of the oven and added two more off the griddle. âThis is my
job,
Zoe. Iâm here for the residents. Youâve got me all to yourself most of the time. This is just not one of those times, okay?â
âButââ
âNot now.â She glared at Zoe. A worker came in with a tray of dirty dishes and set it on the counter. Alice smiled her boss smile at him.
âIf I donât tell you now,â Zoe whispered, âIâm not sure if Iâll be able to later.â
âThat is emotional blackmail, Zoe.â Ah, another one of her tapes. A series sheâd started listening to since theyâd moved.
Emotional BlackmailâWhat Is It and Do You Do It?
Emotional Blackmail at WorkâThe Invisible Tiger
.
Parenting and Emotional BlackmailâHow To Parent Effectively Without Emotionally Blackmailing Your Children
. It occurred to Zoe to ask, right then, if Alice really listened to those stupid tapes or if she just wrote down little sound bites that made her sound like she did.
âI will
not
hear this right now,â Alice whispered harshly. âIs that understood?â
If she hadnât have been carrying the pancakes, she wouldâve been wagging a finger at Zoe, something she was trying to do less lately, because one of her tapes said it was antagonizing and unhelpful.
Cleo held up her empty plate. âIf those flapjacks were here on this thing Iâd be able to eat them a whole lot easier.â
âWeâll discuss this later, Zoe. Keep an eye on the pancakes for me.â Alice set the tray on the table and stood back with her hands on her hips and a great big as-fake-as-they-come smile on her face. âChow time, people!â
Donelle glanced over at Zoe and said something Zoe couldnât quite hear, although she knew she heard her name. Alice threw her head back and laughed. Zoe half expected her mother to swat the air with an oven-mitted hand and gush, âOh, arenât you just a peach!â Instead, Alice leaned over and said something back to the woman and everyone at the table laughed. Zoe stared out the front window at the cold rain, which was falling harder. She wished she were out in it, getting drenched to the bone, rather than suffer this.
The pancakes! Zoe turned to the stove just as the smoke alarm went off. The laughing stopped. Alice ran over and moved the griddle. Carl grabbed a tea towel and waved it under the alarm until it stopped. They all stared at Zoe, even the kids, the cartoon blaring behind them, ignored.
âWhat the hell are you doing over there?â Ed said. âAll you got to do is flip the goddamn things.â
âLetâs watch our language around the children.â Alice enunciated each word crisply. âZoe Michelle Anderson, I do not know what has gotten into you. Go down to the office and wait for me there. And donât touch anything.â
âYou almost burnt down the goddamn house, Zoe Michelle Anderson.â One of the boys pointed at her with a plastic boomerang held like a gun. âPow! Youâre dead, stupid.â
âSorry about the pancakes,â Zoe mumbled.
Alice pointed to the stairs. âJust
go
.â
Zoe took a deep breath. She went to take Cassy with her, but Alice shook her head.
âSheâs fine up here with us.â
âYeah.â Donelle cuddled her tight. âSheâs no trouble.â
No trouble. Zoe imagined Alice cutting primly into her pancake as she left the room. âZoe, on the other hand...â Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, and all of them laughing.
Which was ironic, Zoe knew. Alice was always going on to her friends about how good Zoe was, how she never got up to anything. She told perfect strangers that she was mother to the most well-adjusted teenager sheâd ever met, like that made Alice some kind of parenting success. âArenât I lucky?â sheâd say, although what she meant was âArenât I a great