Occasion of Revenge Read Online Free PDF

would have turned Mother Teresa to stone. Homemade? I had seen four empty jars of Prego in the kitchen trash can, but I’d never tell.
    “Thank you.” Ruth managed a smile, but I hoped none of the saccharine in her voice would drip into the spaghetti.
    “Here,” I said, taking the wine from my father. “Let’s open it and let it breathe.”
    While I coaxed a stubborn cork out of the bottle, Ruth bent over, turned the heat down under the sauce, then wiped her hands on a towel which had been tucked into the waistband of her slacks. “May I fix you a drink, Darlene? Peppermint schnapps?” I’d seen more convincing smiles on guests of honor at funeral homes.
    Darlene had been standing next to my father, gazing up at him as if he were the learned professor and she were an infatuated student. “Hmmm?”
    “A drink. Schnapps?”
    “No, thanks.” She wandered toward the refrigerator, her hand running along the countertop as if checking it for dust. “That’s only for special occasions.”
    So what is this? I wanted to yell. A tax audit?
    Ruth recoiled as if she had been slapped. In a just world she would have upended the pot of sauce over Darlene’s head.
    I set the wine on the counter and stepped between the stove and the fridge, effectively blocking Darlene’s view of my older sister who was coming to a boil almost as quickly as the pasta. “Would you like to see the house, Darlene?” I gave my father a straight-mouthed look. “Daddy, why don’t you show Darlene the house.”
    But before anybody could move, the doorbell rang. Daddy turned his head, whether in response to the doorbell or to my question it was impossible to tell.
    “I’ll get it!” Emily leapt at the opportunity to get out of Dodge. She breezed down the narrow hallway, her skirt a bright patchwork quilt floating a few inches above her Birkenstocks. When she opened the door, Sean, Dylan, and Julie tumbled in, red-cheeked, followed by a blast of cold air, my sister, and her husband. Sean and Dylan made a beeline for the pool table in the basement, passing me with a perfunctory “Hi, Aunt Hannah!” before disappearing down the stairs. Julie remained in the hallway where she patiently peeled off her jacket, one sleeve at a time, and handed it to Emily.
    His hand cupping her elbow, Daddy and Darlene passed by, headed toward the living room.
    “Who are you?” asked Julie, who stood blocking the doorway, a bedraggled Abigail rabbit clutched under one arm.
    Darlene stooped to Julie’s eye level. “My name is Darlene,” she cooed. “And isn’t that a lovely teddy!”
    Julie twisted her body sideways until Abby was safely out of the stranger’s reach. “Abby is a rabbit !”
    “So she is.” Darlene reached out to pat Julie’s copper curls but missed as Julie turned and darted away, leaving our guest squatting unsteadily next to Mother’s Oriental umbrella stand. Figuring Daddy would sort it out, I threw an arm around Georgina and kissed the air next to Scott’s cheek. “So glad you could come,” I whispered as I relieved Georgina of a double-stacked pie carrier. I jerked my head toward the living room door through which Darlene had just disappeared. “Ruth’s already in a snit. This could get ugly.”
    Emily had been hanging up coats, but she turned on me then. “Honestly, Mother. Give Granddaddy a break. Darlene’s not so bad.”
    “How do you know?” Scott asked as he helped Georgina remove her coat and hat.
    “Well, I don’t, really, but at least Gramps isn’t mooning around the house all day.”
    Georgina combed her long, copper-colored hair with her fingers. “Hat hair,” she said. “I hate it.” Then she turned to Emily. “That’s one point in Darlene’s favor, then. Keeping Daddy occupied.”
    Scott laughed. “Well, I for one am looking forward to seeing more of this paragon of virtue.”
    Thinking about the low-cut sweater Darlene had chosen for the evening, I said, “Then you won’t have long to wait. The