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“Any outside interest in the apartment?” Enid asked casually

“Not yet But I’m sure there will be soon,” Mindy replied

“Don’t forget about our interest,” Enid said pleasantly

“How can I?” Mindy said She strode out of the building ahead of Enid and Philip, fu

The memorial service was at St Ambrose Church on Broadway and Eleventh Street There was a snarl of traffic in front of the entrance; a cacophony of honking horns was followed by the wail of a siren as a police car tried to disperse the traffic

Mindy put her hands over her ears “Shut up!” she screamed After this outburst, she felt a little better She joined the crowd in front of the church, slowly shuffling their way in She passed a line of police barricades, behind which stood the usual pack of paparazzi When she reached the steps, she was stopped by a uard “Invitation?” he asked

“I left it at home,” Mindy said

“Step to the side, please,” the guard said

“Mrs Houghton was a very good friend We lived in the sa,” Mindy said

The security guard waved h, and Mindy took the opportunity to try to sneak in with the group ahead of her The guard spotted her and stepped in front of her “Move to the side, ma’am”

Chastised, Mindy ht, where she had the pleasure of seeing Enid and Philip Oakland about to pass her by At the last second, Enid spotted Mindy and, wiggling through the crowd, touched Mindy on the arm “By the way, dear, I meant to tell you Sam was such a help yesterday withpeople We old people couldn’t survive in this technological world without them”

Before Mindy could respond, Enidpoint Not only had Enid insulted her by iory (“old,” Enid had said), but she had cruelly and deliberately left Mindy outside Enid could have easily brought Mindy into the church, as no one said no to Enid Merle Enid hat little girls called a fair-weather friend, Mindy thought, and planned to return the favor someday

Strolling up Eleventh Street, Billy Litchfield spotted Mindy Gooch loitering on the edge of

the crowd Providence, he thought happily This could be nothing less than a sign froet the apart to introduce Annalisa to Enid Merle and, through Enid, to make her introduction into One Fifth But Mindy Gooch, the head of the board, was aher, Billy couldn’t help thinking, Poor Mindy She’d been relatively pretty once, but over the years, her features had sharpened and her cheeks had sunk, as if literally eaten away by bitterness Arranging his face into an appropriately mournful demeanor, he took her hands and kissed her on both cheeks “Hello, Mindy dear,” he said

“Billy”