I chuckled to myself.

“Of course, I did feel bad about dropping in on her like that,” Sunny said reflectively. She spoke as though there had been no reprieve in the conversation, just picking up where she left off. “I wasn’t the only uninvited guest that night, and she had a lot on her plate.”

“Hmm,” I said to show I was listening, although I was a little more focused on my writing.

“No sooner had her father gone to bed in the guest room than her sister shows up, drunk off her A-S-S.”

I looked up, squinting. Ignoring, for now, the sad fact that she had spelled out ‘*****’ as if there were children present or something, I asked, “Kit?”

“That’s the one,” Sunny said, nodding. “She and Bette got into this horrific argument.” She paused. “But I really shouldn’t gossip, so.”

Now she didn’t want to gossip? Just when I was interested? I dropped my pen, giving Sunny my full attention. It was time for some investigative journalism.

“Ah, it’s not really gossip, though, is it?” I said. “I mean, we’re just two people who happen to care about the same person, right?”

Sunny looked confused. “Now, what person is that?”

Dumb as a ***** brick. “Bette.”

Sunny nodded vaguely. “I do care about her. I shouldn’t, you know, but I do.”

“I know,” I said, partly because it seemed like a good thing to say, but mostly because I did know exactly what she meant.

“I mean, she hasn’t paid me any attention since she broke up with me. None! She has this rule about not being friends with her exes. You know that.”

I was not sure if Sunny had decided herself that it was a rule or if Bette had really started calling what she initially claimed was just a string of coincidences a rule. Either way, it didn’t seem the best time to tell Sunny that Bette’s exception to this policy seemed to be me.

“Right,” I said.

“But I do care about her,” Sunny assisted.

“And you should,” I agreed, but she fell silent. I tried a different path, not sure which angle would get her to spill. “You know, I’m pretty good friends with Bette’s sister.”