check on Teagan, make sure she can’t help Pai.
You might be seen .
No reason to think that. Using the Mercedes at the clinic had been one of her wisest choices. So far, Teagan, Doretta or Pai hadn’t recognized her in the Blazer. No reason they would now.
On her way out the door, Erica noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. She listened to Doretta’s words of condolence.
“ Whore.” Erica pushed the delete button.
Chapter 10
Disgusted, Teagan folded the Seattle Times in half and pitched it onto the stone coffee table. How could anyone kill a woman over her driving? People are nuts. She pulled the cord to the sea green drapes and they slid open. Gray clouds fogged with promised rain; however, a break in the overcast widened and gave way to a patch of brilliant blue sky; one bright enough to lift soggy spirits and give a reason to clean house, rake yards, and sweep boulevards. As the sunshine streamed down, Teagan felt the first real spurt of energy since Charlie’s birth. Her contented limbo faded under a sudden need to rejoin the life she had set aside as easily as locking her door the day she arrived home from the hospital. The break in the clouds connected with her mood and she nodded at the sky. She was okay.
I hope Pai is looking out her window, she thought. If anyone needed a patch of blue, it was her.
Charlie’s faint mewling carried from the nursery. Teagan hustled down the hall and lifted him from the bassinet. His eyelids opened and his dark blue eyes looked at her, then closed again, perfectly satisfied. She, too, had been content to stay at home, letting sore muscles heal, and getting used to leaky breasts. But four days were enough.
Teagan carried Charlie to the phone. As soon as she heard Pai’s voice, she announced, “I need to go check things at my market and thought I’d drop by afterwards.”
“What time?” Pai sounded unsure.
Puzzled by the lack of enthusiasm, Teagan asked tentatively, “Ten o’clock okay?”
“Jimmy has a doctor’s appointment at 10:15. I want to make sure his navel is healing properly, and he’s been cranky, wanting to nurse all the time. We can stop by your place afterwards.”
Teagan heard desperation. “Are you alright?”
Pai sighed. “When I was kid, the New Year’s festival always had many colorful paper dragons with smiling jaws and shiny black eyes. They were happy gods, snaking through the merry makers, chasing away Evil.”
“ What does that have to do with anything?”
“ Evil is a god who curses you in the next life. I feel him watching, waiting. Twice, I’ve seen him.”
An unexpected shiver chilled Teagan; even Pai couldn’t really believe she’d seen an evil god. “You’ve seen someone? Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I gotta go, Jimmy still needs a bath and I have to do my face.” Pai hung up.
Teagan felt cutoff. She should be offended. Instead, she stewed about Pai’s continuing depression and was disgusted for doing so. She snuggled Charlie. “Why can’t I just let Pai worry about Pai?”
He burped.
She laughed and tapped his button nose lightly. “You’re right. She just needs to know someone will cover her back.”
As Teagan dressed Charlie in a fresh terry sleeper, she couldn’t release Pai from her mind. Worrying about a dragon sounded more than crazy. It was scary. Her mother should be with her. Teagan’s rambling thoughts stopped short. She cuddled Charlie. “My mother should be with me too, but if she were, I’d run her off.” The admission slipped out unbidden.
A strong impulse to be active urged Teagan to hurry. She pulled off her football jersey and sweats. Her belly was still pudgy but she managed to button her baggy Chinos. She slipped into clogs and yanked a cotton sweater over her head. Two-handed, she finger combed her hair, twisted it and anchored it to the back of
You might be seen .
No reason to think that. Using the Mercedes at the clinic had been one of her wisest choices. So far, Teagan, Doretta or Pai hadn’t recognized her in the Blazer. No reason they would now.
On her way out the door, Erica noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. She listened to Doretta’s words of condolence.
“ Whore.” Erica pushed the delete button.
Chapter 10
Disgusted, Teagan folded the Seattle Times in half and pitched it onto the stone coffee table. How could anyone kill a woman over her driving? People are nuts. She pulled the cord to the sea green drapes and they slid open. Gray clouds fogged with promised rain; however, a break in the overcast widened and gave way to a patch of brilliant blue sky; one bright enough to lift soggy spirits and give a reason to clean house, rake yards, and sweep boulevards. As the sunshine streamed down, Teagan felt the first real spurt of energy since Charlie’s birth. Her contented limbo faded under a sudden need to rejoin the life she had set aside as easily as locking her door the day she arrived home from the hospital. The break in the clouds connected with her mood and she nodded at the sky. She was okay.
I hope Pai is looking out her window, she thought. If anyone needed a patch of blue, it was her.
Charlie’s faint mewling carried from the nursery. Teagan hustled down the hall and lifted him from the bassinet. His eyelids opened and his dark blue eyes looked at her, then closed again, perfectly satisfied. She, too, had been content to stay at home, letting sore muscles heal, and getting used to leaky breasts. But four days were enough.
Teagan carried Charlie to the phone. As soon as she heard Pai’s voice, she announced, “I need to go check things at my market and thought I’d drop by afterwards.”
“What time?” Pai sounded unsure.
Puzzled by the lack of enthusiasm, Teagan asked tentatively, “Ten o’clock okay?”
“Jimmy has a doctor’s appointment at 10:15. I want to make sure his navel is healing properly, and he’s been cranky, wanting to nurse all the time. We can stop by your place afterwards.”
Teagan heard desperation. “Are you alright?”
Pai sighed. “When I was kid, the New Year’s festival always had many colorful paper dragons with smiling jaws and shiny black eyes. They were happy gods, snaking through the merry makers, chasing away Evil.”
“ What does that have to do with anything?”
“ Evil is a god who curses you in the next life. I feel him watching, waiting. Twice, I’ve seen him.”
An unexpected shiver chilled Teagan; even Pai couldn’t really believe she’d seen an evil god. “You’ve seen someone? Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I gotta go, Jimmy still needs a bath and I have to do my face.” Pai hung up.
Teagan felt cutoff. She should be offended. Instead, she stewed about Pai’s continuing depression and was disgusted for doing so. She snuggled Charlie. “Why can’t I just let Pai worry about Pai?”
He burped.
She laughed and tapped his button nose lightly. “You’re right. She just needs to know someone will cover her back.”
As Teagan dressed Charlie in a fresh terry sleeper, she couldn’t release Pai from her mind. Worrying about a dragon sounded more than crazy. It was scary. Her mother should be with her. Teagan’s rambling thoughts stopped short. She cuddled Charlie. “My mother should be with me too, but if she were, I’d run her off.” The admission slipped out unbidden.
A strong impulse to be active urged Teagan to hurry. She pulled off her football jersey and sweats. Her belly was still pudgy but she managed to button her baggy Chinos. She slipped into clogs and yanked a cotton sweater over her head. Two-handed, she finger combed her hair, twisted it and anchored it to the back of
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