These Foolish Things (23 page)

Liz laughed and hugged her. “Thank you and a very good New
Year to you, Mrs. Wyman. You have a blast.” Mrs. Wyman left.

Liz shampooed before drawing the bath for herself. The tub
was deep and designed for extended soaking and she wanted to take full
advantage of it. Liz found her bubble bath next to the tub, the same scent as
her perfume and purchased for her by Ty to be used only here. She dumped a
generous amount into the tub and poured herself a glass of wine while she
waited for the tub to fill.

So, here she sat in the home of her love. Alone. She had
been waited on upon her arrival, but no Ty. She was alone in his house.

New Year’s Eve had also been her last day at Lovell, Hoffman
and Dennis. They’d thrown a party for her, including parting gifts such as a
new briefcase and desk nameplate. Millie had cried a little and Corey had cried
a lot, mostly because he feared being reassigned to Dan. Joey and Rocco had
hugged her and vowed that they weren’t afraid of roughing up judges if
necessary. Win Lovell and David Hoffman had come by. Dan was playing golf in
Palm Beach. They told her that her work and herself would be missed at the
place. “You mean my cooking, don’t you, Sir?” Liz had asked of Win. He had
laughed and patted his stomach. “My wife seems to think I’ll lose weight if
you’re not here. Now, you go knock F.L. McCafferty’s socks off and remember,” he
became serious, “if you change your mind, you always have a place here.” They
both knew she wouldn’t.

Ty and Liz had debated whether to attend his firm’s party or
to go to Joey DiNardo’s annual bash. Liz had been unable to persuade Ty to even
consider just stopping in at Joe and Jenna’s, agreeing that, yes, as a named
partner, he had certain obligations outside of office hours and as his
girlfriend, it was her place to be with him. It had been a wrench to tell the
DiNardos that, no, she and Ty wouldn’t be joining the celebration as they’d
thought. Maybe next year.

Joey had looked hard into Liz’s eyes. “Liz, you sure you
know what you’re doing?”

“Working for McCafferty? It’ll be a blast,” she had
answered.

“No. I mean Hadley. I know you love him and I know he loves
you, but…,” Joey’s jaw had set and his eyes had taken on a steely glint. “He’d
better treat you right, Sister Lizabetta or he’ll regret it.”

Liz had hugged Joey. “Brother Giuseppe, how many Hail Marys
do you think Angie’s going to make you say for that?”

Taking her wine, Liz turned off the tap, slipped under the
bubbles and closed her eyes. The scent was a blend of roses, orange blossoms
and jasmine with, according to the ads, “a dash of liquid starlight.” Perfume
ads were almost as ridiculous as wine reviews.

Liz allowed herself to drift and dream. She saw herself in
Ty’s arms as they lay in bed, smiling into his face. She saw the love in his
eyes, felt his hands knowingly stroke her body, how quickly he had learned the
ways to pleasure her as she had him. Ty brought out an eagerness and passion in
Liz that she hadn’t known she had; the intensity was almost frightening. Ty
encouraged her. They seldom went to sleep before the small hours of the
morning, Ty reading John Donne’s love poems to her from a copy they’d found in
a Hyannis bookstore on that magic weekend. She’d wake as she had in Hyannis, Ty
holding her close as he slept. Liz didn’t sleep very well on the nights they
were apart. Within a couple of weeks, she’d become accustomed to sharing her
bed with him. Without him, the loneliness that had been her life seemed even
greater and made their time together that much sweeter.

“Ty, I love you so much,” she murmured out loud. “I just
wish I could have more of you.”

“You can have me right now, Counselor,” the real thing
murmured in her ear.

Liz sat up with a splash. “TY! DON’T DO THAT!”

He was laughing too hard to respond, so Liz splashed bath
water at him, soaking the front of his suit. His response was to set down his
glass of Scotch, laugh even harder and strip.

“Room for one more, Counselor?” he asked.

“You’re going to smell like a perfume counter, you know,” she
said as she made room for him. “No cannonballs.”

He slipped into the tub next to Liz and pulled her close as
he sank in. “Mmmm, I needed this.”

“Bad day, Counselor?” Liz asked as she snuggled close.

“Oh yeah. The usual year-end nonsense. I finally said, ‘Why
am I here when Liz is waiting for me at home? Fuck it.’ So I left.” He kissed
her, “That was one helluva a smile you were wearing, Sweetheart. What were you
thinking about?”

“You.” Liz saw the weariness on his face and stroked his
cheek with a soapy hand. “Are you sure you want to go to this party tonight,
Love? You look beat.”

Ty smiled as he caught her hand and kissed it. “I’ll be fine
and we can sleep tomorrow. I just need to catch my second wind and this helps.”
He reached for the Scotch and drained it, then handed the glass to Liz, who set
it down again. “How was your day?” he asked, stroking Liz’s thigh under the
water. His hand moved inward and upward, fingers making little circles.

“Actually, pretty good. They threw a going-away party for me
and Win Lovell said I could come back if I wanted to.” She had a hard time
sounding normal with the currents racing through her body at his touch. Ty knew
it, too and slipped his hand to the cleft between her thighs, fingers slowly
probing. Liz inhaled sharply and arched her back. Involuntarily, she dug her
fingernails into him, spurring him on. A throaty gasp escaped her. Ty maneuvered
himself into position and entered her under the water. Minutes later, still
throbbing, Liz looked over the side of the tub. The floor of the bathroom
resembled a small lake.

She half-laughed, half-groaned. “Time to swab the decks,” she
said. Ty pulled her closer.

“So, Counselor, you want more of me, huh?” he asked. “I can
arrange it.” He kissed her deeply. “Move in here with me,” he said.

Liz’s eyes opened wide. “Are you serious?” she asked.

Ty regarded her lazily. “That I am. I want you here, with
me. I want to know that this is your home, too. How can I wake up next to the
love of my life if I’m here and she’s over 30 miles away? I don’t like being
that far away from you and having to jump through hoops to see you. I mean it,
Liz. I want you to move in with me and do it soon. Next weekend.”

“Oh, God, Ty. I can’t organize a move that quickly. I know
the crew has plans, like Millie and John are going to see his parents. Plus, I
start with McCafferty next week and I’ll need to settle in there.”

Ty wasn’t put off. “Two weeks, then.”

“I can’t sort through and pack up my house in that time,” Liz
said.

“Rent it furnished. Am I sensing reluctance on your part?” he
asked. Ty sat up. “Liz, I want to be with you so badly I can taste it. I
thought you felt the same.”

“I do,” Liz answered honestly.

“So what’s the problem?” he asked gently.

“Honey, this is an awfully big step,” Liz said. “We’re still
just getting to know each other. I’ve...I’ve never done this before. I don’t
know. I really need to think about this.”

Ty reached forward and touched Liz’s cheek. “You don’t need
to think about it. I do know. I promised that you could trust me and I meant
it. Hell, if I’d had my way, you and your cat would have been installed here
the night we got back from Hyannis. We’re not teenagers, Liz, we don’t have the
luxury of time. This feels right. This is right. You’re the one for me.” There
was a warm light in his eyes that reassured Liz. “We’re great together, you
know that. We’ll be together every day and,” He pulled her close and kissed her
again, “every night.”

Liz wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn’t know what
to say.

“Ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to take care of you,
spoil you and protect you. I need you next to me, need to wake up to your face,”
Ty said softly, stroking his fingers down her throat. “You’re mine and it’s
frustrating not to be able to reach out in the night and touch you, to know
you’re still with me.” He traced the scar on her breast. “You’ve been hurt and
sick and on your own before and that makes me angry. That’s not going to happen
again. I want to be right there when you need me. This is the only way I know
how.” He kissed her again. “What do you say, Liz? ‘Come live with me and be my
love…’”

“ ‘And we’ll some new pleasure prove,’” finished Liz,
smiling.

Ty kissed her forehead. “Buying that copy of Donne’s poetry
was a great investment,” he murmured. “We won’t have to keep schlepping it
between your house and mine if we’re together all the time.” He kissed her
again.

“You know, Counselor,” said Liz, “you can be irresistible
when you choose.”

“Where you’re concerned,” he answered, “It’s my ace in the
hole. Is that a yes?”

“It is,” she whispered. She ruthlessly quelled her
misgivings.

At the New Year’s Eve party, Liz hadn’t felt the same wall
of hostility that she’d gotten walking in on Ty’s arm at the Christmas party.
Liz had noticed that the Silicone Queen was not there to ring in the new year.

Everything was top-shelf. The champagne was expensive, the
food was catered by a five-star restaurant, everyone was dressed in designer
labels. Yet while she was enjoying conversation with Ty’s colleagues, Liz was
missing the casual-dress gathering at Joe’s, the arguments over which movies
they’d watch, the board games, Angie yelling at “her” children, the warmth that
came from being within the group. Here, the people were friendly, but it was a
distant, detached friendliness born of career advancement.

No sooner had they removed their coats but a couple of the
junior associates pounced on Ty to talk about some pending cases. He had
shrugged helplessly, kissed Liz and excused himself. Finding herself alone
among virtual strangers, Liz squared her shoulders, held her head high and
determined to charm and impress anyone she met, but the back of her mind was replaying
Ty’s proposition. God, if she was still alive, thought Liz, my mother would
have a fit. “Obviously, you’re not good enough to marry,” or something like
that. Liz pushed the thought down. Not tonight. She didn’t need to run those
old tapes tonight.

As time closed on midnight, Liz looked around for Ty. He had
finished business with the junior members of the firm and was talking with one
of the named partners. Liz approached the men and slipped her hand into Ty’s.
Without missing a beat of the conversation, he squeezed her hand, but that was
the only acknowledgment of her presence Liz got for a couple of minutes. At
five minutes to midnight, a waiter came by with champagne and Ty finally broke
off the discussion.

“C’mon,” he said as he led Liz towards the crowd waiting for
the countdown. He and Liz slipped arms around each other and joined the
countdown.

“Three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Instead of rowdy cheering and everyone singing “Auld Lang
Syne” in his or her own key, here there were polite murmurs of “Happy New Year”
and hand-shaking. Ty took Liz in his arms and kissed her as he had at the
Barrister’s Ball.

“May we be together at this time next year,” he murmured.

And, two weekends later, Liz and Millie were watching
professional movers empty her house onto a truck. Liz had managed to find a
tenant for her place, students starting the second semester at Salem State who
were happy to take the place semi-furnished. However, it seemed to Liz that a
lot of stuff was headed for storage with no definite date for getting it out
again.

“You know, this is your life going onto that truck, Liz,” Millie
remarked. “Ty wouldn’t allow any of it and you just smiled and said ‘Fine’?” she
asked incredulously. “Doesn’t sound like the stubborn bitch I know.”

“You’ve seen the house, Mill. It’s gorgeous. None of this
would go with it. It’s not that Ty didn’t allow me to bring my furniture, it
just wasn’t needed,” Liz replied.

“Uh huh,” said Millie, “and where is Prince Charming today?”

Liz shot her a sharp look, “Working. Millie, am I going to
have a problem between you and Ty?”

Millie shrugged. “Probably not. I’m just pissed because I’m
not going to see you at work anymore, you’re moving to Wellesley and it just
feels like he’s taking you away from us.”

Liz didn’t say anything, but she’d had the same thoughts.
“Well, I see your point. But, Judge McCafferty allows me a lot of freedom to do
my job, just as long as it gets done on time. We can get together for lunch in
the city and we can still do things together. Besides, I know you’re going to
start bitching soon enough that we’re getting on each other’s nerves as we put
this wedding of yours together. Let’s face it, Mill, you’ve already taken steps
to more or less dump me for a man. I’m just returning the favor.”

Millie laughed and punched her arm. “Fine. Be that way. I
will say, though, the two of you are hot together. It’s clear you guys are in
love with each other.”

“That’s the last of it, Ma’am,” a mover interrupted. “Sorry
to interrupt you ladies, but it’s wicked cold. Where are we going?”

With a smile, Liz gave him an address on Route 62 for a
self-storage facility. She and Millie put on their coats, took a last look
around and stepped outside, closing and locking the front door. They followed
the truck to storage and observed the unloading. Once the movers rumbled off,
Liz turned to Millie.

“Come on down this afternoon. We’ll have a moving-in party.”

Millie shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. John and I have
an appointment at the Danversport Yacht Club about the reception and the menu.”
She hugged Liz. “I’m sorry, but we can do brunch tomorrow.” She looked at Liz’s
face. “It’s scary, I know. But you’ll be fine.” And she left.

Liz got into her car and turned over the engine. From force
of habit, she uttered a quick prayer, “Please Lord, let it start,” but unlike
the old Rabbit, the Mercedes never gave her a problem. She eased out of the
parking lot and headed south to her new home.