Change of Scene: A 100 Page Novella by Andrews Mary Kay

Author:Andrews, Mary Kay [Andrews, Mary Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Women, Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction
ISBN: 9781250111791
Amazon: B01CXO4W0Y
Barnesnoble: B01CXO4W0Y
Goodreads: 29503692
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2016-04-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Most Sundays, when she was in town, Greer met Lise for dim sum at Little Duck, a few blocks from Villa Encantada, and afterward, they’d see a movie at the Grove. It was the closest thing to a family ritual they had. It was still early for dinner, but she realized she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She called Lise on her way back from the Valley.

The phone rang four times before Lise picked up. She sounded groggy.

“Hey,” Greer said. “Sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“No. Well, sorta. What’s up?”

“I just got Dearie moved into her new place so I thought we’d meet for some celebratory moo shu pork.”

“Really? You got her in? Where?”

“Vista Haven. That place in the Valley I was telling you about. It’s not cheap. We’ll both still have to kick in some for her fees. I had to do some hard-core dickering with the woman that runs the place, but I managed to knock her down a little bit.”

“That’s great,” Lise said. “What did Dearie think of it?”

“She wasn’t too thrilled to start with,” Greer admitted. “She seemed pretty nervous when we were driving over there. But while I was unpacking, her next-door neighbor popped in to introduce herself. You’ll be pleased to know Dearie has already fallen in with an old lady who smokes, drinks, and plays cards. When I left, they were plotting cocktail hour.”

“Friends in low places,” Lise said.

“So, what about dinner? It’s your turn to pay. Want to meet at Little Duck?”

“Hmm. I don’t think so. It’s pretty early for me.”

“I can wait until six. Are you trying to get out of buying me dinner?”

“No. I’ve just got some stuff to do around here. Give me a rain check?”

“Sure,” Greer said, puzzled. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Peachy. But busy. I’ll talk to you later.”

Weird, Greer thought. She couldn’t remember another time when Lise had begged off from their Sunday-night get-together. Even when she was working regularly and had a steady boyfriend, her mother always made it a point to reserve Sunday evenings for what she jokingly called family bonding time.

She had a sudden, unwelcome thought. What if there was a new man in Lise’s life? What if, God forbid, she was actually dating one of her weirdo phone sex clients? Or what if she’d fallen off the wagon and was drinking again? She shook her head hard, as if to dislodge the idea. Her mother was anything but naive. Maybe she had a phone date. Or maybe she just needed to do mundane stuff like laundry and vacuum and pay bills. Either way, it was Lise’s business, not hers.

In the end, she sat by herself at their usual patio table at Little Duck. As she was polishing off her order of steamed pork dumplings her eyes rested on a bit of tarnished metal peeping out from her purse.

She stared down at the silver frame for the second time that day. She’d wanted to ask Lise about these photos. Why would Dearie keep

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