Nita took a brush to her scalp. She hadn’t fastened her kimono, and Blue saw she was wearing her favorite red satin nightgown. “What kind of phone call?”

Blue threw up her hands. “A bunch of idiots were planning to throw you a surprise birthday party. But don’t worry. I put a stop to it.” She picked up the latest issue of Star from the foot of the bed and pretended to thumb through it. “I guess some of the younger people in town heard the old stories and decided you got a raw deal when you first came here. They wanted to make up for it—like that could ever happen—with a party in the park, a big cake, balloons, and some asinine speeches made by people you hate. I made it more than clear. No party.”

For once, Nita seemed to have been struck speechless. Blue perused the pages innocently. Nita set down her brush and tugged on the sash of her kimono. “It might be…interesting.”

Blue hid a smile. “It’d be creepy, and you’re not doing it.” She tossed down the magazine. “Just because they’ve finally figured out they treated you like dirt doesn’t mean you can’t keep ignoring them.”

“I thought you were on their side,” Nita retorted. “You’re always telling me how many people I’m hurting. I’m supposed to let them add stores where nobody’s going to shop. Open up a bed-and-breakfast where nobody will ever stay.”

“That’s just good business, but you’re obviously too old to understand modern economics.”

Nita took one long suck on her teeth, then charged toward Blue. “You call them back right now and tell them to throw their big party. The bigger the better! I deserve it, and it’s about time they realized it.”

“I can’t do that now. It’s supposed to be a surprise party.”

“You think I can’t act surprised?”

Blue stomped around for a while arguing, and the more she argued, the more Nita dug in. All in all, a job well done.

Her work on the murals, however, was another matter. As one day gave way to the next, she deviated more and more from her drawings until she finally tore them off the walls.