Chapter 820

• In mid-October there was something called Parents' Weekend, where the parents of all freshman were invited to show up and make sure their little darlings were doing all right in their first month or so of college. Bridget's mother and father, Tara and Joe, were scheduled to show up, and everyone was looking forward to meeting them. But when the Friday of Parents' Weekend arrived and there was a tentative knock on Joyce's front door, Hilary found that only one person was there--a woman, presumably Tara.
• She was a real beauty--or would have been if there wasn't a kind of spooked expression on her face. She floated into the living room as if she was in some sort of trance, barely answering Hilary's query, "Are you Bridget's mom?" When Gerald emerged from the kitchen, he was especially impressed with her appearance: she was about five foot six and was wearing a superbly tailored business suit that showed off her luscious curves around bust, hips, and bottom. But the look on her delicate oval face, surrounded by masses of jet-black hair, alarmed him.
• "Ma'am, is everything okay?" he said.