She took one last look at her room before turning out the lights and closing the door. In the hotel lobby, she bade farewell to Naomi and Henri, thanked them both for their kindness, and wished them all the best for the future. The same driver who had collected her from the airport on her arrival was waiting to take her back.
Henri watched as the Mercedes disappeared into the Paris traffic. He shrugged and shook his head before returning into the hotel. He saw Naomi alone at reception and walked over to where the young woman stood. They both nodded and raised their eyes skyward.
“What a slut,” said Naomi.
“Indeed. Typical American woman. Or so I am led to believe. They are all the same. So they tell me,” agreed Henri.
“You know, she is married?” said Naomi.
“Yes, I did. She was the competition girl. Left her poor husband at home. Poor man.”
“You know she threw up in the bathroom,” complained Naomi. “And she left a cheap tip for François,” she added indignantly.
“Filthy American,” commented Henri.
“They all are, I hear,” confirmed Naomi.
“Cheap,” said Henri.
“Nasty,” added Naomi.
“No morals,” proclaimed Henri.
“Pretty, though,” said Naomi.
“Good legs,” agreed Henri.
“As good as mine?” joked Naomi.
“Never,” said her father.
How could she have done it? How could she have been so unfaithful? What had possessed her? Tom, oh poor Tom, waiting for her, walking Shmitty, keeping fit, such a good man. How could she have been so rotten? What had she done? The more she thought about it, the more sordid and dirty she felt. And now, as her thoughts turned to Tom, she realized that it was the count’s accent and money that had attracted her, not his looks; in fact, take away the tan and the clothes, and he was really nothing special; she wouldn’t have looked twice at him at home. Her stomach felt hollow, and she was unable to drink her coffee. As they announced her flight, she vowed never to be unfaithful again and to put the whole week out of her mind. It would be her secret. She would tell nobody. She would spend the rest of her life as a devoted wife. She would cook for Tom, clean for Tom, do anything for Tom. There was no way she was going to jeopardize her marriage ever again.
As far as she was concerned, it had never happened. Only she and a couple of random people in Paris knew the truth, and Tom would never be any the wiser. She was already beginning to feel better. Her mind was made up. It would be a fresh start, and Tom wouldn’t know what hit him when she got home. She would make sure that the sex with her husband was better than it had been with the count. It had never been bad anyway, but this would be the turning point in their relationship. She smiled; things were going to be okay. She took one last look at France before boarding the plane that would take her home to Savannah.
Four hours later Billy Malphrus, Cindy’s nephew, arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport from his cheap hotel in the center of Paris. He checked in what little luggage he had and, with the few Euros he had left in his pocket, bought himself a coffee. He checked his watch and yawned. It had been a great week. They would never believe it back home; he’d bedded a model. He had never heard of her, but still she was gorgeous, and he would make a point of buying next month’s edition of Vogue to see if she were in it. It had cost him, though; all the money he was saving to visit Vienna was spent. He had paid for everything, and to keep up the pretence, he had even slipped the waiter at that bar an extra fifty Euros to pretend he was a regular and to call him “Count.” He was glad he had made up the story about having to leave on Sunday. He had simply run out of money, and there was no way, he thought, that a count would not be able to pay for a cab or even a cup of coffee.
Then again, would she have noticed? She hadn’t been the sharpest knife in the tool shed—that was for sure. She may have been rich and beautiful, but she was stupid. Billy had no doubts about that. How had she fallen for his lies? He had slipped up a few times, but she had not noticed. And what was that whole Notre Dame thing? It was worth putting up with her stupidity, though, thought Billy as he took a sip of coffee, just to have slept with her. Billy shook his head and smiled. She was just like all the others, really, totally gullible and just looking for romance. He wondered how far he could have actually pushed it before she would have gotten suspicious.
He finished his coffee and tilted the sunglasses perched on his head over his eyes. He checked his reflection in the full-length mirror next to the bar, brushed off some dust from his second-hand, navy-blue suit, and smiled. Looking good, he thought. He made his way to the security check and handed over his American passport for inspection.
The downside, he supposed, was that pretending to be Count Enrico de Cristo had been an expensive business, and he would have to scrape together more money before his next adventure. Luckily, his Aunt Cindy had said he could stay with her for a few months. Apparently, there was a chance she might be able to help him find him some odd jobs to do. There were always part-time jobs during the summer in Savannah. He had a plan, anyway, and was sure he would be back in the money sooner or later.
He was really looking forward to putting faces to the names he had heard so much about in his aunt’s regular emails: the Gordonston Dog Walkers, Elliott, Heidi, and his aunt’s new nemesis, Carla. But especially, he was looking forward to meeting Tom, the fireman who lived next door to his aunt, and his wife Kelly, who worked at the beauty counter in Macy’s.
Chapter 11
The email was brief and to the point. Doug really hadn’t expected anything more from his former employers. Quite simply, there was nothing currently available in his area because the company didn’t have much interest in that part of the United States, but should anything turn up that suited his skills and qualifications, they would contact him. The email advised him to periodically check that his company email account remained active, just in case something suitable did materialize. According to their records, the company no longer had a contact telephone number for him.
Doug sighed and closed down his laptop. He supposed it was something, though he suspected that the email had been a standard pre-drafted reply that the company probably sent out to many of its former employees looking for work in their own areas. Now that his old employer knew he was available for local work, maybe it would consider him for a position elsewhere within the United States; he didn’t mind traveling inside the country.
Katie was playing with Bern in the den, and he could hear her screams of delight echoing through the house. He peered inside the den, and his daughter waved. Bern was busy licking her face. As the dog’s tongue tickled her, the friendly German shepherd tilted his head forward, and Katie screamed excitedly. Bern was a good dog and had reacted well when Doug and Veronica had brought Katie home from the hospital. A few days before, Katie had climbed up on Bern’s back as if he were a pony, and Doug had to laugh thinking about the poor dog’s look of fear. Doug guessed that Bern also enjoyed the fact that Katie would drop food from her high chair into his mouth—at least he was getting fed more often.
Life wasn’t that bad, Doug thought. At least he had a family, and Katie was happy. He just hoped that she would be as happy in five years and then in twenty years. He patted Bern on his head gently, and Katie imitated him, slapping poor Bern around the face. Doug lifted his daughter into his arms and kissed her on the cheek.
“Be gentle with Bern,” he whispered and his daughter looked at him as if he were mad. She grunted something in baby language and then laughed out loud.
Doug hoped that she would get the best education and aspire to be anything that made her happy, but most importantly that she would have the opportunity to do whatever she wanted in life. He wanted the best for her, and though he knew he had already done a lot, he felt he could do more. Money had never been an issue before. He had always been successful a
nd had traveled and seen the world, but this was different. This was a long-term commitment, and he was filled with self-doubt.
Veronica had called earlier to say that she would be working late that night at the hospital, so he would need to prepare dinner, first for Katie and then for himself and his wife; he’d have it ready for her when she returned home. This meant a trip to the grocery store. Doug loaded up a diaper bag for Katie and filled it with water, milk, snacks, spare diapers, and baby wipes. He was becoming expert at looking after his baby. It was getting easier all the time.
Doug lifted Katie up to his chest. “Come on, Monkey Girl,” he said, Katie giggled and pointed to her chest.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Doug said. “You are the monkey girl.” He kissed her on the forehead and carried her outside to the car. Bern followed them to the door, then slumped down on the porch, disappointed that he would not be joining them on their outing. “Don’t worry, Bern,” Doug called to the dejected-looking dog. “When we get back, we’ll all go to the park, I promise.”
Doug wanted to prepare a special meal for Veronica, something easy to cook but tasty and healthy too. Disappointed that she still hadn’t shed the excess pounds caused by her pregnancy, his wife had been complaining about her weight recently, and Doug didn’t want to compound his wife’s notion that she was getting bigger by presenting her with a frozen pizza. He settled on fish—Mahi-Mahi—which he decided he would grill and serve with a salad.
“She sure is a real beauty.” Doug looked up from the fish counter to see who was complimenting his daughter, thinking he vaguely recognized the voice. “She is such a good girl. Are you shopping with Daddy? Are you going to have some fish tonight, sweet pea?” Doug smiled at the old man he saw often in the park.
“Hi,” he said. The old man pulled his gaze from Katie to look at Doug, and he smiled.
“Hi there. You not working today?” he asked. “Got a day off to look after this pretty little thing?” The old man rubbed Katie’s chin, which made her squeal with delight and kick her legs as she sat in the shopping cart seat.
“Every day is a day off for me,” Doug joked as the fish counter clerk handed over his pound of fresh Mahi-Mahi. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you without your dog,” he said as he placed the fish into his shopping cart.
“Old Chalky?” said the old man. “He’s in the car, waiting for his lunch. I ran out of his dog food, and he’s very particular.” The old man laughed. “Well, enjoy your fish,” he said, pointing to Doug’s recent purchase, and then set off toward the pet food aisle. “Bye, Katie,” he said, turning and waving. Katie raised her hand and flopped it around at the friendly old man, a smile across her face.
Elliott had not been to the Piggly Wiggly since Thelma’s death. Usually, his wife would accompany him on his grocery shopping trips—before she became bedridden at least—and it felt strange being there without her. He had decided that to avoid the many looks and glances he guessed he would receive, he would wear his old Georgia Bulldogs baseball cap. It wasn’t really an attempt at a disguise, but more that he felt he needed a little privacy. Since his announcement that he was running for mayor, he had become something of a local celebrity, and that, coupled with the recent death of his wife, caused the good people of Savannah, polite as they were, to take every opportunity to offer their condolences. There was also the chance that potential voters would take the opportunity of seeing their mayoral candidate in the store to pass on their views of how the city should be run, and Elliott wasn’t ready for that just yet.
Tom Hudd hated grocery shopping. He was out of milk, bread, coffee, sugar, and cheese, and Kelly wasn’t due back for two more days. He had never used this store before, but it was close by, and he had heard Kelly say that it was reasonably priced and far more convenient than the Publix store out on Wilmington Island.
Tom had spotted the aisle with sugar at last. “Excuse me,” he said as he barged past the old man, who seemed to be waving at a small baby. In the process, he bumped into the old man, who had not been watching where he was going. The old man wobbled a bit on his feet as Tom brushed past him, but luckily he kept his balance and carried on to the pet food aisle, shaking his head.
As Doug waited in line to pay at the checkout for his fish, plus a few other supplies he had purchased to assist in his dinner preparation, he noticed a familiar face. It was one of the ladies he saw every afternoon in the park. She was in line in the checkout lane adjacent to his. It looked as though she were planning quite a day’s work. Her shopping cart contained an abundance of cleaning supplies and products. There was something different about her, though, and Doug couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. She reached her cashier before Doug reached his, and the Englishman watched as she reloaded her cart with her newly purchased bleaches, soaps, and assorted cloths and disposable mops. As she bent forward, loading her cart with the bagged goods, Doug smiled. Now he realized what was different about her. It had obviously done the trick, if the trick was attracting a man’s attention. Doug also noticed who accompanied the older, still very attractive woman at the checkout and made a mental note to remember to tell Veronica what he had seen.
Elliott was relieved that no one had recognized him at the store. He had loaded his cart with everything he needed, and next time, he thought, he would shop in the evening, when it was quieter and there would be less chance of being seen.
Carla Zipp didn’t feel any guilt. So what? Why shouldn’t she have some fun? They weren’t children, and she was sure he had enjoyed it as much as she had. They were consenting adults, and it wasn’t like they were breaking the law. It was obvious, though, he missed his wife, and she had been hesitant at first. Maybe it was too soon? Maybe he wasn’t even interested in her. She had always liked him, from the moment she had first set on eyes on him, but he had a wife and, well, what would people say? Now his wife was gone, and she had taken a chance and thrown caution to the wind and made the first move.
It had proven lucky for her. She didn’t usually venture into the park before noon, but Walter had needed to stretch his legs and was in an unusually feisty mood. She had entered the park a few minutes before he arrived. As their dogs played, they chatted and passed small talk and pleasantries about the weather and such. She hadn’t deliberately set out to do what she had done, but she could tell he was lonely, and she had grasped the opportunity. Cooped up in that house by himself, he had needs; she knew that. When he suggested she come back to his home for maybe a “drink or something” she didn’t need to be asked twice.
The sex had not been fantastic. She hadn’t slept with another man since her husband had passed away. She enjoyed it, though, and even afterward she had no regrets. It had been inevitable. It was going to happen sooner or later, and why wait? Her operation had paid off more quickly than she could have hoped, and she considered it money well spent.
Afterward, she let him sleep, collected her things, and crept out of the house before he awoke. God forbid Cindy should see her sneaking out. Cindy, her friend, was the only regret she had. What would Cindy say if she ever found out? She would be furious, Carla knew that, and it would no doubt end their friendship and, by proxy, her friendship with Heidi. It would mean she would have to leave the Dog Walking Club, and Walter would just hate that. These possible consequences of what she had just done, though, were not worth thinking about.
Where they would go from here, Carla didn’t know. It would be complicated, and the neighborhood tongues would wag. Maybe she should do nothing and leave the ball in his court.
Cindy was beyond herself. She was frantic. She had always secretly held a torch for Elliott, even before Thelma had died. She admired not only his looks but also his demeanor and style. He was a true southern gentleman, and she worshipped the very ground he walked on. Some might not have called him good looking, but she found him attractive. Secretly, she had dreamed of one day being there for him, ever s
ince the day Thelma discovered cancer was eating away at her. Thelma had once told Cindy that if Elliott were to marry again, after her death, she hoped he would find someone like Cindy—someone kind, somebody who knew how to look after a man, a good Savannah woman.
The news that Elliott was going to run for mayor just compounded Cindy’s stress. He was hot stuff. Every divorcée and widow in Savannah would be after him now. He had a good chance of getting elected, which meant whoever snared him would be propelled into the high-profile role of mayor’s consort and wife.
She should have known that Carla Zipp would have her claws out for him. Cindy had seen the way Carla looked at Elliott, all smiles and fluttering eyelashes, as if she really cared about him. The woman hardly knew him, and Cindy knew that her so-called friend was after just one thing.
The way Carla dresses is ridiculous, Cindy thought, as she adjusted the new tight denim jeans she had just purchased. She had initially struggled with the zipper. Eventually though, after lying down on the bed and sucking in her stomach, she’d fastened the zipper and let out a deep breath. Cindy thought of the awful trouser suit Carla had worn at the funeral. It seemed as if it had been painted on her, it was that tight. Carla’s buttocks had looked simply frightful, thought Cindy—a woman of her age dressed like a tramp. And the new tops she was sporting, designed to show off her fake tits, were vile, Cindy thought. She inspected the cropped leather jacket that she had bought to complement her new jeans. It was one size too small, but that was the idea—the tighter, the better, she had heard, and besides, Kelly wore hers that way.
The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club Page 14
