S is for Silence (Kinsey Millhone 19)

“Oh geez Louise, I almost forgot,” she said. “I need a babysitter tomorrow night. Are you free?”

Liza’s smile faded. “Not really. Kathy and I are going to the fireworks.”

Violet looked at her with a momentary consternation, having assumed she’d agree. “Couldn’t you skip just this once?”

“I don’t know. I told her I’d go with her, and I don’t want to break a date.”

“Trust me, if you’re going out with a girl, it’s not a date. It’s marking time.”

“Couldn’t you get someone else?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Lies. At this late date? There’s no chance. Besides, Kathy’s a sourpuss. I’ve seen the way she bosses you around. Aren’t you ever going to stand up to her?”

“Maybe I could come for a little while. Until eight forty-five. We could hold off going over to the park till then.”

Violet fixed Liza in her clear green gaze. “If you sat the whole evening, you could have Ty come over. You know I wouldn’t care. Missing the fireworks isn’t that big a deal. There’s always next year.”

Liza was stricken. What was she supposed to say? The day had been so perfect, all because of Violet, who wanted only this one small thing.

Violet’s eyes widened. “Please, please, please? You can’t let Kathy take up all your time. I really need the help.”

Liza didn’t see how she could refuse. She sat for Violet all the time. Violet had been counting on her even if she forgot to ask. And Kathy had been such a pill of late. “All right, I guess. Maybe I can do something with her on Sunday instead.”

“Thank you, Sugar Bun. You are too too sweet.”

“That’s okay,” Liza said, flushing with pleasure. Praise of any kind always made her warm.

After lunch, for the finale, Violet took Liza and Daisy to see a 3-D movie called Bwana Devil, with Robert Stack and Barbara Britton. It had been in the theaters for seven months, but it hadn’t come to Santa Maria until recently. The three of them settled in front-row seats with their cardboard glasses, wearing wax lips for fun, munching popcorn and Milk Duds. Violet told her that for the early 3-D movies, one lens of the give-away glasses was green and the other was red. This was new technology, Polaroid, with both lenses clear, though Violet wasn’t quite sure how either process worked. Why one green and one red lens would produce a 3-D effect was beyond her, she said. The credits began and they settled in. Unfortunately, the first time a lion jumped straight out of the screen at them, Daisy got hysterical and cried so hard Liza had to take her out to the lobby and sit for an hour.

Still, it was the best birthday Liza could remember, and she hated to see the day come to an end.

After they got back to the Sullivans’, Liza sat with Daisy for an hour while Violet ran an errand. Thankfully, Foley didn’t get home until 6:00, so she didn’t have to deal with him. True to form, Violet took longer than she said, so it was close to 5:45 by the time Liza finally got to her house. Her mother heard her come in and called her into the living room. Liza stood at the door while her mother struggled into a sitting position. Her mother had that fuzzy look that made Liza want to scream.

“What,” she said. She didn’t want to spoil the good mood she was in, but she knew better than to ignore her mom.

“Word of warning. Kathy Cramer came by with your birthday present, and when she found out you weren’t here, she got that look on her face.” Her mother’s consonants were only slightly soft. In her own curious way, she was aware of what was going on.

Liza felt her heart sink. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Kathy to find out she’d had lunch with Violet and had seen Bwana Devil afterward. Kathy had been talking about Bwana Devil for weeks, trying to get her dad to drive them into town and drop them at the theater. Liza didn’t feel she was under any obligation to wait and go with her, but she knew Kathy would see it differently. “What’d you tell her?”

“I forget. I made some excuse for you. She woke me from a sound sleep, standing on the porch, pounding on the front door like the house was burning down. I hollered for her to hold her horses, but by the time I got there, she was already acting like she had a stick up her butt. I told her I didn’t have a clue where you were and she got all snotty and sullen. Honestly, Liza, what do you see in her? She’s chained to you like a rock and she’s dragging you down.”

“You didn’t mention Violet?”

“Why would I do that?”