“Just about. Want some whole wheat toast?”
“No butter. You must like Boulder City a little or you would’ve moved on. At least to better employment.”
“Come on, Dr. Barstow—I couldn’t ask for more than this!”
Jennifer loved the way Louise’s face brightened whenever she titled her. The first time she did so, Louise told her straight out that it felt rather good to be given that title. After all, she’d come up through the ranks of academia at a time when women were still being admitted with some reluctance.
“Buzz is lucky to have you. You should make him tell you so twice a day.”
“He is as free with praise as with pay,” she said.
Louise continually surprised her. She was so amazingly observant, for one thing. The first time a couple of Boulder City cops came in and Jennifer found her herself ducking their stares, Louise had said, “If you’re going to be so obvious, they’re going to know you don’t want to be recognized. Look ’em in the eye—that’ll fool ’em for sure.”
Taken aback, she had replied, “Are you saying they’re not all that sharp?”
Louise had shrugged. “We have very little for them to do here in Boulder City, Doris.”
Louise had taken to recommending books to Jennifer and every day she went to the library, reading them quickly. In just one month she’d gone through all of Jo-Ann Mapson, Alice Hoffman and Alexander McCall Smith. Louise had speckled some nonfiction in there, as well—Women and the American Experience, for starters. That took Jennifer more than one day to get through.
Jennifer took a dog biscuit outside to Alice, gave her some pets, then returned to the diner to wash her hands. She then delivered the fruit and toast to Louise.
“Doris, I see you’re letting that hair grow in a little. I wondered what color it was. It’s darker than I imagined.”
“It’s darker than I remembered,” Jennifer laughed. “I doubt I’ll let it get any longer than an inch, tops.”
“I just can’t imagine what you were thinking. Egad.”
“I thought it would be quite a statement. Bold. Different.”
Louise lifted her eyebrows questioningly. “Is that a fact?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Well, unfortunately it made you look more like a thug. But this is better, this little bit of hair.” She reached a gnarled hand out and patted Jennifer’s head. “I have to tell you that when you smile, you are transformed. And your smile doesn’t really fit with this look—with the piercings and army clothes. But, I’ve never been very good at fashion.” Then Louise abruptly changed the subject. “Is it too late to make it a vegetable omelet? Egg substitute?”
“Not at all. I told you you’d find your appetite once you got started. I’ll have it right up,” she said, taking the order slip to Adolfo. And then, per her routine, she went back to Louise’s table. “I finished The Seasons Of Women. Do you have another suggestion? I’ll be taking it back to the library this afternoon.”
“Hmm. Have you read Gift from the Sea?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but I’ve never been able to do so much. There isn’t much else to do here.”
“We’re a dull lot,” she said.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it to sound that way. There’s no TV where I’m staying and I thought it would be tough, but I like it. It’s a nice change.”
“Change from what?” Louise ventured.
“Someday I’ll tell you all about it, but right now I have to do my chores.” She smiled and got away without telling anything. Again.
Jennifer brought Louise more hot water, then went back outside to check on Alice. She liked to linger there, stroke the old girl’s head and back. Alice would moan appreciatively, thanking her. Satisfied that there was plenty of water and that it was cool enough in the shade of the diner’s awning, she went back inside. As she stood and turned, she caught Louise watching her. Staring at her with a slight frown wrinkling her brow. “I just wanted to be sure Alice was fine. And that she has enough water in the bowl.”
“You like Alice, don’t you?”
“What’s not to like? She’s a perfect dog. And I think that besides you, I’m her favorite.” She grinned again.
“I’ve always had dogs. Sometimes more than one. It was difficult when I traveled more, but I love animals. And it’s my opinion that people who don’t like dogs are coldhearted and impatient. I think that within you beats the heart of a loving woman. Am I right?”
“I hope so, Madam Professor.”
“Do you know I’ve spent my whole life studying women and their issues? I hold a post-graduate degree in women’s studies and there is no woman on earth I don’t find interesting. And you, Doris, are one of the most intriguing.”
“Me? Phooey. If you knew me better, you’d realize I’m very boring. Let me get that omelet for you.”
Jennifer went about the business of refilling the sugar and creamers, sweeping up behind the counter and gathering up the ketchup bottles to consolidate them so they were all full. When her breakfast was done, Louise asked Jennifer if she could take a little break. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”
“Sure,” she said, sitting down across the table from her.
“No. Walk a little way with me. Buzz won’t care too much.”
“Just give me a minute,” she said. She spoke to Buzz, then retrieved her backpack and slipped the straps over her shoulders.
Once outside Louise said, “I don’t know what you have in that backpack, but it never leaves your sight.”
“Well, not exactly. I just don’t leave it behind because…Well, because I travel light, and that means I carry what’s important with me.”
“Are you planning to stay around awhile, Doris?”
She laughed a little, and with it came a little snort. “How could I think of leaving a fantastic job like mine at the Tin Can?” Then she added, “I didn’t think I’d still be here, but I like this little place. I like that there’s almost no nightlife.”
“Odd that a woman your age would be fascinated by that. But if you are planning to stay, I have a proposition for you. I go to England every spring and come back every fall. My son is there. Rudy. I like to be near him, and I get privileges at Oxford as a professor emeritus. I research cultural issues, women’s literature, women’s studies. I’ve been working on a textbook for some time now.”
An unusual sound came out of Jennifer. It was a sigh. A sigh of longing. And her tone of voice softened so hopefully. “Please say you want me to go with you and carry your books.”
“I’m afraid not. However, my usual house-sitter-slash-dog-sitter has disappointed me. She can’t help out this time. You can see that Alice can’t be alone, can’t be kenneled. In fact, it gets harder and harder to leave her. She’s an old woman, is my Alice.”
Jennifer was holding her breath and no doubt Louise could tell. She sensed what was coming and began to desperately pray it could happen. After all, the Sunset Motel wasn’t a place you’d want to stay for too long.
“I could use a house sitter. For five, maybe six months.”
“Me?” she asked tentatively.
“In addition to the house, food, utilities, upkeep and frequent dog walking, I’ll pay you a small stipend.”
“Stipend?” she asked, a little breathless.
“There’s a condition, Doris.” She stopped walking. She looked up at the younger woman. “Yes, you look so much better with hair. Mmm,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’d like you to tell me what you’re hiding.”
Jennifer let out her breath in disappointment, shaking her head in defeat before she even realized her actions were as much as admitting there was something major. “I’m not hiding anything,” she said.
“Oh, yes, you are. I don’t much care what it is, unless you did prison time for ripping off little old ladies.” That brought a slight chuckle from her. Very slight. “I’m an expert on women, Doris, and I know how tough the w
orld can be for some. And I’m an excellent secret keeper. It’s just that this might be too big a mystery for me. Please understand—I can’t leave you with all my worldly goods and my very best friend without knowing why you’re hiding out in Boulder City.”
Jennifer moved her mouth as though she were literally chewing on the question. She decided quickly it would be okay to be honest. Louise was eighty and not very talkative. If there was anyone in this town who could be trusted, it was probably Louise. “If you tell anyone, it could be very, very bad.”
“I have no reason to tell. But I do have a need to know.”
“It was a man. He was violent. He—” She took a deep breath. “He threatened to kill me if I left him.”
“Do you think there’s any chance he could be looking for you?”
“I think there’s every chance—but I think this is the last place he’d look.”
“And why is that, exactly?”
“Because this is such a quiet place. No gambling, no nightlife, not exciting. It’s not what he’d expect of me. He’d think that I’d run off to L.A. or New York City before I’d hunker down in a town full of—” She stopped suddenly.
“Full of little old ladies and their ancient dogs?”
Jennifer bit her lip. “He’d expect me to want more excitement than is found here, Doctor.”
“All right, all right, so there is much more to you than meets the eye. I thought as much. Maybe later you’ll trust me enough to give me a few more details. I might even be able to help at some point. I do have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I helped open a facility in Las Vegas that’s strictly a women’s and girls’ shelter. Anyone female can get help there, as long as they’re drug free.”
“I’m okay here. For now,” she said, but there was a tentative tone with it. “But what if something…If I have to leave in a hurry? What about Alice?”
“My neighbors will see after her in an emergency. You aren’t using credit cards or making long distance phone calls to friends or family, are you?”
There was a long pause. “No,” she finally said. “I really have no one.” She couldn’t keep the sadness from her voice as she realized that even when she’d had a rich gentleman friend, she had no one. “And I know what I have to do to be invisible.”
“Then you’ll be very hard to track. So? What do you think, Doris? Can you help me out?”
“Yes,” she said, flashing a heartfelt smile. “I could probably do that.”
“That’s good. Maybe you can come over later and look around. I could show you how to work the computer so you can e-mail me. Rose lives on one side and Alex on the other and—” Louise stopped as Jennifer’s expression changed rather suddenly. “What’s the matter, dear?”
“Alex. He looks at me like I’m going to pick his pocket.”
“Ignore him—he’s not always such a crank. Even Alex warms up after a while. And, Rose…Well, I’m not even going to try to explain Rose. But I leave next week. I need someone to watch over Alice and the two of you get on so nicely. So—that’s that. I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“You’re sure your neighbors will be okay with this?”
“Absolutely. Thank you for taking it on.”
“All right, then,” she said, making an effort to keep the relief and excitement from her voice. “I don’t have anything else going on.”
“Well, isn’t this just my lucky day,” Louise said. “Oh, and Doris? If anyone comes sniffing around the diner, acting like they might be looking for someone like you, don’t smile. That smile of yours is simply unforgettable.”
Louise’s house was a tiny little brick box that she’d owned for thirty years. It was in a row of identical houses offering up varying colors of brick, siding or paint, just around the corner from the park, theater, post office and library. A few blocks farther was the main street and shops that saw more action from the tourist traffic. She’d had a screened back porch added several years ago so she could work there in nice weather, which in Nevada was most of the time. Garages hadn’t come with the houses, but she and her neighbors had added free-standing garages that opened into the alley and gave them easy access to their back doors. Her backyard was small but meticulous, thanks to Alex, who took care of it for her.
Louise sat in the porch at the computer, her reading glasses perched on her nose, a stack of books teetering on the floor next to her chair. She heard the front door open and close. Momentarily Rose stood in the doorway to the porch. “I don’t know why I have an extra key,” she said. “The door is never locked.”
“Neither is yours.”
“I’m getting in the habit of locking up when I go to bed at night. I must do it two or three times a week.”
Rose was taller than Louise, as was just about everyone, and still straight as a poker. Her face was what she liked to call seasoned, her hair a flaming red; she drove all the way into Las Vegas to have it colored every three weeks. Her hips were slim and her teeth strong, straight and white. She’d taken good care of herself and didn’t suffer from any of the degenerative conditions that plagued Louise.
Rose was a perpetual fashion plate. Today she wore a black midi-length skirt and gray snakeskin boots with a slim heel and very pointy toes. A bright orange poncho was draped over her black turtleneck. Amazingly, it did not clash with her teased red hair. Her lips matched the poncho, and gold chains sparkled around her neck and wrists.
Louise lifted her glasses and peered down at Rose’s feet. “How do you walk in those things?”
“They look good, that’s how. Tell me you didn’t go through with it,” Rose demanded. “You didn’t invite that bald-headed creature to stay in your house.”
Louise glanced up over her glasses. “You and Doris will get on very well. It’s obvious she could use the support and counsel of an older woman.” She pulled off her glasses. “And she’s not so bald anymore. She’s got a little hair growing in. She’s actually quite beautiful…except for that ridiculous mannish costume she wears.”
“Phoo,” Rose said. “She’s going to rob you blind and run off in the night.”
“If she runs off in the night, she’ll only take what she can fit in the backpack. She doesn’t even own a car.”
“You have no reason to believe you can trust her.”
“She’s been working for Buzz for weeks, and as generous as he is, he won’t condone any dishonest act. If so much as a quarter were missing, he’d let her go.”
“Phoo.”
Rose turned and left the porch. She was back a second later with a glass of iced tea—she had helped herself from Louise’s refrigerator—then draped herself in the wicker chair opposite Louise’s worktable. Although actually only about five foot four, she always wore heels to give her height, and her slender form made it seem she had very long legs and arms. “What did you tell her?”
“That my usual house sitter was unavailable.”
“But Alex and I keep Alice when you’re gone!”
“Alice will be happier at home. Besides, the girl needs a place for a little while and I’ll feel better knowing she’s here.”
“Utter nonsense. Leave well enough alone.”
“She’s obviously in trouble. And if you dare tell her that I’m doing a good turn, I’ll have your hide.”
“Alex is going to have a fit,” Rose predicted.
“I’ll have a word with him,” she said. But he should mind his own business sometimes. Although, since he probably wouldn’t, Louise figured maybe he could be of help. Louise and Rose had nothing but affection for Alex. He lived on one side of Louise with Rose on the other. Alex was young, thirty-five, and made it his business to look after these little old ladies when he should be spending more energy on beautiful young women. He scolded them for opening the door to strangers, for never locking doors when they left the house, for giving too much information on the phone, for not being more cautious. Rose was right—this was going to bother him. But he’d get
over it.
“I was hoping you’d reconsider the trip this year,” Rose said.
“Why would I do that? I love my annual sojourn.”
“It’s getting harder for you, though.”
“Tell me about it. Just thinking about that plane ride makes my joints begin to throb. But I like being near Rudy.”
“That’s just crazy, and at your age,” Rose said shortly. Then, softening her tone, she said, “I just thought that might change, is all. As you got older.”
“It’s a matter of not giving in, dammit. But I admit, it’s hard leaving Alice. I always wonder if she’ll still be around when I get back.”
“I’ll watch. But about this girl…”
“She’s a good girl. Just odd. She’ll be fine.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Well, it’s done. I’m going to give her a debit card for groceries and supplies for household upkeep and set her up to receive one hundred dollars a week.”
“A hundred dollars? Have you lost your mind?”
“Not enough?” Louise asked, thinning eyebrows arched.
“Too much! Way too much! You’re buying her food, paying all the bills, giving her a place rent free….”
“She has to take care of Alice and keep the house in order. It’s a job. People get paid for jobs.”
“Don’t be surprised if you get burned….”
“With you right next door, never giving her a moment’s privacy? You’re right—she could flee in want of a moment’s peace!”
“Ptui,” said Rose.
It was just after lunch when Louise knocked at Alex’s door. He was pulling on a clean shirt as he answered. “Hey, sweetheart. Why didn’t you just call me? I’d have come to you.”
“I had to stretch my legs. I stiffen up in four minutes, I think. Can you get that big suitcase from the garage to the bedroom for me? Tomorrow is soon enough if you’re going somewhere.”
“I’m going to work, but there’s no rush,” he said, buttoning his shirt. “I’ll get it for you before I go.”
“And…I have a house sitter. Doris—the young woman who’s been waiting tables for Buzz for the last month.”