Page 57 of Into the Garden (Wildflowers 5)

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way possible.

Misty's eyes widened. She looked clownish.

Her cheeks had dabs of blue paint on them and there

was a streak under her chin.

"Yeah, something to drink. That's a real good

idea," she seconded.

"Drink? You mean, alcohol?" I asked Jade. "I know you have milk and cookies," Jade

quipped.

"Oh. I think there's some liquor in the pantry," I

said. "I don't know what it is. My father was the only

one who drank it."

Jade went to look and returned with the report

that we had half a bottle of vodka and nearly a full

bottle of gin. She had the vodka in hand.

"I'll make everyone screwdrivers," she

announced, "and we'll relax before dinner."

Misty went to wash up and I called in our

dinner order, putting it on the charge card. All the

shopping, the work, the music, and laughs really had

made me feel better. Not once during the day had I

had a chance to relive the night before. As long as we

kept occupied and excited, we didn't dwell on what

we had done and what it all meant. Bigger questions

like how would we manage to continue all this once school had begun again and we were all occupied with our own little worlds didn't even come up. For now, we were all on a roller coaster and no one wanted to

do or say anything that might bring us to a dead stop. After Misty returned from cleaning her hands

and face, we gathered in the rearranged living room. I

had to admit it looked brighter and gave the

impression of being bigger by not separating the

chairs as far from the sofa. We pulled the curtains

fully open and let in the twilight, which threw a hazy

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