Deadly Dosage (20 page)

     “Mom will like you better in the blouse. She
hates the menswear styles.”

     “Since I don’t want to ruin Spring’s evening,
I’ll wear the blouse.” She slipped it on and buttoned the front. From her
jewelry box, she selected a heart-shaped locket and handed it to me.

     “Can you fix this for me? The clasp is so small.”

     I took the necklace and placed it around her
neck. As I fastened it, I asked, “Where did you get this? It’s pretty.”

     “Oh,” she said straightening it. “Anniversary
gift from Alan. Look.” She opened the locket and inside was a picture of her
and Alan. “He actually picked out a nice picture. I’m glad, because it would
have been awkward replacing it.

I sat down on her bed as she
put on her earrings. “Autumn, do you and Alan ever discuss marriage?”

     She shrugged. “Oh, not really. I guess for now
we’re happy just living together. It’s not like we want to start having
children.”

     “Do you think Spring wants children?”

     “Spring?” She shrugged. “She never said she did.
But then,” she turned to face me, “does it matter? Nino’s going to want ten.”
She paused, looking distressed. “Shit, what time is it?”

     I looked at my watch. “You’ve got fifteen minutes
before we have to leave.”

     “I’ve got a big stain on this.” She pointed to a
blotch on the sleeve and quickly unbuttoned her blouse halfway and slipped it
off, tossing it on the bed. “Ahhh, now what?”

     I strolled over to her walk-in closet, pulled out
a black satin blouse with a rhinestone-trimmed pocket, and carried it back to
her. “Wear this. Your auburn hair looks striking against it. Yep, you look just
like Rita Hayworth.”

     “Flatterer.”

She padded back into the
bathroom buttoning the blouse. “Just let me add a few curls.”

     I took the gold box from my handbag and slipped
off the ribbon. Carefully I opened the box, took out the charm bracelet, and
attached it to my wrist. I slowly walked into the bathroom.

     I held up my wrist towards Autumn. “Remember
this?”

     She gave the bracelet a fleeting glimpse between
curls. “Present from Dad, right? I always wanted it.”

     “I know,” I said smugly. “Notice anything
different.”

     She stopped curling her hair and studied it. Her
eyes lit up. “When did you get this one? It’s pretty. Is that a diamond?”

     “I think so. Look closer.”

     She held the charm between her fingers and the
two hearts separated. Her breath caught when she read the inscription. She
looked up and our eyes locked. “Sunny. Wow, that’s romantic.”

     “What do you make of it?”

     “You mean other than the obvious sexual innuendo
and proposal?”

     “Yes,” I said seriously.

     “Sam’s always been unpredictable. If you remember
correctly, his unpredictability hooked you in the beginning. Maybe he’s trying
to recreate old times.”

     “Yeah, I never predicted him sleeping with
Brandi.”

     “Technically you weren’t dating at the time.”

     My mouth dropped open. “Whose side are you on?”

     She unplugged the curling iron and handed it to
me. “Yours, Sunny.” Then she teased her hair and sprayed it with salon
purchased hairspray. She sprayed some on my hair too, trying to hold back a wayward
bang. “There.”

     “So help me here,” I asked desperately.

     Her deep brown eyes softened. “Wait.”

     “Wait. Wait for what?”

     “You don’t have to answer him right away.”

     “Just pretend like I never saw this,” I said
holding the charm.

     “No. Hear him out. Then decide. Either you’re
going to forgive him, or discover he’s a bigger ass than you thought.”

     I laughed and raised my eyebrows in a knowing
appraisal. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

     “Is this proposal a secret for now?”

     “Please? Spring will start planning a double
wedding and Mom will give me the third degree otherwise.”

     She nodded. “And what about Lloyd?”

     “Lloyd,” I sighed. “Autumn, he’s not just some
rebound date. It wouldn’t take much to fall in love with a guy like him.”

Chapter
28

I considered Autumn’s suggestions as I drove on
autopilot on I-94, heading towards my mom’s condo. The traffic was flowing
smoothly, and my focus wandered easily from the road and to the unanswered
questions bombarding my mind.

Her approach to Sam made
sense. I guess I had invested almost three years into the relationship, so
there had to be a reason for that. Maybe it
was
my fault the
relationship soured. We did have something special in the beginning. Then
again, most relationships start that way. The real trick is keeping the spark
alive. My parents made it work for twenty-five years. So what happened that
twenty-sixth year? Or had it happened the first year and they just kept going
as though nothing changed and it caught up with them. How long can you live a
lie?

The
sound of Autumn’s voice jolted me awake. “What?”

“Who’s singing this song? I
like it.” She was swaying in her seat and I smiled.

“The Raspberries.”

“Never heard of them. Are they
new?”

“Hardly. Song is “Let’s
Pretend
”
and it’s from the 1970’s. Part of Dad’s collection. I burned
several CDs.”  

     “I forgot you listen to all that old stuff,” she
said as I turned off onto I-794.

     “Better than the crap that’s out now. These guys
played instruments, wrote, and sang. Not just a bunch of lip-synching dancers
dressed like kooks.”

     “Yeah, okay, Pops.”

     “I’m totally serious.”

     “What kind of music does Sam like?” she asked out
of the blue.

     “Sam? Bands like Green Day, Coldplay, stuff like
that. I like some of the same songs.”

     “And Lloyd?”

     I thought about it before answering. “Classic
rock. Guess he appreciates real talent like me.”

     I took the Water Street exit off I-794, and
headed north until it became Market Street and intersected with Highland. I
turned east toward Broadway and found parking on the street near her building.

     It was past five, so we didn’t need to plug the
parking meter. Autumn got out and waited for me to remotely beep the doors
locked.

     “You got the gift?” I asked her.

     “Yep. I wrapped it right before you came over.”
She scoped out the area. “Nice around here. Didn’t you say Sam went to college
somewhere around here?”

     “MSOE just up the street.”

     “That’s right.”

I followed Autumn through the
marble lobby to the elevators. Our destination was the tenth floor. We rode the
elevator, exited, and headed left until we reached the last door on the right.
Autumn knocked three times and we waited.

My mom’s condo faced
northeast, and I would have a perfect view of MSOE. Suddenly it seemed more
than coincidental, that a wonderful morning of intimacy with Lloyd evolved into
a Sam event. It seemed contrived. Before I had time to think further, the door
opened.

“Sweethearts!” she said
hugging us simultaneously. “Your sister is late.”

“That’s a soon-to-be bride for
ya,” Autumn stated. “Hey, Mom,” she said walking into the living room, “is that
chair new?”

     Autumn loved furniture. During her college years,
she started in the interior design program, but changed her major to follow her
boyfriend into finance. The major she kept, the boyfriend lasted two months.

     “Isn’t it lovely?”

“I love the tweed fabric. The
blue specks match the color of your leather couch perfectly.”

“Nice and comfortable too,
when I curl up to read a book. Some man three doors down planned to dump it, so
I came to the rescue. Didn’t cost me a dime, and he moved it in here for me.”

     Autumn sat in the chair, picked up the novel from
the end table, and read the back cover.

“Any flirting involved?” I
asked playfully.

     “Maybe,” she replied with smile and a dimpled
cheek. “’Course I’d be considered a cougar.”

     “Would you girls like something to drink? Or a
snack,” she asked heading for the kitchen.

     “Don’t want to ruin my appetite,” I said.

     “I guess I’ll wait too. She should be here any
minute.”

     “I got some new brochures on Vegas.” She walked
to her glass cocktail table where an array of brochures was displayed. She
selected one. “This is the latest hotel. The Cosmopolitan.”

     “Sleek. But that Bellagio sure sounds nice.”

     “You would like that one, Autumn. Probably the
most expensive,” I said browsing the brochure.

     “So I have good taste.”

     “Autumn, how’s Alan doing. Working on any
interesting cases?”

     “He doesn’t go into the gritty details with me,
Mom. Knows I’m the nervous type. But he’s working on a gang-related homicide.”

     “In Milwaukee?”

     “Happens everywhere.”

     There was a knock at the door. I went to answer
it.

     “Holy cow! Guess who’s here?” I said to Autumn.

     Spring pushed past me. “Sorry I’m late. I was at
the salon. So, what do you think?”

     “I think your hair’s going to fall out if you keep
making such drastic changes!”

     She stiffened and gazed scornfully at me. She
turned and pursed her lips. “Mom, what do you think?”

     “I ah…,” she eyed Autumn, then me. “I think it
looks very nice with that shade of pink lipstick.”

     Spring seemed satisfied. When her back was
turned, my mom pantomimed frantically, pulling on her hair mouthing to us to be
nice.

     “It’s really rather chic, Spring,” offered
Autumn. “Bet it looks great in a French twist.”

     “Yeah. Classic Doris Day suits you.”

Autumn kicked me in the shin.
“And ah, Nino loves that color,” I volunteered. “Mom, aren’t those neat boots.
I like the little belts.”

     My mom relaxed. “Yes, they look cute with your
pants.” She went to the kitchen counter to retrieve a couple of packages. “So
Spring, we have a couple of gifts for you.”

     Spring and I sat down on the couch and it let out
a whoopee cushion sound. I fanned the air. “Jeez, Spring, use the bathroom.”

     Autumn laughed and Spring hit me. Our mom rolled
her eyes. “Spring, your father, and I wanted you to have this.”

     Spring took the medium- sized box, wrapped in
silver paper. It had little gold wedding bells secured to the lid. She shook it
and my mom involuntarily cringed. She lifted the lid, pushed aside the tissue
paper, and pulled out a sparkling Waterford crystal goblet.

     “These are gorgeous, Mom.”

     “Your father and I used them for our wedding. We
thought it would be nice to save them for our first born.”

     Spring and my mom had tears in their eyes. I
smiled, relieved that they weren’t passed down to me. Let’s face it, their
marriage ended. I wanted to start mine off with better luck.       

     “Thank you.” She put the goblets away and
replaced the lid.

     “This is from Sunny and I.” Autumn said. “She
still owes me the money for it.”

     “I do not!” I yelled.

     Autumn laughed.

     “That’s okay, Sunny. We know you don’t make
much,” said Spring charitably.

     Autumn laughed harder.

     “Autumn!”

     “Okay, she paid half. Jeez, what a baby.”

     Spring looked doubtful. She took the odd shaped
package wrapped in hot pink foil and turned it around in her hands. “What in
the world?” She felt it in different spots. “It’s both hard and really soft.”

     “It’s a dildo,” I said and my mom slapped my
hand.

     “Just open it. You’ll never guess,” replied
Autumn.

     Spring ripped open the package, careful of her
just manicured fingernails.

     Inside were two items. One was a throw pillow
with a picture of Nino and Spring sharing a kiss at his restaurant.

     Spring picked up the pillow and put her hand up
to her mouth. “Omigod! This is from our first date. Where did you get this
picture?”

     “From his brother Leo,” said Autumn.

     She put it aside and took the picture frame from
the wrappings.