Mad About The Man (20 page)

"
Does it?
"

"
Uh-huh.
"
There was no question of not kissing that soft, white skin on the side of her neck, and he did so now.
"
And my sheets would complete the picture.
"

"
Jacques,
"
she said, very low, but there was little reproach in her voice.
"
You shouldn
'
t have done this.
"

"
Yes I should.
"
He spun her around.
"
You told me about the f
ruit theme yesterday—in the ma-
drone—and I wished
I had some beautiful symbol of
your enthusiasm to lay on your skin right then.
"

Her eyes were luminous.
"
I haven
'
t said I
'
ll keep it.
"

"
But you will.
"

"
I
'
ll think about it. In the meantime, thank you, Jacques. Thank you
so much for making me feel spe
cial. It
'
s been a long time since
…
Well, thank you.
"

Shaking her gently, he lifted her chin with a knuckle.
"
If it
'
s been a long time since a man gave you beautiful things it
'
s because you haven
'
t let anyone get close to you. I
'
m glad you haven
'
t. But if you wanted a line of males begging you to receive their favors you
'
d only have to crook a little finger, my love.
"
Perhaps he only imagined that she looked troubled but he experienced an unwelcome twinge of apprehension.

She fingered the gold collar.
"
I
'
m really not sure I should accept this.
"

Illumination dawned.
"
Are you afraid people around here will think you
'
re selling out on them?
"

Her heightened color gave him his answer.
"
Not really.
"

Jacques made a decision.
"
Will you come to L
.
A
.
with me the weekend after next?
'
'

"
L
.
A
.
?
"

"
Yes. You know—that city
you don
'
t really like too much anymore.
"

"
I know what you mean by L
.
A.
'
'

"
Will you come?
"
The surprise on her face was no act. He
'
d have to talk fast if he hoped to persuade her.
"
We
'
d fly, of course. Mae could come along and visit her father while you
'
re with me.
"

She looked increasingly doubtful.
"
I don
'
t think that
'
s such a great idea.
"

"
Why not?
"

"
We
ll…
I wouldn
'
t want Michael to think—
"
She bit her lip.

"
You
'
ve been divorced for seven years, for crying out loud. Does he live like a monk?
"

"
I doubt it.
"

"
That
'
s that angle covered, then.
"
The thought that Gaby hadn
'
t been involved with a man since her husband brought enormous pleasure.
"
Has Mae been in a chopper before?
"

"
A helicopter?
'
'
Gaby shook her head.
"
Neither have I.
"

"
You
'
ll both love it. And she
'
ll be able to tell all the kids in school about it.
"

"
I really don
'
t know,
"
Gaby said.
"
I
'
ll have to think about it.
"

At the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut again, Jacques had to stifle a groan. Within seconds Mae McGregor tore into the room, dropping miscellaneous articles on the way.
"
Hi, Mom. I got a hundred on my spelling quiz. Mrs. Delany says I should enter the sp
elling bee in the spring. Mary-
Alice Healy is a pain. She
'
s mad because she didn
'
t get a hundred, and—
"
Mae stopped.
"
You
'
re here again,
"
she said to Jacques.

"
I certainly am. I came to see you and your mother. How was your visit to your dad
'
s?
"

"
Great. He and his friend took me to this really neat place where only grown-ups go. They sit on stools drinking weird-colored stuff and looking around. Dad laughs about it. He says they
'
re all looking to see who
'
s looking at them.
"

"
Sounds like a lot of fun.
"
To Jacques it sounded anything but fun.
"
Is his friend nice?
"

Mae considered.
"
She
'
s okay for a bimbo.
"

"
What?
"
Gaby said.

"
Dad says Toby
'
s okay for a bimbo but he
wouldn
'
t want to make a habit of her. She makes great ice cubes, though.
"

Jacques didn
'
t dare look at Gaby.

"
She
'
s got these shaped trays she keeps in Daddy
'
s freezer for when she comes over. Mouths and hearts and elephants, teddy bears. Toby likes them in her pop and she lets me have some.
"

"
It was nice of you to come over, Jacques,
"
Gaby said. Her eyes had turned a dark, glittery green.
"
We
'
ll talk again soon.
"

If he wasn
'
t careful, he wasn
'
t going to make all the points he
'
d intended to make today.
"
We sure will. Wait here a minute. There
'
s something I want to do before I leave.
"

Gaby followed him into the hall, her hands clasped in front of her.

Breaking the silence, Jacques said,
"
Stay right where you are.
"
At the door, he hesitated.
"
You will think about L
.
A
.
? About coming with me?
"

A mutinous frown brought her fine brows together.
"
If I go, Mae won
'
t be with me. She won
'
t be visiting Michael again until I
'
m sure the situation
'
s suitable.
"

"
You
'
re so right. It
'
ll be the perfect opportunity to check that out. Wait there, okay?
"

"
Okay.
"

Jacques opened the door, poked his head out and gestured extravagantly.

"
Are you all right?
"
Gaby asked from behind.

"
Great!
"
He faced her again.
"
Nev
er
better.
"

"
Good.
"
Gaby rocked from her heels to her toes and back.
"
Was there something else you wanted to say?
"

"
The necklace looks wonderful on you.
"

"
I probably shouldn
'
t keep it
.
"

"
Don
'
t
…
Please don
'
t start that again. You
'
ve already accepted it and that gives me great pleasure.
"

"
It
'
s not right for me to take gifts from you.
"

He glanced out the door again.
"
I forced it on you. Leave it at that.
"

"
Jacques, you
'
re behaving very strangely.
"

"
I know. I mean, no I
'
m not.
"
He bent to smile at
Mae, who had come to stand beside her mother.
"
Mae, close your eyes.
"

When she
'
d done so, he threw open the door and waved Ozzie Odle into the entrance hall.

"
Oh, Jacques,
"
Gaby moaned.
"
Get that out of
here!
"

"
Open your eyes, Mae. I brought you a present.
"
The child promptly obeyed. For an instant she was
speechless. Then, crooning and clapping her hands, she dropped to her knees.
"
Oh, he
'
s
beautiful.
Wait till I show him to Mary-Alice.
"

Gaby stabbed a finger in Jacques
'
s direction and moved her lips silently. Finally, with obvious effort, she said,
"
A pig?
"

H
acienda Heaven
wasn
'
t Gaby
'
s favorite watering
hole, but today was Tuesday. On Tuesdays she and Char came to Barney
'
s for burners because Char loved them.

"
I think he
'
s a doll,
"
Char said, sucking the last of a margarita noisily through her straw.
"
He obvi
ously wants to make you happy.
"

"
By dumping a pig on me?
"
Gaby said morosely.

"
A piglet,
"
Char corrected.
"
And he even supplied a little house for it.
"

"
A sty, not a house. Pigs live in sties.
"

"
Snap him up while you
'
ve got the chance is what
I say. If you don
'
t, someone else will. The man
'
s obviously ripe for romance.
"

And so was Gaby.
"
He is special,
"
she admitted reluctantly.

"
Way to go!
"
Char batted Gaby
'
s arm. The weekly margarita invariably loosened her inhibitions even more than usual.
"
Seven years as a frustrated female are enough.
"

"
Who says I
'
ve been frustrated?
"

Char ignored the question.
"
Go to L
.
A
.
with him. What have you got to lose?
"

She
'
d already lost her heart.
"
Nothing.
"

"
And don
'
t make such a big deal out of the Toby thing. Michael wouldn
'
t do anything to hurt Mae and you know it. He adores that child.
"

"
He didn
'
t want her.
"

"
He does now. Quit changing the subject. Go to L
.
A
.
with Jacques. You
'
re already in love with him.
"

Gaby took away Char
'
s straw.
"
You don
'
t know that. Don
'
t say it again.
"

"
Because it
'
s true?
"
Char held up a hand.
"
All right. I won
'
t say it again.
"

It was true. Perhaps she should come clean with Jacques about having seen the fax and ask him to reconsider seeing Napoleon Paradise. She didn
'
t know for certain he
'
d
been dishonest with her on Sun
day. Not completely. He probably did have to speak to his parents next Saturday and he simply hadn
'
t thought to mention Napoleon as well.

"
Will you go?
"
Char wheeled.

"
Maybe.
"

"
It
'
s the right thing to do.
"

"
You
'
re probably right.
"

Barney, polishing the bar to stay within hearing
distance, put down his cloth and grinned.
"
Well, as I live and breathe, if it isn
'
t Sophie Byler.
"

"
Sophie?
"
Gaby a
nd Char said in unison, turning
to see their friend, her back very straight, marchin
g
toward them.

"
Good day to you, Barney.
"
After placing her purse precisely on the
bar, she hitched herself onto a
stool like a woman who had never sat on such a contraption before—which she probably never had. Sophie disapproved—often loudly—of bars, of Barney
and of the Hacienda Heaven.
"
Leprechaun audi
tions,
"
she said clearly.

Gaby looked at Char.

"
Leprechaun auditions,
"
Sophie repeated.

"
It
'
s all right, Sophie,
"
Gaby said kindly.
"
Something
'
s upset you. Tell us about it.
"

Sophie clenched an
d unclenched her hands in her
lap.
"
It
'
ll be like the
bumper cars at a fair, only re
versed.
"

Char left her stool and went to put an arm around
Sophie
'
s shoulders.
"
Would you like some water?
"

"
No! He
'
s holding auditions for leprechauns for] his horrible park. Don
'
t you understand?
"
Sophie be
gan to shake.

"
Sophie—
"
Bewildered, Gaby shook her head.

"
There
'
s going to be a
bar for testing how tall the
applicants are,
"
Sophie continued, her eyes glassy.
"
Only instead of having to be taller than the bar
—
like it is when you want to ride on the bumper cars
—
you
'
ll have to be shorter if you want to be hired as one of Ledan
'
s leprechauns.
"

"
I see,
"
Gaby said slowly. He
'
d said he was willing to discuss his plans before rushing ahead.
"
When exactly are these
auditions?
"

"
Barney.
"
Sophie opened her purse.
"
I
'
ll take a pail of margaritas, please.
"

"
That
'
s a bucket,
"
Barney corrected.

"
You don
'
t drink,
"
Char told Sophie.

"
When?"
Gaby persisted. Her stomach cramped. If she
'
d already eaten a burner there
'
d be reason to suspect food poisoning.

"
Weekend after next,
"
Sophie announced.
"
Saturday and Sunday at the old fire station.
"

"
Oh, dear,
"
Char said.
"
That
'
s the weekend Gaby
'
s going—
"

Gaby brought a small fist down on the bar.
"
I
'
m
not
going to
.
LA. Sneaky rat All he wants is to stop me from being around to interfere with his plans. Barney!
"

"
Yes, Gaby.
"

"
We
'
ll have that bucket of margaritas.
"