All the while listening for any sound from upstairs.When I had dinner ready I went upstairs and knocked on Janie's door."Come in," said Momma."Momma, ...inner's ready," I told her looking at Janie to be sure shewasn't hurt. She'd been crying, her eyes were as puffy and red asMomma's, but they were hugging each other."Come on let's go see what your sister fixed for us," Momma said.Janie was quiet through dinner barely speaking and I wasn't sure if itwas because she disapproved of me or what.Then. If my posse had already split up into the two flanking groups as planned, the silver-clawed animated defenders would have ripped them to shreds.Our magical flame might have lit up the night sky, but it didn't do shit to burn down the animatrons. They'd each been possessed by minor spirits of fire and their pumpkin heads glowed with daemonic flame. The fire that they breathed upon my cadre of magicians was fairly potent, but it was the long silver claws for fingers that cut like daggers right. ‘You do want to see the boat, don’t you?’ Velda asked, pulling her leg up on the seat and turning to face me. The black dress had crawled up, exposing all of her stocking tops and her garters. I glanced down and she spread her legs more so I could see all the way up to the black nylon covering her bush. Velda was giving me a whole beaver shot. ‘I guess so,’ I whispered. Velda smiled, displaying her pearly white teeth again. ‘Head out to the beach, we can stop at Raspberries for a drink if you. “Sure,” I said. “Why not?”A couple of hours later, Judith and I were in her little Kia, heading for Charlotte and Ken Markley’s house, where an informal, impromptu reunion of wild and crazy Hood College undergraduate women was about to be staged. “This bunch gets together all the time,” Judith was telling me in the car. “There will be at least three – maybe as many as five – couples there. Charlotte and Ken do most of the hosting – she likes to stage little parties and she makes all the food..