“You do?” Lili looked almost comically grateful. “It’s not my game at all. Well, the crafty part is OK, but I keep freaking out that I’ll forget someone or something and it’s really important.”
Nina laughed. “Well, let me put away the rest of the stuff and close up the store, and I’ll meet you out front in ten minutes?”
“You’re a goddess in human form,” said Lili.
“She’s not very good at flirting, though,” said Annabel, firmly. She looked at Nina. “My mom has a boyfriend. Maybe she can help you.”
Lili looked at her daughter in mild horror. “We’re going to get ice cream. We’ll see you in a little bit.”
As they walked out of the store, Nina watched them pause after a few steps and tried not to lip-read Lili telling her daughter not to comment on people’s personal lives. Good luck with that, she thought.
Ten
In which Nina is helpful.
Lili lived fairly close to Larchmont, but nonetheless they drove, because it was Los Angeles. Besides, Lili had groceries, art supplies, and a giant bag of dog food to carry inside, so it was just as well Nina was there.
“Oh, you have a dog!” said Nina, thrilled. She would love to have a dog, even though Phil the cat might not approve. She couldn’t stop herself from squatting down to greet Lili’s clearly ancient Labrador.
“That’s Frank,” said Lili. “He’s a shameless food whore; yours for a single kibble.”
Frank gazed into Nina’s eyes, trying to convince her to run away with him to a butcher’s shop. She smiled at him and rubbed his ears until he made grumbly noises at her.
“Coffee?” asked Lili, putting away the groceries. Annabel had disappeared, presumably into her room. Another little girl appeared, younger than Annabel.
“No, thanks,” replied Nina. “It’s too late for me.”
“Too late for you because you’re dying or too late for you for some other reason?” asked the little girl, interestedly.
“This is Clare,” said her mother. “Try and ignore her.”
“Yes,” said Clare, smiling at Nina like an angel, “you can try.”
“I meant it was too late for caffeine; it will keep me awake.”
“Really? My mom drinks it all the time. But she’s much older than you, so maybe she’s more tired. People’s bodies wear out, you know.” She reminded Nina of Ramona Quimby, with her shiny little bob and big brown eyes. Not to mention her apparent lack of filter.
Lili sighed. “I think they’re doing a biology project on decomposition or something; she’s all about death right now.”
“Did you know,” said Clare, ignoring her mother, “that you have tiny insects living on your eyelashes, right now, eating your eyelash juice?”
Nina raised her eyebrows. This kid had picked the wrong target. “Yes,” she said, “and not only on your eyelashes; the adult face has a thousand or so mites living on it at any one time. Did you also know,” she asked Clare, “that the entire world is covered in a microscopic layer of poop?”
“Yes,” said Clare, “and did you know that tapeworms can grow eighty feet long?”
“Yes, and did you know people produce a liter of snot every day?”
“On a regular day!” said Clare, with relish. “And did you know the shiny coating on jelly beans is made from insect poop?” She paused. “Or it used to be. I don’t know if it still is.”
Nina nodded, but Lili was done with this conversation. “That’s enough,” she said. “Honestly, you’re revolting, Clare.”
“I’m not,” said Clare. “I’m learning.” She went closer to Nina. “Who are you?”
“I’m Nina. I work at the bookstore where your sister does her book club.”
Clare considered this. “Do you have a book club for littler kids?”
“How old are you?”
“Six.”
“No, not yet. When you’re older you can join one.”
Clare narrowed her eyes at Nina, as her older sister had done. “If we can read, we should be able to come.”
“You might be bored.”
Clare shrugged. “I’m willing to take that risk,” she said.
Lili had finished putting away the groceries. “Time to get crafty,” she said, and led the way to the living room. Clare trailed after them.
Lili spoke over her shoulder. “I have an office in the garage, but I’ve been doing this stuff in here so I can watch TV at the same time. Is that OK?”
Nina nodded and Lili pulled out a basket containing a load of seed packets, each of which was different. They were all painted with flowers, and names had been worked into leaves and petals, vines and twigs. They were gorgeous.
“Where did you get these? They’re great.” Nina turned them over in her hands.
Lili smiled. “I made them. I’m an illustrator. These guests are confirmed, so now I need to thread this piece of ribbon here”—she demonstrated—“and then add an extra sealing sticker on the back flap here so the packets don’t burst open. The seeds are really, really small.”
“Like poppy seeds?”
“Exactly like. They’re California poppies.”
“Cute.”
“Inexpensive.” Lili grinned. “But also cute.”
“Can I help, too?” asked Clare.
“You’re supposed to be getting ready for bed.”
“This looks more fun.”
Lili considered her younger daughter for a moment, then smiled. “Sure, you can do the stickers.”
They sat in a circle and started working.
Nina asked, “So, who’s getting married?”
“My aunty,” answered Clare, while her mother’s mouth was still opening. “She’s marrying a man she met in the street.”
Nina looked at Lili, who was shaking her head. “My sister Rachel met her fiancé at the Grove, but for some reason Clare enjoys embroidering the truth.”
“Maybe you’re a writer,” Nina said to the little girl. “They make up stuff for a living.”
“Really? And it’s not lying?”
Nina shook her head. “No, it’s called fiction.”
“Huh.” Clare looked thoughtful. “Anyway, she’s marrying Richard, who’s very nice and tall.”
“Do you mean nicely tall, like, he’s nice and tall, meaning really tall, or nice and also tall?”
Clare looked at her and frowned.
“Never mind,” said Nina.
“He’s very tall,” Clare said slowly, “and he’s also nice. And he has a dog, too, and he makes my aunty laugh all the time, almost as much as my mom does.”
Nina glanced at Lili, who was working on a blank seed packet with some watercolor pens. “You and your sister are close?”
“Super close.” Lili was focused on her work, but continued. “She’s my best friend, which is why I don’t want to mess up her wedding by forgetting anyone. And she keeps randomly inviting more people.”
“Well, that definitely makes it harder.”