A Good Little Girl Like You (A Sample)

"Don't give up on him yet. He has a habit of surprising

people."

Constance suddenly lit up and looked at O.E. "Speaking

of surprises. . ." She grabbed her oversized handbag from

the floor and removed a smaller bag. "Here, I think you'll

like this. I know how you love The Wizard of Oz." Inside the

smaller bag was a pair of ruby slippers. "I just got these at a

party. Not my speed, but I thought they'd be perfect for

you."

O.E. reached out and took the slippers. He turned them

around for a while, then handed them to Rebecca. "She

loves Oz, too."

These are gorgeous ruby slippers. Rebecca admired the

workmanship; someone worked hard to make them.

"They're lovely, Constance. Who gave these to you?"

"I got them at my women's group. We had a white

elephant party to prepare for Halloween-everyone had to

give some sort of witch's gift. I ended up with Wicked Witch

shoes." She chuckled lightly.

"Your women's group throws Halloween parties?"

"Yeah, that's us. We're a bunch of spiritually curious

women who like to explore alternative phenomena. You

know, meditation, energy healing, out-of-body experiences,

mediumship, all that stuff. We call ourselves the Witchy

Women."

"Is this what you do for a living?"

Constance laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm a

lawyer, a public defender here in the city. The Witchy

Women are just my friends. I really need them sometimes,

especially after dealing with some of these poor people,

unfortunate enough to land in jail." She slumped her

shoulders and exhaled. "They don't understand what

they're up against. Some of them don't even know why they

got arrested. I do my best to give them the sort of help that

rich people get all the time."

She turned to O.E. "So, are you all right?"

"Yes, thanks. Love the slippers. Giving them to

Rebecca."

"Sure." She turned to Rebecca and gave her a hug.

"Welcome to Oz." She walked to the door and stood there,

facing him. "It looks like you're in good hands. I hope you

feel better soon." She left.

My own ruby slippers. Rebecca hugged them to herself

as she watched Constance leave. Such a friendly, caring

woman. And she'd known O.E. since childhood! Rebecca

wanted to know more. "You've known her your whole life?"

O.E. nodded his head. "Were you ever lovers?"

O.E. shook his head and frowned. "No. Don't be

jealous."

"I'm not. Just surprised. She seems to like you a lot."

"There's a surprise. A woman who likes me!"

Even with his jaw wired shut, he loves to tease. Rebecca