Page 31 of Rest In Pink

“Country Club.”

“Piece of cake.”

* * *

Half an hour later, I drove down Blue Lane, crossed Factory Road, and went up Country Club Drive to take Peri to Burney’s most pretentious bar and grill with a pool attached. I checked with her instructor, a teenager with curly brown hair and bright brown eyes named Crystal Lake, to make sure she understood that Peri was staying with me, and that Faye would not be picking her up. Crystal looked a little unsure, and I sympathized—she didn’t know who I was, and adults had already betrayed her with that name—so I was just deciding to stay when my mother called.

“I’m with Peri,” I said.

“She’s having a swim lesson,” Mom said.

“So, you waited until you knew her swim lesson had started—”

“Lizzie, you can’t keep avoiding me.”

Actually, I knew people who’d been avoiding their mothers for years, so she was wrong there.

“I’ll be right down but I can’t stay. I need to be back here before this lesson ends.”

I told Peri I’d be right back, and she was so caught up in being at the pool that she just nodded, unconcerned.

I drove down the hill to my mother’s house, where she wanted to talk and I didn’t, so we compromised on the bears, several garbage bags worth of them ending up in the back seat of Anemone’s little red rental car. My mother still had a whack of bears, but it was a start.

When I got back to the club, Faye was there, talking to Crystal.

“I thought I’d just pick up Peri and keep her for a bit,” Faye said gaily.

I moved in front of the door to the pool. “No.”

Crystal looked around for help, but nobody at the club was interested.

Actually, that wasn’t true, they were all interested, stealing glances at us. They just didn’t want to get involved.

Faye tittered. “Well, really, Liz—”

“No,” I said. “Margot left her with us, she stays with us, and if you try to take her again, I will call the cops and have you arrested for kidnapping.”

Faye lost her smile. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Crystal took a step forward as if to get between us which was nice of her. “Uh . . .”

I met Faye’s eyes. “Try me.”

The three of us were frozen, waiting for someone to make the first move. I have no idea what I looked like, but I know what I felt like. This damn woman didn’t care about her granddaughter, all she cared about was what madeherhappy, and Peri was just along for the ride. Faye’s needs were more important than Peri’s, Peri was just a little kid but Faye was willing to hang her out to dry . . .

Somewhere in there, I started to have a suspicion that I might be projecting some anger at my own mother on Faye, but really Faye was so despicable, I decided that enough of the rage was due to her to make it fair.

“Liz?” Peri said, and I looked over to see her standing in the doorway, looking at her grandmother with huge eyes, clutching her towel to her like a shield.

“Peri!” Faye said, smiling maniacally. “Wouldn’t you like to come back to your house with me?”

“No,” Peri said.

“Good, cause you’re not going to.” I crossed to Peri and took her damp little hand, and she pressed close, giving me a stripe of pool water down that side of my jeans, which was fine by me. “Say good-bye to your grandmother.”

Crystal looked relieved that she wasn’t going to be involved in a brawl.

“Good-bye, Grandma,” Peri said, making it sound like it was for all eternity, and we went out to the car, Faye calling out behind us as she followed.

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