9781618857569GettingitAllStorm (22 page)

“A hell of a lot taken,” Matt snorted,
grinning. “But maybe because I’m
kinda
new at getting
back into this dating game, joking around with razors and my balls is a
little…unsettling. I forget that everybody in this town seems to think my balls
are their business as well as my own.”

“Okay, ladies?” Jerry barked, standing in
the front doorway, large container in hand. “Everybody finished with their
gossip session? Can you take me now, Leo? I’ve got a hot date tonight too.
Anybody want to take down my name and number? Maybe spread the word around. I
could use a few more ready and
willings
. Matt
shouldn’t be the only one getting it in this town. By the way, razor man, I
bought you a little something. A nice big saltpeter
shake
!”

The men erupted in howls and hoots of
laughter. Grinning, Matt started to protest, then giving up, slapped Marcus on
the back, shot Jerry
a thumbs
up, and headed toward the
back room dragging Clay by an ear.

He had heard the rumors, but it hadn’t
really hit him until now that whatever he and Dorothy and Lucy decided, what
the town decided too would have an impact on their lives.

Which could be a
good thing…

…or a bad thing.

* * * *

Amelia was stricken.

“Dorothy, I’m just so sorry you had to
hear that. She didn’t know you were…”

Dorothy nodded to Amelia and finished off
the cut and blow-dry she was working on in a cloud of hair spray, determined to
maintain her pleasant demeanor. “How’s that, Sally Mae?” she enquired quietly
of her customer. I hope you’re pleased.”

Sally Mae beamed into the mirror. “Oh,
yes.” A distressed look replaced her beaming. “I didn’t know what to say,
Dorothy. I mean, when she came in and just started blabbing away. I think she
gets her hair done at the mall. She really didn’t know it was you they’re all
talking about.”

“Me and Matt and Lucy and…” Dorothy began
to enumerate. “At least Christy got out while the getting was good.”

“Where is she?” Amelia tried to change
the subject or at least deflect it as her co-worker removed the styling cape
from around
SallyMae
and ushered her from the chair.

“In Florida,” Dorothy said flatly. “She
took a few days. Wanted to get her feet wet in the Gulf, she said.
Left me an email.”
Dorothy knew more than that, but saw no
reason to share it.
Certainly not now.

Marta, lounging in the waiting area
alongside
Brunnie
—the two of whom had become very
unlikely peas in the same odd pod—put down the current issue of the glossy home
magazine she was thumbing through.

“Well, I always assume Dorothy is more
than capable of taking care of herself as far as gossip is concerned. Which is
why none of us said a word and just let the woman talk, Dorothy,” she
emphasized, unctuously. “You may as well know what the town’s thinking. What
kind of gossip is going
around.
Goodness knows
,
you’ve been through it before. So it can’t come as too
much of a surprise that some people around town are a little concerned about
your current affair. He doesn’t seem to have your best interest at heart.
That’s what bothers us all. Much as we love Matt and the good care he takes of
our automobiles, we care more about how he’s taking care of you.
Or not.”

Brunnie
looked over her
reading glasses from flipping through a current copy of a fashion spread. “We
care about you going off the deep end again, Dot.
Might as
well say it out plain.
You took Matt’s picking Alice over you hard. Now
I know that was years ago and, sure enough, everything seemed to be right when
you and Beau hit it off. He was such a sweet man. And then…” Her words caught
in her throat. She bit her lips. “And then that terrible accident, and there
you were alone again. I know you had Alice. It’s wonderful that you two got
back together, having been best friends for so long. But…well, when Alice…”

“Frankly,
Dorothy,” Marta interjected, truly concerned.
“We all feared
for your mental health. Those are awful burdens to bear. We certainly wouldn’t
want you to go through anything like that again.”

Dorothy slumped into her recently vacated
styling chair. The roller coaster ride was getting to be too much. To go from
the euphoria of Matt and Lucy to the exhaustion of fielding the town gossip was
beginning to prove more than she wanted to deal with.

“Yeah, it did get pretty much
to
where I was afraid if anybody got anywhere near me, they
were in for it. Or out, as the case may be. I wasn’t much noted for keeping my
feelings to myself. And I haven’t been good at clearing the air all these years
either. If I owe anyone an apology, please accept it…even at this late date.”

Now would be the time to pull out a
cigarette.
If she smoked.
Or a
drink.
Like Bette Davis in one of those black and white tear jerkers.
Brunnie
would know which one.

How would Julianne Moore handle a scene
like this? First of all, Dorothy thought, I don’t have the hair to pull it off.
And me a hairdresser.
God, she slumped even lower in
the chair.
Just a dead beat
.

“We care about you, Dot. You know that.
We don’t want an apology, for heaven sake.
Certainly not for
something that happened years ago.”
The concerned women voiced their
agreement. Marta sighed. “We just hope things can be resolved without you
getting too hurt.”

“Too hurt? So, you’re all pretty much
sure it’s not going to work out?”

“How can it, Dorothy?” Marta continued,
glancing at the others for backup, sincere as she was able. That in itself was
impressive. Marta hardly ever seemed truly concerned about anyone other than
Marta. Dorothy resigned
herself,
it might as well all
come out in the open and be discussed.
Right here and now.
Which was way more than they all had done years ago.

“You and Lucy are both fighting for the
same man.” Marta leaned forward to make her point, the diamonds on her hands
sparkling as she gestured. “Goodness knows how many more women are involved.
I’ve heard tell…well, I don’t know how he does it.” She looked around as if
expecting an explanation of Matt’s prowess.

Brunnie
spoke up,
apparently still unconvinced as to her position on the matter. “And you think
Dot will lose because Lucy is younger and more…malleable?
More
sexy?”

“Well,” Marta huffed, “Dorothy has been
on her own for quite some time. I imagine that’s a hard habit to break. Having
time for
yourself
. Not having to jump every time his
master’s voice is heard throughout the house.” The women in the shop paid close
attention. Marta’s voice had become exceptionally crisp. “I don’t say she’ll
necessarily lose, so much as she more than likely will decide it’s not worth
the effort.”

“Well, I appreciate all your concerns,
but what if nobody loses?”

There was a profound silence as all heads
turned to Dorothy.

“What if we…three—there are no others,
now that Christy has pulled out of the race, no matter what the rumors—what if
we decide we like things the way they are, except…closer?”

“How much more close can you be? Other
than…?” Marta’s well-maintained jaw dropped.

“Are you talking about the three of
you…living…moving in together?” Amelia stared, her customer forgotten, which
didn’t seem to bother the customer who was as fascinated by Dorothy’s statement
as any of the ladies.

It was nice having the floor for a
change. Dorothy waited pleasantly, slightly surprised herself at her
suggestion, turning over the idea in her head.

“Nobody has made a formal request, yet.
Don’t get all out of joint. But all of you are right. We three enjoy each
other’s company. We enjoy our company together. I wouldn’t want to hurt Lucy or
Matt and I don’t believe they would want to hurt me. Which leaves us to either
continue the way we’re going, bust the whole thing up, or make it
more…practical. What do you think? Should I suggest a more…equitable
arrangement? Cut out this competition crap. We’ve all won. Make it a…half
double date?” She mused. “Or would that be a date and a half? I don’t suppose
you would all accept…roommates?”

“Oh. My. Goodness.”
Brunnie’s
fingers pressed tightly against her lips before she reached up to remove her
reading glasses and put them away. “I must say, I have never before had the
chance to contemplate such an arrangement…among friends. It’s rather
titillating.”

“I think it’s appalling.” Marta spoke up.
“It’s immoral.
Or should be.
I’m afraid, Dorothy,
you’d lose whatever standing in the community…I mean…”

“Amelia?
Any thoughts?
Anyone else?”
Neither Amelia, her customer, or other
ladies waiting seemed to know quite what to say, but at least didn’t seem to be
members of the community to whom Marta had been referring in which Dorothy
might lose her social standing.
Whatever that might be.
In fact, from the looks on their faces, they seemed to think it was a rather
neat idea.

Amelia pulled herself together. “I think
you should do what you want to do, Dot. It’s your life. Granted there are
others involved, but you deserve to think about yourself first, this time.”

“Thanks, Amelia, but those others
involved are much more important to me than
myself
.
But I thank you for giving me your blessing.
Brunnie
?”

Brunhilda
looked around,
her old eyes shining. “I think the rest of us say go for it too, Dot. If it doesn’t
work out, we’ll be here for you. Right, Marta?”

“Well, of course, I’ll be here for you
too, Dorothy,” Marta agreed, hesitantly. “I just… I just want you to know what
you may face. But certainly not from me.”

“Thanks, Marta. I appreciate that. But I
think I’ve a pretty good idea what I’ve been facing, what any of us face, when
we chose to stay around. Some well-meaning souls don’t take change too well.
And nobody likes to be unsettled.” She took a deep breath and spread her hands.
“So…we’ll see what the other two sides of this triangle think of that
suggestion.” She nodded, smiling, settled. “Thank you again for giving me the
guts to go for it.”

They all began to talk at once.

* * * *

“Ms Drake, may I see you for a moment?”

That was unusual, Lucy thought. She and
Carmen were almost always on a first name basis when there was no one was in
the office but the two of them. He had made a big deal about wanting her to
feel more a part of the firm.

But for some reason Carmen Anders had
been more nervous than usual these last few days. Lucy wasn’t quite sure why.
She hoped there wasn’t trouble on his home front. Mrs. Anders could sometimes
be a formidable wife, she had gathered.

And though Lucy was usually a very
diligent employee, she had to admit other things had been occupying her free
time. She snickered to herself.
And occupying her panties.

A pleasurable shiver ran through her slim
body. Never in a million years would she have thought such a phrase would be
passing her lips. And her dearly beloved pussy lips too, she giggled. And that
wasn’t just a phrase that was entangling itself in the intricate metaphor she
was weaving. There were lips and there were lips.
Male.
Female.
Frontside
.
Backside.

“Yes, sir.
Be right in.”

She gathered up a steno pad and pencil
and entered her boss’ small office.

“Is there something I’ve forgotten to do,
Carmen? Sorry, if I have. I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately.”

“Yes, I know, Lucy.” Carmen stood next to
his desk nervously shifting from one foot to the other as if unsure whether to
go behind and sit thereby making the meeting more formal, or continue standing
making the meeting somewhat ambiguous, or perhaps lean against the front edge
of the desk in a very informal, for him, attitude.

Lucy refused to let apprehension as to
his motives, or indecision concerning his butt, worry her. She was, as she had
warned him, preoccupied.

“Please sit down.” He indicated the
client's chair facing his desk. “I think we should have a little talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I assume you know the rumors.” He
remained at the side of the desk, undecided, and took out a handkerchief to
blot his upper lip. “
That have
been going around town
these last few days?”

“No,” she answered honestly, “not really.
I’ve been busy here in the office and also outside and haven’t really paid much
attention to the town Internet feeds lately.”