Claire Gulliver #02 - Washington Weirdos (14 page)

“Right now? I thought you were going to get some more to eat?”

They both shook their heads.

“We’re full,” JoJo claimed.

“Will you keep an eye on Amy? You know some of the games will be too much for her?”

“I can play all the games. I can.”

“Amy, you know that some of the games, like Monopoly, are too hard for you. But I’m sure someone will want to play Old Maid or Candyland.”

Amy started to pout. “Those are little kids games.”

“Amy, you are a little kid,” JoJo told her impatiently.

“Am not!” The lower lip hung out even further.

Her grandfather reached over and pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear. She perked up considerably and followed JoJo willingly.

The waiter cleared their table, and then brought their coffee and drinks.

“Peace at last.” David sighed.

“And you only have had them for an hour or so. I had to take a nap this afternoon.” Then as if she felt guilty, MiMi explained. “Its not that they’re bad. But they just have so much energy, they wear me out just watching them.”

Claire joined in the laughter. She knew just how MiMi felt.

They talked a while about Claire’s adventures that day and then MiMi explained David was taking the girls to lunch and a movie the next afternoon while the caterers put the final touches on the party preparations.

“You’re welcome to go too, Claire, but I’m going into town. I made an appointment at a spa to have the works. And on a hunch I made one for you too. I hoped you might want to join me. It’s a nice way to get ready for the party.” Her eyes twinkled. “It’s a nice way to get ready for anything.”

“What a lovely idea. I’ve never been to a spa but I’ve certainly heard about them. I’d love to go. Thanks for thinking of me.”

“Good. We’ll leave with Charlie about 10:30. I expect we’ll be home about four or five. The houseguests will start arriving about then. We’ll have tea and cocktails in the solarium from five to six-thirty and the Gala will begin about eight. Will your dress need to be pressed? Mrs. Kramer will take care of it if you call her.”

“Thanks. Everything is fine. My dress is made out of a silk jersey and it comes out of a suitcase almost wrinkle free.”

Claire listened while David and MiMi discussed the people who were and weren’t coming to the party. It was a beautiful night. While the day had been hot and very humid, the night was warm and pleasant. The Club’s dock hung over the Chesapeake Bay, and on both sides boat slips stretched out holding a variety of cruisers and sailboats. The sun was down and the gray sky was turning to deep blue. She loved sitting there, watching the other diners, absorbing the atmosphere of a life so entirely different from hers.

“I hope you’re ready to do your share of dancing, Claire.”

“Hmm...what? I’m sorry, I guess I was drifting.”

“It sounds like we’re having more unattached males than usual. The women will have to be ready to dance, because this band is hot.”

Claire had to laugh at David’s enthusiasm. “What’s hot?”

“You know, doo-wop, YMCA, Harbor Lights, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The stuff that’s fun to dance to.”

“Well, fun for us, anyway,” MiMi admitted. “The best thing about giving the party is you can have the food you like and you can choose the music you want played. It’s the one night of the year David and I pretend we’re young again.”

“Yeah, we’ve got moves.” He swayed to the music in his head. “I hope you like to dance because this band gets everyone on the dance floor. You’ll see. We had them a couple of years ago and it was the best.”

It occurred to Claire that their party was going to be fun. She had expected to enjoy herself, but she was thinking staid, somber and posh. Now it sounded different. She tried to imagine MiMi and David on the dance floor and finally decided she would have to wait to see them.

“Well, I’m afraid I don’t get much practice dancing, but I used to love it when I was in school. I’ll do my best.”

MiMi was counting off unattached males for David’s benefit, and Claire interrupted. “Isn’t Neil married?”

“Oh, that is very sad.” MiMi shook her head.

“Now, dear. It’s his life.”

“David, I can’t help it. I worry about him. He was married to a lovely girl. Then shortly after he joined us they started having trouble and she left him. He got a divorce about a year ago. Of course, it’s his business but it’s hard enough to carry all the responsibility he does without someone to share it with. He needs someone to care about him.” She looked at David.

He nodded as if she had spoken to him. “I don’t know what I would do without MiMi. Not only does she support me, but she also lets me know if I get out of line. When you’re in charge, it’s pretty easy to start thinking you’re always right. You’ve heard of yes-men? Well, every successful person needs a no-man. MiMi is both for me.”

MiMi nodded vigorously. “It’s a hard job. Sometimes it would be easier to just agree and go on, but I can’t. He relies on me to be honest.”

David nodded. “And now Neil doesn’t have that safety valve. I was all ready to retire last year and turn the company over to his management. Then he separated and started his divorce proceedings. I became concerned about so many changes hitting him at the same time, so I decided to wait awhile and see.”

“I’m sure it won’t be long until he finds a wife. He must be considered very eligible – nice looking, good job. There are probably dozens of women lusting after him,” Claire offered. But she wondered why his wife left him.

Claire turned in front of the full-length mirror, admiring her image. She spent a wonderful afternoon at the spa. Her fingernails and toenails were a bright, shocking red. She felt her complexion glowing from the facial and her hair looked decidedly different. She always wore it short, so she wasn’t expecting the hairdresser could make much difference. But somehow she did. She convinced Claire that some blonde streaking would brighten her hair, which was turning gray, and give her hair a little more body. Then she styled it to give her that tousled look so popular these days. All and all, she thought she looked younger and more modern than she normally did. And there was going to be an over-abundance of single men. She could expect a fun night.

She smoothed the silky fabric over her hips, adjusted the heavy gold and lapis lazuli Egyptian necklace she purchased at the Museum Store in the Stanford Shopping Mall at home. She loved the way the long dangling earrings swayed every time she moved her head. Her dress was very simple, the long skirt was an A-line, and the bodice very plain with open armholes slanting toward the neck leaving her shoulders bare. Modest though it was, the rich blue and the silky fabric made it look sexy.

She stuck her foot out, admiring once again the red toenails in the little gold sandal, amazed yet again at how the shoes stayed on her feet with such flimsy straps. But, as fragile as they looked, they felt good and she was sure that, given the chance, she could dance all night.

Feeling good – no, feeling great – she sailed out of her room ready to party. MiMi and David were near the front door greeting their guests as they arrived, so Claire wandered into the drawing room. The pocket doors between the drawing room and the parlor had been opened extending the size of the room. And all the French doors were opened to the terrace. Most of the furniture had been removed and replaced with little groupings of tables and chairs extending out onto the terrace. A dance floor and bandstand had been erected on the lawn at the edge of the terrace. The band was silhouetted against the bay. And everywhere there were flower arrangements and candles, as well as tubs of flowers and burning torches placed around the dance floor and terrace. It was amazing how the house had been transformed into a fairyland while she and MiMi were at the spa.

The band was already set up, but not yet playing. Several people had arrived, gathered in clumps, drinking and schmoozing. She glanced at her watch and saw it wasn’t quite eight. She had debated wearing it, not knowing if it was still considered poor taste for women to want to know what time it was at a social function. But, as it was the best piece of jewelry she owned, she decided she was wearing it to the party.

She headed into the dining room where a long buffet table had been installed. A large bar had been set up in one corner in addition to the waiters circulating with trays of drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

She managed to capture a white wine and a delicious little morsel with a piece of lobster on top.

“Claire, hi. I’d like to introduce my husband. Barry Kirkpatrick, this is Claire Gulliver, the woman I told you I had lunch with the other day.” Marian was wearing a frothy black cocktail dress with a full skirt made for dancing. And she was wearing makeup and diamond earrings that looked too big to be real, but might be. This was an entirely different Marian than the woman she lunched with, or the woman she met at the Board Meeting. This Marian looked very glamorous and ready to party.

Barry was an attractive man, older than Marian she guessed by at least ten years. But he was a man who obviously took care of himself and, judging by the expression on his face when he looked at his wife, one who was very much in love.

Claire appreciated his firm yet gentle handclasp and his warm smile. “My wife was singing your praises.”

“Barry, do you think you could snag us a drink?” Marian asked gently. As he moved away, she leaned in to whisper to Claire, “Did you talk to Jack?”

Claire also lowered her voice in response, although there was no one within hearing range. “I did. He was going to check on the results of the investigation on Carol Daley, but I haven’t heard back from him yet. He’ll be here tonight, so whatever I hear I’ll let you know.”

Marian nodded gratefully. “I talked to a couple of our old friends with no luck. But one of them told me Carol was pretty tight with a woman living in Oregon. She gave me her number, but I haven’t been able to reach her. She seemed to think that if Carol shared any information, it would have been with her.” Barry returned just then, so she deftly turned the conversation to more general subjects.

Claire talked to several more people and was introduced to Jack Doobies. Claire thanked him sincerely for having Marybeth give her the tour of the Capital. She chatted with Amy and JoJo, admired their dresses and commiserated with them about their curfew at ten that Gramimi had set.

“She forgets we’re growing up.” Amy’s face was so solemn that Claire clamped down on her laugh, which threatened to escape. Instead she nodded seriously.

“I think grandmothers are like that. But anyway, you’ll get to have dinner and be here for the start of the dancing. It will probably get pretty boring after that.” Amy was not fully convinced.

Claire was talking to Doug, who looked very nice in his white dinner jacket, when Neil and Suzanne joined them. Neil scanned the crowd even while he talked, apparently making sure he saw everyone and spoke to all. Suzanne, in a long kelly green gown, looked completely different than her competent business persona.

“Like it?” she whispered to Claire.

Claire nodded. “Really, it’s gorgeous and it looks perfect on you.”

It did. The shining green glowed against Suzanne’s latte skin, and the long slim lines seemed to give her small form more stature.

“I clean up well, huh?” She grinned. “I don’t get to play with the big kids much, so when I get the chance I just have to go all out.”

“Well, you certainly did.”

“And you didn’t do so badly yourself. I suspect all that concern over what to wear was probably a pose. Look at you, girl!”

Their little group swelled and ebbed as others stopped to talk before drifting over to the bar or into one of the other rooms. Several of the Board Members stopped to speak to her. She met some members from the Yacht Club where they had dined, and she learned from Neil’s comments he was aggressively campaigning for votes for membership in that same club. She was able to introduce some of MiMi and David’s houseguests to the people she knew from Vantage, having met them earlier in the day.

Jack finally joined them, nattily dressed in a black tuxedo. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Traffic problems?”

“No, just checking the grounds with Wiley,” he murmured low for her benefit, accepting a non-alcoholic drink from a passing waiter.

A flash of white caught Claire’s attention and she turned her head just in time to see Amy racing through the dining room towards the kitchen.

“Oh, oh, I think we have trouble.” Claire hurried after Amy not waiting to see if anyone was following. Through the kitchen door she saw Tuffy standing, tail swinging in circles, watching Amy approach. Before she reached him, he playfully turned and dashed across the kitchen, oblivious of the people and the activity taking place.

Claire watched in horror as he ran right between the legs of a tuxedoed waiter, who had just accepted a large chafing dish from one of the chefs. The scene looked as if it had been choreographed for a movie. The waiter, holding the heavy dish, turned toward the dining room, tripped over Tuffy and crashed to the floor, the contents of the dish spattering hot green glop everywhere.

As awful as that scene was, Claire’s gaze was riveted elsewhere. Her eyes locked on the man in the chef’s hat who had just handed off the chafing dish to the waiter. His face reflected surprise, which then turned to horror. His eyes never left her face as he backed up, turned and abruptly left the kitchen through the side door to the garden.