The Villa

"Be brutal."
    "Helen, come see," Sophia called out. "You look beautiful, Mama."
    "Like a bride," Helen agreed and sniffled. "Damn, there goes the mascara."
    "Okay." Half-dreaming, Pilar turned in a circle. "Maddy? What's your vote?"
    "You look great. Dad's eyes are going to pop out."
    Pilar beamed and turned in another circle. "We have a winner, first time out."
     
    It wasn't as simple as that. There were hats, headdresses, shoes, jewelry, bags, even underwear. It was dark before they headed north, with the back of the SUV crammed with shopping bags and boxes. Which didn't include the dresses themselves, Maddy thought with wonder. Those had to be fitted and altered and fussed with.
    But she'd ended up with a pile of new clothes, shoes, really cool earrings that she was now wearing. They showed off great with her awesome haircut. And highlights.
    This new girl-family deal had definite high points.
    "Men," Sophia was saying as she cruised north, "consider themselves the hunter. But they're not. See, they decide to go after a grizzly, and that's their whole focus. So while they track the big bear, they miss all the other game out of their narrowed vision. Women, on the other hand, may track the grizzly, but before, or even while, bagging it, they take down all the other game as well."
    "Plus men shoot the first big bear they see," Maddy put in from the backseat. "They don't take into account the entire world of grizzlies."
    "Exactly." Sophia tapped the steering wheel. "Mama, this girl has real potential."
    "Agreed. But I'm not taking the rap for those shoes with the two-foot soles she's wearing. That one's on you."
    "They're great. Funky."
    "Yeah." Pleased with them, and herself, Maddy lifted her foot. "And the soles are only about four inches."
    "I don't know why you'd want to clomp around in them."
    Sophia met Maddy's gaze in the rearview mirror. "It's a mom thing. She has to say that. You should've seen her face when I got my belly button pierced."
    "You got your belly button pierced?" Fascinated, Maddy reached for the snap of her seat belt. "Can I see?"
    "I let it grow back. Sorry," she said with a chuckle as Maddy sat back again in disgust. "It was irritating."
    "And she was eighteen," Pilar pointed out, turning her head to give Maddy a warning stare. "So don't even think about it until you are."
    "Is that a mom thing, too?"
    "You bet. But I will say the two of you were right about the hair. It looks great."
    "So when Dad connips, you'll calm him all down, right?"
    "Well, I'll…" She turned back as the car squealed around a curve. "Sophia, at the risk of saying another mom thing, slow down."
    "Tighten your seat belts." Grimly Sophia's hands vised on the wheel. "Something's wrong with the brakes."
    "Oh God." Instinctively, Pilar turned back to Maddy. "Are you strapped in?"
    "Yeah." She grabbed the seat to brace herself as the car shot around another turn. "I'm okay. Pull up the emergency brake."
    "Mama, pull it up. I need both hands here." Those hands wanted to shake, but she didn't let them. Didn't let herself think about anything but maintaining control. The car squealed again, fishtailed around the next turn.
    "It's up all the way, baby." And the car didn't slow. "What if we turned off the engine?"
    "The steering'll lock." Maddy swallowed the heart that leaped into her throat. "She wouldn't be able to steer."
    Gravel spit as Sophia fought to keep the car on the road. "Use my phone, call nine-one-one." She looked down briefly. A half tank of gas, she thought. No help there. And she wasn't going to be able to control the car around the upcoming S turns at this speed.
    "Downshift!" Maddy shouted from the back. "Try downshifting."
    "Mama, shove it into third when I tell you. It's going to give us one hell of a jolt, so brace yourselves. But it might work. I can't let go of the wheel."
    "I've got it. It's going to be all right."
    "Okay. Hold on." She pushed in the clutch, and the car seemed to gain more speed. "Now!"
    The car jolted hard. Though Maddy bit her lip, she couldn't hold back the scream.
    "Into second," Sophia ordered, wrenching the wheel from the shoulder of the road. A line of sweat ran cold down her back. "Now."
    The car bucked, threw her forward, back again. She had a moment's panic that the airbags would deploy and leave her helpless.
    "We've slowed down some. Good thinking, Maddy."
    "We're going to head downhill, around more turns." Sophia's voice was ice calm. "So the speed's going to pick up again