Mazie piped in, “That’s why I called Molly. You unplugged the house phones and you obviously couldn’t answer that.” She pointed at the phone pile on the table. “I was afraid of what I’d find when I got here.”
Lizbeth said, hoarsely, “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s okay, Mom. Are you feeling better?”
“Yes,” Lizbeth answered, unable yet to have a full-blown conversation.
Molly took one of Lizbeth’s hands in hers, getting her attention again. “Lizbeth, I know what happened here, or at least I think I do. This Dana person made the same pilgrimage a lot of people do, when they realize how incredibly badly they have behaved and what they lost by doing so. In some cases, it is simply to acknowledge the pain they caused and apologize. In others, it is a last ditch effort to reclaim a lost love, believing the fantasy that once they tell the ex-lover how sorry they are for letting them go, all the pain will go away and they will live happily ever after. It seldom, if ever, works out that way, but people continue to try.”
Lizbeth rallied somewhat. “But Molly, I was right. She didn’t know I was even gone until seven o’clock this morning. She spent the night with her.”
This was news to Molly. She sat back against the kitchen chair, silently assessing this new information.
Mazie asked, “How do you know when she found out? Did you talk to her?”
“When I turned the phone back on there were all these missed calls from her that started right after seven.”
Molly became more interested; leaning forward, she asked, “Did you listen to the messages?”
Lizbeth drank some more Coke, feeling her wits start to sharpen. She snapped back, “No, I don’t want to hear her try to explain. I’ve listened to speeches like that before. I don’t want to hear her lie.”
Mazie walked over and picked up a piece of Lizbeth’s phone. “Well, I don’t guess that’s a problem now.”
Molly wasn’t finished. “So you haven’t talked to her?”
Lizbeth answered sharply, “I talked. I did not listen.”
Mazie wanted to know, “What did you say to her?”
“I told her to fuck off and leave me alone, and then I hung up on her. That’s when I disabled the phone.”
“Disabled, yeah.” Molly laughed. “Guess there’s no doubt in her mind where you stand, is there?”
“Mom, I want to know what she said.” Mazie left the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder, “What’s your voicemail password?”
Lizbeth shouted after her, “I’m not telling you.”
Mazie returned from having retrieved her own cell phone from the foyer, where she had left her purse. She smiled sweetly at her mother. “That’s okay, Mom, you use the same password for everything. I got it.” Mazie hit the speed dial button for her mother’s cell and listened. She pulled the receiver away from her head and punched in four digits. Returning the phone to her ear, she listened again and then smiled. “Predictable,” she said to her mother.
“Mazie, I don’t want to know.”
Mazie responded with, “Then I won’t tell you.” She walked away when she pressed the number one, to start the message playback.
Lizbeth drank more Coke and stared straight ahead, as if ignoring Mazie on the phone could save her from reality. It was a valiant effort, but Molly’s expression of intrigue while she watched Mazie’s reaction to the messages did nothing to keep Lizbeth from wondering what excuse Gray had offered. It took a few minutes for Mazie to go through all the messages, but when she turned back around, she had tears in her eyes. Lizbeth felt worse immediately. Mazie was about to confirm what Lizbeth already suspected. Gray had decided to go back to Dana.
Mazie put her phone down on the table. She came over to her mother, pulling a chair up to sit in front of her. She shook her head from side to side. This was all very dramatic and Molly couldn’t take it anymore.
“What in God’s name did she say, Mazie?”
“Mom, I’m sorry, but you went through all of this for absolutely no reason.”
Lizbeth shuddered. She knew she had put herself through so much heartache because she was stupid enough to fall for a total stranger, a woman at that, without having all the facts first. She said, “I know, I was such an idiot.”
“No, Mom. You shouldn’t have left.”
Lizbeth was doubly shaken. “What in the hell are you talking about? Why are you crying?”
Mazie’s tears rose again. “Because Gray loves you and you’re breaking her heart. I could hear it in her voice.”
Lizbeth shot up out of the chair. “What! I’m breaking her heart?”
Mazie started to smile. “Molly was right. Gray was ending it with Dana for good. They just took a boat ride because Dana wanted to for old time’s sake. Somebody stole the gas out of Gray’s boat. She didn’t look at the gauges because she said she had just filled the boat that afternoon. She was stranded out in the inlet till sunrise, when someone came to get her. Her cell phone was dead or she would have called you.”
Molly started laughing. Lizbeth couldn’t believe it. She stared at her daughter for a second, and then said, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Mazie began to laugh as well. “No, Mom, you had your breakdown a little prematurely this time. I told you, you should have waited for her.”
“Don’t be a smartass,” Lizbeth shot at Mazie and then turning on Molly she said, “And what in the hell are you laughing about?”
Molly shook her head from side to side. “Nothing, just good ol’ fashioned lesbian drama.”
The doorbell rang at that moment, startling all three women. Lizbeth recovered first. “It’s got to be a neighbor. I haven’t left anyone’s name at the gate and besides, no one knows I am home but you two. Get rid of them for me Mazie, please.”
Mazie left to deal with the visitor, still giggling at her mother. Molly looked at Lizbeth and said, “I have to say it, Lizbeth. I think you owe this Gray an apology.”
“I do, too,” the voice behind her said, snapping Lizbeth’s head around.
Molly stood up. Lizbeth caught the look on Molly’s face. Molly was stunned. Charlize Theron was in Lizbeth’s kitchen and heading straight for them.
Mazie was all smiles behind Dana. She said to Lizbeth, “Mom, Miss Fox has something to tell you.”
Of course, her name would be Fox. What else could it be? Lizbeth was standing in her kitchen, wet hair drying in mats on her head, only a robe between her and complete nudity. She pulled the robe closed tighter. She motioned for Dana to take Mazie’s vacated seat. All the while, Molly stood there with an odd expression of awe as Dana approached them.
“Dana, won’t you sit down,” Lizbeth said, casting a questioning look at Molly. “Molly, are you going to sit back down?”
Molly fumbled with her chair. “Yes,” was all she could manage to say.
Lizbeth got tickled at Molly. Molly was always so sure of herself. Lizbeth had never seen her literally gush over anything, especially not a woman. It was usually the other way around, with Molly inundated with women seeking to get a piece of the extremely successful, very rich, lesbian lawyer.
Lizbeth introduced them. “Dana, this is my good friend Molly Kincaid.”
Dana extended her hand to shake Molly’s, saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Molly. I’m sorry it isn’t under different circumstances.”
The usually confident Molly blushed and only replied, “Me too.”
Lizbeth smiled at Mazie, who had noticed Molly’s captivation with the stunning Miss Fox. Mazie giggled. Molly finally released Dana’s hand. Lizbeth thought she saw a twinge of blush on Dana’s face, too, but she let it go. She was really more interested in why Dana was at her house and even better, how did Dana find her?
“Dana, why are you here?” Lizbeth asked.
Before turning away from Molly, Dana said to her, “Molly, has anyone ever told you, you look just like Jodie Foster?”
Molly blushed even redder. �
�Yes.”
Dana continued, “It’s uncanny really. She’s one of my favorites. I would know.”
Molly gushed, “Well, you look like Charlize Theron, no kidding.”
Lizbeth was entertained, but growing impatient. “As much as I’m enjoying this little celebrity lookalike contest, I would much prefer to discuss my life, which I appear to have fucked up royally.”
Dana pulled herself away from Molly’s stare. “I’m sorry, Lizbeth. You want to know why I’m here. It’s because Gray doesn’t deserve what you did to her.”
Lizbeth took offense. “What I did to her?”
“Yes. She is heartbroken and inconsolable. She did right by you, Lizbeth. I’ll be honest with you.”
“Please do,” Lizbeth interjected.
“I went to Ocracoke to tell Gray how wrong I had been and beg her to take me back. I survived a cancer scare last year and it got me thinking about how I had screwed up the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t want it to be easy for her to tell me no. I knew it would be harder in person.”
Mazie sat a cup of coffee down in front of Dana. Dana said, “Thank you,” and then returned her attention to Lizbeth. “She never gave me a chance to ask her. Lizbeth, the first words out of her mouth were, ‘I don’t care what you’ve come here to say. I’m in love with someone else,’ and she is… with you.”
Molly clapped her hands together. “See, I told you.”
Dana laughed at Molly. Lizbeth stared in disbelief. She still wasn’t sure she understood; after all, she saw the way Gray looked at Dana on the boat.
“Dana, I saw you on the boat. Gray didn’t act like she was in love with someone else, the way she was looking at you.”
“We were together a long time, Lizbeth. Those were just memories in her eyes, nothing more.” Dana leaned forward just a little. “I didn’t give up as easily as it sounds, but Gray stood her ground. I even tried to get her drunk, but it didn’t work. All she talked about was you.”
“Oh no! What have I done?” Lizbeth said, her hands flying to cover her mouth.
“I’ll tell you, if I hadn’t been on that boat, she would have swum to shore. She couldn’t leave me out there alone, in case the weather changed or something. She was crazed with worry about what you must have been thinking. If she finds out who stole the gas, she’s liable to kill them.”
“Does she know you were coming here?”
Dana shook her head from side to side. “No, actually the last thing she said to me was, and I quote, ‘Get the fuck off my island and don’t come back.’ She was extremely angry and I really don’t blame her. I screwed this up for her and for that, I truly wanted to apologize. I knew she wouldn’t listen to me, so I got your phone number from Fanny and when you wouldn’t answer, I did a reverse look-up and got your address. I had a rental car and GPS so here I am.”
“How did you get past the gate?” Lizbeth asked and then answered her own question. “With looks like that, I imagine it wasn’t that hard.”
Dana grinned. “It comes in handy sometimes.”
“Well, Mom, what are you going to do now, call and apologize?” Mazie held out her cell phone.
“I don’t know her number. It was on my cell.” All heads turned and looked at the pile of phone parts on the table.
Dana shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t have it either. She got a new one when she left and I never knew it. I always just called Fanny’s number. I have that right here.”
Dana dug around in her purse for her cell and wrote the number down on a napkin. Lizbeth took the phone from Mazie with trembling hands. She was scared at how angry Gray was going to be with her. Dana must have sensed her hesitation.
“Go on. She won’t be as mad as she is glad to hear from you. She really is in love with you, Lizbeth. Don’t leave her twisting any longer.”
All eyes were on Lizbeth as she dialed the phone. She put the receiver to her ear and waited as the ringing began. Lizbeth’s heart was racing by the time she heard Fanny say hello.
“Fanny, this is Lizbeth.”
“Lord child, did you finally find a phone that worked? I’ve been calling the number Mazie left me, but it went straight to voicemail.”
Lizbeth was confused. “You were calling me?”
“Yes, after you told Gray off she stormed out of here and I haven’t seen her since. Lizbeth, you’ve got to come back. I never seen Gray like this.”
The alarm in Fanny’s voice frightened Lizbeth. “I’ll leave right now. Keep looking for her. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Lizbeth,” Fanny paused. “She tried to get back to you.”
“I know. Tell her I’m sorry and I’m coming, okay?”
Lizbeth hung up the phone and looked into the expectant eyes around her. She stood up suddenly. “I have to go back. Gray’s run off and no one can find her. Fanny’s worried.” She started out of the room.
Molly said, “Wait, Lizbeth. I can help you.”
“I can’t wait, Molly. I have to go now. I’ve got to get there as soon as I can.”
Mazie interrupted. “Mom, you just recovered from being drunk and passed out an hour ago. You haven’t had any sleep. That’s a long drive.”
Lizbeth was insistent. “I don’t care. I’ll drink two pots of coffee, if I have to, but I’m leaving here in fifteen minutes. Lock up when you go.”
“Lizbeth, stop,” it was Molly. “I can help you get there faster.”
“Molly, I appreciate it, but I don’t need you to drive me.”
Molly grinned. “I don’t plan on driving you,” she paused for effect, “I have a jet.”
#
“Molly, I knew you were well off, but a jet?” Mazie asked from the backseat of Molly’s car.
Molly laughed. “I got it after a big case. It was part of the deal.”
Lizbeth, sitting with Mazie in the back, tried to remember. “Which case?”
Molly made eye contact in the rearview mirror with Lizbeth and grinned. “I’ll never tell.”
Molly invited Dana, to Lizbeth’s dismay, along for the ride to the airport. Molly seemed to intrigue the Texan. She asked, “And this jet is just waiting for whenever you need it?”
Lizbeth noticed Molly’s eyes twinkle when she looked over at Dana. Molly answered, her Jodie Foster grin and dimples showing more than usual, “I’m set up through a charter company and rent it to other business associates when I don’t need it. It’s an extravagance, but I can go where I want pretty easily.”
“Planning any trips to Texas?” Lizbeth quipped, while at the same time goosing Molly under the seat with her foot. She couldn’t resist.
Molly’s eyes flicked back to Lizbeth’s in the mirror. Guilty! It was written all over her face. Molly was smitten with the charming Miss Fox. They were riding in Molly’s Lexus, on the way to Raleigh Durham Airport’s private hangers. An hour and a half had passed since Lizbeth talked to Fanny. In that time she had taken the suitcases out of the car and repacked them, showered and redressed, eaten a sandwich Mazie insisted on, and put her fate in Molly’s hands.
Molly got on the phone, arranging for her pilots to ready the jet for the flight to Manteo. She knew they were available, because she had cancelled a trip to come to Lizbeth’s rescue. The tiny Ocracoke airport’s three thousand foot runway was not long enough for the jet to land there. From Manteo, Molly chartered a small plane for the rest of the way. Someone would meet Lizbeth at the airport and deliver her to Gray’s door by six thirty or seven, just before the airport on Ocracoke closed for the night. Lizbeth offered to pay Molly, but Molly waved her off, saying, “Consider it my welcome to the family gift.”
Before leaving the house, Molly had come up to Lizbeth’s room to tell Lizbeth the plan was in play. Molly stood in the dressing room door, while Lizbeth applied her make-up and tried to repair the damage the last twenty-four hours had done. Dana was still downstairs because, Molly informed Lizbeth, she was staying for dinner.
Molly was defending he
r actions. “She did do a really nice thing, I mean, she didn’t have to drive all the way here and tell you what an idiot you are. She doesn’t have a flight out until the morning. She’s here alone and…”
Lizbeth put her hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay, Molly. I get it. She’s pretty.”
Molly gushed, “No fucking kidding.”
Lizbeth laughed. “You know, you and Gray are a lot alike. She can’t think around a pretty girl either.”
“Then she must have been walking around the last few days in a stupor. You’re a beautiful woman, Lizbeth.”
“Thank you, Molly… for everything.” Lizbeth stood and gave Molly a hug.
“It was my pleasure,” Molly said, patting Lizbeth on the back. “Now, go find your lady love and get on with being happy.”
Lizbeth walked over and checked herself in the mirror. Maybe if she took a nap on the plane, she wouldn’t look so tired. She had on a summer weight white cotton, sweater/shell combination. Her newly tanned skin glowed in stark contrast. She wore navy blue Capri pants and looked every bit the southern upper class housewife that she was. It was the first time she noticed the stark contrast between her and Gray, but she smiled because they complimented each other. Gray’s charming tomboy played well against Lizbeth’s feminine curves.
Lizbeth stood peering at her reflection long enough to compel Molly to say, “Lizbeth, you look great. She’s not going to care if you show up in a tow sack.”
Lizbeth laughed, remembering Gray’s comment about her looking good in a tow sack. “Well, it’ll have to do,” she said, “I just hope I know what to say. How do you say, I’m so sorry, I’m an idiot?”
Molly chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
Waking Up Gray Page 23
