The Carson Springs Trilogy: Stranger in Paradise, Taste of Honey, and Wish Come True (114 page)

“Make me beautiful for when I meet the queen,” Gerry told the stylist, whose own hair was in cornrows strung with beads that clacked softly as she bent to retrieve her scissors from a drawer.

“Are you practicing your curtsy?” Laura wanted to know.

“I thought I had it down the other day—until I lost my balance and landed on my ass.” Gerry let loose a throaty laugh. “Think her royal highness will mind having to bend over so I can kiss her hand?”

Everyone in town had to know by now that she was to be presented at the royal court in London, the first stop on Aubrey’s European tour. It was all she’d been talking about for weeks.

“Why don’t you bring her a jar of honey? That ought to sweeten her up,” Laura suggested with a laugh. Gerry seldom missed an opportunity to give out free samples of Blessed Bee. You knew her friends by the jars of honey lining their kitchen cupboards.

“It’ll take more than honey to sweeten up that old bag.” Norma slathered more goop onto Gayle’s head. “Though don’t go telling her I said so.”

Gerry snorted. “Are you kidding? I’ll be lucky to get two words in.”

“Sure you don’t need a guide?” Gayle offered, only half jokingly. Her agency was known for its tours, which were advertised in the brochures Anna saw everywhere she went. A stack on the coffee table caught her eye now. Printed in bold letters across the topmost one was UP AND AWAY TAKES YOU DOWN UNDER!

“Oh, I think we can manage on our own.” Gerry wore the small-cat smile of a newlywed. “All I ask is that you guys keep an eye on the kids while we’re away.”

“Andie’s welcome to stay with us,” Laura told her.

“Believe me, she’d love nothing more … if it weren’t for the lure of lording it over Justin.”

Gayle eyed her in amazement. “If we left our girls on their own, there wouldn’t be anything left of the house when we got back. You sure you know what you’re doing?”

Gerry shrugged, snippets of her black curls drifting onto the floor. “They’ll be at their dad’s both weekends. And Claire’s promised to look in on them at least once a day. Besides, I can’t go on treating Andie like a baby. She’s sixteen … as she never gets tired of reminding me.” She winked at Anna. “Wait till you have kids, you’ll see. Changing diapers is the least of it, believe me.”

“Don’t I know it.” Sam rolled her eyes.

Anna felt a pang.
Would
she ever have kids? She glanced over at Laura, who was staring off into space, wearing an odd look. Anna wondered if she was thinking about the babies she would never have. Poor Laura. She’d tried so hard with Peter, and then to have him dump her for a woman who got pregnant right away …

Just then Laura cleared her throat and said, “While we’re on the subject, ladies, you might as well be the first to know …” A beatific smile spread across her face, and Anna felt her heart leap thinking,
She’s pregnant.
“Hector and I have decided to adopt. A baby, that is,” she quickly added, no doubt in reference to Finch.

“Goodness.” Gayle sat up straighter.

“Oh, Laura. That’s wonderful!” Anna jumped up and threw her arms around her friend. Okay, so maybe she was a little hurt to be only just now hearing of it, but mainly she was thrilled. No one deserved this more.

“My friend Sally’s daughter adopted the cutest little boy,” Norma put in. “Everyone says he looks just like her.”

“Ours’ll look more like Hector.” They were looking to adopt a baby from Mexico, Laura explained. The agency had warned that it would be a long process, but Hector’s being a native would help.

“Finch must be excited,” Anna said.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Laura said. “And Maude … well, she’s over the moon. It’s the only thing she talks about besides the calendar.”

Maude wasn’t the only one talking about the nude calendar put out by her sewing circle. The whole town was buzzing.

“They should’ve asked me to pose.” Norma waggled her hips and ran a hand through her rooster-feathered hair. “I’d have given folks their money’s worth.”

“I was at the shoot. It was a riot,” Laura told them. “You should’ve seen Maude—wearing nothing but a hat and pearls.” She chuckled, shaking her head.

“You’ve got to give it to those gals. It takes guts to bare all when it’s all going south.” Gerry pushed up her boobs for emphasis.

“When I’m in my eighties,” sniffed Gayle, “the only thing showing will be my roots.”

Anna reveled in the exchange. So this was how women talked when they weren’t holding back. All her life she’d been the fat girl people politely tiptoed around. No one talked about dieting, much less how they’d look naked. Even the subject of marriage and children was kept to a minimum. Had she really changed that much?

Minutes later, she was seated in front of a mirror.

Norma went to work in a flurry of snipping. No one spoke; they were too transfixed by the sight of the butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Even Gerry was silent for a change.

When Norma was done, she switched off the blow-dryer and stepped back, Botticelli unveiling the
Birth of Venus.
“Not bad, if I do say so myself.”

A hush fell; then Laura said softly, “Oh, Anna. You’re beautiful.”

Hair that had hung limply to her shoulders now fell in breezy layers to just below her ears. Its natural curl made it look slightly windblown in a Meg Ryan-ish way. Anna turned her head this way and that, gazing at her reflection with the wonderment of encountering a long lost twin. “Hello,” she mouthed silently, her eyes filling with tears. It wasn’t just her hair; her double chin was gone, and cheekbones had begun to emerge where there’d been only chipmunk cheeks. It made her eyes look larger and more luminous.

“Norma, you’re a genius,” Gayle breathed.

Norma smiled as though she didn’t need to be told. “Like I always say, why pay a fortune in Beverly Hills when you can get the same thing here for forty?”

“Her own mother wouldn’t recognize her,” Gerry said.

Half the time she doesn’t anyway.
But Anna pushed away the thought; she didn’t want to spoil the moment. “I hardly recognize
myself
,” she said, unable to tear her eyes from the mirror.

Gerry dug a makeup kit from her shoulder bag and went to work. The end result wasn’t as dramatic as the haircut; it only amplified the effect. There was no question that the days of being mistaken for Liz’s mother, as had once happened with a nearsighted clerk—easily Anna’s most embarrassing moment in recent years—were behind her.

She rose from the chair feeling lighter somehow. “I can’t thank you enough.” She hugged Laura. “It’s the best birthday present anyone’s ever given me.”

“For those of you who are still celebrating.” Gayle gave a rueful laugh.

At that moment Anna felt all of sixteen.

“Ladies, this calls for a celebration.” Norma darted from the room, reappearing moments later with a bottle of chilled champagne and a stack of paper cups. She poured some for everyone, including Myrna McBride, who’d strolled in just as she was popping the cork.

“To beauty in all its many manifestations,” Laura toasted.

Anna lifted her cup. “To your baby.”

“To a fabulous trip.” Gayle glanced at Gerry.

Gerry grinned, raising her foaming cup. “God save the queen!”

The drive didn’t seem as long this time. She wasn’t exactly eager to see Monica, but the prospect of even a few minutes alone with Marc made her feel less anxious. Was this fixation on a man she barely knew unhealthy? Was she on the verge of becoming a bunny boiler, like in
Fatal Attraction
? Well, at least she
looked
presentable. In honor of the occasion, she’d splurged on a new pair of slacks and a cotton sweater in a shade of blue that matched her eyes.

Before she knew it, she was turning off the Coast Highway onto the steep drive that wound uphill to Pathways.

She’d timed it to arrive just as the morning groups were wrapping up. Marc usually headed back to his office before lunch and she hoped they’d have a chance to talk. She grew lightheaded at the thought, a pulse leaping at the base of her throat. Her legs felt weak, as if she’d spent the past two hours pedaling uphill, as she climbed from the car and set off along the path, pausing only to smooth her hair and dry her sweating palms on her slacks.

She was nearing the main building when she spotted him heading in the same direction along a different path. He paused, as if trying to place her, before striding over to greet her. “Anna.” Her hand was engulfed in his warm grasp. “I didn’t recognize you at first. Your hair …” He seemed momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly recovered. “It looks nice.”

“Thanks.” She fingered the ends self-consciously, her cheeks warming.

“You’re just in time. Your sister should be down any minute—she’s in her room packing.”

His blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he spoke. She’d forgotten just
how
attractive he was. He was wearing jeans and a white oxford shirt rolled up at the sleeves. His tan socks matched his brown bluchers, she saw.

“Actually,” she said, “I was hoping to have a few words with you.”

“Why don’t we step into my office?” He gestured toward the main building, and as they strolled together along the path, Anna felt as if her feet were barely touching the ground.

They reached the entrance, and she caught her reflection in the plate glass door: an attractive woman with head held high. She thought,
Okay, so I’m not hideous. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s married.

They passed through Intake, where a nurse was distributing meds in paper cups to several patients, then turned down a carpeted hall. Marc unlocked a door at the end, and she stepped into a small book-lined office with a view of the grounds, over which an iridescent mist from the sprinklers shimmered. She lowered herself into the chair opposite his desk, a framed photo of a slender blond woman astride a bike catching her eye. His wife? Anna felt a pang at seeing how pretty she was.

He sat down across from her, leaning back in his chair and propping a leg on the opposite knee. “You’re probably wondering what to expect.” It was a moment before she realized he meant Monica.

“Well, yes,” she said, though that wasn’t what she’d wanted to talk to him about.

“She’s eager to get home, that much I can tell you.”

“I know the feeling.” She smiled, then dropped her gaze. “No offense.”

He chuckled. “Family week tends to have that effect.”

“Is she—is there anything I need to watch out for? You know, like …” She caught herself, realizing that was the old Anna talking, and smiled ruefully. “Sorry. Old habit.”

He nodded, seeming to take it in stride. “Old habits die hard.”

“Do you recommend slow starvation or a bullet to the head?”

He cocked his head, smiling. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

She cleared her throat. “Actually, there’s something else I wanted to ask you. It’s about my mother. I’ve been thinking it’s time to …” She faltered, guilt creeping up on her. But from the look he wore it was obvious he wasn’t judging her. “I’ve called a few places,” she went on, the image of her mother in some dreary institution, doped into a stupor, looming in her mind. Logically, she knew they weren’t all like that, but … “The worst of it is, I don’t even know if it’s the right decision.”

“I’m sure you’ve given it a lot of thought.” His voice was gentle and reassuring.

“That doesn’t change how I feel.” Her gaze drifted to the window. Outside, the grass sparkled in the noonday sun, as inviting as one of the posters in the window of Up and Away. She wished she could be transported to somewhere far from here.

“Which is how, exactly?” he asked like any good shrink.

“Like the world’s worst daughter.”

“Have you discussed it with your sisters?”

“Liz is all for it.” And why not? She wouldn’t have to feel so guilty about not helping out. “I don’t know about Monica. I haven’t talked to her about it yet.”

“You don’t sound too optimistic.” He regarded her intently, his face illuminated by the sunlight slanting through the blinds. She noted the deep lines bracketing his mouth and the smaller ones like notches in the corners of his eyes. He’d known his share of suffering, and that made her like him all the more.

“I already know what she’ll say since it’d be coming out of her pocket.”

“I see.” He’d clearly spent enough time with Monica to know why Anna didn’t feel too optimistic.

“I was going to talk to her about it on the ride home,” she said. “Unless you think it’d be better if we discussed it here—with you.”

But he only smiled and said, “I think you can handle it on your own.” She didn’t know whether to feel complimented or mildly put in her place, as if she should have known better than to ask. “Remember, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

“Such as?”

“Be prepared to make good on any consequences.”

Anna sighed. “I threatened to quit once. You can see how far it got me.”

“I’m not sure that working for your sister is such a good idea to begin with.”

“Are you kidding? It’s a terrible idea,” she said with a laugh. “Believe me, if there was a way out, I’d leave in a heartbeat. But right now I can’t afford it.” When Marc didn’t offer any further advice, she went on, “Just in case Monica decides to cooperate, I made a list of the homes in our area. I was hoping you could give me some guidelines. You know, what to look for … and what to look
out
for.”

He was silent for a moment, as if mulling it over. Then he surprised her by saying, “It’d probably be easier if I went with you.”

Anna suddenly had trouble catching her breath. Then the enormity of what he was offering hit her, and she stammered, “That’s … well, that’s extremely generous of you, but … I wasn’t asking … I mean, you’re so busy and all … I couldn’t possibly—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish. “I have a conference in Santa Barbara next Friday. I should be free after lunch. Is that good for you?”

“N-no. I mean, I … yes, that’s fine.” If Monica refused to give her the afternoon off, she
would
quit.

“Good. I’ll put it on my calendar.”

All at once she felt overheated despite the cool, ocean-laced breeze blowing in through the window. Was he just being nice, or was there something more to it? She found herself blurting, “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”