These Foolish Things (6 page)

Ty laughed, relaxed after the tense moment. Here he was, in
her house, about to take her out on a date. Under duress, but hell, if you
haven’t been out in 3 years, a date is a date, even if there’s a contempt
charge attached to it. Then Liz came back to the moment.

“I’m sorry, I kind of mentally wandered off for a moment.
Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Iced tea?” Thank God for the standard
rituals of admitting a guest to the house. They effectively covered the tracks
of a non-functioning mind.

“Got any Scotch?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Then, I guess ice water’s fine, unless you have a bottle of
Mouton-Cadet 1947 handy,” Ty was still smiling.

Liz laughed at the jest. “Oh, gee, the last guy who was
ordered to take me out polished off the ’47 by himself. After that, he sat
there and blew “Louie, Louie” on the empty bottle. It turned out to be not much
of a date and he had to do time.”

Ty laughed, “I guess the ice water’ll have to do, then.” As
Liz got the water for Ty, she saw him walk around the living area looking at
photos and other pictures. He was closely examining one in particular when she
handed him the glass of water.

“Thanks. Your eye’s looking better.”

“So’s yours.”

Liz’s eye had opened but the bruise was still vivid in
shades of purple and blue. Ty’s, on the other hand, had healed completely, as
had the cut on his lip. Liz had chewed out Joey and Rocco for inflicting the
injuries in the first place. They had apologized, but vowed that if they had to
do it again, they would. Liz had punched each of them in the arm as hard as she
could and vowed that, she, too, would do it again.

Ty took a sip of water and gestured at the picture. “Very
interesting picture. What is it? “

Liz looked. “That’s a print from the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, ‘Pygmalion and Galatea.” It’s one of my favorite Greek myths.” The picture
showed a sculptor embracing a statue coming to life. From the waist up, the
woman was alive, flesh-toned and returning the embrace. From the waist down,
she was still motionless and white, locked in the marble from which she was
carved. Ty glanced at Liz. “You’ve studied mythology?”

Liz made a deprecating gesture. “I wouldn’t say studied.
When I was a kid, I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my leg and ankle. My
Mom went to the library almost every day to keep me busy. One day, she came
back with a book of Greek myths and I was hooked.” Liz mused, “I don’t know how
many time I read that book. For some reason, I really liked this particular
story and when I found the picture…”

“…you had to have it.” Ty finished. He glanced at his watch.
“We should get going.” He looked at Liz’s feet. “This restaurant has a strict
‘no shoes, no service’ policy.”

Liz became aware of her bare feet and bare face. “Shoes.
Makeup.”

“You don’t need it.” There was something in his tone that
made itself felt all the way down her spine. She had to remind herself that he
wasn’t here by choice and the man was a natural charmer.

Liz smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence but this
won’t take long, I promise.” She ran upstairs to finish getting dressed and to
force her heart into a slower rhythm.

Liz was good for her word and was back downstairs within 5
minutes. Beanie had jumped onto a bookcase and rolled on to his back. Ty was
scratching his chest and belly. Beanie had wrapped his paws around Ty’s hand
and was guiding it to the best spots. Judging by the smile and murmured “Oh,
there but not there, huh?,” Ty was enjoying it, too. He turned when he heard
Liz approach and smiled even more broadly. “I think I have a new friend,” he
said. Then he added “Wow” in a soft voice, eyes riveted on Liz. “You look
incredible.”

Liz was flustered and managed to stammer, “Thanks. Am I
within the dress code?” She was wearing a sleeveless raw silk dress in a soft
purplish-blue shade. She noticed that Ty was dressed rather casually, jacket
but no necktie. “I can change in a jiffy if you want.”

Ty shook his head. “No need and I’d change reservations
before I’d make you change that dress.” He grinned and added, “It matches your
eye.”

Beanie made another grab for Ty’s hand, rolling over and
guiding it to his fluffy white belly. Ty obliged and began scratching again. He
tried to withdraw his hand, but Beanie pulled it back, licking his fingers.
“Hey, Fella, I’ve gotta go.”

Liz said one word. “Beanie.”

He stopped at the sound of Liz’s voice and released Ty’s
hand. He looked at the two humans and wagged his tail, purring loudly. Ty took
Liz by the arm and guided her forward.

Ty’s touch was warm and firm. Liz could feel tingling where
his fingers rested on her arm. She paused to collect purse and keys from a
table by the front door. Beanie had scrambled down from the bookshelf and run
for the door. He stood there, tail wagging, waiting for his opportunity.

“Beanie, don’t even think about it. Get away from that door
and nobody gets hurt, especially the cat.” Hearing the stern tone, he
obediently trotted back to the living room. Ty was smiling as he opened the
doors. Both Ty and Liz watched to make sure there were no further escape
attempts. There weren’t.

“Here.” He took her arm again and showed Liz to a large late
model Mercedes. Again, Liz reminded herself that this was probably how he
treated all his dates and not to read too much into it. Liz reached for the
door handle but Ty stopped her. “Let me get that for you.”

He opened the door, handed her into the car and closed the
door when he was satisfied that she was settled. Memories of previous dates
flashed through her mind, ones where she was lucky if said date remembered to
unlock her door, let alone open it for her.

“Where are we going?” Liz asked after Ty got in.

He started the car and gave her a mysterious look. “You’ll
see,” he said with a comical evil laugh.

They drove in silence for a few minutes while Ty navigated
his way out of the Salem labyrinth. “Why do you live so far from Boston?” he
asked. “I mean, this is a pretty good hike.”

“The rents in and around Boston are ridiculous. If I wanted
to live in something bigger than a shoebox, I could only afford to eat Jell-O.”
Liz replied. Ty smiled. “Here, I own my own home and a few rental properties.”

She continued. “I like Salem. I like being near the water. I
like the people, I like the mix of centuries among the buildings. I really feel
at home on the North Shore.”

“What did you do before you went to law school?” Ty asked.
“I looked you up in Martindale-Hubbell and you haven’t been practicing very
long.” He glanced at Liz. “Sorry, but I had to make sure you weren’t…”

“…some kind of whack job?” Liz finished with a smile, “About
the craziest thing I do is hope the Bruins will make a comeback. Don’t worry,
I’m not offended. I worked for an investment house here in town doing customer
service. I hated every minute of it,” her voice became tight with remembered
anger, “It was especially hateful when I’d be instructed to deny something to a
customer only to have the boss who gave me the instruction give the same
customer what he wanted when the man got angry and demanded my supervisor.” She
shook off the bitterness. “That’s the past. I don’t have that problem anymore.
My word is law.”

Ty laughed at the joke. “Have you always been like this?”

“Like what?”

“Funny. Very quick with the one-liners. Why don’t you have
your own sitcom?”

Liz twisted in her seat so that she could see Ty. God, even
his profile set off a reaction in her. “As for how long, I don’t know. I’m
pretty sure I had to learn how to talk first. No sitcom for me. I’d be
unconscious from stage fright. I took an acting class in college and dropped
out. I couldn’t stop stuttering.”

“That’s too bad. You’re funny. How’d you do in writing?” Ty
was smiling.

“Solid B+ and astonishment.” Liz waited for him to ask. She
was enjoying her role as raconteur. Ty obliged.

“Astonishment?”

“Yeah. We had to type or write a descriptive paragraph on
mimeograph paper so the professor could run off copies for the class,”

She saw the eyebrows go up again. “Yes, I said mimeograph
paper. This was the dark ages before a PC in every dorm room.” Ty nodded,
chuckling. “Anyway,” Liz continued, “I was late to class that day. The previous
class, I had forgotten to bring my contribution and had to run back to my room
to get it. This time, I had typed up the thing on the wrong side of the paper.
My prof, a sweet Southern lady and said, ‘Well, Liz, Ah guess you just fucked up
again.’” Liz noticed that Ty was laughing softly. “Nobody had ever talked to me
like that, so naturally I was astonished to hear it coming from not only a
lady, but a teacher as well. Since then, I’ve had reason to hear that phrase
quite a few times for different reasons.”

“How’d she grade your paragraph?” He was still smiling.

Liz chuckled. “After all that, it got ripped apart. I don’t
think anyone liked the way I’d put even two words together. But I thought it
was good and that they were morons.”

“Atta Girl,” The comment from Ty surprised Liz. “Were they
morons?”

“Let’s see, one of them’s been writing for Rolling Stone
since graduation and another just got a $3 million check for film rights to a
book. I still say they were morons.”

“Successful morons,” Ty added supportively.

The lower deck of the Expressway was slower than usual,
owing to late traffic headed for Cape Cod and the local combination of a
sold-out concert on Boston’s waterfront and a Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway.
“We’re going to be sitting here for a while,” said Ty. “How about some music?” He
snapped on the car’s sound system as Liz nodded. Within seconds, Miles Davis’
trumpet softly filled the background. Liz smiled. “Kind of Blue” was a favorite
album of hers.

“Good choice.”

Ty was playing anxious host. “You know, I have other stuff
if you prefer.”

Liz shook her head. “This is classic stuff. Of course, I
usually prefer Dave Brubeck myself, but Miles is great.”

Ty chuckled. “Is there no end to your surprises?” He pushed
a button and instead of trumpet, the car was filled with the Brubeck Quartet
working their magic with “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Liz laughed. “You have a
few surprises of your own. Most people, if they think about Brubeck at all,
begin and end with ‘Take Five.”

Ty spoke as he eased the car into an opening in the traffic.
“Most of the women I know never heard of Dave Brubeck. They’re more interested
in dance and pop.” The car moved forward and stopped. “To tell you the truth, I
get bored with that stuff pretty quickly, but they get bored with this even
faster.”

Liz blurted out without thinking, “Maybe you should try
dating women who don’t have to be home by 10 on a school night.”

She could have cheerfully bitten off her tongue. This was a
one-time event and being catty was only going to hurt matters.

Liz saw Ty stiffen slightly and knew she had overstepped the
boundaries. He said nothing.

“I’m sorry, Ty, that was uncalled-for and none of my
business. You’re not here by choice and I’m sorry if I just made things
intolerable,” Liz offered.

Ty still said nothing. His face was expressionless.

“If you saw my high school yearbook, you’d see I wasn’t a
great beauty. The photographer didn’t have to beg me to shut up for my senior
picture only because I had a mouthful of braces.” Ty glanced at her. He said
nothing. Great, thought Liz, I’ve blown the entire evening already. I’ll be
lucky if we don’t end up at Denny’s. Liz jumped when Ty spoke.

“That must have been awkward,” he glanced at Liz, “having
braces at that age.”

“It’s not as if I was the prom queen or head cheerleader,” Liz
said philosophically, “It’s just that our town didn’t have a decent
orthodontist until then.”

“He did a good job. You have a great smile.” Ty pulled onto
Storrow Drive.

“Thank you,” was all Liz could manage.

Silence fell between them again, but it was not filled with
tension like the previous one. They turned onto Boylston Street and Ty pulled
the car over in front of the Prudential Center. “Wait here for a couple of
minutes while I park. I don’t think you want to start out the evening in a
parking garage.”

As Liz began to get out, she felt Ty’s hand on hers. Again,
it caused a warm wave of feeling to go through her. Liz turned towards Ty. His
eyes were mischievous. He squeezed her hand slightly as he said, “Now don’t run
off. I’ve seen the inside of the Charles Street jail. I’d rather do time with
you.” He released her hand and Liz got out of the car. As she stood up, Liz had
the urge to kiss him.

She found herself standing in front of a very pricey, very
chic jewelry store. Their merchandise was still on display, although closing
time was near. Liz looked at the artfully displayed treasures. Half of her
brain was focused on the view, the other half was racing with nervous
anticipation.

“Good, you’re still here.” Ty glanced over her shoulder into
the window. “Engagement rings? A little premature, don’t you think?”

Liz started to protest when she saw the glint in his eyes.
“Well, I don’t know,” she said slowly, “What if McCafferty decides to make it a
life sentence?” They both laughed.

“Seriously,” said Liz, “Millie and I have this game we call
‘Rock Hunt’ for window shopping at a jeweler’s. You identify the biggest, the
most expensive and the tackiest pieces in the window. Sometimes, one stone wins
all three.”

Ty chuckled. “I see. Show me the winners.”

As he turned to face the window, Ty moved to put his arm
around Liz’s waist, but stopped when she stiffened. He looked at her curiously,
but said nothing.

“Um, let’s see.” Liz pointed to a large solitaire. “That’s
the biggest. There’s the tackiest, which is kind of hard to find in a shop like
this,” she pointed to a gaudy, multi-stone cocktail ring.