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purses?"
        I don't answer.
        "You already solved a big murder in our condo. Wasn't that enough? Now you think everyone with heart attacks is murdered?" She looks at me intently. "Glad, what are you doing?"
        For a long moment I don't speak. My sister knows me better than I ever give her credit for. Evvie waits.
        "I don't know."
        Evvie reaches over and pats my shoulder. I see tears form in her eyes. "You can't save the world," she says.
        "All I want is closure."
        "It won't bring him back."
        "Please change the subject." I'm sorry now that I let this come up. What's the use? Even after forty years the pain is still fresh.
        For a while we concentrate on scenery. We are afforded quick views of the beach between the fancy high-rise condos along the road.
        "Wonder what those babies must cost," Evvie says to break the tension.
        "A lot."
        After a few moments, I look at Evvie. She's too quiet. "What?"
        "Just remembering some stuff."
        "What?"
        "When our kids were little. And Emily used to come to my house after school."
        "Until I got home from my job at the library."
        "Yeah."
        "Our kids got along real well." She laughs. "When they weren't beating one another up."
        "And when Emily wasn't crying over losing her father."
        "That, too. She was very brave. She didn't inflict her sadness on the rest of us."
        "No, she saved it for when I got home and the two of us cried together."
        Evvie leans her head against my shoulder for a moment. "Those were hard days."
        "Yes, but thanks to you, there were so many wonderful ones. You organized the birthday parties. You took them to zoos and movies and parks. You gave my daughter joy in her childhood. I owe you big."
        Evvie is never good at taking compliments. "You would have done it for me."
        We are quiet for a while.
        "The nightmares are coming back," I say softly.
        Evvie throws me a worried look. "About Jack?"
        I nod. "Funny, both men in my life named Jack. And it's the new Jack putting pressure on me to marry him that's bringing up the memories of my old Jack."
        "Are you seriously thinking of marrying him?"
        "That's just it. I don't know. I really feel as if I could love that man. He's such a terrific person. Yet, I'm afraid."
        "You dated over the years. What's the difference now?"
        "I never was serious about the others. Now I am."
        "But you're afraid you'll lose him, too?"
        "Yes. And I can't give up my loyalty to my husband."
        "Glad. He'd want you to be happy."
        "I know, but my mind won't accept it."
        "But we've got it good, us girls. Why would you want to change that? Isn't it enough? Do you really need a man in your life at this age?"
        "Hey, what side are you on? First you encourage me to marry and then you're making a case for staying with you and the girls."
        "I only want what's best for you. And I'm not sure which it is." Evvie warms to her subject. "Maybe I'm just being selfish and I don't want to lose you.
        "I mean, I know how it was when you first got here. You had your Brainiacs Club—you and all your smart college-grad pals. Francie and Millie and Conchetta and Sandra and Joan. You and your New York Times crossword puzzles and the political lecture series and plays you went to that we never understood."
        "Things changed."
        "They sure did. Francie's dead and Millie's got Alzheimer's and Joan and Sandra moved back up north. You still have Conchetta."
        "Not very often. Between the library and her very big family, I hardly see her."
        "My friends made room for you. I know they're not the smartest, but they all love you."
        This is the first time Evvie has ever said these things, and I am touched.
        "Hey, I love you all, too. You're all cute