Carpe Bead'em (12 page)

“Let’s take him for a walk,” I protest.

I have enough time to do the poor animal
justice before I leave.

“No, he doesn’t like it. Besides, I
don’t let my tenants have dogs so I can’t let them see me with a dog.” She
grabs him, and hurries back to her apartment.

I step over a few cockroaches and pick
up the iodine bottle sitting next to the hot plate.

“Put it back. Thought it was dog
shampoo.” Aunt Grace put the dog, fighting her tooth and nail, back in the
bedroom.

“Aunt Grace, tell me the truth.” The
little fellow is scratching and whining, which tears my heart out.

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“Did you take that woman’s dog and dye
its fur?”

The little poodle continues to claw and
nip at the door.

“You saw her drag that poor baby down
the road. Now I don’t want to hear another word.” Her eyes flash, and she talks
to me like I’m five years old. “You hear me?”

I let it drop for now.

“Where is Jimmy?” At least he has
brains. He’s my only hope for getting the dog to freedom.

“I told you I don’t know.” She stirs the
soup. “Probably off drunk somewhere.”

There’s no sense in arguing with her. I
know I won’t win.

“I’ll call you when I get back.” I unlock
all the locks, taking me a good five minutes. “I know you don’t want to hear
me. It’s not fair to treat a dog that way. Remember, you say I’m psychic like
my mom.”

She scuttles around the apartment
gathering a few things in one of those plastic grocery bags. Flings it over her
shoulder, opens the bedroom door and picks up the dog.

“He’s all yours.” She hands me the dog,
the bag and pats me on the back. “Have a good time this weekend. Call me next
week.”

She pushes me out the door so fast I
can’t object, my brains isn’t keeping up with hers, which is unusual. I don’t
want her to give
me
the dog. I want her to give the dog back to its
rightful owner.  I’ve never owned a dog and don’t know what to do with a dog. 

Reluctantly, I take him with me because
I know he’ll be safe at my house.

I put him in the passenger seat of my
car, but he jumps into my lap. He leaps back over the console. No matter how
fast I move my head back and forth, his licker is faster than me.

I’ll find the owner and give him back.
Only the search is going to have to wait until I get back from the spa. By
then, Uncle Jimmy will hopefully be back and know where she lives.

“Okay...” I have no idea what to call a
male dog dyed pink.

He cocks his head to the side, looking
to me for reassurance. I rub his back.

“Okay, Henry, let’s go get the girls.”

He perks up a bit. I think he likes the
name. With the top down, and Henry next to me, everything is feeling good.

Henry wags his little tail as if he
understands what I’m saying.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Circling the airport with a barking pink
dog isn’t my ideal way of getting attention. But I like all the people staring,
and smiling at the little guy.

In true Hollywood fashion, Prudence is
standing on the curb in a big floppy hat, large sunglasses, and sun dress with
wedge heels.

“Over here.” She flags me, pointing to
the curb like I don’t know what I’m doing.

If I didn’t know her, I might’ve
mistaken her for an actress.

Her face curls as I pull up with Henry
in the seat. “What is
that
?” Her nose crinkles and she points like he’s
some type of disease.

“Aunt Prudence, this is Henry.” I know he’ll
grow on her like he has on me in the last twenty minutes.

I leave Henry in the car barking and put
her luggage in the trunk. There are a lot of people coming out the terminal
doors, but no signs of Lucy and Georgia.

“Where’s Lucy and Georgia?” I ask.

“Okay first off, I bought you that Prada,
and why’s it in the trunk and clinking?” She props her hand on her hip. Aunt
Grace’s china is still in the trunk. She pulls her glasses down on the bridge
of her nose. “Secondly, they’re waiting for their luggage. Who are you, and where’s
Hallie?”

“Shut up and get in.”

Lucy and Georgia come running out the
revolving door. My strange mood turns to complete elation as I realize my
girlfriends are finally here.

“Hallie! I’m so glad to see you.” She’s
drags out her words with her southern accent she does when she’s really tired.
“I don’t think I can live another two months without you.”

“We don’t know how you do it.” Georgia
lightly pats me. “She is high-maintenance. When are you coming home?”

“Tell me about it. It’s been on a nice
break.” I roll my eyes, smile and point to Lucy.

I’m really joking. She’s never been
high-maintenance. Or maybe I’m just used to her after all these years.

“Henry.” Prudence holds up my new cute
little companion. “Meet Aunt Georgia and Aunt Lucy.”

“What the hell kind of dogs do they
raise here in Cincinnati?” Georgia’s eyes bug out of their sockets.

“I guess you’ve never seen a pink male
poodle.”  I motion for everyone to get in the car. I don’t think I can wait another
minute to start our girls’ trip. “Long story.”

None of us shut up the entire way to Hyde
Park. Henry sits in my lap hanging over the door, with his long fur flapping
like he’s been here all his life.

I let Henry out in my back yard so I can
show the girls around. They love the cottage feel of the apartment, and I am
proud of it. Even though it was already furnished, I have added a few “Hallie”
touches to make it home.

“Hallie!” There is anger in Wilson’s
voice. “What the hell, Hallie?”

Crap. Crap. Darn.
I forgot about
Wilson. I hope he isn’t allergic to dogs.

“What is this?” Wilson walks into the
room, holding Henry. “No dogs. Especially a pink one.  Orders of the landlord. Poor
guy. You should be ashamed, taking away his masculinity like this.”

I can’t think up a good excuse at the
moment. But Prudence is quick on her feet.

“First off, who said she can’t have a dog?
And
real
men wear pink.” Prudence gets into Wilson’s face.

Little does he realize who he’s messing
with. A lawyer who loves to test the laws.

“Besides, who are you?” Prudence plants
her hands on her hips.

I stand between them. “This is Wilson.
He lives in the basement apartment.” I completely forgot to tell them about
Wilson during our phone calls.

What little time we do get to talk on
the phone, I play catch-up on what they are doing without me.

“Well, well.” Lucy turns her head,
checking him out. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Georgia.” She puts her hands on
Prudence’s shoulders. “This is our single lawyer friend Prudence.”

“These are my friends I was telling you
about.” I remind him.

“Oh, the spa thing.” He nods as though
he remembers.

“According to article…”Prudence isn’t
going drop the confrontation with Wilson.

While they continue to argue, Lucy,
Georgia, and I quietly make our way downstairs to catch-up.

I tell them about Hyde Park, Aunt Grace-including
Henry, the boutique, and what little I know about Wilson. Wilson and Prudence join
us with smiles on their face. I guess they settled out of court.

“He’s a lawyer for Proctor and Gamble.” Prudence’s
eye brows lift in delight.

She gives me “the look.” The look she
gets when her hormones are on high alert for a potential mate.

“I didn’t even know that.” I look at
Wilson with surprise and a little disappointed he never told me. “You said you
worked at P & G, but a lawyer?”

“You didn’t ask.” He seems pretty
pleased with himself.

“The landlord said cute Henry can stay,
and he’ll keep Henry while we’re away for the next three days.” Prudence smiles
in a way that tells me that there’s something up her sleeve.

“I don’t know the land lord.” I conclude
Prudence’s hormones are making her crazy.

“I’m the landlord.” Wilson looks down at
his feet avoiding eye contact with me.  “The rent pays off law school debt. I
guess I failed to mention that, too.”

I can’t believe it. This entire time and
he never once said he’s the landlord.

“You didn’t tell me that either.” Now
I’m just pissed. I’ve been living here for a month and don’t know a thing about
him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“No need to. You’ve been a good tenant
so far.” He takes a Coke out of the refrigerator. “Until Henry.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Prudence picks up Henry
and turns to Wilson. “He’s going to show me around Hyde Park.”

Georgia, Lucy, and I are speechless.

Prudence caresses Henry in a Cruella Da
Ville kind of way. Thank God she isn’t into pink fur!

“Maybe we’ll get Henry a little something
from Hype Bark,” Wilson says.

We look at each other and laugh.
Prudence will do anything for the right man. She just puts a spell on them, and
they turn to mush.

I look at my friends. I can’t remember
feeling so grateful in my life. They keep me grounded.

Chapter Twenty-Four

There’s something intimate about us
driving, laughing over memories while creating new ones. It couldn’t be a more
perfect day for the drive to the spa. The road is paved with country landscape
adding to the secluded-spa feeling.

The copper dome of the West Baden tops
the trees. The entry archway welcomes us, with the brick drive leading up to
the five-star hotel that’s rated amongst the 100 most beautiful hotels in
America by Travel Magazine.

Our eyes focus on the massive veranda
running along the entire outer rim of the hotel.

“I can’t wait to drink my coffee there,”
Georgia says, putting her hand up to contain her grin.

“Welcome to the West Baden, ladies.” The
bell man opens our car doors as the valet attendant approaches. He starts to
put our luggage in the cart. “Let’s get you checked in.”

I chuckle, looking at all the luggage.
It’s a two-night spa retreat, not a one-week vacay in Vegas.

The atrium on the inside is something to
behold. Our eyes meet the ceiling. “The atrium is two hundred feet across,” the
bellman says.

The oversized stuffed chairs make me
giddy. The people look like Edith Ann, the Lily Tomlin character from
Laugh-In
.
I want to crawl in and not come out.

“I love being here with you.” Lucy wraps
her arm around my shoulder.

“Give me three months away and I’d be
fine.” Prudence says, winking even though I know she’s kidding.

“Purdy, who are you kidding? You can’t
live without the hustle and bustle of the city. Such a big talker.” Georgia
rolls her eyes, and rests her hands on her bulging baby belly.

The room is unreal. The silk bedspread
and bolster pillows are the whipped cream to a delicious sundae. The marble
flooring, granite top bar and bathroom sinks are the cherry. The bell man opens
the balcony doors to the atrium causing a fresh spa air glide around the room.

Our room is on the fifth floor of the
sixth story atrium. The lights in the center of the dome change through the
colors of the rainbow. We paid the bell-man and sat on the balcony watching the
colors for forty-five minutes.

Prudence and Georgia go off to explore
the grounds while Lucy and I go for our spa treatment.

The package includes two different spa
treatments. I can’t wait to try the mud bath I’ve heard so much about. Plus, it
gives Lucy and me the opportunity to really catch up. I can sense that something
bigger than me is going on with her and being alone gives me the chance to
question her.

The relaxation room is filled with
aromatherapy scents, tea, water and light snacks. The chairs are certainly
agreeable with the atmosphere. When they call our name to go back for our Moor
mud bath, I have to drag my body from the comfy chair.

“Do you think we’ll look like pigs
rolling around in the mud?” Lucy looks back at me. I laugh like a little girl.
I don’t know what to expect from the Moor mud bath, but I do know it’ll relax
me.

To my pleasant surprise, the bath is a
large Jacuzzi tub filled with over twenty different minerals to help soothe and
calm the spirit.

Silence hangs between us like a thick
fog. I can’t recall a time when there’s ever been silence between us. I don’t
like it. She’s always shared all her feelings with me.

“You have never been so silent.” I
glance over at Lucy who’s relaxing in her tub. Her eyes remain closed in a
restful state, making me think she’s okay.