She sighed. “He’s hanging in there, but, you guys… I know Bill is innocent, but what if he gets convicted anyway? It happens all the time.”

The thought made my stomach turn.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said firmly. But we both knew that happy thoughts weren’t going to fix this.

“Not only might I really need to start a new life for us, but there are people who lost their entire savings in this debacle. Even if it isn’t Bill’s fault, I think we should try to pay them back. The idea of old couples losing their whole retirement makes me feel ill.”

“I know, sweetie, but it’s not your fault,” Grace said as she removed the plates from the cabinet.

We each took a stack and, as we began setting the table, Charlotte said, “I wanted to wait and tell you this at a better time, when we were all together, but I do have a job offer on the table in New York. If the worst happens, Iris and I are going to need a fresh start. And if we get one, so should everyone else. I want to be able to pay everyone back.”

My head snapped up when she said that. Well, she had beat me to the punch. We couldn’t both announce we were leaving. “But how would you even do that? Aren’t the fraud victims’ names protected for their privacy?”

She nodded. “Well, yeah. But I’m sure I could figure it out.”

I hadn’t realized this was how Charlotte felt. “Honey, I think that’s so kind of you, but I’m not sure that spending your life paying penance for something you didn’t do is going to help anything at all.”

But didn’t I understand that? Wasn’t that what I had been doing too? Trying to atone for sins that weren’t mine to begin with? Trying to somehow right my karmic ship so that these horrible things wouldn’t keep happening to me?

“So you really think you’ll go back to New York?” Grace asked.

Charlotte looked down at her feet. “If things don’t get better soon, I think I’m going to have to.”

The idea of them leaving swamped me with grief. “Oh, Charlotte. We would miss you so much!” I meant that. I did. But also, in the back of my mind, I knew it was crazy. I was moving. I needed them to go. But the reality of it was crashing down around me.

She smiled. “I will miss you all terribly. But I think it’s the right thing.”

“But is it the right thing for your daughter?” I asked, suddenly feeling incensed.