Tempted (48 page)

Feeling as though I could take wing, I flit down the sidewalk, giddy in love.
 
On a whim, I decide to pop into an eatery I’ve not been to in ages, the Fog City Diner.
 
The first time I went there was the day I met Danielle.
 
The memory comes into vivid focus, just as everything is doing at the moment, this moment governed by love.
 
I think about Danielle’s parents and send a little prayer to them as they face their first holiday without their daughter.
 
I think of my own parents and how they must have felt during our first holiday without Erica.
 
I am so grateful to have had the parents and beautiful sister I was blessed with and have never felt more love for them than at this very moment.

As the diner comes into view, my thoughts return to my lunch with Danielle. We had a p
ower lunch, both nervous as all-get-out, and as a result, tried
to act
uber
professional.
 
Just as I did on that auspicious day, I order the Prawn Cobb salad with tarragon buttermilk dressing, plus an order of their famous cheddar biscuits with rosemary apple brown butter.
 
The serving is enormous and the only way I was able to finish it was with Danielle’s help, because she was on a new diet and only ordered tea.
 
The upshot was that she kept snitching from me the entire meal.
 
Even then, she was on me about my love life.
 
She asked me if I was single and made a comment about finding me a man.
 
I smile to think about how happy she would be to hear about Alex.
 
And I can’t wait to talk to Alex again, to tell him all that is in my heart.
 
And to say those words I should have told him months ago:
 
I’m in love with you, Alex.

Just as I reach
out my hand to open the diner’s front door, a rowdy
trio
exits in a cloud of alcohol, barreling into me and knocking me down.
 
The two females of the threesome laugh hysterically at my plight.
 
This has ‘fail’ written all over it and I fear a viral appearance on Youtube.
 
The male member of the
group
busts up laughing too
,
and manages to blurt out, “You ok
ay
down there?”

I look up to see two scantily clad women bearing cosmetically altered breasts the size of their heads, orangey air-brushed tans, and hair teased so
ferocious
ly as to add four inches to their height.
 
There they stand, pointing and laughing at me, each of them tucked beneath one of David’s arms as he looks at me blankly through glazed, lifeless, apathetic eyes.
 
It takes him a moment to realize it’s me sprawled on the pavement beneath him, struggling to get up.
 
Wordlessly, he lo
oks to the ground
,
and turning,
ushers the giggling girls down the street, never stopping, never looking back.

I spend the morning watching a spider w
eave a web outside my sunroom window. 
I’d never noticed before what precision and care goes into constructing such an elegant and effective trap.
 
I marvel at how strong the structure is, how it holds up to the heavy weight of morning dew, the constant wind threatening to collapse it before it’s done.

Little wonders like this entrance me now like never before.
 
Colors are richer, sounds are clearer, and all is bathed in
beauty and light and love.
 
I’
m glad for a diversion to occupy my thoughts and
to
keep me from looking to the clock for confirmation of Alex’s return.
 
I have so much I want to tell him, or rather, discuss with him.
 
I really do want to hear about him for once, too.
 
I don’t remember the last time I gave him the space to tell me about his day, the things he does, the people he cares about.
 

I smile and wiggle my Bugs-slippered toes at the thought of his daily life because I know how much I want to be part of it.
 
On the way home from the city last night, after the run-in with David
–
the one I envision being our last
–
I searched my soul more deeply than I’ve ever thought possible
,
and did my best to adopt a ‘What would April say’ mindset.
 
When in April mode, the answer as to what to do came quickly and directly.
 
“Go to him.”

Alex’s own words from long ago
fill my thoughts
:
“I love you, and don’t want you to come to me until you are completely ready.
 
In every way.
 
Because once you come, I have no intention of ever letting you leave.
 
I get the feeling you’re not quite ready for that right now.
 
But, I believe in my heart that I'll know when you're ready. And then I'll have you.”

I know now
–
I’m ready.
 
There is nothing holding me back.
 
No Mom to take care of, no David to be deluded and disappointed by.
 
My show can be broadcast anywhere.
 
The only issue is the menagerie.
 
A light
bulb goes off.

* * *

Delores Feldman is an imposing figure.
 
She is quite gracious and friendly, but I somehow feel like a noisy student who is about to be shushed by the librarian when I’m in her presence.
 
I’m unable to refer to her as anything other than Ma’am.
 
So, seeing her down on her hands and knees, on the floor, cooing ‘koochy koochy koo’ to Daphne is a sight too surreal to be believed.
 
I explain to her that I will be taking a trip
,
and ask if the menagerie can stay at the facility during my absence.
 
I’ve brought Mom’s buddy Daphne along to plead my case for me.

Delores apologizes profusely
,
saying that while the Meadows residents love the pets, she really can’t allow them to stay for any sort of extended period of time.
 
She then asks the nature of my trip.
 
“Are you going for business
,
dear?
 
Is this about your show?
 
I hope your ratings haven’t suffered too terribly now that your mother is gone.”

“No, Ma’am
...
u
mm
...
I’m going to New York to meet the love of my life.”

Delores is silent and her lips begin to twitch.
 
For a moment
,
I think she may erupt like a fissure
,
and I regret having ever made the request.
 
When she at last speaks
,
she is like the captain of a submarine trying to dodge torpedoes or steer clear of underwater icebergs.
 
She snaps immediately into action and commands, “Judy, call Isaac the groundskeeper and tell him we will need a pen for a turtle, and a dog run.
 
Kathy, please add food for the pets to the shopping list.”
 
Then she presses the button activating the facility’s intercom system.
 
“Attention all residents of Redwood Meadows, Lana Eden’s grandbabies are going to be staying with us, indefinitely.”

A rousing cheer echoes down the corridors and I know I’ve made the right decision.
 
April would be proud.
 
And Mom would be thrilled silly.

“N
ow what about your house, dear?
” she asks.

“Oh my!”
 
I hadn’t even thought about the house.

Ma’am Delores wastes no time.
 
“Frank Jergins, please come to reception.
 
Frank Jergins to reception,” she announces, giving me a slight nod and a knowing smile as we wait.

A moment later
,
an elderly man waddles up to where we are standing. “You called for me?”
 

“Frank, this young lady would like to speak with you.”

His face lights up.

“Tell him, dear.”

“Ummm.
 
It’s nice to meet you?”

“Frank, Claire here needs her house sold.
 
She is going to New York to meet her great love.
 
While the house is on the market
,
she will need someone to look after the gardens.
 
Can you see to it?”

“I’ll make a call,” he says smiling at me, then waddles away in double time.

I stand slack-jawed as Ma’am Delores hugs me, turns me around and tells me to scoot and meet my destiny.

Wow.
 
I hadn’t even bothered to consider what to do with my house.
 
Fortunately, my inheritance from Mom more than covers the monthly payments.
 

Back at home, I begin inventorying the menagerie’s things:
 
toys, chews, balls, food, treats, favorite pillows and blankets.
 
A wave of emotion overtakes me
,
and I feel at once heavy-hearted, hopeful and grateful.
 

Once everything is in place, I boot up my laptop, searching for any signs of Alex, though I know he is incommunicado.
 
Nothin’.
 
My next order of business is to arrange for transport to the east coast
,
and I begin a vigorous search to find a direct flight at a reasonable hour.
 
Based on his schedule, I know that Alex’s first chunk of time alone is the week before Christmas, about three weeks hence.
 
I find a flight that meets my criteria fairly quickly
,
and consult the menagerie for their input.
 
They seem to know something unusual is going on, but since none of them are out of sorts or getting into mischief
,
I take it as a unanimous vote of ‘aye.’
 
Then I put the question to the April test and determine unreservedly that she would say that if I didn’t get on a plane, she would come home to the states and put me on it herself.
 
I click the purchase button and the deed is done.
 
One non-refundable airline ticket to NYC.
 
No turning back now.
 
Besides, if anything goes wrong
,
at least I will get a trip to
Manhattan
out of it.

Dear God, please don’t let anything go wrong.

* * *

I sleep fitfully, too excited to turn off my mind or heart.
 
At 8am sharp
,
a representative from Frank Jergins’ real estate conglomerate arrives to assess my house and needs.
 
She is a smartly dressed, perfectly coiffed woman named Jill, and she is just as nice as she is well-groomed.
 
She gives me a list of things to accomplish prior to my departure, and I am thrilled to have something to do to get my mind off counting down the time until Alex is reachable, presumably tonight.
 
I rehearse a dozen different scenarios imagining what I’m going to say to him, each time becoming too giddy to finish the scene in my head.

I arrange to take my beloved babies to The Meadows the morning before I leave.
 
They are all the family I have
,
and I want to spend as much time with them as possible.
 
I wonder what they make of all the packing I’m doing and the string of strangers tromping through the house to spruce it up before I go.

The day drags on
,
and as the sun goes down, my enthusiasm builds.
 
I’m
beside myself with joy and can
not wait another moment to speak with Alex.
 
We had agreed that he would
ring
me from the car on his way home, so I expect a call anytime now.