“Scratch the Mini; I’ll scratch you if you scratch the Mini…  That’s my baby, scratch my car….”  She drifted off as Peggy threw an arm around her and Quin rolled
her eyes, stuffing her hands into her pockets. 
She was sure that Peggy was dating Alice as well as she was, they were always
huddled together, talking and plotting.  Quin
sometimes wondered if her mother was just as happy as she was in the
relationship.

“So I hear that your mother is an actress Alice?” 
Peggy asked and Alice nodded, tossing a look at Quin, who
shrugged.  She most certainly hadn’t told
her mother anything about Alice‘s mother, whom she’d yet to meet. 

“Wonderful.  I’m having a party in two weeks, I was
wondering if you’d like to come…”  Peggy began, her reddish hair glistening in
the sun of the late afternoon.

“No.  No, we are not going to Lenore you.” 
Alice said laughing a bit and her face serious
and Quin walked one-step behind them.  She
blinked, wondering why she hadn’t met the woman yet, Alice had avoided them meeting, as if afraid
that something would happen.

“Why not?”  Quin asked, now next to Alice as they walked into the huge sunroom to
the north end of the house.  Alice heard the heat in Quin’s voice.

“Because you don’t know my mother…”  Alice began and then she saw the look on Peggy‘s face, then the look on Quin’s face,
both the same inflection in their eyes.  She
quickly realized that she was being silly, Quin’s mother was Peggy bloody Peabody, how much more insanity could Quin take?

“Ok, ok, ok, I’ll invite her!”  Alice said, throwing up her hands and then Peggy said,

“Invite them all, the whole gang Quin.  I’m
sure they’ll all love it!  Even that odd
tennis player, I’d love to get to know them all.  They are Bette‘s friends after all, so invite them all!  The more the merrier!”  Peggy stated, tossing back the rest of the drink and Quin
gave Alice a quick ‘Oh
Boy’ look and Alice laughed, grabbing Quin into her arms and
kissing her.  They could get through
anything, even an evening with their mothers.

Dana and Shane walked into the house, Dana having just picked up Shane at the Learning Center and Shane was tired.  Her whole body ached, she was working on
stature and balance with Beach, and she was bone weary.