“Nope. Thought I might but I don’t. I’m as free as a bird.”
“And you’re still OK with being the one to come up with the idea for Tom’s death? And Matthew rotting in jail for it despite being innocent?”
“I had to do it,” Faith replied, looking at the fountains as they went through their nightly dance with music and colored lights. There was a strong smell of marijuana mixed with cologne in the air. “What choice did I have? When someone wrongs you, you have every right to retaliate. That’s how the world works. An eye for an eye. I couldn’t just sit by like a patsy. For once I wasn’t the puppet but the puppet master and it felt so good to be in charge.”
Hope held her drink up for a toast.
“Amen to that, sister.”
“Amen to that,” Faith repeated, and the women clinked glasses. They both took a long drink and dissolved into giggles.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Carol, Jim, and Olivia
December
Las Vegas
The trio had just left a Barry Manilow concert and stepped out into the warmth of the night when Carol spotted the margarita stand. Two workers in costumes, one dressed as a strawberry and one as a salt shaker, were dancing to Jimmy Buffett music and waving people over. The queue was long, but there were three cashiers wearing straw sombreros and the line was actually moving pretty fast.
“I’m parched. What do you two think about grabbing some margaritas and sitting by the Bellagio to watch the fountains before we go back to our hotel?” Carol asked.
“Sure, that sounds great,” Olivia replied, and Jim nodded. He was happy to see his wife and niece so happy. This trip had been a surprise birthday gift for Carol, something to get all of their minds off Faith and all that happened. It was not the kind of adventure Jim and Carol usually went on. Neither had ever been to Vegas, but he knew Carol would cherish the opportunity to see Barry Manilow one time in her life, so he’d gone ahead and purchased the tickets, plus hotel rooms for four nights and the flight,without her knowing. Olivia was in on the secret and thrilled to come along. It was winter break of her senior year. They were all having a blast.
At the margarita stand each customer got to choose the color of their drinks, and Jim and Carol both went with electric blue, while Olivia chose cherry red. The Bellagio fountains were minutes from starting, and people were crowding all along the low stone fencing, three or four deep in some cases.
“Can we find a spot to actually sit?” Carol asked. Her left hip was hurting. Jim glanced around.
“Over there to the side.” He pointed. “There’s a bench with two women on it but there’s room for more. Maybe they’ll let us in.”
They started walking that way. The women at the bench were also holding margaritas, clinking glasses and laughing. Carol noted that one of their drinks was lime green and the other bright orange. That stand sure knew how to use food coloring, that was for certain, Carol thought. She decided she might make a comment about it to the women when they sat down on the bench, solidarity with strangers over giant, ridiculous margaritas.
They’d gotten about fifteen feet from the bench when both women turned their heads to gaze at the crowd. Carol froze, grabbing Jim’s arm.
“Oh my God, look natural but take a hard right and keep walking,” she said in a fierce whisper.
“What’s going on?” he whispered back. Olivia leaned her head over to hear too.
“Tell you in a minute, just get away,” Carol said, and they did as she had instructed, moving quickly from the bench and the women, falling back into the river of humans.
“That woman back there,” said Carol when they had reached asafe distance. “That was Heather, from the Fair-Weather Friends Fan Club. The one who brought Mr. Bojangles. Remember I told you about that strange lady with the emotional-support teddy bear?”
“Oh yeah,” Jim said. “That was her?” He twisted his head to look back, but there were simply too many people to see the women on the bench anymore. “I thought the other woman looked kind of familiar,” he said. “But I couldn’t place her.”
Olivia was thinking the same thing.
“I definitely donotwant to run into Heather,” Carol said with a laugh. “There was a screw loose with that lady. I really didn’t like the way she glommed on to me. I can’t believe she’s in Vegas. What is she doing here?”
“Whatever it is, it looks like she found a new target,” Jim mused. “She and that other woman were pretty giggly. Don’t worry, you’ll never have to see her again. Let’s try to find a different place to sit. The fountains are supposed to start soon.”
“I should go back and warn that woman to stay away from Heather!” Carol said, laughing.
They walked on, sipping their drinks and absorbing the sensory overload around them. A street magician was juggling fire off to the left while a breakdancer was twirling on a piece of cardboard to their right. Vendors with pushcarts of souvenirs yelled out, and people, people were everywhere, all ages and races, choking the sidewalk and making it difficult to maneuver at times.
Despite her hip flaring, Carol felt herself smile. This trip had been exactly what she and Jim needed, and she reached for his hand. “This has been fun, Jim. Thank you so much for this surprise.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I thought youmight really like the concert tonight. Liv, I know Barry Manilow is not in your wheelhouse so we really appreciate you coming along.”
