"I... I shouldn't be telling you this."
Rachel's voice was hushed and deeply uncomfortable, as if she were actively making sure she was alone in her own house.
I set down my mug. "Tell me what?"
She exhaled slowly, as if she were steadying herself, and I instantly worried that my daughter had befriended a problematic parent's child.
"Tell me what?"
"So, when the girls were playing upstairs yesterday, I was walking past Josephine's room, and I heard Ava telling her about something."
"Okay?"
"I overheard what your daughter found in your husband's trunk yesterday."
I couldn't feel my fingers around the phone.
"What do you mean? What did she find in his trunk?"
"Willow, I really debated calling. But if it were me, I'd want to know."
"I heard Ava telling her about something."
Outside, a car door slammed down the street. Somewhere, children squealed excitedly. And I sat there, coffee cooling, the whole loving morning already tilting sideways, waiting for Rachel to say the next sentence.
"Know what?" I whispered.
Rachel took a breath, and I could hear her choosing her words carefully.
"Ava told Josephine she found a woman's wig in David's trunk. And a sparkly dress. Big sunglasses. Lipstick." She paused.
I could hear her choosing her words carefully.
"Look, I'm so sorry, Willow. I know we barely know each other. I went back and forth all morning about calling you."
The kitchen became very quiet. My coffee sat there getting colder by the second, and I couldn't remember how to hold the phone properly.
"Are you sure that's what she said?" I asked.
"Your daughter repeated it two more times. Ava said it was hidden in 'Daddy's trunk in the garage.' Josephine thought it was a gift for you."
