To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (29 page)

“
So if I’m not crazy now, I
might be in the future. Is this some form of proactive managed
care?”

Michael attempted to put his arm around me.
I pulled away.

He turned back to the bar
and picked up his drink. “Someday maybe you will tell me your
stuff.”

“
There’s nothing to tell,
Michael.”

His face was very serious
while he studied me. “Well, when you’re ready, I’d like to hear
your story. I’ll be a good listener.”

“
I have something for you,”
I said, eager to change the subject.

I ran out to the living
room and searched under the tree for his present. My father had
agreed to the raiding of his junk drawer, approving of the idea
that I was not purchasing a gift for Michael. I carried the small
box with a very large bow on it ceremoniously into the
den.

Michael grinned like a
five-year-old when he saw it. “But we can’t open them, yet,” he
told me, frowning. “I have the night all planned for us, and I want
to find the right moment.”

“
Sure, Michael. If that’s
what you want to do.”

***

The right moment came some
time later, after our dinner of kung pao chicken and eggrolls. I
was in the middle of telling Michael about the wonderful
relationship between my aunt and my cousin, when he pulled out a
small box and placed it on the table before me. It was one of those
silver boxes with the fancy white bows; the kind that usually came
from jewelry stores.

I handed him his snow
globe, then took the small box from his hand. Michael tore into the
wrapping and threw the paper on the table. Opening the box, he
threw his head back and cackled loudly.

“
This is great. I love
these things.” He shook the globe about to make the snowfall over
the New Orleans skyline. “Snow in New Orleans.” He pointed to my
gift. “Your turn.”

I swallowed hard and started to unwrap the
box. I was pleasantly surprised. It was not an ornate gift, just a
very simple pin with the initials RN.

“
I thought it was something
you would be able to wear in the future, when you finish
school.”

“
Michael, it’s wonderful.
Thank you. It’s the first nursing token I’ve ever
received.”

“
I was sure your family had
probably plied you with loads of nursing stuff. When I was in
medical school, every year I got medical-themed gifts. I got sick
of seeing a caduceus before I even graduated.”

“
I haven’t received any
nursing gifts from my family. They are just a bit resistant to the
idea of me going into nursing.”

He waved his arms about
dramatically. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with nursing?
You’ll have a good profession with lots of opportunity. You’ll make
good money and be self-reliant. Isn’t that every parent’s
dream?”

“
Not my Dad’s. He wants me
to carry on the Beauvoir Scrap Metal business. He thinks I’m
wasting my time.”

“
Well, I’m proud of you.
Nursing is tough. I know. I work with nurses every day and I see
what they go through. I’m sure your father will come around, once
he sees you out there making it on your own.” He patted my hand. “I
know it must make struggling through your studies difficult when
your father is not supportive of your career choice.”

“
Now you sound like a
psychiatrist.” I held up the pin. “Was this to open me up and find
out more about me?”

“
No. Now you’re being
suspicious. I thought it was something you would like. That’s all.”
He held up his hands defensively. “Nicci, I’m not out to analyze
you.”

“
Sorry. You know, the only
reason my cousin and aunt feel I’m in nursing school in the first
place is to catch a husband.”

Michael roared with
laughter. “Boy, could I tell you some stories about that. Do you
know how many women my mother has set me up with in the past year?
Don’t ask. She tells everyone I’m a doctor. It can be more of a
hindrance, than a help. That’s the one thing I liked about you from
the beginning. You didn’t care if I was a doctor or not.” He leaned
back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. “I find
you very refreshing, Nicci. You don’t know how rare that is these
days.”

Once, his words would have
cut straight to my heart. Now, they just numbed me further. David
had said the same thing that day we went fishing in the park,
centuries ago. Why couldn’t I put him behind me?

Chapter 17

Michael decided we should
skip the movie. We parked outside of the movie theater and spent
the entire time talking. Well, Michael talked, mostly.

“
I was a prankster in
medical school. I used to play a lot of practical jokes on everyone
in my class. I was real popular. One night, we snuck into the
cadaver lab and rearranged all the bodies in the tanks and then….”
He went on and on about his days in medical school. I got the
impression he wished he were still there.

Michael also spoke at
length about his practice, and how he spent his days at his
office.

“
These women come to me,
looking for a little of the forbidden fruit. I’m this good-looking
physician that they seek out to tell me of their lurid affairs and
sexual escapades. A lot of them try to shock me, but very few do.
They are very generous with their affections. One patient even
bought me a gold Rolex. I had to return it, of course, but it was a
real beauty. And the cars some of these women have; it blows me
away.”

His eyes lit up, and his
voice quivered with excitement, when he spoke about the wealth he
had seen. I had witnessed the same reaction many times before, in
people who were introduced into our circles. They became enamored
by the money, the power, and the exuberant lifestyles of the
flamboyantly rich. I made a special effort to shield myself from
all those who only sought to use my name or money as a battering
ram to open doors previously closed to them.

“
I mean, I can find their
conversations pretty boring,” Michael continued. “Sometimes, I
actually find myself doodling in my notebook. However, I have met a
lot of people, and have had some great opportunities over the past
few months. It’s worth putting up with the tedious escapades of the
socially prominent and sexually frustrated housewife.”

“
You sound bored. Why don’t
you go back to the hospital and do something else?” I asked, half
listening to him.

“
No, I can’t go back to
that. I prefer what I do now. My client base is growing. Most of
the housewives I deal with are telling their friends. Soon, I might
have half the female population of New Orleans in my office.” He
laughed triumphantly. “For the first time in years, I’m not getting
suicide calls in the middle of the night.”

***

It was after twelve, when I
stepped in the door of my home. Michael followed me inside,
inviting himself in with the pretense of making a fire to warm
me.

“
Why don’t you find us some
brandy? We’ll sit in front of the fire and get cozy. I didn’t
realize you were so cold, sitting in the car. You should have said
something.”

“
You never gave me the
chance,” I muttered under my breath.

I left him in the living
room, piling logs on the hearth. When I returned, he was lounging
on the sofa and an inferno was burning in the fireplace.

“
It’s nice and big,” I
admitted, trying to remember where my father had placed the fire
extinguisher.

Michael grinned, taking the
snifter of brandy from my hand. “Yeah, I used the whole bottle of
lighter fluid to get it going.”

I sat down on the sofa next
to him, holding my glass. “So you’re a pyromaniac. Any other little
secrets I should know about?”

“
Nah.” He pulled me closer
to him. I nearly spilled the brandy all over him. “I don’t have any
secrets.”

“
That’s
reassuring.”

“
This is much better.” He
gave a long sigh, settling his arm around my shoulders. “I’ve
wanted to be alone with you all evening.”

“
You have been alone with
me all evening.”

“
I mean not around people.
Some place private, where we could be away from prying eyes.” His
eyes lingered on the portrait above the fireplace. “In that
painting, you seem so intense. It’s like you’re concentrating with
everything you have, to make something happen. It’s a very good
portrait of you, but I think the artist got the eyes wrong. You
almost look as if you are possessed.”

I scoured the painting,
thinking in a strange way, Michael had been right. I had been
possessed at the time.

“
Who did it?” Michael
probed.

“
I knew an artist. He
worked for a friend of the family. He did it for me.” I figured the
more the lie was based in fact, the better.

“
He was pretty
good.”

I could tell his attention
had shifted from the portrait to me. “You have an appreciation for
art?”

“
No, I’m not an art buff. I
mean, I like it on the walls and stuff, but I would never buy it.
One of my clients has been trying to teach me about art. She brings
me books and tells me all about her affairs with artists.” Michael
grew silent. His fingers started playing with my hair, and then his
lips teased the nape of my neck. “Nicci,” he whispered, kissing my
earlobe.

He turned my face to his
and started quickly kissing my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, and
then my mouth. He groaned as he smashed his lips harder against
mine. I felt like I should’ve been excited by his attentions, but I
wasn’t. His kisses were cold and wet. There was no desire in me, as
his hands groped eagerly along the outside of my dress.

“
I really want to make love
to you right now,” Michael mumbled in my ear.

“
So my father can come
downstairs and see us on the sofa? What type of flowers would you
like at your funeral?”

He stopped kissing me.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I got carried away. You just do something
to me.” He feigned a shiver.

I was not flattered. “I
don’t feel comfortable doing this here.”

I shifted my attention to
my portrait. I felt as if David was watching us.

“
I understand. Next time
I’ll take you to my place, and then we can be alone. In fact, for
our next date, why don’t you come over? I’ll cook us a great
dinner. I’m one hell of a cook.”

Turning back to him, I
forced a smile. “Sounds wonderful.”

Michael stood and pulled me
up from the sofa. He put his arm around my waist and escorted me to
the front door.

“
I’ll call you after all
the Christmas stuff is over. Hey, and don’t make any plans for New
Year’s. I’ve been invited to this real swank party at the Hilton.
You are going to be my date.” He collected his coat from the
entrance hall closet.

I knew the “swank” party
had to be BeBe Comeaux’s New Year’s bash. She always held her party
at the Hilton by the river. It was an exclusive guest list. I
wondered how Michael had been invited.

“
Have a Merry Christmas.
I’ll call you.” He kissed me again. Then he was out the door and
off to his car.

I closed the front door and
waited to hear his Porsche’s loud engine race down the drive. I
turned off all the downstairs lights and lay down on the living
room sofa. Contemplating the flames, as they danced about in the
fireplace, I caught the fire’s glow on the portrait above. The
colors moved in the shadows of the canvas. Those alluring eyes—my
eyes—came alive in the flickering light.

“
Do you really want to see
this man again?” I asked my portrait.

I thought back to the past two nights I had
spent with Michael, replaying his conversations and his attentions
over in my head.

“
It doesn’t really matter
who I’m with,” I admitted. “Maybe Michael can help me to forget
about….” I left the name unspoken.

***

Every Christmas Eve my family would get
together at a designated home for holiday cheer and exchanging of
gifts. This year it was our turn to host the party, so I spent the
day cooking and getting the house in order.

By seven, we were ready for
the invasion. Hattie and Uncle Ned were the first to arrive… along
with a tray of stuffed crabs. Uncle Ned never liked being late. It
made me wonder why he ever married Hattie. If Hattie was known for
any of her many eccentricities, it was her ability to be exactly
one hour late to any function.

Val was the next to join
our party, bringing her favorite champagne with her. It was chilled
to the exact right temperature, naturally.

Hattie and Ned chatted with
my father at the bar while Val followed me into the
kitchen.

“
You look like hell. You’re
too thin,” she scolded, as we walked through the kitchen
door.

“
Thanks, Val. There is
nothing like family to tell you the bitter truth.”

She ignored my comment.
“Any news from him?”

I shook my head.

Val raised her silver
eyebrows at me. “Your aunt tells me you are seeing some shrink. Is
that wise?”