The Second Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

countless times in middle and high school.
    The girls giggled again as Amelia rolled her
eyes, smiling. “You two get stranger and stranger the more you hang
out together.”
    “It’s a wonder either of us can get dates,”
Meredith joked.
    “Oh yeah, speaking of dates, where is
Miguelito?” Vi asked, using the nickname affectionately.
    Meredith glanced at her mother, remembering
the conversation they’d had earlier. “I’m going out with him
tomorrow.”
    Vi persisted, “Yeah, but where is he today ? That was some pretty heavy stuff this morning. I
thought he’d be racing over here to hold you like the sweet damsel
you are.”
    Surprised, Meredith realized that she had no
idea where Miguel was or what he was doing, because she hadn’t
asked. Meredith told them as much.
    Amelia shook her head. “You’re not being fair
to that guy, Mere.”
    Vi looked back and forth between them with a
questioning lift to her eyebrows. “Uh oh, did I just step in
something?”
    Meredith let out an exaggerated sigh of
exasperation. “Mom thinks that since I don’t fawn all over Miguel
and sit by the phone waiting for crumbs of affection then I must
not really like him.”
    “Ever the drama queen,” Amelia said dryly.
“I’m just saying that if you don’t like him, then you should stop
stringing him along.”
    Vi shifted uncomfortably, sorry that she had
mentioned Miguel. Attempting to relieve the tension, she said,
“Well, you know how we modern career girls are, Mrs. C. Gotta give
those boys a run for their money!”
    Meredith sat up with a resigned sigh. “Mom, I do like him. I am just trying to figure out how much .”
    Amelia raised her eyebrows and looked like
she wanted to say more, but instead changed the subject. Turning to
Vi, she said, “I came in here to get your laundry, Miss Violet. So
let’s have it.”
    Vi stood and crossed over to the bag on the
dresser. As she unzipped it, they were all treated to a waft of the
smoky smell from the apartment. “Thanks a bunch. Pretty much
everything in here has to be washed.”
    “No problem. I’m just glad you girls are
okay.”
    With her arms full of the clothing Vi had
packed, Amelia left the room. Briefly, Meredith wondered what sort
of clothes Vi had packed for her. From where she was sitting, all
she could see in the bundle of clothes was Vi’s torn black jeans
and some red lacy panties, which were most definitely not hers.
    Once Amelia was out of earshot, Vi turned to
Meredith, looking contrite. “Sorry about bringing Miguel up. I
didn’t realize--”
    “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even know
that Mom had an issue with him until today.” She paused
thoughtfully. “Actually, it’s not even that her issue is with him.
It’s with me being with anyone that she doesn’t think I am fully
invested in.”
    “Do you think she has a point?” Vi asked
carefully.
    Meredith laughed. “Since when am I in the
business of admitting it when my mother has a point?”
    Meredith and Vi hung out in the bedroom
chatting until it was time for dinner. When they heard the buzzer
on the oven, they came out into the hallway just as Rob was leaving
the office. Vi smiled and gave Rob a big hug.
    “Uh oh,” he joked. “We better hide the good
silver.”
    Playing along, Vi said, “Oh come on, Mr. C. I
haven’t stolen from you for months now.”
    Rob laughed and tousled her hair. “How are
you doing, Vi?”
    “Pretty good, thanks. Selling hopes and
dreams to starry-eyed teenagers never gets old.” Vi had gotten a
degree in graphic design, and she now worked for the university
creating promotional materials for student recruitment.
    “Well that’s good to hear. What do you say we
go eat?” Rob led them through the living room toward the kitchen.
The TV was on as they passed by, and a worried looking newscaster
was discussing the outbreak of fires nationwide. So far there were
three deaths in Phoenix and countless thousands of dollars in
property damage. Police