“Way to go, Annie,” Nikki said, hugging the older woman. “That took a lot of guts. Are you sorry you did it?”

“Not at all. I look at it all the time. You know what I mean. It was…it was like an act of independence. Nellie wants to get one. Believe it or not, Pearl Barnes has two of them. Pearl said it goes with this new life she’s leading. It’s just…exhilarating!”

“So, what do we think Charles will do or say?” Yoko asked.

“I think he’ll be speechless,” Nikki said.

“Myra isn’t wearing her pearls these days, so I don’t know how he’s going to equate the two. Speechless is good,” Isabelle said.

“Well, I think he’s going to be so flabbergasted that she cared enough to put his name on her ass that he’s going to swoop her back to the bedroom,” Kathryn said, then laughed until she almost collapsed.

“I think I agree with Kathryn,” Yoko said.

Alexis agreed, too.

“Maybe we should go up to the command center and see what’s going on,” Nikki said.

Annie looked flustered. “Maybe we shouldn’t. I wasn’t supposed to tell you all what we did. It has to be a secret.”

“Get off it, Annie. Everyone knows you can’t keep a secret, especially Myra. So we just sit here and wait—is that what you’re saying?”

“Pretty much. She should have come back by now,” Annie said, nibbling on her thumb. “The ice has melted in the lemonade. Maybe it’s time to replenish it, and I saw some peanut butter cookies on the kitchen counter.” A second later Annie was on her feet, leading the parade up to the building that housed the dining room and kitchen.

Annie made a huge production out of replenishing the lemonade, jabbering nonstop as she told the girls to get fresh glasses and put the cookies on a platter, all of which was carried to the front porch next to the building where the command center was located. Not a sound carried through the open door.

Inside, Myra paced the huge living room of the main building. How in the world was she going to do this? She alternated between feeling like a giddy teenager and an old lady doing stupid things…to I-don’t-give-a-shit…to I-do-give-a-shit. Finally, she squared her shoulders, gave the gold bangles on her neck a hitch, and marched down the hall to the command room. She announced herself, and said, “I need to talk to you, Charles.”

Charles poked his head around the corner and responded, “Can it wait, Myra? I’m knee-deep in some things, and I can’t get sidetracked right now.”

“No, Charles, it can’t wait. We don’t have to talk. In fact, you can stay right where you are. I just want to show you something.”

Myra strutted up the three steps to the dais next to where Charles was standing at the computer. She took a huge gulping breath before she turned around and yanked at her capri pants. Charles’s intake of breath sounded so loud Myra thought her eardrums had ruptured.