Free Death of a Chocoholic by Lee Hollis

juvenile delinquents.
    She turned to Liddy and Mona.
    â€œOkay, I don’t want her seeing us before we know exactly what’s going on,” Hayley said. “Why don’t you two hang at the bar and act inconspicuous while I look around?”
    â€œI love that idea,” Liddy said with a big smile, turning to the bar and resting her eyes on the hot, young bartender shirtless underneath a tight leather vest. “More than you will ever know.”
    The bartender winked at Liddy. “Cougars in the house. Nice.”
    Liddy blushed and demurely touched his hand. “I’m way too young to be a cougar. Is there something else in the animal kingdom to describe a slightly older woman?”
    â€œI love older women,” the bartender said, caressing her hand.
    â€œOkay, then. I guess technically I’m old enough to be a cougar,” Liddy gushed.
    â€œJust get us a couple of beers, okay, junior?” Mona barked, startling him.
    He quickly grabbed a couple of glass mugs and began filling them from the tap.
    Hayley had trouble scanning the crowd of bowlers with all the neon lighting and the reflections from the disco ball hanging over the lanes from the ceiling. She was halfway across the room when she suddenly spotted Gemma and her pals gathering in an area off to the side near the farthest bowling lane. Hayley was completely exposed just as Gemma unexpectedly turned in her direction.
    Hayley ducked behind a family of five, all wearing matching red bowling shirts. She stayed low to the floor, looking through the father’s legs at Gemma. Luckily, her daughter didn’t see her. One of the kids in the red-shirted family, a freckle-faced boy around eight, happened to turn and found himself face-to-face with a crouching Hayley. Her sudden presence shocked him into silence for a moment.
    â€œHello, what’s your name?” Hayley said, offering the kid a warm smile.
    It didn’t work.
    His eyes popped open and he pointed in Hayley’s face. “Stranger danger! Stranger danger!”
    The red-shirted mother whipped around at her boy’s cries to see Hayley on her knees, trying to quiet her kid. “What are you doing? Get away from my son!”
    All heads in the bowling alley now turned in Hayley’s direction. Hayley sprung to her feet and quickly walked across one of the lanes, turning her head to one side, to avoid being spotted by Gemma and her druggie friends.
    Her head was turned so far she was unable to see where she was going.
    â€œLook out!” a man yelled.
    Hayley spun around to see Reverend Staples frantically waving his arms in the air at her.
    Hayley suddenly realized she was in the middle of a bowling lane and Reverend Staples’s bowling ball was barreling straight for her. She broke into a run to avoid getting mowed down by the ball, but she wasn’t fast enough. The ball slammed into her right ankle and she fell face-first into the bowling pins.
    They scattered in every direction.
    She managed to knock down all the remaining pins that were standing.
    At least she helped the reverend score a spare.
    Reverend Staples and his wife, Edie, hustled down the lane to help Hayley to her feet.
    â€œAre you all right?” Edie asked.
    Hayley nodded, forcing a smile. Then she glanced over to see Gemma, who at that moment was staring at her, mouth agape. That’s when Hayley noticed the birthday decorations and cake set up in the corner.
    Gemma marched over, screaming at the top of her lungs, “ Mom! What are you doing here?”
    â€œI . . . I didn’t recognize the kids you left with, so I—”
    â€œThey’re Tina’s cousins visiting from New Hampshire. We all carpooled to the party,” Gemma said evenly, her arms folded.
    â€œWell, don’t I feel like the fool,” Hayley said, laughing, trying to make light of the situation.
    Nobody else laughed.
    â€œI can’t believe you embarrassed me like that. Just go