Call Me Lydia

by MaryAnn Myers

  Lydia stood up and walked over to the window. "This is getting ridiculous," she said, as much to herself as them. "I'm not going to die."

  "But..." Jan said, sniffling.

  "No, I mean it," Lydia said, turning. "This is ridiculous! The whole thing. I don't want you giving it another thought. You were right the first time. It was just an obscene phone call. If he calls you back, just hang up on him. No, better yet, patch him through to me, because this is really starting to piss me off. I mean, dead animals are bad enough. But this…."

  "Dead animals?" Reed said, only knowing about one.

  Tony nodded and held up two fingers, and had Lydia and Jan not been there, he would have added how the second one wasn't road kill like the first. It appeared to have been shot. He looked at Jan. "What else did this guy say?"

  "What?!" Lydia turned livid with his asking that, all but shouting, "I don't want to hear what else he had to say!"

  Tony shouted right back at her. "Then leave the room! Because I do!"

  Jan cowered, looking from one to the other.

  "Go ahead," Tony said.

  Jan cleared her throat, hesitating. "He just kept repeating the same thing. That Lydia was going to die. And that it would be soon and horrible."

  "Yeah, yeah," Lydia said, walking back and sitting down. "Because I don't belong here. Isn't that ironic? Consid­ering how I've been told all my life that this is exactly where I belong."

  Tony braced his elbow on the table and ran his fingers through his hair. "Did you recognize his voice, Jan?"

  Jan shook her head.

  "Then okay!" Lydia said, wanting this to end right here and now. "We don't know who it is and we don't care, because it doesn't matter."

  Tony drew a frustrated breath. "It does matter, Lydia. And thinking it doesn't isn't going to make it go away."

  "Why not? What else can I do?" she said, looking into his eyes. "Don't you see what'll happen if they know they can get to me?"

  "But they have gotten to you. Don't you see?" He gently tucked her hair behind her ear, his voice softening. "They have. And denying it isn't the way to handle this."

  Lydia swallowed hard, and for a brief moment, the two of them just looked at one another. Then Jan started crying again. "There's something else I should tell you. I should have told you before."

  Lydia turned to her.

  "The accounting report, the one Dan Morris gave you…."

  Lydia knew what she was going to say before she even said it. "He tried to get me to take it back. He told me...."

  Reed couldn't believe this. "You took it?"

  "Oh no!" Jan gasped, darting her eyes from his to Lydia's. "I could never. But I should've told you sooner. I don't know who took it. I don't! I just….”

  Lydia reached across the table and touched her arm reassuringly. "It's okay. I understand. I don't want you wor­rying about it. All right? I don't want you worrying about any of this. Put it out of your mind totally. Nothing will come of it."

  "But."

  Lydia smiled. "No, no but's. Now please, go back to work or something. Nothing's going to happen. I'm sure of it."

  Jan nodded agreeably, leaving, and Lydia took on one of her father's traits, talking in a poised manner, but with her nostrils flaring slightly. "It’s one thing to be harassing me, or even you, Reed. But Jan...why her? And for what? For nothing."

  Reed started to say something, but she threw her hand up. Whatever it was, she didn't want to hear it.

  Tony wasn't so easily silenced. "For nothing? You got somebody tracking you down with dead animals, making threats on your life, and almost get run over... and you say it's nothing?"

  "Right," Lydia said, just as positive as could be. "Because it's all unrelated. I'm sure of it. And like I told you before, when I'm sure of something, I'm sure. It's as simple as that. So let's treat it as such."

  Tony shook his head, sighing in exasperation, and Lydia reached for the phone. "The first thing I have to do is get a car." She dialed information for the number of Diamond Im­ports, and a moment later, much to Tony and Reed's astonish­ment, she proceeded to buy a car over the phone.

  "I'll want it delivered, preferably this morning," she said, pausing to listen. "What kind? Uh…." She looked at Tony. "What kind do I want?"

  He shook his head. Everything was at her fingertips. "Shit, I don't know. Make it a Porsche."

  "I'll take a Porsche. A convertible. Do you have one in red?"

  "Well it just so happens that I do," the salesman said. "It came in just a few days ago."

  "Good, then I can have it this morning?"

  "Possibly, if we can get financing out of the way. I'll just need to get some information."

  Lydia told him that wouldn't be necessary. "I'll get you a check. Just give me the amount."

  "Will there be a trade-in?"

  Lydia hesitated. "Um...yes, my Mercedes. I'm sure you have a file on it."

  "What's the mileage?"

  "Mileage?" Lydia looked at Tony with a puzzled expres­sion on her face, one that had him shaking his head and smiling.

  "Forty-seven hundred."

  "Forty-seven hundred," Lydia relayed.

  "Are you sure that's not forty-seven thousand?" the sales­man asked.

  "Positive. I hardly drive it."

  "All right, but I'm going to have to see it, to come up with…."

  "Excuse me a minute." Lydia asked Tony to tell him where they could find the car. "Wait till I leave though," she said. "I don't want to hear anything about it."

  Tony nodded, and she got back on the line. "When you come up with the amount I need, call my bank. It's First National, the east branch. And ask for a...a..." She couldn't remember Richard Robert's name. "Uh, just ask for the manager."

  Reed chuckled to himself when she said that. Who but Lydia would do something like this, and who but her could pull it off?

  Tony wasn't amused, however. He was shaking his head again. He reached for the phone. When Lydia left, he gave the salesman the location of her Mercedes, saying he had the keys and would give them to him when they delivered the new car.

  "She amazes me!" Reed said, when he hung up. "She just bought a Porsche without batting an eye, and she never even asked the price!"

  Tony propped his elbow on the table and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about that himself, then sat back. "Like I was saying, those parts...."

  Reed came down out of the clouds with a heavy sigh, and while Tony explained how these parts differed from the ones that showed up earlier, Lydia returned, looking totally preoc­cupied.

  "And no one knows where they came from?" Reed asked.

  Tony glanced at Lydia as she sat down next to him. "No, but I didn't exactly drill everybody, if you know what I mean."

  "Still, you'd think somebody would say something," Reed said.

  "Why? Because they're reworking a part?"

  Reed nodded,

  "Come on, Will, it's always the other shift's fault. You know that. They don't think twice about it. And a finished part's the same when it gets to assembly, so who would question it?"

  The intercom buzzed, and Lydia reached for it blindly, knocking the receiver off the hook. Reed picked it up and handed it to her. "It's Richard Robert," Jan said. "Line five."

  Silence.

  "Lydia? Are you there?"

  "Yes, I'm sorry," Lydia said. "I've got it, thanks." But when she went to switch over, Tony pulled her hand away.

  "You all right?" he asked.

  Lydia nodded, with a forced smile, and greeted Richard Robert as if she hadn't a care in the world. "Good morning!"

  "Good morning to you too! I'm calling to confirm your intent to have a check drawn for thirty-seven thousand dollars to Diamond Imports."

  Lydia hesitated replying. "Yes, that's my intent." From the way she'd said it, one would think she'd been giving it thought, perhaps wondering how they came up with a price without seeing her car first, as the salesman indicated was necessary.
But she hadn't. In fact, it hadn't even entered her mind. She was thinking of other things.

  "Then I'll have it drawn up right away. I just need to know which account you want it taken from."

  "I don't know. How many do I have?"

  "Three."

  So how was she supposed to decide? "Take it from the one with the most, I guess."

  "All right. But while I have you on the phone, let's not forget Philip. He's very anxious to do some good for you."

  "I know. I haven't forgotten." As if she could think about that now. "Can you have the check sent over by courier? I'll need it here when they deliver the car."

  "No problem. The salesman's picking it up on the way."

  "How nice," Lydia said. "I'll have to thank him." She hung up and phoned Betty. "What time does Dad go to the cem­etery?"

  "Afternoons, Miss Lydia, bless his heart."

  "How's he feeling?"

  "Good! Long as I don't tell him that. It jess makes him mad. You's be wantin' to talk to him?"

  Lydia glanced at Tony and Reed, both watching her curiously, and wondered if she'd said something strange. Why were they looking at her like this? "Um... no, I’ll try to stop by later though," she told Betty. "Let him know for me, okay."

  "Yesmmmm, Miss Lydia."

  Lydia hung up and grabbed her purse. She had to get out of there. Everything was closing in on her. "I need a car. I can't wait for mine to be delivered."

  Tony started to reach into his pocket, but she stopped him. "No, not yours! I uh…I don't want everybody to talk." She turned to Reed. "Let me use yours."

  Reed handed her his keys. "Do you know how to drive a stick shift?"

  "No, but I'll figure it out."

  Reed gasped. "Lydia!"

  She stopped at the door. "Just kidding, Reed. Of course I do." She motioned with her hand. "Isn't a stick shift that thing that sticks up out of the floor?"

  Reed's eyes widened. She laughed, reassuring him she was only kidding, then looked at Tony. "I'll be back in about an hour."

  "You want to tell me where you're going?"

  "No, but don't worry. I'll be right back."

  Driving across town, the closer she got to where she was headed, the more hesitant she became. By the time she turned off Vine Street and went through the gates, her hands were trembling. She pulled past the mausoleum, taking the direction from memory, even though she'd only been there once, and parked off to the side. She sat there for a moment.

  In her mind, she could see the funeral. The hearse. The coffin in the back. Her father, Betty, George, her aunt, and her uncle. The flowers. And she could see a little girl. A little girl who refused to get out of the car. Refused, because though a young woman now, she still wanted her mother. And she wanted this all to be a bad dream, one she would awaken from.

  She hesitated. If she didn't get out now, much the same as then, she knew she never would. So she took a deep breath and opened the door...and really meant to get out. She really did. She just couldn't do it. All she could do was lean her head back and stare at the hill.

  Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. "Well, here I am, Mom," she whispered, praying to God she could hear her. "It's me...Lydia." Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry I’ve come here like this. I just didn't know where else to go."

  * * *

  After another stop on the way back to the plant, Lydia returned a little after one. Reed made her laugh when he went over and looked out the window to make sure his car was still in one piece.

  "So did I miss anything while I was gone?" she asked.

  "Well, I talked to Julius. I guess he'd been trying to reach you and gave up and asked for me. I quoted him a price."

  "The whole assembly?"

  "No, just the initial machining. What we run now."

  Lydia nodded, acknowledging that, then left and, in pass­ing, picked up her messages from Jan. There were the three from Julius that Reed had referred to, all saying how he needed to talk to her right away, and several from Bob Miller, stressing some urgency also. It was the one from Greg that disturbed her.

  Tony had just checked the parking lot for the third time since she'd left and was headed back to the shop, breathing easier now that she'd returned, when there she was, walking toward the stairs with her head down, reading the messages.

  "Lydia...."

  She looked up, smiling as he walked over, and for a moment, absolutely nothing seemed more important than the way he was looking at her.

  "I was getting worried," he said.

  "I'm sorry. I thought I'd be right back, but then I...."

  She trailed off and sighed. "I went to the cemetery for a while. Then I went and bought a gun."

  Tony looked into her eyes. "They show you how to use it?"

  Lydia nodded, wrapping her arm in his, and without another word, they walked up to the conference room.

  "Our Julius Randall called," Lydia said, putting her purse on one of the chairs. "Reed quoted him a price. Bob Miller called too."

  Tony took the messages from her and, after glancing through them, laid them aside and sat back on the table, pulling her close.

  Lydia wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here," she said when he kissed her.

  He kissed her again. "Don't worry." He lowered his eyes to her breasts as he ran his hands down over her hips, pressing her up against him. "I'm not going anywhere."

  Lydia's breath caught in her throat from the look in his eyes. There'd be no denying him this time. Nor did she want to. When he slid his hands up underneath her sweater, she allowed him anything he wanted. "Yes...Tony, yes...." she whispered, with her mouth on his.

  Jan walked in on this. "Oh my!" she gasped and swung herself around. "I'm sorry! I should've knocked."

  "Uh...no, that's okay," Lydia said, straightening her sweater, as Tony draped one arm across his lap.

  "It's just that your car is here, and I need you to sign this check." She held it out, peering cautiously. "The salesman needs you to sign some papers, too. And he needs the keys to your other car."

  "I've got them in my locker," Tony said. He waited until Jan had her back to him before starting toward the door. "I'll bring them out."

  The Porsche, a 911 Turbo no less, was absolutely beautiful. It even impressed Lydia, who up until now had never really cared for them. The salesman was equally taken with her.

  "I admire a woman who knows her own mind and can make quick decisions," he said, as he put the signed paper­work and check into his pocket.

  Who wouldn't? Reed thought.

  "Here, let me show you how everything works."

  Tony came out then and, at first glance, just smiled. What a picture. The car was definitely Lydia, no doubt about it. Then there was Reed drooling as he circled it, and Jan with her hands clasped together, saying, "Ohhh, it's so pretty."

  Won't this be great for employee morale, he thought, shaking his head. He walked over and gave the salesman the keys to her Mercedes. "I’ll call when I get back in and let them know you'll be picking it up."

  The salesman thanked him. "Can you tell me anything about it? I mean, why it…."

  "No," Tony said in a way that made it clear it wasn't open for discussion. He looked at Lydia. "Want to take me for along ride?"

  Lydia smiled, blushing modestly, though her face wasn't nearly as red as Jan's. "Maybe later, if you behave."

  Tony walked to the door laughing, and when he glanced back before going inside, Lydia blushed again, still smiling.

  The title from her old car would have to be signed over and forwarded, but essentially the deal was made. Once back upstairs, Lydia phoned Julius Randall.

  "I've been trying to reach you all day," he said.

  No kidding, Lydia thought, looking at his three messages. "I'm sorry, I just got back. I was out shopping for a new car."

  "Did you get one?"

  Lydia picked up the message from Greg. "I love you," it read. "Give us anoth
er chance." She sighed. "Yes, I did in fact. And it's such a cute little thing."

  "What did you get?"

  "A Porsche," Lydia said. She thought about her Mercedes. Her mother was with her when she picked it out. "A red one. A convertible." Her father hated convertibles. He felt they were dangerous. Her mother had to talk him into it. It was a birthday gift, her twenty-first.

  "How nice! "Julius said with a snort. "Wouldn't mind having one myself. So how about if you drop your price a little?"

  Lydia forced a giggle; it was a half-hearted effort. "Not on your life. I have to pay for mine first. But if that's what you wanted to talk about, the price?"

  Julius grew quiet. She'd thrown him for a second. "Origi­nally yes, but since talking to Will Reed, I've made a decision. I'm going to go ahead and give you this job."

  "Wonderful! This must be my lucky day! Thank you! Thank you!"

  "You're welcome," Julius said, laughing at her enthusi­asm. "I won't be able to give you a purchase order however, and I only want the parts on a monthly basis at first. But you do have my word on the full run."

  "Your word?" Lydia said, not needing a telepathic chill to feel this one out. "How good's that?"

  Julius chuckled, as she suspected he would. "If you can get the ball rolling and start on them right away, we'll take the parts whenever you can get them to us. The price I got from Will Reed earlier is fine, as long as the quality's there... so go ahead and schedule it."

  Lydia saw red. The quality? "Oh no!" she said, as if something had just occurred to her. "This is going to be a problem, because this means I'll have to deal with Tony."

  Julius cleared his throat. "What kind of problem?"

  "A problem with the scheduling," Lydia said, sighing dramatically. "And boy, I really hate to do this to you, after you giving me this order and all. But since we both seem to need each other, maybe if you deal with Tony, it would be better. I mean, I know it's obvious you and he don't get along, and maybe that's why he's not working for you anymore. But he'll throw this verbal thing right back at me, and frankly, I don't want the grief. Only you might want to be careful about how you mention that quality thing, because he can really be touchy when it comes to stuff like that. And I have to be honest with you, Julius, I don't know about you, but the man scares me. Especially when I try to cross him on something. And God only knows, he thinks the goddamned shop is his…."