~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What was I going to wear? It had to be something special for dinner and for meeting Johnny. I had several outfits strewn across the bed. The only thing I was sure about was the new pair of sandals. I was trying to build an outfit around them.
It dawned on me that I should call Samantha to see how Jerry’s funeral had gone. I could make a decision on what to wear afterward. I sat in a corner chair and punched her speed dial number. She answered right away.
“Hi, Susan. I’m glad you called,” she said, talking fast. “I have a lot to tell you.”
“Start with Jerry’s funeral,” I said. “Did very many people show up? Was the weather good? Did his uncle have a nice service?”
“He did,” she said. “And the weather was beautiful. There weren’t very many people there. Most of them were from the club but listen to this. The man from Thursday night was there, and when the service was over, the police were waiting to arrest him.”
“I knew it!” I yelled, jumping out of my chair. “I knew he was behind Jerry’s death somehow. I could feel it. What happened? Is he being charged with murder? Does Dick know?”
“He hasn’t been able to find out anything yet,” she said. “We were just so shocked when a police car showed up during the ceremony. The officers waited at the road by the hearse, and as soon as the funeral was over, they walked up to the man, talked to him for a few minutes, and then put him in the cruiser. They took off a few minutes later.”
“Well, I’m glad,” I said with satisfaction as I sat back down in the chair. “I feel better knowing he was arrested. Maybe we’ll have some closure on this soon.”
“I think so, too,” she said. “Have you talked with Mick yet?”
“We talked yesterday,” I said. “I think everything’s going to be fine. He told me about his marriage and their divorce, and I understand better now. I won’t be able to see him again until Monday night, but I think we’ll be ok.”
“That’s really good news,” she said. “What are you doing tonight?”
“We’re going to Polynesian Treasure to have dinner and see a show. I get to meet Darby’s online friend tonight.” I looked at my watch. “And I’m going to be late if I don’t get off the phone. I’ll fill you in on all the details later.”
“Ok,” she said. “Talk to you soon.”
I only had fifteen minutes to finish getting ready. I looked at the clothes on the bed. I grabbed the floral sundress. It had a retro sixties look and was one of my favorites.
Darby was ready long before I was and had gone to wait in the lobby. I stepped out of the elevator and saw him chatting and laughing with the same desk clerk from yesterday. He certainly had a gift for meeting new friends.
He saw me coming, let out a low whistle, and said, “Wow, you look fantastic.” The desk clerk was grinning from ear to ear but didn’t say anything.
“Thank you,” I said twirling around once to give him the full effect of the dress. “You look pretty wonderful yourself.”
He looked like he had just stepped out of the pages of Esquire Magazine in a white button-down shirt under a gray jacket. His light blue straight-leg jeans barely topped a pair of fabulous blue loafers. He had moved past adorable and was sexy hot tonight. He should have been on a runway in Milan.
It was a forty-five minute drive from the hotel to Polynesian Treasure in Tampa. We didn’t feel the need to do any talking, so we relaxed and listened to a smooth jazz station.
The afternoon had been a lot of fun. We scheduled a couples massage and spent the entire time talking about food and cooking shows. Neither of us was a superior cook, but we weren’t bad cooks either, and we enjoyed trying new ideas and recipes.
We laughed again about the day we got together in my kitchen to try out a shrimp scampi recipe with habanero peppers in the butter sauce. It turned out perfectly. We plated it over angel hair pasta. Darby poured accompanying glasses of a Sauvignon Blanc, and we sat down at the table with our mouths watering. The aroma was wonderful from the butter and peppers. Because we’re not shy eaters, we both took huge bites - and nearly choked to death from the heat. We drank the entire bottle of wine, trying to put the fire out. A further inspection of what went wrong showed Darby had purchased Scotch bonnet peppers by mistake and used twice as many as the recipe called for. I’ve never seen a man’s forehead produce so much sweat in such a short period of time. We both ended up tipsy from the wine and laughed all evening.
We always had good times in the kitchen together, and it was fun to remember some of them and plan future strategies. After the massages, we had facials and mani-pedis. It felt wonderful being pampered, and we both had a perfect glow to go along with our excitement in anticipation of the evening.
The soft sounds of the saxophone rendition of If I Ain’t Got You by Eric Darius filled the car. I loved the song, but it made me more aware of my homesickness. I broke our silence.
“Are you nervous about seeing Johnny again?”
“A little,” he replied. “He’ll be in his element tonight, so I’m sure I’ll get more insight into his personality. I can only hope he doesn’t think I’m too boring for him.”
“You could never be too boring for anybody,” I said. “You’re one of the most interesting and fun people I know. You’re never cranky, I’ve never seen you mad, and you enjoy life so much. What’s not to love?” I gave him a little shove. “Besides, could you imagine two high-energy people together all the time? It would be like being on mega doses of caffeine and never coming down.”
He laughed and said, “I know you’re right, but Johnny is such a character. We’ll see how it goes tonight.”
We lapsed back into silence and enjoyed the ride and the music.
We pulled up to the front of the restaurant. Palm trees were abundant around the large building as well as luscious flowers and plants. A faux waterfall cascaded down the left side of the building. Tiki torches had been lit everywhere.
“Wow, look at this place.” I said. “It’s fantastic!”
“Johnny said we’d be surprised. There isn’t anything else like it anywhere,” he said.
We valet parked the car and walked up the wooden bridge to the entrance. Dark-haired girls wearing colorful, floral bandeau tops and sarongs greeted us. One of the girls offered an orchid to me to tuck into my hair. It had a sweet smell and was a lovely ivory color with a fuchsia center. It matched my sundress perfectly.
Darby grasped my hand to lead me through the doors and said with a big smile, “No one will want to watch the show tonight, because they’ll all be looking at you.” I blushed and lightly punched him on the arm.
We walked through the entrance into a large foyer. There were a few shops and a tiki bar to our left and a restaurant to our right. We were directed straight ahead into the main showroom.
It was larger than I expected. The lights were low and the stage was set with a Polynesian village theme. Tiki torches along the walls provided additional lighting to the room as did a candle on each table.
Darby turned to the maitre d’ and said, “Two for Tapley.”
“Yes,” the maitre d’ said as he checked his book. “Friends of Johnny’s. He told me to be expecting you.” He looked at me and put his hand on his chest, “Ahh, be still my heart. You are a vision.”
Darby squeezed my hand and smiled. I could feel myself blushing again.
“Follow me,” he said and proceeded to wind his way around tables until we reached a table for nine in the center of the room. We were the first to be seated at the table.
“These are fantastic seats,” I said. I craned my neck to look around the room. “Where do you suppose Johnny is?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But I expect he’ll be out to see us soon.”
He was fussing with his place setting, and I realized he was more nervous about seeing Johnny again than he was letting on.
“Don’t worry,” I said and leaned into him. “You guys had a great
time yesterday, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you again, too.”
“I hope so,” he said nervously. He moved his water glass to the other side of his dinner plate. “He has such an interesting background, and I really do think I’d like to get to know him better.”
He settled down, and we both looked around the room. There were families with children, senior citizens, couples on dates - all ages appeared to be represented. There was even a bridal party in one corner of the room.
A waiter arrived to take our drink and dinner order. We both ordered a concoction of rums and juices served in a pineapple. I then ordered the Tahitian lobster, and Darby ordered char-crusted mahi mahi. We hoped it would be as fantastic as the menu described and the pictures looked.
The room was nearly full now, but there were still no other people at our table. Just as I was starting to think Johnny might not actually want to see Darby again, there was a commotion to the left of the stage. Six gorgeous girls, followed by an attractive, energetic guy, had come out from a side door and formed a conga line.
Darby let out a boisterous laugh, “That’s Johnny. And those are the Vegas showgirls.”
All seven of them wore Polynesian headdresses. Brightly colored makeup adorned their faces. They exaggerated their dance movements with hips swinging and pointed toes kicking. With every kick, they waved to the audience and threw their heads back. They made their way through the room to our table. The entire audience enjoyed the unexpected show and gave them a big round of applause.
Darby stood from the table, and Johnny rushed over to give him a big hug with air kisses beside both cheeks.
“Darby, it’s sooo good to see you again. You remember my friends from your hotel pool.” He waved around the table to all of the girls. “And this must be Susan.” He came around behind Darby to my chair and clasped both of my hands in his. “Honey, you are divine,” he said and leaned down to air kiss my cheeks.
“It’s nice to meet you, Johnny,” I said. I was still laughing from the conga dance. “That was quite an entrance.”
“Dahling,” he drawled. “It’s all about the entrance.” He waved his hands theatrically in the air. “I don’t usually eat dinner on the nights I’m dancing, but tonight is a special occasion. All of my new friends are here, and we’re going to celebrate.” He snapped his fingers to attract the attention of our waiter. “Rum juleps all around. We’re celebrating new friends tonight.”
Johnny took his seat next to Darby and addressed the table, “I can’t thank you all enough for coming. I meet a lot of people here at the restaurant, but the group of friends at this table is very special.” He addressed the showgirls, “Ladies, I have enjoyed your company immensely these past two days. The Hilton Hotel has called and said poor Mr. McMasters will make a full recovery after the synchronized swimming accident yesterday.” He paused as the girls golf clapped their approval. “And Busch Gardens has notified the police that the flamingo has been returned to Jambo Junction, and they won’t be pressing charges against any of us.” He fanned himself in a gesture of relief. The girls followed suit.
I gave Darby a puzzled look. He addressed my look with a slight shake of his head as if to say, “Don’t ask.”
The waiter arrived with the rum juleps. Johnny held up his glass and said, “I especially want to thank Darby for coming to visit me. It has been a pleasure, and I hope we will become very good friends indeed.” He raised his glass higher. “A toast to you all.”
We raised our glasses. I had never had a rum julep before. The drink was delicious.
Johnny leaned in front of Darby, reached over to touch me on the arm, and asked, “Are you enjoying Florida, Susan? I hear you are having some man troubles.” He furrowed his brow. “If you need any advice, I can help you straighten that man right out.”
I kicked Darby under the table for obviously telling Johnny about my man troubles, but I laughed at his earnestness, “I’m having a very good time, and I’m pretty sure my man troubles are over.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, appearing to be shocked, “I hear you’re both being stalked by Marlon Brando!” He practically whispered the name.
I kicked Darby under the table again. “Well, I’ve named him Skinny Guy, but his face does kind of remind me of a young Marlon Brando.”
“Then Marlon Brando it is!” he exclaimed. “Oh!” He put his hand to his mouth and looked even more shocked. He turned to Darby, “You don’t suppose he’s one of your past lovers do you?”
Darby laughed. He was obviously enjoying Johnny’s very effective drama queen.
I leaned over with my eyes wide and told Johnny, “That’s what I said.”
Darby laughed but put his hands out - one toward me and one toward Johnny. “Look, both of you. I’m positive I’ve never dated a skinny guy or Marlon Brando.”
He was successful in putting an end to the topic.
We all settled back into our seats and allowed the evening to unfold. Dinner was fantastic. Everyone appeared to be delighted with their menu choices, and there would be no leftovers from this group.
I could tell Johnny and Darby were enjoying their conversation. I struck up my own with Vera, the girl seated next to me.
“How did you come up with a showgirl routine?” I asked.
She smiled and said, “All six of us were enrolled in cosmetology school in Minnesota. Most people don’t know how expensive a good cosmetology school can be, and I needed some extra money. A local radio station sponsored a dance contest in Minneapolis, so I put an ad on the school bulletin board for girls who wanted to put together a routine and enter the contest with me. The prize was fifteen thousand dollars. These are the girls I chose.” She waved her hand to the table of girls.
“That’s so cool,” I told her. I was truly impressed. “Did you win?”
“No, we didn’t,” she said, laughing. “But we were good. A talent scout was in the audience and approached us afterward to represent us.”
“So you signed with him?” I asked.
“No,” she said and laughed again. “We didn’t. We were in school and didn’t think it was a good idea to become beauty school dropouts. But we did enjoy dancing together, and having the scout want to represent us gave us the confidence we needed to put more routines together. Sasha there,” she pointed two seats down to a stunning brunette, “put together the showgirl routine. Bunny over there,” she pointed across the table to a petite blonde who gave us a little wave, “booked us for a dental convention with the Vegas routine. They paid us five thousand dollars.”
“You’re kidding,” I exclaimed, doubly impressed.
“We were shocked,” Vera said. “We started making more money on the weekends than what we were expecting to make in a week of working in a salon after graduating from beauty school. So,” she shrugged her shoulders, “we became beauty school dropouts after all.”
“Vera, that’s a wonderful story,” I said. “You were all so brave to take a risk and venture out into a new career.”
“We make a good living, we travel all over the country, and we meet a lot of really nice people,” she said, looking Johnny’s way.
“That’s what Darby says,” I told her. “He likes to travel and meet new people.” I picked up my purse and said, “Excuse me for a few minutes. The show is going to start soon, and I want to make a quick trip to the restroom.”
I stood and turned around to make my way between the tables and back to the main foyer where the restrooms were located. I was nearly to the doorway when I froze in my tracks. Skinny Guy was standing in the doorway. He appeared to be scanning the room and would soon see me. I quickly turned around, and in a slightly hunched over manner, made my way back to our table.
“Darby! Darby!” I sat down and began pulling at his arm to get his attention. “Skinny Guy is here!”
“What?” yelped Johnny. “Marlon Brando is here? Oh dear.” He waved his hands excitedly in front of his face and looked around the r
oom.
“Are you sure?” Darby asked, frowning.
“Yes, I’m positive,” I said. “Don’t turn around. I saw him standing in the doorway. He was acting like he was looking for somebody.”
“We have to get you out of here,” Johnny said. “Let’s come up with a plan. Girls!” He snapped his fingers and addressed the table. “We must escort Darby and Susan out of the dining room. Shall we revisit the conga line back to the dressing room? They can duck walk beside us, so Marlon Brando can’t see them.”
I could see the girls looking at each other with puzzled looks. Some were asking, “Marlon Brando?”
“We have a stalker,” I told them. I looked at Darby and said, “I’m not duck walking.”
He laughed. “You don’t have to. We’ll work it out.”
He held my arm as we half stood and walked around the table in a hunched position. The girls stood to block us from the view of the doorway. Johnny announced in a loud voice, “Ladies and gentlemen. I hope you have enjoyed your dinner this evening. The show will be starting soon. These lovely ladies are going to escort me to my dressing room, and I will be dancing with fire for you shortly.” He waved his hands in the air to all sections of the dining room and took his place behind Vera with his hands on her waist.
The room erupted into applause. The conga line was once again moving, and I was practically duck walking beside them. We were halfway to the door when my heel caught on the hem of my dress, and I pitched forward. Darby had a solid grip on my arm and kept me from falling to the floor. He steadied me, and we kept moving forward.
“I hate duck walking,” I hissed at him.
“We’re almost there,” he managed to say. He could barely talk he was laughing so hard. “Just a couple more steps.”
Bunny was at the head of the line. As soon as she opened the door, Darby and I bolted through and around the corner. Johnny was throwing kisses to the crowd as the girls headed back to the table to watch the show.
He came through the doorway and shut the door behind him. “I think I saw him!” he said excitedly. “He has long, curly hair.”
“Yes, he does!” I said, mimicking his excitement. “Where did you see him?”
“He was watching from the opposite side of the room,” he said. He stepped in front of us. “Come with me. You can hide out in our dressing room.”
We hurried to the end of the hallway and into the small room. To the left was a wall of mirrors with bright round lights around them. Several director’s chairs faced the mirrors. Opposite the mirrors were two sofas and two clothing racks. One rack was full of street clothes from the other dancers while the second rack had one lone costume hanging on it. At the end of the room was a closet overflowing with colorful costumes decorated with grasses and feathers. The floor of the closet was littered with numerous pairs of shoes.
Johnny looked out the door and said, “You can wait here until we’re sure he’s gone. The girls will watch the dining room for him to do anything suspicious.”
He was talking in his normal voice. I’d only heard bits of it earlier when he was chatting with Darby over dinner. His voice was slightly deep, sexy even. He had short, jet black hair, and he was tanned, but he seemed a little soft around the middle for a dancer. Maybe he enjoyed eating as much as he enjoyed dancing. He was attractive, but most of his attraction was in his big personality.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” he said as he pointed to one of the sofas. “I have to get ready for the show. Everyone else is already dressed and waiting in the staging area. I’ll keep a watch out the door for your stalker.”
He opened the door a crack to take another peek.
Darby and I sat down. I checked my dress and saw with dismay that my heel had ripped the hem. My favorite sundress, and it had cost a week of working at the club. Further inspection showed my heel had only pulled the stitching. The material itself wasn’t torn, and I was relieved it could be repaired. I hated duck walking with even more passion now.
I didn’t realize it, but while I was checking my dress, Johnny was undressing. He was in the process of taking off his trousers when I looked up from my hem. I felt myself turn beet red and turned my head so he could have some privacy, but not before I saw he was wearing a chartreuse thong.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry,” he said when he saw me turn away from him. “We’re so used to rushing and changing in front of everyone and anyone, I never gave it a thought you might be uncomfortable.”
Darby was chuckling at my unease. I wanted to kick him again.
Johnny finished putting on his grass leggings and peeked out the door again. Suddenly, he was back in full drama queen mode.
“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” he wailed. He was half jumping, half flailing with his grasses and feathers flying around with him. “It’s Marlon Brando, and he’s coming this way. Quick, hide!”
Darby and I both jumped up at the same time. Johnny nearly tackled Darby as he shoved him into me with the forward momentum propelling us into the closet. Johnny slammed the doors shut behind us.
I was face-first in the closet with Darby behind me. He had his hands on my waist, attempting to steady me as I tried to find my footing around the jumbled pairs of shoes. “Why are these shoes in here anyway?” I whispered. “They didn’t look like they belonged to any of the costumes.”
“Shhh,” he cautioned me.
I managed to turn around and on sound footing. Darby and I were nose to nose. The closet’s wooden doors met and closed in the center. There were wood slats for ventilation, and a few were off kilter. We could just barely see some of the dressing room without putting our faces close to the doors, but we did see Skinny Guy walk into the room. I couldn’t hold back a gasp, and the intake of breath partially sucked a feather into my mouth. Darby instantly clapped his hand over my mouth to keep me from making any noise. My eyes went wide. I had a feather in my mouth, and I wanted to bite Darby’s hand so he would let go, but fear kept me perfectly still and quiet.
Johnny was applying his makeup. He kept his drama queen act going strong.
“Hi there,” he said to Skinny Guy. “Who are you? You know, you shouldn’t be back here. Are you looking for Jacqueline? She said some new talent might be coming in.”
“Yeah,” Skinny Guy said, pausing to look around. “Yeah, I’m looking for Jacqueline.”
“Well, honey, she won’t be back until tomorrow. You should come back then. Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like a young Marlon Brando?” Darby tightened his grip on my mouth. “You have a face for the stage. You should do some acting. Have you ever done any theater work before?”
“Maybe,” Skinny Guy said warily.
“Well, I’ll put in a good word for you with Jacqueline. Give me your name, and I’ll tell her you were here.”
Good for Johnny for trying to get his name.
“No, that’s ok,” Skinny Guy said, taking another look around. “I’ll stop back tomorrow.” He turned and walked out the door.
We all stood still for a few minutes, listening, waiting to see if he would come back. Johnny peeked out the door again.
Darby finally removed his hand, and I ended up spitting in his face trying to get the feather out of my mouth. Johnny opened the closet doors so fast, I lost my balance, stepped on jumbled shoes, and pitched out of the closet head first onto the floor.
“Oh, sweetie,” Johnny said sounding shocked. “That’s a terrible bruise you’ve got on your leg. How did you get that?”
Darby helped me up.
“Darby!” I yelled at him. “I had a feather in my mouth. Why did you put your hand over my mouth?” I was frustrated and my knees hurt. They would probably have rug burns on them from the fall.
“I was afraid you’d cough or make a noise - or spit all over me trying to get the feather out of your mouth!” he said with his own raised voice. It was obvious he was frustrated, too.
Johnny looked at me with a confused expression and asked, ??
?Why in the world did you put a feather in your mouth?”
Darby and I stood staring and glaring at each other. The absurdity of the moment washed over us at the same time, and we burst out laughing.
“Johnny, we’re going to have to leave,” Darby told him. “I’m sorry we’re going to miss your show, but neither of us has any idea why this guy is stalking me, and since we know he’s here, we’d better not stick around.”
“I understand,” he said. “I’ll call you later tonight, and maybe we can make plans for tomorrow. I’ll show you the back way out of the building.” He gave both of us air kisses and hugs, and we said our goodbyes.
We made our way to the valet stand and picked up the car. We headed to the interstate and started the drive back to Saint Petersburg.
“Did you at least have a little bit of fun tonight?” Darby asked.
“I had a really good time,” I said. “And the girls were nice, too. Did you know they’re beauty school dropouts?”
“Yep,” he nodded. “I found out at the pool yesterday. Those are some smart women, and they’ve really marketed themselves well. They’re part of a big musical show up in Toronto next weekend. I can’t get over how much they get around.” He shook his head in wonderment. He glanced over at me, paused, and asked the question that was uppermost on his mind, “What did you think of Johnny?”
“Oh my gosh! You’re right. He’s a real character,” I said. “But I can see there’s more to him than what he likes to show to the public. It’s obvious he’s a showman and loves a theatrical environment, but I’m guessing there’s a quieter, more sensitive side to him, too.”
“There is,” he said. “And I like him, but there aren’t any real sparks there. At least not yet. Tomorrow is our last day here, so I’m going to see him again and maybe get a better feel for what we’re going to do.”
We were quiet for a few minutes.
“Darby,” I said breaking the silence. “We have to talk about this. What did you make of Skinny Guy being there tonight?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It was unsettling. I’m sorry I yelled at you in the dressing room.”
“I know. I’m sorry I yelled at you, too. It was just too much. The duck walking, ripping my dress, the feather, my knees – my poor knees,” I whined. “And then seeing Skinny Guy. I was kind of over the edge.”
“You know,” he said looking over at me. “He does kind of look like a young Marlon Brando.”
I punched him on the arm, but I couldn’t help smiling.
We were quiet for the rest of the drive back to the hotel, but it was a different quiet than on the way over. We were both more nervous now about Skinny Guy than we had been before. He had followed Darby a long way tonight, and we still weren’t any closer to finding out why.