18f44de3c41a3c8943c05e9ff1c1336f

ôAnd that takes us right back to our topic for tonight,ö said Marge smoothly.

Carlotta frowned at her copy ofTears in the Mud.ôNot exactly Dickens,ö she said.

ôNo, but I was thinking we could tackle Dickens next,ö said Marge. ôThough IÆm not sure yet which one. He has so many wonderful books to choose from.ö

ôI thought we could do a Nora Roberts one,ö said Adra eagerly.

ôIt doesnÆt always have to be romance, Adra,ö said Lynnette sternly. ôThere are other genres to choose from, you know.ö

AdraÆs face fell. It was clear she preferred romance. ôNora writes mystery, too,ö she ventured hopefully.

ôThatÆs true,ö Marge agreed. ôYou know what IÆll do? IÆll draw up a list for you to choose from. And everyone is invited to nominate books for the list. How does that sound?ö

ôExcellent,ö said Charlene, who was nibbling from a cookie. She looked a little worn out, but then being mayor will do that to a person. ItÆs a tough job at the best of times, and when dating sites get hacked and their CEOs murdered, it gets even worse. ôYou know, just for the record, I have to say I donÆt agree with what you just said, Lynnette.ö

ôAbout romance, you mean?ö asked Lynnette, raising a stunned eyebrow.

ôNo, about women being responsible for their husbands cheating on them.ö

ôI donÆt think I phrased it exactly like that,ö said Lynnette with a light laugh.

ôYes, you did. And you really shouldnÆt blame women when their husbands turn out to be philandering you-know-whats. Mostly itÆs the men themselves that are up to no good. And unfortunately I can relate.ö She gave Emma a sad look. ôAnd even though I blamed myself for a long time, I know now that it wasnÆt my fault. In fact it never was.ö

ôHear, hear,ö said Adra. ôSo about Nora. She writes in many wonderful genres. She writes mystery, romance, but also fantasy and even science fiction!ö

ôAnd her books are a damn sight better than that Dickens fellow,ö Carlotta murmured.

ôDickens is classic literature,ö said Odelia, coming to her momÆs defense. ôAnd you canÆt deny that he wrote some veryà interesting books. Books that are still being read today.ö

ôAll right, fine,ö said Lynnette. ôSo letÆs put it to a vote. All in favor of Noraùö

ôFirst the nominations, then the vote,ö said Marge, showing everyone who was boss. ôThereÆs an order to these things and itÆs important to respect it, otherwise itÆs chaos.ö

Just then, Gran walked in, saw that the meeting was in full swing, and immediately walked out again.

Gran isnÆt one for reading, IÆm afraid, and in that sense sheÆs an equal opportunities person: she dislikes Nora just as much as she dislikes Dickens or any other writer. And since book club occupied the living room, where the television is located, I could already tell she was in a bad mood, for next door, Chase was watching football with Tex and Alec.

ôNow she knows how we feel,ö Dooley whispered.

ôAnd how do we feel?ö I asked, yawning widely.

ôNot in control of the remote!ö

Chapter 15

Vesta was indeed in a particularly foul mood. She didnÆt enjoy it when she couldnÆt occupy her space the way she liked. And most of all she didnÆt enjoy not being able to watch her favorite shows in peace and comfort. Of course she had a small television set in her bedroom, but the last thing she wanted was to sneak upstairs and hide away in herroom like some punished teenager and watch TV. After all, whatÆs the point of having a perfectly nice house with a perfectly nice TV when you canÆt even call the place your own!

So she set off for OdeliaÆs place, knowing that at least there these so-called book club people wouldnÆt be infesting the place with their intellectual pastime. Only the moment she stalked in through the kitchen door, she found not only her son-in-law there, stretched out on the couch, but also Tex and even her son Alec. The three men were watching some football game on television.

ôOh, hey, Vesta,ö said Tex good-naturedly. ôWanna join us?ö

ôAnd watch grown men beat the crap out of each other? No, thank you very much.ö And she made to leave again, vowing to drop by ScarlettÆs and hog her friendÆs TV instead.

ôOh, before you go,ö said Alec, ôthereÆs been a complaint. Well, a couple of complaints, actually.ö

ôWhat complaint?ö she asked, glancing to the TV where two colossuses had just collided. She winced, imagining the damage to the brain these people must endure.

ôThe cleaner at Valina Fawn who called in ValinaÆs murder this morning. You told her not to waste valuable police time with her crank calls and hung up on her. Lucky for her she got Scarlett the second time around, who did the right thing and sent a patrol round.ö

ôSo? WhatÆs your point, exactly?ö she asked tersely.

Alec took a deep breath.ôMy point, Ma, is that when youÆre a 911 dispatcher, you donÆt tell people reporting a crime to take a hike. You diligently follow protocol and take down their information and send a unit. DidnÆt you get the flow chart outlining the procedure?ö