Among the scattered dishes from Emmy’s afternoon snack, Bobbi found the packet of white powder. Packaged as it was in clear, unlabeled plastic, it did not bring coffee creamer to her mind at all. She slipped the packet into her pocket as she cleared the table.
Behind her Emmy laughed and cooed as she cuddled Pal. “What a brave little thing to defend me so! Imagine, Oscar Daniels was so upset with a little cat scratch that he raced right off in his car to the doctor!”
“Actually, I believe he got bitten,” Lyndsey told her.
“Pushah. Look at this sweet little face. Does he seem like a kitty who would bite? Of course not.”
“I should get going,” Lyndsey announced. “My wife will be worried about me.”
“Let me walk with you,” Bobbi said. She caught the startled look on Lyn’s face as she turned.
“But I rode my bike,” he said. “Well, I mean…of course, I can walk with the bicycle. I can do that. That works.”
“Don’t be afraid to be seen with this young lady,” Emmy said. “She has two young men in line for her hand, but they will understand, especially my Bertie.”
“I…I’m sure he…would,” Lyndsey told her.
“And your wife can’t be jealous of you two. If you have a problem, just send her to me. I’ll set her straight.”
“Oh, she understands,” Bobbi said. “Lyn is my friend because he is so dear to Polly and Polly means the world to me.”
“Me too,” Lyndsey said.
Emmy released Pal and took Lyn’s face in both her hands. She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek, perilously close to his mouth. “You’re such a dear,” she told him.
Lyn waited until he had turned away from Emmy before wiping the residue from the kiss off his jaw with his arm. Bobbi slipped out the door ahead of him as he finished the job with his palm. She paused by the bike until he released the kickstand and then led him down the driveway.
Lyndsey jogged to catch up with Bobbi. “What did you want—” he began.
Bobbi slipped the packet out of her pocket and held it out by its corner.
“I saw that,” Lyn confessed. “First that and then the money. Who is this Bertie, anyway?”
“I thought he was a figment of her imagination but I’m beginning to think he’s a real person, someone who might be trying to exploit her easy-going nature.”
“Easy going? I think it’s more like—”
“Don’t say it. I’m all she’s got now that Albert Junior has turned his back on her. I don’t want this responsibility.”
“I’ll help you, Bobbi.”
“No need. I’ll speak with Peter. You have enough to worry about.”
“I’m here for you too, any time you need me.”
They walked on in silence, eyes veering away from each other.
