A Half Dozen Fools (22 page)

"After all," Rod said, "they have their own bars and restaurants they can go to."

Elyse bit her tongue to keep from pointing out how prejudiced he sounded.

She wasn't sure how long she could swallow her opinion, however, so when he stopped for a breath, she interjected, "Oh, by the way, Rod?"

He gave her a dirty look for cutting him off. She went on as if she hadn't caught it.

"Earl bought the last heavy foundation number six. Not that we use it that often, but, just to let you know, there are no more in stock."

"None at all?"

"Uh-uh."

Rod made a superficial assessment of the now-empty row of number six foundations.

"I don't know if I want to order more of that one. Lemme give Judy a call, to check and see how much we've sold the past few months."

Elyse was quite certain they hadn't sold more than three since she'd started working there, but she was glad he was going to call his wife. Now, at least, she wouldn't have to hear his close-minded opinion, anymore.

Elyse ignored the nervousness she was feeling on her way over to Broadway and Ninety-Sixth Street.

Her day off was normally spent in leisure reading, resting, and drinking coffee until she went to the gym, followed by errands. On this day, however, she had gone to the gym early and come home to prettify herself. She wanted to look her best when she stopped by the copy shop.

She felt as if a magical sort of energy was driving her to go see Keb. She didn't want to dampen its influence by calling ahead to make sure he'd be there. Somehow she knew he would, and this mystical trust pushed her past hindrance caused by doubt and fear. Mobilized by pure, raw desire, her own excitement urged her onward.

Dressed in her favorite jeans and a blue velvet jacket ruffled at the waist, she trucked fast up Broadway. Hearing the rhythmic pound of her heels against the sidewalk, she remembered how she'd walked to the copy shop on Fifty-Fifth Street many times before, when she'd taken Keb's presence for granted. She prayed that her gut instinct was right today, and she would find him at the store on Ninety-Sixth Street. She also prayed that he'd be glad to see her.

Skipping up the cement stoop to the double doors at the entry, she peeked through the glass and took a deep breath.

I'm just saying hi to an old friend.

No bells clanged when she pushed the door open here.

This copy shop opened onto a spacious interior filled with people and copy machines. Assorted customers were busy using the copiers set up on the floor, most of them student-types, artsy-looking and jean-clad. Elyse surveyed the main counter in the back where a few folks in business attire were waiting. She hoped to at least see the freckle-faced kid who had been transferred there, but no luck. She recognized no one, so far.

Meandering tentatively between do-it yourself copiers and paper and art supplies, Elyse searched for the one face she most longed to see. She was about to approach a young Asian girl behind the main desk when she spotted Keb striding from the back of the store to the front, pulling on a baseball jacket. She rushed through a maze of machines to intercept him.

"Keb," she blurted, "hey! How's it going?"

He stepped back in surprise. When he recognized Elyse, he grinned.

"Elyse! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"Oh, well, I, uh, I don't live too far from here, you know."

"Really?"

"I'm right at Ninety-Second. And I haven't seen you over at the other store for a while."

"Yup, it's in Malcolm's capable hands now. I've been spending most of my time here before I leave."

"Before you leave?"

"Yeah. For the West Coast."

"Oh? For how long."

He shrugged. "For good."

"You're leaving Manhattan?"

"I am. But, tell me--what's going on with you?"

"Not too much. Other than some realizations...about life, I guess. And you know, it's like, sometimes you don't see somebody for a while, and all of a sudden you realize you miss talking to that person? Like, more than you could ever have imagined. You know?"

He smiled. "Don't tell me absence made your heart grow fonder?"

"Well, I--I guess that's one way to put it."

"One way to put it?" He looked straight in her eyes. "So, what's another way to put it?"

Elyse felt her cheeks burn and wondered how it was that he possessed an uncanny ability to unravel her poise. For some reason, she couldn't make a comeback.

In the seconds that followed Keb's question, time seemed to dissipate, and Elyse became excruciatingly aware of his firm chest muscles underneath that jacket he had on. This awareness clouded her thinking, all of a sudden.

She swallowed in search of mental clarity. "I, well, okay, I guess--maybe that's it. Your absence made me wonder where you were, it's true. And, I, I guess one could say that, yes--it, uh, also made my heart grow fonder."

He leaned back on his heels. "You don't say."

Elyse cleared her throat. "So, listen, Keb, are you rushing out the door, or do you have time for a little walk, maybe? I mean, if I'm not interrupting anything. I'd love to chat, if you can. Or, even later, I could come back, if you're busy now."

Keb glanced at his watch. "I can probably push my meeting ahead. Here, let me make a call. That'll give us time to walk together."

* * * *

Riverside Park at 100th Street was a breathtaking mass of soft, pink blossoms. The cherry trees along the Hudson River were in bloom, thousands of satiny flowers linking heaven with earth. Keb and Elyse ambled away from residential buildings down green hills to reach the park basin. There the walkway extended along the river, parallel to row upon row of cherry trees.

A sudden breeze sent blossoms and leaves all a flutter. Elyse laughed in delight.

"It's incredible, isn't it--springtime? When the city comes to life again."

"Beautiful. And to think this was all railroad tracks back in the eighteen hundreds."

"It was? Trains went in and out of here?"

"Mm-hmm. Dumps and freight trains. Before cars, when the highway was built."

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Some paper I did, back at NYU."

"You went to NYU?"

"Mm-hmm. Way back when."

"Did you graduate?"

Keb laughed. "Yeah, I graduated, Elyse."

Elyse wanted to know more, but the breeze kicked up again. The sound of blossoms and leaves waving en masse momentarily stole her attention. She groaned in adulation.

"Is there anything more delicious? Such beauty!"

"Gorgeous," Keb said. "I'd love to shoot it."

"What?" Elyse's stopped in her tracks. "You're not into guns, are you?"

Keb stared dumbfounded, then laughed aloud. "Oh, God, no! Sorry. I forgot about your experience with that crazy guy."

"Lord--I couldn't handle anything like that again."

"No, woman, I assure you I didn't mean shoot it with a gun. Live by the sword, die by the sword, I always say. If you've got a gun, chances are you'll use it. And it probably won't be good."

"Right! That's what I think, too. Leave the shooting in the video arcade."

"Here, here."

Keb slipped a hand from his pocket and tucked it inside Elyse's elbow, steering her along the pathway. A cozy glow warmed her insides as she followed his lead.

"What I meant," Keb added, "was that I'd love to shoot this scene with a camera."

"Are you into photography?"

"Yeah. Film anyway."

She looked at him sideways. "Film?"

"Mm-hmm."

They walked on in blissful silence while a thousand questions bombarded Elyse's mind. She tried to sort out which one to ask first, but Keb's arm linked with hers had a mesmerizing effect. All she could do, at the present moment, was enjoy his company and the simple act of walking by his side, enjoying springtime in the park.

They walked on in happy silence.

Finally, Elyse asked, "Keb, where on the West Coast are you moving to?"

"LA."

"Oh. I didn't realize you were from out there."

"I'm not. I'm from here. But I've had my place out there since grad school."

"Grad school? You went to grad school out there?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Which school?"

"Cal Arts."

Elyse stopped by the railing along the walkway, at a spot that overlooked the river and the Jersey shoreline beyond. The vast, blue sky held dozens of white, languid clouds. Elyse thought how these types of clouds had inspired countless artists of all eras to paint them on canvas, wood, and walls.

With her back against the railing, she looked up at Keb.

"Keb?"

"Yes, Elyse?"

"I have the feeling I don't really know you at all. I mean, the whole time I've known you--I think I really haven't."

He grinned. "You know me, Elyse. I'm me. You're you. Get it?"

She chuckled at his simplistic explanation. "So, what did you study at NYU?"

"I was a business major. Double major, actually, with filmmaking."

"And what did you study at Cal Arts?"

"Film directing."

"Geez. You went to school for that?"

"Yeah. Looks good on a resumé. Well, I did learn some technical points... Not that I didn't make some good connections, too. But, I mean, either you've got it or you don't. Nobody can really teach it to you."

She shook her head. "So, wait. Why are you running a copy shop? Or shops, as it were."

"For my Uncle Sammy. After my father died, he helped my mother out for years. Put me through college. If it wasn't for him, who knows what might have happened to me. I couldn't let his business flounder, you know? I mean, he had a heart attack. That's major... Just never had anybody else groomed to take over when he wasn't around."

"No?"

"Nope. Had a manager in each store, but kept track of them all, himself. He lost his guy on Fifty-Fifth right before he got sick. I pretty much grew up around the business, so I postponed my next project 'til he could get on his feet again." He shrugged. "Luckily, I got the start date pushed ahead. Did all I could with pre-production. Now, my uncle's well enough to get back on board, and I need to get out there."

"Wow," she said quietly. "You're amazing."

Keb snuffed a little laugh. "Not sure about that, but thanks, just the same."

On impulse, Elyse placed her palms against Keb's chest, and he slid his hands around her waist. After a moment, he drew her against him. She smelled a clean scent on his neck, like evergreen. She also felt his heart beating against her breast. When he rubbed his cheek gently against her hair, she smiled.

Over his shoulder, she could see a craggy incline with oak trees. This image and the sensation of Keb's body pressed against her emblazoned themselves in her memory. A moment later, she leaned back and looked into his face. His smile brought her such a sublime feeling, she was certain she'd been favored by a hoard of gods this day. She leaned backward in his arms, while he secured his hands to hold her more tightly.

"I used to know this older woman," she said, "when I was a kid back in Connecticut. She read tarot cards, see, and sometimes she'd tell me I needed to learn patience."

"We all do sometimes."

"But by rushing I think I made things harder than they had to be. I sort of ignored signs along the way. I mean, in the recent past--you know?"

"I think so..."

"Take the first card in the tarot deck. You know what it is?"

Keb shook his head.

"The Fool."

"Oh, Elyse--"

"No, it's all good, I see that now. It's not really a bad card. The fool isn't paying attention, and he trips. He tumbles, but that's how he learns to pay attention. Right? As long as he finally figures out he needs to keep his eyes open and look straight ahead, he can avoid the pitfalls."

"I hope you're not saying you're a fool, Elyse."

"Well, okay, listen to this."

"I'm listening."

"The fool is a double zero card."

"I thought he was the first in the deck?"

"He is--he's the first
and
the last! He's zero, not one."

"Who's One?"

"The Magus--Magician." She laughed joyfully at the intense expression on his face as he tried hard to understand. "But see how cool it is to be the Fool sometimes? He's the beginning, and the end."

Keb looked at her. "And this is a good thing?"

Elyse grinned. "I think so. It's kind of like coming back to the beginning once you've learn to watch where you're going. Like that snake with its tail in its mouth. The end is the beginning."

Keb smiled. "You certainly are something, Miss Wazinski."

Elyse noticed how deep his dimples went and smiled, herself. "Oh, well, I don't know about that, sir. I mean, I've certainly made some doozies of a mistake--"

"I have to admit, honestly? For a while, there, I was worried about you."

"You were?"

"Mm-hmm. But--what could I do? Nobody can make anybody see anything until they're good and ready. Like my grandmother used to say, you can't push the river."

"You can't push the river!" She laughed. "I like that. Was that Uncle Sammy's mother?"

"As a matter of fact, it was."

They hugged each other, and the breeze caressed them in unison.

Elyse looked up at him, again. "But, wait--reality check. You have a contract out on the West Coast?"

"Yup. We were able to postpone production. Now that my uncle's on his feet again, the timing works out perfectly, and I can get out there in time to get things rolling."

"You're directing a--what? A movie?"

"Television pilot. And I think it's gonna fly."

Elyse giggled until it gushed into laughter.

Keb shot her an intentionally bland look. "And why, may I ask, is that so funny to you?"

"You're the director," she said.

"Hey, I've done some good work there, Miss Wazinski, I'll have you know. Besides proving I can stick to the budget, my vision remains clear in the process."

"Oh, I don't mean that, at all. It's just, I don't know..."