Same Old Truths (25 page)

Kay’s racing heart dropped to the floor.

“I said it was nice to see her again. Oh, yeah. I asked her about the drug bust that went down the other night on Sherwood.”

Kay wondered how Leo could be so intuitive and yet so dense.

The sigh of relief Kay expelled felt good. She realized she must have been holding her breath for a while.

“You know, I forgot how pretty she is.” Kay could hear the wistfulness in Leo’s voice as it trailed off. It triggered alarm bells in her head.

“You can’t possible be thinking of asking her out again,” she snapped. The instant the words left her mouth Kay regretted making such a self-serving statement.

“I’m sorry, Leo. I had no business saying that. Its just that…”

It’s just what? That I’m just an idiot who lets her selfishness get in the way of making good decisions?

Leo smiled sweetly at Kay. “Oh, forget about it. No harm done.” He patted her on the shoulder. “I know you’ve been a little stressed out lately.”

Kay choked up at Leo’s display of kindness.

“Anyway, I think she already has a boyfriend.” Leo said.

Kay wondered if that was really true or if Leo said that just to put her freaked-out mind at ease.

“Listen,” Leo said standing and pushing his chair under the table. “You hang in there. Everything’s bound to get better.”

“Thanks, Leo,” Kay said with a couple of sniffs. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“No time. I’m picking O up at his house. We’re taking that ship-out to the airport.”

Before he left the room, he grabbed a bottle of water and a can of root beer out of the fridge.

“Oh. In case Ed asks, I left twenty minutes ago,” Leo said.

Kay simply nodded, doubtful Ed would even acknowledge her, let alone ask about Leo’s time of departure.

The remains of her sandwich were wrapped up and placed back in the fridge.

I might be
hungry by afternoon break.

Kay had toyed with the idea of asking Ed for the afternoon off so she could finish getting Mariah packed for her summer visitation with Dave; with the mound of unfinished paperwork sitting on her desk, approaching him with such a request would be asking for trouble.

As she walked up the hallway towards her office she could hear the phone ringing unanswered. She looked back and saw that Ruth’s chair was empty so she ran to her own desk to pick it up.

“Salinger’s Mortuary. Kay Manning speaking.”

“Kay! Just the person I wanted to talk to. Hello. This is Virginia Voorhees. How are you?”

Aaw jeez. Kill me now.

“Hello, Virginia. How nice to hear from you.”

“Listen, I won’t keep you. I know you’re busy at work. I was just calling about the annual fundraiser for our local Boys and Girls club.”

“Oh, yes,” Kay said. “I remember reading something about it in your last newsletter.”

Yes. I still read your newsletter, even though I don’t come to your meetings.

Virginia explained she was on the board of directors for the organization and was contacting everyone she knew to ask for their participation in the giant flea market they were planning for the last Saturday in June.

“We’re asking for donations, so if there’s anything around your house you’d like to get rid of, we’d be happy to take it off your hands.”

For the second time that day, Kay felt as if she’d been brought to the brink, then rescued from disaster.

Dave is right. I am a drama queen.

“Well, I can’t think of anything specific right off the top of my head. But I’m sure if I do a little rooting around I’m bound to find something you could sell.”

Since Kay was being let off so easily, she vowed to herself to find (or buy) something of value to donate.

“That’s just great,” Virginia said. “We’re asking donations be dropped off no later than Friday, the 21st.”

“Where should I bring them? Kay asked.

“We have drop off locations at all the Boys and Girls clubs around town.”

“Actually, there’s one not too far from where I live,” Kay said.

“Wonderful,” Virginia said. There was a pause. “Kay, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.”

Oh boy. I knew it. Here it comes.

The intercom beeped and Kay politely asked Virginia to go on hold for a moment.

“Yes?” Kay said through the speaker.

“It’s your daughter on Line 2,” Ruth announced.

“Will you tell her I’ll call her back?” Kay said

“I’d be happy to.” Ruth responded with her Kay’s-friend voice. It gave her pang of longing for their disrupted friendship.

She took a deep breath before bringing Virginia back on the line.

“Sorry about that. You were going to ask me something?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you’d be willing to donate a couple of hours at the flea market? We have a shortage of volunteers to work the tables.”

Kay was so relieved she wasn’t going to be pressured to face (or smell) Delbert Schumacher at another meeting, she answered with a resounding, “Sure!”

“I just knew I could count on you,” Virginia said. “Like I’ve said before, you have that positive energy people respond to.”

There she goes with the energy thing again. I wish I knew what she was talking about.

Virginia wrapped up the conversation by saying she’d be in touch with the schedule for the flea market volunteers. Kay hung up, pleasantly surprised their conversation had left her feeling better than she had earlier in the day…or the last couple of weeks for that matter. Now she understood why Ed immersed himself in civic activities and causes. It felt good.

With a smile on her face and a warmth in her heart, she dialed her home number, happily anticipating the sweet voice of a daughter - it didn’t matter which.

“Hi, Mommy.” It was Mariah.

“Hi Stinker. What’s goin’ on?”

“Dad just called. He reminded me not to forget to pack my bathing suit.” Mariah said.

“I didn’t forget. It’s already packed.” Kay said.

“I know. I found it in the suitcase. But, Mommy, it looks really little. I don’t think it fits anymore.”

That’s right. She’s grown a lot this year.

Kay was tempted to tell Mariah just to have her dad buy her a new suit. Then she thought it might be nice to spend a little mother/daughter shopping time together before Mariah left for the summer.

“No problem. Why don’t we go to Ocean Blue after dinner and see if we can find you something new and pretty.” Kay said.

“Really, Mommy, really?” the little girl said with glee. “Can I get a two-piece this time?”

Kay thought how pissed Dave would be if his little girl showed up with a bikini.

“We’ll see,” Kay said, then quickly added, “but I’m not promising anything.” She figured there’d be no harm in checking out the two-piece suits in Mariah’s size.

“What time will you be home?” Mariah asked.

“The usual time. Make sure you and Cory have the house picked up by the time I get there. I want to fix dinner and eat right away so we’ll have plenty of time to shop.”

Kay had barely hung up the receiver when she heard it ring again, followed by a pause, then the buzz on the intercom.

“Telephone, Kay. Line 2.”

It’s probably Cory calling to complain about having to pick up the house.

“Hey, Sis. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time,” Leslie said.

Kay was delighted to hear her sister’s voice, but felt twinge of guilt. Leslie still didn’t know about the Dave and Sandy debacle. Kay knew she should have told her but in her current state she couldn’t bear being the recipient of Leslie’s inevitable (and justified) outrage.

“Hey, yourself,” Kay said. “I’m glad you called. I wanted to remind you Mariah is leaving Friday for her summer visit with Dave.”

“Is it that time already? Poor thing.” Leslie said with a laugh. “So I guess it’s just going to be you and Cory for the summer?”

“More like, just me. Cory has a jam-packed schedule with summer honors classes and all the things she’s planned with her friends,” Kay said.

“She’s really growing up, isn’t she?” Leslie said.

“Yeah, and I don’t know how I feel about it. I mean, on the one hand it’s great to see her blossoming into a young adult. But then it hits me I’m losing my baby.” Kay said.

“Aaaaww. Don’t kid yourself. She’ll always be your baby,” Leslie said.

Kay swallowed the lump that had swelled in her throat.

“So to what do I owe the honor of your call?” Kay said..

“Well, I don’t know if you’re aware, but it’s been almost a year since you promised to come to a networking luncheon, and I’ve yet to see your pretty face grace one of our tables.”

“I don’t know if
you’re
aware, but its been almost a year since you’ve invited me.” Kay responded.

They both burst out laughing.

“Well, I’m calling to invite you now. Is there any way you can make it this Friday? That social networking guy is making a return appearance by popular demand.”

Kay knew Leslie was expecting to hear the usual excuses from her, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a much-needed diversion. She hoped surrounding herself with enthusiastic, self-assured women might just work on her like a tonic. And given the topic, she knew it would be an easy sell to Ed.

“Sounds perfect,” Kay said truthfully. “I’m sure Ed will let me off. We’re still fumbling around with our own social networking. It’ll be good to pick up some tips and pass out some business cards.”

“Seriously?” Leslie said. “You’re really coming?”

“Sure. Anyway, how else am I going to get to see my little sister?” Kay said.

“Ok. Great. We start at 11:30. Try to get there a little earlier so we can catch up.” Leslie said.

“Will do. See you then.”

“Hey, Kay,” Leslie said before Kay could hang up. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”

“Me too, Kiddo.” Kay said softly. She was reminded how good it felt to be Leslie’s sister.

Kay basked in the warmth of her familial comfort until the feelings were abruptly pushed away with Ed’s hurried appearance in her office. He was taking a shortcut on his way to the break room. From the far away look on his face, Kay knew there was no plan to acknowledge her.

Even though she was scared, she knew she had to stop him before he sped out of the room; she might not get another chance.

“Excuse me, Ed. Can I talk to you a sec?” Kay asked. She tried to hide the fear in her voice.

Ed stopped, turned and looked at her as if she had just sprung up from out of the ground. His eyes retained their distant expression, but he gave her his practiced business-man smile and slowly approached her desk.

Leaning down to her he said, “Sure Kay. What can I do for you?”

He hadn’t been this close since that Saturday at Percolatt
é. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating and she found herself having to clear her throat, not once, but twice.

Kay gave him a brief overview of her request to attend the luncheon and before she had a chance to sell him with all the beneficial details, Ed cut her off.

“That’s fine. Just let Ruth know and make sure we can reach you on your cell.” He ended with another brief perfunctory smile and quickly went on his way.

Kay was glad he’d given his permission for Leslie’s lunch, but crestfallen because he’d been so impersonal. She wondered how or if she’d ever be back in his good graces again.

* * *

A sharp pain shot through Kay’s twisting ankle as the spike of her heel found its way into a small hole in the pavement of the country club parking lot. She was late and Leslie was probably going to be pissed.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think the Fates were trying to tell me something.

Thirty minutes earlier she had run out of gas and her attempt to coast into the station on fumes had failed right at the entrance. Fortunately, a guy filling up his truck took pity on her and ran over to help push the car to the first available pump. With a sigh of relief, Kay slid her credit card in and out of the processor only to hear a loud beep along with a message that read “See Cashier Inside.”

Kay got in back of a long line slowly inching up to pay the lone cashier for their gas. Some of these people were so happy to finally get their turn at the counter they greedily hung on to the coveted spot, taking their time ordering nasty-looking burritos, cigarettes, gum, lottery tickets and scratchers. Kay looked at the time on her cell phone and knew her catching up session with Leslie would have to wait until after the luncheon.

Leslie, had been coordinating these business networking events for the last ten years and they’d turned out to be so successful Leslie had added two more groups.

As she climbed the stairs to the dining room, ankle throbbing, Kay could already hear the enthusiastic cackling of women as they swapped business cards and pitched each other whatever new line of skin care, jewelry, purses, cookware or mortgage loans they were currently in business to sell.