The Class Menagerie

the table. Most of the women had gathered there and were standing around the silver coffee urn. They were discussing the fund-raising activities that had been decided on the evening before. Shelley would have been pleased.
    As preoccupied as she was, Jane couldn’t help but notice the change in Kathy. Instead of the dreadful hick/hippy clothes she’d been wearing before, she had on a very smart, crisp plaid blouse and neat denim skirt. This preppy, casual outfit even included a colorful woven belt, hose, and apparently some very effective underpinnings that did wonders for her rather generous figure. She was still a big woman, but a very tidy big woman.
    Mimi and Beth were still in robes, albeit a very elegant black silk robe that would have done as a hostess gown in Mimi’s case. Beth, in a tailored blue robe that looked utterly sexless, had gone remote, as if she’d fully realized that this wasn’t a good place for a woman who had to maintain an impeccably orderly public life to be.
    Avalon, in jeans and an elaborately knitted beige sweater with beads and what appeared to be twigs woven in, had really gotten into the fund-raising spirit and was chattering with Pooky about a craft booth someplace. They were deeply involved in the theoretical pricing of tie-dyed scarves. Crispy was still sulking.
    Jane went back to the kitchen to eat. Gordon and Edgar were at the kitchen table, where they’d set a place for her and the policeman, who’d apparently heard about the practical joke with the underwear and was looking distinctly worried. Gordon was studying a piece of paper. “It’s very clever, isn’t it? Look at all the details.“
    “What’s that?“ Jane asked.
    “One of the women gave Edgar this picture,“ he said, turning it so she could see.
    “Oh, Avalon’s drawing of the carriage house. I thought Pooky had probably gotten it away from her. It is clever. That was nice of her to give it to you.“
    “I’ll get it framed next week. A deep gray mat with a narrow black frame, I believe,“ Gordon said. “Where do you think it should go?“
    “Upstairs for now,“ Edgar said, “if one of the guests is hot to get her hands on it. These women are really odd.“
    Echoing Mel, Jane said, “No, not all of them. Only one.“

- 12 -

    “Where’s Shelley today?“ Crispy asked from the kitchen doorway.
    “She’s gone home for a while—to punch out her sister-in-law, probably,“ Jane answered, stacking the last of the breakfast plates in the dishwasher.
    “And what’s become of Edgar?“
    “He needed a few things from the grocery store. I told him to go on and I’d clean up.“
    “Want some help?“
    “No, but I’d love company. There’s some coffee left, if you’d like.“
    Crispy poured herself a cup and sat down with it and a cigarette. “Want one?“
    “When I’m done,“ Jane said. “I’m trying to cut down to six a day. But I went off the rails last night and smoked four in a row because I couldn’t sleep.“
    “I wish I could stop entirely,“ Crispy said.
    “Unfortunately, it takes more than wishing,“ Jane replied.
    “Listen, I’m sorry I was such an ass this morning about the underwear. It was just such a nasty trick and it really embarrassed me.“
    Jane put a dishcloth in the bottom of the sink and laid the crystal juice glasses on their sides on it before running hot water over them. “Crispy, answer me honestly, okay? Haven’t you been the one playing the tricks?“
    “God’s truth, no!“
    Jane poured dishwashing soap over the glasses and began to wash them. “But when I first met you, you implied that you were here just to cause trouble.“
    “Yes, but it soon became apparent to me that Lila was going to cause quite enough without any help from me,“ Crispy said wryly.
    “But Lila wasn’t responsible for the underwear. Or that antique thing of Pooky’s being stolen and hidden.“
    “No....“
    “Then who do you think it is playing the tricks?“
    “I really haven’t the faintest idea. Mimi, maybe?“
    “Surely not! She was really angry about that thing of Pooky’s being taken. She’s the one who made everybody look for it.“
    “How do you know that wasn’t a good act?“ Crispy asked. “She’s quite an actress, you know. Always had the lead in the school plays. We did Oklahoma our junior year and she played the goody-two-shoes role. Five minutes into it, you forgot all about her Chinese features and believed she was that girl. She played Lady