Other Echoes by Penny Bloodhart

Author:Penny Bloodhart [Bloodhart, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781543463026
Publisher: Xlibris US
Published: 2017-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The Café, Santa Barbara, 1998

“The music swells, titles appear, the audience breaks into wild applause, and the lights come up slowly!” Maddie tossed her arms into the air, just missing the waiter holding a tray laden with bowls of steaming albondigas soup and sizzling #4 Combination Plates. “Oops … sorry,” she said with a grimace to the ashen-faced young man. He gave her a feeble smile and moved on.

Kate put her head in her hands. “Disaster averted again.”

“Ah, living on the edge, that’s me!” Maddie was in an excellent mood this afternoon. Green Lagoon was finally bringing in nice residuals, and there was talk of a movie in the future. She was well into the final chapters of Green Valley and thinking about a third book to be called Green Plantation when she finished writing Rebecca’s diaries for their book.

“So—what do you think of my diary writings?” she asked.

“They’re great, Mad.”

“Dramatically, they’re perfect! I feel as if I am channeling Rebecca. Daniel Day-Lewis and maybe even Sharon Stone if she wants a comeback movie … Okay, so I’m getting ahead of myself.”

Kate giggled. “We’re going to be rich and famous, like—sure! So how goes it with Green Valley?”

“Well, my tours for Lagoon have been pretty exhausting. And then both Winston and Diana decided to move in with me … The Seattle apartment just wasn’t big enough. I’ve bought a house. Katie, you’ll love it—sits on a hill overlooking the sound. Plenty of room for visitors. It is all forested behind me, and deer come right up to my back door.”

“Seems like there is never time to go anywhere right now.” Kate’s face darkened. “The city council seems hell-bent on making our waterfront area a millionaire’s playhouse. They’re using every means at their disposal to ram these project through—”

“Nope … stop it. I do not want to hear about your ongoing struggles to hold back progress. It’s gonna happen, sister dear, and there is nothing that you can do about it.” Maddie looked around the Café brightly, unconsciously hoping to see some of her old acquaintances so that she might have somebody else to talk with beside her dreary sister.

“I wish that I had your talent for avoidance,” muttered Kate sourly, taking a long drink of her wine.

“I sent the Nature Defense Center a very large check, if you recall,” Maddie replied. “What do you want me to do? Picket? Immolate myself?”

“It might come in handy, my dear. Maybe we’ll do just that. Use you for publicity.”

“Why don’t you ask Rob Lowe? He’s sitting right over there—and he is even more gorgeous in person than on the television. By the way, you’re looking rather well, I must say, except for that gloomy frown. That green suit looks great. I wish that I could wear those short skirts,” said Maddie after a long silence.

“Thanks. I was in court all morning. Guess who was there too?”

“Can’t. Michael Jackson? O. J.? Pamela Anderson?”

“Cute. No—our dear brother James, one of the developers.”

“Hmmm,” responded Maddie thoughtfully.

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