“Was?” Bettina raised an eyebrow. To Alice, she added, “They kept it from me, too.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I said. “We didn’t want to needlessly upset anyone.”

“What does was mean?” Bettina repeated at Pia.

“Jimmy-O said that she quit the job this summer,” Pia said. “And he can’t find a current place of address.”

“So, then where is she?” Alice asked impatiently.

Pia rubbed her temples. “It’s a pattern with her, apparently,” she finally said. “She’s had on-and-off jobs, some acting ones, too, but then she sort of goes off radar for a while.”

“So she could be here then, right? Is that what y’all are saying? Jackie could be right here in Ivy Woods?” Alice asked.

None of us had to answer that.

EIGHTEEN

Theresa

My mother had one good dress. She’d gotten it as a hand-me-down from one of the women whose houses she cleaned, a sleek black Azzedine Alaïa frock that made her look like she ruled the world. I’d only seen her wear it a few times, whenever she needed to transform from a working-class single mom to a queen. Under a blazer, when she had to go to court to file charges against our landlord. And the time her friend from church had set her up with a lawyer and he’d taken her downtown for steak and potatoes. And last, the day of my high school graduation.

If you project the confidence that you belong, Theresa Ann, then you will belong, she’d always told me.

When she died, I kept the dress. It didn’t fit me, but I hung it in my closet as a reminder.

I thought about the dress as I took the metro into DC for my job interview in my best suit. Reporters often went more business casual at the office, and I probably could’ve gotten away with a nice sweater and black skirt, but it was always better to aim high and impress.

When I stepped onto the street, I was swept away by the rush of being back in a city. Crowds of people, pastry shops, clothing stores, delis, office buildings. I missed my friends at the Inquirer—our lunch walks, coffee runs, complaining about our bosses. I’d been so terrible at staying in touch, stuck in my new sleepy cul-de-sac life. How self-absorbed I’d been, so caught up in Ivy Woods.

I was early. There was a Starbucks on the corner, and I bought a scone and coffee and sat in the window, trying to envision myself here, every day.

This would be a good move for me. I wasn’t just Adam’s arm candy. I could be a loving, supportive mom and also have a career. Be a role model for Lily. Be like Kendra with her high-profile communications job and Bettina, who was a drug rep for a pharmaceutical company. Working moms. Powerful women.