Sins of Omission (64 page)

In an instant Reuben realized her predicament. The fact that he had probably added to the strain on her budget in many ways over the past several weeks made him want to kick himself. But he wouldn't say anything; he wouldn't dream of embarrassing her more than she already was. “Maybe, but I'd have to go up on the roof to know for sure. That's impossible at the moment, but I can tell you that before this rain stops, the ceilings are going to get ruined and could even cave in. I think we have a serious problem.”

“We” have a serious problem. Rosemary couldn't think of anything to say, her thoughts were whirling so quickly.

“I think we should move you out right now, to a hotel or a furnished apartment somewhere. What do you think?”

Rosemary shrugged helplessly. Ruined ceilings, a new roof, the beds, all her treasured furniture would be ruined. It would take her years to recover financially. She had exactly $196 in the bank. She'd planned on buying some lacy lingerie, but now…“Damn,” she muttered.

Reuben couldn't control his laughter. “I didn't know you knew that word. Come on, Ro, it's not the end of the world. I'll have it all taken care of as soon as the rain stops. Smile now, this is just a temporary thing, and it's going to be only as difficult as you make it. I can't promise it'll be exactly as you left it, but…I'll take care of it.”

Rosemary's brain raced. Why not? Wasn't she past the point of formality with Reuben? Certainly he was her friend; in time he would be her lover, too—she was sure of it. Swiftly she calculated the hours she'd spent with him; day-to-day love was costly. He was just trying to reciprocate the only way he knew how. She felt her eyes fill with tears. “That's more than kind of you, Reuben. How will I ever repay you?” she asked.

“I'll think of something,” Reuben teased. “Come on, let's start getting you packed up. I know a good hotel that will allow you to have the cats, and it has suites with a sitting room, too. You'll have to have your meals out, but I can take care of that. The Lily Garden isn't far from there, and Max will be happy to accommodate you.” Reuben took her chin in his hands and stared down at her. “Will you let me do this for you?”

The rain was beginning to seep over everything as they stood there, even overflowing the meager supply of pots Rosemary had hurriedly placed everywhere. As if on cue, a solitary tear rolled down her cheek, and she melted into Reuben's arms.

“I'll take care of everything, I don't want you to worry about a thing,” he crooned into her hair.

Reuben happily settled Rosemary into the Centurion Hotel. He bustled about, checking the bathroom, the softness of the bed and the sofa in the sitting room. When he was satisfied the suite met with his approval, he kissed her good night and headed back to his own house, filled with a sense of goodwill.

 

It was a pleasant suite, Rosemary thought, the colors soft and muted. It was comfortable. She would miss her kitchen, but Reuben insisted Max would provide dinner and she was to order from room service anything else she might need. Reuben Tarz was a generous man to those he cared for, and Rosemary was convinced he cared for her. It occurred to her then that he hadn't shown her his photo albums. Although she'd been looking forward to sharing his past, under the circumstances she could understand his forgetfulness.

She twirled around the spacious suite like Cinderella at the ball. Suddenly she laughed, a delightful sound that brought the cats, who had been busy exploring their new territory, on the run. “If we were bees, gentlemen, we'd be in clover,” she told them.

On Monday morning Reuben rose early. After calling Rosemary to see if all was well, he informed her he wouldn't be in until after lunch. By noon he'd hired two contractors, one to replace the roof and the other to rip out the water-logged ceilings and whatever walls had to be replaced. New wiring would be installed. On the spur of the moment he ordered a completely new kitchen and bathroom and used the colors she had mentioned were her favorites. During the last two weeks of construction he hired an interior decorator, giving the man carte blanche.

It was during this span of time that Reuben's secretary returned. Reuben got Rosemary a job at Fox, making sure her salary was top dollar. The same week they parted professional company, Rosemary's house was finished. Reuben felt like a proud father as he walked through the house; it was perfect. He was profuse in his thanks to the contractors and beamed with pleasure as he handed over checks in the amount of nineteen thousand dollars. When the last piece of furniture was placed in its planned position, he drew a sigh of expectation. Even the new refrigerator and cupboards had been stocked with all their favorite foods. He couldn't wait to see how Rosemary would react to everything. It had taken some convincing, but he'd made her promise not to visit the house, but to wait until it was completely done.

Reuben wished there were some way he could tie the house in a big red bow for Rosemary. The thought so energized him that he leapt into his car and headed for the studio. For Christ's sake, this was Hollywood and he had a full-fledged prop department! If he wished to wrap the house in a red ribbon, he'd damn well wrap the house in a red ribbon. If his prop men couldn't do it, no one could.

Four hours later the house at 5334 Poplar Avenue was wrapped in two hundred yards of ten-inch-wide red satin ribbon. The bow resting on the side of the chimney jutting from the slate-gray shingled roof was the largest Reuben had seen. A confection. Rosemary was going to swoon with pleasure. The best cameraman at the studio had been told to snap his picture and enlarge it, frame it, and deliver it gift-wrapped as soon as it could be hand-carried.

“Well done, Tarz!” Reuben congratulated himself. He tried to anticipate Rosemary's reaction as she stepped across her new threshold. Would her response carry him to that place in his mind where he needed to be, where he wanted to be? So many years to be unfulfilled. So many aches and desires. Rosemary was going to make the difference, he was sure of it…because old feelings, remembered surges, were starting to rise to the surface.

Reuben stepped back onto the road for a last look at his handiwork before climbing into the car to pick her up. Her voice had been shaky with anticipation when he'd called her at her office to tell her what time he would meet her at the hotel. By now Rosemary's neighbors had gathered around the house and were gawking in astonishment. Reuben grinned as he settled himself into the driver's seat. The construction and the huge red bow would probably be talked about for weeks. He waved airily to a group of them, and they waved back as he swung his car into the road from the driveway. The men in the group were nodding slyly to themselves, questioning whether the man behind the wheel had ever heard the saying “taken to the cleaners.” The women were envying Rosemary and wishing the red bow were for them. Reuben was oblivious to them all, about to explode with pure happiness.

 

Rosemary carried the last of her valises to the door. She wouldn't be sorry to leave the hotel—not that it hadn't been pleasant, but she was beyond eager to get back into her own home. When he'd first come to visit her, Reuben had been amazed at her insistence upon staying in the suite at dinnertime and ordering from room service, but she'd soon been able to make him realize it was the most sensible thing. There was something that bordered on the illicit about his visits, or maybe it was the fact that he'd paid the bill for her entire stay at the hotel. In any event, she had felt temporary and cheap, and that had made her very uncomfortable. They still hadn't made love, although their kisses had begun to intensify and their conversation now held many sexual innuendos, something she tried to encourage every chance she could. She would advance just so far, but then inevitably Reuben backed off.

For this special night, Reuben said he had made reservations at the Lily Garden for dinner to celebrate both the completion of the house and also an event at the studio she couldn't even remember. What she did remember was that the entertainment for the evening was a man called Frank Sinatra from Hoboken, New Jersey. An “Eye-tal-ian,” according to Max. She had to find a way to nip that in the bud; she had no intention of going to the Lily Garden the first night she could be spending in her new house. Besides, she had other things on her mind.

Rosemary kneaded her hands nervously, her thoughts racing back over her relationship with Reuben. His problems at home and even now had to stem from impotence. Certainly she was no authority on sex, but she did know that a man's erection stayed erect until he was satisfied. Pressed against Reuben at night, as they kissed at her door and lingered, proved to her that any hardness he experienced was so short-lived as to be almost nonexistent. There was no doubt that he cared for her given his actions; and she was sure that it had nothing to do anymore with gentling the relationship along. Not too many women with healthy sexual appetites would…No wonder Bebe Tarz strayed. Now that she'd put two and two together, she felt pity for Reuben's wife. Her stomach fluttered nervously. Maybe the same thing was going to happen to her. So far this thing, this sharing she and Reuben had, was little more than a brother/sister relationship with a few kisses thrown in. She wanted more, needed more, and tonight was the night.

In anticipation, she had purchased a sheer black nightie and a set of red satin sheets trimmed in decadent black lace. They were so sinful looking she'd almost taken them back. Her breathing quickened at the thought of them naked together on those satin sheets. Now, as Reuben bent down to pick up her bags, she found it extremely difficult to act naturally. With his dark hair falling over his forehead he looked devilishly debonair, his eyes sparkling in anticipation of the surprise that awaited her. “One house coming up,” he said, and winked. “I'll come back for the other bags and you can gather the boys.”

“That's what I like, a man who makes spontaneous decisions,” Rosemary said gaily. The tremor in her voice surprised her.

There was a small knot of people near Rosemary's house when they drove up and stray passersby stopped to stare in amazement at the huge red bow perched atop the house. Reuben pulled the car into the driveway and Rosemary leapt out, her face stunned, a cat in each arm. She had to back up and crane her neck in order to stare at the red bow. “Reuben! Did you do this? I…the bow is…Reuben, you wonderful man…I love this! Oh, Reuben,” she cried, running into his open arms. “This is amazing! I know, I know, this is Hollywood, land of magic! I will remember this as long as I live. I love you for this, Reuben, I really do!”

“You ready for the tour, Miss Connors?” Reuben asked gallantly. Jesus, he felt good. Wait until she saw the inside. “Close your eyes.” Obediently Rosemary closed her eyes. “Reuben, why am I closing my eyes?” she asked coyly. “Is the new ceiling going to blind me?…”

Reuben held her arm and gently guided her through the door. When it was closed to the neighbors and all outside sounds, he took the cats from her and said, “Now open your eyes!”

Rosemary gasped in pure delight at the room before her. For hours she'd been practicing her emotional response to this moment, so that she could do justice to Reuben's efforts to please her—but nothing could have prepared her for the quiet, comfortable elegance of her new home. More than anything, she was aware of Reuben's trembling arm and the excitement in his voice as he took her on a guided tour.

“Oh, Reuben,” she cried in a tremulous voice, “you've transformed my house into a palace. It will take me all my life to repay you for this miracle. Oh! Oh!” They went from room to room, Rosemary exclaiming at every turn and laughing at the cats as they delicately examined each nook and cranny with curious heads. “You are such a darling for doing this. I've never experienced anything so grand. I love it, Reuben, I just love what you've done. All this and the red ribbon.” She stopped dead in her tracks. “I want to save it! I want the bow, but not now. I can leave it on the house for a few days, can't I?”

“Honey, you can have whatever you want. The bow is yours. When you're ready to have it taken off I'll send some of the men from the studio. Do you really like it, Ro?” Suddenly he wished that he'd spent more money, bought more elegant furnishings, but that wasn't Rosemary's style. Less is more, he'd told himself whenever his generosity threatened to get the better of him. And now he was part of something, part of Rosemary and this warm, inviting house. He felt connected, committed. This, then, in his mind, was the stable home he'd never had as a boy. Tears burned his eyes. His emotional cup was running over, and all it had taken to bring him to this moment was a comfortable love and a meager amount of money.

“Rosemary,” he said softly, “I don't ever want to hear you say another word about repaying me for this.” He fished in his breast pocket for a thick envelope and handed it to her shyly. Rosemary ripped it open with shaking hands. Then, as she scanned the paper contained within, her eyes fluttered and her knees almost buckled beneath her. “You…you paid off my mortgage. Oh, Reuben, I can't allow you to…It isn't right. I can't…How can I accept all of this? You are so good and generous. How can I ever thank you?”

“You just did. Your happiness is all I want. If doing this makes you happy, I'm glad I was able to do it.” She'd said she loved him for what he'd done. This was a new Rosemary, one who had temporarily lost control of her emotions. The thought made him feel powerful and protective at the same time.

She was cradled in his arms now, snuggled safely against his chest. And he felt so good, so wonderful…but she couldn't let anything happen yet. First she wanted to put the satin sheets on the bed and wear the new black nightie, open the bottle of champagne she'd spotted in the back of the car. If tonight was going to be the culmination of their relationship, she wanted it to be perfect…so that their togetherness was sealed.