“I want it to be very cool, you know, not boring,” Greg went on excitedly. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his curly, graying hair. “I want to sort of reinvent the kids’ album. I want it to sound like, I don’t know, Jimi Hendrix and Woody Guthrie meet like, the Clash, meet like, the Blind Mice,” he added with a smile.

Stuart sat down on the arm of a sofa. “Wow. Okay. Do you play an instrument?”

Greg grinned giddily. “Sure. I’m a music teacher. I play everything.”

“Fire!” Bruce shouted, circling blocks on his bike.

Where the fuck were the parents of that sicko fucking idiot kid?

“Fire!”

“I’m against it, usually.” Wendy took another hit on Mandy’s nifty little steam-pipe and blew out a tremendous stream of skunky vapor. “I mean, how will the trains run on time? How will FedEx deliver the next day? How will doctors finish medical school and transplant lungs, if everyone is high?”

She passed the pipe to Peaches, aware of the fact that she was repeating herself but unsure now with whom she’d broached this topic before.

Peaches handed Dr. Conway the pipe. He took a quick hit and handed it back. He seemed like he’d had a lot of practice.

“I haven’t smoked this stuff since college,” Peaches said, taking another hit. “It’s smoother now, seems like.”

“I’m glad you like it, it’s—” Dr. Conway began.

“I feel weird,” Mandy said, cutting him off. She sounded anxious. “This is different from what we got before.”

“It is,” Dr. Conway said. His voice was velvety and smooth. “It’s the party version.”

A blond head loomed just beyond their little gathering.

“Elizabeth.” Wendy coughed hoarsely. “Come join us!”

Elizabeth had left Tupper and Roy to set up the fireworks. “Hello,” she said.

“Hello. Hello,” Wendy trilled. “I’m glad you’re out of prison.”

“Totally.” Peaches handed Elizabeth the pipe. “This neighborhood would be so fucking boring without you.”

Elizabeth took the pipe and held it between her lips. Wendy Clarke caressed her orange jumpsuited elbow. A carefully dressed man with perfect skin and teeth was watching her closely.

“Careful, it’s pretty strong,” he warned.

She inhaled deeply, holding her breath as she passed the pipe to Wendy. Wendy took a hit and handed it to Pretty Man. He took a hit and handed it to Snow White in Denim. She waved it away.

“I need to get inside,” Mandy said. It was more of a demand than a request. “Now, please.”

“We can go inside.” Wendy released her hold on Elizabeth and linked arms with Mandy. “I think there might still be some leftover lasagna in the kitchen.”

“No. Not inside your house. Inside my house,” Mandy insisted.

Roy stabbed the pointed stick-end of one of the larger firecrackers into the grass. “Shine the torch over here a moment, would you?” he told Tupper.