Gelman? She's all on her lonesome, and she's following me around, and it's getting tiresome." Lance glanced at Rivka, and she shrugged. Lance disappeared through the French doors, and Rivka turned to Mary. "Seriously, you won't tell Pamela will you? She doesn't want me to have anything do with her brother." Mary snorted. "I don't see what business it is of Pamela's, but if that's the way you want it, that's fine with me." "You don't understand," Rivka pleaded. "You don't know what it's like." She twisted her hands in her skirt. "You don't have a weird name and foreign parents, and…and…" Mary laughed. "No, I just have a mother who everyone knows has been locked up in the looney bin more than once." She wandered over toward the swimming pool. There were tiny white lights woven into the adjacent trees, and they flickered reflectively from the depths of the pool. Mary slipped her sandal off and dipped her toes into the water. "You can be one of Pamela's victims, or you can fight back," she said over her shoulder. "It's not like that," Rivka began when Pamela came bursting through the door. “There you are. I wondered where you'd gotten to.” The straps of her designer gown had slipped off her shoulders, and her hair was coming out of its French knot. “Becky.” She pointed at Rivka, “truth or dare.” Rivka jumped.Without waiting for an answer, Pamela continued. “Dare.” She pointed at Rivka again. “I dare you to go steal us a bottle of champagne from the bar and bring it back here.”Mary raised an eyebrow. “Great idea.”“How am I going to do—“Pamela snapped her fingers. “Do it. Now. Go.” There was no one waiting at the bar when Rivka got there.
