“Sure, darling.”
Margo went to the door that led to the pool.
“I’m thinking about giving you a raise,” she said on her way out and smiled. Daisy smiled back. In reality, Margo wasn’t thinking about a raise and wasn’t going to add anything to her assistant’s salary, but she wanted the girl to keep hoping and working. Some people had nothing, but hopes. Also Margo wanted Michael to hear her words. She overreacted a little, but she didn’t want him to think that she was rude or something. It wasn’t good for her plan. She could make him forget about this situation though and about everything else in the world. That happened as soon as they landed in a hammock.
CHAPTER 8
Margo didn’t want to answer the call, but it pulled her out of her sleep with the insistence of a buffalo. Again and again. She regretted not turning her phone off, but she had never been awakened in the middle of the night before. She barely opened her eyes, picked up the phone from the bedside table, and looked at the screen.
4:30.
“I'll find out tomorrow who called and kill you.”
She wanted to put the phone back as it vibrated in her hand. Margo was so surprised that she dropped it. She leaned over to get the phone from the floor where it continued to ring with its lit screen facing up.
“Michael? What the heck?”
She lifted the phone, but it stopped. Margo called back. If Michael called her so many times and at this hour, it had to be something serious, otherwise he was insane and she surely hoped that wasn’t the case.
“Yes. Dear.”
“Oh, Margaret! I’m so glad you answered!”
Michael almost cried with happiness.
“What? What happened?” Margo sat on the bed and mentally said goodbye to her sleep. She could still fall asleep because she had never suffered from insomnia, but something told her this wasn’t meant to be.
“You have no idea! Fire! I had a fire in my house!”
Margo cursed to herself. She wondered if anything of value was destroyed, but she understood that this wouldn’t be regarded as a tactful first question.
“No way! How did it happen? Are you okay?”
Margo put her legs down from the bed, stuck her feet into her slippers, and shuffled into the kitchen to make coffee and drink water. She wanted her assistant, but the girl wasn’t here to help Margo with her needs. How did she live without an assistant before?
“I don’t know! There will be an investigation.”
“How are you? Are you okay?” Margo opened a bottle of water and took a couple of sips then went to the coffee machine.
“I’m in the hospital now.”
“Hospital? Something serious? Why didn’t you call me before?”
“I didn’t want to scare you, but now everything is over.”
“Why are you in the hospital?” Margo poured water into the coffee machine, put the coffee capsule, and pressed the brew button. She did everything in a calm and measured way.
“I burned my arm a little when I tried to find my cat, but it’s not a big deal.”
“What cat?” Margo covered her mouth with her hand trying to mask a yawn.
There was silence in the receiver at first, and then Michael spoke again.
“I couldn’t save her.”
Margo winced as she heard muffled sobs.
“I’m so sorry, darling.” She poured hot coffee into the cup. The aroma of the drink cheered her up.
“Everything is gone!”
This was what Margo feared the most. She took a sip of coffee, but it didn’t give her any pleasure. Everything? What did he mean by everything? Did she just waste her time?
“You know I’m alone, I have no one. I lost all my friends after my wife died. You’re the only one I could call.”
Margo took another sip of coffee, which seemed bitter to her.
“My poor Phoebe. My poor kitty.”
Another sip of coffee.
“I’m glad I left my wallet in the car. I can go to the bank, withdraw money, and go to a hotel.”
A good option, Margo thought looking at the black surface of coffee. She didn’t like coffee with milk or sugar, it destroyed its taste in her opinion, but she could change her mind now.
“I’ll stay in a hotel until the insurance company checks everything and pays me.”
“It’s good you insured the house,” Margo said quietly.
“Of course! It’s a five-million dollar property! I had to!”
Margo tasted her coffee again, which now suddenly seemed not so brutal.
“All right, dear, you go to bed. Sorry for waking you up. I’ll call Uber now and find a hotel.”
“Honey, what are you talking about?” Margo placed the cup with the rest of her coffee on the table. “I’ll be right there to pick you up. It’s not a good idea to go to a hotel after what you’ve been through.”
“Really? I hope I won’t be a burden.”
“What are you talking about? Of course not! Look what happened! I have to help you. I love you.”
Margo said the last words without any difficulty. She was on her way to the bedroom.
“I love you too.”
Margo didn’t doubt that.
“I’ll wait for you at the hospital?” Michael asked.
“Yes, relax, don’t think about anything. Everything will be fine. I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you. I’ll be waiting.”
Margo turned off the phone and smiled.
“Everything is for the best,” she said, throwing her pajamas on the floor. She had to cancel Tristan’s visit today. She had to cancel him for an unknown period of time.
CHAPTER 9
Margo, of course, was in a hurry to get to the hospital as soon as possible, but she wouldn’t leave the house without full makeup, without her hair curled, or without a dress that suited the occasion. Her future husband lost his cat in the fire, his house, and lots of things that probably were important to him, he would surely be glad to see a beautiful woman picking him up. All the other patients would be jealous. Margo also ate breakfast because she didn’t want to go with her stomach empty and she stopped by a grocery store to buy a bottle of kombucha so her digestion wouldn’t be disturbed during this long and stressful day. This day promised to be long, she felt it. During this time, Michael called three times and asked if she was on her way.
When Margo reached the Broward Memorial Hospital two and a half hours after the call, Michael was sitting on a bench near the entrance to the hospital and drinking coffee from a McDonald’s cup. She was going to the parking garage when she saw him.
“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting, Honey! How are you?” she asked as soon as she got out of the car.
Michael closed his eyes for a second and then threw the cup into the trash and the rest of the coffee flew across the asphalt.
“I couldn’t stay inside anymore. Too depressing,” he said. It seemed that Margo’s efforts to look like a doll were imperceptible to Michael. He didn’t even look at her dress or hair.
“I know,” she said.
Margo stepped to him and gave him her hand to help him stand up. Michael’s clothes looked wrinkled and sweaty, and his arm was wrapped in bandages. He looked pathetic.
“You poor thing,” Margo said when Michael leaned on her arm.
“The doctors gave me some drugs,” he replied. “I calmed down. You know. I feel a little better. Of course you are here.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“To my house?” Michael shuddered.
“Your house burned down, silly. To my house, of course. Don’t worry. I know it’s tough, but we’ll get through this.”
Margo wanted to offer to let him stay as long as he wanted, but thought better of it. Everything depended on what he intended to do the next day. Was he going to work? Buy new things? Get money from a bank? Talk to an insurance company?
“Thank you so much,” Michael said, heading to the car. “I still can’t be
lieve it I really need to shower and get some food. Can I eat something at your house?”
“Of course!”
Margo sat behind the wheel and drove home, texting Daisy on her way and ordering her to buy breakfast at a French cafe.
Michael went to the restroom almost immediately after they arrived home, stopping in the kitchen for a second to drink a glass of water. While he was in the shower, Margo went to the garage and found the bag with her dead husband’s belongings. She had planned to get rid of them for a while, but something else always came up. It seemed there was a reason for it. Charles and Michael were almost the same size.
Michael didn’t object and took the clothes from Margo.
“Better than nothing,” he joked.
Margo made another cup of coffee while she waited for Daisy and thought about her next steps. Michael wasn’t going to leave her house as usual, but would stay for the night. A few nights. She enjoyed her freedom, but was ready to marry, so maybe it was time to get used to it. Fate itself hurried the events.
Daisy entered the house forty minutes after they had arrived. Michael finished his shower by this time and sat on the couch in the living room in front of the TV, switching channels.
“Maybe they’ll say something about my house on the news,” he said.
“Maybe,” Margo said, but she wasn’t interested in the news at all. She went to open the door as soon as she heard the bell.
“Did you go to Palm Beach to buy food?” she asked, opening the door. Daisy annoyed her more than usual lately.
“Fort Lauderdale,” the girl answered, squeezing into the room between the door frame and Margo, who didn’t move. Margo slammed the door closed when her assistant came in, and followed her into the kitchen.
Daisy put paper boxes of croissants on the table, threw the package into the trash can, and turned to Margo.
“Are you going to eat now?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Margo wanted to add the word ‘idiot’, but refrained from temptation. Even this wobbler could have limits to her patience and Margo wanted to keep her. She had to balance cold and hot, a stick and a carrot.
Sitting at the table, Margo watched Daisy taking out the dishes and arranging the food from the boxes on the plates. Margo would like to find some fault with her work, but there was nothing.
“Ask Michael to come here, he’s watching TV. Then you can take the dresses I put on the bed to the dry cleaner. After you’ve done with that, buy a bottle of champagne, my favorite chocolate, and fruit. I want everything fresh. I’ll text you a list.”
“Okay.”
Daisy left and Margo heard a conversation between her and Michael. She instantly regretted sending the girl to her future husband because he started telling her about the fire and the idiot assistant started to gasp, told him how sorry she was.
“Hate her,” Margo said as she picked up the croissant. It smelled divine and she didn’t care about the calories. They would burn from the stress she had experienced today or would experience.
“They showed nothing,” Michael said as he sat at the table. Margo heard the front door slam. Daisy went to take care of Margo’s business. “I guess I’m not that important.”
“It’s all about politics,” Margo said as she started to eat. “Don’t think about it, relax. You have a lot to do today.”
“Not really,” Michael said, spreading butter over the croissant. Then he looked at Margo and probably noticed her surprised look. “I’ll call my customers. I have to tell them about the fire. I just can’t work today. I need to figure out a lot of logistics, but I just need a day to pull myself together.”
“I understand.” Margo patted Michael’s hand.
“I already talked to the insurance company. They will have to go to the sight, assess the situation, talk to the police, investigate. All that stuff.”
“I know. The whole bureaucracy thing.” Margo nodded. “How much time will it take?”
“Oh, I hope I won’t bother you,” Michael said as he stopped chewing.
“No, no,” Margo said. Then she added a few more words that didn’t want to leave her mouth, but she pushed them out anyway because she knew they would be appropriate for the situation. “Stay as long as you need.”
“Thank you, dear. What would I do without you?” Michael looked gratefully at Margo.
“Of course. I’m happy to help you. It’s so terrible. I hope they find out what happened.”
“Can you go with me to my house?” Michael asked as he continued to eat. “I don’t think I can do it alone. Just the thought of it drives me crazy. I can’t believe it.”
“I will go with you.”
“Thank you. I just want to take a nap. I’m really tired.”
“That’s a good idea. I wouldn’t mind a nap, myself.”
They finished their food in silence.
At about five o’clock, after a few hours of nap, lunch and TV, Michael changed into Charles’s clothes without comment, as if these clothes belonged to him, and they went to see what was left of Michael’s house.
“Let’s stop at the store,” Michael said. “I want to buy flowers for my Phoebe.”
“Who is Phoebe?” Margo asked.
“My cat,” Michael answered. “She died in the fire.”
Margo almost puked. Fortunately, she’d had many years of practice controlling her facial expressions, which she constantly applied to her everyday life.
“Poor Phoebe,” she said. She ordered Daisy to buy flowers on her way back to the house and they waited for her to arrive.
Margo tried to remember the reason she had never visited Michael’s house when it was still an inhabitable piece of property. It seemed he had never had an opportunity to invite her or he always stayed at her house.
Michael’s house was in the old area of Fort Lauderdale known as Tarpon River. The houses on the street were big and expensive, but old. They were mostly wooden, so it was no surprise that Michael’s house turned into a firebrand.
Margo looked at the ruins from the car at first and then joined Michael when he placed flowers on the ashes.
“Poor Phoebe,” Michael sighed and wiped his tears.
“I know,” Margo agreed and hoped that Michael wouldn’t notice indifference in her voice. She examined a charred tree, pieces of furniture sticking out, broken windows. There was nothing left and even if there was anything that could be salvaged, who would shovel the heaps of ashes to get to it?
“I hope the insurance company has been here already and appraised everything, because I need to look for a new house. I don’t want to be a problem.”
“You won’t bother me,” Margo answered. “I’m happy we are together.”
Michael looked into her eyes and smiled.
“Maybe this is the way it should be,” he said. Margo stared at him, but then she noticed someone approaching behind Michael. She looked at the elderly woman who got out of the car near the house next door. It was amazing that it didn’t catch fire.
The woman seemed to read Margo’s thoughts.
“It’s good there was no wind,” she said, “and the firemen arrived before the fire spread. They sprayed water and foam everywhere.”
Margo nodded and Michael turned to the woman.
“Oh, hello!” he greeted his neighbor. “I can’t believe it! Everything happened so fast.”
The woman nodded, studying Michael and Margo.
“This is really upsetting. I can’t stay here any longer,” Michael said. “I can’t look at this.”
He waved to the woman and headed for the car.
“Goodbye,” Margo said out of courtesy to his former neighbors as she followed Michael. When she got into the car, Michael wiped his face with the bottom of his T-shirt. Margo winced, took a pack of napkins out of the glove compartment, and handed it to him. He took one out and blew his nose.
“I didn’t tell you, but I was starting to remodel my house. I wanted to do it for a while, but d
idn’t have the motivation. Then I met you and decided I had to do something before inviting you. See what happened. I haven’t even started.”
“Right,” Margo said. Now she understood why he didn’t invite her for a cup of coffee. “It’s okay. We’ll build a beautiful house together.”
Michael gazed at her with a childlike expression of devotion.
“Really?”
“Of course,” Margo confirmed. She secured her words with a gentle kiss. No man could resist or think of anything but her.
CHAPTER 10
Margo thought that Michael would propose to her on the second day after he had firmly settled in her bedroom and put on her ex-husband’s pants, but he was in no hurry. Margo had barely seen him. He met with bank managers, insurance companies, and his customers. He assured her every day that his insurance agent was working on his case and promised to make a decision soon, but Margo knew there wasn’t much that depended on him in this situation. All she had to do was wait. She made her decision—three weeks. If nothing had changed within three weeks, he would fly out of her house like a cork out of a champagne bottle. She wasn’t going to waste her time. It wasn’t difficult to find a suitable candidate to take the position of her husband, but it wasn’t easy to marry him right away, which meant she had to move.
At the end of the second week Margo tried to calm down. She shouldn’t be nervous, shouldn’t get frustrated, and should just allow these three weeks to pass. She couldn’t stop her thoughts though and kept rolling them in her head like dice on a table. It was Saturday, the second week of her term, when Michael invited her to a restaurant. As always, she put on a sexy dress, curled her hair, and applied red lipstick to her lips. She didn’t want to enter a restaurant without being noticed. She loved attention.
“I’m worried that someone will take you away from me,” Michael said as they sat down at the table. He didn’t miss the looks from men and women when Margo entered the room. It was just what she wanted and the effect she was trying to achieve. He had to understand that she could disappear from his life as quickly as she appeared.
The garden of dead thoughts Page 6
