Chapter 71

Kiki picked up the receiver and held it to her ear. She would have much rather talked to her on her cell phone, but she feared that it, too, had been lost in the fire.

"Hello?"

"Kiki, darling!" her mother's voice rang out from the other end. Constance Long, her mother, had been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth, having come from a very rich and prominent family. In rebellion to her parents, she had married Frank Long, Kiki's father, a working man. Kiki was never really sure if her mother had ever really loved her father, but it was none of her business. With such a domineering wife, her father was usually quiet and let his wife have her way- most of the time. But he was noted for going against his wife's wishes, upon occasion. "How are you? When I heard you were in the hospital, I simply couldn't believe my ears!"

"Mother, stop being so dramatic," Kiki chided. "So, you were so worried that you waited until now to call me? And I'd bet you're still in California."

"I couldn't g