“It wasn’t the plant that got him,” she reports to a rapt audience. “When they found poison in Bradley’s system, naturally they assumed that was the cause of death. But no!”
“Then what killed him?” Mr. Gutierrez asks.
My grandmother looks at us one by one, to see if anyone has a guess before proceeding to the big reveal. “Cat dander. Remember what she said about Bradley kicking back on her sofa? Well, you know who else liked to lounge there?”
“Zenobia!” Mr. Namura exclaims. “The real killer was the cat.” He shakes his head. “That’s a twist.”
“Anaphylaxis,” Grandma Lainey confirms.
Malia looks thoughtful. “You could argue he was murdered twice. The poison would have gotten him, if he’d still been alive.”
“It doesn’t let Mervyn off the hook,” my grandmother admits. “But his lawyer might be able to argue for a lesser charge. More importantly, it’s a weight off his conscience.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Malia frowns at her hand when she realizes it’s empty.
“Good idea,” my grandmother says. “We’ll have a champagne toast tonight.”
When we go upstairs to change, I ask Grandma Lainey a follow-up question that didn’t seem appropriate for the whole group.
“Are you okay? About Mervyn.”
“Do you mean, am I okay with what he did?”
I shake my head, though I’m also curious about that. “It seemed like there was a vibe there, at least on his side. I didn’t know if you were extra sad. Because of… feelings.”
Even when I’m babbling, Grandma Lainey takes what I have to say seriously, coming to sit next to me on the love seat in her living room.
“I’ll let you in on a secret it took me years to figure out. Sometimes the best part of a crush is the intoxicating bit at the beginning. All that energy buzzing around, the delicious thrill of anticipation—as often as not, it’s more fun than actually dating someone.” She must see on my face that I’m not there yet, because she tries again.
“Vibes don’t always survive a reality check, so you may as well enjoy the illusion for the pleasant distraction it is. Life can always use a little more vim and vigor. Do you follow?”
“I think so.” If I had to guess, she’s telling me there’s no lost love story to lament—at least not between her and Mervyn. Jury’s still out on Mr. Gutierrez.
I’m glad she’s not devastated, but the whole thing makes me feel melancholy. What if you’re missing out by never finding out whether that fluttery feeling could become something more? Maybe it’s different if you’ve already had plenty of swoony escapades. Some of us are still waiting for our first real romance.
“You’re thinking about Felix,” my grandmother guesses.
“Maybe a little. Among other things. Like what I’m going to wear tonight.” Which has nothing to do with wanting to impress anyone in particular.
“Do you want to borrow my pearl choker with the teardrop pendant?”
The tiara of necklaces? “Yes, please.”
“To Claude,” Malia says when we’ve reassembled downstairs in our finery.
We raise our glasses to his portrait, clinking them before sipping our drinks. Felix and I have been given approximately one-fourth of a serving of champagne in exchange for a promise not to operate heavy machinery afterward. I’m not totally in love with the flavor, but the bubbles feel like magic in my mouth, not to mention the fanciness factor.
“And to Zenobia,” Grandma Lainey adds, lifting her glass a second time. This is one of those remarks I’m glad my mother isn’t around to hear.
Felix casually strolls up beside me, standing close enough for the velvet of his sleeve to brush the skin of my arm. My nerve endings are on high alert. Coming over here was a deliberate move, so he must have something to say.
But instead of talking to me, he sets his glass on a nearby table and pulls out his phone. Who is he texting?
A second later, my phone vibrates in the bejeweled clutch dangling from my elbow. The clasp sounds like a balloon popping as I fumble to open the bag. Felix’s message is short and to the point.
Want to sneak out?
Leaning past him, I check to see what everyone else is doing. Answer: whipping their heads around to pretend they weren’t staring at us.
