eat?"
"It is."
"I do. Can I?"
Susan and Rick arrived at the high school with minutes to spare. With five different groups performing, the auditorium was packed, so they stood at the rear wall. Rick kept ducking back into the lobby until the very last minute, hoping to catch sight of Lily, but none of the singers appeared.
Susan searched the rows of seats for Mary Kate and Jess but didn't see them. She couldn't imagine they wouldn't be there to support Lily--unless they were simply keeping a low profile, which she could totally understand. Hadn't she been content to arrive at the auditorium at the last minute and not have to mingle with parents herself?
The house lights dimmed, and the concert began with performances by the string quartet and the jazz band, before, finally, the Zaganotes ran down the side aisles and onto the stage singing their trademark "Feelin' Groovy." There were a dozen willowy girls, each with long hair swaying, fingers snapping, their smiles vibrant against black turtlenecks.
Lily wasn't among them.
"Where is she?" Rick whispered.
"I have no idea," Susan whispered back. She took out her phone, but there were no messages. She glanced back at the door, but there were no girls waiting to join the others onstage--and besides, the Zaganotes had a dozen singers, and a dozen were already there. Susan knew who was in the group and who wasn't. One of the girls onstage, Claire DuMont, was new.
"Think Lily got sick?" Rick whispered.
"She'd have called," Susan whispered back.
"What if she couldn't, if it was something serious?" He was thinking about the baby, Susan knew.
"One of the other girls would have come to get me."
The group sang Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," then a spectacular arrangement of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose," but Susan's eyes were on her phone. WHERE R U, she texted and waited nervously. When Lily didn't text back, she slipped out of the auditorium and tried phoning, but the voice that came on was the bright, recorded one saying, "Not here, say where." Rick was beside her, looking as worried as she was, when the phone rang.
"Lily's with me," Mary Kate said. "She's fine."
"Why isn't she singing?"
"The Zaganotes asked her to resign."
"Resign." Susan caught Rick's eye.
"Because she's pregnant."
"Wait. Kristen Hannigan picked her up to drive her to the concert."
"Kristen Hannigan picked her up to tell her the news. Lily made her drop her in town, then she called me."
"Where are you now?"
"Your house."
"I'll be right there."
Lily was huddled in the den, eyes red, tissues in her hand. Her bare feet were tucked under her, the black sweater and jeans replaced by purple sweats. Her hair was messed, a sign of the hasty change of clothes. When she saw Susan, her eyes welled, then grew wider when she saw Rick.
"You came all this way to see the concert?" she cried, tears spilling. "That is so bad!"
"I came to see you," said Rick and, leaning over, gave her a huge hug. "The concert was just an excuse." Drawing back, he brushed at her tears, but they continued to fall.
"How could they do this to me, Mom?" she asked. "I worked for that spot. I earned it. I was at practice all day Sunday and no one said a word, but the whole time they must have been talking behind my back." Angrily, she wiped her cheeks with her palms. "I'll bet Emily Pettee started it. Her mom is a bitch."
"Lily."
"She is . She acts like she's our censor. She has a thing against any song whose lyrics are at all suggestive, so forget doing Amy Wine-house or even the Dixie Chicks. She's always around before concerts making sure that every little last bra strap is hidden. I know she's behind this."
"It doesn't matter--"
"It does , Mom. I love singing."
Susan knew that, and her heart broke. Kneeling, she took Lily's hand. "It doesn't matter who started it," she finished quietly. "If the girls voted, it's done."
"But how could they do this to me? I've worked with them since freshman year. What about 'esprit de
"It is."
"I do. Can I?"
Susan and Rick arrived at the high school with minutes to spare. With five different groups performing, the auditorium was packed, so they stood at the rear wall. Rick kept ducking back into the lobby until the very last minute, hoping to catch sight of Lily, but none of the singers appeared.
Susan searched the rows of seats for Mary Kate and Jess but didn't see them. She couldn't imagine they wouldn't be there to support Lily--unless they were simply keeping a low profile, which she could totally understand. Hadn't she been content to arrive at the auditorium at the last minute and not have to mingle with parents herself?
The house lights dimmed, and the concert began with performances by the string quartet and the jazz band, before, finally, the Zaganotes ran down the side aisles and onto the stage singing their trademark "Feelin' Groovy." There were a dozen willowy girls, each with long hair swaying, fingers snapping, their smiles vibrant against black turtlenecks.
Lily wasn't among them.
"Where is she?" Rick whispered.
"I have no idea," Susan whispered back. She took out her phone, but there were no messages. She glanced back at the door, but there were no girls waiting to join the others onstage--and besides, the Zaganotes had a dozen singers, and a dozen were already there. Susan knew who was in the group and who wasn't. One of the girls onstage, Claire DuMont, was new.
"Think Lily got sick?" Rick whispered.
"She'd have called," Susan whispered back.
"What if she couldn't, if it was something serious?" He was thinking about the baby, Susan knew.
"One of the other girls would have come to get me."
The group sang Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," then a spectacular arrangement of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose," but Susan's eyes were on her phone. WHERE R U, she texted and waited nervously. When Lily didn't text back, she slipped out of the auditorium and tried phoning, but the voice that came on was the bright, recorded one saying, "Not here, say where." Rick was beside her, looking as worried as she was, when the phone rang.
"Lily's with me," Mary Kate said. "She's fine."
"Why isn't she singing?"
"The Zaganotes asked her to resign."
"Resign." Susan caught Rick's eye.
"Because she's pregnant."
"Wait. Kristen Hannigan picked her up to drive her to the concert."
"Kristen Hannigan picked her up to tell her the news. Lily made her drop her in town, then she called me."
"Where are you now?"
"Your house."
"I'll be right there."
Lily was huddled in the den, eyes red, tissues in her hand. Her bare feet were tucked under her, the black sweater and jeans replaced by purple sweats. Her hair was messed, a sign of the hasty change of clothes. When she saw Susan, her eyes welled, then grew wider when she saw Rick.
"You came all this way to see the concert?" she cried, tears spilling. "That is so bad!"
"I came to see you," said Rick and, leaning over, gave her a huge hug. "The concert was just an excuse." Drawing back, he brushed at her tears, but they continued to fall.
"How could they do this to me, Mom?" she asked. "I worked for that spot. I earned it. I was at practice all day Sunday and no one said a word, but the whole time they must have been talking behind my back." Angrily, she wiped her cheeks with her palms. "I'll bet Emily Pettee started it. Her mom is a bitch."
"Lily."
"She is . She acts like she's our censor. She has a thing against any song whose lyrics are at all suggestive, so forget doing Amy Wine-house or even the Dixie Chicks. She's always around before concerts making sure that every little last bra strap is hidden. I know she's behind this."
"It doesn't matter--"
"It does , Mom. I love singing."
Susan knew that, and her heart broke. Kneeling, she took Lily's hand. "It doesn't matter who started it," she finished quietly. "If the girls voted, it's done."
"But how could they do this to me? I've worked with them since freshman year. What about 'esprit de
Similar Books
The Evil That Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey Into the Minds of Sexual Predators
Stephen G. Michaud, Roy Hazelwood
