Chapter 21

My husband's longed-for lover has returned. I came back from shopping to find my favorite pool filled in and the mermaid statue carved after me in the pool broken in half. The grandmother of the family directs the work of the crew and smiles gleefully, "I've had a problem with water since I was a child, and after I fill in this pool not only will I be rich, but The Hawthorne Family will be rich as well." "This obtrusive mermaid statue moved too. Yes, move it all." "Plant a yard of peonies...