Louise frowned and pointed a finger at her. “Don’t be smart.”
“I haven’t been, and that’s my problem,” Zona retorted. “I have enough to deal with, Mom. I don’t need anything more on my plate.”
“Meeting a neighbor isn’t putting something on your plate. It’s just being friendly,” Louise argued. “And you can never have enough friends.”
“Sure, you can,” said Zona.
“Give up, Gram. Mom’s not interested,” said Bree, then added, “Thank God.”
“I don’t have time for a relationship, anyway,” said Zona.
Louise held up a hand. “I know, I know. You have to make money.”
“I do,” Zona said, and looked apologetically at her daughter.
Bree frowned, and Zona could see the traces of bitterness in it. But then she shrugged and said, “I’ll come up with the money for nursing school.”
“Wewill come up with the money for nursing school,” Zona corrected her. “I’m going to replace every penny Gary took.”
“And don’t forget, I’m going to help you with that, too,” Louise said.
It all felt like a small drop in a very big bucket. Even with the pittance Luke was contributing they had a long way to go. Zona was determined to get there though. She didn’t need her daughter saddled with student loans.
“And who knows?” Louise continued. “Once I sell my book...”
Bree politely bit down on her lip and didn’t snicker.
Zona didn’t either, but she wasn’t able to resist saying, “The Agatha Grafton mystery novel that you haven’t started yet?” Okay, probably just as bad as laughing.
Louise raised her chin. “I’m still collecting ideas.”
“I think you should collect some more ideas for names,” said Zona.
“Agatha Grafton is perfect,” Louise insisted.
“I don’t think Agatha Christie or Sue Grafton would have approved,” Zona said.
“Well, I’m not using either one of their names exclusively for my pen name, so I don’t see what the problem is.”
“You might when their estates sue you,” said Zona.
It was a moot point. Louise was never going to write that novel anyway. It was simply something she liked to talk about. Like learning to play the piano. The keyboard she’d bought at a garage sale two years earlier was still in the upstairs guest bedroom covered with fabric scraps from the quilt she was working on.
“It’s okay, Gram. Take your time,” Bree said.
Louise smiled approvingly at her. “These things do take time.”
“You’ve read enough mystery novels,” said Zona. “You ought to be able to write one in your sleep.”
“That’s the problem. Everything’s been done,” said Louise.
“Nothing new under the sun?” Zona teased.
“I’ll come up with something eventually. There’s always something in the news. You wouldn’t believe what I saw onDeathlinethe other night.”
Bree made a face. “Am I gonna want dessert after this?”
“Probably not,” said Zona.
