Caught in Darkness Read Online Free Page B

of ivory
paint, and the trim stood out with a contrasting shade of dark brown. The grass
was bright green, the garden on either side of the staircase was in full bloom,
and the bushes in the front of the yard had obviously been recently trimmed. Not
that any of this surprised Veronica. There had only been one time that she
could recall when her mother had let the housework go.
    She stepped out of her shoes in the
foyer as she called out, “Mom?”
    “In the living room, Veronica,”
Carol Wyndham called back, her voice carrying down the hall.
    Veronica obediently made her way
down the hall, noting the slowly-fading smell of freshly baked casserole coming
from the kitchen as she passed. Casserole? That seems
clichéd, even for my mother. But she let it go, knowing her mother well enough
to accept that she had undoubtedly had some sort of reason for her choice. And
then she was standing in the entry to the living room, taking note of the
changes.
    Her mother had rearranged the
furniture again.
    “I was starting to worry you would
be late,” Carol declared from her comfortable seat in the overstuffed armchair,
which was now positioned on the far side of the large window. Gesturing to the
couch toward her left, she added, “Come on, sit. We don’t have to leave quite
yet.”
    Releasing a breath, Veronica moved
forward, saying, “I like what you’ve done with the furniture.” Not that it was
necessary. Her mother rearranged the furniture like clockwork every six months.
And though Veronica knew why, she wished her mother would stop.
    “Do you?” Carol asked, casting her
faded blue gaze around the room with passing interest. “I can’t decide how I
feel about it.”
    “You always say that,” Veronica
commented, leaning back into the cushions of the couch. She cringed faintly
when she realized she’d said that aloud, and she couldn’t bring herself to look
over at her mother for a moment.
    Carol was quiet for a second before
she said, “I made Grandmother’s casserole for the dinner. It wasn’t my first
choice, of course, but Pauline drew dessert this time.”
    Granting her mother yet another
victory—though this one was far less difficult to allow—Veronica asked, “You
drew for who would bring what?”
    “We did,” Carol replied, turning a
mildly-amused smile toward her. “We thought it would help keep things
interesting.”
    Veronica merely nodded, finding it
hard to feign interest in the topic. In some ways, this idly sitting and
surface-chatting was worse than the potlucks.
    Carol didn’t wait long before
changing the subject again, saying, “ I’m sorry about
whatever plans you had to cancel. You know I don’t mean to inconvenience you.”
    Another twinge of double-sided
guilt slashed through her, and Veronica took a second before replying, “Don’t
worry about it; I just rescheduled.”
    “Good,” Carol began. “Can I ask
what you were going to be doing? I don’t suppose you had a date? You know you
could have just told me if you did, I’d have understood.”
    That I believe. If there was one
thing Carol Wyndham would accept having her plans altered for, it was an
increase in Veronica’s love-life. They were in constant disagreement about how
much emphasis she should be putting on romance. Instead of commenting on that,
however, Veronica replied, “It’s Ali’s birthday, Mom. She’s actually celebrating
this year.”
    “Oh,” Carol said, clearly surprised
at the news. It only took her a second, however, before she smiled again and
added, “Well why didn’t you bring her? She could have
a free dinner; doesn’t everyone like that? She knows she’s always welcome.”
    “She made plans with all of her
friends, Mom, not just me,” Veronica explained. There was no point in adding
that Allison had less reason to be interested in this potluck than she did.
    “I see,” Carol stated with a faint
nod. She uncrossed her legs, then, and prepared to stand as she added, “Well,
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