Page 108 of The Glittering Edge

Penny opens her mouth to respond, but she never gets the chance, because Dylan upends her drink over Penny’s face.

She registers the ice first, and then the smell of vodka andcranberry fills her nostrils. She squeezes her eyes shut, but it’s already burning. Dylan loosens her grip, and Penny uses the opportunity to shove her away and press her hands to her eyes.

Time slows down. Some people are laughing. One person says, “That’s too far.” And from somewhere behind Penny, there’s a yelp.

“Back off, man,” Clay squeaks.

“Not until you learn your fucking lesson,” comes Alonso’s voice, threaded with fury. Then there’s a hollow sound, like punching, over and over again.

A hand grabs Penny’s arm, and she tries to pull away until she hears Naomi’s voice. “It’s me, Penz. Come on.”

As Naomi leads Penny away, Dylan yells, “This washerfault!”

“If you don’t want to be next on Alonso’s hit list, turn the phones off,” comes Kiki’s voice, louder than Penny has ever heard it.

Footsteps run up behind Penny and Naomi, and then Alonso’s voice is close. “Penny, look up, I’m going to pour water over your eyes.”

Penny lowers her hands. There’s the crack of a water bottle opening, and Alonso tilts her head up. Lukewarm water runs down her face and onto her shirt, and Alonso presses a cloth to her eyes so she can wipe the alcohol away. They repeat this a few times until the sting subsides. Penny lets the cloth drop, and she realizes it’s not a cloth at all.

“Your robe,” Penny says, dejected. “It’ll be stained.”

“It’s a jacket,” Alonso says. “And I really don’t care.”

They’re next to the Prius. The party is congregating around the door to the old pharmacy; apparently, the bike polo game is off. People are chatting in low voices, glancing at the three of them. Penny’s stomach twists. “We should go.”

“I can drive you,” Naomi says.

Alonso nods. “I have an extra shirt you can wear.”

Penny meets Alonso’s eyes. His brow is furrowed in concern, and he’s gripping Penny’s upper arm. They were just fighting, but that doesn’t even matter anymore. Her eyes fall to Alonso’s knuckles. They’re brightred, and one of them is cut open and bleeding. Alonso notices where she’s looking and drops his hand, angling it so she can’t see.

“I’m going to make sure Dylan is okay,” Alonso says. “Then I’ll bring your car back.”

Naomi clears her throat. “Thank you, Alonso. For… you know.”

Alonso stares at his hands, and suddenly Penny is back in that dream—that memory—when Giovanni looked down at his own hands as if expecting them to be stained in blood.

“I shouldn’t have punched him,” Alonso says.

“I disagree,” Naomi says. “Are you okay?”

He smiles bitterly. “Just bruises. The usual.”

Penny’s back pocket buzzes. Her phone was spared death by vodka, so that’s good news. Her hands are sticky, but when she sees that it’s Ron, she swipes to answer it. “Hey, everything okay?”

“Baby girl,” Ron says, and his tone makes Penny’s breath catch. “You need to come to the hospital.”

Penny’s grip on the phone tightens. “What happened?”

“It’s your mama,” Ron says. “She’s taken a turn for the worse.”

Penny

SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE GENERATOR. THAT’S WHAT DR. NUSSBAUMsaid.

Somehow the maintenance workers missed it. When they ran tests a week ago, it was working fine.

But in the specific generator that powers the section of the hospital that includes room 505, a carburetor got clogged. And when the hospital lost power after a drunk driver downed a power line, the fuel couldn’t reach the generator—and Anita’s ventilator stopped.

---