Doorstep daddy (20 page)

_{The front door opened.}

_{They pulled apart. Richard cursed under his breath as Mark ran into the room. He didn't begrudge his nephew's presence. He just begrudged the interruption.}

_{Mark's solid little body was bundled in a hat and jacket, but he brought the brisk air in with him as he flung himself at Richard and Callie.}

_{"Bird fly!" Mark said happily. "Bird fly to Grandma's!"}

_{"Better them than me," Richard said, after figuring out that Mark meant the geese flying south, probably to Florida. Amanda and Joey must have explained migration to the child.}

_{"You look better, Aunt Callie," Joey said.}

_{"I feel a lot better," Callie replied. "How's your mother? Is it safe to get within a hundred yards of her? Or will she take me out?"}

_{Joey looked heavenward. "I'd stay here for a while longer, Aunt Callie."}

_{"Thanks for the warning."}

_{Richard stared at his niece, looking for signs that Amanda had joined the gas-station club. Her cheeks were rosy, but that could have been from the cold November day. Her eyes were a limpid brown, but then, they were always that way. Her lips did not look freshly kissed. Now
that
was good, he thought, relieved.}

_{Joey looked charmingly gawky, not knowingly mature. Not trying to play doctor because he wanted to grow up to be one.}

_{Then Richard wondered if one could tell. The idea of a chastity belt looked better and better. For Pete's sake, he thought, disgusted with himself. He was worrying for nothing. He had to be. Amanda and Joey were only kids. At thirteen he hadn't had enough nerve to hold a girl's hand in private, let alone in public. Joey shouldn't be any different - except for the evidence of Fast Uncle Tommy.}

_{"Can I stick my head in the sand on this one?" he asked seriously.}

_{Callie looked amused as she shook her head. 'Nope. You've got to hang in there with it."}

_{She could have been talking about herself, for she certainly tried hard to stick her head in the sand about their relationship. Being sick had its advantages; they hadn't been able to ignore each other and indulge hurt feelings. Instead, they'd been with each other. Not in a sexual way, but it helped. And maybe it was better.}

_{Richard's brain took a right turn and he wondered if
he should encourage her to hang in there with him. Maybe if she could see that a relationship between them was no threat to her needs, she would be open to him.}

_{He spotted an article of interest in the newspaper section she currently held. In fact, the piece seemed to leap off the page to get his attention.}

_{Richard pointed to the article. "See that? There, on the society page? That's Marcia Ortega. She's a local, a bank vice president who just got appointed the Philadelphia consul for Argentina."}

_{"I take it you know her?" Callie asked, looking at the picture of the older woman.}

_{"Sure. We all know one another. She's at the docks more than the airport. That's how Argentina ships most of their fruit to the States. She was vice consul for Chile for three years before the new hitch."}

_{"How'd she get the Argentine post if she's from Chile?"}

_{Richard grinned. "She's not from Chile. She's from Chester, Pennsylvania. Her mother's Chilean and her dad's Argentinean. Family connections are as good as telephone-system donations. There's a ball being held in her honor next week. Would you like to go with me?"}

_{"Me?" Callie's eyes widened at the invitation.}

_{Richard laughed. He hadn't planned on going, but the spur-of-the-moment idea had taken fruit. He pardoned himself for the pun. But he liked seeing the usually unruffled Callie look surprised as hell. He felt in control. "Yes, you. It's formal, very fancy, but lots of fun. We do it up right, trust me. And you and I deserve it. After the drudge of the flu, we need a break. This'11 be a great one."}

_{"Who'll watch the kids?" she asked. "Or will we take them?"}

_{"Hell, no!" He shuddered at the thought of Jason and Mark in formal surroundings. Slyly he said, "I'll ask your sister Gerri to baby-sit."}

_{Callie burst into laughter. "Fd love to see that."}

_{"Then say yes and watch me."}

_{"But I don't have anything formal to wear." She paused. "Well, I've got a couple of awful bridesmaid dresses. I refuse to wear them."}

_{She was obviously very tempted to accept. That was good. Richard replied with logic, "Borrow a dress. Or rent one. No one will know but me, and I'm renting my tux. Since that's settled, you're going."}

_{"Is that a statement or a question?" she asked, eyeing him narrowly.}

_{"A question if you want. A statement if you need the push. I am a diplomat, after all."}

_{She snorted. "You're the fruit guy, Richard. I know, because I was the fruit girl for you."}

_{"Sounds kinky, so it works for me. We'll go and be fruity together." He held out his hand. "Pass over the sports section. I want to see the individual matchups for the Eagles-Cowboys game today."}

_{"Philadelphia fan?"}

_"Dallas."

_{She passed the section he requested, whacking him over the head with it as she did. "I'm an Eagles fan, you crumb."}

_{"Love those signs of affection," he murmured.}

_{"I
've forgiven you
," Callie said to her sister, breezing into Gerri's house on her way home from class Tuesday night. "Now, do you have a formal I can borrow?" "Wh-what?" Gerri squawked.}

_{Callie smiled sweetly at her sister. "I said I forgive you."}

_{"You were sick all over my shoes!" Gerri yelped. "Then you can forgive me, and we're even," Callie told her. She'd said yes to the ball, and now Cinderella needed a dress. Gerri had a number of dresses for formal occasions. Callie would humble herself only so far to get one - but she'd humble herself enough. Better to let each other's rude behavior pass.}

_{"My shoes were ruined!" Gerri said. Clearly letting things pass was a foreign concept to Gerri. "And you've been living over there, haven't you? My neighbors have noticed. Callie, how could you?"}

_{"I was
baby-sitting
while he took a soccer player home to Indonesia," Callie replied, now not inclined to allow anything to pass. "Then he got sick, and I got sick. We're
friends"
She skipped their lapse into intimacy and focused on where the relationship needed to be. "It's no big deal - although if you thought it was, you should have taken me into your house while I was sick. I don't believe I heard any offer from you to do so, but maybe I was too out of it and missed it"}

_{Gerri's expression grew less outraged and more furtive. "I was busy with the children, always running with their activities. It's never ending, Callie, but you wouldn't know that. You should have been at Mom's or something. Not Richard Holiday's."}

_{"You know Mom has a heart condition, and she can't afford to get ill. She certainly hasn't the strength to care for someone."}

_{Gerri would never change, Callie thought. Her sister would always be critical of others while being the "not me" girl about the same thing.}

_{"What do you need a formal for?" Gerri asked, turn
ing the conversation elsewhere now that she was on the defensive.}

_{Callie smiled, knowing this would be good. "Richard's asked me to a diplomats' ball."}

_{"What!" Gerri's eyes bulged with astonishment. Then her face hardened. "You didn't wheedle the invitation out of him while you were there, did you?"}

_{Callie froze for one long moment at the insult. Then she moved close to Gerri, practically leaning into her, forcing Gerri to step back in intimidation. Callie said, "It's lucky you're my sister, otherwise you'd be wishing you'd never said that. Now stop being a self-centered idiot and let me borrow a dress."}

_{"I didn't mean to insult you," Gerri said, recovering a Utile dignity. "It's just that Richard Holiday is an important man. I'm sure he has a lot of beautiful women throwing themselves at him. I don't want to see you hurt. I just didn't word my concerns right."}

_{Gerri hadn't worded this any better, Callie thought, toying with the idea of rubbing her sister's nose in the potted tree. She couldn't have implied in clearer fashion that she thought Callie wasn't good enough for Richard. However, Gerri was right in one respect: Callie was hurt. But by someone in her own family, not Richard. Following Gerri upstairs, she murmured, ' 'I should have rented a dress."}

_{Fortunately revenge worked its subtle way - in Gerri's dress going to the diplomats' ball with Callie's body in it. Cinderella had never had it so good. Callie would deal with Gerri later.}

_{Cinderella was downright cheated by having to leave at midnight, Callie acknowledged as she walked into the ballroom at the Wyndam-Franklin Plaza Hotel in downtown Philadelphia. Callie had no such restrictions. She
held her breath against the joy in her heart as she looked on in wonder.}

_{Crystal chandeliers hung like glorious stalactites from the tall ceilings, their light illuminating the gold brocade wallpaper. A small string orchestra played on an elevated stage that was decorated in autumn mums and carnations. Men wore tuxes and women glittered in jewels and floor-length silks.}

_{And I'm one of them,
Callie thought in awe as she held Richard's elbow with one hand and surreptitiously nudged up the strapless bodice of her hunter green chiffon gown with the other. It figured that Gerri was bigger in the bust than she.}

_{"This beats the airport warehouse, doesn't it?" Richard said, leaning over to whisper in her ear.}

_{She chuckled. "This is fairyland. How often do you do this?"}

_{' 'When someone gets promoted or appointed. It gives us a great excuse to party in a pale mirror of the Washington-corps balls."}

_{"This miiTor's bright enough for me," she said. "If it was any brighter, I'd be blind as a bat."}

_{Richard laughed. He looked terrific in a tux. Certainly he looked a world away from the harried Batman she'd met a few short weeks ago. Tonight the kids had been left in Gerri's care. Gerri would complain later, but she hadn't said no to Richard. Cailie would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Richard had asked her sister to baby-sit.}

_{She'd almost wished that the kids would get the flu bug on Gerri, but that was truly unfair. So far none of them had, and Jay, beyond a nimbly belly, had had nothing more than a candy gut last week. She'd even caught up with her work and her school classes and so was free
as a bird tonight to enjoy herself. She intended to do it in a big way.}

_{A part of her brain warned her this night would be dangerous for her. It was the kind of evening that caused women to fall in love. She'd have to be careful, very careful, to keep her emotions in check.}

_{"Do you think your sister will ever forgive me for getting her to baby-sit?" Richard asked with a chuckle.}

_{"You're the star of the neighborhood. How could she say no?" Callie smiled. "Knowing Gerri, she'll be thrilled that you asked her and not another neighbor. And here I thought you were only kidding."}

_{"I never kid," he said. "Let's dance."}

_{The ball lost a little of its glamorous luster as everyone gyrated to a string version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." But Callie felt a little more down-to-earth and that was good. She'd been feeling rather overwhelmed by the affair.}

_{"Callie, this is the consul for Panama, Ira Gorstein," Richard said, waving to the gentleman boogying next to them. "Ira, this is Callie Rossovich."}

_{Callie shook hands, then the man spun her around in a circle.}

_{"Beautiful," he said in a pure Philadelphia accent. He could have been from the old neighborhood.
"Boo-tee-jull!"}

_{When she was back with Richard, and Ira had moved off to boogie in a different direction, she commented, "He's got business connections to Panama, right?"}