I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. (A.) Was he really going to try to use me again? And (B.) Why would I want anything that had anything to do with that horrible wife of his? And (C.) Not even if he paid me fifty dollars a day to board them would I touch her cats.

“Really? Archie, do you want to know what I think? I think you should go home and get out all the pictures of Carin you locked away and put them back where they were. Then maybe you ought to take your boys on a vacation somewhere to rebond with them. Go camping, go to Disney World, but do something for them! Sharon’s cats? No, thank you. Not in a million years.”

“This is about the civil suit, isn’t it?”

I just stood there for a minute looking at him. I was seething. After all I had done for him and the boys? And to be treated the way I was treated by her while he stood by and said nothing? Never mind all the horrible things he allowed her to do to his own boys. And now, for me to be threatened by her family? Now, I should take Sharon’s cats? I mean, in theory, I like cats just fine. Dogs, too. But it’s a huge commitment of years to make when you take in an animal. If I wanted to have cats, the cats I’d have would definitely never have been hers. And did he really think there was no damage done to his boys by Sharon that might need to be repaired? Oh, my God! Was he this stupid? Could he possibly be this incredibly stupid?

“Holly? Are you talking to me or are you just going to stare at me?”

Don’t get indignant with me, I thought.

“I’m just wondering about something.”

“What’s that?”

I said, “How in the name of God did you get into Harvard?”

I said this without malice. I really wanted him to see how unforgivably and insensitively dense he was.

Tiny little lights began to come on in his mind.

“Okay, I’ll tell Sharon’s parents to back off.”

I wasn’t going to be so easily appeased.

“Maybe you should have told them that before the threat of it ever reached my door.” I gathered up my bucket of flowers and shears and turned to walk away from him. “See you around, Archie.”

I went in the house and there stood Leslie and Suzanne giving me a whole lot of quiet applause, huge hugs, and lots of atta girl!

“How did you hear everything?”

“Darling, you were right under your momma’s room. We opened the window and we could hear every word as though you were in her bedroom with us!” Suzanne said.

“You were marvelous! Oh, my God! Suzanne and I were dying!” Leslie said. “Momma wants to tell you something. Hurry!”