Edwina (13 page)

Cecelia called three times. Another call came
in for a book request. Most of her friends thought she knew exactly
where any one book would be at any given time. She wrote down the
title. The last call was from Cecelia.

“Edwina, I’ve called
several times today, where are you? I need information on the
couple from Scotland. It seems they’ve moved up my appearance
on
Oprah
, and I
have to let the producer know guest names. The couple called once
and left a message, but I can’t seem to find their telephone number
anywhere.”

Wincing because she still
had not heard from the couple, she tried to think what to
do.
Check the mail
first
. A quick run down the stairs, Edwina
gathered two days’ worth. She’d forgotten about it
yesterday.

There in the middle was a
letter with her name on the front of the familiar stationery—the
paper he had written on from his pocket, one and the same in style.
She smelled the cream colored envelope and opened it quickly. They
were most excited to come to Chicago. And to be on the show... they
would be delighted to be of assistance, especially since they were
receiving several free nights at
Cecelia’s
Place
.

Edwina wanted to dance. She picked up the
phone and related the good news to her sister. “They will be here
the first of September,” she said excitedly.

“What? The first of September! My show has
been moved up several days. I need them here no later than August
20.” Cecelia’s voice raised.

“But you said September... I wrote them the
dates.”

“Ed, you’re not listening. The show has been
moved ahead of schedule. I’ve told you that three times.”

“That’s barely three weeks from now.”

Edwina could hear the tapping of Cecelia’s
pencil in the background.

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

“Call them, or better yet, give me their
number. I’ll talk them into coming early.”

“No.” Edwina hesitated. She didn’t want the
elderly couple left to her sister’s mercy. Cecelia could unglue any
normal person... no, she couldn’t allow it. “I’ll take care of it.
You’ve got enough to do.”

Strangely enough, Cecelia settled for her
suggestion. Her sister was a control freak from the get-go.

“Good, but don’t write. It’ll take too long.
Get their phone number, it’ll be quicker. We don’t have that much
time. I need them here by the twentieth, Ed.”

Edwina knew her sister was right and
hesitated.

“Make the long distance calls at my place.”
Cecelia knew her very well.

“All right . . .” Edwina felt cheap, knowing
she didn’t want to spend the money when Cecelia could better afford
the charges. And she hadn’t seen her sister since she’d returned
from Scotland.

“You have the key to my new place, don’t
you?”

“New place?”

“
Ed, you know I moved up a
floor into the bigger condo, don’t you? Where have you
been?”

“Sorry, I guess I’ve been in my own
world.”

“Yes, I guess you have. Why don’t you come
tonight? I’ll give you the key, and you can make your calls. Spend
the night. I’ll be here for another hour or so—I have a short
meeting, but I should be back in time for the news. You can see my
new condo, and we can gab about your trip.”

“Now?” Edwina knew she whined. She’d planned
for a simple supper and a good read tonight.

“Suit yourself.”

Edwina hated it when she said that because it
always worked. As soon as she turned a situation over to someone
else, that someone else knew Cecelia was right and went along with
her.

“Okay, I’ll be there, but I’m coming like I
am.”

“You always do.” Her sister was smiling, she
could tell.

“Yeah, and you always get your way,” Edwina
said grumpily. She could tell Cecelia wanted to argue that point.
Twenty minutes later, she was on the way. It was less than a
two-hour drive to Chicago in good weather. Thank goodness it was
Friday. The drive was so familiar, Edwina made it in record time.
She’d packed a small bag, with a new pair of summer pajamas, and
walked out of the house in less than half an hour. She hadn’t seen
Cecelia’s new place and needed a key for emergencies, because
Cecelia was always losing hers.

She rode the elevator up, then realized she
hadn’t asked what the new apartment number was. Pushing the button
to the floor above her old place, she got out and snooped around.
Should she knock? There were only three doors down the hallway,
whereas the other levels had at least ten. The walls had been newly
plastered and painted a soft taupe.

“Pick one, Edwina. This can’t be too
hard.”

Before she could lay her hand to the door’s
buzzer, it opened. “Forgot to ask, didn’t you?” Cecelia gave her
the usual European hug, a kiss on each cheek without actually
touching.

“Yep.”

“Come in. You look tan or something. Have you
lost weight?”

Edwina winced. She asked
that
every
time.
“Does every- body have to be as skinny as you? Who would notice you
then?”

“That wasn’t nice,” Cecelia said.

“No, it wasn’t. But really, I get tired of
people thinking someone has to be beautiful, powerful, and skinny
all at the same time.”

“Well, well, what have we here? A memorial
for the downtrodden? You just look thinner, that’s all.”

Edwina shook her head. “Got your extra key? I
don’t want to forget it.”

“Yes.”

Edwina slipped it into the secret compartment
of her bag.

“So this is all yours, huh?” Edwina tossed
her bag on the cream-colored overstuffed pristine sofa, one of four
matching ones forming a perfect square, and slipped off her shoes
near the door. “Nice. Very nice... and huge. What do you do with
all this space? You’re hardly ever home.”

Her sister shrugged. “Yes, the entire floor
is mine. I had the builders knock out several walls to make this
larger space. I like it and can afford it. Why not? Did you bring
the letter?”

“Sure did.” She laid the letter in her
sister’s perfectly manicured fingertips and wandered around
touching all the beautiful things while her sister read.

“Are you jealous yet?” Cecelia looked up as
she slipped the letter back into the envelope.

“
Jealous? Are you kidding?
I’d like something a bit roomier, but nothing like this.” She waved
her hand. “I wouldn’t know what to do with all this space. And who
cleans? Obviously you don’t have time to vacuum, scrub toilets and
mop floors . . .”

“Well, if you must know, I allow one of my
tenants a reduction on his rent, and he cleans for me every other
day.”

“He?”

“He.”

“Every other day Cecelia? Why so often?”

“I have guests. Important guests. I have made
this a showplace for those who want to make their space look as
elegant as this, so they can see how it’s possible in an older,
architecturally sound building such as this one. It can be done,
Edwina, and I think the best way is to show people what they can
achieve. The upper floors will be condominiums and the lower three
rented out as B&B rooms, which, by the way are decorated in
European style.”

“Makes sense,” Edwina admitted.

“Of course it does, dear, or I wouldn’t be
where I am today.”

“That’s true Cecilia. Got anything to eat? I
skipped supper tonight, so I could get here at a decent hour.”

“I’ll send out. What would you like?”

“We can eat in.”

“Ed, I’ll send out. I want to spend the time
talking about your trip, not in the kitchen, and how we’re going to
get the good Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie to the United States in time
for the show.”

“Okay, you’re right.”

“Would you stop saying I’m right?”

“Okay, okay.”

“How does pizza sound? Or sushi.”

“As in raw fish? How can
you
stand
that
stuff?”

“
Pizza then? I know a great
place. It’s just down the street.”

“Sounds good to me.” Which
sounded very much like,
You’re
right
.

They decided on toppings and crust and
Cecelia placed the order, complete with drinks, dessert, even the
unexpected—mints. Cecelia made sure she got her money’s worth, but
then so did she. In that one way they were alike.

“Now sit down. Quit fidgeting and tell me
about your trip. The one I missed.”

The words
quit fidgeting
slammed
into her mind. The Scot and Bertie had said the same thing to
her.

“Helllooo... anyone at home?” Cecelia was
waving her arms wildly.

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

“Obviously. Now tell me, did you enjoy the
plane ride?”

“Well, it seems that the hotel will only keep
your room for several hours... and since my plane was late...”

“Didn’t you call ahead and tell them your
flight was late and to hold the room?”

“No... I didn’t know then that I needed to...
I just thought they’d hold it.”

“Ed, the upscale hotels do not work like
that. They’re constantly turning over guests, you know.

“I know that now, but then I didn’t. Besides,
I was so tired I could barely think straight. All I heard was that
I didn’t have a room. If it hadn’t been for the Scot... Mr.
Dunnegin, I think I would have ended up on the next plane
home.”

“There’s always a way around, things, Ed. You
just need to travel a bit more.” Cecelia made her point.

“What happened with Mr. Dunnegin?” Cecelia
slipped off her elegant crème satin heels and curled her slender
legs beneath her matching crème skirt.

“
Well, I noticed him on the
plane. He is really handsome, Cece. You should have been there to
meet him.”

Cecelia smiled her gorgeous smile.

“Anyway he ended up behind me at the hotel
counter. He was there to rent the Bridal Suite. He came to my
rescue. Anyway, he took me to his castle for the weekend and—”

“Stop right there. You went to his castle?
And you didn’t even know the man?”

“What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t get
past the guy at the counter. Mr. Dunnegin took full responsibility
for me, and we left.” Edwina purposely did not tell her sister that
she’d fainted. She knew she’d never live that down.

“So he was good looking, yes?”

“Very. Rich, too.”

“Anyone that owns a castle is rich.” Cecelia
stated the obvious.

“So, his fiancée was waiting, and he’d just
flown home to be with her. She was beautiful, Cecelia. Movie star
beautiful. From Spain. Her name was Ilana Mamara.”

Her sister was leaning closer now.

“So did the Scot—what was his name? Did he
treat you well?”

“His real name was Mr. Alexander Dunnegin of
the Castle Dunnegin. Laird Dunnegin, Bertie called him”

“Who is Bertie?”

“Oh, she’s the head housekeeper. She was
formidable at the beginning, but we ended up friends. We even
laughed together the day I left.”

“Laughed? Housekeepers aren’t usually given
to laughing in Scotland.”

“Well, we did. And once or twice I even had
the Scot laughing. You should have seen him in full Scottish dress
for his birthday party. Kilt, sword, everything. He was—is— very
handsome.”

“
Well, did the he and the
woman, Ilana, marry while you were there?”

“No. She left the last day. He told me before
I left that they’d parted ways.”

Cecelia had a dreamy look. “Just like in a
book or a movie, huh?”

“Yeah, it was dreamlike all right. I walked
the hills one evening, and oh Cecelia, it was so beautiful.” Edwina
stared off into space.

“Well, tell me about the tour. Did you just
love it?”

“Oh yes, I loved all the locations. But then
you know me. I don’t like to be rushed. I love to see everything,
look it over, take my time. When the tour bus stopped, we’d get
out, walk for what seemed like miles, get on and off, walk and
walk. I had blisters the size of dimes.”

“Oh, that bad, huh? It was the best tour, the
most expensive, and I scheduled plenty of time for massages,
exercise, and beauty treatments.”

“I know. But that’s you, not me. Anyway, it
couldn’t be helped. And I am sorry you didn’t get to go, Cece. It
would have been perfect for you.”

“Oh, don’t worry. As you can see, everything
worked out. I might have missed the chance to buy this building had
I not been here at the right time.”

“That’s a good way of looking at it.”

“So, did you see the Scot before you left to
go back and thank him?”

“I did see him for a few minutes.” Edwina did
not want to go into details about the offer he made because if she
did she knew she’d be in Scotland tomorrow morning.

“For goodness’ sake you didn’t thank him? The
man put you up in his castle. Do you know how expensive it is to
stay in a castle, for even one night?”

Edwina shrugged. “I did thank him the day he
left, but I guess I should have written a thank you note or
something.”

“
Or something indeed. Come
on, pizza’s here. Let’s eat, and we’ll get down to business about
the Gillespies.”

They went back and forth for the rest of the
evening. Cecelia insisted that Edwina place a phone call to the
Gillespie’s number, but it was four o’clock in the morning in
Scotland and Mr. Gillespie was woken. Edwina left her number with
him along with an apology.

“Well, let’s go to bed early. I have a
meeting at seven and after that you and I are going shopping.”

“Shopping? You know I hate shopping in
Chicago.” Edwina whined. Her sister would drag her from one huge
store to another, nothing of which she could afford to buy, even if
she wanted to.