Chapter Five
Lily yanked outfits from hangers, held them in the air for inspection, then flung them across the bed in distaste.
Nothing appealed to her.
The ensembles either reminded her of Nana Penelope’s attire or of one of the many unpleasant conferences with Kira’s teachers concerning her daughter’s forthright manner.
Feeling at odds with the past and herself, she peered into the open space at the one remaining candidate for her lunch date with Dallas.
She studied the black pantsuit with suede collar and cuffs, thought maybe, then pruned her face, remembering when she last wore the chic ensemble. Dr. Balle and a root canal. Then, as though she needed reminding of the painful event, her jaw throbbed.
Without further deliberation, she decided on designer jeans, an ecru fisherman’s knit turtleneck and a rust-colored corduroy blazer. With some cussing, she managed her wild hair into a French braid.
Pleased with her reflection in the cheval mirror, she skipped down the staircase, humming beneath her breath. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this carefree and happy. That sounded selfish and unappreciative. This funk had better end soon or she would believe she was.
The telephone rang as she rounded the corner to the den.
“Hello,” she said into the receiver, feeling every bit as cheerful as her sing-songey voice.
“You sound chipper.”
“Hi, Mom.” Lily couldn’t keep from smiling. Today, not even her mother could dampen her spirits.
Alexandra went into one of her tirades, hitting on everything from the high cost of gas to the gauche painters her father hired to give the interior of their six-bedroom three-story home a facelift.
Lily and her mother, Alexandra O’Keefe-O’Ree, shared the same birth date and though twenty-five years separated them, Alexandra acted more like her sister than mother. She refused to dress and act her age. Her mother pulled off the look, Lily had to admit, attributed partly to her workouts at a fitness center under the supervision of her personal trainer. Alexandra would never confess the truth, but Lily swore her mother’s yearly trip to Los Angeles was not only for shopping but also for a nip and tuck. No one could be that well preserved without a little help from a skilful plastic surgeon.
Now if only Alexandra’s lovely smile would warm her eyes.
Something had happened in her mother’s past that scarred her for life. She wished Alexandra would open up to her, but any time Lily asked, her mother adroitly changed the subject.
Infrequently, Lily would give her mother a reality check, like now when her impulse was to ask what she would spend her first senior citizen’s check on. At the last moment, she decided not to. Some questions were better left unasked where it concerned Alexandra.
Lily checked her watch. If she wanted to be on time for her lunch date, which she did, she needed to leave soon. Her mother hadn’t spoken to her since their birthdays. She believed the snub stemmed from her question about whether she had applied for her old age security.
Alexandra held a good grudge and had, through years of practice, nailed cold shoulder tactics, often coming off like the injured party. If she brushed Alexandra off, Lily would have to suffer through the entire ritual again for her mother would certainly exact revenge.
She listened patiently while her mother rambled on about the ineptitude of her latest housekeeper.
“Honestly, Lily, I don’t understand why a person who is hired to clean houses hates to clean. Sylvie―”
“Sophie, Mom.” Lily figured Alexandra should at least get her employee’s name correct. She understood, though, how she would forget their names since they weren’t with her long enough to remember.
Alexandra huffed a breath. “Whatever. Anyway…”
Lily tuned her out. She looked at the clock on the credenza. Time ticked away at an exceedingly fast pace. There was little time to spare if she wanted to meet Dallas at one o’clock. She came to a decision. Alexandra gave her no other option. She gnawed on the knuckle of her forefinger and hoped for the best. “Mom, I’m sorry, but I have to go. I have a lunch date.” She held her breath and waited for the biting remark that was a necessary prelude to commencing her cold shoulder strategy.
“Someone more important than your mother?”
“No, of course not, Mom. You know how much I love you, and how eternally grateful I am for everything you’ve given me, and the sacrifices you’ve made for me.” Lily crossed her fingers and prayed Alexandra would not see through the diplomacy she employed or read anything negative in her words.
Thirty seconds passed that seemed unearthly longer to Lily before she heard her mother breathing again. With the cordless phone held firmly against her ear, she crossed the den, passing wall-to-wall shelves holding first edition books, family photos and portraits of Maya and Kira in various stages of their young life, all elegantly, but discretely, bragging the fruits of her marriage.
“Who are you having lunch with?”
Lily envisioned her mother giving her smile that could ice hot water. “Dallas Hall.” She turned and sat on the arm of a leather recliner, purposely choosing not to get comfortable.
“I never heard you mention her before.”
“I met her last weekend at the gala for the Hampstead PD.”
“She’s a police woman?”
Lily rolled her eyes at how Alexandra posed the question, like police officers were the dregs of the work force. “Yes, Mom.”
“What do you know about her?”
“I don’t think she has a membership at the country club if that’s what you mean.”
“Don’t get smart with me, young lady. I remember the riff-raff you used to bring home.”
Lily sucked in a breath at the biting remark. “They were my friends,” she said softly.
“You always had the worst taste and judgment, mistaking friendship of those who wanted to take advantage of your kind nature.”
Lily prided herself on being nothing like her mother. She realized going down this road with Alexandra would only lead to an argument, an argument Lily would never win. She took a deep, cleansing breath and smiled. “How’s Daddy? Is he still having trouble with his knee?”
“Not that he’ll admit. Who am I to tell an orthopedic surgeon he needs surgery.” Alexandra expressed her disdain for her husband’s arrogance by exhaling noisily.
“I’m sure he’ll come to the right decision soon.” Where was the emergency calling her mother away from the phone? She always seemed to be needed at one function or another when Lily called her.
“Let’s hope it’s while the damage can be corrected.”
Lily checked her watch again. Five minutes had already passed. “Yes.”
“How’s Maya?”
“Fine now. She just picked up a virus.”
“That’s good. How’s the other little munchkin?”
Where’s the damn emergency needing her mother’s immediate attention? “Fine.” Lily related her daughter’s science experiment.
“Good Lord. You must sterilize everything she came into contact with. The rodent may have been carrying disease.”
“I gave the house a good cleansing this morning.” Please, God, make someone need Alexandra.
“With a strong disinfectant?”
“Yes.” Lily crossed her fingers and confirmed the lie. “Of course.”
“Good girl.”
Lily never thought of herself as a girl anymore. That her mother did showed how much in the past Alexandra lived.
“Mom―”
“Just a minute, dear.”
Lily heard a kerplunk and the sound of high heels clicking on a hardwood floor. She checked the time again, scowled, and chewed on a thumbnail.
A door slammed on her mother’s end of the phone. When she heard Alexandra’s footsteps, Lily threw back her shoulders and mentally prepared herself to end this conversation.
After some shuffling with the receiver, Alexandra came on the line and s
aid, “I’m sorry, dear, but I have to go. Syl…Sophie broke great-grandmama’s Herend cake plate.”
Yes! There is a God. “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you,” Lily said to the hum of a disconnected telephone line.
Forty-five minutes later, Lily parked her car in hourly parking on the corner of Chipman and Canterbury Streets and wound her way around pedestrians on Averdeen in downtown Hampstead.
She spotted Dallas standing in front of the plate glass window of the deli. Dallas looked très hip in leg-hugging jeans, red turtleneck, jean jacket and scuffed western boots.
Lily’s smile came freely as she approached her new friend. In the state of mind Alexandra’s telephone conversation had left her, that Lily could feel weightless and guiltless surprised her. Maybe Alexandra’s grip on her was slipping.
Dallas turned in her direction. Lily knew the moment Dallas caught sight of her from her wide smile. Dimples dented her rosy cheeks.
“I’m late,” Lily said when she came within several feet of her. She closed the gap between them with a few long strides.
“A minute or two.” Dallas hooked her arm in Lily’s and guided her toward the entrance of the deli.
A blinking sign in a window a few yards away caught Lily’s attention. She unhooked her arm from Dallas’s tight hold, looked upward and read the name of the diner. “The Striped Zebra.” She smiled. “I can’t believe this place is still open. I used to come here with friends at least twice a week in my high school days.” She turned to Dallas. “Let’s have lunch here. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Dallas said. “I’m flexible.”
“Great.” Lily led the way inside. At reception, she looked around at the red and white checkered tablecloths covering round tables set for two and the booths lining both side walls.
“This brings back so many good memories,” Lily said, smiling. She looked up at the paintings on the ceiling, very Sistine Chapel-ish. “The place hasn’t changed an iota.”
She watched a sixty-something woman push open the swinging door leading from the kitchen and weave her way around tables with a meet-and-greet-the-customer grin. The woman closed the distance between them.
“I don’t believe it,” Lily said, unable to take her eyes off the woman.
“What?”
“That woman. She’s ―”
“Lee…lee,” the woman exclaimed, running to her.
“Mon Dieu.” Lily walked into the proprietor’s open arms. After they hugged, Lily kissed both her cheeks and stepped back to await Juliette Brunette’s appraisal.
Dallas, obviously intrigued, asked, “You can speak French?”
“Mrs. Brunette taught me all the French I know.” Lily laughed, remembering that every second word coming from Juliette’s mouth either took the Lord’s name in vain or put a French spin on procreation.
“Cherie, you still look like a teenager.” Juliette grabbed Lily’s cheeks with both her hands and pinched. “Beautiful, oui?” she asked as she released Lily’s cheeks and turned to Dallas.
Lily made the introductions.
“You are sisters, oui,” Juliette said, looking from Dallas to Lily and back again.
Lily laughed. “No. No relation. We only just met last week.”
Juliette slapped the palm of her hand against her face and held it there. “Non. C’est vrai? Bien, bien, bien. Encroyable!” She excused herself to tend to the needs of a diner sitting alone at a booth.
Dallas nudged Lily in the arm. “What did she say?”
“Something about well, well, well and the incredible.” Lily shrugged. “I’m sure it’s not important. The theatrics are very entertaining, though, don’t you think? I loved coming here. She could always cheer me up.”
“The woman is a miniature powerhouse of nervous energy,” Dallas said, frowning.
Lily laughed as she watched Juliette. “She is and her nervous energy is contagious.” When Dallas looked at her with a skeptical expression, she said, “Wait and see. You’ll be fidgeting and babbling non-stop before our lunch gets to us.”
“I don’t think so. I’m a very disciplined person.”
“If you say so.” Lily jutted her chin to keep from laughing. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Booth or table, chérie?” Juliette asked, suddenly appearing at Lily’s side.
“Center table, please,” Lily said, wanting Dallas to have the full Juliette experience.
Juliette took off at a sprinter’s run in the direction of the kitchen.
Dallas stared at Juliette’s retreating back. “What is the woman on?”
“Nothing. That’s the beauty of her attitude.” How could she have forgotten about this place? Lily laughed. The snort came out of nowhere. She covered her mouth and felt the heat of a blush cover her cheeks. She apologized. “I haven’t done that since I was ten.”
In the middle of the dining area, Juliette, now all business, tapped her foot against the carpet and with rapid finger waves, motioned for them to come to her.
“We’d better sit,” Lily said, recognizing Juliette’s impatience. She grabbed Dallas by the sleeve of her jacket and hauled her toward Juliette.
“Why?” Dallas asked, running to keep step.
“If we don’t, she’ll come for us and believe me, you’ll be tripping over your feet trying to keep up with her.”
“You know this from experience, I assume.”
Lily nodded. “I fell face first on the carpet.” She rubbed her chin. “I can still feel the rug burn.”
They arrived at their table. Lily took the menus from Juliette’s hand and gave one to Dallas, then ordered her to sit. She chuckled when Dallas promptly plunked herself onto the black metal dinette chair.
Lily smiled, thinking how smart a woman Dallas was, and how well she took a directive.
“I’ll be back to take your orders,” Juliette said.
“Thanks.” Lily watched Dallas study Juliette. “Are you looking for her on and off switch?” When Dallas answered with a ‘huh’, Lily knew she experienced her same reaction to Juliette all those years ago. Peripherally, she saw Juliette jog ― no other term could describe that walk ― toward them.
Within seconds, Juliette snatched the menus from their hands with her sincere apology for her tardiness followed by her fervent promise to return in ten and one-half minutes with their orders.
“Orders? Dallas asked after a minute. “We never gave her our orders.”
“Uh-huh.” Lily chuckled at the mystified expression that stormed Dallas’s face.
“She…doesn’t know what we want.”
“She will.”
“How?”
Lily looked into the kitchen at the portly mustachioed man dressed in a cook’s uniform who stood in front of a countertop gas fryer. She was surprised and yet not surprised to see the man who her friends took bets on was Juliette’s husband. “No one’s ever figured it out. Some say she’s part gypsy, while others say she’s a descendant of a wizard.” Judging by the skeptical expression on Dallas’s face, Lily discerned she didn’t believe her.
Instead of trying to explain Juliette, which she believed was impossible to do in any event, she handed her a pen and a piece of paper. “Write down what you would have ordered and compare it with what Juliette brings you.”
She checked her watch. “One fifteen. Allotting thirty seconds for the time already gone by, I predict Juliette will return with our lunches at precisely one twenty-five.”
With Juliette flitting around greeting and seating the influx of the one-to-two lunch patrons, handing out menus which would not be used and making promises and delivering on those promises, Lily saw Dallas get caught up in the woman’s energy, as she knew she would.
“Are you all settled in?” Lily asked.
“Pretty much. Actually, the move went smoother than I anticipated. Everything seemed to fall into place.”
“Are you renting or did you purchase―”
“I bought a garden
home off Manawagonish Avenue. From upstairs, the view of Boogie-Woogie Lake is to die for. The place has two bedrooms and a full bath on the second floor, kitchen, half-bath with laundry facilities, dining and living room on the first floor, and the basement is completely finished with another bedroom, rumpus room and a full bath with a whirlpool tub. It’s more space than I need and has more conveniences and toys than I’ll have time to use, but I figure it’s a good investment.”
“Do you think―”
“It’ll be an adjustment.”
It wasn’t what Lily was about to ask, but settled for the answer. Dallas, not that she realized it, was responding to Juliette’s energy.
“I dropped by the precinct yesterday and had a look around. The captain introduced me to a few of my colleagues. From what I saw, he’s no slouch and seems to run a tight ship.”
“That’s good.” Lily settled back and listened while Dallas unburdened herself of the difficulties and hardships a woman encounters in a divorce. She made the process sound excruciating. Lily prayed Abbott would never tire of her or feel the need to look for comfort in another woman’s arms as Dallas’s husband had.
“Here you are, ladies,” Juliette said as she approached wheeling a trolley laden with their lunch orders.
She placed a bowl of black bean chili, a generous serving of garlic pita chips, carrot sticks, a lettuce leaf with two tomato slices and a dessert bowl of green grapes in front of Dallas. In front of Lily, she placed three ounces of roast beef, a small whole-grain bagel, a slice of soy cheese and a bowl of mixed fruit.
“For you.” Juliette looked at Dallas and set a cup of green tea to the side. “And for you.” She moved to Lily’s left and set a glass of barley wine on the table. “Eat hearty.” Juliette left in a rush.
“Did she get your order right?” Lily asked.
Dallas cocked a brow, puffed her lips and studied her lunch. “Not even close.”