Down and Out in Flamingo Beach (20 page)

“And you feel differently now that you've learned I am an educated man who just prefers working with his hands?” He had to ask and needed to know, a lot hinged on Joya's answer. He had decisions to make that might, he hoped, include her.

“I feel good that my intuition hasn't led me astray. I feel proud that a fine mind like yours hasn't been wasted. I like the complete package, both the exterior and interior. I like you,” she said.

Derek held her chin in his hand, tilting her face upward until they were staring into each others eyes. “I'd hoped that you were at a point where you more than liked me. I hoped my feelings would be returned.”

A spark of something flashed in her eyes. Surprise maybe? He remained on pins and needles awaiting her answer.

“Joya?”

“I care about you, Derek. It really hit home when I was at the cocktail party with someone else and you were with another woman.”

“We've wasted a lot of needless time then,” Derek said, kissing the top of her head. “We should remedy that.”

“How so?”

“Only one way to do that, love.”

He took her hand and began steering her up the hallway. She went with him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. When he began helping her out of her dress, she did not protest.

All of Derek's pent-up feelings were released when they made love. He spent a full forty-five minutes helping her unwind, massaging her body, and kissing every exposed inch of flesh. He inhaled Joya's essence before burying himself inside her. Together they found a comfortable rhythm until, on a high, they exploded together.

“That was wonderful, love,” Derek said when he slid out of her, rolled over and wrapped his arms around her. He burrowed his nose in the hollow of her shoulder. “Tell me it was good for you, too.”

“Better than good,” she said sleepily, yawning. “Perfect. Will you spend the night?”

“I'd love to,” Derek said, a thought worrying his mind. “You mentioned earlier that the fire in your granny's place started with a cigarette but neither of you smoke.”

“You would have to bring that up,” she grumbled. “I was trying my best to forget about it.” She yawned again.

“All of your sales help smoke. Could be one of them.”

“Ex sales help you mean. And no, I didn't know they smoked.” He could tell from her voice she was wide awake and alert. “And you're thinking that it might be…”

“Current sales help smokes, too. When I was working on the shops next to yours they'd congregate out back and have a cigarette with my guys.”

“All of them?”

“Every last one of them.”

“And by chance do you know what kind of cigarettes they smoked?”

He thought about it for a moment.

“All I remember was a green-and-white pack. I remember on several occasions they tried to get me to join them.”

“This may be a good lead. I'll call Lionel and Greg tomorrow,” Joya said, excited although she stifled another yawn. “Right now, I just want you to hold me.”

And he did. In Derek's mind he was holding Joya forever.

J
oya awoke for the second time that morning to find it pouring outside. She'd made love to Derek earlier as the rain pelted against the window panes and the waves crashed against rocks. He'd left right before dawn, citing a long day ahead of him. He'd wanted to get an early start with the preparations for Nana Belle's birthday. And he'd been worried, because if the rain didn't stop the rented party tent would be too small.

Realizing she would be late, Joya poured coffee into her travel mug and grabbed an umbrella. Taking the cup with her, she drove like a mad person to the store. Granny J already had the shutters up and was waiting on her first customers. Any conversation was tabled until the customers completed their transactions and left.

“Did you have a good time with Dr. Ben?” Granny J asked the moment they were out of sight.

“He is very attentive.”

Gran raised an eyebrow and waited. “That's it? No chemistry, as you young people say?”

Time to change the topic. “Did you know your sales people smoked?” Joya asked.

Gran shrugged. “As long as I'm not inhaling their smoke, what's it to me?”

“I'm about to call Lionel and Greg just to be sure they know, too.” Joya added.

Granny J sucked her teeth. “You would think they would already know that much. I've called the insurance company. They're going to send an inspector out.”

“Well, we'll just close the door until the inspector shows up and does his assessment.”

“Okay by me. The burning smell's almost gone. I opened all the windows.”

Still euphoric over how last evening had ended, Joya went off to call Greg. She was fortunate enough to find him at the precinct and shared with him what Derek had told her.

“We've spoken with LaTisha and Deborah,” he said. “They have alibis and we've talked to the people they were with.” He sounded complacent. That irritated her.

“What about Portia?”

“She was interviewed during the quilt incident and came up clean. We can talk to her again. I'll get back to you,” Greg said before hanging up.

Joya returned to the outer room to find several customers browsing. On the verandah, another group was going through the centennial quilts, oohing and aahhing. If business continued like this they might have to stay open later than usual.

Joya had asked Portia to come in, so that she and Granny J could leave at a reasonable time to get ready for Nana Belle's party. Now that she and Derek had resolved their situation, she was excited about attending, and couldn't wait to see the elderly woman's reaction when she got her first glimpse of that quilt.

“Phone for you,” Granny J said, handing her the new portable. “Last evening must have gone better than you thought.” There was a twinkle in the old lady's eye, a glimmer of hope.

Joya stabbed her index finger in the air. “Don't you dare start up, hear? Hey sweetie, I missed you,” she said into the mouthpiece.

“That's a reassuring greeting and most unexpected. How are you?” Kyle Benjamin said.

Disappointment washed over her. His was not the voice Joya wanted to hear.

“I couldn't be better. Things are a bit busy here, but busy means money so we'll take it.”

“I had a very good time last evening. You're excellent company,” Kyle said.

“Thank you and so are you.”

“I realize this is late notice but would you consider attending tomorrow's unveiling of the bronze flamingo; the one given to us by the President to commemorate the city's hundredth anniversary? The ceremony takes place in the town square and there's a luncheon afterward. I would be delighted if you went with me.”

She would have to turn him down diplomatically.

“It's very nice of you to ask,” Joya said, “but I'm afraid I have to say no. I've agreed to attend most of the festivities with someone else. Thanks for thinking of me though.”

“What a lucky man he is. Should something change, please give me a call.”

Granny J had been shamelessly eavesdropping.

“You let him down nicely,” she said.

“Gran, Kyle Benjamin is a nice man but it's just not happening here.” Joya tapped her heart. “I already know that and I don't want to mislead him.”

“It's Derek, isn't it?”

Joya nodded. “He makes me feel like a princess. He makes me feel so loved.”

“Nothing wrong with following your heart,” her grandmother said wisely.

Age and experience talking, perhaps it was time to listen. She'd already had a failed marriage and a couple of hard knocks. It had taken all that to make her realize that what you saw wasn't always what you got.

The phone rang. Thinking it was Derek, Joya grabbed it up. “Are you sitting down?” Greg asked.

“Should I be?”

“We've apprehended a suspect and we're bringing others in.”

“Anyone I know?”

Greg cleared his throat and Joya prepared herself for whatever was coming.

“Your employee, Portia, broke when we told her we'd found a cigarette stub the same kind as she smoked. Of course, we were bluffing since we didn't know her brand. She began spilling the beans before we could even read her her rights.”

“That sweet little girl who was going off to college was responsible?” Joya asked in shock.

“Not so sweet, she was in collusion with the other two employees, the ones you fired. They got one of their gang-member friends to break the window as a warning to you. But it was Portia who left that window open so the same thug could enter the store and vandalize it. And it was Portia who intentionally dropped that lit cigarette in the stock room. The others dared her. She was so desperate to be liked by that bunch of losers that she followed through.”

“Maybe I will sit down,” Joya said, sitting heavily. “I'm having a hard time processing this information.”

Greg continued, telling her what she needed to do to prosecute the suspects. Joya's head was spinning by the time she hung up. Wait until she told Derek about this latest development. But first she had to let Granny J know what had happened. It was her store after all. She hoped her gran would not be too devastated by the turn of events.

“Do what you need to do,” Granny J said, her eyes moist when she'd heard the story.

“I will as long as you're okay with it. I propose we close up shop and head home. We have a long night ahead of us.”

“And to think I was helping pay that child's tuition,” Granny J said, dabbing at her eyes with a hankie.

So that was another reason her grandmother had taken out an equity loan. What an ungrateful piece of work that child was.

Joya took her grandmother by the arm. “We'll party hearty tonight in celebration of those good-for-nothings being caught.”

Granny J remained silent. She was already busy pulling cash from the register and bustling around the store to close. Joya had to admire the older woman's resilience, but then again she'd probably seen everything and heard everything twice. It was she who was a true survivor.

 

Hours later, feeling refreshed from a nap and a long shower, Joya swung by Granny J's house to pick her up. Gran was standing out on her little porch, looking pretty in a champagne-colored silk pantsuit and a jaunty hat. A feather in the hatband fluttered in the breeze. Joya thought she looked especially festive, rested and in the mood to celebrate her friend's birthday.

Needing a pick-me-up, Joya had splurged on her way home, stopping to buy a dress from one of the new boutiques. She'd spent way too much money, but she wanted to look especially nice for Derek. And she wanted to reward herself. It had been one tough week.

“Ready to go, Gran?” she called as she climbed from the driver's seat.

“No need to come get me, I'm not some old lady that needs a helping hand. My ankle is all healed and my heart's on the mend, thank you,” Granny said, coming down the two little steps with a bounce to her walk and sliding into the front seat of Joya's sporty car. “Maybe we can take the top down and arrive in style.”

Joya pushed a button and the convertible roof slid back. A balmy breeze cooled them instantly. Granny J grabbed her hat so it wouldn't blow away.

The going was tedious as they meandered through congested streets, slowing to watch the action. On this second day of the centennial celebrations, pedestrians were out in full force. Clowns juggled and performed outrageous antics on the sidewalk, musicians strummed instruments and artists painted caricatures of tourists. Costumed entertainers roamed and panhandled.

Finally they arrived at Nana Belle's house, although initially Joya whizzed past. It didn't look a thing like the house she remembered, gone was the white façade and the decks that went off in crazy directions.

This house was painted coral and the deck railings and trim were a complementary beige color. There were huge window walls instead of old crank-out windows, and there were silver balloons and a huge sign that said Party Within.

She'd never seen so many people in her life. They filled the decks and overflowed the porch. In the front yard, people sat on folding chairs sipping from little paper cups. And laughter and music came from the area where a decorated white tent had been erected.

“I'll drop you off here, Gran, and be right back,” Joya said, temporarily double parking because there was no choice.

“You're treating me like an old lady again,” Granny J groused.

“You
are
an old lady,” Joya teased the woman she loved even more than Derek, but in an entirely different way.

Granny J made a face and got out. Joya waited until her grandmother was inside the yard before moving off. She followed the signs for the huge public outdoor lot where beach traffic normally parked during the day. To her surprise and amazement, white-clad attendants waving flashlights beckoned her in. Derek had cleared it with the city to take over the lot. After circling a couple of times she found a spot.

If she'd anticipated such a far walk she would never have worn heels. What to do now? Both a golf cart and jitney with striped awning pulled up at the same time. Joya gratefully sank into the golf cart and was whizzed away in style to the party.

Derek waited out front and she felt her stomach flutter and her palms grow damp. Just the sight of him made her want to jump his bones. He came over to help her out and planted a kiss on her lips, complete with plenty of tongue.

“Your grandmother told me you were parking. I thought, rather than you having to find me I'd come meet you.”

“You think of everything.” She stood on tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck.

Another kiss followed. Joya could feel the eyes boring into their backs. Who cared? Eventually they separated. He twined his fingers through hers and started guiding her inside. “How about I get the cake and gifts out of the way before Nana gets tired? If she slips away quietly, bet you anything this crowd continues to party.”

“Good plan. I'd like to say hello anyway, and wish her happy birthday in private. Perhaps we can give Nana our joint gift now. It would be nice to share her history as the other gifts are being opened. I'll help you hang the quilt on the wall behind her. Not many of us will live to be one hundred.”

“You and I will,” Derek said, sneaking another kiss before he led the way inside. Joya didn't dare hope. She'd accept it for what it was.

Delicious smells came at her when Derek stopped by the kitchen to give the catering staff a heads-up. He wanted cake and champagne to be brought out in fifteen minutes.

At last they left to find Nana Belle.

The centenarian was seated in the great room on a chair that had been specially made for the occasion. She gazed out to sea, smoking her usual cigarette. Her throne was covered with a satin slipcover, the type tied with a bow. It had glitter sprinkled all over.

At her feet were her senior citizen friends. Occasionally she bobbed a wobbly tiara at them to let them know she was listening.

Granny J and Ida Rosenstein who lived at Flamingo Place toasted her from little paper cups which they kept sipping on. Joya strongly suspected those cups held scotch.

Joya greeted the centenarian while Derek headed off to get their gift. Soon he returned with the quilt on a hanger. Where he'd found the gigantic ribbon and bow he'd wrapped the quilt in was anyone's guess.

“What you got there, boy?” Nana Belle asked, lighting up yet another cigarette, which none of her buddies seemed to mind.

“A gift from me, Granny J and Joya,” Derek said, taking the cigarette from her and passing it to one of the guests to put out.

“Oh!” She sounded pleased.

Derek, with the help of Granny J, unfolded the quilt and placed it on Nana Belle's lap. Her fingers were too arthritic to maneuver the material so they smoothed it out, holding up some of the blocks. She wheezed loudly and her rheumy old eyes filled with tears. Joya feared she might have a heart attack.