Lucy
After Independence Day, Lilith behaved with impeccable modesty when Father was at the lake. During the week, she still went to the lodge in borrowed clothes and makeup, but on the weekends she wore her own demure dresses and kept her face clean. Father scrutinized her as though looking for Charlie’s fingerprints, but he found nothing that made him take her back to Williamsburg, and I was glad, for her sake and mine. Though we spent our days and evenings apart, I still loved having her with me at night.
During this time, though, I began to notice a change in Father. I’d always known, from the way he breathed here, that he loved the lake the way I loved it, as a balm for the spirit. He came directly from the pharmacy on Fridays, still in his white coat, and within hours the stress of
