Then He Kissed Me

by Maria Geraci

  She blinked. “Yes, I know that. What? Did you think I was going to set her up with a man?” She chuckled. “Oh, no. I don’t think that would work at all. No, I’m keeping my eye out for her. She’s counting on me, you know.”

  Nate took a moment to recover, then he went through her chart on his computer. No allergies. No major medical problems. Blood levels all normal. He studied her history. “You had some GYN surgery done in the early eighties?”

  “Oh, yes, back in eighty-one and eighty-two. Fertility problems. Dan and I tried for almost ten years before I conceived with Lauren. She really is my miracle baby. She was the sweetest thing. Never…cried. Never fussed. Always such a Daddy’s girl! That’s why Dan calls her his Sweet Tea, you know.”

  He turned back to look at her. Tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, startled. He handed her a box of tissues.

  “Oh, I’m just being silly.” She took a tissue and dabbed under her eyes. “I was cleaning out closets yesterday. I’m heading a new committee at the country club where we recycle suits and dresses to give to people who’ve been out of work. It’s so difficult to make the right impression in an interview if you aren’t dressed smartly, you know.” She gave him a shaky smile. “Not that you would have that problem. You always look so sharp!”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Neither of them said anything for a few moments. He sat there, waiting for her to start up again. He didn’t have to wait long.

  “Dan was a smart dresser, too. He was an accountant, you know. A certified CPA. We met at the University of Florida. I’m not from here originally. My people are all from the St. Augustine area. I was a freshman and he was a senior, and he was so handsome. We were engaged by the time he graduated. Back then, girls didn’t always finish school, not if they’d already gotten a fellow. It was a joke. Getting your MRS degree. Dan was from old Whispering Bay money, so naturally, we moved here. His daddy was loaded and he set him up with this nice little firm in Panama City. Not that he didn’t work hard for his success. Dan was always a hard worker.”

  She glanced down at the tissue. “It seems foolish to keep all those lovely suits of his when there’s someone who could benefit from them, don’t you agree? It’s not like he’ll need them anymore. I did keep a few, though, for special occasions. Like our fortieth wedding anniversary. That’s coming up in December.”

  Nate nodded, unsure what else to do. She seemed on the verge of telling him something, but he was hesitant to interrupt her. He’d taken Lauren’s five minute suggestion. And in most cases, it seemed to work with the patients. They were opening up to him. At least, some of them were. But he couldn’t help Maureen if he didn’t know what was wrong.

  On an impulse, he leaned forward and took her hand. He was surprised that she didn’t snatch it from his grasp. Instead, she squeezed his hand in return. It felt small and cool against his own. “I…you aren’t going to tell Lauren about this, are you? And I certainly don’t want Doc to know. He and Dan are old friends and it would feel so wrong…”

  “Whatever you say to me is completely private. It’s the law. I could lose my license if I told anyone.”

  Her blue eyes widened. “Oh, that doesn’t seem necessary! But…well, the thing is,” she laughed a little, “I find myself having the strangest thoughts. And…I cry. All the time. Not when Dan can see me, of course. Or Felicia. And certainly not in front of Lauren. Oh, no. I only want her to see me happy. My momma taught me a true lady never shares her woes with the world.” The tears began again. “But, I do feel that I would benefit from some medication,” she whispered. “I’ve been on those message boards for the family of Alzheimer patients and, well, it seems that I’m not the only one who suffers from…from…”

  “Depression?” he said quietly.

  “Oh, no, I don’t have that! I just need a special—”

  “Vitamin?”

  “Exactly!” She beamed. “You took the word right out of my mouth.” She plucked another tissue from the box and daintily blew her nose. “Now, not to tell you your job or anything, but I’ve done some research. There’s a vitamin called Lexapro that my friend Gina is on which seems very promising. Paxil, I’ve also heard gets very good results. But go ahead! You’re the doctor. You decide.”

  Nate hid his smile and wrote her out a prescription. “Lexapro, it is.”

  She gracefully got down off the exam table and smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle from her silk blouse. “Now, remember, this is our little secret.”

  It was in that moment, looking at Lauren’s proud, graciously genteel mother that everything Doc had said to him over the past months came crashing down on Nate’s head. This woman trusted him. Forget the fact that she was the mother of the woman he loved, she could have been any other patient who’d come in to see him today. She wasn’t a number in the waiting room. She was a flesh and blood person who looked to him for help. It was beyond humbling.

  “Absolutely,” he said.

  Then she smiled at him and walked out of the exam room.

  *~*~*

  Lanie had called and asked Lauren to meet her for lunch at The Bistro. Dhara was finishing up some last minute website details, and would join them when she was done. Nate’s sister listened to her plans for the new business and seemed impressed by how much she and Dhara had accomplished in just one morning. Then Lanie told Lauren about how Nate how gotten the locksmith to change up the locks on his house.

  “Do you think Jessica’s gone for good then?” Lauren asked, taking a bite of her tuna salad sandwich. She wanted to hope for the best, but it seemed almost too easy.

  “She better be.” Lanie laid down her sandwich. “Look, I know it’s kind of nervy of me to stick my nose in someone else’s love life, but I hate to see you and Nate break up over Jessica. She’s not worth it.”

  “So…she’s locked out of the house, then? What did Nate do with her things?”

  “That’s the best part,” Lanie said, beaming. “He dumped her stuff on the front porch.”

  “For real?”

  Lanie nodded.

  “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when she gets back to his place tonight and finds herself locked out.” She paused. “Where do you think she’ll go? Do you really think she’ll stay here in town?”

  Lanie hesitated and Lauren was almost afraid of what she’d say next. “I have no idea where she’ll go, but Nate looked into this job of hers. It’s legit. Her firm is opening up a branch in Panama City.”

  Lauren couldn’t help but feel a twinge of uneasiness. It seemed wrong to wish anyone ill will, but why wouldn’t Jessica just go away? The sooner the better, as far as Lauren was concerned.

  Dhara came into the Bistro and rushed over to their table. She hugged Lanie then took a chair and handed Lauren an envelope. “The mail just came. This was registered so I had to sign for it. I know I probably shouldn’t have opened it, but I couldn’t help myself. It looked really important.” Her dark eyes looked worried.

  Frida came up to the table. “Hi, Dhara. Can I get you something to drink?”

  Dhara shook her head. “Maybe later? I just brought this letter over to Lauren and I’m anxious to see what it says.”

  Lauren saw that the return address was Waterbury Real Estate. What now? She quickly read the letter. “What?” Her gaze shot to Dhara’s then to Frida, and then finally to Lanie.

  “What does it say?” Dhara asked.

  “According to this, the property I’m renting is officially on the market. And…there’s been an offer. The potential owner wants to have the building inspected.”

  “An offer already?” Dhara said. “But our lease is still good till October, right?”

  “It says here that the deal is contingent on our vacating the premises in the next thirty days.”

  “They can’t do that!” Frida said. “You have a lease.”

  “The new owner is willing to give us some financial compe
nsation if we move out.”

  “So, you find another building, right?” Lanie said.

  “It’s not that simple,” Lauren said. “We’ve been looking but there isn’t anything in town big enough that doesn’t require some substantial renovation. As it is now, the building needs an overhaul, but it’s doable. And the location is so good. But I guess we have no choice but to look for something in Destin or Panama City.”

  “Damn. And here I was looking forward to being neighbors for a long time,” Frida said, clearly disappointed. “Does it say who bought the place?”

  “Some company called South Side Ventures,” Lauren said.

  Frida’s mouth opened, then shut again. “No shit,” she muttered vehemently.

  “What? Is that bad?” Lauren asked.

  “South Side Ventures is one of the many little companies owned by none other than Ted Ferguson.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Lauren agreed. “That’s definitely bad.”

  Two hours later, an emergency meeting of the Bunco Babes was called to order. Everyone who wasn’t working or involved in some sort of critical situation was present. “Okay, everyone, calm down!” Pilar said. The group immediately went quiet. Since Kitty had just had a baby, the meeting was being held at her house so that she’d be available to nurse Amanda. The rest of the group sat in her living room, waiting to hear what Pilar had to say.

  “So,” Pilar began. “This is what we know.” She pointed to a flat screen TV mounted on the wall where a power point presentation was in progress. An image of Can Buy Me Love popped up. “This structure, along with about two acres of prime gulf side real estate currently belongs to Earl Handy. Well, all the undeveloped beach property actually belongs to him, too, but for now, this is the property we’re worried about. For the past twenty years, Waterbury Real Estate has managed the lease on this property for Earl. Most recently, it’s been leased to our very own Lauren Donalan.” The group began to clap and wolf whistle.

  Pilar rolled her eyes and waited for them to quiet down again. “Okay, next.” That was Shea’s cue, acting as her assistant, to push the button for the next slide. A picture of a middle-aged bald man popped up. “It looks like Tony Soprano,” Kitty said.

  “Close enough,” Pilar said. “This is Vince Palermo, Earl’s son-in-law and unfortunately, the man behind the man. Earl has given Vince his power of attorney, and you know what that means.”

  “Whispering Bay is in big trouble,” Mimi said.

  “Yep. Next,” Pilar said to Shea. The next slide showed a picture of Ted Ferguson. The room began to boo. “Yes, yes, we all know how everyone feels about Ted. Now, Ted’s Miami based company is operating under a corporation named South Side Ventures. Their goal: to buy up as much land as they can to build condos.”

  The next slide was a picture of Jessica. Lauren squirmed in her seat. Damn. It was one of those professional shots that were touched up to make her look even better than she did, which was pretty good already. She had on a dark blue power suit and black stiletto heels and she looked mean and in charge. It must be her professional lawyer picture.

  Pilar continued. “This is Jessica Hart, attorney. Jessica works for Simon and Simon, a Miami based corporate firm that represents South Side Ventures. Simon and Simon is in the process of opening a branch office in Panama City. I have it on good authority, that Jessica will be leading the team for Ted and his minions.”

  Lauren raised her hand. “Um, may I ask a question?”

  “You may,” Pilar said. “But make it quick.”

  “As an attorney yourself, and knowing what you know about the business, would Jessica’s being sent down to open the branch be a demotion of some kind?”

  “Hardly. This kind of deal requires a shark. More than likely, Jessica will stand to see a very nice bonus once this deal goes through.”

  “I knew she was up to no good,” Lauren muttered.

  “You mean, if this deal goes through,” Mimi said.

  “Exactly. Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to stop Ted, save Baby Got Bump, the shop formerly known as Can Buy Me Love, and keep our beaches for the people of Whispering Bay.” All Pilar needed to complete the image was the theme music from Mission Impossible in the background.

  Mimi stood. “Exactly. While I’m not crazy about the idea of condos, it should be up to the people of Whispering Bay, not Ted Ferguson.”

  “But how are we going to stop him?” Shea asked.

  “I’ve taken the liberty to organize a protest,” Pilar said. “The Gray Flamingoes, naturally, are on our side. We can also recruit other groups around town. It’ll be like when we protested the demolition on the senior center.”

  “But, that’s just temporary,” Frida said. “Let’s say Ted doesn’t get this one piece of property, what’s to stop him from trying to buy up the rest of Earl’s land and build on that?”

  “True,” said Pilar. “But we have to try. Saving one little parcel of land might not seem like much, but maybe if we keep putting obstacles in Ted’s way, he’ll eventually give up.”

  Lauren couldn’t see that happening. Especially not with Jessica as the lead council for Ted’s real estate group.

  “At any rate, we do have a secret weapon.” Pilar snapped her fingers. “Next,” she barked. Shea clicked on the next screen. An image of Lauren popped up this time.

  “Me?” Lauren said. “I’m your secret weapon?”

  “You’re old Earl’s grandniece. Go reason with him. Kitty did it a few years ago when Ted Ferguson was trying to buy land before. It worked then and she’s not even related to him.”

  She had no idea if Earl would see her. The last she’d heard he was practically a recluse. She could take Daddy along, but she hated to involve him in this. No, it was up to her to, as Pilar put it, “save Whispering Bay.”

  *~*~*

  Lauren pulled her car in front of the one-story cream colored stucco home. Mexico Beach was only an hour’s drive from Whispering Bay, but the traffic had been brutal. It was also full out summer now and the temperatures were in the mid-nineties. No wonder Lauren was sweating so profusely. Knowing that she was going to have to throw herself on old Earl’s mercy wasn’t helping her stay cool and composed, either. She hadn’t seen him in years. What on earth was she going to say to him to get him to change his mind?

  The door was answered by a woman with short cropped gray hair. She wore Birkenstocks and had a kind face, but a direct approach. “What do you want?”

  “Hi, I’m Lauren Donalan, but I used to be Lauren Handy. Earl is my great uncle and I was wondering if I could talk to him?”

  She ushered Lauren inside the house. It was a nice house, simple, with terra cotta tiled floors and lots of pictures on the walls. Mostly of ocean views, but there were also lots of sailboats, as well. Lauren remembered Daddy saying Earl had been an expert sailor. A black-and-white photo on the fireplace mantel of a young Earl holding up a marlin caught Lauren’s attention. She’d seen a smaller version of the picture before in an old family album. The resemblance between Earl and Daddy was shockingly strong.

  An elderly gentleman sat in a leather chair with a crocheted blanket over his knees. He appeared to be asleep.

  “I’m DeeDee, Earl’s nurse,” the woman said. “I’m afraid Earl really can’t talk to anyone.”

  “Because he’s sleeping? I can come by later, if that would be all right.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible. He doesn’t make sense anymore and he doesn’t really remember anyone either. Not me, or even his own daughter.” She paused. “I’m sorry, I thought since you were family that you knew that.”

  “I’m sorry, I did know that, but I had hoped maybe that…” Lauren stared at the sleeping man. He seemed so peaceful. She glanced back at the photo above the fireplace. Earl must have been around thirty when that picture had been taken. He appeared so strong. So full of life.

  DeeDee noticed her looking at the photo. “Can I ask what this is about?”

  “I
wanted to talk to him about some property he owns, but, I suppose that’s impossible.”

  DeeDee nodded. “Vince, he’s married to Earl’s daughter, Lenore, is in charge of all of Earl’s business now.”

  “Do you know where I can find him?”

  DeeDee walked over to a small desk and came back with a business card. She handed it to Lauren. “His office is just a few miles down the beach.” Lauren took the card and was about to thank her when DeeDee added, “I don’t know what kind of business you have with Vince, but let me warn you, just because you’re related, he’s not going to cut you any kind of break. Vince is all about the bottom line.”

  “Thanks,” Lauren said. She walked over to Earl and laid her hand across his. He woke up briefly, stared at her with filmy eyes, then closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

  *~*~*

  Whispering Bay was totally screwed. Vince Palermo was worse than Tony Soprano. Tony Soprano, at least, had a heart. Well, somewhere in his twisted sociopathic self. The bottom line, as Pilar would say, was this: Vince wanted money. He didn’t care what happened to her business or anything else. The land was available to the highest bidder. Period.

  Lauren was about to leave his office when the door opened and a woman came walking in, like she owned the place. Which, Lauren recognized immediately, she did. It was Lenore Handy Palermo, Earl’s daughter and Daddy’s cousin, better known to members of the family as Nora. Which made her Lauren’s second cousin, she supposed. Nora recognized her, too, and although, they hadn’t seen one another in a long time, Lauren gave her a hug.

  Nora was close to Daddy’s age, maybe a couple of years younger. Vince was husband number two. Or was it three? Lauren couldn’t remember, but she knew Nora didn’t have any children.

  “So, what brings you to Mexico Beach?” Nora asked.

  “Actually, I need a favor.” A really, really big favor.

  Vince made a scoffing noise. “She wants me to freeze out Ferguson on that beach front property. I did it once, but I’m not a charity here.”