It was Aunt Carol who first mentioned the pearl earrings—drop earrings, freshwater, set in gold. Ruth had promised them to Sarah years ago, in front of several people. Carol assumed Sarah already had them. Sarah hadn’t thought about them until that moment. She called Diane that evening and asked where they were.
Diane said, “They were sold to cover estate costs.” Her tone was the tone of someone explaining something obvious to someone slow. Sarah said she hadn’t been told they were being sold. Diane said she’d been managing dozens of things and couldn’t consult Sarah on every single item. Sarah said she understood.