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Toby shrugged. “I don’t know where she is.”
Panda nodded like he was thinking that over, although Toby couldn’t really see what there was to think about. “How is she?” he asked.
“Okay, I guess.” The scab on Toby’s knee was itching. He scratched around it.
“Is she walking okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, is she limping or anything like that?”
“I don’t know. I guess not.”
Panda shoved his hand through his hair, like he might be getting a little upset. He was acting weird. “But she’s talking to you?”
“Sure.”
“So … Did she say anything to you about … anything?”
“Lots of stuff.”
“Like what?”
Toby thought about it. “She said she didn’t think anybody should go around saying the n-word, not even if they’re black like me. Her brother, Andre, is black. Did you know that?”
“I did.”
“She doesn’t think a lot of hip-hop artists are good role models for kids, but I think they are. They make a lot of money and everything.” Panda kept looking at him, like he expected Toby to say more, but Toby didn’t know what else he was supposed to say. “She put a mashed-up sweet potato in some bread she made, but it still tasted good.”
Panda kept staring at him. Toby was starting to wish he’d go away. “She told Bree that she likes to ride horses.”
Panda wandered over to the honey and stared at it, like he was really interested in honey. “Did she say anything about me?”
His scab was itching again. “I don’t know. I guess not.”
Panda nodded, stared at the honey some more, then grabbed a bottle. Only after he was back in his car did Toby see that he’d paid for it with a twenty-dollar bill. “Hey!”
But Panda was pulling away.
LUCY HEARD THEIR VOICES BEFORE she reached the cottage. She’d hoped to write another few pages this afternoon, but an overpowering urge to eat something sweet had driven her back to the house. She was finding it more difficult to adjust to her former healthy eating habits than she’d ever imagined possible. In the old days, she seldom ate when
she wasn’t hungry, but two months of “dieting” had made her obsess about food. Now, when she was uncomfortable, tired, or unhappy, all she wanted to do was stuff her mouth. No wonder most people gained their weight back after they dieted.
As the voices grew louder, she readjusted the beach towel she’d bunched under her arm and stopped to listen.
“You should leave now,” she heard Bree say.
“Not until I see Lucy,” Temple retorted.
“She’s gone.”
“I don’t believe you. Her things are still in her bedroom at the house.”
Bree hesitated. “Only because she doesn’t want them anymore.”
“Tell me another one. Where is she?”
“I’m not her keeper. How am I supposed to know?”
