My Liar
A Novel
Chapter 1
Annabeth had first met Laura two years earlier, at a party in the Hollywood Hills where a lady elephant had been hired to entertain the guests. It was in the spring, or maybe late winter-at any rate, on a clear, pleasant evening like so many in Los Angeles. It was late and the elephant had been retired to the bottom of the driveway-available for photographs with anyone bored or stoned enough to step away from the hustle and into the cool, jasmine-scented night. The creature was wearing a gold lamé circus-performance outfit that might have convinced small children that she was gay and happy, an entertainer by choice. There were, however, no small children at the party.
"Stand back," the trainer said to Annabeth, as she wandered down the hill. "She's about had it with this job, and she's got a temper."
"Really?" Annabeth asked, not meaning it. It seemed to her she could do nothing right at these insider parties-even the pachyderm was bored with her. She shouldn't leave the house when she was feeling this way; her neediness was on her like a stink. Are you my mother, Mrs. Mean L ...
read full excerpt from My Liar ebook
