Back Talk (14 page)

“No, but after all the JD I don’t think I should get behind the wheel.”

Hilton drove them to Saint John’s Hospital. At one o’clock in the afternoon the emergency room was relatively slow. Hilton figured that it was the middle of the day and the middle of the week.

Not exactly prime time for auto accidents, stabbings, gunshot wounds or cutting your hand off with a table saw.

As the nurse led them to an examination room forty-five minutes later, she asked, “Are you a relative?”

98

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

“Yes, Hilton’s my sister and I’m going to need her moral support.”

“All right, then. The doctor will be with you shortly.”

“That was quick on your part,” Hilton whispered.

“Aren’t we all brothers and sisters in God’s eyes? Is this like a Homoslavia issue?”

“Yes, and one of the big ones. Usually, we lie like you just did but sometimes it doesn’t work and then we run into problems.”

Anne sat on the exam table and Hilton took the chair. She hated hospitals. It always reminded her of Gran dying and the months she had spent there waiting for death to come.

The doctor came in. “So what do we have here?” He was young with dark hair and dressed in wrinkled green scrubs. He peered down at her thumbnail. “Ouch.”

“That’s what I said,” Anne replied.

“Were you drinking when you did this?” the doctor asked as he prepared a syringe.

“No, that was afterward, but I did turn down an offer to have it plucked out with a screwdriver.”

“Good choice. This is going to prick a bit. It’s a shot of Novocain just to numb it up.”

“I think that’s a marvelous idea.”

Hilton’s cell phone went off. It was Liz frantically yelling, “Tell me those flyers I saw on the way home weren’t for our bear.”

Hilton took a deep breath. “Liz, it’s all right. Jessie is on her way home and I’ll be there as soon as we get the staple removed from Anne’s thumb.”

“Oh, my, is she all right?”

Hilton looked over at Anne, who smiled at her weakly. “Not exactly, but she’s got balls.”

Hilton turned away when the doctor took out a pair of what looked like pliers and prepared to yank. She took another deep breath.

“Are you all right?” Liz asked.

“I’m not good at this kind of stuff.”

99

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

“She lost the bear, right?”

“Yes, at the park. We put up flyers everywhere around there.

Liz, we’ll find the bear. Get out the good brandy and a box of Excaliber cigars and start taking her mind off the bear.”

“Why brandy and cigars?”

“It artificially induces dopamine into the system. It makes you feel better.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Neither did I until I read it in a magazine in the waiting room.”

“Hilton?”

“Yes.”

“Is Melissa going to hate me?”

“No, she’s going to be extremely angry with Jessie. You’re going to be her shoulder to cry on, her port in the storm, her staff of moral support …”

“Stop. One more cliche and I’ll puke.”

“Sorry. We’ll be home soon.” Hilton looked over at Anne, who was having her thumb bandaged up.

“Hilton, what happened to the house?”

“Ask Jessie.”

100

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

Hilton and Anne finally got to the house about five-thirty.

They had to stop and get gauze, tape and Anne’s prescription for antibiotics filled. Hilton guided them through the back door knowing that the living room was most likely quite busy. Veronica was in the kitchen making a cheese and cracker platter that looked like something straight out of Martha Stewart’s magazine. Hilton noticed she’d changed from her office attire to tight black pants and a green and blue paisley ruffled blouse. Her long brown hair hung down her back and swirled around her firm breasts. She was actually beautiful in that haute couture way, Hilton thought.

Veronica looked up from her work. “How’s the thumb?”

Anne held it up. “The doctor says I’ll get to keep the thumb and lose the nail. I can handle that. I’ve got to keep in wrapped and in this splint for a few days to protect it.”

Hilton peeked around the corner into the living room, where she could hear Melissa crying. Liz was sitting next to her, holding 101

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

her hand and looking empathetic. Jessie was prostrate before her, sitting crouched on the floor, most likely promising things she couldn’t deliver. This was only the second time she’d seen Melissa.

The night at the party she’d only noticed that she was petite and blond. Now Hilton took a harder look. Melissa had a pretty face with a slightly upturned nose and dark brown eyes. She looked exactly like the Barbie doll’s friend Skipper. It was a pity that losing the bear was probably going to remove her from their lives.

Jessie got up and came in the kitchen. She handed Anne a cigar and a brandy, which had been sitting on the counter. “It’s not going over well,” she said.

“Give her a minute,” Hilton said hopefully. She noticed that Jessie had also changed. She was wearing jeans and a tight white T-shirt that showed off her well-defined shoulders and firm abdomen. She picked up one of the radishes off the tray Veronica was preparing. It looked like a tiny red chicken complete with wings and a little beak. “I’ve never actually known anyone who could do that,” she said, pointing at the radishes.

Veronica smiled. “It’s quite simple actually. When I’m nervous I do things like this.”

“You’re so thoughtful,” Jessie said as she touched Veronica’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to be part of the problem. I want to help solve it.”

Anne was in the process of lighting her cigar and started to choke. At first, Hilton though she was being facetious about Veronica’s comment but then concluded that Anne had no idea what she was doing. Melissa and Liz came into the room.

“I did the same thing,” Melissa said. She smiled weakly and Liz squeezed her hand.

“The guys make it look so easy,” Anne said, gesturing with the cigar.

“You have to suck slowly and hold the smoke in your mouth and then exhale,” Jessie said. She lit her own with absolute finesse.

“I’ll try it again if you will,” Anne said to Melissa.

102

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

“Okay,” Melissa said. She took a cigar from the box on the kitchen counter.

Both she and Anne sucked slowly and didn’t inhale this time, and both executed a near-perfect display of cigar smoking.

“Awesome,” Jessie said.

Hilton took this time to sneak into the living room and check out the new stuff. The mangy cloth sofa had been replaced with a chic brown leather one with a matching chair and ottoman. A flat-screen television replaced the old set. One wall of the living room now housed a cherry wood entertainment center complete with a state-of-the-art stereo system. The wood floor had been scrubbed clean and almost looked shiny, and a beautiful red rug with strate-gically placed different colored geometric circles was placed in the middle of the room.

“It’s Peruvian,” Jessie said. “But it was on sale. It’s handwoven and helps the economy of the native people. Something about an art co-op thing. I don’t know. I just thought it was a cool rug.”

“Nice, Jessie. I had no idea you had such good taste,” Hilton said.

“I have taste, just no cash to go with it. You really don’t mind?”

“No. I have cash and no taste. Maybe you could fix up the place.” Hilton gave her a hug. “Thanks, Jessie.” She was beginning to feel better about Nat being gone. “Maybe we should paint too,”

she mused, staring at the dingy white walls. The ceiling in the living room had a water stain from a plumbing problem upstairs.

“And fix the plumbing,” Jessie suggested.

“Now that no one will sleep with the plumber,” Hilton replied.

“How about a new fridge?” Liz said as she came into the room followed by Melissa, Anne and Veronica.

“One that doesn’t leak,” Hilton replied.

“Exactly. No more bailing out the produce crisper,” Liz said.

She flounced down on the couch and Melissa snuggled up next to her.

“What a concept,” Hilton said.

103

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

“Are you feeling better about the changes in your life?” Liz asked her.

Hilton took a sip of her brandy, surveyed the room again and nodded. “I do believe I am. If we change some things around I might actually forget about her.”

Jessie gave her a look that said, “Not in this lifetime.”

“I can dream,” Hilton said.

“Hilton’s girlfriend dumped her for this biker chick,” Jessie explained to the others. “I mean, the chick is hot but she doesn’t hold a candle to Hilton.”

“Jessie!” Liz reprimanded.

“I’m only telling it like it is,” Jessie said. She sat down cross-legged on the rug. Anne took the chair and Hilton sat down next to Melissa on the couch. Veronica sat primly on the ottoman.

“Hilton, I’m so sorry. I know just how you must feel,” Melissa said. She patted Hilton’s thigh sympathetically.

In that moment Hilton knew Melissa would be all right and that she was the best thing that ever could have happened to Liz.

“Thanks, Melissa.”

“You’re right, though, if you change things it reminds you less,”

Melissa said. She took Liz’s hand and smiled at her benevolently.

“Liz is helping me forget.”

“Oh, hey, Hilton, I forgot to show you the best part,” Jessie said as she jumped up. She flipped on the stereo. “I got us XM satellite radio and get this, it’s got a salsa station.” She found the station and grabbed Veronica.

Veronica, Hilton, Jessie and Liz knew how to dance.

“Why it that?” Anne asked as the four of them danced together.

“Jessie dated a salsa instructor for about a month and we all got free lessons,” Liz said.

“Who’d you date?” Veronica asked as she and Jessie swayed in perfect time to the music.

“Chichita Alvarez,” Jessie said.

“So did I,” Veronica said. “She was hot.”

104

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

“But crazy and possessive,” Jessie added.

Anne looked at Hilton inquiringly. “No, we don’t all date the same people and yes, I’m going to teach you how,” Hilton replied.

Liz took Melissa’s hand and led her out on the floor. Jessie turned the music up a notch higher and soon Melissa and Liz were getting it together.

“You know I’m rhythmically impaired,” Anne said, following Hilton to an empty area in the corner of the room.

“This is different than freestyle dance. There are prescribed moves,” Hilton said. She placed her hands on Anne’s hips as professionally as she could muster, but she couldn’t help but feel their closeness acutely. She studied Anne’s face for a moment.

“Have I ever told you that I have the best time with you?” Anne said.

“Am I really that entertaining?”

“Or are my other friends that boring? Oh, yeah, they’re all married with two-point-five children and bitchy.”

Hilton laughed. “Come on, let me show you the moves.”

After about three songs Anne and Melissa had the rudimentary parts down, not that they’d win a salsa competition but that didn’t deter from the level of fun they were all having. Hilton looked over to see Melissa smiling and giggling as Liz moved her around, and Anne was making a pretty good partner. She’d only stepped on Hilton’s foot twice and tripped them both once.

“We need margaritas,” Veronica said with a laugh.

“Yes!” Jessie replied. They headed off to the kitchen.

They returned shortly with a pitcher of margaritas and the evening was off to a fine start. Hilton knew the lost bear was still in the back of everyone’s mind, but music and fun had a lot of mileage on the road to distraction.

Hours later, Hilton and Anne sat on the back porch steps cooling off. The sky was clear and the yard almost looked well-105

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

trimmed in the light of the quarter moon. Much of the deciduous flora had shed its summer leaves, giving a false sense of neatness to the landscaping.

“Good God, I bet I burned off five thousand calories, despite the cheese platter, the nachos and the margaritas,” Anne said. She lit her cigar. “I think I’m getting the hang of these.”

“I think you are, and about the calories, have you ever seen a fat salsa dancer?”

Anne laughed. “Uh, no. Hey, what’s that over there?” she said, pointing into the dimness.

“It’s the cottage. I think it was the servants’ quarters at one time. It’s my bedroom now.”

“But I thought you slept in the attic.”

“What did you think that I slept in the middle of the skate bowl?”

“Is that what that thing is?”

“Yeah, I bought it off this guy for five hundred bucks. We took it apart and then reassembled it in the attic. I love to skateboard but the parks are so crowded with kids who look at you funny now that you’re old in their eyes. So I made my own.”

“You are the only skateboarder I know that’s over twelve.”

“See.”

“This is a great house.” Anne looked up at the third story.

“It needs some work, and now that Nat’s gone along with her destructive entourage we can fix it up. You want to see the cottage?”

“Sure.”

Shannon was inside sleeping on the bed. She licked Anne’s hand and curled up. “Had a long day, girl?” Hilton said.

The cottage looked suspiciously clean. Jessie’s Merry Maids must have made a swoop through the cottage as well. All her records were neatly stacked and everything looked dusted. The carpet had definitely been vacuumed.

“This is cute,” Anne said. She sat down on the water bed.

“Whoa!”

106

All content of this eBook is copyrighted.

Shannon opened an eye and sighed heavily. She was obviously perturbed.

“Sorry about that. I haven’t sat on one of these in forever.”

Anne looked around the room some more. “Quite the record collection.”

“It’s another one of my passions.”