“Can we go out on your boat?” Kit asked as she looked up from where her face was plastered against the glass looking out at the boats.
Alice nodded and then said, “We should wait until your mom is up and around better don’t you think?”
Kit nodded and reluctantly agreed, her enthusiasm rebounding quickly as she watched the boats.
“Do you go out on your boat often?” Kathy asked.
Alice nodded and then added, “As often as I can,” usually when I want to dispose of something.
“Kit,” she called and when she had the child’s attention she said, “Why don’t we decide which box of your toys we are going to bring in to you and your mom’s room and which ones are going to sit in the garage?”
“I have to share a room with my mom?” Kit asked surprised.
Alice laughed, “And the bed, for now.” She exchanged a look with Kathy, she hadn’t meant to infer anything with the ‘for now’ but they both knew she could have.
Kit helped her lug in a box that they put up in the bedroom. Alice showed her the bathroom and the loft and asked her to stay out of her office because that was where she worked. The rest of the boxes they had brought she stored at the back of the garage against a wall.
The doorbell rang as they were closing the garage door and Alice saw Kathy jump and wince at the pain in her knee. She grabbed her wallet and looked out the peep hole and saw a delivery guy. Kit was right at her elbow, eager to help. She opened the door and paid the delivery guy as well as a tip and handed a package to Kit to carry. They went into her kitchen after she closed and locked the door. Alice got out plates and handed them to Kit as she opened the bags of food she had ordered. Kit returned from taking the plates to the living room table and Alice handed her silverware and napkins amused at her enthusiasm. She carried the food out to the table and watched out of the corner of her eye as Kathy hobbled to the dinner table, it looked painful. She didn’t offer to help though this time.
“Mmmm cashew chicken smells wonderful,” Kathy said as they all sat down.
“Why don’t you serve it,” Alice asked as she went back to the kitchen for glasses and grabbed wine for the adults and an apple juice carton for the kid.
Kathy had each plate full of rice, less for Kit and was scooping out the cashew chicken on top of it with plenty of sauce from the container. “Do you like soy sauce?” she asked Alice as she put the glasses on the table and punched the container of apple juice with the straw for Kit as she handed it to her.
“Don’t squeeze that,” Alice warned Kit with a smile and then answered Kathy, “No, just plain is fine,” as she sat down.
Kathy handed her a plate, placed Kit’s in front of her, and filled her own with the rich smelling cashew chicken. “Let’s say grace,” she said before they could delve into their dinner.
Alice was startled and Kathy amused at startling her as they bowed their heads and Kit and Kathy said, “Come Lord Jesus be our guest and with these gifts to us be blessed, amen.”
Alice said, “Amen,” with the other two but that was about all she remembered from her youth. She couldn’t remember the last time she had said grace or a prayer for that matter.
Kathy’s first impression of Alice’s home was how impeccably neat everything was, clean, immaculate even. It was no place for a child and yet Alice welcomed Kit easily as though she were her own. She had looked around as they brought in the box of toys and cleaned out the SUV and realized how modern and nice everything was, it had a place for everything and everything in its place, kind of like Alice herself, neat and trim, not a hair out of place.
Dinner was delicious and they all ate until they were full and still there was some left in the boxes. Kit helped Alice take the boxes back into the kitchen and store them in the refrigerator. They washed off the dishes and glasses and put them in the dishwasher and Alice ‘let’ Kit do this all by herself, or so she thought. Kathy was amused at how the two of them had taken to each other, she felt bad that she wasn’t doing more but she hobbled back to the couch.
“I think I ate too much,” she said with a sigh.
“Do you need anything? Tums? Pepto? A barf bag?” Alice asked with a grin as she grabbed the wine off the table.
Kathy laughed as she looked out the patio windows at the darkening shadows. “How secure is this place?” she asked thinking aloud and then glanced fearfully at Kit, hoping she hadn’t overheard what the question implied.
Alice glanced towards the child but the running water pretty much covered up the question. She put the wine in the refrigerator before returning to pick up the odds and ends on the table and wipe it down. “Well we have the security gate and there is a harbor patrol for this harbor specifically, you have to have a sticker prominently displayed on your boat to even berth here, if you are visiting you have to be in the company of someone who lives here and has identification. They will stop you!” she added as she thought of the many times they had nearly caught her.
“Would you like to go and sit on the patio?” she asked after she and Kit had cleaned up the dining room table and kitchen and were joining Kathy in the living room.
“Actually, I’d like to just go to bed if that’s not too rude?” she asked wearily.
“I’m not tired,” Kit whined, strung up from the trip here and the new surroundings.
Alice smoothly slid into the confrontation brewing between mother and daughter, “How about I help your Mom upstairs and into bed and you watch television and then you and I take a walk along the marina?” She glanced at Kathy who looked worried and nodded slightly to her telling her it would be okay, it would be safe.
“Okay!” Kit said excitedly and then looked around for a television but couldn’t see one.
“That’s sounds nice,” Kathy murmured enviously, she wanted to take a walk too but her damn knee was still stiff.
“Here,” Alice grabbed a controller and an expensive looking piece of artwork slid up the wall and exposed a flat screen television. She turned it on and then pulled up the channels looking for the Disney channel for Kit who seemed thrilled at the modern conveniences and the fact that the television was hidden so cleverly.
“The Disney Channel! Marsha at school has cable too!” she said excitedly as she flopped onto Alice’s couch to watch.
Kathy winced at her flopping like she lived there and would have said something; it looked like an expensive piece of furniture but Alice had gotten up after finally finding the channel for Kit and was there to help her up the stairs.
Alice waited for Kathy to finish in the bathroom, standing down the hall looking at her loft office and seeing a flashing light on her answering machine. She still preferred having an answering machine over voicemail, she just didn’t trust that a record of her messages wouldn’t stay out in cyber someplace and an answering machine could be destroyed and replaced easily if it became a problem. She was itching to get back to work after being away for a few days but she heard Kathy finishing up in the bathroom and turned to watch her hobble out of the door.
“I’m sorry, I’m being such a bother,” Kathy said as they made their way carefully into the bedroom. Kathy was delightfully surprised, the room was warm and dark, no windows, but had been painted a light yellow color and was richly appointed. Their suitcases were stacked at the end of the bed neatly and ready for them.
“You’re not being a bother and to tell you the truth, I’m enjoying myself,” Alice confided in a quiet voice.
They exchanged a look that spoke volumes and Kathy blushed as she reached for the suitcase. “I don’t think I need help changing,” she confided.
“Why don’t you show me what you want Kit to wear to bed so I can have her change into it when I put her to bed and she doesn’t wake you,” Alice asked her.
Kathy put out the clothes and Alice gathered them up closing the door behind her but not before lightly touching Kathy’s shoulder and saying gently, “Goodnight.” They exchanged another look, but that was for later, whe
n she’d had time to adjust and her knee had healed.
Kathy tingled from the touch, saying ‘goodnight’ wasn’t supposed to affect her like this but she was grateful to Alice and it was so much more than that. She took care of things, she decided them without hurting anyone’s feelings, she just took care of it without a worry for the consequences and Kathy admired that. She also felt an undeniable attraction to the pretty woman.
Kathy woke up the next morning panicking when she didn’t see Kit next to her, she hadn’t woken when she came to bed either, it was obvious someone had slept next to her but before she could really panic she heard giggles and ‘shhs’ from downstairs.
“Hey you guys, what are you up to?” she called as she swung herself around on the bed and tried to get up. Her knee folded under her and she sat back down. She looked at the knee as she pulled the pajama pants leg up and it looked much better than it had before, it was still black and blue but there was no angry red marks. She would scar of course from the stitches but she was grateful for not going to the hospital. She heard footsteps coming up the short flight of steps and Kit opened the door with a bang that caused Kathy to wince thinking it might damage the wall.
“Oh Mom, you need to sit back,” she instructed her as Alice walked in with a breakfast tray. Kit helped her adjust the pillows as she sat up and back against the headboard.
“What is this?” Kathy asked surprised.
“Breakfast in bed and Alice taught me how to make French toast,” Kit said enthusiastically as Alice smiled and put the tray across her lap.
“Don’t get used to this, it’s probably about all I can cook,” Alice said with a grin as Kathy looked at the three pieces of toast sprinkled with powdered sugar, a dab of butter, the cute little glass dispenser of syrup, a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and a beautiful place setting.
“Alice taught me how to prepare a tray too,” Kit nearly shouted in her excitement.
Kathy smiled at her enthusiasm. “Well, this is a nice surprise,” she loved how it smelled. “Thank you, this is nice, have you two eaten?”
Kit nodded and informed her importantly, “Alice said I can go shopping with her if it’s okay with you, she said we have no food in the cupboards.”
Kathy was amused. “Alice says and does a lot,” she looked up at her to show she was thankful, her brown eyes glittering at the pretty woman.
“I’ll let you eat,” Alice murmured.
Kit kept up chattering as Kathy ate. It was delicious and fulfilling. Kathy ate it all and wondered if Alice was nearby because she popped her head in just as Kit finished eating.
“All done? Let me take that tray, do you need help to get to the bathroom?”
“I should be able to make it, thank you.” As she hobbled to the bathroom she glanced into Alice’s office alcove and saw all her computer screens on which emphasized to her that she had to get back to work, but how? Maybe she could work on one of Alice’s computers it looked like she had several in her office.
Alice did the morning dishes with Kit’s help and let her start the dishwasher since it was nearly full with the results of their two meals. She helped Kathy down the short flight of steps to the living room from the second level once she was dressed and then out onto the patio so she could enjoy the sun while they were gone.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything I can get you while I’m out?” she asked worried that Kathy would burn or something. She placed a portable house phone within easy reach.
Kathy assured her she would be fine, she still worried about being found but after a good night’s sleep and a couple of decent meals, Alice’s confidence transferred a sense of well-being to her for the first time in a long time. She knew that nothing would happen to Kit if she went shopping with Alice and allowed her to go.
Kathy lay out in the sun in shorts and a halter top. It wasn’t as warm as she would think it would be in the Southern California sun but it was early in the day and in the season. She thought about what she was going to do. She was going to lose her transcribing job if she didn’t get to a computer. She thought about Alice’s office and the several monitors and computers set up there and wondered if she could use one of those so she could work. She also thought about what if they were found, what if he had followed them all the way from Portland. Sitting in the sun and thinking about the grey overcast of Portland she had to admit she looked at it a lot differently. Alice made her feel confident he wouldn’t find them. She also made her feel safe for some reason. She thought about her kiss with her and wondered if this would go anywhere. She knew she was attracted to Alice, very much so, but she had thought it was just friendship and then realized that no, she had kidded herself for a long time, she didn’t think of Alice as just a friend, she had with Connie but not with Alice, that attraction was on an entirely different level.
Kathy moved to the shade after a while to give her skin a break. She would tan eventually but didn’t want to risk a burn. The breeze was coming up and it was pleasant as she looked out and dozed on the chair she chose. She didn’t know how long she slept until she heard a noise. An insistent little beeping noise came through and she looked around wondering where it came from. She realized it was coming from inside the condo. Gathering up the house phone she hobbled inside and looked for the source of the beeping. There was a panel near the front door that had not only the beeping noise coming from it but a blinking light. She hobbled painfully across the living room and up the two steps and into the front hallway but by then the noise had stopped and the light as well. Annoyed she turned around and looked around the main floor of the condo. She wondered if its impeccable state continued up into the bedroom in the loft above and then deciding it had to she wanted to see it, she was naturally curious but even if her knee wasn’t bothering her she wouldn’t go snooping. She hobbled down to the sunken living room again and sat gingerly on the couch. She was flicking through the channels a while later when she heard the garage door roll up.
She heard arguing when the garage door to the kitchen opened up and Alice’s voice say, “I tell you a trampoline would not have fitted in the back of my Porsche with the groceries or fit on my back lawn!”
“We didn’t have to get so many groceries,” Kit insisted with eight year old logic.
Kathy laughed as she looked up in delight, pleased that they had returned as she turned off the television and pushed the button to hide it behind the art-work. “What’d you two get?” she called as she turned to see them walking in with bags and setting them down in the kitchen.
“Alice said we can’t have a trampoline!” Kit said with a slight scowl.
Alice looked amused and shrugged as she made her way back out to get more groceries.
“Kit come here!” Kathy ordered and a very reluctant eight year old dragged her feet down the short hallway and down the two steps to stand in front of her mother on the couch. “Hey,” she said pulling her chin up from where it was looking down.
Kit knew she was in trouble from the tone of her mother’s voice and refused to look up.
Quietly Kathy said, “We are here as guests of Alice, she is helping us out and we are having a vacation. You can’t have everything you want, you know that don’t you?”
Kit nodded, but the trampoline had been so cool!
“I don’t want you asking Alice for things,” Kathy emphasized, it was bad enough they were staying in this expensive community, in this expensive condo, and taking advantage of someone who was obviously very wealthy…even if Alice was being generous Kathy didn’t feel good about it.
The little girl nodded again and then asked, “Can I go help Alice now?” at Kathy’s nod she ran off throwing a last call at her, “Wait until you see what she got!”
They made several trips in from the car from what Kathy could see and then spent time putting it all away to giggles and whispers. She heard an occasional, “No, I don’t think it should go there,” from Alice and grinned, they got along so well!
Then
she heard Alice say, “That’s everything!” and Kit squealed with delight, “Now? NOW?” and Alice must have nodded or whispered okay because Kit came running out of the kitchen with a box yelling, “Mom, look at what Alice got for you!” and dumped the large box in her lap.
Kathy looked down in surprise at the laptop that she was now holding. It was a top of the line Hewlett Packard with a 17.5” screen. She looked up and started to say something but Kit interrupted.
“Don’t say no Mom! Alice said she’s been needing a new laptop for a while and you can use it first until we get your computer out of storage!”
Alice looked on from the kitchen where she stood holding a bag that had accessories in it as she watched Kathy. Kathy looked up at her with tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you.” Alice started to walk into the living room but Kit ran to her and she handed her the bag.
“Look at what else it came with! A ball thingy and a wiper and case to hide it away, and look at this, you can change its color!” Kit was really excited.
Kathy looked at the box for a roller ball for an external mouse, a wipe that kept the static down and cleaned it at the same time, a neoprene case to carry it in and protect it when not in use, and a decal that changed the case and protected it when in use. It was all very beautiful and she knew very expensive.
“I told Alice blue was your favorite color and we chose this together,” she showed her the decal again and would have opened it.
“Let your Mom open it Kit, I told you, she needs to work and this is for her until she gets her computer out of storage,” Alice stopped her and Kit sat down across from her mother to wait as she opened everything.
It took a while to get everything open and set up. Alice insisted that Kathy register it in her name at this address for now. They ran an extension cord from the nearest outlet to charge it up and peeled the decal and carefully trimmed it to the top of the laptop. Kathy found using a roller ball harder to adapt to but could tell it would be cool once she mastered it. She was excited to get back to work and more excited to do so on a modern computer, much newer than her old desktop.
Malice Masterpieces Page 21
