Polly stared at her, then sat up and threw back her head to make what could only be described as a yodeling sound. “Will I? I will! It would be my pleasure, though there’s nothing wrong with the way you dress, and your hair is amazing, I won’t lie. How about instead of cutting it I teach you to do lots of different styles instead? Short hair requires more maintenance, and you don’t seem like a high-maintenance person, if you don’t mind the continued uninvited commentary on what you’re like.”

Laura grinned at her. “No, that’s totally true, but are you sure I shouldn’t cut it?” She thought of something. “We’ll need to make it all thrift store, I’m not flush with cash right now.”

Polly nodded. “Thrift stores are the best, and we should bring Nina, because she knows all these thrift stores in weird places like Torrance and Whittier and Rancho Cucamonga.”

“That’s a real place?”

“Yup.”

Laura felt enthusiastic. “And, Polly, I want to try lots of new things. I know the things I like, but there might be all kinds of other things, right?”

“Almost certainly,” said Polly. “I didn’t know I liked paint by numbers until Instagram showed me the way.”

Laura paused. “Well, not sure about paint by numbers, but I want to try dancing, and karaoke, and stand-up comedy, and . . .” She struggled to think. “And pottery!”

Polly got to her feet. “I’m one hundred percent down for making sarcastic or supportive commentary, as needed. We can start tomorrow.” She shook herself and impulsively hugged Laura. “Right now I need to go meet with some friends.” She stepped back from the hug and held up her hand. “One more thing.”

“Yes?” said Laura.

Polly assumed a serious expression. “I understand your position that there’s nothing between you and Bob, but he was there to support you on trivia night, and last night he was ready to throw hands in your defense. That’s a lot of being present for a relatively new neighbor.”

Laura shrugged. “You were there on trivia night, and Maggie stood up for me last night as well. Los Angeles seems to be full of people ready to go to bat for strangers.” She smiled, covering the sinking feeling she had inside for not telling Polly the truth. “You’re a fine one to talk, you invited a potential serial killer to move in after knowing her for less than an hour.”

Polly narrowed her eyes at Laura, then made a face. “If that’s how you want to play it, we can play it that way.”

“How do you mean?” asked Laura.

“Distraction, deflection, denial, you know, the three Ds of self-delusion.”

Laura stared at her.

Suddenly Polly grinned. “Sorry, I spent last Thursday reshelving self-help and I guess it rubbed off.” She spun around. “I’ll be back later, you can dodge more questions then.”