“I know I should have been back when I said,” Alice conceded, looking close to tears. “And I guess I shouldn’t have been in the car with Milo. He drove sort of fast. I think he was showing off. I told him to slow down, but he just laughed. You won’t tell Dad that part, will you?”
“I’m sure he was showing off in front of you girls.” Jacqui swallowed hard at the thought of what could have happened with that boy driving recklessly with three young girls in his car. “I hope you at least wore your seat belt.”
“Of course I wore my seat belt. I always do.” Alice sounded ironically indignant that Jacqui would even suggest differently.
“As for telling your Dad, I think you should decide what to tell him when you talk with him about last night. But I would advise you to be honest and penitent about breaking his rules.”
Alice sighed gustily. “All the other girls my age are allowed to go out.”
“You’re telling me Tiff’s mother would let her go riding around with an almost-eighteen-year-old boy?”
Alice grimaced, as aware as Jacqui that her friend Tiffany’s mother was every bit as firm and protective as Seth. “No, I guess not.”
“You know not.”
Alice merely sighed again.
“Why don’t you go out and play with Waldo? He’s missed you.”
Alice escaped eagerly. Jacqui figured the girl was looking forward to spending time with her dog, who thought everything she did was perfectly delightful.
Later that afternoon, Jacqui debated awhile before knocking on Alice’s bedroom door. Alice had been in there for more than an hour, having said she wanted to play on her computer and maybe read a little. Jacqui suspected Alice was still sulking, embarrassed by the fuss she had caused. Alice was also worried about what her father was going to say when he heard about the incident.
After being invited into the room, Jacqui opened the door and stepped inside. The teen lay sprawled on her bed on top of the comforter, an open book in front of her.
Jacqui crossed the room to perch on one corner of the bed. “How’s the book?”
“Pretty good. It’s the third in a series.”
“That series about the rescue dogs?”
“Yeah. Guess I told you about them already.”
“You mentioned them.”
Closing the book, Alice sat up, her legs crossed in front of her. “What’s that you’re holding?”
“It’s an old picture. I thought you might like to see it.”
Alice waited a moment. When Jacqui didn’t immediately hand her the photo, she prodded, “You were going to show me the picture?”
Taking a deep breath, Jacqui handed Alice the faded, creased photo. In it, two little girls, ages eight and ten, sat side by side on a concrete step eating ice cream cones. The older had dark hair rumpled in spikes around her solemn face, whereas the younger girl’s hair was lighter, wavier, her expression blissful as she enjoyed the melting treat.
Frowning in concentration, Alice pointed to the older girl. “This is you, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I guess I haven’t changed much.”
“You were very cute.”
Jacqui smiled a little. “Thanks.”
“Who’s the other girl?”
The smile faded. “My sister. Olivia.”
Alice’s eyes went wide. “You never told me you have a sister.”
“Had,” Jacqui corrected gently. “I had a sister.”