Jon climbed back into the car next to Linda and nearly jumped when he saw Linda. The lines in her face were completely gone, and she looked years younger, and certainly more energetic.
"Now can we get going?" Zoe said from the front seat. "If everyone is ready?"
"Sorry," Jon said.
She started the car up. "Did Zelda say anything?"
"No, she just handed me the bag," Jon said, honestly.
"She usually comes over to say hello. Maybe she's busy right now," Zoe mused. "Or maybe she knew we were running late this morning."
Linda muttered something under her breath at that, and turned back to Jon. "You were going to tell me what was wrong," she said.
"Wrong? What's wrong?" Zoe said from the front seat.
"This is a PRIVATE conversation," Linda called back. "Can't you even PRETEND not to pay attention?"
Zoe made a noise of her own. "You don't have to use that tone about it," she responded.
"We'll talk when we get there," Linda said. "Where we won't be INTERRUPTED."
Jon sighed, relieved to be delaying the conversation he wasn't going to have.
