"I think all crime is fascinating," Meredith declared, stuffing another French fry into her mouth as the girls helped to clear the table.
"I think crime is scary," Angelica said.
Kylie rolled her eyes and looked at Lee, as if to say, See, these are the idiots I have to endure. Already she was acquiring some of her grandmother's disdain for the common run of humanity.
"Can we please be excused?" Kylie said. "I want to play with the Ouija board."
Even though dinner was over, no one had been formally "excused," a ritual Fiona still insisted on.
"Ooh, yes, can we please be excused?" Angelica repeated, jumping up and down.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "Those things aren't real, you know."
Kylie made a face at her. "Whatever."
"Yeah," Angelica chimed in. "What-ever!"
"Yes, you may," said Fiona as she brushed crumbs off the linen tablecloth. Even in the summer, she set a proper table: linen cloth and napkins to match, candles, polished silverware-as if by clinging to these proprieties she could stave off disaster and loss.
Kylie dashed off to the living room, followed by Angelica. Meredith strolled after them, careful not to appear the least bit eager or interested.
"I had one of those when I was a kid," George said. "Where'd you get it?"
Fiona dabbed at the edges of her mouth with her napkin. "Kylie found it in the attic. It belonged to…" She looked away, chewing on her lip.
"It was Laura's," Lee finished for her. "I remember playing with it when we were kids."
"Uncle Lee, do you want to play?" Kylie called to him from the living room.
He looked at his mother, who had gained control of herself, and was calmly finishing clearing the table.
"Let me give you a hand," he said.
"No, go ahead and play with her-George can help me," she answered.
George rose hurriedly from his chair, almost knocking it over, and grabbed a couple of plates, sending a fork clattering to the floor.
"Go on," he said, bending down to pick it up. "I'll give her a hand."
Lee took his wine and went into the living room, where the girls had set up the Ouija board on a low coffee table in front of the wide stone fireplace.
He sat on the floor next to Angelica, who was perched on a couch cushion. She leaned over the board, her dark hair falling over one eye. Her hair was just a shade darker than Laura's, and the way it fell across her forehead reminded him of Ana, on her last visit to him… Christ, he thought, does everything have to remind me of death?
"Okay," Kylie said, "everyone ready?"
Angelica nodded eagerly, squirming on her cushion, her dark eyes shining with excitement. Meredith compressed her lips and gave a little shrug, but Lee noticed that she too rested her fingertips on the pointer.
"Come on, Uncle Lee!" Kylie said, and he placed his fingers next to theirs. It was an odd feeling-he was propelled back to his childhood as though he had been sucked through a time warp. He looked down at the pointer, at the delicate young fingers resting beside his much larger hands, which looked crude and rough next to theirs.
"Okay," Kylie said. "I'm the birthday girl, so I'll ask the first question."
"Okay," Angelica agreed, her voice tight with anticipation.
"Are-you-real?" Kylie said, with a look at Meredith, who rolled her eyes.
The pointer shot off to the far side of the board so quickly Lee could barely keep his fingers on it.
It stopped at the word YES.
Kylie gave Meredith a superior shake of her head, but Meredith ignored her.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Once again the pointer took off and began spelling out words so quickly Lee could barely keep his fingers from slipping off it. He looked at the three girls to see who was controlling the pointer, but couldn't figure out who it could be. They all looked equally surprised when the pointer finished spelling out a brief sentence.