Designs On Daphne: (McGreers #4)

by Christine, Lilly

  Daphne swallowed. She might meet Rodric’s girlfriend very shortly, in the dream kitchen that she’d made certain had every appliance any girl could ever want.

  The terrible feeling that had swirled into her stomach now tightened in her throat. She’d come to Austin weeks ago, for city excitement, for a change of pace and lots and lots of shopping. Once in Austin, she began to have less and less of an idea where exactly she belonged, and to whom. Decorating Rodric’s apartment was rapidly becoming a confusing quagmire, and potentially very painful. It felt as though her world could dissolve at any moment!

  Feeling very lonely, abjectly so, she nodded and waved to the salesclerk, who’d been waiting at the register so patiently. “Rodric and the new mystery girlfriend will take it all,” she said with as much courage as she could muster, handing over Rodric’s card. “It’s everything they could ever want. We’ll need delivery, of course.”

  As she left the store and tried to flag a cab, she desperately wanted to give up and go home to Hobble Creek. But she couldn’t. There was nothing for her in Hobble Creek; no decorator jobs, no fun shopping trips, certainly no cable television show. The only thing left there was old maid status, a ton of difficult memories, and a moldering creekside cabin with walls that Daisy wouldn’t even let her paint yellow.

  She didn’t belong there anymore, either.

  She tried to cheer herself. Rodric was her friend for now. And maybe he had a friend, someone just as much a gentleman as he was.

  His new girlfriend might still ask her to help plan their wedding, anyway.

  9

  Once in the cab, Daphne called Rodric’s doorman Estevez, very specifically asking him to make certain all the boxes being delivered from Williams-Sonoma made it to the kitchen, so things didn’t get confused. Lots of boxes were being delivered to Rodric’s apartment these days, and it would be so incredibly terrifying to have anymore confusion in her life than she already had. She absolutely needed some kind of guarantee, didn’t she?

  Rodric had hinted last night that he thought their design project wouldn’t wrap up until just before Christmas, at the earliest. It sounded lovely, then, but now she saw herself lugging his stuff from one room to the next, uncertain of everything, trying to get it right while really having to wait for the girlfriend to show up! Just wait until she starts giving orders!

  “Yes’m, Senora Daphne, of course, I will see to that for you,” Estevez was saying.

  “Bueno, Estevez. Muchos Gracias.”

  Estevez was her new best friend, the only friend she’d made in Austin, as a matter of fact, and she’d already been there almost four weeks. The thought depressed her, but she couldn’t dwell; she knew Estevez was looking out for her.

  He’d make sure she got it right, and not just because of the hefty tips Rodric passed him. In his distinguished, humble and unassuming way, Estevez always let Daphne know he really cared about her.

  Her phone rang. Daisy, finally!

  “Happy Birthday!” she bellowed to her sister. “Did you get my message earlier?”

  “I did, I did! We slept in, and then we went shopping. Guess what?”

  “I don’t know honey, you can’t have won that big trophy yet, that’s still ten days away. Did Hank get you something real nice for your birthday?”

  “He did! Hank asked me to marry him!” Daisy screeched.“We just picked out a ring, a crazy big diamond, Daphne. I’m engaged!”

  Feeling her heart pinch and then expand, Daphne started blubbering. “So it’s really gonna happen, then?”

  “Yes!” her sister screamed. The connection scratched, and Daisy’s voice moved in and out. “You wanna say hi to Hank?”

  “Course I do,” Daphne managed, as the cab pulled up to the drapery design shop. Trying not to blubber too much, she called Hank a brother, congratulated him, then asked for Daisy again. As she said good-bye, Daphne frantically added, “I’ll call Ella to say hi, we’re family now! And we’ll plan a big party, when y’all get back!”

  Still blubbering, she clicked off her phone.

  She’d always been there for everything! This was Daisy’s biggest news, and she was much too far away to really share the good news! She wanted to kiss and hug her sister and Hank.

  Darn it!

  She was being lame, silly even. There would be plenty of time to celebrate back in Hobble Creek.

  Hobble Creek?

  They’d spend the rest of their lives at Gallagher Ranch, and anyway, this wasn’t her news, it was her sister’s and Hank’s. It was life changing for them, momentous, really, but intimate, and special. Hank had asked Daisy to marry him in Vegas. Of course, he’d wanted to pop the question someplace special, someplace they could really celebrate.

  But I wasn’t there! He didn’t even call to let me know he was asking!

  She started blubbering again.

  Why didn’t he call and ask me first?

  “My sister and her boyfriend are getting married,” she explained to the less -than-patient cabbie, handing over the fare and a big tip.

  Still confused and worked up, Daphne tried to get out, but the kitchen board with the digital enlargements of Rodric’s windows, complete with rough measurements and pasted up just as her instructor had demonstrated, jammed in the door.

  She was stuck.

  She thought of Hank, her almost new brother-in-law, so handsome and broad next to pretty, petite, athletic Daisy. Frustrated, she shoved and the board gave, thrusting her forward into the gutter. As she fell, the buckle on her handbag caught on the door and ripped off, scattering its contents on the sidewalk.

  Ooh!

  One of the digital pictures fluttered down into the inky swill of the gutter, then caught in a gust of wind. Tears blinded her eyes as she jumped up off her scraped knees to chase the picture. Grasping the picture from the concrete, she broke a nail.

  The night before she decided to leave for Austin, Hank and Daisy had enjoyed the barbecue at Ella Jean’s, joking, but so tender together. As empty and unnecessary she felt then, she felt even worse now. The picture was gritty with sidewalk dirt, but she stuck it back on.

  Then, crouched on the sidewalk with her torn purse and ruined board, she started really blubbering, weeping and wailing as the cab pulled away.

  What did the board matter, or her torn purse?

  Everyone she’d ever cared about had grown up or gone away. Nobody needed her anymore, not her sister, who had Hank and Ella Jean to love now, not her Momma, who’d run off, or Daddy, who’d died.

  And Rodric and his mother only need me to make things nice for the new girlfriend!

  She’d never taken to animals, so she couldn’t even cuddle up with a cat. Once the girlfriend showed up, she’d officially be out to pasture.

  Gushing like a waterworks, Daphne ran around the corner of the building, into a dank, smelly space where she was certain no one could see her. She cried until her mascara ran down her cheeks. Angry and upset, feeling silly and ridiculously sorry for herself, she thought, I might as well make puddles all over Austin! Who am I trying to fool? I’m no professional! Why not go home to play old maid to Daisy and Hank, leave this for Rodric’s real girlfriend, the woman he’ll marry?

  But making Rodric’s apartment really and truly a home was all she had right now. Hadn’t Rodric told Daphne she’d shown him things he’d never thought about before? Hadn’t he praised her when she pointed out that visible stitching on a leather sofa gave it a more casual look, while the darker color and tufted upholstery she preferred were so sophisticated and dressy, but still inviting? Because, then, without any further discussion, he’d selected the absolutely fabulous, broad tufted sectionals she’d loved. They had just the right amount of curve, and would soon be in his living room, looking absolutely divine!

  He’d initially dismissed the decision between a round or square table in the dining nook as unimportant, until she’d impressed him with the appropriateness of a large circle to balance and harmonize a room that
already had so many long lines and right angles! Admiring her insights, he’d thanked her profusely, and that glimmer came into his eyes, just for her.

  He’d flashed her favorite smile, the one that showed deep pleasure and contentment enough to wipe away the look of fatigue he wore after a long day’s work.

  Daphne didn’t see how anyone else could possibly appreciate that look the way she did; she simply adored his happy, crinkly-eyed, darn it, Miz Daphne-aren’t-you-just-something-else-look!

  And even if he does get that way with the girlfriend over time, she might not see it, or care about it the way I do! It will be so unfair if Rodric has to suffer!

  She felt new resolve.

  Rodric wanted homey window decor, and she’d promised to deliver. Remembering how he’d gone on and on how she could make his new place into his home, she wiped tears from her face, fixed her makeup and went into the showroom to meet the window decor designer.

  “So the windows are in a bump out, a nook?” the woman asked, with an ever so slight French accent. Daphne nodded, sharing the sketches she’d made. “Oh, these are very nice, yes, the design suits both the room and the window style,” the woman praised.

  Daphne beamed at the compliment. She’d heard so few of them from anyone but Rodric lately. Certainly, the ladies in class didn’t care for her tastes.

  “He wanted the kitchen and everyday dining nook to feel homey. I adapted the design from what I remembered from his mother’s house.”

  The designer gave her an approving look.“Your husband is very lucky to have such a creative, talented wife. You are so smart to emulate his mother.”

  Daphne nodded, feeling so much better. It took too much energy to explain about the party and the new girlfriend, so she wouldn’t bother. It was enough to know that she might be a good wife to Rodric or someone else someday, if she had the opportunity, like Daisy would be for Hank.

  The woman pulled out sample books and took down bolts of fabric. “The style is good, of course, but the pattern and fabric weight will determine the overall feel,” she said, moving to the rolls and rolls of braid and tassels. “And then, of course, there are the trimmings.”

  “Yes.” Daisy started feeling overwhelmed again. Maybe I should have started with the cabinet hardware?

  The designer helped her choose four color schemes based on her photos of the granite and cabinets and floors, and they began to mount fabric samples and trimmings to swatch boards.

  “I’ll provide sample patterns for each color scheme, everything from loose florals to small repeats to the more exuberant, formal tapestries. Show them to your husband, get some sense of what you both like, and we can refine the design from there.”

  “That will be fine,” Daphne agreed.

  The woman moved to her computer. “I’ll just send you off with a quick mock-up of the windows and your design in each color scheme, and you’ll be ready to go.”

  “Thank you,” Daphne replied, convinced she’d finally accomplished something important.

  Feeling energized, she arranged to messenger the design boards to the apartment, and then moved on to cabinet hardware. Selecting samples, she took everything back to Rodric’s new apartment.

  She experienced a lovely feeling of calm as she took the elevator up to the top floor, then punched in the security code and unlocked the door. Slipping her boots off, she took in the floor to ceiling views of the afternoon light on Lake Austin from the kitchen nook.

  The granite island and warm, honey pecan floor were stacked with Williams-Sonoma boxes. Humming to herself, she arranged the window dressing boards and cabinet hardware samples on the new round dining table in the nook.

  Stretching her arms overhead, she moving through to the living area, empty but for the gorgeous, tufted leather sectionals which had been delivered! They looked fabulous, Rodric would be so pleased! As she stood at the large windows, gazing over the calm of Lake Austin, a sense of peacefulness and contentment washed over her.

  In the dining room, she considered the chandelier.

  “It’s too fancy and modern for our tastes, isn’t it?” Rodric had asked a few minutes earlier, when he’d caught her on her cell in the elevator. He’d been thrilled at the news of Daisy’s engagement, and then so particularly tender with her, so solicitous of her feelings.

  “We’ll have to think of plenty to keep you busy here in Austin, now that Daisy’s about to embark on her new life with Hank, eh?” he’s said, his voice rich with affection, his consideration so very reassuring.

  When Daisy texted her a picture of the ring, she forwarded it to Rodric. “Wonderful! How does it feel to be the sister of the bride?” he texted back, in a meeting now, she knew.

  Her gaze returned to the chandelier. Rodric didn’t know if he wanted to keep it, but he’d said “our” tastes, so that decision could wait, until… Well, until “we” decide what we want! It was one she could make with Rodric closer to Thanksgiving, once the girlfriend from the party wasn’t around anymore.

  Daphne moved to the game room, where all kinds of hideous mounts were arranged on the parquet floor. Rodric’s father had them made for him after their big boy-hunting trips, and they’d just been shipped from storage.

  Now she walked among them, and the glass eyes of antelope and wild boar and bighorn sheep stared up at her. If I stay in here long enough, I might make some new friends!

  She’d pretended to admire them to Rodric, surmising that Caroline hadn’t exactly appreciated them, either. Daphne didn’t really need to think about that room at all, anyway. Already painted, the wainscot was in. A big billiard table and large, mannish leather club chairs would be delivered from storage, soon.

  It was the only room that was came complete from Caroline and Rodric’s former home. Smart girl, I would have left it all behind, too!

  She moved towards the private area of the house, to the wide hall that led to the bedrooms. Peeking inside the master’s giant double-doors, she was shocked to see that a massive king-sized hand-tufted mattress and box-spring had been delivered; they were already set up on a metal frame!

  She walked across the soft, deep pile cream wool carpet. The pecan table from Rodric’s mother was right where it belonged, too, centered in the bank of French doors that led to the patio, just like she’d drawn it on the master bedroom plan!

  It had been in his family for such a long time, but Miz Esther had insisted Daphne help choose some family pieces for Rodric’s new place. Gazing out over the patio towards the lake, she ran her fingers over the smooth pecan tabletop, soothed by its age.

  The patio so wonderfully private, it’s thick stained concrete walls punctuated with glass, so one could appreciate the view from the bedroom. They’d need some lovely furniture out there, a breakfast set perhaps, and large potted outdoor plants, too.

  Quivering, she avoided the master closet and its wall of mirrors, refusing to even consider the bathroom’s manifest play land attractions, or who the master would play with in them.

  Instead, she walked into the hall.

  She was surprised to discover that other mattresses had been delivered, too; a queen in the large guest room that Esther would furnish, a double in the room for the sister or night nanny.

  Holding her breath, Daphne put her hand on the doorknob of the smallest bedroom, the room with access from the master bedroom closet. As she did, a painful sensation stabbed inside her head, and her belly twisted with fear. If there is a crib mattress in here, it’s certain he’s already found the girlfriend…

  But it was empty, except for the giant hickory rocking chair that Esther had sent with the pecan table. Daphne exhaled, comforted that at least there was time before Rodric put a gargantuan diamond on the finger of the lucky woman whose baby he would sire. Feeling relieved, she collapsed into the chair.

  It was the biggest rocking chair she’d ever sat in, with a very wide seat and such flat broad arms. Esther rocked Rodric in this chair, rocked all of her baby boys in it, in fact! />
  To look at them now, they must have been some big, strapping baby boys. Esther rocked those big boys wondering if she’d ever get a girl. And now here the chair is, in Austin, waiting for the next McGreer baby!

  It wouldn’t do to look as sad and desperate as she was beginning to feel at this housewarming party, especially now that Hank and Daisy were engaged for real.

  Since the woman Rodric was thinking about as his wife might appear, she’d need a date of her own. She’d need someone with an important job, a man who looked as nice as Rodric did in a suit. Well, almost as nice, anyway.

  Men in suits suddenly interested her much more than cowboys. And dates could be for dinner-that would mean she wouldn’t have to eat alone so often!

  Daphne didn’t want to kiss a new man, no, not after the fantasies she’d enjoyed with Rodric; she couldn’t!

  Dates might be fun, though.

  The computer was already set up in Rodric’s study, on the desk that had been delivered yesterday. Estevez took care of it, after he’d let the cable provider in.

  Rodric might already have a date lined up for his party, so she should get an online dating profile set up right away.

  She was tired, but not so tired she couldn’t manage that.I might be having trouble shaking down an Austin girlfriend, but I must have the skills and attractions to land a decent man, even though I’m not always sure about pro se and Prosecco!

  She couldn’t show up all alone-everyone would feel bad for her!

  10

  The late day sun was setting over Lake Austin when Rodric let himself into the apartment. Fully alert, he walked through the large rooms. Inhaling deeply, he tried to catch the last of Daphne’s perfume. She’d spent time in the kitchen, he could see that.

  Moving around the boxes stamped Williams-Sonoma, he picked up window treatment boards and cabinet hardware samples, giving them a once over. He didn’t care about window treatments, not really. He’d give his input, feigning more interest than he felt to assure Daphne her time had been well spent, but he’d let her choose them. Whatever she liked most would feel like home to him, he was certain about it.