Significant Others

by Baron, Marilyn

  “Do you remember anything about last night?” I asked.

  Dee Dee pressed her hand to the back of her head and winced. “I remember saying goodbye to Max, and then I walked outside, over to my tree and—well, the part after that is just a blur. I must have tripped on a branch in the dark and hit the back of my head on a tree root. I guess everyone at Millennium Gardens is talking about this. The silly old woman wandering about in the dark, tripping over dead tree branches.”

  “They’re hardly saying that,” I corrected. “And you didn’t trip, Dee Dee. You were knocked out. The doctor thinks someone hit you over the head with a flashlight or some other blunt object.”

  “Who would want to do that?”

  “The police are investigating, and I’m helping them. You’ve been getting those Seniors Against Sin flyers. I’m afraid your ‘accident’ might have something to do with that group. Did you notice anyone following you last night?”

  “Well, I might have heard some leaves rustling, but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought it might be a stray cat.”

  “Hmmph,” I groused. “There, uh, was a lot of blood and, well, you were unconscious for we don’t know how long.”

  Dee Dee sat up, alarmed. “Unconscious?”

  I pressed her forehead down and eased her head back onto the pillow.

  “No sudden movements,” I cautioned. “You’re fine now, but Donny and I were a little shaken when we first saw you. If we hadn’t come along, who knows what would have happened.”

  When my cell phone rang, I turned to Dee Dee. “Do you mind? I’ve been expecting this call.” Dee Dee shook her head.

  I stayed on for several minutes, grunting throughout the conversation.

  “Just as I suspected,” I said, pocketing my cell phone and taking Dee Dee’s hands. “We got the results of the print I found on that flyer on your door. It’s a match to Charlotte Simms, or Cher, as you call her. Only her name isn’t Charlotte Simms. That’s an alias. She has a list of priors a mile long. The woman is not only a vamp. She’s a con artist. Those flyers started appearing when she came back in town. The police are going to bring her in for questioning.”

  “Oh, my, Daniel. I don’t like that woman, but I never thought she could do something like that.”

  “Oh, she’s capable of that and a lot worse,” I assured her. “In fact, the police think she might have been involved in that couple’s death in your building last week. Some kind of love triangle gone wrong. But don’t worry. I’m not going to let you out of my sight until we have enough proof to charge her.”

  I rubbed Dee Dee’s hands. “But enough about that. I’m here to take you home. Your kids were here all night, and I finally met Barbara. She’s quite a woman. She really had the doctor running scared. The first thing she did was announce that she was an attorney and that nothing better happen to her mother-in-law while she was under his care.”

  “But Barbara’s a divorce attorney,” Dee Dee said.

  “Doesn’t mean she couldn’t separate him from his assets. I’m just grateful she was here. You got the best of care, let me tell you. And your son-in-law Marc, he was a big help too. When I convinced the family you were okay, they went back to the apartment to start packing your things. They want to take you back to Atlanta today. The doctor said it would be okay for you to travel. Hannah wanted to come, but she stayed at the hotel with the kids—my grandkids.” I couldn’t help beaming. “Our son, he was ordering everyone around, making sure you had everything you needed. I think he would have carried you to the hospital himself if I’d let him. He’s very single-minded. I wonder who he takes after?”

  “His father, no doubt,” Dee Dee said, her eyes twinkling. “Daniel, I know we have to talk about—”

  “That can wait till I get you out of this place. You had us all pretty worried. They did X-rays, all kinds of tests. You had to have some stitches. You’ve got a bandage up here.” I touched the affected spot on her head gingerly, but she drew back in pain. “We’ll have to keep a close eye on you. You have a lot of friends at the complex who are worried about you. Your sister was here most of the night. I had to forcibly remove her from the room and send her home to get some rest. She called this morning, and apparently we’re the big topic of conversation over the breakfast tables and in the clubhouse.”

  “There’s probably going to be a big spread about us in the Millennium Gardens Gazette,” Dee Dee joked.

  “It’s already slated for the front page.” I grinned.

  “I’m just glad I’ll be gone by then. I don’t think I like being in the spotlight.”

  I looked at her.

  “Did you mean what you just said? You’ll be glad to be gone? What about me, us?”

  “Daniel, I—”

  I sighed.

  “Do you remember me kissing you last night?” I asked softly. “When you passed out, I did everything I could think of to try and wake you up.”

  “You mean like Sleeping Beauty?”

  “I guess I’m no Prince Charming.”

  Dee Dee took my hand and tears glistened in her eyes.

  “You’re my hero,” she said softly.

  That wasn’t a commitment, but it was something. Now was not the time to pressure her, but time was running out for us. I could see it in her eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen: Second Chances

  “I wanted you to see my tree, in the daylight,” I said, “before all the leaves start growing back. Somehow I think this tree had something to do with bringing you back to me.” The morning light streamed over the golf course and illuminated the live oak tree.

  Daniel examined the tree, which was still bare where the face was exposed. He didn’t laugh or question my sanity. He just nodded. It was exactly the right reaction.

  “But we’re not all the way back, are we?” he asked, bringing my hand to his lips and holding it there. “Have you definitely made up your mind to go to Atlanta? Is there anything I can do to change it?”

  “I appreciate you finding me and getting me to the hospital. I’ll always be grateful.”

  Daniel swung my hand down but continued to hold it.

  “I don’t want your gratitude, I want your love,” Daniel said sullenly, then he shrugged. “Thank God Donny and I got to you in time.”

  “You know, I’m just so happy to be alive and here with you,” I said.

  Daniel looked at me nervously.

  “We never did get to have our talk,” he remarked.

  “I know,” I said softly, loving the feel of his fingers twined around mine. “Last night everything was so fuzzy, and I just couldn’t focus on anything else. I was so tired.”

  “Donny and I stayed up all night talking while you were asleep,” Daniel said.

  “Did you resolve anything?”

  “No. We both have more questions. But we were so grateful you are okay, and we were so happy to have found each other that it overshadowed everything. We don’t blame you, you know. We love you too much for that.”

  “You’d have every right to,” I said. “I should have had more faith in our love. I should have stood my ground and stayed in Pittsburgh, no matter what my mother said.”

  “You didn’t even know I was alive.”

  “About that, I did finally know, the night before my wedding,” I admitted, biting my bottom lip.

  Daniel looked at me with an inscrutable expression.

  “My friend came to the wedding, from Pittsburgh, and she said you were looking for me, but it was too late by then,” I rushed to explain. “And when my friend told me about the other woman who was with you, I figured you and she were—”

  “Natalie was already pregnant by then,” Daniel acknowledged, guilt etched in his eyes, “only I didn’t know it. I’m sorry. I was at fault for letting that happen. But I had given up hope too. And I wouldn’t have left her after she told me. But you have no idea how much I wished it were your child, our child.”

  “You never knew I had our child. That wasn�
�t fair to you or to Donny. And I wouldn’t blame either of you for hating me. For cheating you out of your life together.”

  “You did the only thing you could have. Your mother was the only one at fault here. But Stanley Palladino gave you and Donny a good life. I’m grateful to him for raising my boy. He did a fine job.”

  “He did. He was a decent man, and I couldn’t do that to him, run away the night before our wedding. And I didn’t know if you still wanted me. I wish you had known Stan. He had the biggest heart. He welcomed us into his life and swept us all up in the force of his excitement and love. The Palladino brand of persistence was hard to resist. Once Stan made a decision, there was no stopping him. I’m not sure he would have let me walk away.”

  Daniel turned serious.

  “I never stopped loving you, you know,” Daniel whispered.

  “And I never stopped loving you,” I echoed. “Circumstances kept us apart.”

  “Hush. You mustn’t worry about it. I don’t want to waste our last precious minutes alone together.”

  Last minutes. Oh, dear. How can I let this happen? How can I let him get away again? But there’s the business and my children to consider. It was at that very moment that I knew I had made the right decision.

  “I don’t think they’ll go through with the deal without me. I can’t destroy my children’s legacy. I have to go back to Atlanta.”

  “I’m not going to let you get away again,” Daniel said. “I lost you once and I’m not going to lose you again. If you truly decide to stay in Atlanta, I’m going to follow you. Don’t you understand that’s what being in love means? It means I can’t live without you. I don’t want to.”

  “That’s a beautiful sentiment, Daniel,” I said. “But your life and your home are here. Your son and his family are here.”

  “My other son, you mean,” Daniel said. “Dee Dee, don’t you know that you’re my life now, my family? My home is where you are. I have nothing left here but memories. We can make a new life, new memories, together. I want to be near my first son and my grandson, Jackson, and the twins.”

  “Hayden and Taylor,” I said. “The girls are adorable. Jackson is a bruiser. He’s going to take after his father and his grandfather.”

  “I can’t wait to meet the girls this afternoon when we all have lunch at my son’s house. And then I’m afraid Honey and Donny are going to insist that you get on the road.”

  “How did Barry react when you told him you have a son by another woman? What must he think of me?”

  “I explained the whole story and he can’t wait to meet his new family. All of you. And he’ll welcome you because he’ll see how happy you’ve made me.”

  “What about your dream of opening a detective agency at Millennium Gardens?”

  “Dreams can change.”

  “But you told me you have a project,” I protested.

  “Yes, remember Hank Adams, the man we met at your sister’s party, the Vice President of the Millennium Gardens Boca Raton Community Center? He’s responsible for security, and he hired me to look into those Seniors Against Sin flyers. I’m very excited about it, even if it doesn’t pay much. Normally they’d have had their security contractor look into it, but they wanted to keep it quiet. That kind of thing isn’t good for sales. We may have gotten to the bottom of that little problem, but I’m hoping it will lead to more work around here.”

  “Yes, Millennium Gardens is just a hotbed of crime and sin.” I blushed.

  “The pheromones are running rampant around here, that’s for sure,” Daniel agreed, waggling his eyebrows. “Everyone is either having sex or thinking about having sex or wishing they were able to have sex. Present company included. In fact, I think I feel my pheromones beginning to kick up.”

  “The biological clocks are certainly ticking,” I said. “People just want to find love and happiness for whatever amount of time they have left in life.”

  “That’s exactly my point, Dorothy. I want to spend forever, or what’s left of the rest of my life, with you.”

  I sighed. It was hard to think in terms of forever anymore. At Millennium Gardens, forever was a relative term. My son tended to see life in sports metaphors. As Donny might have said, I was at the bottom of the ninth or at best, in the seventh-inning stretch, heading for that big dugout in the sky. I didn’t know what was waiting for me out there, but I did know that at that very minute I was right where I wanted to be.

  “This is so much to process,” I said, clasping and unclasping my hands nervously. “There are so many complications. We’ve only just met again. And things are moving so quickly. How do we know we can build a life together? How can you be so sure?”

  “How can you be so sure we can’t? It’s Christmas. I believe in miracles, and I think this is our miracle. Maybe it’s fate, but I think maybe God had a plan for us. I don’t know how it happened or why it happened or how we found our way back to each other, but are you willing to squander this gift?”

  I looked at my tree. Tiny leaves were already beginning to hide the face. By next spring it would no longer be visible. I was afraid I’d never see it again. Afraid I might forget it. My memory wasn’t what it used to be. But I remembered Daniel and all the feelings he stirred up inside of me. I searched my heart, and I couldn’t hide from the love that was there.

  “There’s so much to do,” I explained. “Stan is still living in my house—I mean, his things. I haven’t removed them.”

  “You must have been in my closet when you looked for the letters. So you’ve seen that Natalie’s things are still there, too. I don’t want to betray her memory, either.”

  “She gave you permission,” I pointed out. “Permission to find me.”

  Daniel touched the trunk of the tree.

  “I think this is a strong sign that we have to move forward, not forget or erase the past and the wonderful memories we’ve shared with others, but to build a new future on the memories we started so long ago. The way I see it, we’re lucky. How many people get this kind of chance to start over?”

  “You’d be taking on a lot,” I said. “Are you prepared for that?”

  “Dee Dee, I just can’t imagine my life without you in it. I’ve never felt so sure about anything before. I’m a pretty persistent fellow too. I’m prepared to fight for you, do whatever it takes for us to be together.”

  “As your significant other?”

  Daniel laughed.

  “No, there’ll be no sneaking around back and forth to each other’s condos. If we’re going to be together, then we’re going to be together all the way. I won’t settle for anything less than you as my wife.”

  I looked down at the ring I had retrieved from Daniel’s last letter. It was still on my finger. He wrapped his hand around mine.

  “I guess we’re already engaged.” I laughed.

  “Well, as soon as we get to Atlanta, I’m going to buy you a diamond that’s worthy of you.”

  “I want to keep this one,” I protested, unable to stem the tears of regret. “The one I should have had. I want the life I should have had with you.”

  “I know,” Daniel said softly. “I can’t bring back that life, that time again. And we wouldn’t want to. You wouldn’t have Honey and I wouldn’t have Barry. But we’re together now, and I’m ready to start a new life with you. I really don’t care where we live. By the way, I got you a Christmas, uh, Hanukkah present,” he said, smiling. Daniel reached into his jacket pocket and handed me an envelope.

  “You didn’t have to do that. I didn’t have time to get you anything.”

  “You’re my Christmas present,” he said solemnly.

  I tore open the envelope eagerly. “Daniel, these are cruise tickets.”

  “I know,” he said, his green eyes twinkling again. “A two-week New Year’s cruise to the Caribbean. But don’t expect to see too much scenery. We won’t be leaving our cabin.”

  “But I can’t leave now. The merger, there’s so much to do. Two weeks away
is too long in my business.”

  “This is going to be our honeymoon cruise. Our needs have to take precedence. And we have a lot of time to make up for. The business will wait. I have a feeling everything will work out. I’ve already cleared it with your kids. You were going to go on a cruise with Max, weren’t you?”

  “I don’t think I really intended to go through with that.”

  “That’s because Max is not the love of your life.”

  I turned to Daniel, and he took me into his arms and kissed me with familiar tenderness. I didn’t want to live my life without this man. That was one thing I was sure about.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” I agreed. “But what about your new job? You have a lot to investigate.”

  “The police are handling that,” Daniel said. “That can wait, but we can’t. Let’s tell the kids. We have a lot to celebrate this year.”

  Chapter Nineteen: The Most Important Things

  It was Christmas Day, my birthday. But as usual, no one had acknowledged it. Hannah and I were lying on the couch at Mom’s condo, our heads resting on the armrest at either end, our feet touching, nestled under a warm cashmere throw, reading our respective novels. It felt so good not to be on the phone or working. I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually read a book. My brain had truly been on overload. Now that I was not moving at warp speed, I could see how hard I’d been pushing myself.

  How often had I just relaxed like this? All my problems and pressures were receding, literally seeping out of my head. The absence of deadlines was glorious. I felt bone lazy and languorous, and it felt wonderful. I was truly enjoying the slower pace of life here. Millennium Gardens had worked its magical spell on me.

  We were all packed. Donny and Barbara were going to swing by later and load everything into their rented SUV. I had been expecting Marc to stop by and at least wish me Happy Birthday, but he hadn’t. Maybe he had reconsidered wanting to reconcile. Maybe I was just too much work. Or maybe I just worked too much. What Marc did was wrong, lying to me about his job and bringing Trisha into our home, but I realized with a sudden clarity that I had all but ignored him since my father’s death—and way before that. I was all consumed with Palladino Properties and hadn’t saved enough time for my own husband. Last night, we’d had a nice family dinner, and when Donny called to tell me Mom was in the hospital, he was a godsend. At the end of the night, however, at my insistence, Marc had gone back to his hotel room. Hannah and I stayed at my Mom’s condo.