Mulch Ado About Nothing

coming down on the roof of the restaurant.

“Nobody predicted this,' Shelley said as she pulled aside the little curtain in the booth. 'Wow, a real gully washer. I guess we're stuck here for a bit. Does it seem to you that the more technology the weather forecasters get, the more inaccurate they are? It used to be that the weather guy would go out on the roof of the studio and look at the sky and take a guess, and was right half of the time. Now they're wrong most of the time.”

They spent the rest of the brief storm happily deriding local newscasters who had no training in speaking good English. A subject dear to Miss Winstead's heart. 'They think notoriety and famemean the same thing. I've heard so many grammatical errors that make me cringe.'

“The other day, in the chat segment, one of them said, 'Me and my wife are going on vacation next week,' ' Jane put in.

Miss Winstead shook her head sadly. 'How utterly ignorant!

Jane was glad the subject of Dr. Julie Jackson and the attack on her had been thoroughly squashed and forgotten.

But she couldn't stop herself from wondering why Miss Winstead had been eager enough to know about the investigation to ask Jane to share Mel's progress. Jane watched as the rain diminished and chided herself for being so suspicious.

Twelve

Jane was worn out from the morning and half the afternoon of traipsing around. She let herself down on the sofa and gently toppled sideways.

“Anything you need?' Shelley asked. 'Something really boring to read, so it puts me out.”

Shelley went to the bookshelves and got down a gigantic paperback. 'How about The Arms of Krupp?'

“I hate to admit I liked it,' Jane said. 'I read it the year Todd went to kindergarten and I finally had a whole three hours a day without kids around. I'll try it again.'

“I'm starting a roast for you,' Shelley said. 'Don't worry, I'll be quiet.' She went across the driveway to her house, got the roast, and came back. Quietly removing a pan from the cabinet, a cooking bag with seasonings, and a bit of water, she got it in Jane's oven with hardly a sound.

Tiptoeing back to the living room, she saw that Jane was sound asleep with the book open on her chest. There was a sound in the kitchen and Shelley whirled and scurried to the door. Mike had already opened it and was dripping wet.

“Shhh, your mom's sleeping. What happened to you?'

“A downpour at the nursery. They sent most of the clerks home because the forecast is for more rain. I've got to get dry clothes.”

It wasn't until he moved away that Shelley realized that Kipsy had been standing behind him. 'I'll bet you're Kipsy, right?' she said. 'I was just starting a roast for the Jeffrys' dinner. Sit down and have a soft drink with me while Mike's upstairs. I'm Mrs. Nowack from next door.'

“Hi, Mrs. Nowack. Mike's told me about you.'

“All good things, I'm sure,' Shelley said with a smile.

“Oh, yeah…'

“Kipsy, I've been wanting to have a little chat with you. If you don't mind.'

“No, I guess not,' Kipsy said, brushing some of the violently red bangs out of her face and taking a sip of the drink Shelley had poured.

“I have a question for you. You must go to a lot of trouble to look as you do. And I can't help but wonder why.”

Kipsy started to stand up in preparation for stomping out.

Shelley put a hand on her arm. 'I meant no criticism at all. I'm genuinely interested. I love to know about human nature.”

Sullenly Kipsy lowered herself back onto the kitchen chair. 'Yeah, me too.'

“Didn't all those things you've had pierced hurt a lot?' Shelley asked.

“Not that much. They sorta numb you with a piece of ice.'

“And it doesn't hurt to wear them either?'

“Uh-uh. Not often. The eyebrow ring sometimes gets stuck in my bangs, though, and it can be a bitch — I mean a pain to get it loose.”

Shelley smiled supportively. 'How interesting. I wonder, are you planning any changes in your appearance?'

“I was thinking about another tattoo, but can't think where to put it.'

“The holes you've punched in yourself would probably close up if you changed your jewelry style, right?'

“I guess so,' she said in a surly manner. 'But a tattoo is pretty much forever?'

“Why do you ask?'

“Let me ask my earlier question in another way. Are you planning to look this way when you're thirty or forty and even fifty?'

“Fifty!' Kipsy yelped. 'I'll never be fifty.”

Shelley shook her head. 'But you will, you know. How will you feel about the tattoos then?”

Kipsy shrugged. 'They'll have some way to get rid of them by that time. Laser stuff or something.'

“So you imagine you'll want to get rid of them someday?'

“I hadn't thought about it.'

“Do.”

Shelley topped up Kipsy's drink. 'You're probably a pretty girl. I want to understand what you mean people to think of you. Do you want to frighten them, or make them laugh, or think you're really cool and modern?'

“I don't think about that stuff. Mrs. Nowack, I can look any way I want. If my own mom doesn't care, why should you?”

Because I'm a better mother than yours, Shelley thought.

“I guess it's just because I am a mother,' Shelley said offhandedly. 'My daughter's a little younger than you and, of course, won't talk about her feelings with me. I'll bet you didn't talk to your mother when you were sixteen either. So partly, I want to know what to say if she wants to get a tattoo or to pierce her nose.”

Kipsy mumbled something into her drink. Then looked defiantly at Shelley. 'Tell her not to. Some of the kids laugh at me. I don't care. They're dummies. They're just scared of being themselves like I am. They're the insecure ones.”

So somebody's called you insecure, Shelley thought. 'Mike doesn't laugh at you, does he?'

“No, I guess he doesn't. He can see who I really am.'

“I think I understand what you mean,' Shelley said. She could hear Mike coming down the steps. 'Thank you, Kipsy, for being honest with me.' And a tiny bit honest with yourself, she added mentally.

“Are you two chewing the fat?' Mike said with a laugh. 'That's something Grumps always says. Grumps is my grandpa,' he explained to Kipsy. 'But he's not grumpy at all. Let's go to a movie, since I have the rest of the afternoon off.”

Kipsy got up and followed him to the door, but stopped and looked back for a moment at Shelley. 'Thank you, too, Mrs. Nowack,' she said.

Jane clumped into the kitchen a few minutes later. 'You really put that girl through the wringer.'

“I didn't mean to. It just perpetually perplexes me that kids will go out of their way to look foolish or dirty or bizarre. I must have missed that stage.'

“Most of us do,' Jane said, sitting where Kipsy had sat.

“But isn't it human nature to want to be liked?' Jane tilted her head and considered. 'Maybe not so much liked as admired, I suppose. And sometimes feared. You scare the devil out of a lot of people, and I know perfectly well you enjoy it.”

Shelley started to object, then grinned. 'Only if they're jerks.'

“So did you get a blinding insight from Kipsy?”

Shelley made a so-so motion with her hand. 'I think no one had ever asked her why she wanted to look like a