Upside Down by Fern Michaels Page B

sound . . . strange. Is anything wrong?”
    â€œI don’t know, Yoko. We can talk tomorrow. How about if I call the girls to see if they can join us. It’s been so long since we all got together.”
    â€œAbsolutely. I’ll put Harry on alert, so he can pick up Lily from play school. Tomorrow is only half a day.”
    â€œWhere shall we meet up?” Maggie asked.
    â€œWell, you like the Squire’s Pub, so let’s go there, or that trendy little café right there on Dupont Circle. I think it’s called Betty Lou’s. Betty Lou’s would be my choice since Squire’s Pub is really a guy spot.” Maggie agreed. “Twelve-thirty would be perfect for me. Do you want me to call anyone?” Yoko asked.
    â€œThat works for me. You call Nikki and Alexis, and I’ll call Myra and Annie. We’ll be short one because Isabelle is in England.”
    â€œNo, she isn’t! Didn’t you hear? She came back over the weekend, and she and Abner had a huge fight, and she moved out. Harry didn’t tell me this—I heard him talking to Abner on the phone—and, of course, I eavesdropped. You call her, Maggie.”
    â€œWell, damn! That doesn’t sound good. I guess you don’t know where she went, do you? I hope she still has the same cell-phone number. I’ll give it my best shot.”
    â€œIt would not surprise me in the least to find out that Isabelle went out to the farm. Isn’t that where we all go when things go awry in our lives?”
    â€œYou’re right about that,” Maggie said when she remembered how she’d hightailed it to the farm after her husband died to fall into Myra’s and Annie’s waiting arms. “Thanks for reminding me. I’ll call when I hang up. You okay?”
    Yoko laughed. “It’s the start of the Christmas season, so that means things will go nuclear real soon. I’m looking forward to seeing Kathryn. I haven’t seen her since last Thanksgiving. Isabelle, too, now that I think of it. I don’t suppose there has been any word on Charles, has there?”
    â€œNot that I’ve heard. Okay, see you tomorrow. Give Lily a hug from her Aunt Maggie. By the way, what does she want for Christmas?”
    Yoko laughed again. “Everything in the world, so you can’t go wrong no matter what you choose. Don’t go overboard. She loves storybooks. Hey, they’re paging me for something. Gotta go, see you tomorrow. Thanks for calling, Maggie, I do need a break.”
    â€œYeah, me too.” Maggie sighed as she broke the connection.
    She drummed her stubby fingers on her desk, her eyes on the bank of clocks on the wall that gave the time all over the world. She was going to stay right here until everyone got back from lunch. And she wanted to see how long the foursome would take. Her eyes narrowed into slits. Everything was her business now.
    Maybe what she should do was drive out to Pinewood. Myra always said not to bother calling, her door was always open. Still, what if she wasn’t home, and she made the trip for nothing. She finally talked herself into the trip as she recalled Yoko’s words that Isabelle was probably there. And that’s what she would do the moment the foursome returned from lunch.
    For the next thirty minutes Maggie was a whirling dervish as she tidied up loose ends, delegated duties, and signed off on a dozen different papers shoved under her nose. Thank God it was a slow news day.
    Maggie’s eyes strayed to the clock again. Ninety-minute lunch hours were taboo unless approved. She knew in her gut that Ted was pushing her buttons. Lunch hours were one hour. Sixty minutes. Emily knew better, and this was the first time she had abused the rule. Let it go or make an issue of it? She opted to let it go, but she made sure the foursome saw her looking at the clock, then making a note on her desk pad when they returned.
    With her afternoon cleared,