Barbara Jean always drank vodka, partly because whiskey had been her mother’s drink and she swore she’d never touch it. Also, vodka was safe because people couldn’t smell it on you. If you stuck to vodka and you knew how to control yourself, nobody talked trash about you, no matter how many times you filled your demitasse cup. She put the cap back on the vodka bottle and returned it to the liquor cabinet. Then she took her cup and saucer to the kitchen and left them on the counter for the maid to deal with in
