“I can get an apartment in town. I have Atlas now.”

“Nonsense. This house has seventeen rooms, and the two cottages in the rear have five rooms each. We have plenty of room. If I seem less than enthusiastic, it’s because I’m shocked to see you. I missed my trips to Los Angeles last year because I opted to go to Europe to see if they could help me. Aside from an entire bone transplant, there was nothing they could do for me.”

“I should have come here. I didn’t know there was anything wrong, Lola. I thought you were just too busy to visit. Why didn’t you say something? I would have come sooner.”

“You’re a young woman, Cady. You don’t need to be saddled with an old woman. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. You have your own life to live. You are living it, aren’t you? Oh, don’t tell me you’re still hibernating and living in that little community because it’s safe and oh-so-boring. Is there a young man in your life?”

“Absolutely.” Cady grinned as she pointed to Atlas.

“So you aren’t over it. Cady, Cady, when are you going to start to live? Ever since that accident, you haven’t been the same. I think you might have had a chance if your parents had allowed me to keep you. But no, they came and got you and took you to all those different towns—in how many different states?—before they settled in that backwoods place in Vermont. I was good enough for them for the three years it took for your rehabilitation, but after that, I was just a glitzy movie star who’d had one face-lift too many and shamed them. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge one minute of those three years. I thought I was going to die when they took you away. You cried so hard my heart broke.”

“Let’s not talk about Mom and Dad or…that time. Let’s talk about you. I want to know how this all happened, and I want to know what I can do for you.”

Lola grimaced. “Years of decadent living, I guess. The condition is irreversible, so let’s not waste our time talking about it. I had a great life, and if I had it to do all over again, I’d do it all the same way. I lived every single minute of my life. As to what you can do, well, you can help me with my memoirs. Mandy said she has many capabilities, but writing isn’t one of them. I had previously thought about talking into a recorder and sending you the tapes. That was on my good days. On my bad days I decided no one would be interested enough in an old film star to buy the book. I’ve outlived all the people I would include in the book, so there isn’t anyone left to sue me if I go ahead and decide to write it. What do you think, Cady?”