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Mia, can I talk to you?" With ten , Nell hurried down fro up mail orders and shot her a typically suspicious look while Mia continued to put the finishing touches on a new display

"Of course What&039;s on your h, and eht we could go up to your office for a minute"

"Here&039;s fine Don&039;t let Lulu&039;s sour face put you off" Mia built a small tower out of new su to askwith my soft head-I&039;ll let you rob utter Isn&039;t that right, Lu?"

Lulu ister

"Oh, no, it&039;s not about money I&039;d never ask for-after you&039;ve been so-daed until the pain stiffened her spine Deliberately now, she turned to face Lulu

"I understand you&039;re protective of Mia, and you have no reason to trust , and haven&039;t been here a month But I&039;m not a thief, and I&039;oing to keep carrying it And if Mia askedon one foot and singing &039;Yankee Doodle Dandy,&039; I&039;d give it , and she gave ain "Wouldn&039;tin fresh trade, too Never said you didn&039;t carry your weight," she added "But that doesn&039;t mean I won&039;t keep a watch on you"

"Fine with " Mia dabbed at her lashes "It&039;s ruining my mascara" She stepped back from her display, nodded in approval "Nohat do you need to talk toan anniversary party next month She&039;d like to have a fancy catered affair"

"Yes, I know" Mia turned to straighten stock on the shelves "She&039;ll drive you a bit crazy with changes and suggestions and questions, but you can handle it"

"I didn&039;t agree to We just discussed it yesterday I didn&039;t realize you&039;d heard she asked already I wanted to talk to you first"

"It&039;s a sets around You don&039;t need to talk tojob, Nell"

She made a mental note to orderthe solstice, and they were running unacceptably low on Passion and on Prosperity Which just showed, she supposed, where many people&039;s priorities lay

"Your free time is your time," she added

"I just wanted to tell you that if I did the job for her, it wouldn&039;t interfere with my work here"

"I should hope not, particularly since I&039;lanced at her watch "Ti me a raise?"

"You&039;ve earned it I hired you at a probationary salary You&039;re officially off probation" She unlocked the door, walked over to turn on the ht?" Mia asked with amusement "A small island, as I said"

"It was fine It was just a friendly dinner"

"Good-looking boy," Lulu said "Quality, too"

"I&039; to lure hi with you, then" Lulu tipped down her silver frames and peered over them It was a look she was particularly proud of "If I were a few years younger, I&039;d be setting out lures Got a great pair of hands on him Bet he kno to use them"

"No doubt," Mia saidour Nell Nohere was I? Gladys&039;s anniversary, check Raise, check Dinner with Zack, check" She paused, tapped a fingertip against her lips "Ah, yes Nell, I wanted to ask Do you have a religious or political objection to cos more constructive to do than huff out her breath "No"

"That&039;s a relief Here" She took off the silver dangles on her ears, handed theot them, they come from All That Glitters, two doors down We like to promote other merchants I&039;ll want theht try a little blush, maybe some lipstick, eyeliner"

"I don&039;t have any"

"I&039;m sorry" Mia held up a hand, laid the other on her heart, and staggered to the counter for support "I feel a little faint Did you say you don&039;t own any lipstick?"

The corner of Nell&039;s ht out a hint of dimples "I&039;m afraid not"

"Lulu, we have to help this woency supplies Hurry"

Lips quivering hatout froood skin"

"A blank canvas, Lu A blank canvas Coulars will be co in any second"

"I&039;rabbed Nell&039;s hand, hauled her upstairs and into the rest roo her first custos, peach-toned lipstick, and expertly s, she decided, very coain

She took the catering job and crossed her fingers When Zack asked if she&039;d like to go for an evening sail, she said yes and felt powerful

When a customer asked if she could bake a cake in the shape of a ballerina for a birthday party, she said absolutely And spent her fee on a pair of earrings

As word spread, she found herself agreeing to provide picnic-style food for a party of twenty for July Fourth and ten box lunches for a private day sailor

At her kitchen table, Nell spread out notes, files, e industry Which, she thought, looking around, seelanced up at the brisk knock on the door, and happily welcomed Ripley in

"Got a ?"

"I&039;o when he sniffed at her shoes "Meal planning?"

"I&039;ve got to organize these catering jobs If I had a computer Well, eventually I&039;d sell my soul for a professional blender And both feet for a corade food processor But for noe make do"

"Why don&039;t you use the computer at the bookstore?"

"Mia&039;s already doing enough"

"Whatever Listen, I&039;ve got this date for the Fourth A date with potential," she added "Casual because Zack and I are ht Fireworks and beer soood"

"I can&039;t wait to see the fireworks Everyone says they&039;re spectacular"

"Yeah, we do a hell of a job on theuy-he&039;s a security consultant on theon me, and I decided to let him land one"

"Ripley, that&039;s so romantic, I can barely catch my breath"

"He&039;s really built, too," Ripley continued as she scratched Diego&039;s ears, "so the after-fireworks fireworks potential is fairly high, if you getsexwise Anye talked about having this night picnic deal, and so the food Since I think I&039;d like to juuy&039;s bones, I don&039;t want to poison him first"

"A roetarian or carnivore?"

"Carnivore Not too fancy, okay?" Ripley plucked a grape from the bowl of fruit on the table, popped it in her mouth "I don&039;t want him more interested in the food than me"

"Check Pickup or delivery?"

"This is so cool" Cheerful, she popped another grape "I can pick it up Can we keep it under fifty?"

"Under fifty Tell him to pick up a nice crisp white wine Now if you had a picnic haot one so that by and we&039;ll pack it up You&039;ll be set, foodwise The bone-ju is up to you"

"I can handle that You know, if you want, I can ask around, see if anybody&039;s got a secondhand coreat I&039;lasses "I was afraid you were annoyed with me"

"No, not with you That particular subject annoys me It&039;s a bunch of bullshit, just like" She scowled through the screened door "Well, speak of the devil"

"I try not to Why borrow trouble?" Mia sailed in, laid a note on the counter "Phone e for you, Nell Gladys and her newest party brainstorm"

"I&039;m sorry You don&039;t have tiain and I pro a phone"

"Don&039;t worry about it I wanted a walk or I&039;d have left it for tolass of that lemonade"

"She needs a computer," Ripley said flatly "She won&039;t use the one at the store because she doesn&039;t want to hassle you"

"Ripley Mia, I&039; this way"

"She can certainly use the computer at the store when it&039;s free," Mia said to Ripley "And she doesn&039;t need you running interference between her and me"

"She wouldn&039;t if you weren&039;t trying to push your psychic hooey on her"

"&039;Psychic hooey&039; sounds like the na to do hat I am But even that&039;s better than blind, stubborn denial Knowledge is always better than ignorance"

"You want ignorance?" Ripley said, getting to her feet

"Stop! Stop it" Jittering inside, Nell put herself between theo at each other this way?"

"Yes" Mia picked up a glass, sipped delicately "We enjoy it, don&039;t we, Deputy?"

"I&039;d enjoy popping you one more, but then I&039;d have to arrest led her chin "I proes"

"Nobody hits anybody Not in lass, rubbed a hand down Nell&039;s arid as steel "I&039;m sorry, little sister Ripley and I irritate each other, a long-standing habit But we shouldn&039;t put you in the middle We shouldn&039;t put her in the middle," Mia said to Ripley "It isn&039;t fair"

"Soree on How about this? If we run into each other here, it&039;s a neutral zone You know, like Romulan space No warfare"

"Rorip on popular culture Agreed" She even picked up the second glass, passed it to Ripley "There You see, Nell, you&039;re a good influence on us already" She handed the third glass to Nell "To positive influences"

Ripley hesitated, cleared her throat "Okay, okay, what the hell Positive influences"

And standing in a loose circle, they tapped glasses They rang like a bell, one bright peal as a shower of light fountained up from that connection of secondhand kitchenware

Mia sasp

"Daulped down lemonade "I hate that"

Celebrants streas snapped froed to the ed the eaves of the storefronts on High Street, waving cheerfully as tourists and islanders alike jammed the streets and beaches

For Nell it was anything but a holiday, but that didn&039;t prevent her celebrational mood as she delivered orders She not only had a job she loved, she had a business she could be proud of

Independence Day, she thought She was going to make it hers

For the first tian to plan for a future that included bank accounts, mail delivery, and personal possessions that couldn&039;t be stuffed into a duffel or backpack at alife, she thought as she paused by the displayof Beach Where Thebreezy suauzy white top that scooped low at the breasts Strappy white sandals as fun as they were impractical adorned its feet

Nell bit her lip Her pay was burning a hole in the pocket of her ancient jeans That had always been her problem, she reminded herself If she had ten dollars, she could find a way to spend nine of it

She&039;d learned how to save and scrimp and resist How to make five dollars stretch like elastic

But she hadn&039;t had anything new, anything pretty, in so long And Mia had been hinting, not quite so gently of late, that she should spruce up a bit on the job

Plus, she had tosideline If she was going to be a businesswoman, she should dress the part On the island that meant casual Still, casual could mean attractive

On the other hand, it would be more practical, more sensible, to save the money and invest it in kitchen tools She needed a food processorto listen to the good angel or the bad angel?"

"Mia" Vaguely e over a pair of shoes, Nell laughed "You startled me"

"Great sandals On sale, too"

"They are?"