Carolyn smiled. “Thank you, Adeline.”
“Oh, there is no need to thank me. I didn’t even think of it. It was Gaston and the other partners of the firm. I think they found a very creative way to get back into my good graces.”
Anna nodded. “They did, at that.”
“Now for the darker side of the report. My children were aware that I was in poor health. As a matter of fact, they consulted doctors with a hypothetical situation to determine the expected rapidness of my decline. While they were under the mistaken impression that my medical condition was rapid-onset Alzheimer’s, not systemic poisoning, the intent was obvious. They were planning to take over my estate without my consent.”
The mood instantly somber again, Carolyn’s eyes welled up. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, it gets worse. Although nothing can be proven, and I’m quite certain that it is all supposition — as hacking someone’s computers to determine their search history is a heinous offense that no respectable attorney would participate in or admit to — let us just assume that we know human nature well enough to conclude the following. Once Genevieve made her outreach to Cara known, my other children became concerned that I might actually have medical support available to me that would delay their plans. They never for a moment believed that Genevieve’s concern for me would scuttle their plans, but the thought that my miserable existence would be extended was too much for them to contemplate. I have it on good authority that their movements were soon to become more proactive and less reactive.”
Anna’s eyes were wild. “Holy shit! Does that mean what I think it means?”
“I prefer to believe that my children were simply testing their theories and that when the time came to take action they would demur.”
Carolyn was equally astonished. “I should hope so.”
“In any event, they will be advised that their plot was uncovered, their actions are being monitored, my health is without fault, and, as Gaston put it, they should be on their knees every night praying that I live a long and healthy life and that my demise is of natural causes, in the presence of twenty world-renowned doctors, years down the road.”
Anna sat stunned into silence shaking her head.
Carolyn stared off into space.
Adeline took several deep breaths and said, “Well, that is enough maudlin conversation for one night. I desperately want to turn this into something more positive.”
Carolyn smiled. “You already have.”
“What does that mean?”
“Think of it this way. If all this hadn’t happened, Cara wouldn’t have her job, which she loves. You wouldn’t have been invited to the wedding, where we all met. Amy wouldn’t have a career instead of just cleaning rooms. Mr. Colluride wouldn’t have someone he can trust to watch his twins while he cares for his baby and his wife and mother-in-law. And, you wouldn’t have Gaston by the personal parts for as long as you choose to hang on.” Carolyn actually blushed.
Adeline burst out laughing.
It was a good way to end a very tough conversation.
The ladies walked into the small bar off the casino floor and were immediately greeted by many of the same group that had been their dance partners before.
His handsomeness was there, looking particularly dashing in a navy suit and highly polished shoes.
He greeted the ladies and introduced himself as Chadrick Hillcoat, Rick. “Ladies, may I get you a drink?”
“Please,” the girls answered together. It was becoming more common as they got to know each other better.
“Your preference?”
Adeline was feeling rather bold. “Surprise me.”
Anna waited until Rick had left. “If I didn’t know you better, I would swear you just winked at that man.”
“Oh, I did.”
“Why you little devil you, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Oh, it isn’t what it seems. If the fact I’m a little flirty gets back to Gaston and company — or even better, my children — I can live with that.”
Anna looked around the room. “Oh, yeah, speaking of that, I haven’t seen Lori tonight.”
“I believe that it has already been explained to her that her services are no longer needed and her continued participation in any and all activities would be frowned upon.”
“Things sure move quickly for you.”
“They used to say that money paved the way. I think now it is a combination of having the funds available, a willingness to utilize those funds, and knowing the people that understand the culture and the technology to best deploy your plan.”
Carolyn said quietly, “Whatever it is you do, or you have done, it is rather impressive.”
“Shall we forget all this nonsense and enjoy our evening? Our drinks are about to arrive.”
Anna’s smile was infectious. “What is this?”
“A Golden Cadillac.” Rick offered each of the girls a glass. “I hope you will enjoy it.”
The ladies each took a sip. Smiles were exchanged all around the table.
Adeline took a deep breath and finally began to relax a bit. “I’d better be careful. I haven’t had anything to eat for hours. You could easily find me under the table.”
The look on Rick’s face was priceless. “Ladies, I’ll be right back.”
Rick headed off to the bar and talked to the bartender, who immediately picked up a phone and talked into it for some time.
Thirty minutes later a rather ostentatious display of appetizers of every imaginable variety was placed on two long tables that had been erected almost unnoticeably.
Rick gave the ladies a crooked grin and said, “I took the liberty of ordering you some appetizers. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable eating in front of your friends, as this little alcove doesn’t technically have a bar menu.”
Adeline smiled. “I’m certain Gaston will be happy to pick up the tab. Personally.”
His handsomeness smiled. “I’ll see to it, ma’am.”
“Oh, please. Call me Adeline. We’re in this at least for the next few hours. Let’s not be overly puritanical.”
“Thank you, Adeline.”
The appetizers were outstanding. There were bacon-wrapped cream cheese jalapeno bits, puffed pastry with cream cheese, salsa and avocado, miniature Monte Cristos, tomato tarts, tea eggs, tiny ham and cheese sliders, mini mac-and-cheese bites, and more.
Before long the girls were dancing and laughing and had all but forgotten the ugliness of earlier that evening. Almost.
Had anyone been paying close attention, and the girls suspected there might be a number of people that were, they would notice that every once in a while each of the ladies scanned the casino, looking for Lori or some other individual that might be watching them.
It takes a great deal of time to become comfortable in public again once your sense of anonymity is stolen.
CHAPTER SIX
THERE WAS A knock on the door as the girls finished their packing.
Anna opened the door without looking through the peephole. The moment she realized that she was opening the door without that precaution, her heart leapt in her chest. The last few days were beginning to make themselves known with new worries and stressors.
It was Amy.
Anna’s smile lit up her face. “Amy, how are you?”
“You’ll never believe what happened.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Oh, it’s better than alright. Everything is great. It couldn’t be any better.”
Adeline and Carolyn walked into the living room of the suite as Amy excitedly continued. “First, I have to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, and all the gifts for the kids. You can’t even imagine how excited my son is. Did you know it’s his birthday? Of course not, how would you know that? But when the gifts got there he thought that they were all for his birthday. He’s so young, I tried to explain that they were from you guys, but he thought that the birthday Santa sent them.
Isn’t that cute? Birthday Santa.”
Adeline laughed. “Birthday Santa? I hope you got that recorded.”
“Oh, I did. Thank you so much. Ya know, I just didn’t have the money to do much for him this year. He really isn’t old enough that he would have noticed. Mom and I would have done a cake just for the pictures for when he’s older, and a trip to the dollar store. We would have gotten him some stuff to open, but this was so much better. It was like Christmas. No wonder he thought about Santa.”
Anna asked, “You found your notebook?”
“Oh, that’s the other thing. I won’t be needing it. Peter got fired. Can you believe it?”
Anna let surprise show in her face. “Fired? What happened? He get caught?”
“Well, we really aren’t supposed to talk about it, but since you guys knew everything before any of this really went down, I guess it doesn’t matter. Turns out you guys were right, of course. He was doing the same thing with other girls. He is a freak! All the girls were so weirded out that they didn’t even talk about it to each other. It’s like he had some crazy hold over them or something. Some of the girls actually stole stuff I think. I’m so glad it never got that far with me because I really need the job. Oh, wait, I didn’t tell you about my new job!”
Adopting a look of surprise, Anna let her eyes grow wide. “You have a new job?”
“I know. It’s crazy. When they called us all into the office to talk to us about Peter, the head of security — can’t think of his name — anyway, he is a really nice man, and he and his wife have been having problems finding a babysitter for their twins because they have another little boy that is really sick, and since they don’t really know what is wrong with him, everybody is scared to take care of their other kids, which is just stupid. When Mom got so sick, I did a bunch of research about cancer, and did you know that a long time ago when people had cancer everybody stayed away from them because they just assumed that they were gonna catch it? Anyway, I’m not worried about that part of it. I love my son, and I would do anything to protect him, but you can’t put your kid in a little bubble and expect them to have a good life, and if Mr. Colluride — oh yeah, that’s the security guy’s name — anyway, if Mr. Colluride’s doctors say that my son is safe, then I’m going to believe that.”
Carolyn moved the story along. “So you are babysitting twins for this man?”
“Oh, it even gets better than that. They are building a whole daycare facility here at the casino, and I get to run it. They are even paying for me to take classes online so that I can be more qualified as the whole thing grows. This isn’t a job, this is a career, and I’ll be able to support my son and help my mother. If anyone had told me a couple of weeks ago that this would all work out, I’d have told them they were smokin’. You guys have been my good luck charm.”
Adeline’s voice was warm and full of admiration for the young woman. “I’m delighted it all worked out for you.”
“I just don’t know how I got so lucky all of the sudden. My life has pretty much sucked, all my life. I’ve worked so hard, and everything just kind of fell apart every time it started to come together, but all that is in the past now.”
Adeline continued. “Good things do happen to good people, Amy. Sometimes it just takes a little time.”
“This is just going to make everything so much easier. I can go back to just one job and school. The kids I was babysitting before will still be around for my new job, so I don’t have to leave them, and I get to take care of the twins immediately while all this is being worked out, so I have extra income, which comes right in time because my mom is in that drug test and we found a paratransit group that will take her to the appointment and home for just four dollars. Four dollars each way doesn’t sound like much, I know that, but she has to go every day at the beginning, and eight dollars a day adds up.”
Anna reached for her arm. “There was a time in my life I couldn’t rub two nickels together at the end of the month. I know how hard it can be. I’m just so happy for you.”
“Oh, me too. I’m going to take full advantage of all of this, and you know what? I’m going to pay it forward. I don’t know how I lucked out, but I’m going to pay the universe back. I’m going to find a way. You can bet on that. No pun intended, being in Vegas and all.”
The ladies laughed.
Amy jumped up. “I know you guys are getting ready to go. I just couldn’t let you leave town without saying thank you. Carolyn, Suzi is a really lucky girl to have you as a grandma. I hope she knows that.”
“Oh, she does, but thank you, Amy.”
“Anna, you never told me the names of your kids or anything.”
“I was never blessed.”
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, you are an honorary grandma now. You can come play with my son any time you like.”
“Thank you. I just might take you up on that some day.”
“And, Miss Adeline, I know you did a lot for me. Talking to your attorney and all that. I hope that didn’t cost a lot. I can pay you back in a couple of months.”
“He is on retainer, dear. I pay him whether I talk to him or not. Speaking to him about your issues cost me nothing.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay, good. Well, thank you. You will never, ever know how much I appreciate you guys. It all worked out in the end. Just like you said it would. But I was really at the end of it when I talked to you. I couldn’t sleep, and I pretty much was crying all the time. You guys really helped me. You helped me a lot.”
Adeline smiled. “It was our pleasure. Give that boy of yours a hug from us.”
“You have my numbers and my address. If there is ever anything I can do for you, or if you are ever back in town, please, please give me a call.”
Anna laughed. “Promise.”
Amy vibrated out the door.
She left behind three women with huge smiles on their faces.
They got to the airport without any problems.
Anna started shoving coins in the slot machines almost immediately.
Adeline tried to sound stern. “I thought you didn’t gamble. That you didn’t throw good money after bad.”
“Hey, I’m up twenty dollars. I can blow that whole thing, and technically I haven’t spent any money at all. Gambling at least. And think about it, the room was free.”
Carolyn was shocked. “Free? I thought no additional expense was incurred.”
Anna shook her head. “Oh, no. When we checked out, the bill said that nothing had been charged to my credit card. Nothing at all. They didn’t even indicate how much that suite of rooms was, because I’m pretty sure if I knew, I’d have fainted dead away right there.”
Adeline smiled. “I told you it was taken care of. There was no need for you to go to the desk and check out.”
“I like to have the paperwork that proves I did what I was supposed to do.”
“As you wish.”
“And you are sure that it was not you, Adeline, that paid for our adventure?”
“I swear to you on the head of my one loving child.”
They laughed.
They were about to go through security toward their gate when Rick, his handsomeness, approached. “Ladies, this is it for me. I hope you enjoyed at least some of your stay in our town.”
Anna shook his hand. “Oh, we had a great time. Thanks for all your help.”
“It was my pleasure.” He shook hands, first with Anna, then with Carolyn. When he took Adeline’s hand he said, “If you should find yourself back in our town, please do not hesitate to call. I will hope that our next evening together will be under very different circumstances.”
Adeline simply smiled.
Once Rick walked away Anna whispered, “Oooo, someone’s got a crush on you.”
“Or he is aware of my financial situation.”
Anna chuckled. “Don’t be like that. Most people are good. Don’t let a couple of bad ones turn yo
u against the rest of us.”
“It is difficult not to do that when the couple of bad ones, as you put it, are my own children.”
Carolyn folded her arms. “I can understand that, but at least you know about it, and you’ve taken the appropriate steps. Now is the time to let it all go and look forward instead of back.”
“You are a wise woman. I think I can do that. On one condition.”
“And what is that?”
“That you are willing to do the same.”
“What does that mean?”
“As a show of good faith, you could actually put on your swimming costume when we are in Hawaii.”
“Swimming costume?” They all started to laugh.
“I couldn’t think of another way of phrasing it, as you just seem to have such extreme prejudice against a swimsuit.”
“Fine, I have no idea why it is so important to you, but if you want me to wear a swimsuit, I will wear a swimsuit.”
“It isn’t about the swimsuit, Carolyn. It is about embracing that which makes us a little bit uncomfortable.
“I’m not the one who will experience the discomfort. It is those around me who have to witness the horror,” Carolyn said. “But I agree. At this stage of our lives, it is time to embrace the adventure.”
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
THE TEA SERIES
Hot Tea
Sweet Tea
Iced Tea
Green Tea
Peppermint Tea
Tea To Go
Summer Tea
Traditional Tea
Tea & Honey
Happy Tea
Dark Tea
Shattered Tea
THE TEA SERIES: THE BLENDS
(SHORT STORIES)
Romantic Blend
Perfect Blend
THE GIRLS SERIES
Las Vegas
Hawaii Can Wait
On the Road (Again)
Spoiled Fruit
THE AUNTIE SERIES
Abbie
LESSONS, THE SERIES
Consequences
Coming soon — Promises
Learn more about Sheila and her books at www.SheilaHorgan.com
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