Six #2
“Why not?” Irene asked. “Cybersecurity specialists never suspect little old ladies.”
Well, that was certainly a truth universally accepted—women over sixty were pretty much invisible to society at large. “What have you been hacking?”
“Nothing big,” Irene said. “Local banks. A spa that ripped me off. Old people.”
“Irene. You’re an old person.”
“Don’t Irene me. I am an old person, which is why I’m good at it. I know the right things to say. And anyway, you’re the one who turned me into a criminal.”
“I did not. You fully agreed.”
“You presented me with the opportunity.”
“My dad had died, remember?”
“Lots of people’s fathers die and they don’t become thieves.”
Frances groaned. “Fair,” she conceded.
“And anyway, you can’t tell me you never kept up with our work.”
She made it sound like their “work” was noble and just. “I tried once and busted my head open.”
“Amateur,” Irene scoffed. “So why are you here, Saint Frances?”
Frances set aside her awful green smoothie. “Because I want to get the gang together for one last heist before we all kick off. I miss it. I miss us. I would love to try it one last time.”
“Interesting.” Irene studied her. “What are we taking?”
“I don’t know. I thought I’d see if anyone was interested before deciding on a target. So. Are you interested? Maybe? Or are you in the never-again camp?”
Irene kept studying her, like she was expecting her to pull her face off and announce she was the FBI. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “It could be a lot of work. I like to take it easy these days.”
“Maybe we could find something that isn’t labor-intensive.”
“The other thing is, you’re really bossy,” Irene said.
Frances snorted. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
“I’m not bossy, I’m straightforward and state my opinion. And I haven’t forgotten what you called me.” Her eyes narrowed.
Frances blinked. She had no idea what Irene was talking about.
Irene frowned. “You know. A see-you-next-Tuesday?”
Frances was not following. She shook her head.
Irene rolled her eyes “You called me a cunt, Frances.”
“Oh!” Frances could feel her cheeks flame with shame. In the last big fight between the four of them, she had said a lot of things she regretted. “I did; you’re right. That was so rude of me, Irene. I’m so sorry. I don’t use language like that anymore. I thought I was so edgy back then.”
“Edgy?” Irene snorted. “The only thing you were was rich.”
“Thanks,” Frances said dryly.
“You shouldn’t have said that.”
“I just acknowledged that it was rude.”
“And?” Irene pressed.
“And … uncalled for? But in my defense, you were acting exactly like a cunt. We didn’t call you Mean Irene for no reason, you know.”
For a moment, Irene looked like she was gearing up to explode, but then, suddenly, she laughed. “I was a bitch, wasn’t I? And I’m still mean.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I just witnessed you tell a grown man with an artificial hip to man up, and then you insulted my feet.”
“They’re big,” she said, and laughed again.
They sat together in silence for a long moment, Irene looking off into the distance.
Frances leaned forward. “Come on … don’t you miss it a little?”
“It’s funny,” Irene said. “Sometimes I think about it, and I think I’d be much better at it now. The world has changed so much, and I learned a lot about computers when I was a corporate spy for IBM. And I met these guys on the dark web who taught me a lot.”
She dropped that tidbit so matter-of-factly that Frances said, “You’re making that up.”
“Am I?” Irene shifted her gaze to Frances. “What do Edie and Joan say about this idea of yours?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to either of them. I don’t even know where Joan is.”
Irene shook her head. “This is what is so annoying about you, Franny. All the ideas and none of the execution. Joan is in Colorado.”
“You two kept in touch?”
“I didn’t say that.” Irene looked off again.
“I wanted to start with you because if you aren’t in, no one will do it.”
Irene smiled softly. “We did have fun, didn’t we?”
“It was the best of times.”
“But I’m still mad at you,” Irene said. “And Edie, for fuck’s sake.”
“Me, too,” Frances agreed.
“We came too close to being arrested because of her.”
“It was an abominable betrayal.”
“All for that soft-bellied snake she was with.” Irene shook her head. “I don’t know, Frances. I don’t know that I’m up for it. It’s been a long time. I’ll be seventy-seven in a few weeks.”
Frances’s heart sank. She needed this. From the moment Irene had said, “man feet,” Frances knew she was doing the right thing for herself.
Their gang had ended abruptly and unfairly.
She couldn’t imagine facing the next several months wondering what it would have been like if Edie hadn’t betrayed them.
But she also understood. They were older, out of practice, and even if she was dying, the rest of them weren’t. They had things to live for. “I understand,” Frances said softly.
“But if we’re going to rope in Joan and Edie, we better think about the possibility of travel. And I’m not leaving my Tantric class in the lurch. I have to figure a few things out.”
Frances lifted her head. “Right. Of course.” She felt a smile coming on. “So, you’re in?”
Irene stood up. “I guess you’ll stay with me.”
“You don’t mind?”
“I absolutely do mind, but at least I can get some color back in your cheeks. Don’t you use blush?”
“I’m wearing blush,” Frances said.
“You know they make cosmetics for mature skin now. You should invest. We’ll go to Joan first, then we’ll all go to Miss Gotrocks?”
Frances was grinning so hard she felt like her pale face might just split.
Irene rolled her eyes and started walking. “She’s probably more insufferable than ever.”
“Come on,” Frances said. “She couldn’t help that she was beautiful.”
“She could have,” Irene said, and then smiled at Frances. “You know what, old girl? It’s really good to see you and those man feet.”
Frances could feel tears forming behind her eyes. “It’s really good to see you, too, Mean Irene.” She slipped her arm through Irene’s and together they walked toward one of the towers.