She’d looked forward to seeing Boomer and Pete. She dreaded seeing Amy. Why am I even here? She shrugged as she walked up the flagstone path. She rang the doorbell and waited. She could hear a melodious chime echoing in the house. When there was no response, she rang the bell a second time. She jumped back when the door suddenly burst open. “Yes?”

The two women stared at one another. “Amy, it’s me, Cady Jordan.”

“Cady?”

Cady wondered if Amy always sounded and looked as ridiculous as she did right now.

“It’s me, Amy. Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Of course. Come in. The house is a mess. I’m a mess. Everything is a mess. What in the world are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting you, Amy,” Cady said cheerfully. She was right, the house was a mess. A mess was one thing, but a dirty house was something else. This house was both messy and dirty. Amy wasn’t exactly spit and polish either. She wore baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt full of stains and white spots from too much Clorox.

“Would you like some coffee? I can make it fresh. I was just going to clean up the kitchen. I just can’t seem to get it in gear in the morning. Getting the girls off to school, packing lunches. Arnie likes me to pack him a lunch, too. Cooking breakfast, it all takes time. Andy is staying with us until he finds an apartment. He and his wife split up about ten days ago. He comes home for lunch. I guess you’ll get to see him if you’re still here,” she babbled breathlessly.

“No thanks. I’ll only stay a minute. I just wanted to stop and say hello. I went by the police station and met Boomer, then I stopped to see Pete. It was so nice to see them again.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

Cady tried not to look at the messy kitchen she was standing in, tried to see some sign of the ten-year-old Amy that she had played with. “Because I wanted to see them the way I wanted to see you and Andy. Obviously, this wasn’t a good time to stop by. Perhaps we can get together another day when you aren’t so…overwhelmed.”

“What makes you think I’m overwhelmed?” Amy asked, obviously annoyed. “I’m not. This is my life. I live like this. When you’re married with kids, you can’t dress up in fancy clothes and high heels and go visiting in the middle of the morning. Why did you really come here?”

“This is a bad time.” Damn, Lola and Mandy both would have had a snappy comeback on the tips of their tongues. What was it Lola said? Throw out some bait. She whirled around, and said, “I came by to ask you why you lied. I can see myself out.”

Cady was halfway down the flagstone walkway when Andy Hollister pulled into the driveway. She waved. “Hi, Andy!”