Different Circles

“No, she doesn’t own a gun,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve been talking to her a lot about you and Laura ever since that American Watcher deal. Nothing private, of course, just about how cool the two of you are, how you’re nothing like what the media says. I think maybe she’s starting to believe me and she wants to meet you for herself.”

“Well ... all right then,” Jake said. “Ask her if she wants to come over for lunch at noon tomorrow. We’ll eat and then head to the airport after that. Wheels up at 1:15. The dress rehearsal starts at 3:00.”

“She’ll be here,” Meghan said with a smile.

And she was. She arrived promptly at noon, pulling up to the gate in her 1996 Audi convertible. She was an attractive woman for her age, her hair dark and neatly styled, her face pretty. The family resemblance to Meghan and Danielle in her features was actually quite striking. She was a little heavier than her daughters, but by no means fat or even chubby—just natural middle-aged plump. She was dressed fashionably in a pair of black slacks, a burgundy blouse, and a pair of fancy pumps. Her face was pretty much expressionless as Meghan made the introductions to Jake, Laura, and Caydee in the foyer.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Zachary,” Jake greeted, shaking her hand.

“Please, call me Loraine,” she said, returning the shake demurely.

Caydee served to melt a little of the ice. She smiled widely at the new visitor from Laura’s arms.

“What an incredibly adorable little girl,” Loraine exclaimed, seeing that smile. “You were right about her, Meggie. She is simply too cute.”

“Told you,” Meghan said, smiling.

“Look at that red hair!” Loraine said. She looked up at Laura. “I can certainly see where she gets that from.”

“Yeah, and the fair skin to go with it,” Laura told her.

Laura handed Caydee over to Jake and then she and Meghan took Loraine on a tour of the infamous “Kingsley Mansion” as it was often referred to in the local press. Though she was visibly impressed with the layout and décor, she seemed a little surprised that it was not nearly as decadent as she had been led to believe. After all, there was no dungeon with whips and chains in it, no room established and set aside for high-capacity orgies, no ornate pentagrams hanging on the walls, no altar to Satan, no oil portraits of Adolph Hitler, no piles of cocaine in serving bowls laying around. And the maid was a late middle aged Nigerian woman, not a slinky blonde dressed in the traditional short black skirt.

After the tour, they sat down in the formal dining room and Elsa served lunch. It was relatively simple fare. Sandwiches made from last night’s leftover roast chicken served with fresh garden tomatoes, red onion, and green leaf lettuce. Homemade potato salad was the side dish. A pitcher of iced green tea rounded out the offerings. Loraine ate everything that was served to her and genuinely enjoyed it as far as Jake could tell.

As they ate, the conversation was a bit sparse, a bit hesitant, with Meghan making the most contributions. She shared some anecdotes about taking care of Caydee, which served to involve Laura a little more in the discussion, which then led to anecdotes from Loraine about raising girls in the modern world. Jake sat mostly in silence as the conversation went on. He noticed Loraine shooting the occasional glance in his direction, as if she could not quite believe that she was really sitting here with him.

“When was the last time you attended a concert, Loraine?” Jake asked just as they finished up the meal.

“Oh ... my goodness, it’s been years,” she said. “Not since Meggie and Dannie were little girls.”

“What show was it?” Laura asked.

“Well ... I’m dating myself a little here, but it was Hall and Oates at the Civic Center in Long Beach back in ... oh ... it must have been 1981 or so.”

“No kidding?” Jake asked. “I love Hall and Oates.”

“You do?” she asked, surprised.

“Strange but true,” he said. “Their music is well composed and masterfully engineered. The lyrics are a bit simplistic, true, but the presentation is quite good. How were they live? I never got the opportunity to see them myself.”

“Uh ... well, they were quite good actually,” she said. “Jason and I had a wonderful time.”

“That’s good to know,” Jake said. “Sometimes when a band is very technical like they are, it’s hard to reproduce the music live.”

“It is?” she asked, obviously having no clue what he was talking about.