A Little Help from Above (25 page)

“Isn’t it time to take her to the airport?” Gwen gritted.

“Soon.” Matty shook his head in disbelief.

“Not soon enough,” Gwen muttered as she settled into the floral chintz couch. “Could we please get started?”

“Of course.” Shelby fetched her notebook and chose a burnished, red leather chair close enough to hear, but too far to be bitten. “So,” she smiled, “how did you and Matty meet?”

“Matty?” Gwen raised an eyebrow. “That’s rather adorable…”

Shelby blushed. Nothing like calling a grown man by his baby name.

“How we met is a great story, isn’t it, honey?” He laughed nervously as he plopped himself down on the couch next to his wife.

“One of your favorites.” Gwen sniffed.

“We were at Lincoln Center.” He ignored his wife’s indifference. “Gwenny had brought her mother to the ballet, and I had just moved to New York and was dragged there by an old college buddy whose girlfriend was performing. Anyway, it’s intermission, and as usual, the line to the ladies’ room is a mile long. But not the men’s room. All of a sudden, Gwen decides to take matters into her own hands.”

“Don’t tell me?” Shelby impersonated a fascinated journalist.

“That’s right.” Matty grinned. “She was determined not to stand on ceremony or on line.” He laughed at his own joke. “So in she walks, while I’m relieving myself. Now as you can imagine, I was caught off guard. I mean here’s this beautiful young maiden and me, not exactly ready for company.” He squeezed Gwen’s arm as if this private moment was something special.

“And the rest, as they say, is history.” Gwen looked out the window.

Matty nodded, still smiling from the recanting of the story. And how wonderful he looked, with his impish grin that begged you to love him, like an overgrown dog who still thought he was a puppy. Trouble was, Shelby stared too long at him, causing Gwen to move in closer. The signal he had permission to touch her.

Shelby kept a steady smile going when Matty placed his arm around his wife’s narrow shoulder. “That really was a great story.” She looked down at her notes. Get me out of here.

With her remaining time, Shelby lobbed softball questions, with the same predictable outcome. Matty’s answers were animated and sincere. Gwen’s repertoire included two different type of smirks and a groan. She spoke up only once.

“Do you know that man at your newspaper who does the horoscopes?”

“You mean Warner Lamm? Yes, I do.”

“I like him.” She nodded. “Does he do private readings?”

“Uh-huh. Although I understand it takes forever to get an appointment…”

“But you could get me in if you wanted. Isn’t that right?” She sniffed.

“Why, Gwenny,” Matty teased, “you’d actually go to someone like that?”

“Why not? You once did.”

“Not that I can recall.” His face reddened.

“Well, maybe he wasn’t an astrologer exactly, but he was something.”

“Do you mean that healer I went to in the city?”

“Yes, him.”

“They’re not the same thing,” he gritted. “That man put an end to my back pain.”

“Which was all in your head.”

“I hardly think a flare-up of the sciatic nerve is something one imagines, darling.”

Oh God. We even have back problems in common, Shelby thought. Maybe it’s a sign. “Okay, how about I talk to Warner first thing Monday?” she said. “I’m sure he’d be delighted to read for you, Mrs. McCreigh…. Is there time for one last question?”

“Ask away,” Matty appeared none too anxious to be alone with his wife.

Gwen looked at her watch.

“Forgive me, but I haven’t even asked about your children?” Shelby prayed the marriage had never been consummated, let alone produced offspring.

“We have a daughter, Emily.” Matty looked down. “She’s turning six.”

“I really must be getting my roast in the oven,” Gwen said, storming off to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry,” Shelby stood up. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, of course not,” Matty stood, too. “It’s just…we’re having a difficult time at the moment. Emily is…not well…she’s in a home now…”

“Matty, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know…”

“Will you excuse me for a minute?” He didn’t wait for a reply and ran after his wife. “Mother, come back down, please. Keep Shelby company.”

“It’s okay. I’m fine.” Shelby shooed him out. Poor man was so conflicted. Besides, she wanted time to scope out the room looking for pictures of Emily. But on her way to check out what looked like family photos on the mantel, she bumped into Gwen’s shopping bags and discovered they were empty.

Shelby immediately put on her reporter’s hat and began considering the different reasons a woman would want to give the appearance she’d just been to the mall. Unfortunately, even a cub reporter could put two and two together. The only reason to show up with nothing in the bags was so a husband, for instance, never suspected where his wife had really been. Or with whom.

“So, darling, tell me,” the elder Mrs. McCreigh asked, startling her. “What do you think of all this?”

“Oh, it’s incredible all right,” Shelby laughed. And getting better every minute.

“Doesn’t Matthew look marvelous?” the proud mother asked.

“Yes, he does.”

“I mean not bad. Considering everything. I don’t know how much he’s told you.”

“Nothing really,” Shelby thought it best to let the remark pass. “Tell me. How is Wendy doing?”

“Fantastic!” Mrs. McCreigh clapped. “She married such a great guy. A surgeon! They have four beautiful children, a gorgeous home, she writes children’s books in her spare time…”

“Wow! She must be really busy.”

“It’s crazy how she runs with them, to soccer, gymnastics, dance classes, music lessons. All I can say is, thank God I didn’t have to wait around for that little pisher to open her legs.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “Otherwise, I’d still be waiting for grandchildren.”

Shelby nodded, but wasn’t sure what to make of the comment. Matty had just said he and Gwen had a daughter, Emily. But better let that one pass, too. The mere mention of a child had caused Gwen to flee. She didn’t want the elder Mrs. McCreigh to run away as well.

“You have no idea how long I tried to find your family.” Shelby
smiled wistfully. “I’ve looked everywhere. What happened to you guys? And what’s with the alias?”

Mrs. McCreigh planted a juicy kiss on Shelby’s cheek. “It’s a very long story, dear, and not one I can discuss now. But I’ll tell you this much. I haven’t seen Matthew this happy since he was ten.”

Say what you would about the rich. Their walls were as thin as everyone else’s. Either that, or Gwen had especially strong lungs. For even from inside the guest bathroom, Shelby could hear her carrying on in the kitchen. “I don’t give a damn what kind of car trouble she’s having! Let her call Triple A!”

“But that’s not necessary, dear,” Matthew argued. “I know the owner of the Lexus dealer in White Plains.”

“No you don’t! We’ve never owned a Lexus.”

“I just know him, okay? And I know he’ll be happy to help Shelby out.”

“Oh, go to hell!” Gwen slammed a cabinet door. “I don’t care what you do for your little girlfriend. Just make sure you’re back in time to help me this evening.”

His little girlfriend? Shelby giggled as she snuck out the front door and ran to her car to retrieve her cell phone and sunglasses. Hopefully, Matty wouldn’t realize she’d overheard their arguing. But she would definitely tell him how much she appreciated his help in arranging for her car to be towed and serviced.

Even better was his generous offer to drive her back to Long Island after they dropped off his mother. Finally, she would get the chance to probe what surely would be the most important investigative story of her life. Where Matty Lieberman had been hiding all these years, and how he ended up married to Wifey Dearest.

Unfortunately, the ride to the airport was not the gabfest Shelby expected, as once the shock of being reunited wore off, reality set in. Who among them was not thinking about the staggering implica
tions of Matty and Shelby seeing each other again? No wonder conversation was limited to awkward small talk, lodged in between long silences.

But when Shelby realized they were driving over the Whitestone Bridge, the very place where only a few hours earlier she’d had her meltdown, she had to say something. “Would anyone like to hear about my day?”

“Love to,” Matty replied immediately.

“Okay then. Let’s see.” She cleared her throat. “I started out the morning at the hospital where the head orthopedic surgeon told me the pins he put in my dad’s hip aren’t doing the trick, and now he’s probably going to need a whole hip replacement. Then my aunt Roz’s plastic surgeon told me her face isn’t healing as well as he had hoped, and he may have no choice other than to do a procedure that’s even more painful than skin grafts.

“From there I attended a workshop for surrogate mothers, which I thought would be helpful. But instead of hearing all kinds of warm and fuzzy stories about families living happily ever after thanks to their hero surrogates, all they talked about were the horror stories. Girls who took the money and ran. Parents who refused to take babies with birth defects. Lawyers who botched the adoption proceedings. Fertility clinics that botched the inseminations. All I can say is Lauren is damn lucky I didn’t register for this class before I got pregnant.

“Then after the workshop, I drove into the city to pick up a file at the Informer that was left there for me, coincidentally, by my good friend, Warner Lamm. The file contains information on a rare planetary occurrence, something called a void-of-course moon, which may have been in a rare conjunction with Venus retrograde on the weekend of May 25, 1988.”

“Whoa,” Matty laughed. “I didn’t understand a word of that.”

“Me either.”

“Well, what does it mean? Is it good or bad?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I read the file. Anyway, from the city I drove to your house, and just as I was crossing this very bridge, Lauren called to say not only had her husband left her, but the baby I’m carrying for them is probably not one, but two.

“Then a few minutes after that, I see this familiar face drive by in a Range Rover, and the rest you know.”

“That’s not a day, it’s a miniseries.” Matty turned to her. “I can’t believe how well you’re holding up under all this pressure.”

Mrs. McCreigh piped up from the backseat. “Well, if you ask me, the thing I can’t believe is that Roz and your father are still together.”

“Nobody asked you,” Matty snapped.

“It’s okay.” Shelby laughed. “I didn’t give it more than a year myself, but actually they’re good together. The thing is, how did you know they got married? You had already moved.”

“Are you kidding? I stayed in touch with Bobbie Bernstein and didn’t miss a thing. I knew the Gelfmans’ split up, that Jack Stein died and left everything to his secretary, Lester Greenberg lost his shirt in the market…”

“We get the picture.” he groaned.

“Anyway,” Mrs. McCreigh continued, “after Roz moved in with you, it didn’t take a genius to figure out her game plan. I had my money on her the whole time.”

“Enough!” Matty glared at her through the rearview mirror. “I’d really appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself.”

“Why should I?” She laughed. “People like to know the truth. Right, Shelby?”

“Absolutely.” She looked over at Matty, who was rolling his eyes. But to Shelby the familiar banter was magical and healing. How reassuring it was to feel the same intense connection to these people, in spite of the unfortunate, thirty-year gulf that had separated them.

“Go back to the part about you and these babies.” Matty looked straight ahead. “They’re biologically yours, but you’re giving them back to Lauren?”

“The minute they’re born.”

“Won’t that be hard?” he asked. “It’s a pretty emotional time.”

“Maybe. But the way I feel at the moment, I’ll probably get off the delivery table and do a little dance in the end zone.”

“That’s what I would do if a certain couple split up,” Mrs. McCreigh mumbled.

Shelby tried hard not to snicker.

“Mother, what is wrong with you?”

“What? Your marriage is your business, dear. I stopped trying to figure it out years ago.”

“Why do I even bother?” Matty gripped the steering wheel.

“So Shelby. Let’s hear more about you, darling. Are you married?”

“Oh my God, Mother. I’m pulling over.”

“I’m okay,” Shelby whispered. “Relax…No, I’m still single.”

“Seeing anyone seriously?”

“Not anymore.”

“You’re killing me, you know that? Please stop interrogating her.”

“Oh please,” Mrs. McCreigh waved. “You know you’re dying to know, too. So where do you live, dear? I’ll bet you have a great apartment in the city.”

“As a matter of fact I do, only it’s not in New York. Until the accident, I was living in Chicago, working for the Tribune as a columnist.”

“That sounds marvelous. I always knew you’d be a big success. So do you plan to move back after you have the babies?”

“I can’t let you do this.” Matty turned around. “This is none of our business.”

Shelby laughed. “You would have made a hell of a reporter, Mrs. Lieber…McCreigh. Sorry. It’s really hard calling you by a different name.”

“That’s nothing! Try answering to a different name,” she replied. “Tell you what. You’re old enough to vote. Call me Carol.”

“Okay. Carol. Anyway, the answer to your question is I have no idea what I’ll do when this is over. After everything that’s happened to me, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s pointless to worry about the future because what’s supposed to happen, will, whether you want it to or not. It’s like my grandmother used to say at funerals. ‘Man makes plans and God laughs.’”

“I say that all the time, too.” Matty nodded.

“Well it’s true,” Shelby said. “I mean I always imagined you’d be living in Vermont or Maine, with a sweet little wife, a bunch of kids and dogs, and a Ph.D. in comparative literature.”

“And I always imagined you’d be living on Park Avenue with a Wall Street guy, beautiful children, a nanny, and a house in the Hamptons.”

Carol coughed. “And I always imagined you two would be together.”

By the time they arrived at La Guardia, Shelby’s racing heart was overcome by two important needs. She had to pee and then speak to Lauren, as they hadn’t talked since that frantic phone call this morn
ing. She guessed their conversation would be a long one, unless Lauren had raided the designer pills in her medicine chest and was passed out on the bathroom floor.

In anticipation of a stressful call, Shelby said her good-byes to Carol, hit the ladies’ room, and returned to the car to make the call. Never did she expect to hear a cheerful voice on the line.

“Hi. Where are you?” Lauren asked.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, so let’s deal with you first. How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“No, c’mon. Really.”

“I mean it. I’m okay. In fact I don’t have much time to talk, because do you remember Andrea Horowitz, the girl who was on my first Israel trip?”

“Not exactly.”

“Doesn’t matter. Avi and I went out with her and her husband a few times, but then they split up. Anyway, she’s divorced now, two kids, the whole bit, and I called her a little while ago to commiserate, and she happened to mention that she was going to a singles dance at the Temple tonight, and said I should go with her. So I said okay, and now she’s picking me up in a few minutes so we can go shopping for something nice to wear, and…”

“Whoa! Hold on,” Shelby exploded. “A few hours ago you were suicidal because your husband left you, and now you’re going to Bloomingdale’s so you can look hot at a singles dance?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“But you’re not single, Lauren! I’m sure Avi will be back once he comes to his senses.”

“Maybe. But just in case…I mean what do you expect me to do? Sit around waiting for him to decide what he wants to do with his life?”

“Yes, actually. And correct me if I’m wrong, but in six short months, you’ll be the proud mother of twins. So even if you’re shopping for husband number three by then, you’re going to have to inform the lucky guy you’re coming to the party with Ike and Mike.”

“Whatever.”

“No. Not ‘whatever,’” Shelby mimicked the attitude. “I’m sure Avi realized he made a huge mistake and is on his way back. How would it look if you didn’t even wait a day before you started dating?”

“He’s not coming back,” Lauren said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I spoke to his mother in Israel, and she told me that he called her three weeks ago to say he was coming home. And that whole business with his cousin and the rock band? It was a lie, so I’d think he was leaving to follow his dream, or something like that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But don’t worry about the babies, Shel. I still want them. More than you could possibly know. And I already spoke to Mommy and Daddy, and they’re behind us one hundred percent. And I also called the divorce attorney I used for me and Allen.”

“Did he offer you a frequency discount?”

“Why are you being like this, Shel? I have to do what I have to do.”

“Me too.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re spooking me out. You aren’t thinking…you wouldn’t go and…oh my God. Promise me right now you’re not going to have an abortion.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Things are working out exactly as I hoped. I got pregnant with twins. Avi ran away. We’re both single. Now we get to divvy up the litter. I’ve got dibs if one’s a girl.”

From that point, the conversation went downhill, and Shelby found herself so incensed by Lauren’s cavalier attitude, that it only occurred to her after they hung up that she’d never even told her about finding Matty Lieberman. But when she redialed, the answering machine picked up. Once again Lauren was off and running in the singles’ race. Gentlemen, start your party engines.

Shelby leaned back into the headrest and was about to close her eyes when she spotted Matty sprinting to the car holding a bouquet of flowers. To hell with Lauren. She was about to be alone with her long-lost love, and the sexual attraction to him was overpowering. If she could just have an hour to lie on top of this man, she’d die happy.

“These are for you,” he said, sliding into his seat and handing her the flowers.

“Thank you.” She looked down at the wilted mess that had probably been laying dormant in an airport refrigerator since last week. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I didn’t.” He sighed. “They’re from you-know-who. I tend to go for the arrangements that cost more than seven dollars.”

Shelby laughed. “Now, now. It’s the thought…”

“Do you want to know what she really said?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. Do I?”

“I’ll tell you anyway. She said ‘remember to use a condom. Who knows where she’s been’?”

“Get out of here!” Shelby clapped. “She said that?”

“I swear to you those were her exact words.”

“She’s even more of a pisser than I remember.” Shelby wiped her eye. “Why would she even think something like that? You’re a married man.”

“And you’re a pregnant woman.” He sighed. “It’s amazing. I know this woman my entire life, and she still floors me with the ridiculous things that come out of her mouth.”

“Yes, but her heart’s in the right place.” Shelby patted his warm hand.

“Do you…are you in a hurry to get back?” he cocked his head.

“Actually, no. I just spoke to Lauren, and she’s doing much better than I expected. But isn’t Gwen expecting you home to help her?”

“It’s okay. My wife is the Martha Stewart of entertaining. The only job she thinks I can handle is filling the ice buckets, and by now I have it down to a science. It’s all in the wrists.”

Shelby giggled. Could Matty be any more adorable? “What did you have in mind?” The back of the car, or a hotel in midtown Manhattan? Please?

“How would you feel about heading into the city?”

“Sounds great.” I hear Le Meridian has day rates.

“I like the Roof Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Have you been there?”

“No.” Damn! His mind wasn’t in the gutter like hers.

“C’mon then. The view of Central Park is great, and we can catch up on old times. Wait until you hear my life’s story. I promise you’ll be glued to your seat.”

“Believe me. I already am.”

See how a little car trouble can make a big difference when you’re trying to jump-start a relationship? If all that oil hadn’t dripped out on to the
driveway, Shelby would have had to say her good-byes at the house and not had a good reason to see Matty again.