We Interrupt This Date (15 page)

Though I didn’t like the way Mama had issued
orders and for a second I entertained a childish notion to defy her
and let the fence rot to the ground, I knew she was right. And I
knew who could repair the fence quickly. Kenny, the high school kid
who kept my lawn mowed, was a wizard at home maintenance. I gave
him a call and arranged for him to come over on Sunday morning.

Even though Mama’s Cadillac was nowhere to be
seen when Christian finally got back with Trinity, he still stuck
his head in the kitchen and peered around cautiously before he
ventured inside. Then he headed straight for the refrigerator while
Trinity settled herself at the kitchen table where I was drinking a
cup of coffee and perusing a newspaper article about how to garden
on a budget. I wondered if the definition of budget meant that
since most of my family was dependent on me, I couldn’t afford
anything for my garden except those packets of wildflower seeds
that came free in advertisements for home decorating magazines.

“Where are DeLorean and Cole?” Christian put
down a carton of orange juice and wiped his mouth on the back of
his hand. “Grandma run them off?”

“Napping.” I looked at Trinity. “How did you
like Charleston?”

“Primo.” She flashed two thumbs up and
wriggled in her chair like a puppy. “I’m thinking of transferring
to the College of Charleston.”

Primo. Damn the city for being so quaint and
charming and attractive. Mama would go into high gear if Trinity
took up residence within a hundred miles of Charleston. But then I
suspected she wouldn’t be happy unless Trinity left the country
with all the rest of the androgynous little tarts.

“Really?” I said, carefully keeping emotions
in check.

“Hey, admit it, Trin.” Christian grinned at
her. “You want to be close to Brandon.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Who’s Brandon?” I got up and poured myself
another cup of coffee and pointed to the pot. When Trinity nodded,
I poured her a cup and brought it to her.

“My friend at the Citadel. We started dating
in high school, broke up a couple of times, but now he wants to get
back together. He’s matured a lot since he went off to school last
year, so who knows?” She shrugged.

I wondered if he was mature enough to accept
the fact that his girlfriend was sleeping with another guy while he
paraded around the barracks, or whatever you called the Citadel
buildings, in his uniform.

I started to say something polite, such as
that I wished her luck no matter what she decided, when I happened
to glance at the clock. “Goodness, it’s nearly four and I have to
pick up Brad—that’s DeLorean’s dog—at the Pet Wellness Center. You
haven’t met Brad yet, but he’s about the size of a pony and he
minds me about as well as Mama’s Chihuahuas do. And I haven’t even
thought about cooking supper.”

I stood and allowed myself a deep sigh that
started somewhere around my toes. Trinity pushed her cup away.

“Want company? I’m really good with
dogs.”

I hesitated for the briefest of seconds. But
when it came to dealing with Brad I was not about to turn down
offers of help or sympathy. “If you’re sure. Do you mind if I
borrow Trinity for a while, Christian?”

He grinned and dragged a loaf of bread out of
the back of the refrigerator. “Take her. I’ll commandeer the family
room and see if there’s any good football on.”

I suspected there would be. I hadn’t heard of
the football game yet that wasn’t good as far as Christian was
concerned.

Trinity and I went out to the van and climbed in. I
switched on the ignition. “Seatbelt?” I said, buckling my own.

“Right.” She clicked her belt shut. “I’m good. Now
what’s up with this puppy?”

“He’s an oversized golden doodle and he looked like
he had enough excess coat to stuff a mattress—if you could get the
tangles and the fleas out."

“I hear ya. Hey, look at that.” She peered out the
window as we passed a mini plantation on the corner. “Nice. Boy,
wouldn’t I love to have a place like that.” After that she chatted
happily about school. All I had to do was nod occasionally and look
interested and I was free to keep worrying over what to feed my
guests.

The receptionist at the Pet Wellness Center first
collected my check in an amount that made me wonder if I’d have to
skip a few meals before the end of the month. Then she motioned for
us to follow her to the back of the facility. She opened a cage. An
animal, the newly buzz cut Brad, bounded out. He shot between me
and the doorframe, knocking me into the wall as if I weighed about
three ounces. Trinity grabbed his collar, pulling him to a halt
before he could escape from the building.

He was about half his former size without all the
excess fur, and now that Trinity held him still, I could see his
eyes, dark and doelike. But not doelike enough for me to warm up to
him all that much. My shoulder still smarted from its close
encounter with the wall.

Brad reared up on his hind legs to put his paws on
Trinity’s skinny shoulders. She staggered backward and then pushed
him down.

“None of that, mister. Good boy, Brad. Heel.” She
snapped his leash onto his collar and wrapped half the leash around
her hand to shorten it. Then she snapped it for a split second,
tightening Brad’s collar.

He looked at her, puzzlement taking over his face. He
seemed to consider his options before he obediently positioned
himself at her side, walking sedately to the van where he jumped in
at her command.

I watched goggle-eyed, then managed to collect myself
and climb in behind the wheel. “I can’t tell you how much I
appreciate your help.” I tromped harder than I meant to on the gas
pedal. “I didn’t schedule time to fetch Brad. I haven’t had to fix
a big meal since Christian left for school and now with DeLorean
here...” I clamped my mouth shut. I didn’t want her to think I
objected to guests, her included.

“Your sister got here yesterday, right?”

“Yes. I had to take off from work to pick her up at
the airport.”

I’d woken up Friday morning thinking about going to
work and training Brenda and here I was with a house full of
people. And the problem of how to find a way to help my sister
without a paycheck coming in for either of us. My new job didn’t
count until I actually started earning money.

Then I thought about Jack. He hadn’t called to set up
a time to show me his bathroom. I hadn’t realized until now how
much I was looking forward to seeing him again. For sympathy, of
course. I wanted to tell him all about my problems so he could say,
the way he used to when we were kids, “Hey, Nic, want me to hire a
quartet of violins to accompany your sob story?” Then he’d put his
arms around me to show he was teasing and he’d pull me close and
say he was there for me. I’d snuggle against his chest and wish I
could stay there forever.

“You okay?” Trinity asked.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t really know my way around here or anything,
but wasn’t that your turn near that plantation house on the
corner?” She pointed back over her shoulder.

“Whoops. I had my mind on other things. I was
supposed to see an old friend tonight, but that didn’t work
out.”

“Hey, tragic. I could have helped you with your
make-up.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t anything like that, not a
date. We’re nothing more than friends.”

“Gotcha. But for supper, don’t worry about a thing. I
can help you whip up something primo. Back home I worked in a
restaurant all through high school. Not waitressing—I can’t stand
dealing with customers when they get snotty, you know? Anyway, I
worked in the back, the kitchen. I can do chicken, ribs, fish,
whatever you want.”

“I couldn’t ask a guest to do all that work.” And why
not? I wondered, even as I spoke. My guests didn’t seem to have any
trouble expecting me to do for them.

“No trouble. I can see you have a real circus going
on at your house and you could use a hand.” She looked at me
solemnly, not easy with her purple contact lenses that reminded me
of the aliens’ eyes in a science fiction movie I’d once seen. “Your
sister is completely losing it. Christian told me all about her ex,
and I can see why DeLorean would have a total meltdown. And your
mother, no offense, is one bossy lady and she’s upset with you over
something. Now don’t argue. Everything’s settled, Susan.”

I shrugged, swung the car into a u-turn and
accelerated toward home. This morning when I first met her, I was
ready to haul Trinity to the nearest airport and buy her a one way
ticket out of my son’s life. Now I was thanking my good luck he’d
brought her with him. I’d take her up on her offer to help fix
supper, but I silently passed on letting her do my make-up if need
arose. I was sure Mama would faint if she saw me wearing a nose
ring.

Christian was clomping back and forth holding Cole
when Trinity and I walked into the kitchen. His expression said
he’d rather be clutching a bomb to his chest than a screaming
baby.

“Does he need a bottle?” I asked.

Christian shot me a look of pure disgust. “Don’t you
think that’s the first thing I tried? And after that a fresh
diaper, a rattle, some strained carrots. He hurled the whole jar at
me.”

Trinity wrinkled her nose. “I don’t blame him. For
future reference, if I ever burst out crying, don’t try to pacify
me with strained vegetables of any kind.”

“Smart ass.” Christian thrust Cole into my arms.
“Your turn.”

I jiggled Cole up and down and when that didn’t help,
sat in the rocker by the window and patted his back. For some
reason, Christian had seen fit to reinforce Cole’s diaper with duct
tape and now it had started to come loose on one side. “Settle
down, sweetheart, Aunt Susan is here.” Cole’s lower lip quivered
and I nuzzled his forehead. “Where’s DeLorean?”

“Upstairs. Crying. That jerk called and got her all
upset.”

“Baldwin?”

“What other jerk is there? Two or three calls came
in. She was sitting right on top of the phone, or I’d have picked
up myself and told him where to go. I’d like to bury my fist in his
face.”

“Thanks, Christian, but he’d just get his plastic
surgeon to fix the damage.” DeLorean stood in the doorway. She’d
changed out of the jeans and blouse she’d had on earlier and put on
a lime colored sundress that looked fantastic with her auburn hair.
But the fresh make-up she’d applied couldn’t hide the blotchy
features of someone who’d been crying. She took Cole from me and I
let her sit in the rocker. “You’d think he’d call because he misses
me or our baby. But all he wanted was to find out if I’d send back
the tennis bracelet he bought me.”

“Wow, that’s way harsh.” Trinity shook her head.

“I hope you refused.” I opened the refrigerator and
took out a ham I could warm up and then started hauling out the
makings of a salad.

“I may have temporarily lost my head over Baldwin,
but I do know how to deal with men. Most of them are easy enough to
control.”

Christian frowned. “Hey, what’s that mean?”

“Want to know how it works?” DeLorean grinned and I
was glad to see her mood lift. “Maybe your mom and I can give you a
few pointers. Or at least I can. Your mom isn’t good at stuff like
that.”

“Stuff like what?” I said absently.

“Womanly wiles. Keeping men in line. For example, you
have to make them wait when they come to pick you up for a date.”
Cole had calmed almost as soon as DeLorean took him in her arms and
now she rocked gently back and forth while he sucked his thumb and
stared into her face. “You can’t jump up to open the door the
minute he rings the bell as if you have nothing better to do than
wait for him to arrive. You have to make him wait at least five
minutes, but ten is better. I remember when you were dating T.
Chandler. He probably thought you lived behind the door expecting
him to whisk you away to happily ever after.”

I dropped a tomato and watched it roll across the
floor. “Don’t be an idiot. There’s no reason for me to leave a man
waiting if I’m ready to go. And in my case, if I made him wait he’d
be sitting around my kitchen while the rest of you stared at him
like he was a lab specimen.” I picked up the wayward tomato and
scrubbed it hard enough to break the skin and squirt juice onto my
shirt. I started thinking about how I was supposed to be out with
Jack this very night to look at his bathroom. What had happened
with that?

“Lateness is expected. The man always allows at least
fifteen minutes waiting time when he picks up his date.” DeLorean
shook her head. “You have no idea how to keep men interested.”

“How would I?” I could have made a nasty remark about
her own track record.

“God help us, have you even gone out once since your
divorce?” If DeLorean rolled her eyes any higher, they’d disappear
into her skull.

“Yes, of course.” The date with Herman qualified,
didn’t it?

Trinity turned around. DeLorean saw her watching and
said, “What do you think, Trinity? Tell my sister she needs to be
more mysterious or men will think she’s desperate.”

Why? It wasn’t as if I had men swarming around the
yard hoping to catch a glimpse of me.

“Yeah, tell her, Trin.” Christian was lounging in a
kitchen chair drinking milk out of a glass that I was sure was
really my largest flower vase--one that had once held two dozen
roses. This was back when T. Chandler had a guilty conscience about
not taking me out on Valentines Day because he was “working
late.”

“Shut up.” Trinity stuck out her tongue, and I caught
a glimpse of a tongue stud. “Susan, I understand what your sister
is saying, but you have to be yourself. Me, I might make him wait,
depends on the guy. But you don’t like to play games, do you?”