Irene did not want to pull over, but Frances was not going to have a conversation with Marjorie in front of her, especially seeing as how Marjorie was having a meltdown, and Irene was driving fast around the curves and scaring the shit out of Frances.
Frances hadn’t even considered the possibility of Marjorie losing her mind, but apparently, when she was out of touch for a day or so, the woman’s imagination ran wild. Her phone had been off for the few hours they’d been in the air, and then they’d experienced spotty cell service as they drove into a more remote part of Colorado. But the moment Frances got a good signal, she saw the missed calls and texts.
What are you up to?
I tried to call but your phone goes straight to voicemail.
Dan says you might have been abducted, that there is a gang of thugs that prey on the elderly in Florida.
Have you been abducted?
Dan says I should call the police.
Frances panicked. She shouted at Irene to pull over, and finally Irene did, into a turnout lane. “God, you are so bossy!” Irene snapped.
Frances got out, breathed in the crisp air, then gazed out at the gorgeous little valley just below as she hit the call button.
Marjorie picked up right away. “Fran? Whereareyou? I’ve been worried sick!”
“I’m fine,” Frances said, although she had a terrible headache. “I’m just enjoying myself, Marge. You shouldn’t worry.”
“Areyou fine? Because you told me you’d only be gone for a few days. Is there a signal you can give me so I can be sure you’re not abducted?”
“How’s this for a signal? I’m not abducted! I’ve had my phone off, that’s all. And I changed my mind. I’m having such a good time I decided to stay longer.”
“That’s great. But I thought you’d at leasttellme,” Marjorie said. “You can’t blame me for being concerned. It wasn’t that long ago you were in intensive care.”
“I was never in intensive care.”
“You might as well have been. At your age, you cannot ignore serious head injuries. Just don’t turn off your phone. That’s a terrible thing to do, especially since things have been a little off since you cracked your head.”
“They have not,” Frances insisted. But it was notnottrue.
“I’m just looking out for you since you have no one else.”
“Excuse me, but I have a son who’s almost as bad as you. And I have friends,” she added with a sniff. She did not have friends. She had Marjorie.
Marjorie snorted because she knew, that, too. Frances winced. The pain in her head was making her cranky. She was lucky Marjorie cared for her like she did. “Look, I’ll call you in a couple of days. I’m having fun with my friend, and I just want to enjoy it.”
Marjorie sighed. “Fine. But you better check in. If you don’t, I’m telling Aaron.”
“Hardly necessary. Aaron knows what I’m doing.” Another lie. Frances was a little alarmed to note it had come so easily. “I’ll call you soon. Love you, Marge.”
“Oh, Fran, I love you, too, but sometimes I don’t know why,” Marjorie said.
Just as Frances was clicking off the call, Irene’s head popped up over the top of the rental car. “What is taking so long? I need a bathroom.”
Frances groaned. “The bathroom thing is getting unreasonable, Irene.”
“I’m seventy-six, Frances. I do not pass up bathrooms. I happen to—”
The rest of her sentence was lost in the violentwhooshof air as a brown car rocked past them on the narrow road, almost knocking them from the turnout lane. Irene responded with a string of expletives.
“What in the hell was that?” Frances asked.
“A drug runner is my guess,” Irene said darkly. “Let’s go.”
“Weird guess.” Frances got in the passenger seat and pulled down the visor. Her new bob had been blasted by the wind and exhaust of that car. She combed her fingers through it, tangling it even more. “Damn it. I wanted to make a good impression.”
