“Oh, Beth, you are so right.” Melinda slurred a little. “As a kid, I would have killed to have Mrs. Morgan be my mother.” Melinda put both elbows on the table and let her glass dangle from her right hand. “I remember one huge fight I had with my own mother about my boyfriend, this was a couple of years after the twins died. I was supposed to be home by eleven but things got intimate and I lost track of time. No, I didn’t sleep with him, that’s why he dumped me, and when he dropped me off at home around 1am, we were through. I cried my eyes out.

“The next morning my mother wouldn’t let it go. Called me a whore. I ran to Gabi’s house to get away from it all. Gabi wasn’t there but Mrs. Morgan was. She listened… really listened to me.” Melinda shook her head with a tight-lipped smile. “And she tried to give me advice about boys. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but there was something about that day… Mrs. Morgan was enjoying being a mom and I don’t think she got that opportunity much. Gabi used to get jealous of the time I spent with her mother too. She forced me to choose at one point. So, I backed away from Mrs. Morgan. I think that hurt Mrs. Morgan quite a bit.”

Bethany nodded in agreement. “It was a mistake back then, to let Gabi call the shots, but I can speak for myself when I say I was a teenager, I was all kinds of stupid and let bad judgment direct me. As an adult, I’ve been in contact with Mrs. Morgan. Sometimes you have to right the wrong and thankfully, I as an adult got the opportunity to fix something stupid and regrettable that I did as a kid. How often does that happen?”

“It’s fantastic when do-overs come back around,” Gwen said.

“Awesome for you, Beth,” Melinda said, with a mock clap of the hands. It had a jealousy component to it that made Val think that the friendship between these girls was nothing more than a competition. Val wondered how badly Melinda lost. There were no pictures of her on the poster board at Gabrielle’s funeral. Fences weren’t mended between Melinda and Mrs. Morgan. A competition…Val said the word to herself. Maybe this is what Bethany was trying to say with her condo and its color palette. Competition. ‘To gain control, Val, you compete with everything.’ Bethany’s words rang in Val’s ears.

Bethany shot a look back at Melinda. She had obviously caught the jab. She sat poised, composed, her hands on her lap and a pleasant smile crept across her face. “It certainly is.”