Rebecca pursed her lips. “Do you think that’s safe? Your dogs are just little morsels to a big beast like that.”
“They’ll be fine,” Lindsey assured her. “Ghost is really an angel. And he loves other dogs and small children.”
“For breakfast, maybe,” Rebecca said, hoisting Pucci up a little higher on her chest.
Ignoring Rebecca, I said, “Probably not, but you’ll have to call Mrs. Jimenez and ask her yourself. They have a huge fenced-in backyard because she does agility training in her spare time.”
“Wow,” Nola said. She’s like Super—”
“Stop now. Unless you want me to rescind permission to go tonight.”
She made the motion of zipping her lips and throwing away the key. “Are JJ and Sarah ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s sleepaway camp? I haven’t seen Amelia this excited since we sold that Chippendale sofa with the missing leg.”
“Your dad’s getting them ready now. I already packed their bags, so please do not allow him to remove or add anything.” I gave her a stern look so she’d understand the seriousness of mismatched outfits. I indicated the box Lindsey had just dumped on the patio table. “And whatever that is, could you please remove it? I’m having a party here tonight, remember? I’ll need the table for food.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Trenholm.” Lindsey pulled up the flaps. “My mom told me to bring some of the boxes she’s been packing up to see if you might want any of it. Mostly old books and a bunch of nice shoes that she’s hardly ever worn. She remembers from college that you wear the same size.” She removed a thick stack of brown packing paper from the top and her face fell. “Oops. I think I brought one of Dad’s boxes instead.” She exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll bring this one back and my mom can bring the right one when she comes for the party.”
She picked up the paper to close up the box and Nola stopped her. “Hang on—there’s a bunch of old CDs here.” She held up a stack of discs in their cases and a few loose ones on top and turned to me. “Maybe your dad can use some of these for tonight, because I’m sure only ABBA is on the playlist right now. Isn’t he the music-and-light guy for the party?”
Rebecca turned to me, her voice almost a shriek. “You didn’t hire the DJ I recommended? I had to pull a lot of strings to get him to agree!”
“Yes, well, the one string you didn’t pull was your purse string, so I had to work on my budget and not yours. And my dad fit the budget perfectly. There’s nothing high-tech beyond a CD player and speakers, but it will work. It’s just background music anyway.”
“You mean, no dancing?” Rebecca’s expression was probably as horrified as mine had been when I’d read that part of her plan in the folder she’d given me. “There was supposed to be dancing on a dance floor made to look like a Victoria’s Secret fashion show runway. I even had pictures to show your carpenter! When we spoke earlier this week, you said you were working on it.”
“Yes, but then when I realized how many guests you’d invited and how much more seating we’d need, there just wasn’t room. But my dad is setting up a big screen behind his DJ station to keep old Victoria’s Secret shows on a continuous loop.”
I didn’t wait to hear her response before turning back to Nola and taking the CDs she was holding. “Not that there’s anything wrong with playing my ABBA CDs, but a little variety might not hurt.”
“And prevent a mass stampede as everyone tries to leave at once.” Nola grinned innocently. “We’ll be right back after dropping off JJ and Sarah at the store, so be thinking of what you want us to do first.”
“I thought Amelia was going to pick them up here.”
“But it’s such a nice day, I thought we’d use the jogging stroller. It’s not that far, and I’ll get to spend a little time with them. I’ve been so busy studying that I really haven’t had a chance.” Nola smiled brightly while Lindsey nodded in agreement.
“That’s very sweet of you. I’m sure the twins will like that.” I was a little suspicious of Nola’s good mood and eagerness to help, but I chalked it up to her having gotten the SATs over with. “When you return, I’d like you to help your dad string the twinkling lights in all the trees and around the DJ and gift tables. Just keep all the wires away from the firepit. Maybe after the movie, you can ask Mr. Farrell to drive you here first to have some s’mores.”
Lindsey and Nola looked at each other. “Maybe. Depends on how tired we are,” Nola said. “It’s been a long day.”
“I’m sure it has been. I’ll see you girls in a little bit, then. But please put Ghost in the kitchen for now. He’s making Pucci nervous.”
Lindsey took Ghost by the collar and followed Nola into the house. I took a fortifying breath and returned my attention to Rebecca, expecting to see her still sulking. Instead she had moved with Pucci to the flower-draped arbor, apparently after noticing her chair for the first time. It was an obnoxiously gilded throne Sophie had helped me procure from the College of Charleston’s drama department; it had been used in a recent production of Beauty and the Beast. Jayne and I had worked hard festooning it with pink and red balloons and Vegas-worthy feathers, almost hiding the gilt but not completely. Glimmers of gold shone through to alert viewers of the true horror of what they were seeing.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Rebecca sounded as if she might cry. “At least you haven’t erased all of my personality from my own party.” She sniffed, and because she was pregnant, I didn’t point out that the entire format of a baby/lingerie shower was all the evidence of her personality that was needed.
The back door opened and Jack stepped out. “Mellie, can you come here, please? I think you need to see this.”
“I’ll be right there!” With a stab of worry, I turned to Rebecca to see if she’d be okay if I left her for a few moments, but she had already seated herself in her throne and appeared to be getting comfortable.
“You go on—I’ll be here practicing opening gifts.”