by Debby Mayne
He surprises me. “Sounds like fun. I haven’t skated since I was a kid.”
“Same here. That should be hilarious.”
“I’ll bring my good camera to capture those funny moments. My parents gave me an expensive camera for my birthday, and until now I haven’t had a chance to put it to good use.”
“I don’t know about pictures.” I used to be a camera hog, but not so much now.
He makes a silly face. “Aw, c’mon, Trudy. No one will believe me when I tell them I’m hanging out with such a pretty girl, unless I show proof.”
Flattery like this used to go straight to my head, but now it’s grabbing my heart. “Okay, but you have to promise to give me final approval on what you keep and what you delete.”
He makes a cross over his heart. “I promise.”
As I lie in bed later, I reflect on my time with Darryl. He’s much better looking than I ever realized before now, and I appreciate the fact that I can take everything he says at face value without having to analyze it later.
22
Priscilla
I’m sitting in my office finishing up a report when I notice movement in the doorway. My heart hammers when I realize it’s Rick.
“No one was at the front desk, so I figured it was okay to come on back.”
“Blair’s having her weekly meeting with Mandy in her office.”
He walks on in without waiting for an invitation, which is just fine with me. “Good to know she’s not sleeping on the job.”
“Have a seat?”
He pulls a chair around to the side of my desk and makes himself comfortable. “So what’s new with you?”
I tell him about my busy day. He reaches for my hand and gently massages it, all the while looking at me with eyes at half-mast. I’m not even sure he’s listening to me, but his touch makes my words seem less significant.
After I finish talking about my work, he mentions how many people are jumping on his product line. “I’m gonna be a rich man once all these orders are shipped and paid for.”
“Congratulations.”
“Don’t say that yet. I don’t want to be jinxed.”
“Are you superstitious?”
He shrugs. “Not really, but there’s no point in tempting fate.”
As intelligent as he is, he can’t possibly mean that. I’m sure it’s just an expression—at least that’s what I hope. I laugh.
With a lifted eyebrow, he grins. “I like you, Priscilla.”
Now that he’s said that, I feel comfortable letting him know how I feel. “I like you too.”
“Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I guess we can officially say we’re an item. Is that okay with you?”
Since we’re now . . . an item, I wonder if I need to explain that I’m going to the reunion with Tim. Before I have a chance to bring it up, he glances at his watch and stands. “I better get going. I have a lunch appointment in a half hour.”
I’m not sure what to do, now that our relationship has been defined. Should I give him a hug, a handshake, or just a parting comment? I assume the discomfort in the pit of my stomach is due to my lack of experience in the romance department. He backs toward the door and waves. “See ya soon, Priscilla. Don’t work too hard.”
Seconds after I hear the main door to the outside close behind Rick, Blair appears at my office door. “I hate to bother you, Priscilla, but my sister asked if you can come to her party at the hospital tonight.”
“Her party?”
Blair nods. “It’s her birthday.”
How could I possibly turn down any child who has to celebrate her birthday in the cancer unit at the hospital? “I would love to.”
Relief washes over Blair’s face. “I was afraid . . . well, I thought you might be too busy. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said all she wanted was for you to come to her party.”
My eyes sting, but I fight the tears to keep them from falling. “Blair, your sister is absolutely precious, and I’m honored she’d want me there.”
“Good. She’ll be happy when I tell her you’re coming. The party starts right after dinner—like around six-thirty.”
Blair heads back to the reception area, and I busy myself with the project I’m working on. Since I’ll be out of the office all next week, I ask Mandy to bring me some lunch from the deli.
An hour later, Tim shows up at the office, a white bag in his hand, a silly grin on his lips. “Hungry?”
“Yes, Mandy—”
“She told me to bring this on back to you.” He drops the bag on my desk and tips his head toward the side chair. “Mind if I sit?”
I push my work to the side, pull the bag closer, and nod. “Sure, have a seat. What are you doing in Jackson?”
“Visiting you.”
I hold up half the sandwich. “I can’t eat all this. Want half?”
“No thanks. I had lunch with Mandy and Blair.”
“What do you think about Blair?”
“She seems like a good fit for your office.” He crosses his leg and leans back in the chair. “Has she told you about her little sister?”
“Yes, in fact I’ve visited her, and it’s heartbreaking.” I nibble the edge of my sandwich and chew slowly.
“I know.” Tim rubs his chin. “I’m trying to think of something to do at her party.”
“You’re going to her party?”
He grins. “I sort of have to. I volunteered to be the entertainment.”
“That is so sweet, Tim.”
“It’ll be sweet if I can come up with some ideas. Got any suggestions?”
I think for a few seconds before I remember. “How about karaoke? You did that at the last reunion, remember?”
Tim groans. “I don’t wanna scare the poor kids.”
“How about some jokes? You’ve always been funny.”
“Nah, I’m not sure the younger crowd will get me. I was thinkin’ along the lines of magic tricks.”
“If you can pull off enough magic tricks to hold their interest, it sounds like an excellent idea.”
Tim leans forward. “I been doin’ a little research on the Internet, and I saw some stuff that other people have done. I haven’t met Haley yet, but I get along pretty well with most kids.”
“That’s because you’re practically a kid yourself, Tim.”
He laughs as he stands and straightens the front of his trousers. “Yeah, and I’ll prob’ly always be that way. I reckon I better head on over to the party store and see what kinda props they have.”
I finish half the sandwich and put the other half in the break-room refrigerator. After I complete my project, I make a few calls and start straightening up to leave. Blair buzzes me. “It’s Rick Crenshaw on line one.”
“Thanks, Blair.” I clear my voice and punch the button. “Hey, Rick. How was your afternoon?”
“Perfect! And I plan to take you out to the best restaurant in town to celebrate.”
Could life be any better? “When?”
“How about tonight?”
“Sorry, but I’ve already promised my assistant I’d visit her sister in the hospital.”
“Tell her you’ll go another time. This is big, and I want to share it with my best girl.”
“I can’t.” Guilt replaces my joy as I realize I would rather be with Rick than go to the hospital. “It’s her birthday.”
“Oh.” He actually sounds disappointed.
An idea pops into my mind. “Why don’t you go with me, and we can go celebrate your news afterward?”
“I don’t know, Priscilla. I’m not big on hospitals.”
“We’ll just be there a little while, and I don’t think anyone on her floor is contagious or anything.”
“If we keep it short, I suppose we can do that. Want me to pick you up at the office or your townhouse?”
“I’ll go on home and change. You can pick me up there.”
“See you in about an hour then.”
&
nbsp; This is turning out to be a banner day, but I still have an odd feeling about Rick. Mandy and Blair have already left, so I have to lock up as I leave. I get home, take a quick shower, and freshen my makeup before I pull on my favorite knit dress. I’m ready and waiting when the doorbell rings.
Rick greets me with a kiss on the cheek and leads me to his car. “So what’s this we’re celebrating?” I ask.
“I’m not telling you now. You’ll have to wait until later.”
I make a mocking groan as he walks straight to the driver’s side of the car. I haven’t dated much lately, but last time I went somewhere with Tim, he opened my door for me. Oh well, it’s not really that important. I’m perfectly capable of getting into and out of a car without help from a man.
Rick pulls out of the driveway and heads south. I point my thumb over my shoulder. “Oh, the hospital is back that-a-way.”
He lets out a breath of exasperation. “I was hoping you changed your mind.”
“If you don’t want to go—”
“I don’t, but I’ll do it for you.” He stops at the end of the street, smiles, pulls my hand to his lips, and kisses the back of it. I expect a tingly sensation, but it doesn’t happen.
“Thanks.”
I give him directions to the hospital, and we’re there in about fifteen minutes. As I put my hand on the door to open it, he touches my arm. “Will you be long? I mean, if this is a quick in-and-out thing, I can wait here for you.”
“It might be a while. It takes a few minutes to get to her floor, and I’m sure there’ll be cake and ice cream. A friend is providing entertainment, so I’d like to stick around for at least some of that.”
Rick’s face turns red, and I see his temples pulsing as he clenches his jaw. But he doesn’t say anything as he gets out of the car and follows me.
When we get off the elevator on Haley’s floor, Blair is right there waiting. She glances back and forth between Rick and me and gives me a questioning look.
I lean and glance around her. “Is Tim here yet?”
“He’s in the men’s room changing into his costume.”
“Costume?” I smile. Tim really gets into whatever he commits to. “This should be interesting.”
“Who’s Tim?” Rick asks.
Mandy comes up from behind. “Tim Puckett is one of the sweetest men who ever lived. He likes to help out wherever he can.”
I glance over my shoulder and see the disapproval on her face. Rick closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“Blair!” The sound of Haley’s voice touches my heart. She’s been through another round of chemo, and she’s hoarse and weak, but she still has that sweet little smile on her face.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Rick says. “That little girl is bald.” When I try to ignore him and reach out to hug her, he grabs my arm and yanks me back. “Don’t touch her!”
Blair looks like someone has thrown acid on her. Mandy takes Rick by the arm, pulls him away, and nods for me to go ahead. My heart melts at the sight of Haley’s face as her eyes well with tears.
23
Tim
Nothin’ I’d like better right now than to deck that guy Priscilla brung to the hospital. What was she thinkin’? He obviously don’t like kids, and I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s too good for any of us. Even when I say hey to him and try to shake his hand, he looks at me like he don’t wanna be bothered. And he don’t even shake my hand. If Priscilla is attracted to guys like him, I don’t stand an ice cube’s chance.
“I love the outfit, Tim.” Mandy walks up and motions for Blair to join us. “You really do throw yourself into everything you do, don’t you?”
“When I do somethin’, I like to do it right. Nothin’ half-baked for me.” I used to say that different ’til Priscilla came along. It took me a while to clean up my language, but now it comes natural, and I don’t hafta watch my mouth, no matter where I am.
“When you said you’d do some magic tricks, I expected a tux and top hat.” Mandy leans back. “But I think the clown suit is much more fitting.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I figured if I mess up on the magic, I can do somethin’ funny and the kids won’t care that I don’t know what I’m doin’.” I turn to Blair. “When do you want me to get started?”
“The sooner the better,” Priscilla’s fella says. “We have dinner reservations in an hour.”
I’m tempted to drag out the time to make them late, but that wouldn’t be fair to my favorite girl, even though she’s showin’ some terrible judgment when it comes to men. I hope she sees the light before this sorry, no-good excuse for a man sweeps her completely off her feet, if he hasn’t already.
One of the nurses gets everyone’s attention and tells the kids to get their cake and take it to recreation room. I’m glad I’m wearin’ gloves ’cause my palms is startin’ to sweat. I never done magic before, and the only practice I had time for was this mornin’, and it didn’t go so good.
Priscilla keeps on lookin’ at me like she’s waitin’ for approval or somethin’. Well, I got news for her—I’m not givin’ it. I’m done pretendin’, and even if I wasn’t, I don’t think I’m a good enough actor to make her think I like her date. Every time I see him put his hand on her shoulder I wanna puke.
Some of the kids come up to me and ask questions about my clown suit. I try to answer without talkin’ ’cause the lady at the party store said most clowns don’t talk. But that’s too hard, so I stop pretendin’ to be somethin’ I’m not, and I do a little speakin’. I see a few shy kids hoverin’ near the wall, clearly afraid of me. That’s one thing the store lady was right about—a lot of folks is afraid of clowns.
One little boy points down at my oversize shoes. “Be careful you don’t trip. I had some shoes that were too big for me, and I kept on falling ’til I grew into them.”
I take a step and pretend to trip. When I catch myself, I hold up a finger and twirl it in a circle around my ear. He cracks up.
A little girl watches me with widened eyes, lookin’ like she done seen a ghost. I take a chance and do a little jig right in front of her, hopin’ to break the ice. When she smiles and claps, my heart near ’bout jumps outta my mouth. I could get used to this clown thing.
The head nurse lifts her hands over her head and claps. I imitate her, and it ain’t long before everyone is clappin’ their hands way up in the air. The nurse looks at me with a pretend frown and shakes her head. I can tell she’s not mad on account of the twitchy thing her lips is doin’.
I point both hands to the kids and then to the cake table. The head nurse winks at me and mimics my gestures.
It takes the nurses and family members about fifteen minutes to get all the kids through the cake line and in the room where I’ll be performin’. I stand by the door, waitin’ for my cue. Priscilla and that man hang out at the back of the room, and I’m pretty sure she’d rather be up here with me than where she is. She keeps lookin’ over at me and smilin’. My makeup is smilin’ back at her.
Haley has a front row seat with her family. Blair mouths, “Do you need help?” I shake my head no. She puts her arm around her little sister, points to me, and whispers somethin’ that makes the little girl laugh.
“Okay, Mr. Happy, you’re on.” Mandy makes a sweeping gesture toward the roomful of wigglin’ kids. “Go break a leg.”
With my stomach feelin’ like it’s done been turned inside out and my wringin’-wet gloves, I take my place at the front of the room. The second everyone sees me, they stop talkin’, and a few of ’em even laugh. That gives me just enough confidence to start performin’.
Once I begin, I can tell that the kids like what I’m doin’. Now I’m on a roll. I mess up on near ’bout every single magic trick, but I do somethin’ silly, and they laugh. By the time I’m done, the birthday girl has happy tears streamin’ down her smilin’ face. Everyone stands up and claps, makin’ me feel all gooey inside . . . until I notice Priscilla and that man slip out the back
of the room.
We already sang “Happy Birthday” to Haley, but I don’t know what else to do but sing it again. No one seems to mind, and I’m pretty sure they don’t know it’s my ploy to get the attention off me.
A nurse comes up and tells the kids it’s time to get ready for bed. Once all of ’em are out of the room, Mandy, Blair, and Blair’s mama come up and heap me with praise. I thank them and try to act grateful, but my mind is still on Priscilla and what she thinks. It’s hard watchin’ the love of my life leavin’ the party with another man.
24
Priscilla
Glad that’s over.” Rick puts the car into gear and pulls out of the hospital parking lot. “I’m just glad we got out of there in time to make our reservation.”
“I thought it was really nice. Those kids need something to make them smile.”
Rick snickers. “Oh, trust me, those kids have plenty to smile about. I’m sure they have all kinds of folks visiting and giving them things. That’s what bleeding hearts do.”
I look at him with a wary eye. “So you’re saying you don’t care about them?”
“Of course I’m not saying that. It’s not that I don’t care about them. It’s more like I don’t give them a second thought.” He reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “Now let’s stop talking about depressing things and concentrate on what really matters.”
“What really matters to you, Rick?”
He stops at a light and gives me a secretive grin. “I’ll tell you all about it over dinner. For now, I’ll just say that I had a very good day.”
I wonder how Blair’s little sister’s day was. For that matter, how was Blair’s day, worrying about Haley, wondering if there’s any way she can bring some sort of joy and happiness to the little girl on her birthday.
“Tim was sweet to go to so much trouble for those children.”
Rick snorts. “He obviously doesn’t have a life of his own. How do you know that loser anyway?”
Anger bursts through, and I can’t control myself. “Are you always this boorish?”
“Boorish?” He grimaces. “Isn’t that a rather harsh word?”
