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“No, Marilyn is right,” said her boyfriend. “You don’t look so well, darling. Maybe we should call it a night. Get a good night’s sleep.”

“I’m not going to give whoever did this the satisfaction,” said Opal stubbornly. “I was looking forward to tonight and I’m going to enjoy my meal and so are all of you. So shut up and eat.”

Odelia thought Harlan and Marilyn were right. Opal’s face was still swollen, especially her lips, which resembled those of a blowfish. It was hard to imagine how she managed to get down any of the food she was eating, considering the Botox allergy had closed up her throat and she clearly still had trouble swallowing.

“She looks terrible,” Odelia’s mother whispered. “Are you sure she’s fine?”

“If she says she’s fine, I guess she’s fine,” Odelia whispered back.

They were all sitting at a long table: Odelia and her family, Chase and Uncle Alec included, and Opal’s party, which consisted of herself, Marilyn and Harlan. All in all, it was all very cozy, especially since they’d been given a table at the back by the ma?tre d’, where they wouldn’t be bothered by other guests, and could enjoy their meal in private.

“She shouldn’t have discharged herself,” said Gran. “Mark my words—she’ll be sorry.”

“What do you think, Tex? You’re the medical man,” said Uncle Alec.

“I think nothing,” said Dad as he devoted himself to his sirloin steak. “I’m here as a tourist, not a doctor.”

“But shouldn’t you say something? You did sign that oath of Pythagoras, didn’t you?” Gran insisted.

“Hippocrates, and it’s not my habit to go around dispensing medical advice just because I feel like it. Ultimately Opal is the custodian of her own health.”

“Nice words, to hide the fact that you’re too chicken to tell Opal what’s what.”

“I’m not too chicken to tell anyone anything, but Opal is a grown woman and she clearly knows what she’s doing.”

“A lot of baloney,” Gran muttered, shaking her head.

“So how is the police conference going?” asked Odelia, eager to change the subject.

“Total bust,” said Uncle Alec.

“Yeah, not at all what we expected,” Chase chimed in.

“Some nonsense about using military tactics to police the community,” said Alec. “Not on my watch. That’s what I told that instructor and that’s what I intend to tell the mayor.”

“You didn’t tell that instructor anything, and I’m pretty sure you’re not going to tell the mayor anything either,” said Chase.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts,” said Uncle Alec vaguely. He’d ordered ribs and was enjoying them tremendously, judging from the sauce dripping from his chin.

“What did I tell you about eating lean meat only?” said Chase.

“This is lean meat only,” said Uncle Alec.

“No, it’s not. This is just about the greasiest stuff imaginable. Do you know what this is going to do to your arteries?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m enjoying my meal and if you could please focus on your own plate and not mine I’d be very much obliged, you fitness guru wannabe you.”

“Your wellbeing is my concern, Alec,” said Chase, who was starting to sound more and more like the chief’s mother.

“Well, it shouldn’t be.”

Chase gave Odelia a comical grimace.“See what I’m dealing with here?”

“See whatI’m dealing with?” said Alec.

Odelia patted her uncle on the arm.“Chase is right, Uncle Alec. And he’s only saying this because he cares. If you keep eating like this you’ll get yourself in trouble.”

“No, I won’t. Tell them, Tex. Tell them I’m as healthy as an ox.”

“You know I can’t divulge confidential information about my patients, Alec,” said Dad, slicing into his steak with the precision of a brain surgeon.

“But I’m telling you to tell them. I’m absolving you of your doctor-patient privilege.”

“Still, I feel reluctant to share that kind of information with a third party.”

“She’s my niece, for God’s sakes!”

“Fine. Alec, you are a heart attack waiting to happen. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of these days you’re going to need triple bypass surgery—possibly quadruple. There. That enough information for you?”

Alec stared at his brother-in-law in horror.“You never told me that.”

“I told you exactly that,” said Dad. “Trouble is you never listen.”

“Quadruple bypass surgery?”

“Look on the bright side. Could have been quintuple,” said Dad with faux cheer.

Alec had placed the uneaten rib back on his plate and slowly lifted his napkin to his lips.“Thanks, Doc,” he said with a wounded expression on his face. “Thanks for ruining a perfectly good dinner.”

“You’re welcome,” said Dad with the kind of smile he reserved for patients on the brink of death, to calm them down while the ambulance was on its way.

“Looks like I’m not the only one facing health issues,” said Opal.

“I’m not facing any health issues,” said Alec. “I’m pretty sure my brother-in-law is just kidding. Isn’t that right, Tex? You’re just kidding, right?”

“I’m a doctor,” said Dad. “I never kid about bypass surgery.”