"Yeah, three years is a long time for you to stay in one spot!” Liz teased.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean, that I'm a gypsy?"
"A proud title you've earned and one which you carry with you everywhere you go,” Liz said. “I have to admit, it is more interesting than staying in one place all your life."
Kim smiled. Since she graduated from David Crockett High School, she had moved a lot, but she knew Liz, an only child, had lived with her parents in one house in West Texas until she went to UT. After college, she had lived with her husband and kids in one home until her children were teens. “Has it been interesting for you? I mean, you used to be a home body kind of gal."
Liz grinned, shook her head and said, “You mean a stick-in-the-mud, don't you?"
"Certainly not!” Kim replied, “Stick-in-the-mud has never been what I would call you. You stayed close to home, that's all."
"Yeah, I stayed home with the kids until they were old enough to have some input about moving somewhere else. You were always the adventuress. I wasn't brave enough to take off into the distance."
"You are the brave one; you took care of your family after Chuck died and you did it alone. I wouldn't have been able to do what you did,” Kim contradicted.
"Nonsense, you got married again after what Danny did to you. That takes guts,” Liz argued, remembering how her friend had come to her door in the middle of the night, devastated.
"I'm not sure how much guts it took, but it did prove I wasn't always as good at listening to my inner guidance as I am now. Frank was no prize either, and if I had listened, I would never have gone for that second marriage, I'll tell you that much,” Kim stated, disgusted at the memory.
Liz giggled, asked, “What? Gosh, Kimberly Dawn, you mean to tell me you would have missed the chance to have this wonderful vintage Jag?"
"Oh, ha-ha, very funny! Repeat after me: Never marry for a Jaguar; it's cheaper, and easier, to buy one, even if you have to take out a loan.” She grinned, “The car was the best thing to come out of the marriage, but it isn't old enough to be considered vintage."
"He did take good care of it,” Liz said, running her hand over the comfortable pristine leather seat.
"I'll say. If he'd taken half as good care of me I would still be with him!” Kim shrugged, adding, “I guess things are more important to some people than people are."
"You know, I always thought you and Frank were the perfect couple,” Liz cooed. “Rich, beautiful, unloving...."
"Oh, is that so? Then you aren't as psychic as I think you are! I'd have thought you'd have known Frank and his ego were the perfect couple,” she said, lips pursed. “No one had better try to put that relationship asunder, or woe be unto them."
Liz shook her head and laughed. “Oh, how could I have forgotten about that relationship? Must be the first signs of ‘old-timers’ disease setting in."
Kim stifled a chuckle as she slowed the car and turned into the KOA driveway. “What is it with you about old age? Ever since you hit forty-five, you've been talking about being old."
"I don't know—maybe I'm just feeling it more now that I'm a grandmother. Who knows?"
Kim shrugged as she pulled up in front of the office building, parking close to the tiny swimming pool. As she got out of the car she said, “I'll be right back. I'm going to tell Pam we're here."
Liz nodded, watching her friend's easy gait as Kim bounded into the office. Her curly-haired buddy always knew people by their first names soon after making the acquaintance. Casual relationships were her specialty. Liz had begun to look around at the trees, other trailers and recreational vehicles when Kim reappeared a couple of minutes later, a smile on her face.
"Well, Miss Grandmother, I'm too young to be old, and I won't have you trying to push me into feeling old just because you think you should be feeling it more!” Kim said as she tossed her head and let the car idle while they watched Charles pull the trailer into the space she had rented. She swung the car into the parking area by the little picnic table and small flower garden full of Mexican heather and alyssum and switched off the engine. “He may need a little help unhooking this thing, Grandma."
"Okay, forget I said anything about it, all right? I was trying to be funny. But you know, not all of us are eternally youthful like some people."
Kim sighed and opened her door. “Jokes about old age are not funny to me somehow. Joke about something else."
Liz rolled her eyes, opened her own door. “Stay Ghost. Good dog. You thought it was funny, didn't you, boy?"
"Hey, you, don't be looking for support from the mutt! You know he always takes my side!” Kim closed the door, headed toward the back of the truck.
"Did you hear that? She called you a mutt! You still gonna side with her?” The dog plopped down on the seat, head resting on his front paws. She closed the door. “So much for loyalty,” she complained.
"He's loyal—loyal to me,” Kim said with a smile.
Liz walked to the back of the truck, her bottom lip jutting out in her best pout as she whined, “All the animals always love you better."
Kim ignored Liz's statement, started to hook the trailer up to the water and electricity. “Do you think you can level the trailer while I connect everything?"
Liz smiled as Charles rolled down the support on the front hitch. “Yeah, sure—does this one work the same as the one we rented last summer, or is it one of those older, unimproved models?” She was being facetious; the trailer they had rented for their vacation the year before was ancient.
"Need any help with that, Kim?” Charles asked.
"I think I can handle it. Thanks Charles. You've done enough. The instructions looked pretty much the same, Liz. The man at the sales place said everything has been renovated and works just like a new one,” Kim said, walking over to stand beside her friend and giving him an appreciative hug.
Liz took a deep breath, said more to herself than anyone else, “Sure, if you can believe a travel trailer salesman."
"I guess I had better get to work, then. Talk to you girls later,” Charles said, getting into his truck. Kim and Liz thanked him again, waved goodbye and watched him drive off.
Kim walked around the trailer to where Liz was pulling the leveling jacks out of the side compartment. “What was that you were saying?” she asked.
Liz straightened, smiled at her friend, “Hmm? Oh, nothing; just talking to myself, which, of course—as you know—is another sign of aging."
Kim slumped, sighed. “Will you knock it off!"
Liz shoved her tongue into her cheek, grinned, “Gotcha'!"
Chapter 2
The trailer set-up went well and the two women got their pets oriented, then showered and passed an uneventful afternoon sorting things, putting everything in place and getting their new habitat in order. The afternoon rolled on, and it was time for them to get ready for the party they were invited to that evening. To Liz's delight, everything did indeed work the way it was supposed to and with two pullout sections, the trailer was roomy enough to be almost comfortable.
She smiled, hands on her hips to signal she was finished with her homemaker's duties. “Ah, home, sweet home!"
"Ah, nut, sweet nut! It takes so little for you to feel at home,” Kim teased.
Liz shook her head and sighed, “I know. Anyone would think I was the professional nomad, not you!” She laughed at Kim's grimace.
"Yeah, right! I can remember when you fought any kind of change, especially change of address.” Kim chuckled, leaning down to straighten one of the pillows on the tiny couch.
"Well, sure, but then you got me trained and now I'm almost as adaptable as you. I'm a champion vagabond, just like you!"
"Uh-huh, sure you are. Tell me, Miss Champion Vagabond Grandma, what are you going to wear tonight? Do you think this black body suit and my flowered wraparound will be too outrageous, or just right?” She held them up in front of her and looked at Liz.
Liz paused, considered
the apparel Kim held out for her inspection, an impish grin on her face, said, “Oh, I think those clothes look just like..."
"Yes? Like what?” Kim asked, her expression defensive.
"Why, like you, of course; they are cool, comfortable, a bit suggestive and colorful. I definitely think you should wear them,” she said, putting on a look of innocence.
"And what are you going to wear?” Kim asked, wondering if she had made the right choice.
Liz stalled, grumbled, replied, “Well, I can't manage the no-bra mode, and my hips won't do for the wraparound thing, so I guess it's skirt and blouse for me. No one said we were supposed to dress up or anything, did they?” She peeped into her tiny closet, nose crinkled to the side.
"Hmm, guess I should have asked our hostess; I know she has some posh, la-ti-da friends and we want to make the right impression. Don't we?” Kim said.
Liz looked at the ceiling, turned around to face Kim, who had discarded the body suit and gone back to her closet. “I would say that all depends on which set of friends she invited tonight. Some of Grace's friends, I'd just as soon not make an impression on at all. Know what I mean?"
Kim pursed her lips, peered at Liz through narrowed eyes. “What are you saying? Would you rather not go?” she asked.
"Oh, no; I mean, it's always an interesting time at Grace's, for sure. It's just that, well, I'm not psychic enough to know how to dress for one of her soirées without asking her what the dress code might be. You and I tend to stand out from the crowd a little already and if we go dressed in our usual devil-may-care garb, it could get nasty.” Liz sounded less than confident.
Kim sighed and let her shoulders droop. “So I suppose that means you want me to call her."
Liz looked at the floor and said, “Well, she is your friend, after all. You almost married her brother. I barely know the woman."
"My friend? I thought you and she were thick as ticks on the back of a wild hog. And I did not almost marry him."
Liz cackled, “You must have me mistaken for someone else. She and I are not anything near as thick as all that!"
"All right, all right, I'll call her, but I won't like it!"
Liz raised her eyebrow, returned to looking in her closet as Kim pushed in the numbers on the cell phone. “You'll like it better, I'll wager, than showing up dressed like that with everyone else wearing dinner jackets and long dresses."
Kim turned her back on her friend, smiled into the phone and said, “Gracie, how's it going? I was just calling to see if you needed us to stop off and get anything for tonight. No? Are you sure? Oh, I see. By the way, I forgot to ask; how formal is this little get-together? Oh. Great. Thanks. We'll see you in a little while. ‘Bye."
Liz waited.
Kim put the phone down, took a deep breath and stood staring into space.
"Well?"
"It's Wade's birthday,” she announced.
"Who's Wade?"
Kim glared at Liz, “You remember Wade—Grace's brother, Wade—the aspiring middle-aged actor, the one you were just accusing me of almost marrying?"
Liz frowned a moment before recognition crossed her face. “Oh, that Wade. Wade, the forever-in-love-with-Kimberly-Dawn, Wade. Of course! I can never remember his stage name! Why did she invite us to his birthday party?"
Kim smiled, “She wants us to give him readings ... for his birthday present!"
"Are these paid readings from his sister or free readings from us?"
Kim continued to smile.
"I see. Good thing we called—otherwise I would've had to give him a reading with playing cards. This is going to be a really fun time, isn't it?"
Kim's smile was becoming more of a sneer. “There is more!” she announced.
"I thought there might be; and it is?” Liz smiled back at Kim.
"We have just over an hour to find and don our costumes. She is giving a fancy, catered, costume ball in his honor."
"Well, that figures. All our costumes are in storage."
"I know that! The question is, do you know where in storage?"
"Of course, I know exactly where they are—and there's no way of getting to them in time for that party,” Liz said. “If we have to go in costumes, we had better get our buns over to that little costume shop. It's either that, or we had better invent something here because the storage thing isn't going to work at all. Even if we could find them in time, we'd be too hot and gross from digging for costumes in this hundred-degree weather, climate-controlled storage or not."
"Okay, I don't need a complete dissertation on why it won't work,” Kim scolded. “However, I would be open to suggestions. I think the costume shop has probably already closed for the day."
Liz crossed her arms, patted her foot on the floor before breaking out in laughter. “Well, if we are supposed to go tell Wade's fortune, we should go dressed as gypsy fortune tellers."
"But in what?"
"Look, you go ahead and put on that body suit and wraparound and I will wear that pair of gold harem pants and my black peasant blouse; we'll put on tons of makeup, lots of jewelry and voila, gypsy fortune tellers!"
Kim slumped again, asked, “Are you sure you want to go to this party?"
"You already told her we'd be there; no backing out now. Besides, I have a feeling this party might lead to something good for us. Maybe it's the perfect chance for you and Wade to work out your karma thing."
"We don't have a karma thing,” Kim said, “so drop that bit right now or I'll kill you and tell Grace you died of heat stroke on the way to storage. I mean it."
"Okay-okay, enough said. Come on, let's hustle.” Liz started through her jewelry box for gaudy costume jewelry while Kim opened her closet and started pulling out scarves to create a turban.
* * * *
Kim and Liz arrived at Grace Freeman's ostentatious Lake Austin home at seven-fifteen; not too late to be on time, but late enough for their entrance to make a statement. Parking in the circle drive and handing the keys to one of the teenagers acting as valet, Kim stopped to admire the fountain with its abundance of summer-blooming flowers. Native lantana, black-eyed Susans and a wide range of other yellows, pinks and reds surrounded the fountain with its mustang colts cavorting in stone bluebonnets and prairie grasses.
They entered the door, looked around, and saw most of the other guests had already arrived and were dressed in various period costumes ranging from Louis XIV powdered wigs and accessories to futuristic extraterrestrial garb. Many of them wore masks.
Their hostess met them just inside the door. “Liz, Kim, how marvelous the two of you look—perfect costumes,” she said. Looking at the small bags each one of them carried, she said, “You know, I'm sure there are any number of people here who'd love to have readings, if you're so inclined.” Her pale lavender costume seemed unwieldy, with a huge hoop skirt, miles of lace and fairy wings a la Glenda, the good witch of the North. Her dainty figure was accentuated by a glittering silver and rhinestone waistband.
Liz smiled through gritted teeth, reached across the huge dress and hugged her hostess. Kim waited for her obligatory hug and said, “You know, we didn't come here to put on a show, Gracie. Of course, we'd be willing to do some readings if that'll make your friends happy,” she lied; she wasn't willing at all.
Grace beamed, tapped each one of them with her fairy wand and said, “We have a number of famous celebs here tonight, you know. That's why Wade and I decided to have a costume party. That way, the poor dears can be treated like ordinary people for one evening at least."
Liz shrugged her shoulders and stifled a chuckle at being tapped with a magic wand. “That's our Gracie, always thinking of the comfort of others,” she observed.
Grace gave a feigned blush, ducked her head. “Oh, now, you know I do try.” She said in her best imitation of a Southern Belle. “I wanted Wade's birthday to be the best and it was the only way all his friends could feel comfortable about coming,” she said.
"The place looks fabulous, Gr
ace. You have really outdone yourself this time,” Liz observed. She looked around the living area. Multicolored ribbons and frothy lace hung from the second floor loft. Fresh flowers adorned every flat surface—tables, shelves and stands. Wheatgrass centerpieces with colorful picks laden with shrimp rolls and cheese cubes stood along the buffet with chips, chili con queso on a warmer and fresh vegetables cut and arranged in exotic patterns. “I know Wade must consider himself fortunate to have you for a sister,” she added, rolling her eyes at Kim. How does she manage to blush on cue? Liz wondered. Acting must run in their genes.
Kim read the look Liz gave her, cleared her throat, bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Yes, indeed. And where is the birthday boy, Grace?” she asked.
Grace looked around the room, but failed to find Wade. Shrugging she said, “He was right here just a minute ago. Now, where could he have gone? You two make yourselves at home and I'll find him.” She floated away into the crowd.
"Oh, no, Grace? Rats! Me and my big mouth. Now we will be supposed to follow the two of them around all night until she makes the announcement that her psychic friends are ready to begin the freak show,” Kim complained.
Liz chuckled, “Relax, kid. Something tells me she's already told her illustrious guests about her friends the psychics and that we're already under their intense scrutiny."
Kim looked around the room and to her dismay, saw several pairs of eyes looking at them. “Great. I should have told her we expected to have our anonymity too."
Liz let out a string of giggles, then patted Kim on the shoulder, “Come on, Kimberly Dawn, lighten up! We should be having a great time. I mean, here we are hobnobbing with some of the elite of the universe and all you can do is bristle because they know who we are?"
"Yeah, but do you think this is fair? I mean, she's put us on the spot again. She has all these unnamed guests here expecting to stay that way and they all know we are psychics and...” She focused at a point to the left of Liz's face and said, “Oh, hello, Wade, how are you?"
A tall, dark-haired man in a vampire suit swooped in next to Kim, his fangs bared, and encircled her with his black satin cape. “Kimberly, how wonderful to see you again. I'm so glad you and Emma could make it."
McCann's Manor Page 2
