The Champagne Sisterhood

by Chris Keniston

  “Did you get it?” Erin stepped back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

  “Piece of cake. Judge Albanese had everything waiting for me. Signed, sealed and delivered.” She waved an envelope at Erin. “One order for temporary guardianship.”

  “I need to go downstairs and tell Mark,” Anna continued. “I came here first. I didn’t know how long it would take to discharge Marcia, and I didn’t want you guys worrying any longer than you had to for some news.”

  Kat nodded. “He’s just waiting to take her to work with him. We stopped in to visit with her before coming up here for Babs. Marcia seems a little calmer, but she still wouldn’t let either of us too close without crying.”

  “That better change soon or we’re in deep shit.” Anna rolled her eyes.

  “Aaah,” Babs moaned.

  “She’s awake!” Erin sprang toward the bed.

  “She probably heard the good news.” Anna moved close to the bed and took hold of Babs’ fingers. “We’ll take care of her. You need to hurry up and get better so you can tell us what to do.”

  “Saaaf.”

  “Safe?” Anna shrugged at her friends. “Yes, she’s safe. You don’t need to worry. You just need to get stronger.”

  “Themmmm...”

  Them? Anna’s insides turned watching her friend struggle to communicate. “Everything will be fine. I got the papers from court this morning. We’ll keep Marcia safe from Social Services.”

  Babs’ fingers curled under. She swallowed then opened her mouth slightly but no sound came out.

  Just swallowing seemed to take an enormous amount of effort. There had to be some way to reassure her, make her rest. The sooner Babs recovered, the better off everyone would be. But Anna had come to understand when Babs curled her fingers under, that was the same as no. So what the heck was she trying to tell them?

  “Don’t try and talk.” Anna gently squeezed her friend’s fingers. “We’ll work everything out. I promise.”

  “Maark knoooos.”

  Anna’s brow curled curiously. “Mark knows?”

  Babs’ finger lifted. Anna thought she could see the tension in her friend’s pained face slip away as she blew out a small sigh. “Luvvv... herrr.”

  “You love her.” Anna blinked back the moisture threatening to spill from her eyes. “Marcia knows that.”

  Babs’ finger dropped to the bed and Anna thought she’d fallen back to sleep, reassured at last, when she noticed Babs’ mouth struggling to form words. “Babs, please don’t. It’s okay.”

  Through all the swelling, and bruising, she almost thought she saw the corner of Babs’ mouth curl in a hint of a smile.

  Lightly, Babs pressed her thumb against Anna’s hand. “One... fooorr...alll.”

  “And all for one.” Three voices whispered back.

  The quiet moment shattered when a single loud beep suddenly filled the room. Anna’s heart stopped. “Oh, my God.”

  Someone shouted “crash cart.” The sound of rubber soles running against the linoleum floor thundered in Anna’s head like a stampeding herd as more staff rushed into the room.

  Her back pressed against the wall, she watched the multicolored haze of bodies swirl around Babs with practiced choreography. Bed-rails came down, a board slipped beneath her. A woman in pink, her elbows locked stiff as two by fours, pressed repeatedly on Babs’ chest while someone else pushed a tube down her throat.

  “Ladies, you need to wait outside.”

  Hands, warm hands, nudged her out the door. Kat and Erin shuffled beside her.

  “Pushing the bicarb.”

  “Damn. Come on, Mama, don’t give up now.”

  “Paddles. Charge to three hundred.”

  “Clear.”

  From where Anna stood huddled with her closest friends, clutching the judge’s order she’d been so proud of in her fist, she could still hear the piercing single tone.

  “Again.”

  “Clear.”

  Her heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears, she dropped the envelope and grabbed hold of Erin’s hand, then Kat’s. Her eyes squeezed shut, she was sure none of them had taken a breath.

  The shrill of the steady tone finally stopped.

  “Call it. Time of death, ten-forty-seven.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tears streamed steadily down Anna’s cheek. Tightening her grip on Kat and Erin’s hand, her heart firmly caught in her throat, she couldn’t find her voice. Couldn’t move. One by one the staff left Babs’ room and Anna still stood in the hall, rooted to the floor.

  Erin was the first to break into a loud sob. In seconds the three of them were crying in each other’s arms.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” a soft voice wafted over them. “If you’d like to say good-bye, you can have a few minutes with her.”

  Anna took several gulping breaths. No matter how many times she swiped at her eyes, the tears wouldn’t stop. “Thank you,” she sputtered at the nurse, then looked at Erin. “I know it’s silly, but I don’t want her to see me like this.”

  “No, we don’t,” Kat agreed, wiping her eyes with the tail of her shirt.

  “Right. We have to be strong. For Babs and for Marcia.” Erin blinked feverishly, fighting the onslaught of more tears.

  “Mark.” Anna looked down the hall. “I’d better go tell him.”

  The nurse gestured to the counter. “I have to get back to work. Take all the time you need.”

  “Do I have time to go to pediatrics?” Anna asked.

  “There’s no hurry.”

  Still sniffling with fresh tears, all three friends mumbled, “thank you.”

  Anna reached out an arm to each friend. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I can go if you want to stay,” Erin offered.

  “Me too,” Kat added.

  “No. I need to do this.” She blinked back more tears and turned quickly toward the elevators. If she didn’t get the waterworks under control soon, she wouldn’t have to say a word to Mark, he’d see what happened in her face.

  While she waited for the elevator, Erin came running up behind her. “Here.” She gave her a handful of tissues.

  “Thanks.” Another wave of tears burned at the back of her eyes.

  “You sure you want to do this alone?” A tear trickled down Erin’s cheek. Her chin quivered below the thin line of tightly pressed lips.

  Anna wasn’t sure which one of them was fighting harder not to cry. “I’m sure.”

  The short ride down three floors seemed to take an eternity. Everything around her suddenly moved in slow motion. Even the normally sharp ding to announce her arrival at the third floor clanged as though she were in an echo chamber. A hazy cloud descended around her as she walked to Marcia’s room.

  Before she’d made it halfway down the hall, Mark and Marcia came around the corner. Holding each of her hands in his, with Marcia waddling in front of him, they inched their way down the hall. He looked the giant huddling over the tiny little girl, yet moved with delicate mincing steps, clearly delighted with her progress.

  She froze in place. A fist closed around her heart. Babs’ baby. Damn it. She was not going to break down in front of Marcia. Taking a deep breath, she quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes and forced a weak smile. “Should you be doing that?”

  Still almost halfway down the hall, Mark momentarily glanced up. “Doing what?”

  “Walking with her.” She took another breath. She could do this. Just breathe. “Isn’t she too young? I mean, won’t she get bow-legged or something?”

  “Bow-legged?” He let out a short chuckle. “Most babies are off and running as early as nine or ten months. Haven’t you been around toddlers, babysat?”

  Marcia pressed forward with such concentration, determination. It almost made Anna want to smile. Such a sweet little cherub and now...

  A few feet away from her, Mark looked up, his brow pleated in confusion. “Anna?”

  She swallowed the knot in her throat
. Keep talking. You can do this. “Sorry. Babysit. No. With my mother around you couldn’t get within a hundred feet of her grandkids and that was fine with me.”

  “I see.” He whisked Marcia up into his arms and straightened to his full height. “In that case, no, she won’t get bow-legged, and yes, she loves to try and walk. She’s at the stage where she’s pulling herself up on anything she can. I won’t be surprised if she takes off running before she walks.”

  She wasn’t ready to look him in the eye, to tell him. If the words came out so would the river of tears she’d somehow managed to keep banked. Instead she focused on Marcia. Squirming and kicking to be put back on the floor, you’d think she was ready to run a marathon.

  Shifting the baby, Mark turned his attention to Anna. “So – are we ready to spring this joint?”

  “Sort of.” She tried to take in a deep breath, but it hitched in her chest as though trapped by the growing pain in her heart. Don’t break down now.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Stepping up close enough to get a good look at her face, he brushed the back of his hand across her cheek. “You’ve been crying.”

  She closed her eyes to stop another flood of tears from escaping, but it was too late. The dam had broken. She collapsed against him, barely managing to mumble, “It’s over.”

  Anna pulled into a parking space at Lambert and Preston Architectural Designs and cut the engine. Everything since the moment the machinery in ICU sounded was nothing more than one very long blur. She had a vague recollection of crying on Mark’s shoulder, his accompanying her to say goodbye to Babs, and her insisting she was okay to drive. The one thing she clearly remembered was Marcia wailing like a banshee when Mark walked away leaving her in the car with her mother’s friends. That would explain why Anna, not Mark, was driving his red corvette, and Mark was behind the wheel of Tom’s more practical car with a baby in the backseat.

  Her hands still clutching the steering wheel, she couldn’t make herself move. It hurt so damn much. Like a cancerous mass, the pain was growing, spreading, taking over her body. She felt like choking on every breath. But she couldn’t very well sit in his car forever.

  The appeal of turning the ignition back on, pointing the car toward the ocean, then heading south on the coast highway until she ran out of gas was quickly gaining momentum.

  For a brief moment her mind took her to the peaceful white beaches of Carmel. She could hear the sea lions squawking by the shores of Pebble Beach and feel the crisp ocean breeze blowing in her hair. Babs loved Carmel. Thoughts of escaping reality, of running until the heartache couldn’t find her vanished at the sound of Mark tapping lightly on the car window.

  “Sorry,” she said, climbing out of the car. She needed to get a grip. Babs was counting on her.

  “No problem. I only wanted to say I’m going to drop Marcia off inside and then I’ll drive you ladies home.”

  “That’s silly. One of us can drive.”

  “I know.” He looked down at the little girl napping on his shoulder. “Humor me. I’ve had enough of police and accident scenes to last me a while.”

  She was too damned drained to argue. If he wanted to drive back and forth in the insane bay area traffic, more power to him. “Want to tell me how you’re going to retrieve your goddaughter and drive two cars home?”

  “I’ll figure that out later. We’re going to have to make decisions for funeral arrangements, and it’s better if we don’t have to worry about the baby.”

  He was certainly right about that. Especially since the only one of them Marcia allowed near her at the moment was him. “I’ll wait out here.”

  “It’ll only take a minute.” He hurried off toward the building.

  Kat stepped up next to her. “What’s the plan?”

  “He’s driving us back to the house to work out what we do next.”

  “Tall order.” Kat’s gaze settled across the lot on Tom’s car. “This is going to change our original plan.”

  Anna nodded. “This changes everything.”

  A box of bricks was the only explanation. Anna’s assistant had shipped a box of bricks to his office. Mark followed the three women into the house, carrying Anna’s package. “There has to be more in here than a laptop.”

  “It’s the stuff from my desk.” Anna held the door for him.

  “Are you sure she didn’t send the desk too?”

  “You know, for a big guy, you seem to complain an awful lot.”

  “This isn’t complaining. It’s commenting.”

  “Then for a big guy, you comment a lot.”

  “Where do you want it?” He huffed past her, stopping short in the hall.

  “Anywhere. I’m not going to mess with it now. I haven’t heard from Liz. I can only hope that means she’s doing Dolly Parton proud.”

  Erin looked up from the corner of the sofa she’d collapsed into. “Huh?”

  “Inside joke.” Anna hitched a shoulder.

  Kat quickly stretched out on the love seat, her feet hanging over the edge. The cozy room cluttered with weekend flea market finds and overstuffed furniture in a soft floral pattern could have been on the cover of any home magazine. Cream colored walls, a white washed fireplace, plate glass windows and an assortment of water colors in varying sizes and shapes added to the eclectic mix of country charm and California modern, making for a warm welcome.

  “It’s after twelve.” Mark pushed the box against the wall by the desk. “We should eat a little something before we get started. I’m taking orders.”

  With only one eye open, Kat turned her head in his direction. “You’re what?”

  “I’m going to fix lunch. What would you like? Barb always keeps cold cuts. I could heat up last night’s pasta. Maybe make some egg salad. Protein would be good now.”

  Kat’s other eye flew open making her look like a surprised owl. “You cook?”

  “If you call making egg salad cooking. Yes.” Why did women always react as though men were from Mars simply because they knew their way around a kitchen?

  “Marry me?” She blurted, closing her eyes again and leaning back.

  “Excuse me?”

  “If you don’t want her, I’ll take you.” Erin yawned, letting her head fall against the matching sofa back. “And an egg salad sandwich, please.”

  “Anyone ever mention you guys need to set higher standards.” Anna walked over to the small desk angled in front of the huge windows overlooking the descending hillside and started rummaging through the drawers.

  “I beg your pardon?” He raised a brow at Anna.

  “Nothing personal against you.” Picking up a letter opener, she turned toward the box. “But they should really be looking for more than just a guy who can make lunch.”

  “He’s cute too,” Kat added, without opening her eyes.

  “He does have a nice car.” One corner of Erin’s mouth curled upward in a tired smile.

  “Bet making lunch isn’t your only skill, is it, big boy?” Kat opened one eye and made a clicking sound in her cheek that made him take a step back. Mae West couldn’t have been less subtle.

  He understood Kat was only playing with him. She may have been flirting blatantly on the outside, but inside she was hurting. They all were hurting. Teasing him gave her something to do besides think of Barb. But even so, he couldn’t stop the heat that flushed up his neck and settled in his cheeks.

  “Oh and look. He’s modest too. Come on Anna, let one of us have him.” Swinging her legs over the side of the sofa, Kat sat up and smiled.

  Mark decided the best course of action was a quick exit. “Four egg salad sandwiches coming up.”

  “You scared him away.” Letting her forced smile slip, Erin shook her head at Kat after Mark disappeared down the hall.

  Kat shrugged and walked to where Anna was pulling things out of the box. “I thought you weren’t going to mess with it?”

  “I lied.” Anna slammed a file down on the desk.

  Kat peered over the o
pen box. “What you got there?”

  “A headache,” she answered. The minute she’d met the smarmy little man who would be handling the details at the new factory she knew she should have turned tail and run. Every instinct she had, and she had great ones, told her not to believe a word she’d heard from Junior about the brilliant Signore Giovanni. The man’s obvious efforts to avoid her calls over the last week had only proved her instincts right. Unfortunately, Junior had quickly overruled those very instincts.

  Reaching for the red suit jacket, Kat held it up against her. “This looks lovely. What’s the problem?”

  “Try it on.”

  Kat examined the jacket more closely. “Why is the lining white?”

  “Exactly. Every single piece of clothing, no matter what color, arrived with white lining.”

  “The entire order?” Erin leaned forward.

  “Fortunately, the first shipment was only a partial order. I’ll have to have the balance done correctly, then air freighted to make the debut in time. I’ll send these back and have the work redone. The problem is I don’t think sending them back to Giovanni is a good idea, but that stupid contract Junior signed has my hands tied.”

  Her first mistake had been letting her boss, old man Peterson, founder Henri Nobel’s great-grandson, convince her Junior’s participation in the new line would be vital to its success and her career. She’d known damn well she’d been assigned the latest babysitting duty - to prevent adding another link in the long chain of debacles instigated by the incompetent offspring of the second Mrs. Peterson. What she hadn’t expected was for the jackass to go behind her back and convince Daddy that her initial concerns about changing manufacturers were unsubstantiated.

  “Oh, dear.” Kat grimaced picking up a gaudy floral A-line skirt. “This is for Nobel’s?”

  “Apparently Signore Giovanni’s brother had some fabric overruns, and Giovanni didn’t see a problem substituting the original material choice for one of his brother’s.”

  “Well, it’s... colorful.” Erin shrugged.

  Anna pointed at the skirt. “Look at the lining.”