Monkey Wrench (12 page)

J
OE LEFT
within the hour, promising to return, and Susannah had only five minutes to pull herself together before her grandmother showed up with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes.

“Well?” she demanded of Susannah. “How did it go?”

“
You're
the one who had the doctor's appointment,” Susannah cried, hoping her grandmother wasn't going to cross-examine her about Joe. She wasn't exactly sure
what
had happened, but she certainly knew she didn't want to discuss it.

Rose was not to be deflected, however. She said, “But
you
saw Joe again, didn't you?”

“Only because you orchestrated a meeting that was so obvious, Granny Rose.... Oh, honestly, why are you trying so hard to force us together? We have nothing in common.”

“Nothing in—! Suzie, he finds you very attractive. And you think he's adorable, don't you?”

“I do not!” Susannah said hotly. “He's simply a man you've hired to fix your house! He's nothing to me! He's—How do you know he finds me attractive?”

Rose laughed heartily. “Because he said so, of course. He told me so this morning. Shall we make some cookies this afternoon? I have those extra pecans. I thought we'd whip up some tassies and put them in the freezer. What do you say?”

“I say you're driving me crazy.”

“Good. You could use some stirring up, I think. Let's have a quick sandwich, then get to work on the cookies.”

“Will you tell me what Dr. Phelps had to say while we work?”

“It wasn't much,” Rose said vaguely, opening cupboards and organizing her ingredients.

But Susannah wasn't going to be put off any longer. “Could the doctor explain why you fainted last night?”

“Oh, you know Dr. Phelps—he's so easygoing. He joked that I'd probably had too much sherry.”

“He was making jokes? Granny Rose, when I came in here last night and saw you falling...well, it was no joking matter.”

“I know, dear. It's just his way. Don't get huffy.”

“Granny Rose—”

“All right, all right!” Rose gave up being evasive and faced Susannah squarely. “He said I should be faithful about taking my blood pressure medicine. He was quite adamant about that, in fact.”

“Good.” Susannah folded her arms to listen further. “What else?”

“Well...”

“Come on, you're on a roll. Tell me everything.”

Rose sighed. When she spoke again, it was with reluctance. “Dr. Phelps thinks my condition has changed somewhat. He'd like to do some tests.”

“What kind of tests?”

“Heart tests. I don't remember the different kinds. They all have initials instead of names—EKG, that kind of thing.”

“What does he suspect?”

“Oh, he hates to speculate until he has some concrete evidence. Doctors are so hard to pin down these days. And he didn't want me to worry needlessly.”

“All right, when do you start the tests? Can he fit you in quickly?”

Rose turned away and began to search the cupboard shelves. “Relatively quickly. Where did I put that can of tuna? I'm in the mood for a tuna sandwich. I told him I'd like to wait until after the holidays to start taking a bunch of tests. And he agreed. It's only a little more than a week or two, really.”

“But a lot can happen in a week or two, Granny Rose.” Susannah tried not to sound argumentative. “Especially around Christmas when you're so busy and excited. Are you sure you should put this off?”

“I'd be miserable if I had to give up my Christmas plans—you know that, Suzie. I'll do it in January—the day after New Year's, I promise.”

The second of January was the best Susannah could hope for, she supposed. “And until then?” she asked. “You're going to take care of yourself?”

“Of course, dear! I'll pamper myself shamelessly. Now, how about some celery for a tuna salad? Will you get it out of the refrigerator, please?”

Susannah helped her grandmother in the kitchen and watched her like a hawk for signs of fatigue or lightheadedness. She wondered what the doctor had found when he examined Rose. He'd detected a change in her condition, but what kind of change? There was no use questioning Rose further, however. Susannah knew her grandmother wouldn't say more. She was too stubborn, and too determined to enjoy her Christmas plans.

They fixed quick tuna-salad-and-lettuce sandwiches, which they ate with cups of tea. Afterward, they buckled down to the task of making cookies for Rose's upcoming party. Susannah made sure that her grandmother got the least strenuous jobs, so Rose sat at the table and rolled the dough into balls, then pressed them into the tassie tins. Susannah bustled around the kitchen and attempted to clean up the mess as they went along.

About midafternoon, Joe Santori telephoned. Susannah picked up the receiver herself.

“How's your grandmother?” Joe asked without preamble. He didn't need to identify himself. What other man on the planet had such a mellifluous voice?

“Not bad,” Susannah said, amazed by the way her pulse jumped at the sound of Joe's voice at the other end of the line. “She's going to have some tests after the holidays.”

“Do you think it's wise to wait?”

“I'm not the one making the decision,” Susannah said, noting that Rose was watching with an avid look in her eye.

“I see,” Joe said. “And you can't make her see reason?”

“That's not our style,” Susannah replied. “Have you prepared an estimate for the work you're going to do on the house?”

“Your grandmother said she didn't need one,” Joe retorted, then laughed. “But I'm writing up one anyway. Don't worry, Miss Suzie. I'm not in the business of ripping off helpless little old ladies.”

“She's not exactly helpless.”

“Amen. What does she say about dinner tonight? Would she like to come along with us?”

“I don't think that's a very good idea,” Susannah said, painfully aware that her grandmother was listening to every word of the conversation. “A quiet evening at home is what she needs, I think.”

“But what about you?” Joe pressed. “My guess is that you've had far too many quiet evenings at home, Miss Suzie.”

“Really, I can't go out to dinner tonight. I'm here to see my grandmother, not—”

“Go!” Rose cried. “Don't worry about me!”

“Granny Rose—”

“Is that Joe? And he wants you to have dinner with him tonight? Heavens, dear, don't be an idiot! Go!”

In her ear, Joe was laughing. “See?” he asked. “She's on my side!”

“Granny Rose, I can't possibly leave you alone tonight. I'm here to visit with you, not, well—”

“You can visit with me any old time,” Rose shot back. “Besides, I don't want to miss ‘EastEnders.' I get it on cable, and it's my favorite show. I was just going to go to bed after that. For heaven's sake, you'll be bored to death if you stay here!”

“But—”

“Don't argue, dear. Go have a good time.”

“I can't—”

“Don't argue,” said Joe, adding to Susannah's confusion. “We'll see a movie and have a late dinner—something quick so you won't be gone long.”

“I don't have any clothes,” Susannah objected, weakening fast as they ganged up on her. “Just my jeans and a sweater.”

“Perfect. This isn't Milwaukee, you know. Just Tyler. People wear what's comfortable. See you at six-thirty?”

Susannah surrendered with a sigh. “All right. At six-thirty.”

Rose gave a whoop of pleasure as Susannah hung up. “How delightful! Oh, you'll have fun. Isn't Joe a charmer?”

“He's a charmer, all right,” Susannah grumbled, surprised by her own behavior. “I can't believe I agreed to go out with him. He's so...
different.
”

“You'll like him,” Rose promised. “Now, let's get these cookies into the oven.”

They finished baking cookies, although Susannah found she had a hard time concentrating on the work. Her mind wandered from Joe Santori to Rose's health and back again, so that she forgot to set the timer once and nearly burned a batch of pecan tassies.

Fortunately, they were only slightly overcooked. Rose cavalierly put them on a plate and offered the cookies to some neighbors who dropped in during the afternoon—Mrs. Connelly and her twin three-year-olds. The children were a couple of hooligans, in Susannah's opinion, but Rose didn't mind their noise a bit and invited them to make snowflakes by dipping bits of string into a hastily prepared starch mixture. The children were fascinated by the activity, and Susannah gradually found herself warming to them. She enjoyed herself, in fact. After she clipped the snowflakes to a string overhead to dry, she made a mental note to share the snowflake idea with her television viewers.

Late in the afternoon, when the neighbors were gone and the kitchen was cleaned up once and for all, Rose announced
her plan to go into the parlor with a cup of tea and the newspaper.

“I'm just going to put up my feet and relax for a while,” she said, toddling off toward the parlor. “Why don't you get ready for your date, Suzie? Isn't it getting late?”

“What time is it?”

“Nearly six.”

“Good grief!” Susannah whipped off her borrowed apron and tossed it onto a chair. “I'm so terrible about times. If it weren't for my secretary, I'd be a walking disaster. Maybe I'd better cancel with Joe.”

“You have plenty of time,” said Rose, amused. “Remember, it was me who organized your life before you had the luxury of a secretary. Go take a bath and put on a pretty face for Joe. Don't cancel.”

Cautiously, Susannah said, “I'd like to.”

“Why? He's so sweet!”

“I don't know,” she murmured uncertainly. “I just—I don't feel safe with him, somehow.”

“Not safe? Suzie, he's the kindest man I know!”

“It's not that,” Susannah said quickly. “It's... Oh, I'm not sure. I feel funny—not quite in control, I suppose.”

“What are you afraid of?”

Myself,
Susannah wanted to say. She didn't feel like herself with Joe. She didn't feel in charge. But she plastered a smile on her face and said, “Oh, nothing. I just have a case of first-time nerves, I guess.”

“There's only one way to get over those,” Rose said. “Plunge right in and get it over with. Now, go make yourself beautiful. Joe deserves it.”

Susannah didn't know what Joe Santori deserved, but she found herself running a hot bath and pouring some of her grandmother's bath salts into the water before stepping into the tub. While soaking there, Susannah smeared a marvelous cream she'd recently discovered on her face and was glad to see her skin emerge pink and smooth twenty minutes later.

“Anything to fight off the wrinkles a little longer,” she
murmured to her reflection in the steamed bathroom mirror. “I'm certainly not doing this for his benefit!”

But she couldn't imagine why she applied her makeup with extra care. After all, there was nothing in the wind between herself and Joe Santori.

“We're very different,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “Completely different. We have nothing in common. Besides, he's bossy, and I hate that.”

After standing over her small suitcase and lamenting her lack of nice clothing, Susannah reached for her jeans again and put on the bright sweater she'd bought at Gates that morning. She tucked the sweater into her jeans and clasped one of Rose's narrow gold belts around her waist. A simple gold necklace made the outfit special. The effect was casual enough for a movie, she decided, but had a dash of panache, too—just the right impression to give Joe. Susannah wanted him to think she had a lot of sophistication—and no time for a relationship with a small-town carpenter.

She combed her hair, studied it for a moment, then pulled it smoothly back from her face and pinned it so that the curl brushed the back of her neck. Without thinking, she spritzed some perfume on her throat, then scolded herself. “For heaven's sake, don't do anything that might give him the wrong impression!”

But she couldn't resist adding just a glimmer of extra lipstick before snapping off the lights and leaving her bedroom. At the bottom of the steps, Susannah sat down to pull on her boots.

Rose emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands in a towel. “Joe called. He wondered if you'd mind walking over to his house. He's running late. Something about another job he's working on.”

Susannah grinned. “That's the difference between Tyler and the city. If a man asked me out to dinner there and couldn't be bothered to pick me up, I'd be annoyed.”

Rose nodded. “But here it's just a courtesy. Do you mind?”

“Nope. The walk sounds nice.”

“I figure he'd like you to meet his daughter, Gina.”

“I met her already.”

Rose laughed. “Well, she improves as you get to know her.”

“I don't intend to get to know her, Granny Rose.”

“Why not? She's a nice kid. Just talk about sports with Gina, and she'll warm up. You'll see what I mean.” Rose kissed Susannah's cheek. “Enjoy yourself, dear.”

With her boots and coat on, Susannah felt her courage fail, and she turned to her grandmother anxiously. “Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you tonight? You've had a busy day, after all—”

“Don't be silly! I took it easy today!” Rose protested heartily. “Now, run along and leave me alone.”

“But—”

“But nothing. I'm used to living by myself. Have a wonderful time, dear. Keep an open mind.”

With mixed feelings, Susannah left her grandmother and headed for Joe's house. She walked the distance quickly, her gloved hands tucked into the pockets of her coat to stay warm. The air was cold and crystalline, and the light scent of wood smoke that hung over Tyler should have calmed her nerves. Most of the houses along Susannah's route were already lit up with Christmas lights. At the large brick house on the next corner, the family had gone overboard, with a life-size illuminated Santa, four electronic elves, and a lighted Rudolph. Chipmunk Christmas carols blared out of a loudspeaker in one of the trees.