Blownup in Paradise by Deborah Brown

Author:Deborah Brown [Brown, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-05T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Thankfully, Fab had just as much to drink as Mother and I and wasn’t awake at the crack of dawn, insisting we leave the house before it got light outside.

Fab had flipped a coin to decide who would get the three of us a ride home, and I lost. I knew the toss was rigged, but she’d pocketed the coin before I could contest.

“We need a ride,” I groaned into the phone when Creole answered.

“You okay?”

“Yeppers. I’m pitchy,” I giggled.

“I think you mean peachy. Where are you?” he asked, the concern in his voice ratcheting up.

“Where are we?” I whispered.

“The Crab Sack,” Mother yelled. Once the police had determined we were “free to go,” we’d taken a vote, and it was three-zip to head back to the Cove.

Over the phone, I heard the start of the truck’s engine; it had an unmistakable badass sound. “Is this a special occasion or just a ‘let’s get drunk’?” Creole asked.

“We’re not drunk,” I said. Fab and Mother laughed. “Just a drink or two. We’re celebrating… stuff.” I tried to cover the phone before he could hear the shushes.

Creole showed up with Didier, who took Fab home in the SUV, and when we dropped off Mother, Spoon was waiting outside. I’d heard later he wasn’t happy about his wife coming home drunk and singing at the top of her lungs. He scooped her off her feet and hustled her inside, since a couple of the neighbors were peering over their railings from the next floor up. I got the same treatment when we got back to my house. Neither Creole nor Didier asked any questions, and I considered that a coup. The only one, given even really tying one on last night didn’t get me out of today’s meeting.

“I left out a couple of details.” Fab gripped the steering wheel, maneuvering around slow traffic and not honking her displeasure.

To my immense relief, she wasn’t in race car-driving mode. My stomach had calmed considerably after I’d foregone my usual coffee and ordered weak tea and a bagel, and Fab, who initially sniffed at my order, ordered the same thing.

“That’s a shock.” I shifted in the passenger seat, straightening my skirt.

“Let’s not ruin a perfectly nice day.”

“You sound just like Mother. I suppose that comes from spending way too much time whispering back and forth.” I was happy that, despite how yesterday turned out, we were able to laugh and ended up having fun. “Tell me already. What am I going to do? Ditch you here on the interstate, head back home? Not likely.”

“As you know, I have a meeting with Brick. The part I left out was that he requested that I come alone.”

“Ohh. That’s so sad.” I fake-cried.

“Stop that noise; it’s dreadful.”

Too loud maybe. “I’ll stay in the car—feet on the dashboard, since you won’t be here to tell me to take them off—and play on my phone.”

Fab shook her head.

“I hope the reason for his excluding me is our mutual dislike, and it has nothing to do with him trying to talk you into doing something dangerous.

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