“What’s the harm in calling her? Humor me.”
“Fine.” Mary went to the table, retrieved her phone, and sat down with it, pressing H. The phone rang, and she hit a button. “I’m putting it on speaker. I wanna hear what she says.”
“Good.” Judy folded her arms.
“ ’Allo?” Mary’s mother said, picking up.
“Hi, Ma, how are you?”
“I’m a fine,
Mary cut the small talk. “Good, but I’m here with Judy, who thinks she has the evil eye, still.”
“
“Can you ask Fiorella to come to the phone?”
“Fiorella? She’s a no here. She go viz’ her ladyfrien’, on Snyd’ Avenue. They come back, soon.”
“They? Who’s they?”
“Your father, he take her.”
“And he’s not back yet?”
Mary and Judy exchanged looks.
“He drive her.”
Mary’s mouth fell open. Her father never drove anybody anywhere. Nobody in South Philly ever gave up a parking space unless they were going to their own funeral. “Why didn’t she take a cab? You can’t park on Snyder anyway.”
“What,
“Ma, Fiorella came to visit you, but she’s visiting everyone else, with Pop. Did you eat dinner alone?”
“Is good, alla good.”
Judy edged closer to the phone. “Hey, Mrs. D, it’s Judy. How are you?”
“Good, Judy, you got ’em bad?”
“Mrs. D, can you cure me?” Judy looked hopeful. “No, no, only Donna Fiorella. She have a great power, greates’ power, more great than a me.”
“Ma, no, stop that, you’re as good as Fiorella.” Mary’s heart went out to her little mother, eating dinner alone and thinking her superpowers were substandard.
“
Judy asked, “Can we call Fiorella at her girlfriend’s?”
“No,
Mary was trying to remember the last time her mother had spent a Saturday night without her father. “I don’t like you being alone so much. This is wrong.”
“Shhh,
“I can’t, I have to work. Sorry.”
“Okay,
“Love you, Ma. Bye.” Mary hung up, heartsick. “This is ridiculous. My father never leaves the house.”
“Correction, he never leaves the kitchen.” Judy started cutting limes with a sharp knife, releasing a pungent scent. “I’ll help you with your brief, after we have the perfect margarita.”
“You got a shot glass instead?” Mary asked, rising.
Chapter Twenty-six
Bennie dug into the lid, pounding and dragging her nails across the wood, reduced to the animal on the other side. She fought the awareness that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. She couldn’t fill her lungs and settled for shallow panting, little intakes of breath that could barely keep her going. She knew she needed oxygen because she could feel her brain get funky, her thoughts melting together in odd ways, like she kept thinking she had a giant can opener and was prying the lid off the box, like in the Popeye cartoons where they took the top off the spinach can, leaving a jagged edge. Boy, she was wishing for one of those can openers right now, and if she had one, she knew it would do the trick.
She kept digging, her arms weakening, hurting from the effort of keeping them up. She’d been scratching and pounding on the same spot on the crack, concentrating all her force on three square inches. She could hear the animal working on the same spot, they had the same idea at the same time, only one idea completely occupying their animal brains, which was to get through, to finally reach the other side.
One animal wanting life and the other wanting death.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Alice buried herself in Grady’s embrace, on the sidewalk. She loved the feel of a man’s arms around her and she brushed her cheek against his strong chin, which had just the right amount of blondish stubble. He smelled like hard soap and hard work, and she was feeling his good-provider vibe. She got so turned on that she had to stop herself from grinding her hips into him. Bennie wouldn’t know how to steam up this boy’s glasses, and Alice had to stay in character. He was a test she hadn’t expected, and she didn’t need a monkey wrench thrown into her plans, not when she was this close to getting away.
“Well,” Grady said, smiling down at her. “Quite a greeting.”
“I tried to call you, but that number was disconnected. I assume you got a new one.”
“Yes, sorry.”
“I know it’s impromptu, my arriving unannounced, but my flight got diverted from Pittsburgh and I came straight here from the airport. Call it an irresistible impulse. I thought maybe I could take you to dinner.” Grady put an arm around her shoulder. “By the way, this would be a good time for you to tell me you’re not married.”
Alice smiled. “What a coincidence. I was just about to say that, and I’m not even seeing anyone, either.”
“Nor am I. Great minds, huh?”
“Right. Come on in.” Alice could see she’d have to get her witty banter up to speed because the felons she dated didn’t require conversation. She dug in Bennie’s messenger bag for the house key, climbed the steps, and slid it into the lock on the front door. “So, you want to go out to dinner or stay in?”
“You,
“Touche.” Grady stood behind her on the stoop, and Alice hoped he was looking at her ass, if he could find it in the elephant shorts. The front door swung open, and she went inside, but Grady hesitated, frowning. “Oh no. Don’t tell me that Bear died.”
“Bear?” Alice blurted out, then caught herself as they went inside. Bear evidently wasn’t dead yet, because whimpering sounds came from the basement. “No, that’s him, but he sounds funny.”
“Something must be the matter.”
“Bear, Bear?” Alice called out, fake-looking around the living room, but Grady hurried toward the kitchen.
“I think it’s coming from the basement.”
“Really?” Alice hustled after him for show. “Bear, where are you, pal?”
“Bennie, hurry!” Grady ran down the basement stairs. “He’s down here! He’s hurt!”
“In the
“I think he’s injured.” Grady climbed the stairs, holding the limp dog, whose eyes stayed closed, his head hanging down. “Poor guy, he was just lying there, crying at the bottom of the stairs.”
“Oh my God.” Alice forced a shocked expression. “What happened? You think he fell?”
“Must have. We need to get him to a vet. We can be at Penn emergency in no time. Where’s your car?”
“Right down the street. I’ll go.” Alice bounded out of the kitchen, ran out the door, and hustled down the
