Megan stood there twisting the cap from the bottle while plates of food waited on the counter as though the evening had merely been delayed by traffic.
Mom’s first concern was the patrol car.
She lowered her voice and said everyone needed to calm down before the neighbors noticed.
Officer Ruiz asked Megan to explain what happened at the store.
Her version was completely different from Lily’s.
Megan said Lily had run away from her inside Oakridge Market.
She claimed she had searched for almost an hour.
Then, according to Megan, she had returned to Mom’s house because she needed help finding Lily.
Mom immediately nodded.
She said Megan had been terrified.
Too terrified, apparently, to mention any of that when she came through the door laughing.
I watched Megan screw the cap back onto the iced-tea bottle.
Then loosen it.
Then tighten it again.
Three times.
