“We’ll talk about this at home,” Mariah said, refusing to back down.
“And in the meantime, Annabelle is suspended for two weeks,” Betty said. “I’ll see that she receives her assignments, so she can keep up with her schoolwork. At the end of the two weeks, we’ll see where we stand. If you decide you want to pursue a transfer, let me know.”
“Could I go back to my last class now?” Annabelle asked. “You know, so I can at least say goodbye to my friends before I’m banished?”
“I’m afraid not,” Betty said. “And you’re not allowed on school property until the suspension is lifted. That includes all school activities. You won’t be permitted to attend Friday night’s football game or to participate as a cheerleader.”
The full implication of the punishment finally seemed to sink in. “But Greg counts on me being there,” she protested weakly.
“I’m sure he’ll manage just fine without you this once,” Betty said, her gaze unyielding.
“I guess I’m supposed to live on bread and water, too,” Annabelle remarked bitterly.
“It might not be a bad idea,” her father muttered. “And I’m going to stand right there while you post a sincere apology to Misty on your page online. Once that’s done and had time to circulate, you’ll no longer have access to the internet. I believe we’d better take away your cell phone, too, so you won’t be texting anyone. Now let’s go.”
Laura waited until the door had closed behind them before turning to Betty. “That actually went better than I’d anticipated,” she said. “Don Litchfield seems like a reasonable man, a really concerned parent who gets what a huge mistake his daughter made.”
“Seems that way,” Betty agreed. “But I wouldn’t do any celebrating just yet. Something tells me Mariah’s just warming up.”
“Do you think they’ll decide to have Annabelle transfer? That could be a real blessing for Misty.”
“It could be, but I have my doubts. All those fancy schools Mariah is picturing have the same strict standards about bullying that we have. Once they get wind of why Annabelle’s parents are interested in a transfer this late in the fall, they’re not likely to welcome her with open arms.”
“You don’t think if the parents’—or grandparents’—pockets are deep enough, they might look the other way?”
“Possibly,” Betty said. “But the side of me that still believes in right and wrong hopes not.”
* * *
Paula had received a call from Laura Reed asking that their get-together be postponed until five-thirty. She gathered that things were, if not under control, at least on their way to being resolved.
As Paula put aside her paintbrush, frustrated yet again with her inability to get the details on this latest work as delicate as they should be, Katie slipped through the back gate.
“Grandma, it’s beautiful,” she said, awe in her voice as she came to stand beside Paula.
Paula glanced at her. “You think so?”
“It’s so real I can almost smell the scent,” Katie insisted. “It’s a stargazer lily, right? How do you do that? When I draw or paint, it never looks anything like the way I pictured it in my head.”
“It takes years of practice to get it right,” Paula told her. “Are you interested in painting?”
To her disappointment, Katie shook her head. “It’s too frustrating.”
Paula smiled at her. “To do anything really, really well, you’ll face frustration from time to time. That’s why I’m often called a perfectionist. For instance, I could show you right now all the things I see that are wrong with this painting.”
“No way,” Katie protested. “It makes me want to touch it to see if it’s a flower instead of a picture. See, it even has that waxy look on the petals and the tiny little spots and that blush of pink. There’s even a drop of dew. It’s just right.”
“Then it’s yours,” Paula told her. “I’d love for you to have it. Just promise not to let anyone put it in a showing of my work years from now, so some critic can write that I’d clearly lost my touch.”
“Grandma, stop saying that,” Katie said impatiently. “You haven’t lost your touch at all.”
Paula smiled at the fierce defense. “Thanks, sweetheart. Now, what brings you by? And on a Monday, no less, when you know Liz hasn’t brought over any cookies.”
“I wanted to thank you. There was a huge meeting at school today. I think Annabelle’s finally going to get what she deserves. I haven’t talked to Misty all day, and nobody saw Annabelle this afternoon, but I think that must mean she was kicked out. I know it’s because you went to Ms. Reed.” She threw her arms around Paula and hugged her tightly. “Thank you so much.”
“I just did what needed to be done,” Paula said. “And you deserve a lot of the credit for coming to me. Thanks to you I was able to point Ms. Reed in the right direction to get this resolved.”
For an instant Katie looked alarmed. “You didn’t tell her that it was me who told you, did you?”
“I promised you I wouldn’t,” Paula reassured her. “But you must know that she probably guessed. You don’t need to worry about it, though. I was very impressed with her. She knows the situation requires discretion. And I’m meeting with her shortly so she can tell me how things turned out.” She glanced at her watch. “In fact, I’d better get this paint off my hands and head over to The Corner Spa right now. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
Once again, lines of worry creased Katie’s forehead. “Mom doesn’t know about all this, does she? And about what I did?”
“Not from me,” Paula verified. “But remember that your mom is married to Cal. I’m sure he’s put it all together by now.” She tweaked her nose. “And I think you should remember that you could have gone to your mother about this. Not that I wasn’t very happy to have you trust me enough to speak to me, but you should understand that you can always trust your mom, too.”
“I know,” Katie said earnestly. “It was just that I’d promised Misty I’d keep quiet and not tell Mom or Cal, so I needed to find a way to get help without breaking that promise.”
“Understood,” Paula said. “Do you want a ride over to
