Page 44 of Proof

Luna checked the time. “How long will it take?”

“About an hour.”

“Do you have time now?”

“I do not. But I can do it before we go to dinner.”

“Perfect. I’ll surprise Chris when we meet up with the guys later.”

Ellie brought her cup and plate to the sink. “That sounds like a very good plan. I must get to work, but I want to see your masterpiece before you leave.”

“Leave it, Ellie. I’ll take care of it,” Luna called over to her.

“Thank you, dear. Have a good morning.” Ellie gave Wylie a pat on the head before she went out the door, followed by Chi-Chi.

Luna checked her email. No response from Brendan. Nothing. Strange. She scrolled through the contact list on her phone. Brendan Nelson was still there. She sent a text. Sometimes people responded to text messages faster than email, and sometimes people would only send text messages. They didn’t even call anymore. Social media. The Internet. All an illusion of communication. People spewed out messages, hoping someone would care. Someone would listen. Luna flicked herself on the cheek and repeated Ellie’s words: “ ‘Let’s not be cynical, dear. As long as the people you care about communicate with you, that’s all that matters.’ Right, Wylie?” He let out a low yowl. “At least you pay attention.”

The minute the center opened, people began pouring in. It was slightly overcast, which brought folks inside, but they were still able to have lunch outside on the patio, walk through the gardens, or take their pooches to the dog park.

Luna glanced across the inner lavish courtyard and noticed a sign on Jennine’s door. She couldn’t read it from where she sat, so she picked up the walkie-talkie and buzzed Chi-Chi.

“What’s up with your neighbor Jennine?”

“I do not know. Why do you ask?

“There’s a sign on the door. Go see what it says,” Luna urged.

Chi-Chi huffed. “If that is your wish.”

“Well, it is. And it should be yours, too. Remember, she’s out with your brother. What if something happened?”

“You make a good point. Hold on.” Chi-Chi walked over to Jennine’s door. “It says, ‘Be back in a jiffy.’ What does this jiffy mean? I hear it all the time, but it makes no sense to me.”

“It’s a unit of time. Some argue it’s one-one-hundredth of a second, while others claim it’s one-sixtieth of a second. Because it’s such a quick period of time, it’s become slang for very fast.”

“I do not know if I will ever understand your slang.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of it.” Luna laughed, then went back to the original question. “I wonder where Jennine went?”

She had barely finished her sentence when Jennine appeared from the back of her shop, wearing what looked like lingerie. “Oh, Chi-Chi,” Jennine said. “I’m so glad you’re here. What do you think of my outfit? Do you think your brother will like it?”

Chi-Chi was aghast. Her first reaction was to say, “Only if you’re going to a bordello.” That was a word she knew. Instead, she took the polite route. “I am not sure where you are going, so it is difficult for me to have an opinion.”

Jennie flashed her capped teeth. “Well, I know where I want to go.” She winked at Chi-Chi.

“I am certain you do.” Chi-Chi’s stomach was turning somersaults. “I thought you were going to go out to dinner.”

“Oh, yeah, that too. So whaddya think?”

“I think it’s very . . . diaphanous.”

Jennine furrowed her brow. “Dia-what?”

Chi-Chi thought quickly. “Gossamer. Delicate.” She was not accustomed to stretching the truth, and those two words were the only ones that were appropriate, other than calling the outfit cheesy or flimsy.

“Yes. Delicate. Exactly what I was going for,” Jennine cooed.

In addition to my brother, Chi-Chi thought to herself. “I made a reservation for you at Blue Ridge.”