“It must be difficult for you, since both you and your husband are famous,” I said. I saw by the way she drew in her lips that I had hit a sensitive spot. She glanced at her daughter as if she was considering what to say. Cher wasn’t paying any attention. I’d shown her how to make a chain stitch at the end of the row and turn her work. She’d already started making the second row before I even told her what to do.
“It’s not easy having to share your husband with his adoring fans,” she said finally. “Particularly when he charms everyone and doesn’t always consider the consequences.” She had gotten into a rhythm of making the stitches, and I noticed that her shoulders had relaxed.
“I saw how he was with the kids at Cheyenne’s the other day,” I said, trying to steer the conversation. “I’m sure they were having more fun with him than they do with their nannies. Particularly Cheyenne’s new one. I suppose they all like the one who left better.” I said it in an offhand manner as I watched Ilona move to the next row.
She didn’t seem to notice my awkward transition, and her expression momentarily darkened. Then she smiled. “His charm hit a brick wall with the new one. At least I don’t have to worry about her.” She stopped moving her hook, as if she was thinking about something.
“Then you had a problem with the one who had the emergency?” I said, continuing to try to sound casual.
Ilona glanced at her daughter again. I guessed she was considering what to say in front of her. “It’s not a problem anymore, but she was always auditioning for him.” She put extra emphasis on the word auditioning and said it with distaste. She looked up from the swatch of stitches she’d made with a surprised expression. “It’s just like Cheyenne said. Doing something with yarn seems to get you talking like it’s some kind of therapy session. I wouldn’t want to leave you with the wrong impression. Matt is a great guy, and we’re a happy family.”
It wasn’t until after they’d left that I realized she had spoken about Jennifer as if she was gone for good.
CHAPTER 23
The next time the Hookers got together for happy hour, it was a small gathering of just me, Rhoda, Sheila, and Adele. I really wished Dinah were there so I could tell her about Ilona. It helped make sense of things when I had a sounding board, and she was so good at playing Doctor Watson. Adele spent the whole time moaning about the place Mother Humphries had dragged her to.
“You’re going to have to make a decision soon or you’ll have to send out change-the-date cards or cancel-the-date cards.” Poor Adele let out a wail as Rhoda mentioned the last option.
I tried to change the subject back to crocheting, but Adele continued on.
“This is such a disaster. I have everything for the wedding. I even crocheted my bouquet and that bow tie for Cutchykins. He has his tux picked out and his best man and groomsmen lined up.” She turned to me. “Pink, I didn’t tell you this before because I thought it might upset you, but Eric asked Barry to be one of the groomsmen, so he’ll probably be right there in front with you.” The wail started again as Adele said, “But in front of where?”
I think we were all relieved when happy hour ended, as it had hardly lived up to its name. I cleared up the yarn department and then headed home. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not what I found. I walked into a kitchen fragrant with the smells of Chinese food. White containers littered the counter. The She La Las had kicked things up. Not only were they rehearsing in the living room, but my father and the other husbands were there, plus some people I didn’t know, all acting as an audience. When I went through my living room, my son was playing the keyboard with gusto and my mother and the other She La Las were dancing around, clapping their hands and urging their audience to join in.
I found all the animals huddled in my room. Blondie observed the others from her chair, no doubt unhappy with the company. I hadn’t heard from Mason all day, but I was sure his house was more peaceful than mine. I slipped back across the house, and I didn’t think anyone noticed that I had left, or even that I’d been there.
The streets had grown quiet, and it took less than ten minutes to get to Mason’s. It was the first time I’d ever just come over unannounced. I even planned to let myself in. His house always seemed a little mysterious at night. The dark wood of the huge ranch-style exterior made it blend in with surroundings. I got the key out as I approached the door.
I expected Spike to come running toward the door barking when I opened it, but it was quiet. I considered calling out hello as I came in, but I figured that would send Spike into a barking frenzy for sure. The real center of Mason’s house was the den, which looked out on the backyard, and I headed down the hall toward it. As I got closer I heard voices and recognized Mason’s and Jaimee’s. I stopped to listen, concerned about what I might be walking into.
“So the other night went well for you?” Mason said.
“James was very nice,” she began. “He’s about your age and a lawyer—a litigator. He even looked a little like you, though he could use some help with his style.”
I was about to walk in, but what she said next made me stop in my tracks. “He was a lot like you, and when I saw how nice it was, it made me think, why settle for almost when I could have the real thing?” She laughed awkwardly, as if she was very nervous. “We did have some good times. I thought maybe we could give us another try.”
There was no way I was walking into the middle of that. I barely waited until she finished before starting to back down the hall. Just when I got to the door, the toy fox terrier figured out there was an invader and came charging down the hall, barking at full tilt.
I speed walked to my car, anxious to disappear before anyone knew I’d been there. I was in shock. Jaimee wanted Mason back?
When I got back to my place, I grabbed some of the Chinese food and went across the house to the master area. With the door to the den shut, I could barely hear the She La Las doing the audience-participation version of “My Guy Bill.” I drowned out the last of it by turning on the TV. How awkward. I didn’t want to tell Mason that I’d been eavesdropping, but I was curious as to how he’d reacted. He must have figured out some diplomatic way to tell her no way.
I thought about calling him, and even started to dial a few times, but decided I should wait and let him call me and tell me about it. I longed for some distraction and checked to see what was on TV, and then I remembered Peter had set up to tape Cheyenne’s show tune program. The program list showed that two episodes had been recorded.
The animals were clustered at my feet, hoping I’d be clumsy with my chopsticks. I hit play and the first episode began. My eyes were looking at the screen, but I was having a hard time concentrating. When Cheyenne was on the screen, I focused momentarily. The other two judges seemed to slip into the background compared with her. But I zoned out again when the contestants started doing their renditions of songs from musicals. There was a big production at the end where all the contests and the judges got together and started singing “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and the public was urged to vote for their favorite contestant. I hit end. The list came up and I moved on to the next episode. I was getting a lot of hungry looks from the animals at my feet and decided we all needed another plate of food.
Nobody noticed when I came through the living room followed by a parade of cats and dogs. Nor did they notice when I went the other way, carrying a plate of food with the same escorts.
I settled in my room and hit play. Felix and Cosmo wanted to make sure I knew they were there and each gave my leg a swipe with their paws. The cats were more aggressive and jumped onto the arms of the chair. Only Blondie stayed put. She didn’t like people food. When they’d all had a hunk of chicken, I finally looked at the TV screen. It took a moment for it to register, but when I saw Cheyenne on the screen, I realized I must have set it up to play the same episode again. I’d seen enough to get the idea of the show a
nyway and just shut it off. I checked the phones for messages, but the sounds from the living room had gotten louder, and I figured there was no way to escape it so I might as well join them. My mother’s face lit up when she saw me join the impromptu audience and she grabbed the tambourine, gave it a shake and held it out. Why not? I took it and joined them.
* * *
The phone rang early the next morning, and I grabbed it when I saw it was Mason. I’d barely gotten out a hello when he started talking.
I could tell by the sound that he was in his car. “Sorry for calling so early. There was an emergency with the same client and I’m heading to New York.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, sitting up and trying to get my bearings. “I suppose Jaimee and Brooklyn will take care of Spike.”
“Well, actually, I had to get a dog sitter, because they’re coming with me.” He said it in a matter-of-fact voice, and I got that he couldn’t say more because they were in the car with him.
I knew that my voice was on speaker, so all I did was wish him safe travels. “We’ll talk later,” he said just before he signed off. I waited for his usual “love you,” but there was only dead air. He’d already gone.
I was sure all would be explained eventually. Mason didn’t know what I’d overheard, so he wouldn’t realize how upsetting it was that it seemed like they were going on a family trip. I just wanted to talk to Dinah. This was the time when I really needed a best friend. But I knew she was tied up all day giving exams to her students.
We didn’t meet up until the happy hour gathering. We had some drop-ins, along with Sheila, Elise, Eduardo, CeeCee, Adele, Dinah and me. Lauren came with her daughter Justine, who wanted to make a purse like her cousins. I was expecting Adele to make another scene about her wedding, but she was strangely quiet. She offered Justine a crochet lesson, and I made up a kit for her.
“You seemed to have gotten over your wedding blues,” I said to Adele when the hour had ended and it was just Dinah, Adele and me.
“Pink, I’m a professional teacher. I would never let my personal life interfere.” She gave her head a haughty shake and said she had to prepare for the next story time. She was going to read a book called The Sleeping Garden and dress as a sunflower.
When it was just Dinah and me, I mentioned having a lot to tell her. You never knew who was listening at the bookstore, so I suggested my house. Samuel had told me that now that it was getting close to the performance at the bookstore, the group wanted to rest their voices and would be taking the evening off, so I knew my house would be peaceful.
All the animals except for Blondie were waiting by the door when we got to my place. Dinah was impatient to hear my news, but Samuel had also told me that he wouldn’t be able to feed the menagerie, and I had to take care of them first. Actually, my first act had been to check my landline to see if Mason had called. He hadn’t. Nor had he called my cell during the day.
When the dogs and cats were fed and had had their run in the yard, Dinah and I heated up some of the leftover Chinese food and took it in the dining room. She laughed when she saw the detective kit and Peter’s microscope at the end of the table.
“Well,” she said, holding her chopsticks in midair, “any mystery updates?”
I started out telling her about Ilona and the weird stuff she’d said about not having a problem with Jennifer anymore. I was going to go into what she’d implied about Matt, but I just lost it and started to talk about Mason.
“The other night, he suggested we think about upgrading our relationship.”
Dinah seemed surprised. “Interesting, after hearing that all he wanted was something causal, no strings.” She looked into my face. “How do you feel about that and what do you think he meant?”
“When he said it I was a little shocked, and I’m not sure what he had in mind. The idea did start to grow on me, but it might be irrelevant anyway.” I told her what I’d overheard and how Jaimee and Brooklyn had gone on his emergency trip with him.
“Oh, dear,” she said, putting her hand on my arm in a reassuring manner. “That’s the trouble when people have exes hanging around—and children. It’s too bad that things didn’t work out with Barry. His exes are totally out of the picture, and Jeffrey worships you.”
“You have a point.” We went back to talking about Mason and both agreed it was foolish for me to jump to conclusions. “Enough about relationships,” I said, shrugging my shoulders like I was dropping a heavy cape. “Let’s talk about my neighbors.” I brought up again that Ilona had talked about Jennifer as if she knew the nanny was never coming back. “Maybe that’s because she knows Jennifer is dead. She had a motive for wanting her out of the way. She was pretty clear that Jennifer made a move on her husband.”
“Ahem,” a voice behind us said. “Excuse the theatrical throat clearing, but I didn’t want to scare you,” Barry said. He held up Jeffrey’s key. “Jeffrey had a rehearsal tonight, and he wanted me to cover for him.” He held up a bag of dog treats. The dogs had figured it out and Felix and Cosmo were gathered at his feet.
“By the way, I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about motive. Remember what I said: no body, no murder.” He saw the microscope next to the detective set. “What’s that for?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“No one can say you aren’t persistent,” he said, seeing right through me. The dogs both put their paws up on his leg, and he leaned down to give each of their ears a ruffle.
“Well, haven’t you become the conscientious pet owner,” Dinah said.
“I’m trying to make up for the past,” he said. “It’s never too late to make things right.” I felt his eyes on me and purposely looked away. “What’s going on around here? I noticed your living room looks a little torn up.” I explained the She La Las were using it again. “No Mason tonight?”
I answered with a shrug and he finally went off to pour the bag of treats he’d brought into the jar on the counter. The dogs followed him outside, and he played fetch with them while Dinah and I watched through the French doors.
“Do you think he heard what we said?” I toyed with my chopstick. She nodded.
“You didn’t see how he looked at you when he thought no one was looking,” she said. “There was practically steam coming off his eyes.”
We heard the kitchen door open, and we stopped talking. Barry came back into the room a moment later. “I see the floodlights are still out. I can take care of them if you like. Remember, I said I’d do the repair of your choice as a birthday present.”
“No, that’s okay,” I said, a little too quickly. “Everything is under control here.”
CHAPTER 24
Mason did finally call that night. I was standing outside looking up at the night sky as the dogs had their final time in the yard when the phone rang. The midnight blue was crystal clear, and it was surprising how many stars I could see. It was late here, but much later where he was. The mechanical voice on my phone merely said it was coming from a private caller, but I knew it was Mason. So now all would be revealed.
“Sunshine, I’m sorry I couldn’t talk this morning. I’m sure you realized you were on speaker and Brooklyn and Jaimee were in the car.” He sounded exhausted. I went inside and the dogs followed, and I had to cradle the phone with my shoulder while I doled out some of the fresh treats Barry had brought.
I had been relaxing into that mode of being ready to fall asleep, but the sound of his voice made me instantly wide awake, and my heartbeat kicked up. It was so odd, because I usually felt so comfortable talking to Mason, but then he wasn’t usually telling me how he, his ex-wife and his daughter had flown off to New York.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why the two of them came along,” he said. Was there a little unease in his voice? I made a sound to show I was listening, and he continued. “The client I went back there for last week messed everything up, and I had to
do damage control. I thought it would be good experience for Brooklyn to see how I handle things. The Housewives show wasn’t taping this week, and Jaimee pouted.” He let out a sigh. “I’m embarrassed to admit this, and I keep thinking I’m immune to it, but she knows my buttons.”
I waited to see if he was going to say more, like bring up what I’d overheard, but he didn’t. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I finally settled on upset that he was keeping something from me and concerned about what else he might not be saying.
I was wondering how all this affected what he’d said the other night, but I was hesitant to bring it up. And then he did. “Have you had a chance to think over what I said?”
“I started to, but I think we need to deal with it face-to-face,” I said. “We can talk when you get back.”
“That sounds ominous,” he said. “Don’t make any rash decisions. We can work this out.” We both agreed that he needed some sleep and that we should end the call.
“Love you,” he said.
I swallowed hard before I responded, “Me, too.”
* * *
I thought it would all seem better in the morning, but it didn’t. Any way I looked at it, he had lied to me by omission, and yet I kind of understood. It was possible he hadn’t mentioned it because he thought hearing about Jaimee’s desire to get back together would upset me. And it would certainly put her accompanying him in a different light. If he’d turned her down, he could think there was no reason to bring it up. But what if it was different? What if this was really a tryout of their being together and he was keeping me hanging until he saw how it worked out?
I didn’t really let on, but I had been thinking about what he’d said about changing our status. Though he hadn’t said the words, I figured he meant some kind of commitment, like us living together, or maybe even getting engaged. I had thought having that conversation sounded like a good idea. Now I wasn’t so sure. But for now, I pushed it to the back of my mind.
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