Colin moved to stand next to me in the window, pointing toward the backs of the terraces I’d seen before. My gaze followed his finger, and I watched a woman on one of the back patios gently pushing a small child on a rocking horse. “One dropped right there on York Terrace East—demolished the whole building and damaged this one quite a bit. At least one bomb landed in front of Harley House on Marylebone Road. Shrapnel and debris would have flown a good distance and broken some of the windows. The damage to homes and civilians was intentional. Hitler assumed it would make Britain surrender within weeks. Instead, they endured nearly nine months of almost nightly attacks. The bombings stopped then only because the Germans needed their planes to fight the Russians.”
The child on the horse kicked her feet wildly, and I imagined I could hear her squeals of laughter. “Would the people have had any warning so they could go somewhere safe?”
“Yes—there were sirens and wardens to show people where the nearest shelter was.”
“What about Precious? Did she live here during the Blitz?”
“For part of it, I believe. Nana has never offered much information about the war.”
I turned my head to say something and found myself standing so close to him that our noses were almost touching. The armoire was behind me, so I couldn’t step away. Colin remained where he was, and I was forced to stare into his eyes and notice how they were a solid blue without a fleck of any other color. “Well, then, it’s a good thing I’m here, so I can ask her.”
My phone rang: Rick James’s “Super Freak.” “It’s my aunt Cassie . . . ,” I started to explain, but Colin was already leaving the room. I’d wanted to tell him how during my last visit home, my then-eleven-year-old brother, Harry, had innocently asked to borrow my phone to play games. Then he’d assigned all family members on my contact list a unique ringtone—without my knowledge or approval. I had a strong suspicion that he’d had help from my uncle Sam and that he was retaliating for me sending him off to school with baby food packed in his lunch bag. It had been almost three years, yet I still hadn’t changed them back.
I hit the “answer” button. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweet Maddie. It’s Aunt Cassie. Have you got a minute?”
I glanced at the unopened boxes on the bed and floor. “Sure—let me put you on speaker.” I hit the “speaker” button and set the phone on the dressing table. “What’s up?” Turning my attention to the large box on the bed, I stuck my finger under the tape and began peeling it off.
“Oh, the usual—runnin’ around like a chicken with its head cut off. The ad agency is doing well, and I’ve hired some more people, so I don’t have to do as much traveling and can work from home most days. By the way, your uncle Sam and little cousins Suzy and Sam Junior say hey.”
“Hey back,” I said, the sound of her voice warming my insides. Although I hadn’t met my mother’s sister until I was fourteen, in the years since, Aunt Cassie had more than made up for lost time.
I pulled open the box flaps to reveal neatly folded clothing. Reaching inside, I felt soft silk shantung beneath my fingertips and pulled out a dress the color of midnight, the nap changing from deep blue to black as I moved it in the light. I reached for a hanger dangling from one of the racks.
“And since you won’t bother picking up the phone to call your sister, I’m actually calling for Knoxie.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “She’s engaged!”
I dropped the dress. “But she’s only nineteen! That’s way too young!”
Cassie’s voice was soft and reassuring, something she’d had to relearn since she’d moved back home from New York City nearly fifteen years before. “She and Tyler have been dating since freshman year in high school. They’ve both got solid heads on their shoulders, and they’re committed to getting their degrees. They’re making good grades at UGA and planning on law school, if that makes you feel any better. And as Knoxie keeps reminding everybody, your mama was that young when she married your daddy. Not to mention that you and Rob Campbell were engaged at nineteen.”
I picked the dress off of the floor and rehung it. “That was a million years ago, when I was young and stupid.” The familiar sting pricked at my eyes. I swallowed the bitter lump that had settled in my throat to pretend that I’d forgotten all about my ill-fated engagement. “So, why isn’t she calling me instead of you? I told her to call me if it was important.”
Colin reappeared with another box and placed it next to the first before leaving the room again. I reached inside the box for another dress, and heard Cassie exhale into the phone.
“Knoxie said she’s been texting you for the better part of two days and figured you were avoiding her, so she asked me to call. She has a request, and she thought I’d have a better chance of getting you to say yes. Something about me being bossy.”
I tried to smile and make a joke about how my sister was right, but a fist of dread had collided with my stomach, and I couldn’t find the air to speak.
“She wants a Christmas wedding. It was your mama’s favorite time of the year, and since Knoxie is the first one to get married, she thought it would be fitting.”
“Oh. Right. Sure.” I waited for the feeling of dread to pass, but it kept jangling inside my head like a nightmare.
“Well, good, I’m glad you’re on board. ’Cause there’s one more thing.”
“Is this about the taxidermy thing? Tell Knoxie it’s only for a year.”
I heard the smile in her
