Deena, who had been as visible as a ghost since the night of Madison’s party, took a sandwich to her room and mumbled that she was going through her clothes to see what no longer fit. Since that was one of the chores she had to complete before we talked about restoring privileges, I felt somewhat encouraged that our standoff would eventually end. Deena hadn’t had much to say for herself after her hangover subsided, and that had continued. So far we hadn’t received an apology. I suspected she was slowly processing what she had done and why, and eventually we would be able to talk about it. For now, though, silence reigned. As good as alone, I contemplated my choices. The Idyll was over, and the remainder of the summer beckoned. Lucy had a couple of houses in mind for us to buy and flip, but the owners had inflated ideas of their worth. By late summer, if they hadn’t sold to someone else, we could start negotiations. In the meantime I could run errands and car-pools, clean the house from top to bottom, put lots of casseroles in the freezer while fresh vegetables were readily available.
