Read Babylon Sisters for Free Online Page B

see it because you’re her mother, and to you she’s always going to be your baby girl.”
    “Only until she graduates,” I said, knowing she was right. “Then I’m cutting her little ass loose.”
    “Too late,” Amelia smiled. “They already did that. In the delivery room, remember?”
    A wispy little cloud moved across the moon and disappeared behind the giant pines at the edge of Amelia’s yard. She was a good friend trying to pull my coat, and I appreciated it, as always.
    “How could I forget?”
    “Then stop worrying! She can handle it. If you tell her or you don’t tell her, she’s going to be fine.” Amelia sat up and looked at me. “You’re the one I’m worried about.”
    “Me?”
    She hesitated. “You know I know this is—”
    “—none of your business,” I said with her. “So why are you worried about me?”
    “Because you’re such a terrible liar.”
    “What do you mean?” I couldn’t decide if that was a compliment or a criticism.
    “Good liars keep it simple. The fewer details the better. You, on the other hand, have concocted a big, complicated mess of a story that never sounded very convincing and gets weaker every time you tell it.”
    “Do you think she knows I’m lying?”
    “I think she’s confused. She doesn’t know what to think.”
    “She’s not the only one,” I said, kicking my feet in the water to watch the mermaid’s tail ripple.
    “Don’t beat yourself up too bad,” Amelia said. “It made perfect sense at the time, right?”
    I nodded. “Most of it still does.”
    “Then all you have to do is work on that little part that doesn’t.”
    We had been friends for a decade because Amelia was honest without being judgmental. She always told me exactly what she thought, as only a lawyer can, but she never required me to agree or make a move based on her point of view. She had no timetable. Once she had her say, she left you to your own devices and moved on to other things. Which was what she did now.
    “So, did you talk to Sam Hall yet?”
    I was glad for the change of subject. “He called me tonight.”
    “Thank God! He was driving me crazy.”
    “Where do you know him from?”
    “I represented a client in a case that involved Ezola Mandeville. She sent him to talk to me. How about that voice?”
    “Makes it hard to keep your mind on business, doesn’t it?”
    “You got that right, but how about her aversion to the word
Ms.
? What’s that about?”
    “I’ll ask her. We’re having lunch next week.”
    “Really?”
    “They’re probably planning a project he says is right up my alley.”
    “You think you could work for her?”
    “I’ve got to go to work for somebody, and you won’t hire me.”
    “I can’t afford you!”
    “He said I was the answer to their prayers. How about that?”
    “Better not get too cocky until you know what they were praying for!”
    From Amelia’s yard, I could see the light come on in my kitchen window, signaling Phoebe’s return from her godfather’s house around the corner. She was probably rummaging around in the fridge looking for something to eat. Three days of herb tea and saltines had probably taken their toll. Baby Doll needed dinner.
    “Well, I know what I’m praying for,” I said, standing up and hoping my daughter’s visit to Louis had improved her disposition.
    “What’s that?”
    I leaned down and gave Amelia a quick kiss on the cheek before heading home. “Wisdom, patience, and tuition money, not necessarily in that order.”
    “Just be yourself!” Amelia called after me, and I knew she was right. Flawed or fabulous, I’m the only mom she’s got. All I have to do is love her and
be myself.
Everything else is extra.

6
    When I opened the back door, at first I thought I had gone to the wrong house. The kitchen table was set with two places and a vase full of sunflowers I recognized from Louis’s front yard. Phoebe was at the counter cracking eggs in a bowl, and while Sade’s
Lovers