“Okay,” Alice said. “Well, now that that’s over, everything else is pretty simple. There’s a board in the laundry room that details all the jobs for the week and whose responsibility they are. We chip in for a housekeeper once a week, so the major cleaning gets done. With so many of us, they are all very small time commitments, with the exception of Grace’s.”

Alice grinned at Grace, and I suddenly, irrationally, was jealous of her. Alice was like a flickering candle, and I was a moth. I felt drawn to her, like I wanted to be best, her favorite, her person. But that was ridiculous. I was in my late thirties. I didn’t need to spend my time worrying about whether Alice liked me best.

Iris was shooting daggers at me with her eyes. I raised my one mom-eyebrow at her. I knew she didn’t care about the chores; it was the phone. I would never hear the end of it.

“I already mentioned the vegan thing,” Grace said.

I wondered if being vegan was unhealthy. Didn’t children need a lot of protein? But then I looked at six-foot-tall, sixteen-year-old Merit with his shiny hair and perfect skin and ultra-white teeth, and I decided that he was getting everything he needed. And nothing that he didn’t, which was probably more important.

“If every meal tastes like this,” I said, “I think we’re on board with anything.”

“And we have homework time immediately after dinner,” Alice said. “And all the adults are around to help with their assigned subject if any of the kids need help.”

Iris didn’t balk at that one.

“And then it’s family beach time!” Brenna exclaimed.

She really was so cute. They all were.

“Forced family fun!” Merit said, matching her enthusiasm.

Alice held up her fingers. “The others are easy: everyone inside the beach house is treated like family.”

Brenna piped up: “What happens in the beach house stays in the beach house!”

We all laughed at that. But it did make me wonder: Were there secrets to be kept here?

“Wet hair and sandy feet are highly encouraged,” Julie said, smiling.

“And when you make a snack, make extra,” Grace added. “Coffee too.”

These were sweet rules. Warm and fuzzy rules that lulled me into contentment, that reminded me of childhood summers. Even so, my mind began to wander to Bill, to wonder how he was holding up. I decided that I would definitely go see him tomorrow. I had to. I needed answers. For a brief moment, I let myself sink down into my delusion: maybe he wasn’t guilty after all.

Iris Big Brother

I was liking this Alice less and less by the minute. Until now, she had seemed like that cool aunt you went to when your mom was being a total drag. But no phones after dinner? This woman couldn’t be serious.