know what to say. Um… thank you.”

“Thank me for you bein’ nice?” she had a smile in her voice.

“Yes, I guess, and thank you for trusting me to talk to.”

She was quiet for long moments then she asked, “Do you think I’m crazy not to be mad at Curt?”

“I can’t say you’re crazy for anything you feel right now.”

“These past ten years, even though… you know.” She stopped and I didn’t know but I didn’t get the chance to ask before she went on, “I wasn’t much of a wife.”

I thought this was hideous if Curtis Dodd made Bitsy feel that way but I didn’t tell her that.

“Things are hard, when this happens, on everyone,” I told her.

“He loved me, people don’t get that. We had a good marriage, considering. We were… uh… you know….” she hesitated and then said, “active that way it’s just that it wasn’t the same as, you know… Shauna could do.” Then when I didn’t speak, she repeated, “You know?”

“Of course,” I said, thinking I kind of knew but mostly I didn’t and I said a little prayer of thanks for that.

“And he’s a man,” she went on defending her husband.

“Well, that explains a lot,” I told her and she gave a short laugh.

“Yeah.”

“Bitsy, darling,” I said, “you should feel free to feel how you want and don’t think of what people think.”

“No one liked him anyway, he died and his mistress phoned the police. It’s hard not to think of what people think since everyone’s thinkin’ somethin’.”

“Well, try. Anyone who truly cares about you will let you have your feelings, whatever they may be.”

She was silent a moment, letting this sink in then she said, “Yeah.”

“Do you want me to come and visit with you? My Mom’s here and she loves coffee. She’d really like one of your lattes. She’s also a really good listener.”

“Your Mom’s here?”

“Well my Dad came and he was being, well, my Dad, which means he was being a jerk to me and to Max. I told my Mom and Mom, being a Mom and in particular, my Mom, who’s a little nutty, decided to bring her husband and have him help Max take care of Dad. So she’s here, my stepdad Steve’s here and Max and Steve are in town probably threatening Dad and maybe earning themselves a lawsuit.”

“Good thing you’re a lawyer,” she said, again sounding like she was smiling.

Well, there it was again, news travelled fast.

“Hey, speaking of that, would you help me draw up my will?” she asked. “George is covered in work but he’s reading Curtis’s tomorrow and he said I should have one drawn up straight away after Curt’s is read. He wants to do it for me but says it may take awhile because he has some big case pending so he referred me to a guy next town over but I know him and he’s a weasel. I’d rather you help me do it.”

“Bitsy –”

“I’ll pay you.”

“It isn’t that.”

“What is it?”

“Um…” I tried to think of what it was then when I couldn’t I said, “nothing. Sure, I’ll be glad to help.”

“It’ll be easy. Just wanna make sure Shauna never gets her hands on any of it.”

“Bitsy –”

Bitsy’s voice got low and I realized Brody really shared when she said, “The kid’s Curt’s, I’ll put some money aside for him to get when he comes of age. ‘Til then she can blow.”

And there it was. Bitsy was a good woman, through and through. She was also a woman scorned.

“Okay, darling, we’ll tie it up tight,” I assured her.

“I want a DNA test, though.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe three, who knows who she’d fuck to get the test results back that she wants. We may need to go out of state.”

It was my turn to talk through a smile. “Might be a good idea.”

“Maybe you know someone in England, she’s never been to England, would better our chances, seein’ she’s been outta state.”

I laughed and heard Bitsy laugh too.

I also heard the front door open and Mom call, “Neenee Bean, let’s go hiking!”

“Be down in a sec!” I called back.

“That your Mom?” Bitsy said in my ear.

“Yes.”

“You can come over, bring her too, anytime you want. Just give me a call, ‘kay?”

“Okay.”

There was a hesitation then, “Thanks, Nina.”

“Bitsy?”

“Yeah.”

“You just give me a call too, anytime. Here at Max’s or I’ll give you my cell, but it’s an international number so –”

“Honey, I’m loaded, haven’t you heard?” I laughed again and she said, “I got a pen and paper right here, sock it to me.”

I gave her my number, she read it back and then I offered, “Anytime, Bitsy, okay?”

“Thanks Nina.”

“No, Bitsy,” I said softly, the tears hitting my eyes just as I fought them back. “You don’t know how many times I tried to get Charlie to open up to me. So thank you again for trusting me.”

“Oh honey,” she laughed in my ear, “my pleasure. I’ll lay all my troubles on you, you like it so much.”

I laughed back which helped the tears subside and said, “Take care.”

“Yeah, you too. Hope to see you soon.”

“Bye.”

“Later, honey.”

“Who was that?” Mom asked and I looked to see her standing at the top of the stairs.

“A friend of Max’s,” I told her, hitting the off button and vaguely hearing the answering machine beep again. “Sounded like a friend of yours.”

I sighed because there it was again, Max, his friends and the whole town sucking me in.

“Well, I guess, now she’s a friend of mine too.”

Mom grinned and walked into the room, threw herself on the bed and bounced.

“This room is divine,” she remarked, throwing out a hand then she looked at me. “Tell me all about your new friend.”

“Well... I can’t believe I’m going to say this but it involves murder.”

Mom leaned forward and her eyes got wide. “No kidding? Do tell!”

I stood up and took the phone back to its charger. “Let’s get coffee.”

“Okay, bring mine up here, I feel like lounging,” she said and rolled to her back.

“I thought you wanted to hike?” I asked, Mom gave me a look, lifted up a leg and showed me a slender foot in a strappy sandal.

“In these shoes?” she asked back, I smiled and she finished, “Temporary Colorado insanity.”

“Your wish, Mom, my command,” I replied, leaned into her, kissed her forehead and then walked to the stairs to get my Mom coffee.

Then I took it back up to her and we lounged on Max’s bed and I told her about rape, parking lot fisticuffs, restaurant wrestling, ice queens, sweet and wise twenty-four year old girls, mountain men and murder.

***

“Oh my God,” Mom breathed, standing by my side on Max’s porch, staring at Cotton walking up the steps, “is that Jimmy Cotton?”

“How do you know what Jimmy Cotton looks like?” I asked her.

“Internet,” she whispered, making her “I don’t do e-mail and internet” even more of a lie, her eyes still glued to Cotton and she appeared to be swaying.

“She swoons, Cotton, you’re the male in this scenario, you’ve got to catch her,” I told Cotton as he stopped in front of me.

“She wears fancy clothes, like you,” Cotton observed, giving Mom a once-over and giving me further evidence that my shopping with the goal to blend in during my Colorado adventure failed.

“She’s my mother,” I replied.

“I can see it,” Cotton remarked.

“Oh my God,” Mom breathed, staring at Cotton and looking like she was either going to faint, drop into a curtsy or throw herself in his arms.

Cotton looked at me and asked, “She say that a lot?”

“Twice as much as me and I say it a lot, a lot.” Or these days, I did in my head, but I didn’t share that with Cotton, I just told him, “She introduced me to your work. She’s a fan.”