S Is for Silence

me on. Talk about a voice from the past. What the hell did he want?”
    “Nothing. He was calling to touch base. He lives in Sacramento.”
    “Doing what?”
    “He’s a criminal lawyer.”
    “Oh, please. Given his history, I’m surprised he didn’t wind up in jail.”
    “I guess he saw the error of his ways.”
    “Fat chance of that,” Kathy said. “Anyway, I called Winston the minute the process server left. I was so damn mad, I could hardly keep a civil tongue. I mean, I managed, but just barely—”
    “He told me your mother was the one who blew the whistle on us.”
    That stopped her cold. “Are you serious? Well, that’s weird.”
    “According to Ty, Livia called his aunt Dahlia, who turned around and called his mom. And that’s why she drove in and hauled him off.”
    “Huh, that’s funny. I had no idea.”
    “Me neither. I was shocked.”
    “Maybe she did you a favor.”
    “A favor?”
    “Come on. The guy was a loser. You were so ga-ga over him, you couldn’t even see straight.”
    “Why was that any of Livia’s concern?”
    “Liza, you know how judgmental she was. She thought she was right. You were barely fourteen years old and had no business taking up with the likes of him. If Ty’s mother hadn’t showed up, no telling what kind of trouble you’d have gotten yourself into. All that petting? Get real. Can’t you see that he was setting you up?”
    “But how’d she find out?”
    “What?”
    “We know Livia told Dahlia, but who told her?”
    “Don’t look at me. All the kids at school knew. That’s all they ever talked about—the fact that the two of you were fooling around. I can’t tell you how many times I had to come to your defense.”
    Liza looked at the counter. “Really.”
    “Trust me. I was on your team. Remember Lucy Speiler and that guy she was hanging out with? What a mess he was—”
    “Kathy, don’t go on and on. You’re the one who told.”
    “Me? I can’t believe you’d say that.”
    “Well, I did. You were jealous of Violet and you were jealous of Ty. Remember the day you brought over my birthday gift and I wasn’t home? You went to my room and read my diary and that’s what you told your mom. God knows why. Maybe you thought you’d been anointed to save my immortal soul.”
    “Maybe I was. Did it ever occur to you how gullible you were? You were so pathetic. Violet could make you do anything. Whatever she wanted—didn’t matter how outrageous it was—you’d lie down, roll over like a pup, and start licking her hand.”
    “We were friends.”
    “What kind of woman makes friends with a thirteen-year-old? You know why she did that? Because no one her age would have anything to do with her. She was cheap. She was sleazy and she slept all over town. She’d have liked nothing better than to have you in the same boat with her. You know what they say, misery loves company.”
    “You didn’t know her the way I did.”
    “I knew her well enough. Same thing with Ty. He might have been cute, but he had no class at all. Anyway, enough of this. It’s over and done. There’s no sense going over the same ground twice.”
    “I agree. We can’t change the past. No matter what went down, we’re accountable.”
    “Exactly.” Kathy reached for the bottle and topped off her wine, wiping her mouth against the back of her hand. “Lola says I should talk to that divorce attorney from San Luis Obispo. Stanley Blum. He’s a real shark according to her. He charges a fortune, but he’s good. She says I gotta fight back, and I better be quick.”
    “You remember Moral Rearmament?”
    “Ha. You’re talking to the all-time champ here. Moral Rearmament was my middle name.”
    “You still think it’s right? Absolute Honesty?”
    “Are you kidding? Of course.”
    “And that’s what friends do, help one another when we stray from the path?”
    Kathy rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Look, Lies, don’t think I’m unaware of your snotty tone. You can be as mad as you want, but I did it for you. I agonized—honestly—but I had to follow my conscience. I make no apology for that so I hope you’re not waiting for one. You want to blame me? Well, fine, you go right ahead, but you should be thanking me instead. What if you’d ended up married to the guy? Have you ever thought about that?”
    “Aren’t you even sorry?”
    “Haven’t you heard a word I said? I’m not going to apologize for doing what I thought was right. I didn’t want you