Paul looked at me and shrugged.
“She’s not herself.” He grinned. “So, where’s Sam?”
“Oh, he’s on the terrace talking to Ken Stevens. He’ll be back soon. So, I hear Trevor is home for a few weeks, and he has a new lady in his life. He’s a big man with the girls.” I winked.
“Yeah, big man…” He laughed. “I wish he was paying more attention to his grades. These kids have it too easy, Pen. My folks didn’t give me a free ride. I had to work so hard to get where I am. Trevor just skates by. I don’t know. What are you gonna do, huh? He’s a good kid; just a little wild that’s all.”
I was worried about Claudia; she didn’t seem right to me. “Is Claudia okay, Paul? She looks a little tipsy. She’s usually so buttoned up,” I said. “You know, such a health nut; she’s not a big drinker.”
“She says she’s going through a mid-life crisis or something.”
“What? Oh, that’s silly; she’s too young for all that. She’s so in shape and full of energy.”
“Yeah, well maybe it’s just a passing thing.” He smiled and asked if I needed a refill. I was fine, so I told him to go on, and I’d catch up with him later.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mother doing the rumba with Brilliant. A crowd gathered around them, as they expertly maneuvered around the dance floor. Mother looked like she was having the time of her life. Brilliant winked and motioned for me to join them. Why not? I thought, and headed over.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, taking my hand. I decided to take a spin, and let him lead…what a surprise. He held me close as we spun around the Regal’s massive dance floor. I felt like I was skating, and the room took on a lovely orangey-pink color, like a magnificent sunset. I felt great love pouring out of him and was shocked to see his golden heart shining through his crisp white shirt. Time stood still, as we waltzed around under the swaying lights. My legs went weak and my heart fluttered. He’s an angel, I reminded myself.
“If only you weren’t such an exhibitionist,” I scolded. “Honestly, Brilliant, I know you come from the highest place.” He winked at me. “But, sometimes you can really get me in a jam.”
“Oh, I’m just free that’s all. Free from ego, guilt and the opinions of others. You should try it sometime.” He glided me around even faster. “Why are you holding back? What are you waiting for? You know, Penelope, one day you’re going to look back at your life and wish you had experienced more. There’s a lot more to life than designer handbags and overly priced garments. You’ll wish for a second chance…a chance to kick up your heels, dance with abandon, sing at the top of your lungs…and love unconditionally. Don’t wait. Take the leap now; soak up life and experience it all.” He twirled me around and kissed my hand. “I love you Penelope. I want you to feel, dream, and create a wonderful life for yourself. Have some fun!”
“Excuse me!” That was Mother cutting in. “May I please have my date back?” she squealed, twirling her hair around her finger. She was a changed woman. “Come on Mr. Brilliant; let’s show them how it’s done.” She grabbed him by the arm, dragging him back to the middle of the dance floor.
As the beat picked up, they really let loose.
“Do the Hustle,” Mother shouted, her hips moving back and forth as if balancing a giant hula hoop. Even Brilliant found it hard to keep up. She then spun around like a dervish and began a sequence of steps that looked something like a cross between a jitterbug and clogging.
It was hard to watch. I cringed and headed back to the terrace.
I could see Sam speaking with Ken, and headed over. As I made my way, I spotted Phyllis and Frank talking to Jackie. I decided to join them instead. I had to slip past Sam and Ken on the way and overheard them speaking about offshore banking. “Great, more secrets…” I rolled my eyes.
Jackie looked stunning in a long, tight-fitting velvet gown, complete with a beautiful hand held fan. “I’m a southern belle,” she shouted out over the loud music. “Do you love it?” She looked fabulous, and the green of her dress matched her eyes exactly. She looked happy, as well. The color was back in her cheeks, and her eyes glistened. I was happy to see the improvement.
Phyllis and Frank, dressed as Bonnie and Clyde, were swaying to the music.
“Hey, Pen, do I make a good Clyde?” Frank asked in his deep raspy voice.
“Spitting image,” I kidded, giving them both a kiss. “Wow, everyone really went all out tonight,” I giggled. “This Ball is always such a fun time. Remember last year, Frank? You won the award for best costume!”
Frank beamed, pushed all his pudgy fingers together in a pinch, and waved his hand in the air. “Mama Mia, you look gorgeous, doll,” he said, surveying my mermaid look.
Suddenly, there was a commotion coming from the main ballroom, and we all hurried inside to see what was going on.
I pushed my way in and gasped.
Brilliant was putting on a magic show. Mother, as assistant, was enthralled as he pulled coins out of her ear, rabbits out of his hat, and was about to levitate Mrs. Bayberry from her prone position in the middle of the dance floor. I felt my throat close and wondered whether I should break up the whole thing, but everyone seemed to be having such a good time.
Brilliant said something like, “Walla, walla, who, who,” and presto, right before our eyes, Mrs. Bayberry actually did lift right off the Regal Rock dance floor. She hovered for about five minutes, spinning in midair, as Brilliant walked underneath her suspended body proving there were no hidden cables or wires involved. Mother kicked up her heels and clapped wildly, and cheers broke out from the mesmerized crowd.
With a flash of bright light, Brilliant boomed “Walla, walla, presto” and lowered Mrs. Bayberry from her airborne position. “The moment Mrs. Bayberry opens her eyes, she will be transformed into a goddess of unparalleled beauty,” he informed. We all stood motionless in anticipation of Mrs. Bayberry’s extreme makeover, as Brilliant counted “One, two, three; presto!”
On the count of three Mrs. Bayberry did open her eyes, and to the surprise of all, announced she was feeling better than she had in years.
“I am a goddess!” she exclaimed, and walked away in a dreamy daze, swaying her hips to and fro. Her husband looked at her with new eyes and wrapped his arms around her tightly, crooning.
“It’s all in the mind,” Brilliant announced to the cheering crowd. “Now, who’s next?” he asked with a gleaming smile.
Women ran up in droves, encouraged by their husbands who were eager to see if they, too, would be lucky enough to take home a goddess.
“Wow, and I thought Saffron was good.” Phyllis galloped over to Brilliant, elbowing her way through the crowd of hopefuls.
“Hey, where did you find this guy?” Frank asked, scratching his head.
“Oh, he just sort of turned up.” I smiled. Frank looked skeptical.
Suddenly, there was a crackling sound, and the Regal was thrown into darkness.
“Don’t worry; everyone calm down,” a voice boomed from the back of the packed room. “We’ll get the generator going. It’ll only be a few minutes. Everyone remain calm and stay put.” I reached out for Frank, but it was too dark.
There was a scream that echoed loudly from the center of the ballroom and everyone quieted. Another scream rang out, this time coming from the other direction; it was louder and everyone panicked. I felt my stomach flip and put my hands out in front of me, as I tried to make my way back out to the terrace. Everyone was pushing and shoving, and it was getting out of hand.
“Sam, Sam, where are you?” I called out.
I felt someone close behind me. I turned to see if it was Sam, but I couldn’t see a thing. Continuing on, I felt someone grab my upper arm. I stumbled as they yanked me very hard to my left. I must have gotten my dress caught on something, because I couldn’t move. I felt the hand press around my arm, painfully pulling me harder and harder, but my body just wouldn’t budge…I was stuck.
“Let go,” I screamed. “Let go of me
.”
I managed to free my arm and spun around. Freeing my dress, I moved quickly in the direction of the exit. My arm was throbbing, and I was frightened. I turned my face upward and saw Brilliant standing over me.
“Be still,” he commanded. “Be still. I won’t let any harm come to you.”
Suddenly, more screams rang out. Terrified, I turned to Brilliant, but he was gone. I pushed my way forward and made my way out to the terrace, where a large crowd had formed. They were screaming and pointing to the Regal’s massive fountain.
Someone shouted out, “Call 911; hurry, hurry.”
Panicking, I searched for Sam. I saw him just to my left and managed to squeeze through the crowd. When I finally made it over to him, I saw what everyone was shouting about.
The blood drained from my face.
A figure, dressed as Mae West, was wading through the Regal’s giant fountain to a floating body…the body of Marie Antoinette, face down, surrounded by what looked like three large fish.
With great force, Mae West grabbed the floating body and quickly flipped it over.
I was praying it wasn’t Claudia.
“Call an ambulance; it’s Claudia Peterson,” shouted Mae.
“Oh, my God, where is Paul Peterson?” I cried, holding my heart.
Mae pulled Claudia’s lifeless body through the fountain’s rippling water, while the trio of ghastly fish circled them. Frank and Jake Clinton jumped in and pulled Claudia out with a heave and rested her limp body on the grass.
“Someone get a blanket,” yelled Frank.
Mae West immediately began CPR, breathing the breath of life into poor Claudia. Then, pushing down, one, two, three on her sunken chest, she demanded “Come on girlfriend, you can do it…come on soul sister!”
My mouth hung open. I knew the voice instantly.
Debbie Tucci Drake was saving Claudia’s life!
“Karma”
To everyone’s relief, Claudia responded and started sputtering and spitting out water. The ambulance arrived, and the medics placed her on a stretcher, wrapping her in thermal blankets. Paul came dashing down from the Clubhouse and became instantly hysterical when he saw her.
“Someone locked me in the men’s room,” he shouted. “What the hell is going on? My beautiful Claudia,” he wailed, and threw himself onto the stretcher. Sobbing, he stroked her soaked blonde bob. “Oh my God; thank goodness you’re okay. What happened?” he asked, searching the surrounding crowd.
The medics expressed urgency, and Paul shot up from his prone position next to a shaking Claudia. He stumbled as they wheeled her into the waiting ambulance. Jake hurried over and put his arm around Paul, to steady him. They both jumped into the back of the ambulance as the rest of us stood motionless watching it take off for Memorial Hospital, sirens screaming.
A soaking wet Mae West ran after them shouting, “Forever yours, sister!”
Frank and Phyllis walked over to where Sam and I stood, dazed and numb. Frank spoke first.
“Did you see Claudia? I mean earlier today?”
“I did,” I answered quickly. “To be honest, Frank, she was tipsy.”
Phyllis handed Frank a towel and then sat down on the grass, her eyes locked on the massive Regal Rock fountain. The three large fish were swimming in a circle. The sight of them in the ornate fountain was nauseating.
“I have to agree with Pen,” said Sam. “Claudia is always in control. Something was off tonight.” He lit a cigarette and shook his head.
“This was a set up,” Frank said. “What you have here is a message.”
“What are you talking about?” Sam snorted.
“Swimming with the fishes is an old calling card. Someone is sending a message, loud and clear. Come on…you two ever go to the movies? Yeah, swim with the fishes. You know, like when someone does something, says something, or knows something they shouldn’t…the wrong people from the wrong side of the tracks send a little calling card, a message: Shut up, or swim with the fishes; capeesh?”
A vision of Claudia paying that thug off hit me, and I felt sick.
It was after midnight when we got the call. The phone rang only once before I grabbed it.
“It was horrible, Pen.” Paul’s voice was shaky. I jumped up and stood next to the window, desperate for air, clutching the receiver.
“Is she okay?” I whimpered, holding my stomach.
“Who is it?” Sam called out from the other room. “Is it Paul? How’s Claudia?”
“Oh, Paul…I’m so sorry.”
“What? What’s he saying?” Sam was by my side sweeping his dark hair from his eyes. He grabbed the phone. “Paul, are you sure? I mean, what did the doctors say? Yes, okay. Yes, I’ll tell her. Goodbye.” Sam put the phone down slowly, and I reached out for his hand. I was shivering and terrified. “Okay, look,” he took a deep breath and pulled away from me, “the doctors told Paul it was an overdose.” He turned and lit a cigarette.
“What?” I stammered.
Sam turned and sat down, pushing his hair from his eyes again. He looked down at the floor and sighed. “This is getting out of hand. Quelle horreur…”
“What did she take?”
“I don’t remember the name of it; honestly, I can’t even remember what he just said, okay? It doesn’t matter anyway,” he barked. “It’s bad, that’s all; no matter what she took… it’s not good.”
“Poor Claudia, I thought she was drunk. I was surprised to see her so tipsy; it’s not like her. I should have known something was wrong. I should have known,” I cried, wringing my hands.
“Don’t be stupid,” Sam replied. “Stop your ridiculous babbling, and go to bed. How could you know Claudia was drugged?” he snorted.
“Who said she was drugged?”
He stopped. “Yes, yes…of course…an overdose,” he stammered. “That’s what I meant.” He avoided my stare. “Anyway, stop going on about it,” he said and put his cigarette out, grinding it into the nearby ashtray.
I headed for the door clenching my stomach. “Are you coming up to bed?”
“I’ll be up later. I don’t know. Just go upstairs, Pen.” He walked over to the window and opened it wider. “Is this all a coincidence?” he asked without facing me. “Maybe I’m reading too much into it - the waiter, the tennis pro, now Claudia. It just seems to me…” He stopped and turned to face me.
A tapping sound distracted me, and I turned my attention to a fly beating against the window screen. I watched as the transparency of the mesh tricked the insect into believing it could escape. The small creature kept trying, only to be held back by the frustrating deception.
“Are you listening to me?” he barked.
“Yes,” I looked back at him.
“Why the hell can’t you just stay away from the club for a while, and find a different group of women to shop with or whatever it is you’re doing with that stupid bunch. Stay away from Jackie….and Phyllis!” he ranted.
“Why?”
He stared at me in a way that caused me to shiver, and I knew it was useless to continue. I held my head. “I’m going to sleep; I can’t think right now. I’m just glad Claudia is okay.” I decided to talk to Paul the following morning about the thug I saw Claudia arguing with in town.
“And another thing….that decorator you hired...he hasn’t changed a thing!”
“Oh, but he has…more than you know,” I said as I made my way out of the room.
RING-A-DING-DING
Claudia was home resting, and I decided to let her be. To be honest, I didn’t know what to do with myself. The house was empty. Mother and Peter were at the ballet with the girls, and Blossom was meeting with her church group. Brilliant was absent as well.
I sat at my vanity and peered at my image in the mirror. I looked the same, except for the tiny wrinkles that seemed to appear overnight at the corners of my eyes. I don’t know what pushed me, perhaps seeing Claudia’s lifeless body floating in the Regal’s fountain. Perhaps it was all Brill
iant’s tutoring. I’m not sure, but I decided the time had come to finally put my cards on the table with Sam and walk away from the whole mess with a resolution. I stood up and walked over to the window. The sky was clear and bright. I peered out and smiled to myself, feeling hopeful and, dare I say, excited about my future. A change was coming - a big one - and it was refreshing to feel optimistic for once.
There was a chill in the house, and the radiator was cool to the touch. I thought perhaps the furnace wasn’t working and made my way down to the basement to check it out.
I pulled my sweater around me. The basement was cold and damp, and a shiver ran through me. I fumbled for the light switch. The furnace was housed in the back room of the basement, through a door to the left of the storage area. As soon as I opened the door, I knew the furnace was on the blink. It was silent, which meant a call to Jackson’s Heating and Air-conditioning was in order.
An hour later, Mr. Jackson, the “heating, air-conditioning, and plumbing expert” arrived with his assistant Jerry, a gangly 19-year old with two earrings.
“Don’t worry yourself, Mrs. Dupres; I’ll have that monster screaming in no time.”
“How reassuring,” I replied.
I took the two “experts” down to the basement and asked them some questions about the furnace, trying to appear knowledgeable about the whole heating and air-conditioning business. Sam says you should do that, so as not to get “completely ripped off by the lying thieves.” Quite frankly, Mr. Jackson and Jerry looked annoyed by my queries.
“Okay, so after I take this here off, open this here compartment and adjust this….” Mr. Jackson was busy dismantling the giant furnace, handing Jerry all the nuts and bolts. Grunting loudly, he got on his hands and knees and peered around the back of the furnace. “Hmm, I need more light. Hey, Jerry, point that flashlight around, so I can get a better look back here,” he said breathing heavily.
“Sure thing boss.”
“Hmm, what’s this? Hey, Mrs. Dupres, you missing a ring..?” Mr. Jackson asked.
A Brilliant Ride Page 15
