Chapter 78

Grace gives my hand a quick double pat. Then, measuring out her words, "Did you know that…" She pauses, as though wondering if she should continue… "Did you know that Irene had… a… thing… for Richard herself, when they were younger?"

I do a quick mental stagger. "She did?"

She clicks her tongue. "Oh, yes." She clicks again. "Actually, she was pretty free and easy with all the boys, but she tried harder with Richard."

"Boys? When was this?"

"Schooldays. But while your Richard and my Will both attended the local high school, Irene and her upwardly mobile cronies were sent to a ladies' college, learning how to behave."

Why didn't he tell me this?

"So, what happened?"

"As Will tells it to me, Irene and her gang of friends hung around the flicks and the burger bars making cows eyes at the boys they fancied. Irene targeted Richard. And 'cause he was a teenage kid runnin' on hormones and hope, he went for it."

"Went for it? So… how far did it go?"

"Not very far. Irene's father spotted them to