Quickly, Mavis shut the oak pocket doors that closed off the room from the rest of the house. While she seriously doubted that Rosanne would care about what her witch of a sister-in-law was saying, it never hurt to keep things private. The Schuyler's considered secrecy a highly desirable quality.
Lynette curled up in the corner of the sofa and smiled sweetly at Mavis. "I'd like cash, please. One hundred dollar bills would be fine."
"Why do you think I owe you $10,000?" Mavis asked.
"Why do you think you don't?"
Warily, Mavis sat down in the other corner of the sofa and reached for her brandy laced coffee. It was cold and tasted awful but she finished it off anyway. She had the feeling that she wasn't going to like whatever Lynnette was about to say. "I really don't have any idea of what you're talking about."
Stretching a hand out, Lynnette admired her freshly nails that had been freshly painted an obnoxious shade of pink. "Like?" she asked. "It's called Cotton Candy."
"Lynnette," Mavis said through gritted teeth. This was just like her annoying sister-in-law to come over unannounced, make some ridiculous demand and then toy with Mavis like she was a half dead mouse and Lynnette was a fat, smug cat. "Tell me what you're talking about."
"I will but get me a glass of chardonnay, will you? I'm positively parched."
Stonily, Mavis rose and walked to the den off the living room where there was a fully stocked bar. Obviously Lynnette wasn't going to share what the hell she was talking about until she was good and ready. After fixing the glass of wine, Mavis took a moment to regroup. Honestly, she couldn't remember borrowing $10,000 from her sister-in-law. She couldn't recall any moment when the two of them might have been together and she would have said, "Oh, Lynnette, could I borrow $10,000 until I can get to the bank?"
Mavis wracked her brain. She didn't think so. She poured another brandy for herself, without the coffee this time, and tried to reconstruct the last few occasions she had spent with Lynnette. There had been the dinner at the Ellinger's the month before. The weekend in Jamaica and before that...Halloween? Always Lynnette's favorite holiday. She never needed a costume.
"What's taking so long?" Lynnette called from the living room. "Are you in there stomping the grapes?" She laughed nastily. "You do have big enough feet, Mavis. I always said that somewhere in your ancestry was a strong vein of peasant stock."
How she loathed her sister-in-law. All of the Schuylers were so...pleased with themselves. Ron was just as bad as Lynnette and their mother was even worse. Picking up both glasses, Mavis returned to the living room and silently handed Lynnette her glass.
"Thanks, dear." Lynnette took a dainty sip.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
Mavis could feel her blood pressure rise. "You waltzed in here, interrupted my meeting with Officer Van Husen and then announced that I owe you money. What are you talking about, Lynnette?"
"I think it's a good thing I showed up. You were looking at that cop like he was a cupcake and you hadn't had sweets in thirty years."
"Lynnette..." Mavis warned..
"Oh, all right! I've always wondered why we've never been able to have a better relationship, Mavis, and I think it's because you are always so tense. Really, darling, you need to learn how to relax."
"Tell...me...why...you're...here," Mavis said in a low, threatening voice. "Tell me why you think I owe you $10,000."
"You don't remember? You really do need to cut down on the booze. It's affecting your memory. You owe me $10,000 because that's what you lost when we went gambling last month and I loaned it to you."
Mavis had no memory of that happening. She drank some brandy. Her memory was sometimes a little fragmented sometimes. Still...could she have forgotten that kind of a loan? Especially from a shark like Lynette?
"Mavis, I'm going to do you a favor," Lynnette announced after slurping down the rest of her wine. "I'm going to forget about the money you owe me if you'll do one, tiny little thing for me."
"What is it?"
"Take Tiffany while I'm in Europe."
Not Tiffany. Tiffany was a junior version of her mother, loud, opinionated, rude and obnoxious and those were her good points. Then there were the days when Tiffany was in one of her sulky moods and wouldn't speak at all. Mavis liked those days the best. "For how long?"
"Just a week or two. Maybe three. I'm not quite sure yet."
Had Lynnette invented the whole debt business just to get Mavis to watch Tiffany for a few weeks? Mavis wouldn't put it past her. Lynnette excelled at manipulation. "I'll have to ask Ron--"
At that precise moment, Ron entered the living room. His usually florid face was pale and he didn't bother to say hello to his wife or sister. Instead he crossed the room and disappeared in the den. A moment later, Mavis heard the sound of ice cubes clinking into a glass.
"You do that," Lynnette said. "Naturally, I haven't said a word to anyone about the money you owe me. Yet. Let me know what Ron says. I should be going."
"You don't want to say hello to your brother?" Mavis tried not to let the relief show in her voice.
"Not right now. I don't think he even saw me sitting here so I'll just slip out. He looks like he had a rough day."
Mavis didn't try to convince her sister-in-law to stay. She had enough on her mind with her apparent memory loss issue and the specter of Tiffany staying with the family. Three weeks with Tiffany. No way could she cut back on the brandy now.
"Who were you talking to?" Ron asked, a large scotch and soda in one hand.
"Lynnette. She wants Tiffany to stay here while she's in Europe."
Ron sank into his favorite chair and didn't respond. "How was your day?" Mavis asked.
Ron didn't answer her either. Instead he sipped his drink and stared stonily ahead. Mavis shook her head. Another fun evening had just begun at Schuyler Manor.
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