Well, Kristen, I saw Mrs. Tracy today. Don’t you dare ask me who that is. I told her that you were the one who did meth. That you had somehow convinced Nicole and Anna to give it a try. You would never admit it, but I know you did. Why did you, though? You couldn’t stay sober, okay, but did you have to take them down with you? Because the pain you caused extended to people we didn’t even know.
Don’t say you’re sorry. It’s too late.
Chapter 32Lorna Now
Lorna bought chocolate chip cookie dough and showed Bean when he came home from school the next day. “Have you ranked chocolate chip cookies yet?”
Bean shook his head.
“You know that chocolate chip cookies are the backbone of America, don’t you?”
Bean nodded.
“I don’t see how you could possibly decide what you’re going to bake for your badge without a test run of cookies. Do you?” Bean shook his head.
“Then shall we make them?”
“Okay,” Bean said. The life was coming back into him.
“And when they are done, maybe we can invite Martin and Liz to have some too. In the backyard.” She’d begun to clear out the clutter of her Precious Moments figurines—those that did not occupy a place in Bean’s villages were now stored in boxes. She didn’t need them anymore. But she still had so many that she wasn’t comfortable letting anyone get a glimpse of her apartment just yet.
After she helped him roll the cookie dough into balls and putthem on the baking sheet, she set him to work making invitations for cookies in the backyard. She thought today would be a good time to present him with his badge vest. She’d managed to sew on all the badges he had... and it was completely covered. The kid was going to need a trench coat for badges at the rate he was going.
Last night, when she’d been sewing the last two badges, Mr. Contreras had called.
“Hello there, Ms. Moneybags. You getting that offer together?”
The man was the worst.
“I’m going to the bank this week.”
“Well, that’s good. I got an offer from a developer just this afternoon, and I’m ready to make a deal. You want to know the amount you have to beat?”
She didn’t, not really, but she was going to have to know sooner or later. “Is that even ethical?”
“What, you’ve got some morals you need to tend to?”
She rolled her eyes. “What’s the offer?”
The amount he quoted did not surprise her—Lorna had done her homework—but it did make her eyes water. “Got it,” she said.
Mr. Contreras chuckled. “I just bet you do. You still going to pursue this?”
How many times would he ask her? “Yes, Mr. Contreras. I will finalize the financing and my offer by Friday.”
“Well, lookee there,” Mr. Contreras said smugly. “I like how confident you sound. I like that in a woman.”
“Good for you. Is there anything else? I’m in the middle of something.”
He chuckled. She wanted to reach through the phone and smash his smug face. “I need to hear from you by Friday, Lorna.”
She drew a deep breath. “So you’ve said. Message received.” She hung up on him.
She did not sleep well last night. Friday was just a few days away.
Bean delivered his invitations, and when the cookies were ready, Martin and Liz joined them in the backyard. Lorna had set up a table with a cloth over it and brought water in plastic bottles along with the cookies. She was branching out. Some might even call this entertaining, despite how bare bones it was.
“Wow,” Liz said. “This reminds me of the way my mother used to invite friends over for tea.” She took a seat. “How are you, Lorna? You’re looking well rested.”
