Phoebe tossed the clothes she had been holding on her bed and then sat down.
“It’s all about contacts. I need to make friends with Jackie. I gave up on Teddy. Birdie Adair will be there. I would like a benefactor like that. I just have to convince her I never betrayed Sera.”
“Why is Birdie so enamored of Seraphina? I know she’s got a great voice, but they seem like an odd pair,” Josie said.
“I think it’s white guilt.”
“White guilt?” Josie frowned.
“Sure, help out the poor black girl and make Birdie feel good about herself and worthy of that silver spoon she was born with. I told you how they met, when Birdie and her husband discovered Sera singing at a dive, and then the doors started opening for her. If you ask me, it was probably more about Randy Adair trying to score.”
“Phoebe!” Josie admonished. “That is a horrible thing to say. Everyone knows Randy and Birdie were the real deal. He wouldn’t have cheated on her.”
Phoebe shrugged. “Maybe not. But one thing I’ve learned since moving to Hollywood, things are not always what they seem.”
“Like you and Barry never being an item?” Josie teased.
“I said I regretted it. Anyway, I did Sera a favor.”
“I know it’s a horrible thing to say, but Barry being careless with his booze and drugs was probably a good thing for you. Stupidest thing you ever did was hook up with him.”
“I know. You told me enough times.”
“I could see the big picture, and Barry was not part of your master plan.”
“You’re right. I got sidetracked. I allowed Barry to throw me off my endgame. But that won’t happen again,” Phoebe promised.
SEVEN
Ian sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling on his socks, as his wife sat at the nearby dressing table, applying her makeup. In the nursery Marie entertained Connor while Sadie napped nearby.
“I have to say, I’m grateful Marie isn’t anxious to move to the other side. I’m getting rather spoiled having her around to help,” Lily said as she unscrewed the lid to her mascara.
“Have you considered how we’re going to handle all this when Connor gets a little older—and can talk?” Ian asked.
Lily cringed. “Yeah…there is that. And I wonder, will he just stop seeing her, like Marie did with Eva?”
“I don’t know. Maybe not, since we acknowledge her.” Ian let out a sigh. “And then there is the issue of my sister.”
Holding the open mascara tube in her hand, Lily swung around on the stool and faced Ian. “Yeah, what was that all about? I thought when she was here, she told you she and Joe were going to the show tonight?”
“I have no idea why she suddenly got the bug to babysit. Maybe seeing Connor today?” Ian suggested with a shrug.
“I’m just glad you told her no. Nothing against your sister, but I just feel more comfortable having Marie and Heather here.”
The doorbell rang and Ian stood up. “I’ll get that.”
A few minutes later Ian was leading Heather into the living room.
“Marie’s in with Connor now,” Ian told her.
“I kind of expected you to call and cancel for tonight,” Heather said as she tossed her purse on the coffee table.
“Why?” Ian frowned.
“I ran into your sister at Lucy’s this afternoon,” Heather explained as she plopped down on the couch.
“And?” Ian asked, taking a seat on his recliner.
“You know that ghost Danielle wanted me to be on the lookout for?” As Heather asked the question, Lily walked into the room.
“What about him?” Ian asked.
“I ran into him at the diner; he sat down with me. I had no clue he was a ghost, and well, we were having quite the conversation,” Heather explained.
“And my sister was there?” Ian asked.
Heather nodded. “Yep, her and Joe. Sitting right across the diner from me, in clear view.”
“Ahhh, and Kelly saw you talking to yourself?” Lily asked with a chuckle as she sat down on the arm of Ian’s chair.
Heather nodded. “It was embarrassing. I looked crazy.”
“It does explain things. She called me late this afternoon, offering to babysit tonight. She was pretty insistent about it, but she never mentioned you,” Ian said. “But she did say she and Joe were at Lucy’s having dinner.”
“Really? I’m surprised she didn’t tell you what she saw,” Heather said.
Someone yelled, “Hello!” from the entry hall, and the next minute Walt and Danielle walked into the living room. As they did, Sadie came running out from the nursery to greet them.
“Well, that’s nice,” Heather said with a snark. “She didn’t come say hi to me when I got here.”
Sadie wagged her tail excitedly and nosed Walt’s hand.
“Don’t mind Sadie. Other than Ian, we all play second fiddle to Walt when it comes to Sadie,” Danielle said as she reached out and gave the dog a scratch behind her ears.
“I’m not even sure I don’t come in second with her,” Ian grumbled.
“You need to tell Dani and Walt about this,” Lily said.
“You mean about my conversation with the ghost?” Heather asked. “They were there.”
“Is that what you were talking about?” Danielle asked. She then told the story from her perspective, and Ian told them about his sister’s offer to babysit.
After they exhausted the conversation, Danielle asked, “You guys ready?”
“Where are you going tonight?” Heather asked.
“A play in Astoria,” Lily explained.
“Maybe we can stop and get something to eat afterwards,” Walt suggested. “Danielle and I had an early dinner at Lucy’s, but I think I’m going to be hungry by then.”
“You’re always hungry,” Danielle teased.
“Life makes me ravenous,” Walt explained. “That’s what happens when you have nothing to eat for almost a century.”
“Are you all ready to go?” Marie asked when she popped into the room. She then added, “Connor fell asleep. I think I wore the poor dear out.”
Heather conveyed Marie’s words to Lily and Ian. They both stood up and Lily said, “Thanks, Marie, Heather, we appreciate you watching him.”
“It’s my pleasure. By the way, Eva told me she would meet you at the theater,” Marie said.
Heather arched her brows. “Eva is going?”
“She’s the one who told us about the play,” Walt explained. “It’s some community theater presentation, and Eva’s been haunting the rehearsals. I think she sees herself as part of the theater group.”
“That’s only because she’s been hanging out with that Gordon Hershey.” Marie snickered.
“Gordon Hershey?” Heather asked.
“Yes. He used to be a member of the theater group in Astoria. He died last year. Heart attack or something. Since then he’s been haunting the theater and got friendly with Eva.”
Heather shook her head and chuckled. “We live a weird life.”