Her One Obsession (12 page)

Margo looked as if she had been slapped in the face. Eduardo and Garry stood there smiling at each other and then applauded her. The nurse-like therapists averted their eyes from Margo and remained silent and still as statues. The manageress recovered from the shock of meeting a client with a mind of her own, and quite suddenly a smile crept over her face.

‘Well, now we have something to work towards. I can assure
you, Mrs Palenberg, you will walk from this salon happy with what you see in the mirror,’

That was when the serious work began.

The three Palenberg girls were not anxious about their mother being late as she had called the Russian Tea Room to say she would be. They did, however, keep their eyes on the door. They were rewarded with the sight of several famous faces, even a few who knew the girls and came over to greet them and congratulate them on their father’s award. There was a stack of newspapers on the empty seat at their table. Large photographs of their father alone, with the President, with all three of them and with Adair made every front page.

‘Look!’ said Pieta.

The other two stared at the woman who had just entered the restaurant. Dendre waved to them. Speechless, they rose from their seats to wave back.

‘I can’t believe how beautiful she looks,’ said Amber.

‘She’s cut her hair and it shines – it’s
so
silky,’ enthused Daisy.

‘And what about that outfit she’s wearing? Wow!’ Pieta exclaimed.

By that time Dendre had arrived at their table. The girls greeted her with endless compliments and for the moment forgot the newspapers which had automatically been picked up and placed on the floor.

‘Mom, everyone in the room is looking at you. You’re stunning! Why ever didn’t you do this before? Did you have a good time? Aren’t you thrilled? Wait until Dad sees you!’

A laughing Dendre said, ‘One question at a time. I didn’t do it before because having to be stunning was not a priority in my life. I hadn’t the time nor the money nor the inclination to make an impression on anyone except your father who loved me as I was. I never cared how I appeared to others. I never had the vanity to pamper myself as I have done today. I never had an innate understanding of style, until Louise Nevelson took me aside one day and told me how to dress up my clothes with pre-Columbian gold jewellery and glamorise myself with full-length fur coats, as she did.

‘You asked, did I have a good time? I must confess I did,
tedious and boring as the whole process of beautifying oneself is. I think the best of it was being pampered and made a fuss of, other people working to make me look special. By the time I’d paid the huge bill, I had a new perception of myself. Not only did they make me look special, I felt for the first time like a special lady and liked myself for that.

‘Am I thrilled with the way I look? I would have to say, yes. I like my hair shoulder-length, and that all I will have to do is wash it, shake it out, and let it dry naturally. I really like the colour. I always hated those strands of grey. But no foundation and powder for me – a naked face save for eyes outlined to look larger, blusher and a perfect red lipstick. This is the new me: low-maintenance, interesting rather than chic, definitely subtle.’

‘Wait until Adair sees you,’ breathed Amber.

‘Yes, she will be surprised,’ answered her mother dryly.

‘And where did you get those sensational leather trousers? Wow, do they show your figure!’

‘Must have cost you a bomb. I can’t believe you didn’t tremble when you signed the cheque, Mom,’ said Pieta with a broad smile.

The jacket Dendre was wearing was made of the same leather, a cognac colour with revers of white Persian lamb and lined with the same fur. It finished tight to the waist and on her feet were a pair of black leather ankle boots with Cuban heels. It surprised Dendre that she didn’t feel flash or overdressed. She owed that to Eduardo who had whispered in her ear, ‘From here you go to Gucci. There’s a friend of mine there – Mario. I’ll call and tell him you’ll be in the shop before they close. But don’t let Margo know, she’d fire me on the spot!’

‘I think that the most difficult part was walking into Gucci, and not looking at a price tag,’ said Dendre, quite seriously.

All three girls laughed at their mother and Daisy said, ‘The same old Mom in new clothing! even if she did have to bite the bullet first. I hope you’re going to shop the same way tomorrow as you did today?’

‘Oh, you may be sure of that,’ Dendre told her.

She very nearly gave her game away then to the girls, which she really did not want to do. She was after all certain they would see her go through many more changes besides a new hair-do,
plucked eyebrows and a new wardrobe before she had won their father back for good.

The four of them settled down when the second pot of tea arrived with more cakes. Pieta picked the newspapers off the floor and handed them to her mother with a smile. Conversation turned once more to the gala evening of the night before.

Dendre thought the photographs were marvellous. Her heart beat with pride to see them. She had no feelings of jealousy because she had not been included in them, only a touch of anger that Adair had. It was Daisy who told her mother that it was such a pity Dendre had not remained with them during the evening because then she would have been in the photographs too. She read one report after the other as the girls jabbered on, only half-listening to them. They were smart and sophisticated young women and yet with the kind of innocence too that comes only with youth. Neither she nor Gideon had ever pushed them in any way and yet they had found their place and were happy in it. Each of them seemed to understand they were the most privileged of children to be the daughters of such a great man and were generous, kind, and unquestioning of their parents’ unusual lifestyle. They merely made the most of it.

‘I love you girls and Dad with all my heart. All of you have given me the best life a woman could ask for. I promise it will always be that way, so remember that, no matter what.

‘Now let’s go home. We’re very late and Gideon will be wondering where we are. We’re having rib of beef for dinner, medium rare,’ said Dendre with a smile.

Chapter 12

Only when the taxi pulled up to the curb did Dendre think about her confrontation that morning. Had Adair or had she not told Gideon about the visit? Had she taken to heart Dendre’s warning of what would happen if she didn’t walk out of her relationship with Gideon?

All that was going through her mind when she heard Amber say, ‘I can’t wait to see Dad’s face when he sees you, Mom.’

‘And Adair’s and Haver’s,’ murmured Daisy.

The girls began to scramble out of the taxi. Dendre held out her arm to block the way. ‘Wait! I have a favour to ask. Two favours, actually. I want to be alone with your father when he sees the new me. And I want you to promise not to make too much of a fuss about how I look. I’d find it embarrassing.’

What she told them was true but she was also worried in case Adair had called or visited Gideon and told him about her morning visit from Dendre. She wanted to spare the girls a potentially shocking scene: their father’s fury with her for disturbing the status quo and disrupting their lives.

There were protests from her daughters but they finally agreed. The four of them stood on the pavement while Dendre paid the taxi driver. When she turned around, she saw the delight and pride in their faces at what she had done with herself.

It was Pieta who said, ‘Mom, what about raving about you behind your back? Surely that’s permissible?’

Their sweetness touched her deeply. ‘Yes, behind my back, I think I can live with that.’

It was dark out. The lights burning in Gideon’s studio meant he was still there. The girls went up to the apartment and Dendre used her key to enter the studio. She felt a surge of excitement, not at all self-conscious as she’d imagined she might be. Her timing
could not have been more perfect. Valdez was cleaning brushes. Gideon, smoking a large Havana cigar and holding a coffee mug containing vintage Krug, was sitting in front of the painting he had been working on all day, considering it.

Valdez heard her and looked up from his work. She approached him and put one hand on his shoulder in greeting. He smiled and nodded his approval. Dendre smiled back and continued walking towards her husband.

Gideon turned to see who was in the studio. Dendre was still some distance from him. She smiled as she continued towards him. With his eyes still on his wife, he picked the champagne bottle up off the floor and refilled his mug. He rose from his chair and walked towards her.

He handed her the mug and said, ‘Dendre, you’ve come a long way since the day I picked you up from that bench in Washington Square. Just when I believe I know you – how you think, how you feel – you surprise me. Sometimes, like now, confound me. You look marvellous!’ He walked around her before kissing her and saying, ‘Thank you.’

He touched her hair then caressed it with the palm of his hand. She took a long drink of the wine and handed him back the mug. He finished what was left, placed the mug on the floor and took her in his arms to give her a hug. With his arm around her waist, they walked through the studio and up stairs to the apartment.

Dendre could not have been more pleased with her husband’s reaction to her new appearance. It was an affirmation to her that he loved her as she had looked before and would love her as she was now. If that were not true he would have made more of a fuss than he had. From the way he had received her it was evident that Adair had not told him about their meeting. Was she in fact going to leave him? Dendre’s heart raced with hope that this was the case.

At the top of the spiral staircase that led from the studio to the apartment Gideon placed his hands on her bottom, not in a lascivious way but in more of an affectionate, admiring way, and asked, ‘What’s for dinner?’

‘Shrimp mousse, rib of beef just the way you like it, potatoes and red onions roasted in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with sprigs of fresh thyme. A green salad of lamb’s tongue and rocket. Oh, and caramelised oranges for pudding.’

Gideon laughed. ‘Do you remember how we lived for years on hand outs of your mother’s heavy Jewish cooking and never had the courage, any more than Orlando did, to tell her to lighten the meals? Well, you’ve brought us a long way from those days too. Everyone including your husband, enjoys dining at your table enormously.’

His charm, charisma, his love for her, were all still there. Why could he not have acknowledged her to the world, confessed his love and admiration for her in some way the night before? she asked herself. And then answered honestly, Because he loves Adair more. She leaned forward and kissed her husband chastely on the cheek, then opened the door to the apartment.

As they stepped from the studio balcony into the deserted entrance hall, he said, ‘Oh, nearly forgot, there will be two more for dinner.’

‘Who’s coming?’ asked Dendre.

‘Haver called and invited himself, and I bumped into Adair and she asked if she could come.’

Bumped into Adair? Nothing had changed! He was still playing discrete so as to hurt her the least he could do under the circumstances. Now she knew for sure that Adair had not told Gideon about Dendre’s demand. Instead they had gone to bed and had sex. She was now more determined than ever to rid herself of Adair Corning.

The flat was very quiet, the girls obviously in their rooms. In their bedroom Gideon announced he was going to take a shower and began undressing, leaving his clothes all over the room. Once naked he had a habit of retracing his steps, picking them up again and hanging them in their proper place.

Dendre watched him as she was taking off her jacket. She knew his every habit and loved him for them. They were such little things: the way he removed his clothes, or turned on the shower in the bathroom to warm it while he shaved. Just little things that made up their life together. She had seen these habits thousands of times and wanted to see them thousands of times more. She felt again the pain of loving her husband. It hurt her so much to think he didn’t feel the same way for her, never had. Then she found strength from deep within herself and blocked out her love for him. Her determination to proceed with her plan sharpened.

She turned from the cupboard to come face to face with Gideon, watching her from the bathroom doorway. She walked to her dressing table and opened the drawer where she kept her jewellery. Dendre clasped a magnificent Mayan gold necklace round her neck and slipped several gold bangles over her hands. She thought of Mario who had suggested she dress tonight in the see-through brown silk blouse he had talked her into buying to go with her pre-Columbian jewellery. She admired herself in the mirror though she hardly knew who she was looking at. Finally Dendre rose from her chair and turned round to face Gideon who still had not moved.

He smiled at her. ‘There aren’t many women who after twenty-five years with me and three children could wear that blouse. I admire your audacity. No, I applaud your breasts,’ he said with a smile then turned to go into the shower.

‘Watch out, Adair,’ Dendre said softly to herself.

She walked into the kitchen, greeting Kitty and Yukio who were sitting at one end of the massive table preparing the salad. On seeing her, Yukio rose from his chair. Kitty merely gasped. Dendre couldn’t help laughing, delighted by their reaction.

‘Dendre, you look magnificent,’ said Yukio.

‘Oh, Dendre, I don’t know what to say except I agree with Yukio. It’s you, I would know you anywhere, but a glamorous you.’ And Kitty rose from her chair and came to hug her.

Kitty and Yukio had been with the Palenbergs for many years. They were like family, travelled with them, sat at table with them unless they were entertaining. They were confidants to their bosses and the children. They had seen many changes, had endured many shocks and surprises during the time they had been working for the family. It was a liberal household and they loved their employers and the children, the fame that rubbed off Gideon and on to them. It was therefore not unusual for Kitty to be so intimate with Dendre, nor for Yukio, who walked around her and took the apron from her hand.

‘It’s wonderful, isn’t it?’ Dendre said to her two admirers.

‘Astonishing that you’ve done it,’ said Yukio, and to himself added, I wonder why?

‘And I’m going shopping with the girls tomorrow,’ she told them, joy in her eyes and voice.

A groan from Yukio. Everyone knew one of those bad-tempered days was inevitable when Dendre shopped with her daughters.

‘No, it’s not going to be like that, Yukio. I’ve turned over a new leaf. It will hurt, but I’ll not be penny pinching tomorrow.’

‘We’ll see,’ he said and went over to Dendre, carefully slipping her apron over her head.

The doorbell rang while she was checking the roast. She told him to lay two more places at the dining table. ‘No one fancy, just Haver and Adair, so dine with us, if you like?’ she offered.

That was not unusual. The staff saw the two new arrivals as part of the Palenbergs’ extended family. Wrapped in her apron, Dendre put the finishing touches to the meal but her mind was hardly on food.

The girls seemed to be delighted with this radical change of looks and behaviour in their mother. If they had not told Yukio and Kitty about her makeover, they would certainly keep silent about it until she made her entrance and took Haver and Adair by surprise. That they’d arrived together was not unusual. They adored each other, were each other’s confidants. It was Daisy who let them in, Dendre could tell by the voices.

‘Yukio, champagne in the drawing room,’ she told him.

Daisy arrived in the kitchen. ‘Mom, I stopped Haver from coming in to say hello. You must make an entrance – and for once without an apron on. I can’t wait to see their faces!’

‘Nor can I,’ she told her daughter who was busy untying her apron strings.

‘No, Daisy. I have a few things more to do in the kitchen then I’ll be in.’ She kissed her daughter and fluffed up her hair. ‘Your hair needs more movement in it,’ she said quite seriously.

‘I don’t believe what I’m hearing!
You
talking about hair instead of soufflés!’ And everyone in the kitchen burst into laughter.

Twenty minutes later, Dendre made her grand entrance into the drawing room. The girls and Gideon were marvellous, behaving as if there was nothing unusual about the way she looked. It was difficult to tell who was more flabbergasted, Adair or Haver. There was no doubt Dendre looked simply stunning in her leather trousers and the chocolate brown long-sleeved blouse that showed her breasts and nipples, made even more sensational as a look because of her pre-Columbian jewellery.

Her appearance brought Haver to his feet. Adair didn’t move. Dendre was gazing directly into her eyes. She saw anger in them before Adair blushed crimson. It was she who broke the silence.

‘Gideon, you should have warned me that Dendre has seen fit to change her image at this late stage in her life. I might have died of shock! As it is I’m speechless with admiration for this dramatic change but riddled with curiosity as to why she has taken such an unprecedented step. Why have you, Dendre?’

It was not difficult to detect the acid in Adair’s voice. It quite shocked the girls who adored her. They had expected praise for their mother’s new look, admiration of how stunningly good-looking she was this evening.

It was Pieta who in all innocence said, ‘Everyone at the Russian Tea Room turned their head to look at Mom. She’s at least as elegant and stylish as Barbra Streisand now, don’t you think, Adair?’

‘I’ve never liked Barbra’s looks, Pieta. No matter what she does, a bad nose is a bad nose, don’t you think?’

One could not help but catch the venom in Adair’s barb. Always protective of Dendre, Gideon shot a look of disapproval at his beautiful mistress with her perfect nose. ‘It seems your new look is taken as some sort of challenge by our lovely Adair. Is that what it is, Dendre? It shouldn’t be since you have been in altogether different leagues all your lives.’

As always he was being protective of his wife when he thought she was out of her depth. Only this time she didn’t feel she was. Throughout the time Adair had been with Gideon this was the first occasion on which she had broken the unwritten law: ‘Never offend the wife’.

Adair sensed she had made a mistake with Gideon and was quick to back down. She rose from the sofa and went to Dendre, kissing her on the cheek before saying, ‘I always thought you had a highly individual style of your own and now you have reinvented yourself. You look stunning – handsome, interesting, and with a new kind of glamour that suits you.’

Dendre knew that her adversary was being decidedly condescending towards her but wanted no more bitterness to creep into the evening. If it did, Adair would get the better of her
since the young woman was far more quick and clever than she was.

‘That’s very generous of you to say so, Adair. Now, if you will all excuse me, I must get back to the kitchen. Gideon, will you choose the wines? Amber, you do the seating arrangements and all go to the dining table.’

Dinner was as ever superb. They became caught up in their discussion of the night before, even Dendre. Everyone ate and drank too much. Gideon and Adair sat next to each other and it was difficult not to miss his passion for the young woman: she amused him and teased him, made him laugh constantly. He wanted her so badly, always touching her under cover of a jest or to make a point.

Finally, the meal over, they rose from their chairs and lingered, talking about the Henry Moore bronze reclining nude that was the centrepiece on the dining table and had been lit by small round church candles. It was then that Dendre took Adair by the arm and said, ‘Do come and see my jacket, I’d like your opinion of it.’

It was a bald-faced lie and the two women knew it. Dendre had been clever in asking Adair when Gideon was standing next to her. He beamed with pleasure and slid his arm from his mistress’s.

In the bedroom Adair said, ‘Well, let’s see that blasted jacket we both know was just an excuse for you to get me alone.’

‘You didn’t tell Gideon about my visit?’

‘Well, obviously not,’ she answered testily.