Free Address to Die For by Mary Feliz

parked in front of a well-landscaped house. I slowed my step. Behind the BMW, on the passenger side, stood the dominatrix from school, waving her arms and calling to me.
    â€œOh, I’m so glad to see you,” the dominatrix said. “Please, would you mind helping me a moment?”
    Help her? She seemed like the type of woman who had every hair in place, every wrinkle ironed out, and every appointment entered in the latest version of the iPhone. Why would she need my help?
    I shrugged. I needed all the luck I could get at this point and I figured the best way to make the Fates happy and maximize my good fortune was to help someone else. Even someone I wasn’t anxious to meet and who might throw my schedule off enough that my latte would have to wait.
    I pasted a smile on my face as I approached.
    â€œSure,” I said. “How can I help? I saw you at school, didn’t I?”
    â€œMy son Teddy is starting eighth grade. Are you new? I’ve not seen you before. I’m Tess Olmos.”
    The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it. I stood on the driver’s side of the car. I’d expected her to walk toward me and hold out her hand after introducing herself, but something about this whole scenario was off. She sounded friendly, but she hadn’t moved. Should I approach her? Did she have personal-space issues?
    â€œI’m Maggie McDonald,” I said. “My son Brian is in seventh grade and I’ve got a freshman at the high school.”
    â€œBoy or girl?” asked Tess. “Umm . . . would you mind coming closer? I really need your help, but I don’t want to shout it out to the whole neighborhood.”
    â€œBoy. David.” I walked around the car and burst out laughing, then covered my mouth with my hand. I’d just met this woman and the first thing I did was laugh at her? She’d think I was a barbarian with no manners and she’d be right.
    â€œIt’s not funny,” Tess said. “Oh hell, of course it is.” She started laughing too.
    The fancy kick pleat of her skirt was stuck in the passenger door. I was guessing the car was locked. Her keys had fallen out of reach, along with her purse.
    â€œCan you grab the keys and unlock me?” Tess said. “I’m not sure how this happened. If I’d caught the jacket in the door, I could have taken it off. I was about to try stripping off the skirt, but every time I reached for the zipper, a car went by. I’m so glad you showed up.”
    I grabbed the keys and her purse and unlocked the door.
    Tess smoothed her skirt and threw her arms around me. “Thank you sooo much. Today was not the day I wanted to get naked in my front yard. You have to come in and let me give you coffee, at least.”
    I started to decline. “No, we’ve got to get back. I’ve got the movers coming and this one needs a walk and the groceries—”
    â€œStop right now,” Tess ordered. I obeyed. The dominatrix was back. “Stop. You must come in. I make the best coffee and I’ve got cookies. You need energy for moving. I should know. I’m a real-estate agent. I’ll give you a snack to give your boys. Nothing says home like after-school cookies.”
    Trying to disagree with Tess would be as useful as tackling a bulldozer. I didn’t like confrontation and I wasn’t going to fight a battle I wasn’t sure I wanted to win. Coffee and cookies actually sounded wonderful.
    â€œLook,” Tess continued, pointing at Belle. “Take your gorgeous girl around to the backyard. My Mozart is there. That’s him barking. He’s a German shepherd, but he’s a marshmallow. They can play while we get to know each other. I’m so glad you came by when you did. My lucky day. Go on, now. I’ll head into the house and let you in the back door.”
    I wondered why she didn’t invite me in through the front door. I