The Summer of Our Discontent (4 page)

When Rachel walked into the backyard, Kaycee had the frog and was holding it up for Patty to see. Patty apparently was not a tomboy and shied away from the dangling legs of the brownish hostage. Her nails were painted coral to match the dress she was wearing. Shoulder-length brown locks barely moved at all because they’d been hair-sprayed into position. Rachel smiled. So far, Patty didn’t appear to be anything like her older sister.

Kaycee spotted Rachel and raced over. “Momma, look at Kip. Isn’t he big? Sophie caught him in the ditch, and she says there’re more. Can I go with her to get a friend for him?”

Rachel knelt down and took Kip with a smile as she kissed Kaycee. “He looks lonely and very hot. Could you imagine being taken out of your favorite ditch away from your friends and tadpoles, then being put in a stuffy old box?”

“We put in some grass and a whole lot of bugs,” Sophie said as she joined them.

“Hi, Sophie,” Rachel said with a grin. “A girl has to be super-fast to catch a fine frog like this. I’m really impressed.”

“I got down like this.” Sophie squatted in a pounce position. “And I sat there for a long time until his head came out of the water, then I just jumped in.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Patty said as she walked up. “I’m Patty
Cambre
. I hope you don’t mind that I just walked over.”

Rachel handed the frog back to Sophie and stood, wiping her hand on her pants. “I’m glad you did, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Rachel Chauvin, and I’m thrilled that Kaycee finally has someone to play with who shares her common interest in dirt and bugs.”

“She did
not
get that from me,” Patty said as she watched the girls. “Kaycee is all Sophie has talked about. Mrs. Roland, her sitter, said it was all she could do today to keep her from coming over here before Kaycee got home.”

“I assure you that Kaycee is equally enamored. Sophie’s welcome anytime.”

“I’m so relieved she has someone close by to play with.” Patty met Rachel’s eye when she said, “She’s my only one, and I’m very protective. I grew up here, but I’ve been away for a long time, I don’t really know who we’re surrounded by. Faith doesn’t have kids, so she’s not really mindful of threats if you know what I mean.”

Rachel nodded. “I do.” Patty’s attitude was refreshing. So often, Rachel found that many parents just turned their kids loose to wander unattended. She’d grown up listening to her mother say, “Things aren’t like they were when I was a girl,” and now she said the same. She’d played in the woods and the park and rode her bike all through town when she was
Kaycee’s
age. Her father was the police chief, and everyone knew her and kept a watchful eye. Even though everyone in town knew Kaycee, there was no way Rachel would allow her to wander.

“There aren’t predators registered in this area, but that can change. Michaud is growing by the day. That’s why I built the tree house. I try to keep the yard as stimulating as possible. I can see this part of the park through most of my back windows, so that helps me keep a close eye on her, too. She’s not allowed to go past the pavilion or the baseball field.”

“I’ll set those same boundaries for Sophie, too. She’s begging me to spend the night with Kaycee, but I’m just not ready for that. I hope you won’t take offense.”

“Not at all,” Rachel said earnestly. “I’d be the same way. We’ve only just met…and I know you know that your sister and I don’t get along.”

Patty nodded with a big smile. “Oh, yes, the rivalry is legendary, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t.”

Rachel was relieved to hear Patty say that. “No, it doesn’t, and I think you and I will handle things just fine. I should warn you, though. Kaycee has been telling Sophie all about Camp Summer Sun. She may start begging you to go.”

Patty looked befuddled. “What’s that?”

“It’s a summer camp that lasts for ten days. We’ve gone the last two summers. My mother told me the girls have been talking about it all day. It starts next week. I can give you some brochures if she manages to wear you down.”

“I don’t know.” Patty watched Sophie as she played. “Just moving back here and the idea of her going away somewhere I’m not familiar with makes me nervous.”

“I totally understand.”

“Is it safe? You’re comfortable sending Kaycee there?”

“It’s run by a respectable organization here in town. I know all the people associated with it, but I still go as a chaperone.” Rachel smiled. “I’m as paranoid as you are, and I think that’s a good thing.”

“I’ll give it some thought. Is it okay if Sophie plays here for a while?”

“Absolutely, I bring Kaycee in at dusk.”

“Thank you,” Patty said as she extended her hand. “I’ll be back to get Sophie then.”

“I have frog fingers. Are you sure you want to shake my hand?”

“That’s okay.” Patty’s smile was genuine as she shook it anyway. “It was truly a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too.” Rachel watched her go with a smile. Patty may’ve favored her sister in looks, but she wasn’t anything like the turd Rachel knew. Her grin deepened as she considered that maybe Faith would be annoyed by the new friendship she and Patty had formed.

Chapter Five

The water shut off, and Sophie pulled back the shower curtain prepared to step out.

“Stop,” Patty said as she picked up a bath towel. “You dry off first or you’ll soak the bathroom.” She ran her fingers through Sophie’s hair and frowned. “Baby, did you rinse out the conditioner?”

“Uh-huh…I think so.”

“I felt grit on your scalp.” Patty turned on the water and tested it with her hand. “You need to shampoo your hair again, then condition, and this time, wash it all out.” She looked Sophie over, especially her neck that she always seemed to miss when she bathed. “Did you wash your body good?”

Sophie nodded. “Even my ditch.”

“Your what?”

“Kaycee calls her butt crack her ditch. She hates when her shorts get stuck up in there.”

“How colorful,” Patty said with a laugh as she closed the curtain. This time, she stood close by to make sure the job was getting done.

“Momma, I want to go to camp with Kaycee.”

Patty knew Sophie was going to bring it up, but she hadn’t come up with an excuse to shoot the idea down. “Do you realize that you’ll be away from me for a whole ten days if you went?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’d have to sleep on a strange bed, maybe eat vegetables. There could be bears.”

“I’m good with it, Momma.”

“You wouldn’t miss me?” Patty asked, crestfallen.

“I would, but there’s swimming, and Kaycee found an arrowhead.” Sophie did a naked dance as she rinsed shampoo from her hair. “I really, really wanna go, Momma, please?”

“Let me think about it.” Patty leaned against the wall and folded her arms. “We just moved back here, and I don’t know anything about the camp. They didn’t have one when I was a little girl.”

“But if Kaycee goes without me, I won’t have anyone to play with. I wanna sleep in a bunk bed and swim and eat ice cream.”

Patty peeked behind the curtain and looked into big brown beseeching eyes and felt herself wanting to cave in. “Let me talk about it with your Aunt Faith.”

*******

The following evening, Patty was armed with a handful of brochures that she’d gotten from Rachel and approached Faith, who was sitting in her favorite chair on the back deck with a beer. “Do you need a fresh one?” She pointed to the bottle in Faith’s hand.

“No, I usually only drink one, they’re fattening.” Faith smiled as she watched her niece and new buddy on the swings in the park. “She’s having the time of her life, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, it breaks my heart to know that her fun is going to come to an end for a while.”

Faith frowned as she turned to her. “What do you mean?”

Patty sighed dramatically. “
Kaycee’s
going off to camp in a week. That means Sophie won’t have her buddy around for two whole weeks.” She handed the pamphlets to Faith. “It looks like a really nice place, and she really wants to go, but I’m just not comfortable sending her off with strangers. I could go along as a chaperone, but I just started this new job.”

Faith grinned. “Oh, cool, they have a rock wall. I’ve always wanted to do that. One time, they had one set up at the mall in Baton Rouge, but the line to climb was like a mile long. I would’ve climbed all over that bad boy.”

“Yeah, being your niece, that was the first thing Sophie noticed.” Patty watched Faith as she looked at the pamphlet. “You have a lot of vacation time stored up, you could go as a chaperone. It wouldn’t cost you a thing.”

“Oh, hell no. I adore Sophie, but herding a bunch of snotty-nosed crumb snatchers would be absolute torture.”

Patty poured on the guilt. “Two whole weeks with no one to play with while her new best friend is off having the time of her life with other kids. Poor little Sophie is going to be miserable.”

Sophie came running up when Rachel called Kaycee inside. Her eyes zeroed in on the papers in Faith’s hand, and she went straight for her lap. “Look, Aunt Faith, they have a lake and canoes.” She plucked the pamphlet from Faith’s hand. “And a climbing thing, look at this.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Faith said as Sophie squirmed all over her.

“Momma’s thinking about it,” Sophie whispered. “I hope she says yes because I really want to go. I’ve never been to camp before, and I wanna find an arrowhead like Kaycee. They even have cabins with bunk beds.”

“No, you lie,” Faith teased.

“No, I’m not
lyin
’.” Sophie held up the pamphlet and pointed at a picture. “That’s one.”

Faith squinted at it. “That looks like a torture chamber where they curl your hair and put makeup on your face.” She shuddered. “Gives me chills just to look at it. They’d probably want to paint your nails, too.”

“I’d let them paint my nails if I could be with Kaycee,” Sophie said sadly.

Faith’s shoulders sagged as she cast Patty a sideways glance. Patty knew if Sophie played her cards right, she’d have a chaperone in the bag. The only thing that would spoil it was if she made the mistake of admitting that Rachel was going. Patty kept that tidbit to herself. “Did you ever go to camp when we were kids? I can’t remember.”

“No, I was too untamed to be held by such convention. Dad would release me into the wild every now and then, and I’d survive by eating bark, roots, and berries. One time, a pack of hyenas took me in. That was the best summer ever. We ran amok laughing at the moon.”

“So the answer is no then,” Patty said drolly.

Sophie clasped Faith’s face in her hands. “I’ve never been, either. Don’t be sad. We can go together.”

Chapter Six

Rachel fought the urge to grin when she saw Chance’s head begin to bob. There were only four officers present for the morning meeting, and Rachel wasn’t the only one who noticed that her best buddy on the force was having problems staying awake. Chief Prejean lined out their priorities, his dark eyes narrowing beneath a head full of silver and gray hair. His diatribe continued as he picked up a hardbound book that was sitting on the table nearby. Rachel almost felt sorry for Chance as Chief released the book, and it hit the table with a loud bang. Chance’s arms and legs flailed, nearly sending him toppling out of his chair.

“Glad you could join us, Galvez,” Chief said dryly. “Would you like us to twiddle our thumbs while you fix yourself another cup of coffee?”

Chance cleared his throat. “No, sir…sorry.”