Part 20 (1/2)
I decided to call Patti and let her know that it had arrived in mint shape.
She picked up on the first ring.
”So, missy?” Patti said in a sa.s.sy, merry voice. ”Just how long am I supposed to wait to hear from you? Do I need to go find a new best friend now that you're gone?”
”Don't you dare,” I said. ”I'd die.”
”I don't knoooow . . .” she said in a singsong warning.
”Oh, please,” I said. ”We can't replace each other anyway. Who're we kidding?”
”I guess you're right. So what's going on?”
”Well, first of all . . .” I told her about the piano's arrival in such perfect condition and thanked her profusely.
”Don't thank me. Thank old Ebenezer! I still can't believe he prepaid the s.h.i.+pping. But, he did take that wine.”
”And maybe because he took Addison's golf clubs and maybe he found out they're worth like half a zillion? He must have thought he owed me something.”
”Yeah, probably. I married the last man on the planet with a conscience. But you know, not a day goes by that he doesn't ask me about you and if I've heard from you and how you're doing.”
”He's really a precious guy, Patti. You're very lucky.”
”Yeah, I know. So he's a little tight with his money? You never get it all with one man.”
”Well, he has it all with you! Ha! So, when are you coming to see me?”
”How's next weekend?”
”For real?”
I got very excited then. For the month since I had arrived here my new existence had everything in it except Patti.
”Yeah, I want to see how our sweet little Alice is doing . . .”
”You're terrible,” I said.
”And the professor . . .”
”Listen, he's unbelievable.” I told her all about John and his plans for my future as a playwright but I didn't tell her about, you know, about us moving the earth.
Then she asked.
”So? Did you throw him down yet?”
”WHAT? What kind of a crazy question is that? I'm . . . speechless!”
”So, you did, huh? Wow. Tell me, what's it like to make love to somebody new? I've been with Mark for so long I can make out a grocery list in my head and still not miss a thing. So how is it?”
There was no point in withholding anything from Patti. She knew anyway.
”f.u.c.king fabulous, and the word order doesn't matter.”
”OMG! Listen to you, you old perimenopausal s.l.u.t! I'm telling!”
”Yeah? Go ahead. Tell the world! Listen, at my age? I'm going to do exactly what I want to do. Yeah, I finally am. But I wouldn't bring it up to the kids quite yet.”
”Of course not!” There was silence for a second or two and then she said, ”Well, it's about time you took your life back.”
Is that what she thought? The more I thought about it I realized she wasn't wrong.
”Well, if you meet him you'll see why I'm so, so . . .”
I could hear her gasp.
”Jesus, Cate! Are you in love with this man?”
”I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I could be at some point. Not now, of course . . .”
”Too soon . . .”
”Of course! It's too soon. But you'll see. He's . . . well, he's not like anyone else I ever dated. That's for sure. But Patti, I have to tell you, he's not divorced. I mean he's not really married, but he's not divorced.” I then proceeded to tell Patti about Lisa.
”I'm changing my ticket. I'm coming Thursday. Maybe Wednesday. This is worse than I thought.”
”Actually, you're going to find out it's better than you thought possible. You can bring Mark, too!”
”Are you losing your little cat-eyed marbles? You think I want to spend the whole time I'm with you worrying about if he's entertained? No way.”
We laughed again and I said, ”Look, get yourself down here as soon as you can. We'll talk about all of this over some good but moderately priced vino.”
”We should've switched the cellar. Mark was right.”
She promised to call me with her final reservation information. I would pick her up at the airport. She could stay in the bedroom across the hall and it would be like old times. We'd be girls again. For a few days, we'd be girls.
It was time to put the chicken in the oven. It was already four thirty and he was supposed to arrive at six. I wanted the place to smell like roasting garlic and onions when he walked in the door. I wished there was a separate dining room, but alas, there was none. So for that evening we would eat in the kitchen. The table was set and I had to say, while it wasn't something that would have thrilled Addison Cooper, I knew John Risley would appreciate every effort made on his behalf.
Earlier in the day, while I was shopping at the Piggly Wiggly for dinner, I bought a two-slice toaster, a drip coffee machine, a couple of inexpensive pots, and a cast-iron skillet. I also picked up some red and white dish towels, two red pot holders, and four red place mats. In a final nod to extravagance and in the name of beauty, I parted with ten additional dollars for a bunch of red tulips, hoping there was a vase in the house. I had checked out the flatware, dishes, and gla.s.ses and thought, well, they were good enough for a college student and they would have to be good enough for tonight. Spending money made me nervous and even though I was giving Aunt Daisy dozens of hours of help with her business we had yet to discuss a salary or any kind of compensation. After all, I was living in the Porgy House rent-free. But at some point I'd have to do it or get another job. I had to consider things like health insurance for Sara and me. It was foolhardy to be without it and I knew Addison's policies had a time limit. I'd have to ask Mark to look at all of that for us, because reading insurance policies and trying to make sense of them made my teeth hurt. I think that's a pretty normal reaction for most people.
I was just putting the plump, herb-stuffed bird in the oven and closing the door when I heard a voice.
”Anybody home?”
It was Ella.
”Hey! Come on in! I'm in the kitchen!”
”I've got your pie.”
”Pecan?”