“I’ll bet so. Now, there’s going to be a funeral, and I’m sure I’m not welcome there, even though she was the one trespassing with bad intentions.”

“That’s nonsense, Holly. You should absolutely go to the funeral. If you don’t, you’ll look guilty.”

“Maybe,” I said. “You know what? This might sound crazy, but in some really weird way, I feel like I’m being punished for Sharon’s bad behavior. Is that my imagination or does the world just have to have someone to blame?”

“I know what you mean, but I think that once the truth gets around, people’s suspicions will go away.”

“I hope you’re right.”

I was working on convincing myself of my complete innocence and doing a so-so job of it. I wondered what would happen if I tried to enlist the bees’ help with Archie. Maybe I’d just go sit with them for a bit and calm myself.

I felt a little shaken that the boys transferred their affection for me so quickly into a friendship with Matthew, but then I knew in my heart that all those little boys ever wanted after they lost their mother was to feel normal again. Sharon in their lives was a thousand steps backward, but a friendship with a classmate who had a nice family was a much-needed leap forward. Still, when I should’ve been congratulating myself on a job well done—that is, helping the boys survive their hideous stepmother and their useless father—I couldn’t help missing having them around. Or being needed.

Leslie and Momma came in around four o’clock.

“I’m exhausted,” Momma said. “Let your sister fill you in. I’m going to lie down for a bit.”

“Okay,” I said and turned to Leslie. “What did the doctors say?”

“There’s a slight change in the tumor on her liver and they want to zap it with a targeted chemo.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, it’s pretty incredible, really. They snake this probe through your groin to the exact position of the tumor and then they give it a shot of chemo, killing it.”

“I thought they said her tumor was benign,” I said.

“I guess they saw something to the contrary this time,” Leslie said.

“When is this supposed to be happening?”

“They’re going to call her in the morning with a time. Actually, it’s not supposed to be a big deal. They do the procedure, which takes about an hour. Then they keep you overnight just to be sure you’re stable. Then you go home.”

“What if the tumor grows back?”

“Then they do it again, I guess,” Leslie said.

“Man,” I said. “Momma’s brave.”

“What choice does she have? This is the latest medicine there is for what she’s got.”