by Josie Brown
“It was Lily’s idea!” Tallulah’s tears filled her big blue eyes. “We were going to scare the Fivesies when they walked through the maze. But she fell asleep, and I got hungry.”
“Well, you’re going back in there, right now!” Bettina yanked the little girl by the cuff of her sweater. “You’re taking me to my daughter!”
“I don’t know where she is! I swear!” The child whimpered hysterically. “I saw Mrs. Connaught around the corner, and I followed her out.”
Bettina sought out Lorna in the crowd. “Lorna, can you remember your path through the maze?”
Lorna sat up straight. The maze had been fun, but it was also an exhausting puzzle. The rows of corn, eight feet high, zigged and zagged for a quarter of a mile. But seeing the sheer terror in her sister-in-law’s eyes, it was the last thing she dared to admit.
Instead, she said, “I’ll find her, Bettina. I promise.”
***
It was Ally’s idea to have Lorna synchronize the GPS signal of her smart phone to be viewed by Ally’s cell phone at all times. That way, when—not if—she found her niece, they could be guided out safely.
Before heading into the maze, Lorna handed Dante to Jade. She was close to tears. Lorna could imagine Jade saw her place in the club vanish along with Lily. A traumatized child, especially Bettina’s, would certainly earn Jade ongoing persona non grata status within the club, if not outright banishment for such an egregious infraction.
Lorna tried to retrace her steps, but got lost when she came to the third turn. The others could hear her calling Lily’s name, and joined in, shouting “Lily! Wake up!” Soon they heard a shriek from within the maze. Lily’s voice, which sounded so small and scared, called back, “I’m over here, Aunt Lorna!”
“Hush!” Bettina roared to everyone else. “If they aren’t out of that maze in twenty minutes, I swear I’ll burn the damn thing to the ground to get them out!”
No one dared to tell her that doing so would likely defeat the purpose.
No one, that is, except the owner of the pumpkin field. “Lady, no way in hell will you torch my maze,” he growled.
“Oh no?” Bettina retorted. “If I don’t find my child, you better run for your life, because you’ll be what I set on fire next, Scarecrow, when I get through tying you to that pony post!”
The man withered when he saw the looks on the faces of the other women. They had no doubt she meant what she said. He’d seen it before, the wild-eyed anger of a mother who would do anything for her child.
Bettina’s attack had so upset him that the schematic of the maze, something he knew like the back of his hand, went right out of his brain.
He shut up and prayed that her girl would be found quickly.
***
After five minutes in the maze, Lorna realized she was lost. Not that she’d let either Bettina or Lily know that. Instead she shouted, “Lily, do me a favor and sing to me so I can find you.”
The little girl quit crying as she considered her aunt’s request. “What do you want me to sing?”
“How about The People on the Bus?”
“No way! I’m not some little baby!”
“Then how about something from Justin Bieber?”
“You mean, like Boyfriend?”
Lorna sighed. “Sure. Whatever.”
“Okay.” Lily sounded wary. “But just don’t tell Madame Irina. She thinks he’s vulgar.”
“I promise. Pinky swear.”
Lily’s voice was actually quite good. She seemed to understand the eloquence behind the lyrics about a guy who yearned to prove his puppy love.
Best yet, it allowed Lorna to approximate the section of the maze which held her niece. She beat the corn stalks as she walked. “Lily, if you see the corn move, it’s me. Just reach through it to grab my hand.”
It seemed like forever before a small hand popped out between two stalks. Lorna grabbed it and pulled the little girl through.
Lily hugged her aunt so tightly that Lorna couldn’t breathe. But she could cry, and did when Lily sobbed, “Oh, Aunt Lorna! I thought I was going to die in there! Thank you! Thank you!”
Lorna said the only thing she could, “Shhhhh….”
As they both wiped away their tears, Lily pulled Lorna down in order to cup her hand to her ear, and whispered, “Dante is so lucky. I wish you were my mother.”
Chapter 10
Wednesday, 21 November
9:46 a.m.
Brady was proud of the fact that Oliver’s hand/eye coordination was off the charts. Forget rolling a ball at him and praying that he could roll it back. He’d take the soft rubber ball and hurl it at Brady’s face.
More than likely, though, it hit his father’s crotch.
Brady was still contemplating his son’s future as a knuckleballer when he answered the doorbell.
Kimberley.
Brady glanced down the street. Jade had already taken off with a shopping list a mile long. She was more excited than he was about their Thanksgiving guests tomorrow. In fact, the dining room table had been set since yesterday. Half of her shopping list items were for a centerpiece that she’d found on the Martha Stewart site.
“Jillian is doing pies, Lorna is bringing the stuffing,” she sang as she put on her coat. “All I have to do is grab the biggest Butterball turkey I can find. Oh, and Ally is bringing a sweet potato dish, so we’re all set.”
He had turned away when she said Ally’s name. He didn’t want her to see the smile it brought to his face.
“Hey, maybe I should make this string-bean-mushroom-soup thingy, too!” She held up a can of Campbell’s Soup to show him the recipe printed on the back. With that, she was off and running to the store.
Kimberley must have known that, too. Why else was she there?
“What do you do, stake out my house?” It was hard for Brady to sound grumpy with her grinding her hips into his.
“I figure that Jade is like every other woman in the country right now, battling it out for the last box of Pepperidge Farm stuffing down at Safeway.” Without further ado, she slapped her hand on the dining room table. “Let’s not bother with the bedroom. It would be hot to do it right here—you know, give you something to remember fondly other than Jade’s dried-out turkey.”
“No! I mean, considering Jade has already set the table, it may not be a great idea.”
“Looks like you’ll be having a lot of company.” Kimberley picked up a plate to scrutinize the pattern. He could tell by her frown it wasn’t one she would’ve chosen.
“Yes, well…always a full house.” The last thing Brady wanted to do was tell her who was coming over. Knowing it was other club members might have her presuming it was an open house, and the last thing any of the Probationary Onesies needed was the tension of having her watching their every move.
Or his.
She pulled him into the kitchen. “There’s always a Plan B. We’ll do it right here, on the counter.”
“We prepare food there, remember?” He grabbed her arm to pull her away, but instead, she placed his hand on her crotch through her short flimsy dress.
Brady hesitated, then finally nodded. “At least let me put Oliver in his playpen.” He picked up his son and headed for the media room. He was still embarrassed at Jade’s success in seducing him in front of Oliver. The last thing he’d want his son to think was that he was a pushover for any pretty face.
Aw hell, what guy wasn’t?
The moment Brady and Oliver were out the door, Kimberley opened a cabinet and tossed her thong into it.
It was time to give Jade a wake-up call: Brady wasn’t all hers.
Sure, all hell would break loose, but she didn’t give a damn. As long as Brady was determined to keep Oliver in the Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club, he’d keep her name out of it.
Having disposed of her lavender thong, she lifted up her skirt but kept on her four-inch heels. For a week now, she had practiced poses in the mirror and had come to the conclusion t
hat when she bent over the counter just a little, her long, lean legs and her S-Factor’ed ass would be seen at their best advantage.
By how quickly Brady entered her and how hard he pounded her, she presumed she was right.
Brady saw it differently. Fucking Kimberley was his penance for getting Oliver into the club. Doing it quickly assured that Jade wouldn’t catch them and walk out on him. Otherwise, the club was no good to him anyway.
Well, he had to hand it to Kimberley, her ass was a beautiful sight. And it was hot that she came without panties.
After she headed out the back door, he was still thinking of her ass. He walked into the media room to take his crying son out of his playpen, but before he could reach for the toddler, Oliver hit him in the eye with the ball.
And laughed as Brady cursed in pain.
11:10 a.m.
For Jillian, it had been an ideal morning. While Addison and Amelia played together in their playpen, she had laid out the dough and the filling for the three pies—pumpkin, pecan, and apple-rhubarb.
Granted, with her broken oven she couldn’t bake them, but she’d get to the Pierces’ bright and early so the pies would be cooling when the turkey went into the oven.
Perfect, perfect, perfect…
Yes, a run would make things perfect, for sure.
And it was a glorious day for it, too. She started down Lyon Street, on the Presidio Park side. Already she was halfway toward Union when her eyes and thoughts roamed upward, toward the cloudless baby blue sky.
I wonder if this great weather will hold out through tomorrow.
Then she tripped.
One knee went down pretty hard on the broken concrete sidewalk. A eucalyptus root was to blame for her fall. But she could only fault herself for forgetting to slip on the cord that held the girls’ stroller onto her wrist.
It was already halfway down the block and careening toward a high curb that ensured a steep drop into the street. Her screams drew a few glances from pedestrians or drivers and passengers in cars that passed by, but their reactions took place in slow motion.
Even the girls' squeals seemed to hang in the crisp bright air on that Thanksgiving Eve.
As they rolled farther and farther away from her, all she could think about was their cries when, finally, they’d be tossed from the carriage. And how bloodied and broken they might be should they survive the fall and somehow miss being killed by a car turning the corner.
They are my life! Oh please, God, please save them because nothing else matters. Not Scott, not the house, not the divorce, nothing but my girls.
Just at that moment, a man strolled out of Presidio Park. He was dressed in some sort of uniform. (What, park ranger? Something like that…) He looked uphill in time to see the carriage just twenty feet away and bearing down on him. By the time it was it was just three feet from him, he had crouched low enough that, as it passed him, he could grab hold of the handle. And he was smart enough to run with the carriage until, slowly, he could bring it to a complete stop.
Jillian was still sobbing when she got to him and the girls. But hearing them giggle as if they had been on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride soon had her crying and laughing at the same time, which made the girls squeal even louder.
When her spasms finally stopped, Jillian took the man’s arm and asked, “How can I ever, ever, ever thank you for saving my girls?”
He looked down at them, then over at her. Finally, he said, “Coffee. You’re buying.”
He was serious, although he was grinning. She could tell by the softness of his sweet brown eyes. His shoulders were too broad, his stomach too flat and his face too weathered for a man who sat behind a desk working on a computer all day. It was a long time since she’d felt she could trust a man, any man, but that was not the case right now. He’d just saved her children. She knew, instantly, she could trust him with her life as well.
She nodded and smiled up at him. “Sure. Coffee. And pie. Homemade! If you can wait until tomorrow. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”
Chapter 11
Thursday, 22 November
8:04 a.m.
“Your turkey is still frozen.” Jillian didn’t know how else to break the news to Jade. She had just put the pies in the oven when, out of habit, she opened the refrigerator and thumped the bagged turkey, fully expecting it to be soft.
Jade, who sat on the floor with Oliver, Amelia, and Addison as they worked on a big giant puzzle, looked up at Jillian. “That’s okay, right? Won’t it defrost when we stick it in the oven?”
Jillian frowned. “Ideally, it would have been thawing in the fridge for the past couple of days. But now…well, we’re going to have to figure out a way to defrost it as fast as possible. What time had you planned on dinner being served?”
“I don’t know. Lunch time?”
“Don’t count on it! We’ll be lucky if we sit down to eat by five.” Jillian tilted the turkey so that she could read the directions on the bag. “It says here that if necessary, we can thaw it in the microwave. That will take ninety minutes, and it will have to be cooked immediately afterward. No problem there, since I presume everyone will be very hungry—”
She was stopped by the tear rolling down Jade’s face. As Oliver patted his mother’s back, the tears came even quicker.
“Oh…Jade, don’t worry! Everything will be alright!”
Jade shook her head. “No, that’s not true! It’s a disaster! Everyone is showing up by noon, and all they’ll have to eat is a frozen turkey!”
“At least by then it will be defrosted. But yes, it will be raw.”
“That’s what I mean! This is a disaster! And to think, if you hadn’t been here early to bake those pies, I’d have never known the difference, and Brady would have been embarrassed. He’s already worried that I might have blown it with Bettina, now that Kelly is her new favorite. If Oliver and I get bumped, he’ll send me back to Los Angeles…”
The torrent of fear flowing out of her ended in a trickle of tears. She had said much too much. Thank goodness Brady was out on a jog.
And yet, it felt good to finally say something, to someone.
“What? Jade, what did you mean when you said ‘he’ll send you back?’”
Jade hung her head in shame. “The truth is…our marriage was annulled. When Ollie was five months old. I—I did something bad. Something Brady couldn’t forgive.”
“Nothing could be that bad.”
“It was. Horrible. Just…the worst.”
And that’s how it came out, how she’d left Oliver with her talent manager while she auditioned for a film.
All because she knew she was already losing Brady.
“I love him too much to lose him again,” she whispered. Her sniffling was making the children cry. She peeled an apple and cut it up for them. The sweetness was the perfect distraction.
If only all of life were that way, she thought.
When she finally looked over at Jillian, she noticed that she was also crying.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Now don’t you start, too!”
The tears flew off Jillian’s face as she shook her head. “I can’t help it. I mean, no one is at all what they seem. Not you, not me, not Ally—”
“What do you mean, ‘not you?’”
“Why do you think Scott isn’t with us now? I lied! He isn’t out of the country on business. It’s because he ditched us, that’s why! He got his assistant pregnant, and he’s chosen her over us.” Jillian laid her head against the frozen turkey so that the children couldn’t see her cry, too. It felt so cool against the red-hot shame she felt on her face.
“Oh, Jillian, I—I didn’t know.” Jade shook her head in awe. “Wow. Well, I guess it’s good to know I’m not the only one with a big bad lie that can get me kicked out of the club.”
“Ha! Trust me, you’re not. In fact, we should start our own ‘liars’ club,’ you, me and—” She stopped mid-sentence, remembering she had no right to let Ally’s secret o
ut of the bag, too.
“Hey, wait now! There’s someone else with a secret? Who…” Jade’s eyes opened wide. “Ally! Oh my God! Now you’ve got to tell me what it is!”
Jillian’s sigh seemed to go on forever. She closed her eyes, as if maybe doing so was one way in which to escape Jade’s inquisition.
Wrong. When she opened them, Jade was still quivering with curiosity. “Okay, okay, okay! But you cannot—I repeat, you cannot—tell her I told you. And you certainly cannot tell Brady. Not about her, or about me either, Jade.”
“No worries there!” Jade motioned with a crisscross over her heart. She loved her new friends. Whatever happened with the club, she believed that they could all stay close, regardless. At least that was her hope. Especially if it were the Pierces who got dumped.
“Yes, it’s Ally. She’s a single mom. Zoe had a sperm donor—her gay best friend. He’s also her attorney, and he got her a super buy-out for her company, Foot Fetish.”
Jade squealed. “Foot Fetish? I love that company! I buy all my shoes there!”
“Okay, now you know. Everyone’s secret is safe with everyone else, right?”
“I guess.” Jade stared down at the turkey. “And Lorna knows about you, too? So, what do you think Lorna’s secret is? Did she tell you?”
“Nope. If she has one, I have no idea what it is.” Jillian could imagine, though, that it had something to do with Dante’s much-too-quiet demeanor, but she didn’t say that. She’d already said too much. “Hey, where’s your microwave? If we don’t put it in there now for the next ninety minutes, it’ll never be ready.”
“Over there.” Jade pointed to the far kitchen wall. She ran over and opened the door. “That’s a big bird. Will it fit?”
“One way or another it will, even if we have to shove it in.”
She was right. They had to slam the door tight, but it could still rotate on the carousel.
Jade’s relief came out in a hug. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. Well, I guess worst case scenario, we could have just eaten these beautiful pies.”
