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“The man can’t stop talking about you. Says he’s got butterflies in his tummy every time he lays eyes on you. I’m telling you, the man is in love.”

Vesta’s jaw had dropped and her dentures would have fallen out if Scarlett hadn’t gently placed a finger on said jaw and pushed it back into position.

“Wilbur Vickery in love with me. Well, what do you know?”

“I told him to make a move on you, but he’s too chicken.”

Vesta smiled before herself for a moment, then said,“Wilbur might be something of a jackass sometimes, but he does own his own business so he’s got that going for him.” But then she shook her head. “Nah. I’m too old for that kind of tomfoolery.”

“You’re my age!”

“You’re too old, too!”

“No, I’m not.”

“Scarlett, I’m not getting involved with Wilbur, or any man for that matter. Men of Wilbur’s age aren’t looking for a wife, they’re looking for a nurse, and I’m not doing it.”

“Oh, just give him a chance. Wilbur might not look like much, but I’ll bet he’ll surprise you.”

“Oh, he’ll surprise me, all right.”

“Pleasantly!”

“Mh,” said Vesta, her face having taken on that mulish look that Scarlett knew so well.

She smiled.“He says he thinks you’re one of the smartest women he knows.”

Vesta looked up with a frown.“He said that?”

“Sure! Men confide in me, Vesta. They always have. I don’t know what it is about me, but they like to tell me all of their secrets. Or in Wilbur’s case his heart’s desires.”

“I don’t know,” said Vesta, wavering.

“Oh, go on. One date. And if you don’t like it, you tell him and that’s it.”

“Mh.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Maybe.”

“Yesss!” she said, pumping the air with her fist.

Just then, two elderly men walked over, and one of them proceeded to produce a wolf whistle.

Scarlett simpered a little, but Vesta’s dark scowl quickly sent them skedaddling.

“Now that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do,” said Scarlett.

“What?”

“You know.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Come on. Take off that jacket.”

“I don’t wanna!”

“You’re boiling!”

“I’m not! In fact I’m cold.”

But Scarlett had already taken hold of the zipper and was yanking it down. Moments later she managed to divest her friend not only of her tracksuit jacket but also of the pants, and lo and behold: Vesta was wearing a bathing suit underneath. Scarlett grinned.

“I knew it!”

“Oh, shut up,” Vesta grumbled, but she was smiling when she said it, and when the same two guys came by again, this time licking ice cream cones, she didn’t even glower.

Yep. There was hope for Vesta still.

Chapter 6

Brutus stood gazing out across the vast expanse of water, and wondered where it all came from. So much water—who had put it there? But instead of bothering his new friend with these existential questions, he simply said, “Well, it was sure nice to meet you, Pinkie. I guess this is goodbye, huh?”

For a moment, Pinkie didn’t speak, then she said, “The thing is, Brutus, that there are many more of my friends in the exact same situation I was.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll bet this ocean is full of turtles. And you’re about to meet them all.”

“No, I mean back at the pond. I wasn’t the only turtle in that pond, if that’s what you thought.”

Brutus hadn’t thought anything about the pond. Now that he did, he pictured a nice duck pond with ducks and fishes and nice little turtles like Pinkie. “Yeah, I’ll bet that must have been nice,” he said vaguely. To be honest he wasn’t a big fan of ponds. He’d once fallen into one and had had to befished out by Chase. Not his finest hour.

“It was nice, in a way,” Pinkie agreed, “but not nice in another sense.”

Brutus blinked. These philosophical discussions were a little too deep for him.“Uh-huh,” he said therefore, wondering what was taking so long. If he were a turtle he’d have jumped into that ocean the moment he’d taken his first sniff of that briny ocean air. Then again, he was a cat, and not all that fond of water, so what did he know?

“I left my friends behind, Brutus, when I escaped that pond, and now I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I should go back and save them, too.”

“Oh, you do, do you? Very noble of you, Pinkie.”

Brutus glanced behind him, and saw that Gran and Scarlett were still there. Gran had taken off her clothes for some reason, and so had Scarlett. Humans. So unpredictable.

“Do you want to help me, Brutus?” now asked Pinkie, giving him a hopeful look with those beady little eyes of hers.

He stared at the tiny turtle.“Help you? Help you with what?” He thought he had helped the turtle, by taking her to the beach. Apparently it wasn’t enough. Maybe she wanted to go to the country club next? Or skiing in Aspen? Brutus didn’t know much about turtles, and what they did or didn’t like to do.

“Free my friends, of course,” said Pinkie. “I’ll never really be free while my friends are still stuck back there, prisoners of that awful pond.”

Brutus frowned.“I don’t get it. One minute the pond was nice and now all of a sudden it’s awful? Make up your mind, Pinkie, and stick to it is my advice.”