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“I don’t know.” Kissing was the last thing my mouth was thinking about at the moment.
“Here, Vi,” Aunt Zoe pushed past Addy and touched my shoulder. She held out a piece of bread. “Eat this, it’ll help.”
I didn’t want to eat anything, but I shoved half the bread through my lips and managed to swallow. Then I choked down the other half and sipped from the glass of water she placed in my hand.
“He’s coming up the sidewalk,” Natalie reported.
Groaning, I sat back down on the floor. The clip holding my French roll in place clacked against the tiles as I leaned my head against the wall.
“Mom, can Kelly stay over tomorrow night?”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” Nor think about Kelly, Emma, Jade, or anything else having to do with the missing girls. This was supposed to be my night of romance. There was no way I was going to be able to get into “the mood” with worries and fears cooling the hots I had for Wolfgang.
“Adelynn,” Aunt Zoe glanced over her shoulder, “go downstairs and help Natalie greet your mother’s guest.”
“I hope he slips you the tongue, Mom.” Addy waved as Aunt Zoe nudged her out of the room and closed the door.
Forehead crinkled, I stared at the door. “Where’d she learn that?”
“MTV, probably.” Aunt Zoe held out another piece of bread. “You sure you’re up to this tonight? I can go down and tell him you’re under the weather.”
The doorbell rang.
Stuffing my mouth full of bread, I pointed at myself and then gave Aunt Zoe a thumbs-up. There was no way I was going to put off this date. For one thing, my hair had participated and looked damned good. For another, I was planning on returning this fancy, green, lace-covered get-up as soon as possible in exchange for store credit. My bank account was looking a bit anorexic lately, and I couldn’t afford to purge much more cash on non-essential items like expensive dresses—although it did erase twenty years and two kids from my cleavage.
I swallowed the bread. “I’m going on this date, even if it means carrying a barf bag in my purse and slipping off to the restroom every ten minutes.”
“All right.” Aunt Zoe offered me a hand up. “Then let’s fix your lipstick and powder your nose.”
The blonde staring back at me in the mirror didn’t look like she’d spent the last half hour doing the Hokey Croaky. Hell, with all of the makeup Natalie had painted on me, the mirror could be a window to the past. Back before children had added frown lines, age spots, and gray hairs that only Clairol knew about.
A light knock on the door made Aunt Zoe and me both turn. The door opened wide enough for Layne to slip his head through. “Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Wow! You look really pretty.”
My son, my hero. I’d have to reward him with ice cream for that one. “Thanks, sweetie.”
“Why do you have to go out to dinner withhim? Can’t you just eat here with us?”
Aunt Zoe and I exchanged grimaces in the mirror.
Layne had been doing a great impression of Eeyore since I arrived home with my new ensemble in hand. He’d made it no secret that he didn’t relish having his “man-of-the-house” status threatened.
“I thought you liked Wolfgang.” I ruffled his hair.
Layne shrugged. “He’s okay. A little odd, though.”
He should meet Doc.
Opening the door wider, Aunt Zoe took Layne by the shoulders. “Come on, let’s go downstairs. I made dirt pudding earlier and hid some treasures in it for you.”
“Cool!”
With a “good luck” and a wink, Aunt Zoe steered Layne out the door.
I brushed my teeth, making sure to fill my mouth with enough minty-freshness to smell like an herb garden. Then I patched up my lipstick, interrupted only once by a counter-gripping ripple of queasiness.
