Autumn Leaves by Barbara Winkes Page A

Callie accused, “and what was I expecting anyway?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “That was really stupid of me. Thinking you’d be different.”
    “I think I’d better go now.”
    “Yes, I agree. I have work to do.”
    When Callie made no move to accompany her to the door, Rebecca walked back into the kitchen. She found it hard to tell who was wrong or right at the moment, but for sure she didn’t want to leave things at that.
    “Come on. You know I’m not one of those crazy people who use the Bible as an excuse for each of their screwups. Right?” Somehow, a lot depended on the answer to that question. “Can’t you give me just a little more time?”
    “Right,” Callie said. “You need time. That’s okay. We’ve had all the time getting used to living in a world where people hate us.”
    Rebecca just shook her head, but she didn’t have the right words to argue. Not at the moment anyway.
    Letting herself back into her own house, Rebecca felt like crawling under the covers and hiding from the world. With dread, she realized she had promised Father Langdon a first draft for his youth project.
    She couldn’t focus, starting with some mindless internet surfing until she remembered Ms. Malik’s comment. Rebecca rolled her eyes. She’d known that this wouldn’t be a good day from the moment she learned Callie was not alone.
    Curious and in severe need for distraction, she typed the letters MILF into Google. What the Urban Dictionary link had for her made her jaw drop first, then made her angry. Callie was one to talk about political correctness. Maybe it actually was a good idea not to drop by almost every single day. Then why did she still want to apologize? Why did it feel like her heart was breaking because she didn’t know how?
    * * * *
    Dina hadn’t yet made up with her friend, so she spent Saturday morning in bed, sulking. She hadn’t even raised the blinds by the time Rebecca left. Rebecca could sympathize. It was on days like this that she would have loved to be a teenager again, completely without adult responsibilities. She didn’t really feel like going out. Maybe it would do her some good. Maybe she’d even get to the bottom of Betty’s weird mood. She wasn’t sure, though, if she really wanted to.
    Betty’s and Roz’s cars were already in the driveway when Rebecca pulled up in front of Maria and Craig’s house. Craig greeted her at the door.
    “Hello, Becca. Everyone’s here, except for the host.” He rolled his eyes a little which Rebecca found inappropriate. Of the two brothers, David clearly was the one with the better manners.
    “Okay, thanks.” She was glad when he didn’t try to engage her in more small talk. Craig had always made her uncomfortable for reasons Rebecca couldn’t quite fathom. She didn’t want to dwell on it now. As it was, the ambiance between her friends wasn’t much better.
    “He’s not a man yet, and neither are those jerks who are hassling him,” Roz was saying when Rebecca walked into the dining room, obviously talking about Charles junior. “You’ve got to do something about it!”
    “What am I gonna do about it?” Betty asked testily. “Go and ask them to be nice? Nick Weller is going to laugh in my face.”
    Rebecca winced. Nick Weller had made a name in the real estate business and owned quite a bit of property in Autumn Leaves. His manners hadn’t kept up with his rise to fortune, so it was no wonder his son came after him.
    “Hey, girls,” she said, thinking she didn’t deserve the annoyed look Betty gave her. “Sorry, I’m late,” she offered. “Another teenage crisis. Dina broke up with her BFF. David’s gone again, so I had to bring Maggie to her little book club first.” She had no idea why she gave this rambling, breathless explanation as if they expected one from her.
    “Maria was here briefly, then she had to go. Said she’d be back in half an hour,” Roz informed her. “She promised a surprise