Wish List (18 page)

“All of it?” Dolly’s hand flew to her mouth in pretended shock.

“Yep. Then I was going to take off all his stuff. Myself. Everything, even his shorts.”

“What if he wears boxers?” Dolly mumbled.

“I’m going to be very disappointed,” Ariel sing-songed. “I like tight buns and you can’t appreciate tight buns in boxers. ’Is that how you feel about Harry?”

“Uh-huh. Then what?”

“Then I was going to check out . . . you know . . . see how big . . . or small . . . whatever . . . and get him to the bed. Touchy, feely, that kind of thing. How come I’m telling you my fantasy?”

“Because I asked you,” Dolly said. “I hear something again. Snookie, wake up! She won’t get up, Ariel.”

“Because she’s drunk. Do you want me to get my gun?”

“Yes-I-do!”

“Okay. I’m not going outside. Whoever it is has to come in here and then I’ll shoot him. Only if he comes in, Dolly. Do we agree?”

“Yes.” Dolly opened the last two bottles of Corona. She watched as Ariel trotted over to the mantel for the gun. She blew imaginary dust off it, then stuck it down between her breasts.

“That’s not a good idea, Ariel. You’re so drunk you might shoot off your nipple and then where will you be?” She doubled over, howling with laughter.

“Nippleless. Without a nipple. Bosom with no nipple. Rosy crests. That’s what they call them in romance novels. I’ll just put it here on the steps beside us. Since we’re probably going to sleep here it’s a good place. The living room is lopsided, Dolly. I never noticed that before.”

“I don’t care. Do you care, Ariel? What else were you going to do to that guy?”

“Lex?”

“That’s the one,” Dolly giggled.

“I was going to have my way with him. I was going to ravage and savage him. I was going to . . . do all those things those heroines do to the heroes in romance novels. I learned a lot reading those books.”

“Be spa-sif-ick,” Dolly said.

Outside in the bushes, underneath the boarded-up window, Lex Sanders peeped through the two pieces of plywood he and Harry had nailed to the window frame. He clapped his hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh aloud and give himself away. He’d returned because he was worried about the window. His intention was to check on the two women, and then spend the night in the car watching the house. Now, though, he saw that his work was cut out for him. Who was going to put the two of them to bed? If he was any judge, neither one could hold her liquor. He knew both of them would be heading for the bathroom soon. He didn’t see the gun, but he did see Snookie sound asleep by the steps. He continued to listen.

“Plunder, too. Ravage, savage, and plunder. Everything, Dolly. All the things I never did . . . all kinds of things. Triple orgasms. That’s possible. I read it when I was at the dentist’s. In
Cosmo
. He gets one, I get a triple.”

“How?”

“How? You work at it. That’s how. He works at it. When it happens, I’ll tell you and you can have Harry try it. It’s an experiment. I don’t feel so good. That pepperoni pizza must have been bad. I have to go to the bathroom. Ooohhh, this room is really lopsided,” Ariel said, holding on to the banister.

Outside in the bushes, Lex slapped his leg, howling silently. This couldn’t be the Ariel Hart he knew and lusted after. But it was. He was shifting his weight from one leg to the other when a neighbor’s cat jumped from the bushes, hissing and scratching. He let out a stifled yelp as he moved sideways. A second later something whizzed by his ear and he felt his hair part down the middle. He hit the ground with a thump. He risked a quick glance upward and saw four round holes in the freshly nailed plywood. “Jesus Christ!” he bellowed.

Inside, Ariel looked at Dolly and then at the gun in her hand. “I shot somebody. Somebody is out there. I hit somebody and I couldn’t even see what I was shooting at. Dolly, let’s go see who we shot.”

“What’s with that
we
stuff? If you shot him, why do we have to look at him? Let him lie out there till the milkman comes in the morning.”

“Okay,” Ariel said agreeably. “The doorbell’s ringing.”

“If you shoot through the door it will probably stop. We won’t look at him till morning either.”

Ariel brought the gun up to shoulder height, squinted, and jerked backward when she heard her name called from the other side of the door.

“Ariel! It’s Lex Sanders. Open this goddamn door!”

The two women looked at each other. They both mouthed the name
Lex
at the same time. “Look at it this way, Ariel. You’re getting a second chance to salvage . . . blunder, and what was that other thing you were going to do?”

“Ravage. ”

Ariel opened the door a crack. “Lex! What are you doing here?”

“I came back to check on you and Dolly. I didn’t like leaving you here with that open window. Were you shooting through the plywood? Why, for God’s sake?”

“He wants to know why, Dolly,” Ariel sing-songed.

“If he wants to know, then you should tell him.”

“What should I tell him?”

“The truth,” Dolly snapped. “All those three things we said. You shouldn’t have had that last beer, Ariel. Oh, I’m going to be sick.”

“So am I,” Ariel said, bolting for the downstairs lavatory while Dolly headed for her bathroom off the kitchen. Snookie slept on.

Lex leaned against the bathroom door frame, his arms crossed against his chest. When Ariel was finally finished throwing up, Lex squeezed toothpaste onto a toothbrush and offered it to her.

“How could you stand there and watch me go through that?” she asked.

“I have to tell you it wasn’t a pretty sight.”

“Go home,” Ariel said around the foam in her mouth.

“I like your outfit. It’s sexy.”

“That’s what I thought when I put it on. You’re too damn late. Go home.”

“I heard you, you know.”

“You what?”

“I heard you and Dolly talking. Very interesting conversation.”

Ariel dropped her head into her hands. “God, I just got the grandmother of all headaches. You shouldn’t believe anything you hear standing outside a plywood window. Everyone knows plywood distorts vowels . . . words . . . sayings. God!”

“I don’t think I ever heard that before. Are you sure?” His face was so blank, so innocent looking. Ariel groaned.

“Come on, I’ll take you up to bed and get you settled in. I’ll sleep downstairs on the sofa. It was my intention to sit outside in my car until morning. I can’t leave you here like this with a drunken dog who’s sleeping it off.”

“I can go to bed by myself, Mr. Sanders.”

“I don’t doubt that a bit, but the stairs are tricky for someone in your condition. I wouldn’t want you to topple backward and fall on that sleeping dog.”

“Oh. All right, you can help me up the steps, but at the top you turn around and go back down. Okay?”

“Okay. Hold on to my arm. See, I told you it was tricky,” Lex said when both of Ariel’s feet came down on his own right foot.

“I’m not embarrassed, you know,” Ariel said.

“I’m glad. Just three more steps. Atta girl. You made it.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” she snapped.

“There was a moment there when I wasn’t sure.”

“Wiseass,” Ariel retorted. “This is my room. You got me here safe and sound and you should leave now. Anything else wouldn’t . . . look right.”

Lex grinned as he poked his head into Ariel’s room. “For some reason I thought of you as a tidy person. Tiki would never allow this.”

“Like I care. Listen, it takes a lot when a woman has a date. You have to try . . . you can’t decide . . . why am I explaining anything to you, anyway? Go home!”

“Why indeed?” Lex chuckled. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep tight, Ariel.” He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I meant to tell you earlier how good you smelled. Sort of like a warm summer garden on a star-filled night.”

“Really? That’s one of the nicest things anyone ever said to me.”

“If you give me a chance, Ariel, there are all kinds of nice things I can say to you.”

“Okay, but say them tomorrow,” she said, getting between the covers. A second later she was sound asleep.

“Sleep well, Ariel,” Lex said as he turned out the light and closed the door.

Downstairs he checked on Dolly, who was asleep in the bathtub. He scooped her up and carried her in to her bed. Satisfied that Snookie was okay, he settled himself on the sofa, Ariel’s gun on the table next to him.

Eventually he slept, his dreams full of a woman named Ariel Hart. The woman of his dreams slept peacefully, her own dreams filled with memories of a dark-eyed young boy who reminded her of the man guarding her house and her person.

Nine

Ariel awoke shortly before dawn. The late night hours flashed in front of her, a kaleidoscope of memory. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and was sorry she’d moved so quickly. Her head throbbed, her stomach churned, and her mouth tasted like old rubber boots. She brushed her teeth three times, using half a bottle of mouthwash. She grabbed three aspirin, chewing the hateful things and then swallowing water slowly. She brushed her teeth again, all the while swearing that she would never, ever, as long as she lived, get drunk again.

She felt every one of her fifty years as she made her way to a steaming shower that helped ease the tension between her shoulder blades. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Ariel opened the door to the second floor deck to let Snookie out. She stood at the railing to watch the sun struggle to the horizon. A new day. Thank God. This new day, like all her yesterdays, would be whatever she made of it.

Snookie nuzzled her leg. She reached down to stroke the dog’s huge head. “I’ve done some stupid things in my life, Snookie, but last night was the stupidest. I gave you beer when I shouldn’t have. I drank too much, and I know better than to do that. But, the worst thing of all is, I shot off my gun with no idea of what I was doing because I was drunk. That’s why people shouldn’t keep guns. People like me, anyway. I could have killed Lex Sanders. If I hadn’t given you that beer you would have barked to let me know he was out there. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’m supposed to be a responsible adult and what do I do? I act like some lovesick teenager? C’mon, baby, I’ll get you something to eat and make some coffee for myself. By the way, you and I are going to have to have a little talk about that stunt you pulled last night. But, we’ll have it later. I love it that you love me, I really do.”

Snookie, lady that she was, walked sedately next to her mistress as they made their way downstairs. When they reached the bottom of the steps, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She growled deep in her belly, waiting for a command from Ariel.

“It’s okay, Snookie, those are Lex’s shoes. He must be in the kitchen.” She dropped to her knees to cradle the shepherd’s face in her hands. “He’s a friend. Now, smell these shoes, get his scent, and don’t forget it. You take care of him, too. He’s part of that little talk we’re going to have later. God, you’re gorgeous. Bet I could get you in the movies, but then they’d ruin your life and you’d be on a time clock and they wouldn’t let you be Snookie anymore. I’d have to go back to Hollywood, and wouldn’t that be something? Well, that isn’t going to happen. We have a new life now, and it’s pretty good, all things taken into consideration.”

“You look rested, Ariel,” Lex said. “I took the liberty of making coffee.” He poured her a cup as he spoke. “I’ve got to get back to the ranch. Make sure you get the glazier here as soon as possible and don’t forget to notify the alarm company. Don’t be embarrassed. Each of us is entitled to do something . . . out of the ordinary at least once in our lives. It’s really my fault, anyway. I should have called or knocked on the door and told you I was out there. You reacted.”

“I could have killed you. I’m really sorry. Last night was a culmination of a lot of things for me. Things I shouldn’t have done, and will, believe me, never do again. I
am
embarrassed. I acted very foolishly. I do apologize. Thanks for staying over and thanks for making the coffee.”

“My pleasure. Do we still have a date on Saturday?”

“I’d like that.”

Lex winked at her and grinned. “As soon as I find my shoes I’ll be out of here.”

Snookie raced out of the kitchen and returned with the shoelaces to both shoes clamped between her teeth. She placed them in front of Lex, then backed off to stand next to Ariel.

Lex laughed. “Here’s your shoes, what’s your hurry? That’s some dog, Ariel.”

“I know.”

“If anything else happens, give me a call. By the way, Dolly fell asleep in the bathtub. I put her in bed. You might want to check on her.”

“You seem to have experience handling drunks,” Ariel said quietly, her face pink with shame.

“I’ve had my share. See you Saturday.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” She thought he was going to kiss her, but he just smiled and left. She smiled, too, when she saw Snookie go over to the door and lie down directly in front of it. Her head dropped to her paws, but her eyes were on Ariel as though to say, everything’s okay now.

The week rushed to a close, and before Ariel knew it, it was Saturday. Things were under control at Able Body Trucking and she was excited about spending the evening with Lex.

“It’s a casual date,” Ariel said. “I don’t think Lex Sanders is the suit and tie type. I was the one who said we should have Italian or Chinese and perhaps take in a movie. He looked so relieved that I felt relieved, too. So, I’m wearing my rainbow-colored skirt, white tee, and the blue linen jacket. Espadrilles and straw bag. I don’t think you can get more casual than that. Comfort seems to be what we both prefer.”

“I’m all for that. I haven’t heard from Harry so I don’t know if we’re on or off. Either way is okay. I did enjoy our time the other night, though. If it’s meant to be it will be. He makes me . . . not exactly nervous . . . maybe apprehensive, but isn’t that the same thing? Forget it.”

“Do you notice, Dolly, how we’re both mellowing out? We were both so . . . stressed all the time. Even now with everything going on you’d think we’d be out of our minds with anxiety, but we aren’t. Maybe it’s because we have some money in the bank and we know we have that cushion.”

“Imagine this scenario, Ariel. You marry Lex Sanders, I marry Harry, you live at the ranch and I live wherever, and you sell the trucking company back to Mr. Able. He’d buy it in a heartbeat.”

“My God, Dolly, you should be writing for the movies. You’re moving pretty fast here, aren’t you? Did you mean that part about marrying Harry and moving away? We’ve been together for so long . . . what would I do without you? We’re like a pair, a matched set. Snookie loves you. God, Dolly, now I have to worry about Harry popping the question.”

“It won’t be for a while, if it even happens. Maybe never if I can’t put my finger on whatever it is that bothers me about him. I’m probably overreacting, but I think he really likes me. A woman can tell these things. Like the way you know Lex Sanders is wild about you. I forgot how nice it was to be with a guy. It was just a thought, Ariel. Flip that coin over and look at your side. Let’s say you did marry Lex Sanders. What would you do with me? Lex has his own housekeeper who, you said, has been with him for a long time. He’s not going to let her go. You know me, I could never work with someone else, doing busy work.”

“If that ever happened, we’d work something out. I’d never cut you loose, no matter what the circumstances. We’ve been through too much. We’re a package deal. Is that why you’ve been so cranky lately?”

“Partly. Listen, Ariel, I think I’m starting to go through my changes. I’ve been getting hot flashes at night and you’re right, I’m cranky and irritable. On top of that, along comes Harry. At this stage. I want it to be something, you know, work out, but there’s something . . . I just don’t know. I hope it’s my hormones or lack of them making me feel this way.”

“Why didn’t you say something, Dolly? We’re going to make an appointment with a gynecologist first thing Monday morning. He can prescribe pills for you and give you some estrogen or whatever it is they give for hot flashes and crankiness. You don’t have to tolerate it. For God’s sake, Dolly, I thought you would have gone to the doctor at the first sign.”

“I didn’t want to admit that’s what it was. I still don’t want to admit it. You’re right, though, I should have gone to the doctor months ago. How about you, Ariel?”

“So far, so good. I try not to think about it, but just the other day, I blasted Agent Navaro. He thought it was a hot flash. He said his wife is having them. You know what? I don’t think he even has a wife. Don’t ask me how I know that or why I even think it. I just damn well do. Maybe I am starting and am too dumb to know it. I blush and flush a lot. Little things are starting to bother me. A hijacking doesn’t bother me half as much as running out of half-and-half for my coffee. Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”

“You know what the worst thing is, Ariel? It’s knowing half your life is over and this next half isn’t going to be as good because of . . . of . . . all the things you have to go through. You dry up. Your skin flakes. And, of course, children are out of the question. It’s all over. You damn well age is what you do. And it shows. We’re looking at our mortality. I just started thinking about that lately. What have I done with my life, Ariel. Not much. I didn’t make a mark. What am I going to leave behind? Everyone is going to remember Ariel Hart. You did something with your life. I wish I’d listened to you and gone for my degree. What will they put on my tombstone? Nothing but my name.”

Ariel’s stomach started to churn. Dolly needed her to say just the right thing. But, what was the right thing? Please, God, make this come out right.

“I don’t know if my career was preordained or not. What I do know is I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for you. You made it all possible. You took care of me in every sense of the word. You were there for me through the good times and the bad. You’re a caregiver, a nurturer. I know I could never be what you are. God’s hand was on both of us, I guess. It could just as easily have been you who was the actress and me the caregiver, but I know you would have fired me after the first day. You’re better than a nurse, you’re better than a shrink, you’re that very, very, rare person called
friends
. Everyone says they have friends by the bushel, but if push came to shove, most would be reduced to zip or maybe one friend. One solid, good friend in life makes a person rich. You’re the one person in this world I would trust with my children, if I had children, and my money. The one person, Dolly. You’re my family, the sister I never had, my mother, my grandmother, my aunt. You are that wonderful person. You care, Dolly. Not just about me, but about everything. Do you have any idea how often I wish I was more like you? I do, every time something goes wrong and I can’t do it on my own. That’s pretty damn often. Now, this is my last word on this subject. If you go before me, I promise your tombstone will say, ‘Dolly Delaney’ on the first line. Under that, it will say, ‘Friend, Sister, Mother, Grandmother, Aunt.’ That’s in the order of importance. You’re on your own if I go first.” She tried to laugh for Dolly’s benefit. Instead, she burst into tears. The two women clung to one another, their tears mingling. Snookie howled at the strange sounds, trying to wiggle her way between them.

“Now what?” a voice said through the screen door. “What happened? Why didn’t you call me? Jesus, what happened? Somebody better tell me something.” Lex Sanders roared. Snookie nudged the screen door open, sniffed his shoes, then went back to try and separate the two sobbing women.

“Is this one of those female things men aren’t supposed to understand?” Lex demanded as he checked out the new front window and the furnishings to reassure himself things were all right in the Hart household.

Ariel wiped at her eyes, as did Dolly. “We were talking about our mortality.”

“Why?”

“Because we passed the half-century mark and things start to happen to a woman. I don’t suppose you thought I was that old. I am. I’m going to be fifty-one!” She made it sound like she was going to the moon on the next shuttle.

“I’m going to be fifty-four,” Lex said importantly. He felt out of his depth.

“Oh, sure. Fifty-four for a man, especially if he’s rich and unattached, is like hanging out a red flag for every twenty-year-old within a hundred-mile radius. You need to know, though, that those twenty-year-olds just want your money and whatever they can get out of you. Think about it—why would a beautiful young girl want a middle-aged or old man? For what they can get, that’s what. I’m an authority on the subject so don’t even think about arguing.”

“I agree. Why else would I still be a bachelor at the age of fifty-four? Why are you getting so upset over something so silly?”

“Because, men grow distinguished and women just get older. Now that you brought up the subject, why haven’t you gotten married again? The odds, especially in California, of a man like you not getting married are about one in three million.” Her voice was sounding suspicious.

Lex winced visibly and threw his hands in the air. “Is this where I go out and come in again and we start over, and you go to repair your makeup or whatever women do when they cry?”

“No. What you see is what you get. I’m ready if you are.” Ariel squared her shoulders as she brushed past him. “As you know, Snookie will be joining us so I hope you picked a place where we can eat outside. Burger King will be fine. Snookie is partial to their french fries.”

Hands on hips in the driveway, Ariel stared at Lex’s pickup. “I don’t mind riding in your truck, but where is Snookie supposed to sit?”

Lex sucked in his breath. “In the back?”

“Snookie is not a job dog. She’d fall out. I keep her in a seat belt. She’s a seat belt dog. This is a problem.”