Page 55 of Half Baked

She started to say something, then stopped. “Well, what do you know? You found a guy who actually listens.”

“Yeah,” I said in defeat. “Too bad.” I took another sip, starting to feel fuzzy-headed from the wine, but my thoughts were rampaging in my head.

“I’m going to lose him,” I said softly, sorrow filling my heart. “I felt like we were on the cusp of something, you know? That it was finally going to work out. But heloveshis mother. He’ll care what she thinks.”

“Then good riddance to him,” she said in disgust. “You need a man who wants you so much that he would never consider letting you go, despite whatanyonethinks, his mommy included.”

“I don’t want to talk about Laura Langley anymore,” I said tightly. “Let me tell you what we found today.” I rehashed our interview with Dawn.

“Your parents weremarried?”

“Yeah. Dawn said Mom probably gave me her last name because she already thought Tony would flake out on her.”

She twisted the comforter between her finger and thumb, her forehead creased with concentration. “Yeah, maybe,” she said. “But I also find it hard to believe your mom was wild. From everything you’ve said, she was like a PTA, minivan mom.”

“That’s what I don’t get. But Dawn knew Mom since they were kids, so she would know.” I paused and took another sip of wine. “Noah finds it hard to believe my mom never dated after Tony. He thinks she might have had secret boyfriends. Dawn seemed kind of evasive when she was talking about it, like she knew something and didn’t want to say.”

“Do you remember your mom having boyfriends?”

I shook my head. “No, but she was gone a lot with her volunteer work. Only, when we asked Dawn and the other two teachers, they couldn’t remember her doing much volunteer work other than the women’s club and helping students after school.”

Mallory’s mouth dropped open. “She was seeing her secret lover!”

“We don’t know any such thing,” I protested, but there wasn’t much heat behind it. It suddenly didn’t seem so far-fetched.

“Was she always volunteering?” Mallory asked. “Or was it more recently before she died?”

I gave it some thought. “I remember her volunteering at a soup kitchen when I was younger. I helped out. But we didn’t do anything like that together when I was in middle and high school. I remember she was gone a lot at night when I was really little. I had babysitters, but she would wait until I was about to go to bed before she left.”

“How old were you?”

I made a face. “Little. Like preschool? Kindergarten? I had a pretty early bedtime back then.”

Mallory cocked her head. “Plenty early enough for her to hit some bars.”

“In Cockamamie?” I scoffed. “It doesn’t have much of a nightlife.”

“But Chattanooga does,” she countered.

I pressed my lips together and considered it. It was a short drive. She’d could have sidled up to a bar by nine. Still, it didn’t fit with the cookie-making mother I’d known.

“Do you remember what time she’d get home?”

“Not really, but she was always home when I woke up the next day. I think I remember waking up once and finding my babysitter asleep on the sofa. I was crying and had a bad dream, and I couldn’t find my mom. I think I started spending the nights she went out at Aunt Deidre’s after that.”

“We need to ask Deidre.”

I shot her a look of disbelief. “Are you crazy? She can’t remember who I am lately. How’s she going to remember that?”

“You know her short-term memory is worse than her long-term. Besides, it won’t hurt to ask.”

“She’s already in bed.”

“Not now, stupid,” she said with a laugh and poured more wine into my glass. “We’re too busy getting shitfaced about Laura the…” She shrugged. “I was going for alliteration, but nothing comes to mind. We’ll go with Laura the Bitch.”

I cringed. “Don’t call her that. She’s Noah’s mom, and even if she hates me, she still loves him. I think she sees me as a threat.”

“Don’t give a shit,” Mallory said, filling up her own glass. “Nobody treats my bestie like that and gets away with it.” Her eyes lit up. “Let’s go TP Noah’s house.”

---