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"Why not?" Misty asked, bouncing in her seat.

"If someone comes in here and sees how different it is, they'll be suspicious."

"She's right," Jade said.

"But ..." Misty looked so disappointed.

"No one comes here," I admitted. "No one will notice any changes. It's not that." I shrugged. "I just can't get used to not having Geraldine around saying no and bawling me out for even asking."

"Of course you can't," Star said. She turned to Misty. "Let's go slowly."

"But I'd like to see some changes," I asserted, and smiled at Misty. "Especially in my room. I used to dream that my walls were pink instead of that boring white, and I hate my bedspread and my pillowcases and my curtains. You're right. There's no personality in my room."

"That's true. We'll do all that, and you should have a television set and a phone in your room, too," Misty said, getting more and more excited. "Why don't we all go shopping today? We'll go to the mall and--"

"First things first," Star said, her face turning to stone. "We better fix up the yard back there. Just in case someone does come snooping."

"I am not doing any more yard work," Jade asserted. "I'm not about to ruin another outfit."

"Who told you to come here dressed up like you were going to a ball?"

"This isn't dressing up," Jade cried. "It's just ... just being in style."

"Well, can we go to the mall afterward, then? I'd like to start doing things with this place," Misty pursued. "Okay?"

"I guess," Star said. "What about money?"

"Geraldine has one credit card," I said. "She never saw a reason to have more than one and she used it sparingly, always making sure she paid up before they could tack on any interest."

"Perfect. You probably have the whole limit to use," Misty said.

I nodded even though it put the jitters in me even to think about going through her pocketbook to get her wallet and the card.

"She always keeps a considerable amount of cash money in the house, too, but she never let me see where. I imagine it's someplace in her room."

"She didn't trust you?" Star asked.

"No, it wasn't a matter of trust with her. It was..." "What?" Misty asked impatiently.

"She was protecting her privacy."

They were all quiet a moment.

"She sounds more like some stranger who treated you like a tenant," Jade said.

I shrugged.

"I never cared about that stuff before."

They were pensive again and then Star sprouted out of her seat.

"Let's stop wasting time. Where's the grass seed? Do you have a rake, too?"

"Yes," I said. I got up and headed for the garage. Misty followed and helped me bring it all out to the yard. Jade stood in the doorway and watched us as she sipped her coffee.

The yard looked bald in the spot we had dug up and the grass we dug up lay around in small lumps. First, Star raked the ground and smoothed it out well. Then we scattered the grass seeds and Misty turned on the hose and sprinkled over them. It was still hard to believe Geraldine was buried there. It was easier to believe she would pop her head out of an upstairs window and demand to know what we thought we were doing to her yard.

"You know what else we ought to do?" Star said, thinking and studying the yard, "we ought to buy a few plants and bushes for more cover. It still looks like a grave to me."