Leslie handed me my coffee and a small bag and dropped her change in her bag. I put the coffee in the cup holder and took the paper wrapper off the straw, stabbing the opening in the top of the cup. I couldn’t get the doughnut in my mouth fast enough.

“Of course,” Momma said. “Suzanne said Char wishes me luck and sends her love to you. I told her about the autopsy and the police finding and she was very relieved for us.”

“That’s nice,” I said, “but I still have the threat of that civil suit.”

“You’ve got to stop worrying about that,” Momma said. “It may never come to pass, and you’ll get a hundred gray hairs for nothing.”

“That’s a decent piece of advice, Holly,” Leslie said.

“I suppose it is,” I said. “You know, there’s this piece of me that wishes life could go back to before Sharon met Archie. I was so much happier.”

“And I was a lot happier before I found your father’s condoms in the air conditioner filter.”

“And I was a helluva lot happier before Charlie became Cher’s long-lost identical twin!”

“I guess we all have our problems,” I said.

“I’ve been telling you girls that for years,” Momma said.

We got to MUSC, found parking, took Momma in, filled out all the forms, and then we waited an eternity until they came to get her.

“Good luck, Momma,” I said. “I know you’ll do fine.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” she said and gave me a hug.

Leslie said something similar, and Momma hugged her, too. The attendant asked her to sit in the wheelchair and then wheeled her through the swinging doors.

“She called me sweetie,” I said.

“I know. She must be terrified. I’m calling Suzanne,” Leslie said. She got up and walked outside to get better reception.

I waited a few minutes, then I checked my cell phone for messages. There was a text from Archie.

At some point I’d like us to talk.

That was it. So I texted him back.

Sure.

I figured short and sweet was the best. I didn’t gush all over him. I didn’t even ask what he wanted to talk about. Sharon wasn’t even in the ground for forty-eight hours and he needs to talk to me? About what?

Leslie came back.

“That was quick,” I said.

“I left a message,” she said. “What’s the matter?”

I showed her Archie’s text and she sucked her teeth, making that snick sound.

“You want to know what I think?”

Leslie had bailed on Team Archie when he rejected her.

“Of course I do!”

“I think he’s wondering if you’re going to pick up where you left off with helping him with the kids.”

“I have no intention of doing that.”

“Good. Can I ask why?”