A Little Night Magic Page 0,7

bacon and she hit it with the butt of the fire extinguisher to turn it off and missed on the first whack.

"No," I said. "I can't imagine living anywhere else if I'm going to be here, but..."

She put the pencil down and looked at me. "But you're not coming back."

Slowly, I shook my head. "You remember my mom. Even on her best day, part of her was always missing. I don't want to be like that."

"And leaving is going to prevent that?" she asked, her voice cracking a bit.

I sighed. "Dumb as it sounds ... I think so, yeah. If my whole life changes, if it's not just that I'm losing him, maybe I won't notice it so much. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," she said, her eyes sad. She took the pad and pencil and began scribbling, then twirled it around so I could read it. She had drawn lines through all the pros and cons, and had written, "In bocca al lupo," with a little smiley face.

I laughed. "What does that mean?"

"It's an Italian idiom. Basically, it means good luck." She reached out and clasped my hand. "Promise me you'll write, and send pictures."

"Don't worry," I said. "Europe's lousy with goats."

She gave me a confused look, and I laughed.

"I'll write. I'll send pictures."

The front door opened and Peach hollered, "Party's here!" Millie grabbed the margarita tray while I balanced the bowls of chips and pico.

"Hey, do me a favor?" I said. "Pretend you're surprised when I tell Peach and Stacy about Europe. Peach will be hurt that I told you first without them."

Millie nodded, and we went out to greet Stacy and Peach.

"Liv!" Peach danced into the hallway, holding a plate in one hand as she pulled me in for a hug with the other arm. She stepped back, then peeled back the pink-tinted Saran Wrap to show me her brownies. "They have chili powder in them, to go with the Mexican theme. Hey, Millie!"

Millie and I exchanged glances of affectionate amusement as Peach hugged her.

Stacy stepped in wearing dark jeans and a black Marvin the Martian T-shirt that read, YOU. OFF MY PLANET, and stuffed a bottle of tequila in my hands.

"Hey, Liv," she said, and flashed her patented knock-you-out smile. Stacy was one of those women whose neck-throttling beauty never made it on her own radar. She had huge chocolate eyes, apparently poreless skin, and a body any other woman would kill for. She just didn't care. She'd grown up with an alcoholic father who'd left her and her older brother, Nick, in the care of their crazy mother, and after that, being preternaturally pretty didn't seem so important.

Peach tucked her arm into Millie's and dragged her into the living room, and I leaned into Stacy as we followed behind. "So, what are you confessing tonight?"

She spread her hands, the picture of innocence. "Nothing to confess."

"You have nothing to confess? That's three weeks in a row for you."

She shook her head. "I have no secrets in this town. Betty reports anything I do to the masses at CCB's within twenty-four hours."

"Well, maybe stop fooling around on the pool table at Happy Larry's, and news will stop traveling so fast. Speaking of which, I heard about Amber Dorsey catching you with Frankie Biggs."

She raised a brow at me. "Hence, why I have nothing to confess."

We took our seats in the living room - Millie on the big pink floral love seat my mother had bought at a flea market when I was seven, Peach on the leather La-Z-Boy I'd gotten a few years back, and me and Stacy together on the key lime couch that matched nothing else in the room. Or the house.

"So," I said, reaching for my margarita. "I'll start." I took a deep breath. "I'm going backpacking through Europe."

"Awesome." Stacy grabbed her margarita and took a sip.

"Europe?" Peach crumpled her nose. "Why?"

Millie gave Peach an exasperated look. "It's travel. She doesn't need a reason."

Stacy gave a small laugh. "Seriously. A few weeks in Europe can do a lot of good for a girl. Speaking of which, I hear Germans are particularly good in the sack. Bag one and report in, will you?"

"Actually," I said, and shot a look at Millie for moral support, who smiled encouragement. "It's going to be a little longer than a few weeks. A lot longer." I swallowed my nerves down, and wrung my hands, trying to squeeze that damn tingling away. "I'm not coming back."

I looked at Peach, waiting for the