At the park, while Ben and his friends navigated through an inflatable obstacle course and hunted up hidden treasure, Eva squeezed in some work on her laptop. One by one, she ticked off items on her to do list. Proof the design of bookmarks and promotional book cards before submitting the final order. Order gift cards to raffle off during the book launch. Email thank-you’s to bloggers who had already responded with reviews. Ten minutes before pick-up time, Nina stopped by the picnic table where Eva had spread out. “I didn’t see you earlier, thought you and Ben decided to bag the party.” “We got here a little late. Had to change out of the gi into civvies.” She saved her open files and shut down the computer. “Missed you at karate this morning.” “I have an open house this afternoon, had to get some last-minute things done. And Paul’s preparing for a trial. You know how he gets. Physically present, but completely unavailable.”
