Susan X. Meagher - The Legacy

by Susan X Meagher

  Noel’s luck lasted for quite a while, and when she called, Toni reported she had left the casino and was sitting outside on the boardwalk. After a brief search, Noel found her munching on some salt water taffy. She sat next to her and smiled, “I’m buying dinner.”

  Toni looked very excited. “Did you kill?”

  “Let’s just say that we don’t have to go to McDonald’s.”

  ***

  It turned out that Toni had not gone to the buffet. The line was long, so she’d had some ice cream to tide her over. It was five o’clock and they were both famished. They got a reservation at one of the expensive “star chef” restaurants at the newest, nicest casino. When their menus were presented, Toni coughed and made a face, pointing at the prices.

  “This is play money,” Noel said. “Let’s eat like kings.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. Order anything your heart desires.”

  Toni looked at her hungrily. “I would, but you already told me you can’t stay overnight.”

  Once again, Noel thought that even if Toni said the same thing to six other women, the line still worked.

  ***

  They were back in Delaware by ten. A few miles away from Rehoboth, Toni asked, “Would you like to see the place I’m working on?”

  “Of course. You haven’t told me much about what you’ve been doing lately.”

  “Really? I thought I had.”

  Noel didn’t mention that most of their discussions only included the words “harder” and “faster” and “softer” and “oh, god.”

  “The house I’m working on is probably going to make you jealous. My guess is it’s what you’d do to The Sandpiper if you had free reign and a huge bank account.”

  “Maybe I should go to Atlantic City more often?”

  “If you can make that work, I’ll gladly be your driver.”

  They pulled up in front of a rambling, old Victorian that was a few blocks in from the beach and just outside of town. Toni got out of the truck and Noel joined her. As though it were something she did all of the time, Toni grasped Noel’s hand as they stood in front of the house. “This place was a total dump. A guy from Philadelphia bought it, and he’s going to turn it into a first-class bed and breakfast. I’m not sure he’s going to make any money on it, but he’s retiring and he and his wife want to live somewhere elegant.”

  “What are you doing to it?”

  Toni laughed. “Everything, and I do mean everything. He hired me to be the site supervisor, and that’s why I’ve been working my butt off. We’re putting in everything: new electrical service, copper plumbing, new HVAC, everything. It’s the biggest job I’ve ever done.”

  Stunned, Noel stared at her. “How did you get this job?”

  “I’ve done some contracting before, and I did a job for a guy this guy knows.”

  “And he hired you just because of one recommendation?”

  Toni smiled, her teeth shining in the moonlight. “It was a hell of a recommendation. I wouldn’t like to do jobs like this all the time, but it’s nice to have one big project that’ll take me all summer. Besides, this is the kind of thing that I’ll have to do more often as I get older. As I said, I’m gonna have to learn to use my head more than my hands.”

  Noel squeezed the strong hand that she held. “You can’t go wrong either way. You have great hands, and a very nice head.” Toni looked at her and Noel put a hand on the back of Toni’s head and pulled her close. They kissed for a long time, standing on the quiet street, with just the moon illuminating them. “You don’t happen to have a key to this place, do you?”

  “Yes, but there isn’t a nook or cranny that’d be comfortable to lie on, and I have to get you horizontal. Your place is three minutes closer. Let’s go.”

  Noel grabbed her hand and ran for the truck, both of them laughing.

  ***

  The next afternoon, April reached Noel when she was out in the yard pruning the climbing roses. “Hi,” Noel said. “I haven’t talked to you all week. What’s been going on?”

  “I was just explaining to the boys that they can’t go to Rehoboth every time the mood strikes them.”

  “Sure they can. One of the nicest times I’ve had this summer was when you came down to camp.”

  “That was my kind of camping. The boys were at a different location, and I didn’t have to go near a tent or a stove. I could be an avid camper if it was always like that.”

  “Well, Toni claimed to have enjoyed it. I’m sure she’d be up for another trip. But this time I’m sleeping at her place.”

  “I told you at the time that wasn’t a problem. You’re the prudish one, Noel.”

  “I know, I know. I just didn’t want them to be confused.”

  “They’re boys. They’re always confused. How is Toni, by the way?”

  “As confounding as ever.” Noel chuckled. “I think she’s trying to drive me mad, and she’s succeeding. Out of the blue, she invited me to go to Atlantic City for the weekend. And while we were gone she touched me, and hugged me, and kissed me in public. So, she must not mind if strangers see her dating me. Or whatever it is we’re doing. But we went to the inn when we got back, and after we had sex, we had that strange, uncomfortable silence we always have, and she got up and left, like she always does.”

  April was quiet for a few moments. When she spoke again the teasing quality was gone from her voice. “What bothers you the most about the way she treats you?”

  “It’s the same old thing, and I don’t have any right to complain about it.”

  “And that is?” April prompted.

  Noel sighed with frustration. “It’s what I’ve been unjustifiably complaining about for weeks now. She treats me like I’m just someone to have sex with, and I want to be more than that to her.”

  “Now tell me again why you don’t think you have the right to complain?”

  “Because it’s what I agreed to. I was just thinking about the first time we had sex. I actually told her that if I was looking for someone long-term, she’d be the last place I’d look. Rude much?”

  April winced audibly. “That’s pretty bad. But it didn’t stop her from having sex with you.”

  “No, I think that’s what convinced her that she wanted to have sex with me. I don’t know what has made her so antagonistic to relationships, but she’s obviously the kind of woman who can’t commit.”

  “I know I’ve said this six times already, but you have to be more forceful. If you’re not getting what you want out of this, you need to at least tell her.”

  “But that’s unfair to her. She warned me, she warned me again, and then I try to change the rules.”

  “We aren’t talking about rules, Noel. We’re talking about feelings. And how do you know that her feelings haven’t changed, too?”

  “I don’t know.” She sounded as frustrated as April had ever heard her. “I don’t regret having sex with her. It’s been fantastic in every way…except for the fact that I care more for her than she does for me. Oh, well, maybe having two women in a row reject me will give me expert status.”

  “Well, you did live a pretty charmed life up until now.”

  “That might be true, but if it was, I’d like to continue that charmed life.”

  “Wouldn’t we all? I know you won’t listen, but I truly think you owe it to yourself to talk to her. What if her feelings have grown too?”

  “I think I’d be able to tell.”

  “Noel, I hate to bring up a touchy subject, but you didn’t know Janet’s feelings for you had changed. You’re a little oblivious about some things.”

  Chuckling ruefully, Noel said, “That’s the way to help my self-confidence. Make me doubt all of my instincts.”

  “You usually have great instincts. This is one tiny blind spot, and you only have it because you’ve always been so lucky in love.”

  “I’ll think about what you said. I really will. Now put one of my nephews on the phone. I
want to tell them they can get on the bus and be here in three hours.”

  ***

  By Wednesday, Noel still hadn’t seen Toni that week. That was the longest they’d gone without hooking up, and she worried that she was being punished for having spent a full day with her on Saturday. She was restless and bored, and after dinner she went to Jackie’s, hoping to find Toni.

  When she walked in, she saw Heidi inexpertly playing pool. By the time Noel sat down, greeted Jackie, and ordered a drink, Heidi walked over and said, “Can you play pool?”

  “I’m terrible.”

  “I thought the woman who asked me to play was kinda cute, but she’s a jerk.”

  Noel lightly slapped Heidi on the shoulder. “Oh, so you want to unload a jerk onto me?”

  “No, no! I just figured you could take over for me and end the misery if you were any good.”

  “No luck. You could just tell her you concede.”

  Heidi grinned, her green eyes sparkling when she did. “Great idea!” She dashed across the room, delivered her news and came back to sit next to Noel. “Put your arm around me and act like you’re my girlfriend.”

  “Do you think this will work?” Noel put her arm around Heidi’s waist and stared into her eyes, trying to look lovestruck.

  Heidi rested her head on Noel’s shoulder and Noel caught the scent of her very attractive perfume. “Probably not, but it’s nice to have a pretty woman at least feign interest.”

  “Are things not going well?”

  “Oh, they’re fine. I’ve just had a little dry spell.” Heidi sat up and took a sip of her drink. “It’s kind of a slow night in here. Most of the regulars go over to Showtime on Wednesdays. That’s half-price night, and a lot of tourists go.”

  Laughing a little nervously, Noel said, “Maybe we should head over there.”

  “Nah. That’s Roxy and Toni’s hang out. That crowd’s a little young for me.”

  “Don’t be silly. You could compete with any of those youngsters.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She picked up her drink and touched it against Noel’s. “I honestly don’t like to date women a lot younger than me.”

  Noel grinned brightly. “I knew there were a lot of things I liked about you. That’s just one more to add to the pile.”

  ***

  Over at Showtime, Toni and Roxy were standing near the bar, checking out the scene. Toni had to get over to the firehouse, so she chugged the rest of her mineral water and leaned close so that Roxy could hear her over the noise. “I’ve got to take off.” She kissed her on the lips and started to head for the door. A very young woman who had earlier tried to buy Toni a drink came up to her again, wobbling a little.

  “How about a drink now?”

  “No, thanks,” Toni said. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Don’t go. You’re really cute.”

  Toni suspected that the young woman was having trouble seeing anything at all, much less how cute she was, but she tried to be polite. “I have to leave. I’ve got to go to work.” She moved past her, but when she got to the door the woman was right behind her and followed her out.

  “Do you know where an ATM is? I must’ve spent all my money.”

  Toni sighed and said, “Why don’t you pack it in for the night? Tell your friends you’re leaving, and head home. You’ll thank me in the morning.”

  “My friend left with somebody.” She looked very confused and Toni knew she couldn’t abandon her.

  “Do you live around here?”

  “Philly.”

  “Okay,” Toni said, trying to keep her patience. “Where are you staying?”

  The woman fumbled around, searching through her pockets and finally produced a brass key with a tag that read “The Pelican.”

  “Okay. I have to walk up the street and your place is on my way. I’ll walk you home.”

  Wrapping her hands around Toni’s arm, the woman said, “You’ll come in with me.”

  “No, I won’t, but I will make sure that you get home in one piece. After that, you’re on your own.”

  ***

  Noel truly regretted the fact that she had to walk past Showtime to get home. It was always noisy, the stench of stale beer wafted out of the place, and it was a little disconcerting to see so many drunken women stumbling around. It was her least favorite kind of bar, but she’d never disliked it as much as she did tonight. Seeing Toni trying to hold up a stumbling young woman on the way to God knows where made her want to erase the place evermore from her memory.

  ***

  Noel tried to get to sleep, but she was entirely unsuccessful. Her mind raced for hours, flooded with so many feelings that she could barely keep track of them. She was angry, disappointed, shocked, and most of all, disgusted with herself.

  She had been sure she knew who Toni was. Sure of it. But she had been equally sure that she knew Janet, and she’d been completely wrong about that. It wasn’t just that Toni was having sex with a stranger, even though that hurt. But there was something so lecherous about leading a drunken young woman down the street that it actually turned her stomach.

  She tossed and turned all night long. The sheets felt rough, the mattress dug into her side, the room was too warm, then too cool. She finally got up at five, took a shower, and got dressed. There was no sense in lying in bed when she couldn’t sleep. She had everything ready for breakfast, so she went out and took a long walk along the beach, but not even a beautiful sunrise could lighten her dark mood.

  ***

  By lunchtime, Noel felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin. She was desperate to talk to Toni, and even though she knew it was unwise, she got into her car and drove around until she found the project Toni was working on.

  She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, and just being in the vicinity made her anxious. But seeing Toni’s red truck convinced her that she had to stay until she saw her. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. A big lunch truck pulled up and when the proprietor blew the horn, a dozen tradesmen poured out of the building like insects. Toni wasn’t one of them, but Noel knew she was around, so she waited her out.

  It took another twenty minutes, but Toni finally emerged, walking down the steps with a man who eventually got into a truck that advertised heating and air-conditioning services. As he pulled away, Noel got out of her car. Toni looked up and did a double-take. She looked pleased but very puzzled as she walked across the street to meet Noel.

  Toni opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Noel said, “Who are you?”

  Her tone of voice and the look of bitter disappointment on her face clearly took Toni aback. She stopped abruptly and stared at Noel with her hands raised to either side as though she were being held up at gunpoint. “What’s wrong?”

  “I saw you last night,” she spit out. “I never should have come to a town this small. I can’t avoid seeing you lurking around with half of the women in town.”

  “What are you talking about? I went out for a drink with Roxy but that’s— Are you talking about when I walked that girl back to her hotel room?” She looked confused, too confused to be putting on an act.

  Noel took a step back and bumped into her own car. Her instinct was to disappear and make the previous three minutes disappear along with her. But April’s words came back to her, and she realized that she was, in fact, unable to judge people. “Is this a new service the fire department is providing? Walking drunken girls to their hotels?” Her words were filled with venom, but still Toni didn’t look angry. She just looked puzzled…and hurt.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was at Showtime with Roxy and that girl tried to buy me a drink. I turned her down a couple of times, and when I tried to leave to go to the firehouse, I realized how drunk she was. I walked her home because I didn’t think she could find the place by herself, and I didn’t want anyone else to take advantage of her. You can go check at the firehouse if you want,” she added softly. “You can see that I sig
ned in just after ten o’clock and I didn’t leave until six this morning.” Her eyes took on a hooded, wounded quality. “We’re not allowed to have guests at the firehouse. If we could, I would’ve taken you there, not some drunken girl.”

  “Me? You would have taken me? You go out of your way to make sure no one in town knows that we know each other, let alone…have sex.”

  “Me?” Incredulous, Toni pointed at herself. “I do that? I’m just following your lead.”

  “Right.” Sarcasm encased the word. “I’m sorry I came over here. Who you sleep with is none of my business. But when I saw you, I got upset at the thought of you taking advantage of someone. I started thinking about all of the diseases I could have contracted from having sex with you, and it really, really upset me.” She grabbed the handle and tried to open the door, but it banged right into her. She twisted around, trying to get away from Toni as quickly as possible, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her.

  “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  Noel stared at her, unable to get her mind around this development. “You want to have dinner with me? After I just accused you of being a child-molesting pervert?”

  Toni didn’t even smile. She just nodded quickly. “I would.”

  “Okay. I guess we do have a few things to clear up.” She got into her car, with Toni standing there staring at her with those big brown eyes.

  She’d shown she was emotionally invested in Toni and knew she’d overreacted badly. But she couldn’t stop herself from snapping back when Toni had the gall to say she was following Noel’s lead. That was such bullshit! But why want to have dinner? The only logical reason was for Toni to set her straight and clear her good name. She just hoped that Toni was a big enough person to forgive her for assuming the very worst and that, no matter what, they could remain friends.

  ***

  They hadn’t made any formal plans, but Noel was certain that Toni couldn’t be ready for dinner before six. So she made a point to be dressed and ready to go right then. In fact, Toni didn’t show up until seven. She came to the front door, which was a first, and she rang the bell, also unique.