“Oh, Grace is a vegan chef,” Julie said. “And she makes us the most extraordinary meals.”

“You won’t believe how good they are,” chimed in that sweet Ben, who to my knowledge had never once eaten Grace’s cooking.

Delia shook her head. “That isn’t healthy for the children. Not one bit.”

She was being so incredibly rude. Even if she felt that way, she shouldn’t have said it in front of Grace.

“Just another reason I’m glad you and the girls are coming home to live with me, Jules,” Delia said importantly.

All eyes were on Julie. You could have heard a pin drop. Julie was leaving. Charlotte was leaving. That deep, longing ache took hold again. You’re all alone, Alice. You’re all alone.

But then I thought of Elliott, of the life we were going to build together. The thought of him soothed me—until I remembered that, like every other man I’d ever loved, he could be gone in an instant.

Charlotte Next Chapter

I’ve never seen a bomb erupt in real life. Only on television. It’s at once horrifying and awe-inspiring the way the explosion starts at a center point and bursts in circles around it, leaving nothing in its wake untouched. That was how it was at this dinner table. Delia had dropped an atom bomb. Grace dropped the radishes, the dish shattering on the hardwood floor, the healthy and beautiful taco garnish scattering.

I hopped up to help her clean it up, wishing desperately that my daughter and I weren’t here to get entangled in whatever family drama was about to ensue, and practically feeling her embarrassment at having Ben witness this.

Grace seemed frozen to her spot, crouched behind Julie, as I scrambled to pick up the largest glass shards first. “You’re moving out?” she whispered to Julie. “You didn’t even tell me.” Her unspoken question seemed to be, And what am I supposed to do now?

I couldn’t blame her. Even though I had shared my tentative plan to move back to New York, I didn’t have a timeline for it yet. I certainly wasn’t ready to walk out the door tomorrow or anything. What if Alice decided that, with her niece gone, the mommune was a thing of the past? The idea of going back home without Bill still unnerved me. But Iris and I might not have a choice.

“Mom!” Julie scolded. “I told you I would tell them at the right time.”

Delia didn’t respond.

“How could you do this to me?” Alice exploded.

I jolted up from the floor to look at her. I had never ever seen her lose her cool until tonight. But I knew that certain people were triggering for even the calmest of us.