loved ones!" I welcomed.
"Is it safe to come in?" Gram inquired after she had already entered the trailer and checked out the bedroom and bath.
"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I asked, and followed her back to the bedroom, playing dumb, thinking that was the smart
choice. See how my brain works?
"We just thought you might have had a friend sleep over," Gramma remarked, walking over to the bed and examining the sheets
like a CSI analyst, minus the penlight.
"As a matter of fact, I did have a visitor last night," I replied, pulling the sheets up and making the bed. "Or should I
say, early this morning," I added with a wink at my mother in the bedroom doorway.
"Was this a male or female visitor?" Gram asked, sitting on a padded chair in the corner.
"Oh, very much male. Tall, darkish hair. Big brown eyes."
"And what time did this tall, dark male leave, my dear?" Gramma asked. "Or is he hiding under the bed?"
"He left around four a.m., Gram. We were both exhausted."
My grandma raised an eyebrow. "I see. And may we assume you harbor deep feelings for this brown-eyed fellow?"
I nodded, casting a look at my feet to hide my smile. "I love him, Gram," I replied, my voice soft and a bit breathless.
"Love?"
I nodded again. "And I'm pretty sure he returns that sentiment."
My mother stepped into the room and gave me her version of the Luuuccy-you've-got-some-'splaining-to-do look. To be honest
though, it's kind of hard to tell one look from another with my mom. CPAs don't tend to need that many different facial expressions.
"Are we talking wedding bells here?" Gram asked. "Or just immoral cohabitation?"
"I'm fairly certain one is illegal and the other just plain yeeesch," I replied with an all-over, body-length shiver.
"Huh?"
"Well, it is illegal to marry your first cousin," I said with a grin. "Isn't it?"
"Cousin?"
"Frankie."
"Frankie? You were talking about Frankie?"
"Of course. Who did you think I was talking about?"
"Oh, you are such a pip," Gram said, shaking a finger at me. "You get that from your mother's side of the family, you know."
"Yeah, right, Hellion Hannah." I shook my finger back at her. "Right."
"So what was Frankie doing here that late?" my mother asked. She tends to get right to the point.
"He was, uh, well, hiding out, I guess you could say," I told her.
"Hiding out? From what?"
"Who," I said. "And the answer is Uncle Frank. They'd had a bit of a problem earlier in the evening. Frankie thought he'd
wait here until Uncle Frank cooled off a bit."
"That Frankie," Gramma snickered. "What'd the boy do this time? Change the color scheme for the ice cream parlor from red
and white to pomegranate and puce?" While Gramma isn't related to Frankie by blood, she'd seen enough of him while he was
growing up to take on the role of surrogate grandma. I was all in favor of that. The more of us there were, the less time
and energy she had to focus on us individually.
"Frankie was trying to make a point with Uncle Frank but did it rather, uh, clumsily, I'm afraid," I said.
"What did Frankie do?" my mother asked.
I hesitated, not really wanting to rat Frankie out a second time. I was saved the necessity of a reply. A door slammed and
heavy footsteps moved toward our location at the back of the trailer.
"Okay. Where is he?" boomed Uncle Frank, his wide body filling the narrow bedroom door. "Where is my son?"
I stared at Uncle Frank. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Frankie never came home?"
"Hell, no! I waited up all night for that little bird turd and he never showed. What the hell is going on with that kid?"
A feeling a lot like the one you get after you've just made a New Year's resolution to give up chocolate so you can fit into
your bikini for spring break and then the Cadbury Creme Eggs go on sale came over me. I looked over at Uncle Frank, who was
proceeding to fill my grandma and mother in on the previous night's exciting extermination extravaganza.
I frowned. Opening day at
Brian Garfield Donald E. Westlake