“Do you think we need to get party hats and all that crap? I don’t think anybody will wear them…” Alice said thoughtfully as we looked at all the party stuff. I just shrugged, having no idea whatsoever.

A couple days before Kallie’s party, Helena called and asked me to go to lunch with her. We’d planned on it being sooner, but what with all the meetings Helena had to go to and the appointments I’d been going to with Alice, we hadn’t been able to synch our schedules until now.

She looked good. I hadn’t seen her since she’d dropped Alice off a week ago, and she looked a lot happier now and much less nervous.

“Wilson and Jun-Ying stayed with me for three days,” she said by way of explanation. “They’re coming back very soon. I was simply happy to see them and it hasn’t worn off just yet.”

“That’s so great,” I told her, giving her a hug. “I’m really happy for you.”

I was, too. It was nice to see her so happy after being so sad and feeling worthless for so long. I knew she’d moved back into her mansion in Malibu, and while she wasn’t going to excesses with her fortune she had been spoiling her kids rotten. I figured there was no harm in that. She hadn’t been able to see them for a long time and she was trying to make up for it.

“I’m going to try to get them enrolled in a school out here,” she said when we’d sat down.

“That’d be a good idea, but won’t Winnie be upset about that?” I asked.

Helena shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t want them to have a relationship with her, but after hearing some of the things reported by the investigators my mother hired, I’d really rather they live with me the majority of the time. Mother approves of the idea, and we’re looking into schools here so they can begin next term. I don’t want to disrupt them so much before this one ends.”

I nodded, because that made perfect sense to me, and we sat there in comfortable silence and people-watched for a little bit. We were waiting for Shane to get there before we ordered, which meant that we were sipping margaritas and eating chips and salsa while we sat there. Alice had taken Kallie to see Jenny, and I was free for the afternoon. Which was sort of nice, although I liked spending time with Kallie. She was asking about her birthday constantly lately and I thought it was adorable.