Honey and Leonard (4 page)

"If it's the press, don't say anything," Nimmo said as he followed her to the door.

Honey opened the door to find herself staring into a television news camera with a reporter saying, "I'm Andrew Lockner from WTHR in Indianapolis. Any comment on the poisoning of Leonard Atkins?"

Before her attorney could intercede, Honey launched into what sounded like a well-prepared response. "Leonard Atkins has not been poisoned. He's my good friend and I ought to know. I'm Honey Waldrop and I most certainly have done nothing wrong. I love Leonard, and now they won't even let me go see him. There are people who are after his money and they want me out of the way."

"Who's after his money?" the reporter asked.

Attorney Nimmo managed to get between Honey and the reporter and said, "I think that will be more than enough for today. Ms. Waldrop is my client and she has nothing further to say."

"Have murder charges been filed against your client?"

"No charges have been filed," Nimmo said as he hustled Honey back inside her house.

"Did I say too much?" she asked once they sat back down.

"Way, way, way too much."

"Why can't I tell my side of the story?"

Nimmo tried to be patient as he explained, "If you go on camera about how innocent you are it almost makes the prosecutor file charges just to prove their search was justified."

"Would they do that?"

"Probably not just to prove a point. But the more this thing gets in the public eye, the harder it will be to make it go away. I don't know if you noticed those reporters are from Indianapolis. That's the state capital, a hundred miles away. This story is obviously catching fire and you, my dear, only fan the flames with your comments."

As the knocking on her door continued, she knew it wasn't a reporter. That knock was more than familiar. That was a "shave and a hair cut, two bits" knock. She knew who was on the other side of her door before she unlocked it.

"Leonard," she gushed as he took her into his arms. He was barefoot and still in his pajamas. "What on earth are you doing here? How did you get out? Where are your shoes?"

"Piece of cake," he said as he kissed her hard on the lips and hugged her tightly around the waist. "Bed check is at nine and my room is on the first floor. They don't lock the windows. No one will know I'm gone until breakfast."

"Did you forget your shoes?"

"No, they make too much noise. I didn't want to go clip clopping down the sidewalk."

"Get in here before anyone sees you."

Leonard stumbled and had to catch himself on a chair as he came into the living room.

"What's the matter?" Honey asked. Leonard was not a clumsy man.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Honey. They've been drugging me up pretty bad in there. They keep making me take pills I don't even know what they are. I think they're putting something in my cottage cheese. It doesn't taste right and they serve it with every meal, even breakfast. I'm telling you, I had to get out of there. And I had to see you."

"You are a sight for sore eyes," Honey said. "You look a little tired but you're still your same old handsome self. You know they won't even let me come see you? They're still saying I poisoned you." Honey paused and helped him into an upholstered armchair. She held his head in her hands and put her nose to his nose, "What are we going to do now? If you're on the run and I let you into my house, that makes us both fugitives."

"Oh, no, I know. I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Too late for that," Honey said. "I've been in trouble with you since our first kiss at the Halloween benefit party for the United Way. Remember how you danced us behind the pillar and took my breath away?"

"Like it was yesterday. You came as Marie Antoinette and I came as a scarecrow. It wasn't even a date. We met at the party. We spent a lot of money that night trying to out-donate each other."

"It was for a good cause," Honey said, kissing him again.

"What do we say?" Leonard prompted.

"Love is grand," they said together.

"I never knew it could be this good," Leonard said as he kissed her again. "And you always taste so good."

"I just brushed my teeth," Honey laughed. "Lucky for you."

Leonard laughed with her and then fell silent.

"What are we going to do, sweetie?" Honey asked.

"I've been thinking a lot these last few days. I don't like what they've done to us, keeping us apart and all. It's not right. It feels like the police have taken over the world. This never would have happened in the old days."

Honey waited for him to continue.

"Your lawyer came to see me a couple days ago. Nice guy, good dresser, but he says this mess could take weeks to clear up. I'm not ready to wait that long. So, I've been thinking. Maybe it's time you and I take a little trip."

Honey gasped in amazement, "I've been thinking the same thing. I'm tired of people telling me what to do. I'm sick to death of this little town. I can't even go shopping anymore without people looking at me like I'm some kind of criminal. Even Doty doesn't want to go out with me. Besides, I've been stuck here since 1946. I'd say that's more than long enough."

"You know we're going to have to leave the country because of all this legal mess," Leonard said. "We need to go someplace where they can't find us."

"They can't find you incompetent if they can't find you at all," Honey said.

"Let's go to France," Leonard said. "I always wanted to go there. My friends went there because of the war, but I couldn’t go because I had to stay home and farm."

"Let's go to Paris and kiss on the top of the Eifel Tower!" Honey nearly shouted.

Leonard kissed her like they were already there. Then he released her, took a full step back and said, "Now, wait a minute. Before we really do this, we'd better talk it over. We could both end up in jail."

"I'm starting to feel like this little town is nothing but one big prison cell. The last time a man swept me off my feet I ended up in North Manchester, Indiana. It wasn't romantic at all. I didn't know anybody. The doctor was working around the clock. We never had children and everybody always thought we were strange for not adopting. I worked my tail off to become a leader of this community and look what little thanks I get for all my efforts. They're trying to throw me in jail, for Heaven's sake.

"So, I don't see what's to talk over at this point. I want to get swept off my feet and end up in Paris with the man of my dreams. This is obviously my last chance for romance. I say let's do it. I've been playing it safe my whole life and look what it's gotten me. I've got half the population of a small city pointing fingers at me behind my back. I'm more than ready for a change of scenery."

"This is a pretty important decision for us to make on the spur of the moment like this," Leonard said.

"Oh, no," Honey laughed. "This decision has been a long time coming."

Honey loved the water and soap because it seemed to wash away their wrinkles, much like Leonard's beautiful baritone singing washed away the years. She wore only a brassiere in the shower to keep her breasts from sagging.

Sex for them was not quite the same as it had been in their youth. The emphasis was no longer on pounding penetration, yet they still thrilled to each other's touch and taste. The sudsy shampoo smelled like sweet romance.

The pure joy of loving human contact never gets old.

Honey had decided fairly early in the relationship to give oral sex a try, even though it had never been part of her long marriage to the doctor. She'd read about it for years. She was curious.

Leonard eagerly followed suit. It didn't take long for each of them to wonder why they hadn't tried this sexual technique much, much sooner in their lives.

The two of them laughed together like true lovers during their reunion shower. They dried each other off and got under the bed sheets for a delicious cuddle. Leonard fell asleep. Honey let him snore while she hastily packed one small bag for two. She grabbed their medications and toiletries and some underwear. They didn't need heavy baggage to haul. They could buy new clothes in Paris.

While packing, Honey got a surprise glimpse of her near naked self in the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. Oh, it was tragic. The skin under her neck and arms had wrinkled and was sagging slightly. Her legs and stomach looked like crepe paper. Tiny purple and red veins were beginning to take over. Age spots and tiny moles were all over her like nagging insects. She was glad Leonard wasn't seeing her in this light. And how much worse would she have looked without the bra?

She caught herself pouting. It didn't seem fair. She felt young and in love. Life felt fresh and free. Her courtship with Leonard had been a whirlwind. But the mirror said she was old and beginning to show her age. The reflection actually frightened her. Not so much because she was afraid to die, but because it looked like her body would not be able to carry her much farther down the road. Or, worse yet, it would break down and force her into the clutches of the dreaded nursing home.

The mirror seemed to be paying attention as she said, "If I was the only one this was happening to, I would be even more mad than I already am."

She got dressed and began looking more fit and firm with each piece of clothing she added.

Leonard was sleeping peacefully in bed. He looked as much the worse for wear as she did, but somehow, it didn't seem so shockingly bad on him. She awakened him with a kiss on the forehead, reminded him where he was and helped him get dressed. He didn't need much help. Once he remembered he was on his way to Paris, he felt like a kid again.

Honey convinced Leonard she should drive since he was still a bit groggy from the nursing home drugs. She hated driving but she knew they had to get going and be in a hurry about it.

She could barely see over the rear seat of her Cadillac as she carefully backed out of the garage. Leonard got out to shut the overhead door. Honey had misplaced the automatic door opener months earlier.

"Goodbye cruel world," Leonard said as they drove out of town.

"You do realize, sweetie, that we are now fugitives from justice?" Honey asked. "My lawyer's job is going to get a lot harder after tonight."

"You know how lawyers spell justice?" Leonard asked.

"M.O.N.E.Y.?"

"No. J.U.S.T. U.S."

Honey laughed, "Ooh, that's good. I haven't heard that one. I thought I'd heard all the lawyer jokes. But, you know, I like my lawyer. He says once they figure out I didn't poison you, there will be no reason for the no-contact order. So I say, let them work it out while we're in France."

"You do realize, pumpkin, we'll be homesick in no time."

"That's fine. We'll deal with it at that time. Right now, I'm sick of home."

She did not realize what a fire their departure would light in the plus-size bellies of Leonard's niece, Gretchen Atkins, and Maria Gomez from Adult Protective.

Honey did understand they had precious little time to make a clean getaway out of the country. She also had a sinking feeling that neither she nor Leonard would have the slightest idea what to do once they reached the airport.

Leonard settled into a thoughtful silence as Honey eased onto Interstate 69 south and managed to set her cruise control at what she thought was a cautious 65 mph. Unfortunately, she took her foot off the gas as she was fumbling with the cruise control and ended up setting her speed at an illegal 45 mph. She couldn't see the speedometer because the steering wheel was blocking her view. She could barely see over the wheel. They rolled on into the night for an hour at reduced speed. Leonard remained preoccupied as the occasional truck roared by with a long pull on its air horn.

"Why are these trucks going so fast?" Honey asked as she continued to fail to realize her own speed. "And why are they honking at us?"

When Leonard failed to respond, Honey became concerned and grabbed him by the shoulder to ask, "Sweetie, what's the matter? You haven't said a word in thirty miles. What's the matter? You don't want to go to France? I thought you always wanted to go there?"

"It's not that," he finally murmured as he turned to look out the passenger window.

"I know what you're worried about."

"I'm not worried."

"Yes, you are. I can tell by the way you won't look at me. You're worried because we don't have any luggage. That's it. You think I forgot to pack your bag. You don't need to worry. I kept it light but I got all your medicines—the heart pills, the blood pressure and your inhaler. When they searched the house, the police didn't take medications they knew we needed on a daily basis. Between the two of us, we've got enough pills to open a pharmacy. All we really need is our medication, and I've got it all."

It took a few moments before Leonard explained, "No, I'm not worried about anything. I'm too old to worry. Worrying never did anything but waste my time."

"So, what's the matter?"

"I'm ashamed," Leonard said.

"Ashamed? Ashamed of what?"

Honey waited for two whole minutes before Leonard finally confessed, "I don't have a passport."

"A passport?" Honey asked. "Is that what's got you in this deep, dark mood? A passport? You are a silly, silly boy. Don't you remember we got our passports before that evil niece of yours put you in the nursing home? You remember. We went down to the post office together and filled out all the paperwork and then we went out to that Chinese restaurant on Pearl Street and had the best egg rolls ever."

"Yes, yes, I do remember now. Those egg rolls were great. I remember the egg rolls now, but I've got to tell you, I don't exactly recall the post office."

"Yes you do. You said that one old lady on the most wanted poster reminded you of me."

"She did. She was ornery. Not near as pretty as you but she looked just like you when you're about to get your way."

"See, you do remember."

Leonard looked at Honey. He was having an emotional moment. She could see tears welling up in his eyes. When he spoke it was in the unsteady tone of a man who had just received a terrible medical diagnosis.

"I'm glad to hear we've got passports. That's good. What's bad is that's a pretty big thing I don't remember. I know you want me to remember. But I'm telling you, I can't see it in my mind. I can see the egg rolls and the wanted poster but I can't see anything about passports. It scares me to death, Honey. I can't see it. No matter how hard I try, I can't see the passports. The worst thing is, knowing I don't remember the passports makes me wonder what else I don't remember."