by Anna Burke
Her drive to Sara’s house in Cathedral City was short and uneventful. By the time she pulled up to curb the sun had started to relent for the day. The wonderful golden glow that sets in late afternoons and early evenings had spread over everything. It was only one of the beautiful displays of light that made the desert so enticing. The play of light cast shadows that changed daily, creating a varied palette of colors in the mountains and surrounding desert that eluded capture by even the most adept plein air artists. Perhaps the reason they flocked to the area year after year, trying to capture the desert’s beauty on canvas.
Jessica stepped out of the car and removed her sunglasses for a couple minutes to absorb the golden glow. She could have put her sunglasses away or at least shoved them up on top of her head since she didn’t need them. It would be less shocking to Laura if she used them to mask the worst of the damage to her face. As she rang the doorbell, Jessica mulled over her strategy for convincing Laura to a) take all the stuff she had bought at Saks and b) climb into her car and head back to Rancho Mirage with her. She wasn’t quite sure about the order in which to tackle the two matters.
Her friend was proud, had a well-developed work ethic, and didn’t want to take advantage of Jessica. Laura had long ago given up the hope of keeping up, but had always tried to do her part, here and there. At times, they wrestled over checks for dinner or drinks or even spa days. Jessica hoped Laura would just let it go, without a fight, this time. She was too tired to do any more wrestling, literal or metaphorical.
If she could get her to the house, Bernadette would help get Laura settled in. Jessica needed time to sort out the stuff she and Jerry had hauled away from Roger’s office. She longed for a soak in the pool or hot tub, and she needed a couple more aspirin for her head, which was starting to hurt again. Most of all, she needed hydration, with water, not margaritas. Somebody in the neighborhood was cooking out and her stomach was starting to growl.
Just as the door to Sara’s house opened, Jessica decided to fight dirty. She hoped that would make it easier to convince Laura to agree to hide out in Mission Hills. She whisked off her sunglasses as Laura appeared in the doorway. Laura took one look at Jessica and turned a pale, sickly color. She let out a little startled cry as she took a couple steps away from the door and started to sway. Jessica rushed forward to grab her, dropping a gift box she had in her hands. The box contained the luxurious robe and comfy slippers for Sara. They were a parting gift of sorts, since she planned to abscond with her sister.
“Laura,” Jessica said trying to hang on to her as she slumped toward the floor. “Do I look that bad?”
“What’s going on?” Sara asked coming up behind Jessica. Jessica looked up at Sara from where she was bent over Laura who was down, but not out.
Sara gasped. “Oh my God, Jessica, what the hell happened to you?” Sara was alarmed but not on the verge of collapse like Laura.
“I’m okay. I told Laura there was a bit of a problem when I went to her house today. I take it the police still haven’t called.”
“No, no one called today, right Laura?” Laura nodded in agreement, kind of robotically, but back in focus.
“Help me get her back on her feet and I’ll explain, okay?”
Sara and Jessica hoisted Laura up, and Sara guided her into the family room. Scooping up the package she had dropped, Jessica followed them, after shutting the front door. As she walked past the mirror on the wall in the foyer she caught a glimpse of her face. The color had really set in around her right eye and a shadow had formed under her left eye. Her lip was puffy and a little scab had formed over the split in her lip. The whole right side of her face was puffier than usual and the scrape on her cheek was more noticeable than she had imagined. She was lucky the women at Saks hadn’t taken one look and called 911. “Ah, the power of the AMEX black card,” she thought, filled with guilt about her decision to take off the sunglasses.
“I am so sorry Laura,” Jessica said, slumping down in the first chair she reached in the family room. “I guess I should have done a better job of warning you when I called. I didn’t realize I looked this bad. It’s worse than it was. I must have sweated off a lot of the makeup I had on when I left the house. I didn’t mean to scare the hell out of you.” Well, actually, that wasn’t completely true. She had intended to make an impression.
“Jessica, are you really okay? Tell me what happened today. All of it!”
“Laura, I’m okay, but I need you to listen to me carefully.” Sara and Laura stared intently, almost without blinking, as she explained what went on at the house. It was a sort of “good news-bad news” saga at this point. The good news: you’re not the only person of interest the police will pursue. The bad news: some psycho in pantyhose may just think you have something he wants and might not mind roughing you up, or worse, to get it.
“Look, Laura, under the circumstances you can’t go back to your house and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here either. It’s not safe. I want you to come back with me to Mission Hills. Bernadette and I want you with us until the police can get a better handle on what’s going on.” Laura looked bewildered, but not in shape to put up much of a fight. Before she could object, Jessica continued her pitch.
“You’ll be a lot safer at my house. Bernadette and I can help you figure how to take care of things for Roger. Besides you won’t be running the risk that somebody might figure out you’re here and hassle Sara and Dave or the kids.” That did it. Sara’s eyes widened a little. Laura looked at Sara, at Jessica, and back at Sara again. Jessica could see the wheels turning in Laura’s head and the growing resignation in her body language as she made the decision to go. “Thank God,” Jessica thought. Without saying another word Laura nodded and stood up.
“Just give me a second to say goodbye to Dave and the kids will you? Do you have my things in the car?”
For the first time, Jessica realized there was a dull roar of squealing and laughing coming from the back of the house. An adult male voice chanting something about “huff and puff and blow the house down.”
“Dave’s getting the kids ready for bed. It’s story time,” Sara offered.
“Uh, yeah, I have your things in the car.” Well that was true. They were her things, just not her old things. “Sara, this is for you. I thought you could use a surprise, a good surprise, given how much you do for everybody else.”
Sara was surprised alright, and touched by the gesture. Her eyes brightened as she opened the box and ran her fingers over the soft fabric of the robe. She had both feet in the plush slippers in a matter of seconds. Then her eyes filled with tears.
“Laura look at this unbelievably beautiful robe Jessica brought me. You have to touch it. It’s so soft.” She held the robe up in front of her then rushed over to Laura, hugging her like she might never see her again. Jessica felt another wave of guilt about, maybe, overplaying her hand in order to get Laura to leave her sister. Better to be safe than sorry, and she had promised Uncle Don to be more cautious. Laura left to say her goodbyes to Dave and the kids. A new wave of playful shrieks erupted from the back rooms.
“I promise that Bernadette and I will take good care of Laura. Anytime you can get away, come on over to keep her company. She’s going to need your help making the arrangements and getting the word out to family members and friends once the arrangements have been made. I’ll leave your name at the gate so the guards will let you in.”
“I’ll be glad to help. Dave gets home around 3:00 tomorrow. I’ll head on over, okay?”
“Can you stay for dinner with us? I’ve already told Bernadette I’m ordering pizza so she doesn’t have to cook. You can meet the P.I. who’s helping out. He’s quite impressive. Tommy Fontana will be there and Brien, our wannabe surfer dude pool boy who has been hired on as extra “muscle” for the time being. Not that I expect we’ll actually need him, but it’s all hands on deck at this point.”
“That’ll be great, Jessica. Dave can feed the kids and ge
t them to bed on his own. I’ll make mac-n-cheese before I go. That’s one of Dave’s favorites that the kids love, too.” She was smiling brightly, still holding the robe close. Jessica wasn’t sure if the smile was because of the gift or the thought of time off from the kids and dinner with grown-ups, even if it was just pizza. Before Jessica could ponder the matter further, Laura was back. All she had with her was her purse.
“Okay, I’m ready to go.” Seeing Jessica eyeing her one possession, Laura held up the bag and added, “my wallet and keys, and a few other things that I happened to have with me Friday night. Things I still had in my possession after that visit to the ER. Besides that, I’ve got a toothbrush and a gown to sleep in, courtesy of my sister, as well as the borrowed clothes I’m wearing. You can see why I needed you to get my stuff,” she said. “Thanks so much, Sara, I’ll get your things back to you. I love you and I’ll see you again soon, I hope.” She gave Sara a big hug.
“No rush on getting anything back to me. And I will see you soon, sis. I love you too.”
Sara and Laura were both getting teary. “She means that, Laura. She’s coming over tomorrow to help you plan, and will have dinner with us.” Laura looked pleased and a little puzzled. “I’ll tell you more on the drive back to my house,” Jessica said, giving Sara a hug. Laura and Jessica waved to Sara as they reached the car.
Jessica beeped open the car doors so Laura could get in on the passenger side. Her stop at Sara’s had been brief so the car was still cool. Jessica’s car was a bimmer convertible, great fun when the heat wasn’t in the triple digits. For now the top was up and the leather interior felt nice and cool. As Laura got into the car she looked at the back seat loaded with bags from Saks and a carry-on that still had the tags on it.
“You went shopping?” Laura asked, not yet realizing anything out of the ordinary was going on. She knew Jessica used shopping as therapy.
“I had to get a new phone after my encounter with that jerk at your house and Saks was right next door. They had a great sale going on so I thought I’d pick up a few things for us.” Jessica tried to sound as matter of fact about the whole thing as she could, but she actually felt a little excited about all the goodies she had gotten for Laura and Bernadette and, yes, for herself. The twinge of anxiety that lay beneath the excitement activated as she saw Laura’s eyes widen.
“Jessica, what did you do?” she asked. Jessica sped away from the house, hoping to get to a main road quickly. There she could achieve speeds that would prevent Laura from leaping out of the car as she explained.
CHAPTER 13
Jessica talked nonstop all the way back to Mission Hills, not giving Laura a chance to object to the decision to outfit her, for the time-being, from Saks. She used logic: A) Laura couldn’t go on without her things from home, but B) she couldn’t get to the things from home, therefore C) she had to have new things. Jessica laid it out as a simple syllogism.
She went on about how much more convenient it had been to go to Saks since it was right there rather than shop around; how much she enjoyed shopping for others instead of just shopping for herself–especially now that she didn’t have Jim to shop for; what a disaster her closet was and she didn’t think she had the right thing to wear to Roger’s funeral either so she had to shop anyway. She went on and on like that for the entire 15 minute drive. She was talking so fast and so relentlessly that she was getting lightheaded.
It must have worked though, because when she pulled up and hit the button to open the garage door to park, all Laura said was, “Jessica, I’m grateful beyond words. You must have set some new record getting all of this done before you got to Sara’s today.”
“You’re probably right about that. Want to help me haul in the day’s catch?” Laura nodded in agreement as Jessica parked the car, cut off the engine, and hit the button on her key that popped the trunk. Laura’s eyes widened again as she got a look at Jessica’s trunk. Before she could say anything Jessica began handing her things.
“This bag is for Bernadette. Can you take that? Here’s another one.” Jessica pulled the carry on out of the back seat, set it on the ground and yanked the handle out to its full length so Laura could roll it. That freed Jessica to carry the rest of the things from her back seat.
As they stepped from the garage into the house, Jessica nearly collided with Bernadette. “We’re home. I’ve got Laura with me, just like I promised.”
“Welcome, Laura. We’re so glad you’re going to be stayin’ with us for a while.” Bernadette reached out and patted Laura on her cheek. “Can I help you with your things?” Bernadette asked.
“These are for you, Bernadette. Sounds like Jessica had a shopping melt down after fighting off that creep at my house. We’re the beneficiaries of her spree.” She handed the bags over to Bernadette.
“Thank you Jessica, ooh my favorite!” Bernadette cooed as she pulled the Chanel fragrance collection out of a bag. She moved back, making room for Jessica to roll on into the kitchen with some of her loot.
“I’m going to take Laura to the guest room next to my room, Bernadette.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll come and help you get settled in...” Bernadette stopped speaking abruptly. “Dios mio, Jessica this is the most beautiful robe I have ever seen.” Jessica was two for two on robes for the day. Now if she only did as well with her choices for Laura.
“I knew the instant I saw it that it was made for you, St. Bernadette.” Jessica relished Bernadette’s happiness as she inspected the robe, taking in the array of colors that adorned the soft, silky fabric.
“No saint ever had a robe this gorgeous. Let’s get you into your room, Laura and see what Jessica got for you. She is the best shopper, you know?”
“I do know,” Laura replied.
“Then we’ll have a little supper on the back patio. I’m going to go put on my new robe.”
“I’m not very hungry,” Laura interjected, “please don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
“Well, I’m starving,” said Jessica. She dropped enough of what she was carrying on the counter to grab a glass of water and a couple aspirin, downing them in seconds.
“It’s no trouble, Laura. We’ll have sandwiches and salads, leftovers from our lunch with Jerry Reynolds.”
With that, they all hurried down the hall to the guest room where Laura was going to stay. It was a suite, really, with a huge bed and a comfortable sitting area along with a luxurious bath and a walk-in closet. Like all the guest suites in the house this room had sliders that opened to the patio, leading out to the pool.
It took them the better part of an hour to haul in and go through all of the booty from Jessica’s car. It might have gone faster except that there was so much oohing and aahing about the gorgeous things Jessica had bought. When they had done enough to get Laura set up for the night they all agreed to meet in bathing suits and robes for a dip. After another hour or so of camaraderie, good food, and a dunk in the hot tub, followed by a stint sitting in the evening breeze. Jessica figured they were all doing about as well as anyone could under the circumstances.
Despite the twists and turns of the day Jessica felt good about it all. Laura looked a whole lot better than she had when Jessica first saw her yesterday. Of course she couldn’t say the same for herself. It occurred to her, however, that she had hardly thought about herself or her own sorry lot in life. In fact, she felt downright thankful for all the good things in it including friends like Laura and Bernadette, and the fact that the stupid brute in the closet at Laura’s house had not ended it for her altogether. Yes, things could have been much worse.
It was 10:00 when they all decided to call it a night. Jessica took a quick shower. Her third for the day set another record. Slipping into a pair of her comfy new shorty pajamas Jessica spent an hour going over the files on Roger’s laptop pertaining to his business and their personal finances. It was a good thing Jessica was so thoroughly exhausted by the events of the day. Otherwise, she might have lain awa
ke, or been wakened later by nightmares, after what she found. She hated the thought that she had to give Laura more bad news. Would it ever stop?
CHAPTER 14
When Jessica rolled out of bed Monday morning, she was sore from her wrestling match the day before. She decided not to use her discomfort as an excuse to skip a morning swim. Her encounter with that tattooed fiend had, in fact, made her more aware that you never know when you’re going to need a little extra speed or strength to get out of an unexpected situation. Of course, for the past several years such situations would more likely have involved outmaneuvering another shopper for a primo parking place at Santana Row or going elbow to elbow with an overly aggressive bargain hunter at Bloomingdales in Palo Alto.
She put on the suit she had worn the night before, the new black Karla Colletto one-piece that she had rinsed and hung to dry in her bathroom. The suit fit like a second skin, only better with a little lift here and a tuck there that made the best of her 30-something figure, even with a little extra “baby weight.” It was perfect for the workout she had planned. Jessica did a quick inspection in the full length mirror as she ran a comb through her hair. From the neck down she didn’t look too much worse for wear. There was a large bruise forming on the back of her left thigh, likely the result of banging into the nightstand. There were also bruises in the shape of fingerprints on her right forearm where the guy must have grabbed her at some point. In a few days they’d fade and she’d be good as new.
