Page 34 of Rock and a Hard Place

“I’d ask you to flash your lights, but Lady Paranoia might blow a gasket.”

“Can you stay on the phone for a while?” It was the next best thing to being with her.

“All night if you want, but you better get started back. Birthday or not, you don’t need to get in trouble, too.”

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A couple of days later, Libby wanted to crawl under the dash of Miss Orman’s car. Her counselor insisted she give Libby a ride home to talk to Aunt Marge about the homecoming dance. It was just the other day Aunt Marge had blown up over the Peter incident. The last thing Libbyneeded was more drama with her aunt. The tires crunched on the gravel as Miss Orman pulled in.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.” Miss Orman shot her a reassuring look. Libby hoped she was right.

Miss Orman stepped out of her car and walked to the front of the farmhouse as Aunt Marge appeared from the barn, wiping her hands on her faded plaid shirt. She didn’t look happy as she pulled the heavy door closed and secured it with a padlock. Libby didn’t know if she should stay with Miss Orman or wait for Aunt Marge. She really just wanted to go hide in her room to avoid the inevitable scene.

Aunt Marge trudged through tall grass to the front of the house. Wet grass from a recent rain licked at her beat-up boots.

“What do you want?” Marge barked.

Miss Orman jumped, almost losing her purse in the process. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.” Collecting herself, she offered a slender hand. “Hi, I’m Julie Orman, we met last year when—”

“I know who you are. What do you want?” Rumpled Aunt Marge glared at the woman in the creased slacks and stylish heels.

“I wanted to speak to you about Libby.”

“What’d she do now? I doubt she’d dare steal again, but if you like, I can punish her some more.” Aunt Marge sneered at Libby, who wished she were invisible.

Miss Orman looked horrified. “No, nothing like that, and Libby has already completed her in-school punishment. Actually, what I’m here about is more of an opportunity.”

Aunt Marge immediately lost interest. “I was working. Call me later.” Her aunt turned to head back to the barn.

Miss Orman followed on Aunt Marge’s heavy heels. “I’ve been calling for the past few days, and you never answer my calls or return my messages.”

“Like I said, I have a lot of work to do and don’t have time to chitty-chat about the girl.”

“This won’t take more than a few minutes. It’s very important to Libby.” Miss Orman cast Libby a hopeful look.

As they walked around the edge of the house, Miss Orman carefully stepped through the damp grass as they approached the barn. Aunt Marge stopped in her tracks.

“Do you work in there?” Miss Orman asked, indicating the dilapidated barn. “What do you do?”

Aunt Marge clenched her teeth.

Good question. Libby had never paid attention to what Aunt Marge did before. She just knew she disappeared a lot. She was always relieved when her aunt wasn’t around and never thought more of it.

“I make soap,” Aunt Marge barked, and glared at Miss Orman.

The surprise etched on Miss Orman’s face matched Libby’s.

“How wonderful! Libby never mentioned your business. Where do you sell it? I’d love to buy some.”

Aunt Marge grunted in reply, then turned back toward the front of the house. They followed her like children wanting a favor from their parents. Aunt Marge pulled keys from her saggy denim pocket and unlocked the door. One good shove and it opened. She entered, then turned abruptly. “Get on with it. What do you want?”

“Oh,” Miss Orman responded, gripping her purse. “Libby doesn’t get a lot of interaction with other students.”

“She’s at school all day. What the hell do you call that?”

“Actually, Libby keeps to herself a lot, and she is carrying a very heavy course load with all her honors and AP classes.”

Aunt Marge watched Miss Orman peer around the entryway and into the cluttered living room and kitchen. Libby could see her aunt’s temper rising.

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