Secrets in the Attic (Secrets 1)

might have been in that room, too. Did you ever think

of that?"

I felt my jaw weaken and my mouth fall open.

She laughed.

"I can't even imagine how you would have

acted. You probably would have frozen, and I would

have done everything, anyway. Maybe we would have

buried his body in the backyard," she said.

I shook my head. "I couldn't have done that." "Don't worry. You could have if you had to, but

you didn't have to. I've done it all now, done it all for

both of us. You sure you have enough cheese for our

pizza?" she asked, almost in the same breath. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Good. Well, how do I look?" she asked,

spinning around and smiling.

"Great," I said. She really did.

"You have to do better with your own makeup

now, Zipporah. I'm going to show you stuff I learned

from my mother. After all," she cried, as if she had

just made a tremendous discovery, "for a while,

you've got to have all the romance for both of us!"

9 A Daily Dose of Poison

" l romance for both of us?"

"Sure. While I'm trapped up here, I'll live vicariously through you, through every kiss you get, every touch, everything. So don't hold back on a single juicy detail when I ask you to tell me exactly what happened."

She played with my hair, pushing my bangs this way and that, just as my mother often did. What she suggested made me think about myself and recall the conversation I had had with my mother in the sitting room.

"Actually," she continued, "I've planted some seeds for you already."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see," she said. "Stop looking at me that way. What are friends supposed to do for friends? They look after each other, Zipporah. You're looking after me right now, aren't you?"

"Yes, but . ."

"No buts. I decided it's time we both had experiences we'll never forget. Little romances are important at our age. You don't just dive into a major love affair, you know. That always turns out to be a disaster. You need to get some battlefield experience. That's how my mother always referred to her early dating when she was our age--battlefield experience. She personifies that expression, all is fair in love and war."

"Whom would I go out with now?"