Kathy Jahan’s husband was at Sony. They lived in Bel Air in an Italianate villa that used to belong to Sophia Loren. Kathy was very elegant and her parties were very elegant and very boring, no matter what people said about the canapés. And that cheesy pianist she always hired! He reminded Holly of the music teacher who used to play at the food court at Christmastime. Holly was determined to prove to the board that if they wanted to bring in more money, then their fundraisers had to be unforgettable. Everyone knew that happy people dug deeper and gave more. Already the list of sponsors, all looking for a little of that Stabler shine in a difficult year publicity-wise, was longer than they could fit on the invitation. But Holly couldn’t turn the estate into Grand Central Terminal. Ted would never forgive her.

“We can cap attendance at two hundred, that’s no problem,” Zanne said. “The party planners will be here at ten, the caterers at noon. The gate opens at four thirty, and guests arrive at five.”

“And the animals?” Holly asked. “When do they get here?”

Erin and Zanne exchanged a quick look.

“The giraffe?” she pressed, as if they could’ve forgotten. Honestly, sometimes the staff were more evasive than the children were.

“We decided the giraffe would be overkill, remember?” Erin said.

“That’s not what I said. I said, if we’re going to do a nursery theme, we have to really sell it. Maybe not the elephants—I do not want their poop all over the lawn—but, you know, a couple of monkeys would be fun. And a giraffe. I distinctly remember saying we need Sophie the giraffe.”

It couldn’t be that hard to make a jungle nursery come to life. This was LA. Telegenic animals-for-hire abounded. Whatever the problem was, the staff would deal with it if Holly just stuck to her guns.

“Actually, maybe we do need an elephant, too. Just one. A baby. A baby elephant would be adorable. And we’ll station somebody next to it. They’ll have to clean up any poop right away.”

“No problem,” Erin said. “We’ll circle back with the animal handlers.”

They got on the 405 and headed north to the Valley. The drive to Burbank was anything but convenient. It was no wonder Ted hardly went into the office anymore. Part of the reason Holly wanted to host the party at home this year was so she wouldn’t have to leave the West side.