California Girl Read Online Free Page A

her cheeks, Mame had introduced Alys to the School of
Alternative Life Lessons, and gradually brought her back into the world.
    At first, Alys had obliged for lack of anything better to
do. She couldn’t sit in the house forever. So she signed up for every class the
school offered, and later found others that they hadn’t.
    It had taken time, but she had finally accepted that, no
matter how much she hated his choice, Fred had every right to choose death. His
decision wasn’t prompted by anything she had done or not done. She couldn’t
direct the lives or wishes of others. Gradually, her energy returned, her
outlook improved, until now she was ready to make some decisions.
    Her first decision had been to sell the duplex and most of
her worldly goods. Fred’s life insurance had paid the bills and bought her a
little time, but she would have to return to work soon.
    This little jaunt with Mame was a journey of self-discovery,
a road to plan her future. Or would have been, until Mame’s setback. Now she
had to decide whether to go on or linger.
    Giving up on meditation, Alys toyed with the Superball she’d
found in the gutter. She remembered the day one of the neighbor’s kids had
thrown the extra-bouncy ball into the yard. It had been one of Fred’s good
days, and he’d enjoyed playing catch with the boy, watching the tiny hard ball
bounce higher than the house. Had he lived, Fred would have been a good father.
    Then the ball had landed in the gutter, and he hadn’t had
the strength to fetch it. He hadn’t gone outside again.
    Memories like that were the reason she had to leave.
    She leaned over to watch more of her furniture being carried
into the consignment-store truck. Liberation from the material was an exciting
concept. She could feel the freedom already. She wouldn’t miss her furniture,
but she did miss her Nissan. She needed a car if she wanted to see the world.
    Alys eyed the enormous pink Cadillac in her driveway. Mame
had told her to take it, that she would catch up with her later. If she
believed Mame was as healthy as she’d declared, did she dare?
    Except for the buckled bumper, Beulah gleamed with years of
loving care. Mame had earned the car decades ago for selling cosmetics, and it
was as much a trophy as a means of transportation. Alys didn’t want to imagine
how Mame would feel if anything happened to it.
    Of course, if she didn’t take it, she couldn’t set out on
her journey. She had no home, no car, and no place to go.
    The police car pulling up behind the Caddy’s tail fins
diverted that train of thought, thank goodness.
    She spun the Superball in her palm and watched with interest
as Mame’s imposing nephew unfolded from the backseat. From this distance,
Elliot Roth appeared cool, collected, and sophisticated—the kind of man who
snapped his fingers and the world laid down at his feet.
    The two uniformed police officers stepping out of the front
of the car consulted with the good doctor. She’d lived a quiet life. The only
child of elderly parents, she’d been a relatively obedient teenager. She’d
never had officers of the law in her home. Was Mame’s nephew about to sic them
on her? For what? Stealing Beulah? Maybe her journey of self-discovery would
start behind bars. She could become a career criminal.
    Unaware he stood in the path of the movers, Doc Nice turned
to stare at the SOLD sign on her front lawn. He wasn’t paying any more
attention to the movers than they were to him. The burly truck driver backed
down the stairs carrying a heavy oak cabinet, and Alys debated watching the
play unfold without interference.
    Mame must have had a reason for wanting to escape the
hospital before Doc Nice arrived. That gleam in her eye had meant something.
Alys just hoped it wasn’t something dangerous.
    Deciding the doc probably had only good intentions and
shouldn’t be blamed for Mame’s mischief, Alys cried out a warning. An alert
policeman grabbed Elliot’s shirt and jerked him