by Curry, Edna
Someone turned up the music on the stereo, and Ralph moved off to ask Sally to dance. Other couples followed suit, and the non-dancers quickly moved off to the sides of the room to watch.
Harry appeared to ask Lili to dance and she moved off with him. Glancing back, she was surprised to see Ken and Anna dancing together. Since Anna had a big smile on her face, Ken must be winning her over.
Harry danced awkwardly, but seemed determined to make the effort, and Lili found herself liking the older man. Sweat glistened on his brow under his snow-white hair as if he wasn’t used to this much exercise. Lili was touched by the way the other managers went out of their way to make her feel a welcome addition to their group.
“Coming to the Food Fair next month?” Harry asked.
Lili frowned. “Food Fair?”
“Yeah, you know, Allied’s annual buying show?”
“I don’t think so, I don’t buy from...Oh, sorry,” she gasped as someone bumped into them in the crowded space.
“May I cut in?” Tom asked, taking her arm. He grinned and waved a good-bye to Harry before she could object.
Tom was no longer young either, but the tall, older man danced with surprising grace, and Lili found it easy to follow him. When the music stopped, Lili begged off and headed for the side-bar for some food and a much needed drink.
Ken joined her there. “Enjoying the party?”
“Very much. Who chose the music?” Lili asked, as the Tennessee Waltz drifted over the buzz of conversation.
“Guilty,” Ken said. “Do you like it?”
“I love it. I still have some of Mom and Dad’s old records, myself.”
“I have a collection of old ‘fifties’ 33 rpm records. I found that stereo at an auction,” he nodded at the long cabinet along one wall. “It’s almost as good as new. Dance?”
At her smile and nod, Ken took her glass and set it and his own on the table behind them. He held out his arms and she moved into them.
It was ages since she had danced an old-fashioned waltz. She had forgotten how romantic it felt to be held close in a man’s arms as a soft melody floated around them. Her body was sending out a four-star alarm, and her skin felt on fire where her hand was captured in his. Along her side, her body burned where his fingers rested lightly on her waist.
He smiled down at her and their gazes locked together. Suddenly it felt like they were alone in the crowded room. She thought he was going to kiss her, right in front of everyone.
She touched the tip of her tongue to her dry lips, remembering his kisses, then looked away when she saw that his eyes had followed the movement.
Renee and Arthur stopped beside them, breaking the spell.
Renee pushed back her long dark hair with red-tipped fingers and asked Ken, “Can I change to something livelier for the younger set? They don’t know how to waltz.” Renee nodded toward the chattering group standing along the wall next to the food, cans of cola in hand.
“Suit yourself.”
Ken watched Renee and Arthur head for the stereo, and sort through the stack of records.
“She can’t be that young,” Lili commented.
“Neither is Arthur, I’d say.”
“No, he’s in his late forties somewhere. Divorced, with a nine-year-old son who lives with his ex.”
“Too bad.”
“Oh, I think he’s enjoying his freedom. He’s always talking about taking someone somewhere in his Jag. And he always fought with his wife. That hasn’t changed. Now they fight over support payments.”
The waltz ended and they moved off to the side of the room. A minute later, a loud, fast beat sent the teen crowd out into the middle of the room, cheering.
“Let’s get some air.” Ken slid open the glass door behind them and led her out into the moonlight. A few others were strolling on the deck and the paths down to the lake. It was a star-studded, warm spring evening, and the scent of crabapple blossoms filled the air.
He took her hand, and they followed the path around the side of the house. When they were out of sight of the others, he turned her into his arms. The urgency that had been building between them as they danced exploded into heated action. As though they had both been waiting for this moment, their lips met and bodies melded tightly together.
His lips explored hers. She wanted the kiss to go on and on, never to end. His hand slid up her side to cup the curve of her breast, while her fingers curled into the crisp hairs along the back of his neck. His tongue slipped between her lips to tease hers, as lines of fiery desire sang along her veins, making her cuddle even closer to him.
Sliding his fingers through her hair, he whispered, “I love your hair. It’s so soft and it smells like roses.”
She felt the hardness of his response against her, and thrilled to the knowledge that she had that effect on him.
The sound of voices coming closer along the path finally separated them. Lili sighed as they drew apart. Ken tucked her hand under his and they retraced their steps along the path. Rejoining the party, they were quickly separated when Renee claimed Ken for a dance.
Hours later everyone said their goodnights as they prepared to leave. Ken smiled at her and sent her heart fluttering again when he said, “We’ll have to do this again sometime.”
Reluctantly, Lili rounded up the others to whom she’d given a ride to the party.
As she drove, they chatted about the party, while her mind returned to Ken. Had he intended his parting remark to have a double meaning? Her thoughts centered on the crinkle around his hazel eyes, and the warmth of his kisses.
“Hey, you passed my driveway,” Sally objected.
“Sorry, I was daydreaming,” Lili said. She turned the car around, blushing furiously when she heard Sally giggle.
“Yeah, we all know who you were daydreaming about, too, boss,” Billy teased. Then he gasped, “Ouch!” as Sally poked the teenager for his lack of respect for his boss.
“That’s okay. We all think he’s cute, too,” Sally assured Lili. As she climbed out of the car, Sally flipped her long blonde hair back and smiled kindly at Lili’s red face. “Even Anna danced with Mr. Mills, and I didn’t think she knew how to dance! See you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” Lili said. Honestly! My store is like a small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business!
Chapter 7
Sunday morning Lili worked around her house restlessly. When there was no more dust to chase and all her laundry was clean and back in the drawers and closets, she tried to concentrate on a book. But her mind kept re-living the details of the party the night before.
Early in the afternoon Tami, her best friend since childhood, called. Lili was pleased that Tami wanted her to go to the mall for shopping and dinner.
Tami picked her up and they happily chatted on the hour’s drive into the Twin Cities, catching up on each other’s lives.
After spending hours walking around the shops, they locked their full shopping bags in Tami’s car, and settled in at a restaurant to enjoy seafood salads in bread bowls.
“So what are you dying to tell me, that you haven’t?” Tami asked with a sly glance at Lili. She hooked her long brown hair behind one ear with a perfectly manicured hand. Taking another bite of her salad, she eyed Lili, waiting for an answer.
“What makes you think I have something to tell you?”
“Don’t play games with me, Lili. I’ve been listening to your secrets all my life. You have that same look in those baby blue eyes that you had the time you and Lester put a live snake in Mrs. Reid’s top desk drawer, remember?”
Lili choked on a chunk of tomato and grabbed her glass of water. When she could stop laughing, she said, “I remember.”
“You both had to sit in the cloakroom the rest of the day,” Tami said, grinning.
“That wasn’t as bad as it sounds. We ate all the cookies out of everyone’s bag lunch.”
“So that’s why you threw up.”
“See, I didn’t tell you ev
erything, even back in first grade,” Lili teased.
“Does that mean there is something you’re not telling me?”
“Well…” Lili found herself telling Tami the details of her father’s will, and all about Ken Mills.
Tami listened patiently, biting her lip as Lili ended with the dance at Ken’s house the night before. “So you’re falling in love with Ken, and you’re mad at yourself for that?”
Lili gasped. “I didn’t say that.”
Tami shrugged. “Maybe not, but your face and voice did. It’s written all over you as you talk about him.”
When Lili frowned and looked away, Tami put her hand over Lili’s and said, “Hey, don’t knock it. Love doesn’t come along every day. You have to take it where you find it.”
“But I just want to be rid of him, and get control of my store back,” Lili protested.
Tami grinned smugly. “Do you? I don’t think so.”
“You’re wrong.”
Tami stared at her speculatively, then asked, “Would you really choose selling bananas over love?”
When Lili didn’t answer, she sighed and said, “Come on, let’s go home.”
While Tami concentrated on the heavy traffic on the now darkened freeway, Lili pondered her comments. Could she be falling in love? With someone she had vowed to oust from her business and her life? No way!
“A penny for your thoughts.”
“You wouldn’t get much of a bargain,” Lili said. “Oh. We’re back in Landers already?”
“Yes. You were thinking so hard I didn’t want to interrupt with small talk.”
“Nonsense,” Lili denied. “I must have been dozing. All that walking in the mall wore me out.”
Tami grinned. “If you say so.”
“Could you stop at the store a minute?”
“At midnight? Whatever for?” Tami parked at the curb.
Lili dug her keys out of her purse. “I just want to check to be sure everything is okay and properly locked up for the night. You know, in case a fuse blew and the power is off to a freezer or something. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Want me to come with you?” Tami asked, looking doubtfully at the empty street and dark building.
“Of course not. I do this alone all the time,” Lili said. She unlocked the door and flipped the front entrance light switch. The rest of the store was dimly lit with night lights, so she walked quickly through the store as she always did, without bothering to turn on all the overhead fluorescent lights. The pungent scent of oranges and lemons filled the air. The low humming vibration of a compressor kicking in on the roof overhead broke the almost eerie silence of the store.
Opening a glass cooler or freezer door here and there, she quickly ascertained that each unit’s compressor was working properly. She had done this so often that she could judge the temperature within a few degrees just by putting her hand on the metal rack inside each case. The sharp bite of cold in the freezers and a comfortable chilliness in the refrigerators told her that all was well.
Next she tried the door to the basement to make sure it was locked and then went to check the back storage room door.
A circle of shadows loomed ahead of her as she stepped into the dark room and groped for the light switch. Without warning, something hit her on the side of her forehead. Pain seemed to burst into star shapes as she slumped to the hard wooden floor.
***
Minutes later Lili came to. Tami was bathing her face with a cold, wet paper towel. Light from the main part of the store streamed through the open storeroom doorway.
“Tami! Ooh, my head! What happened?”
“Thank goodness you’re awake! What happened is my question! Are you all right? Do you hurt anywhere besides your head?”
Lili sat up, trying to focus her eyes through the dizziness. “No, I guess not. Someone must have been in here waiting for me.”
“Obviously,” Tami said dryly. “When you didn’t come back out, I came in and found you. Is there a light switch in here? I could only find the lights in the main part of the store.”
“Behind you, on that wall. Did you call 911? Whoever hit me may still be nearby.” She tried to stand, then, feeling woozy, quickly sat back down on some boxes of canned goods.
“Yes. You were out cold. Ah, that’s better,” she said as she flicked on the overhead lights. She disappeared, then returned carrying a plastic bag of ice cubes. Ripping it open, she wrapped some ice in a paper towel and handed it to her. “Put this on your forehead. That’s a nasty lump. You’re going to have a beaut of a bruise. What did he hit you with, anyway?”
“Probably that can of soup,” Lili said, waving a hand toward a lone can lying on the floor nearby.
“Hello in here? Police!” a voice called from the other room.
“Thank goodness. Back here,” Tami called back. A moment later two uniformed officers appeared, introducing themselves as Sam and Jean from the county sheriff’s department.
Tami and Lili repeated the story and answered questions while Sam took notes and Jean checked Lili’s wound and pupils.
“I’ll take a look around outside, just in case. Jean, check the rest of the inside of the store. Did either of you see anyone?” asked Sam, stuffing his notebook back into his pocket.
“No,” Lili said.
Tami shook her head. “I just followed Lili in when she didn’t come back out. I turned on the lights when I came in. You wouldn’t catch me wandering around in here with only the night lights on. It’s eerie.”
“You always were afraid of the dark. ‘A bogeyman’ll get you if you don’t watch out!’” Lili repeated their childhood chant.
“Fun—ny! You must be feeling better,” Tami said. “Besides, the bogeyman did get you this time.”
“I don’t think it was a ‘bogeyman,’” Jean said, frowning. “Whoever it was obviously left through that back door after you surprised them.”
“No sign of forced entry,” Sam said, returning from outdoors. “Either they were already inside, or they had a key. Say, this door can be opened without a key from the inside, can’t it?”
“Well, yes, it’s just barred and bolted. Anyone could open it if they were already inside,” Lili admitted. “I suppose it would be possible to hide in here during the day and then leave later. But few people ever come back here, so not many people would know that.”
“But anyone who has ever worked here would?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How about delivery people, salesmen, company reps?”
“Yes,” Lili said slowly. “I see what you mean. I’ll see that it is padlocked as well as barred after this.”
“I’ll just take this soup can to check for fingerprints, in case we got lucky. Most burglars know enough to wear gloves, though, from watching television.” He shook his head.
“Lili, do you feel up to looking around to see if anything is missing?”
“Sure,” Lili said, getting to her feet. As the room whirled, then settled down, Tami took her arm and said, “I’ll go with you.”
They walked through the now brightly lighted store, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. Lili checked the change fund, and the tills at the front of the store.
“Nothing seems to be missing,” she told the officers. “Cash and cigarettes are usually taken first. They weren’t,” she added, waving a hand toward the full cigarette display beside the tills.
“But the till drawers are open,” Tami objected. “Doesn’t that mean someone was in them?”
Lili shook her head, wincing at the pain that sudden movement caused. “No, we always leave them open at night, because the cash registers are expensive, and thieves have a reputation for smashing them if they’re locked. But we remove the cash, except for the coins, which are still there.”
“How about the rest of the groceries?”
Lili’s lips quirked. “It’s totally impossible to tell you if a few items are missing or not. How could I? Could you remembe
r how many of each of thousands of items there are on the shelf?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Although Anna might remember if there were a lot of some items gone, or if full cases of groceries were missing from the storage room.”
“Have her check in the morning. We’ll make out a report and let you know if we learn anything.”
“Thanks.”
“Can you lock up here for now? I’ll call you later tomorrow. You’d better have a doctor check you out.”
“I’m fine, really,” Lili insisted.
“I’ll drive her over to the emergency room,” Tami said firmly.
Nodding, the two officers left.
Lili allowed Tami to drive her over to the hospital emergency room. After checking her over, the doctor agreed with Lili that she would be fine.
On the way home, Lili said, “You know what I’m dreading most about all this?”
“No, what?” Tami asked.
“Telling Ken in the morning.”
When she awoke the next morning, Lili’s head still felt like it was splitting, so she called Anna and asked her to open the store.
Next she called the local locksmith who agreed to change all their locks before closing time that evening. Relieved, she said, “Thanks, Oscar. I knew I could count on you.”
She took some aspirin and put on the coffee, holding an ice-pack to her head while she waited for the coffee to perk. After her shower, she dressed in a comfortable pair of slacks and sweater. She put on some make-up to add some color to her white cheeks. Then she brushed her long hair, trying to arrange a curve of it across the now black and blue bump on her forehead.
Then she could no longer put off dialing Ken. She listened to the phone ring, half-hoping he would have left for the day, but had no such luck. His strong, confident voice sent a surge of reassurance through her.
“Ken, it’s Lili. We had a break-in at the store last night.”
“What?” He listened as she began to explain the details, then interrupted, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, except for the granddaddy of all headaches.”
“Did you see a doctor?”
“Yes. Tami took me to the emergency room last night. I’m fine, really.”
