What an awful day this had turned out to be! She had tried to make the best of Tarah as a project partner. She had tried to be nice to her and Cooper. Look what happened! She had planned to take home loads of pictures and a notebook full of good information. All she had were a few pictures and hardly any notes. Worse yet, that stranger seemed to threaten her. And now, on Monday, she had the ugly job of asking Ms. Reed for another partner.

The next day, Darcy, Jamee and Mom went to Aunt Charlotte’s for dinner. A neighbor, Ms. Harris, was sitting with Grandma. About four times a year they went to Aunt Charlotte’s townhouse as a kind of duty to family, even though none of them really wanted to go. “She is my only sister,” Mom would point out. Darcy hated going to the upscale townhouse to eat one of Aunt Charlotte’s strange gourmet meals featuring things like eggplant, tofu, and unusual, smelly cheeses.

“Your hair looks terrible, Mattie,” Charlotte scolded the moment they came through the doorway. “Don’t you ever go to the beauty salon? Lord knows you make a decent salary in that hospital. You don’t need to have your hair looking like a bird’s nest. ”

“I’ve got no time for beauty salons,” Mom grumbled.

“Well, make time. There is nothing more important for a woman than attending to her appearance. ” Charlotte’s critical gaze fell on Jamee next. “And you! You look like a homeless child who fished her wardrobe out of a dumpster! Now look at your sister. Darcy has the good sense to look neat and attractive. ”

Darcy did not want to be the one earning Aunt Charlotte’s approval. Still, she smiled weakly, trying to be polite.

“Everybody at school dresses like this,” Jamee said in her own defense. She flopped down on the sofa and began playing with Aunt Charlotte’s Pekinese dog.

“Children today have no style,” Charlotte continued as she lit the candles on her table. “They haven’t a clue about giving good impressions to people who can help them up the ladder of success. Would I be an executive secretary in a major bank if I didn’t present myself properly?”

Darcy waited for Aunt Charlotte to ask how Grandma was. After all, she was Grandma’s daughter too. She hardly ever came over. She never even wanted to say hello to Grandma over the phone. One time, when Darcy’s mother begged her to come over, Aunt Charlotte got an almost terrified expression on her face and said, “Oh! Don’t ever pressure me to come over there again! Mattie, I cannot bear people in Mom’s condition— I just can’t bear them!”

“So, how are things at the hospital?” Charlotte asked her sister. “Are they still dumping all their paperwork on you?”