They didn't, not from the front, but behind Suzanne's back, Gregory began to run a finger up and down Ivy's arm. Then he used two fingers, stroking her in a slow, caressing motion. Ivy wanted to scream. She wanted to slap him away.
"Smile," Mrs. Goldstein said. Flash.
"And one more. Ivy-" She forced a smile. Flash.
Ivy tried not to pull away too quickly from Gregory. She remembered Philip's dream about the train-the silver snake-that wanted to swallow her up. He's always watching, Philip had said, and he smells it when you're afraid.
Suzanne began cutting the cake, and Ivy handed it out. When she gave Gregory a piece, he touched her lightly on the wrist and wouldn't take the cake till she met his gaze.
Will was next in line. "We keep missing each other," he said to Ivy.
She was about to tell him to take two plates and meet her by the pond in ten minutes, but then she saw Samantha standing right behind him.
"Big party," Ivy said.
Fifteen minutes later Ivy was sitting alone on a bench about twenty feet away from the pond, eating her cake and watching Peppermint, Suzanne's Pomeranian. The little dog, who was regularly shampooed and conditioned, and let outdoors only on a leash, had escaped that night and was happily digging holes in the muddy bank. Then she waded into the pond and began to do the doggy paddle.
Some girls and guys standing by the pond called to the dog, trying to get her to fetch sticks, but Peppermint was as headstrong as her mistress.
Then Ivy called softly. Too late she realized her mistake. Peppermint knew Ivy. Peppermint liked Ivy.
Peppermint loved cake. She came running on her short little legs, made a flying leap for Ivy's lap, then scrambled up the rest of the way with her muddy back feet. She put her slimy front paws on Ivy's chest so she could stand up and lick her face, then dropped down in Ivy's lap and shook out her thick coat full of water.
"Pep! Hey!" Ivy wiped her face, then shook her own mane hair. The dog saw her chance and gulped the rest of Ivy's cake. "Pep, you muddy pig!"
Ivy heard a burst of laughter next to her. Will dropped down on the bench beside her. "I'm sorry Mrs.
Goldstein wasn't here with her camera," he said.
"And I'm sorry you didn't call Peppermint first," Ivy replied.
He couldn't stop laughing. "I'll get some towels," he sputtered, "for both of you."
He was quick about it and brought back a pile of wet and dry cloths.
Sitting on the bench next to her, Will cleaned the dog while Ivy tried unsuccessfully to remove the mud from her skirt and top.
"Maybe we should just dump you in the pond and make you all one color," Will said to Ivy.
"Great idea. Why don't you go see how deep it is for me?"
He grinned at her, then reached over with a clean cloth and wiped her cheek close to her ear. "It's in your hair too," he said.
She felt his fingers pulling gently on her hair, trying to get out the mud. She held still. When he let go of the strands, something inside her floated upward, wanting to be touched again.
Ivy looked down quickly at her skirt and ferociously attacked a mud stain. Then Will set Peppermint on the ground between them. The clean dog wagged its little tail at him. "I bet you wish you were a puppy like me."
Ivy and Will turned at the same time and bent down to the dog, bumping their heads together.
"Ow!"
Will started laughing again. They looked in each other's eyes, laughing at themselves, and didn't see if Peppermint's mouth moved when she "spoke" a second time.
"If you were a pup like me, Will, you could jump into Ivy's arms."
Ivy thought she recognized the voice and glanced around for a suspicious purple shimmer.
"You could put your head in Ivy's lap and be cuddled. I know that's what you'd like."
Ivy sneaked a peek at Will, embarrassed, but he didn't look at all sheepish. He was staring at the dog, his mouth drawn up in a little smile. "You can put words in a dog's mouth, angel," he said, "but not in mine."
"You're no fun! Even if you do have nice buns," Lacey added.
"I thought they were great$ buns," Will said.
Lacey laughed. Ivy spotted her then, right behind them. Apparently she could throw her voice. Now the soft purple shine moved around in front of them.
"Her name's Lacey," Ivy told Will.
"I'm disappointed in you two," Lacey said. "I keep waiting for you to get things going, but you just tippytoe around each other. As a romance, you get two thumbs down. I'm going to hang out with the kids by the pond."
Will shrugged. "Have a good time."
"Something tells me Peppermint won't be the only one taking a swim tonight," Ivy remarked under her breath.
The purple mist drifted back to them. "It's amazing how much we think alike, chick," Lacey said. "But the fact is, Tristan is still in the darkness, so I'll probably behave myself tonight. Without him around to fuss at me, it's not as much fun."
Ivy smiled a little.
"See, I miss him, too," Lacey said. For a moment her voice sounded different to Ivy, girlish and wistful.
Then the tone became theatrical again: "Whoops, here she comes. Warning, ten feet behind you-chick with a capital. I'm all gone, boys and girls."
But Lacey didn't leave immediately. "Mommy, I went swimming! I had so much fun!" Peppermint "said" in a voice loud enough for Suzanne to hear.
The purple shimmer slipped away as Suzanne came around to the front of the bench.
"Pep! Oh, Pep!" She felt the dog's wet fur. "You bad girl. I'm going to put you in your kennel."
Then she saw Ivy's mud-splattered skirt and top. "Ivy!"
"You going to put me in the kennel, too?" Ivy asked.
Will laughed.
Suzanne shook her head. "I'm so sorry. Bad girl!"
Peppermint lowered her head contritely, until Suzanne turned to Ivy. Then her head popped up, and her tail wagged again.
"It's my fault," Ivy said. "I called Peppermint while she was swimming.
It's no big deal-all I need is a little soap."
"I'll get it for you," Suzanne said.
"No, it's okay," Ivy replied, smiling. "I know where it is." She stood up.
"If you want to throw your clothes in the wash," Suzanne told her, "wear something of mine. You know which is the clean stuff."
"Whatever isn't on the floor," they both said at the same time, and laughed.
Ivy started toward the house and heard Suzanne ask Will how he made that dog voice. She was still smiling to herself when she entered the house.
Then she hurried down the hall, glancing around for Gregory, hoping he didn't see her heading upstairs.
Ivy relaxed when she reached Suzanne's bedroom, a room she had spent countless hours in, gossiping, reading magazines, trying on makeup. The large, square room was furnished in dark polished wood and carpeted wall to wall in a pure, plush white. Suzanne and Ivy always joked mat the best way to keep the carpet clean was to walk on her clothes. But that day Ivy removed her shoes. The room was picked up, with the green silk coverlet pulled smooth on the bed and just one filmy blouse tossed aside. Ivy took off her stained shirt, slipped on the blouse without buttoning it, and headed for Suzanne's bathroom.
The soap worked well on her knit top. She squeezed the top out in a towel, then hung it on a hanger.
Having rigged up the hair dryer as she had seen Suzanne do, she turned it on to dry the knit while she worked on her skirt. Ivy was standing close to sink, pulling up her pale denim skirt and scrubbing it hard, when she felt the hot air on her back and her hair and blouse blow loose. She glanced up quickly.
In the mirror she saw Gregory, aiming the hair dryer at her and laughing.
Ivy wrapped the open blouse around her as if it were a coat. "It's the top that needs drying, not me," she said crisply.