Page 7 of In the Line of Ire

Ipreened. "I am. I spotted it within seconds even though it was adecent knockoff, Lily. Good quality material, good stitching, onlya few small details were wrong. A person who didn't know theirhandbags as well as I might never have realized."

"Weshould visit the store. Perhaps there are more."

"Ithought about that too."

"Let'stake Poppy on an excursion! She needs to learn this stuff. I don'twant her to get ripped off when she's an adult."

"She'sjust a baby! She can barely manage to hold her head up."

"It'snever too early to learn street smarts. Serena told me all aboutthe schedule she planned for Victoria when she was pre-toddler age.Do you think Poppy needs a more rigid agenda?"

"No.She's just a baby."

"But,Serena..."

Icouldn't blame Lily for having new-mom nerves. Serena was a masterin making everyone else feel inadequate. I reminded her, "Serenahas to be the best, which includes her daughter too. I overheardher telling Daniel that Victoria already recognizes words, thanksto the immersive vocabulary and reading camp they attended on theweekend. "Poor Victoria. Serena’s planning her whole childhood tobe a tedious schedule of lessons."

"They goto play group twice a week too."

"Haveyou ever been to one?" I asked. "I have. It’s a whole bunch ofhighly competitive moms, all boasting about their child geniusesand belittling anybody who still lacks refined motor skills. Theyspend more time talking about which schools their children will beenrolled in than which parks they like to play in."

"Schoolsareimportant. We'll need to pick a good nursery for Poppy soon,not to mention, kindergarten."

"I meantIvy League."

"That'seighteen years away!" gasped Lily.

"Iknow."

"DoesVictoria's dad support this strict lifetime plan?"

"I thinkTed has only seen her four times since she was born and three ofthose were spent complaining how hard being a parent was, how hecouldn't afford the child support fees, and he ended the last oneearly because he didn't want to miss the football game."

Lilyshook her head. "He's still a jerk."

"Did Imention Ted drove off in his new Mercedes? Anyway, Delgado is anexcellent stepfather. He never grumbles. He adores Victoria. He'slike a terrifying Mary Poppins."

"He isan excellent dad," agreed Lily as Poppy began to gurgle from herbouncer on the floor. "Let me get Poppy ready and then we can gocheck out the store. It's time we busted someone forsomething."

"Therewill be no busting of anyone or anything," I told her, "but I'mdown for some light reconnaissance."

~

HeavenlyHandbags was situated in the west quarter of the mall among a rowof high-end shops. It was, frankly, the kind of store shoppingdreams were made of. The glass-fronted display cases featuredseveral chic purses in beautiful jewel shades. Situated proudly onthe middle display stand was the exquisite bag Solomon bought forme.

"Ooh,"cooed Lily. "I'm in heaven. No, wait, I'm outside heaven. Let's goin. Can we? Can we, please?"

"Ifyou're good, we can even get an ice cream afterwards," Isaid.

"Cool."

"I soundlike my mom," I lamented as we walked inside, Lily pushing Poppy'sstroller ahead of us. Poppy had fallen asleep on the drive over andnow snuggled contentedly.

"Howso?"

"If webehaved ourselves in the store, she rewarded us with an icecream."

"Thatsounds so nice," Lily said wistfully. "Was that a regular thing?Did you get an ice cream after every store you visited?"

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