Hey, Good Looking

by Fern Michaels

  Outside, the rain dripped steadily from the drain spout at the side of the back porch. Crickets chirped, another soothing summer sound. Amazing that just by rubbing their legs together could create such a pleasing sound. The children used to capture the crickets along with the fireflies in the summer. She could see some of them now on the back porch, little pinpoints of light flitting about. The crazy urge to capture one of them was so real she gripped her teacup to stop herself from going outside. The tree frogs and the crickets, along with the fireflies, calmed her.

  The scent of her gardenias was so strong it wafted through the screen door, enveloping her in the heady scent. The gardenias had bloomed twice this year. She always picked some and floated them in little bowls. She hadn’t done that with the second blooming. She wondered why. Now with all this rain, by morning the small white petals would be bruised and turn brown. She sniffed again, savoring the rich smell. She did love gardenias.

  Tears burned her eyes when she thought about all the years she’d hoped and waited for Marcus Gunn to come to her. Wasted. What a fool she’d been. She was still a fool because her heart beat just the way it had years and years ago when she was in his presence. Tonight had been sheer torture. She fought the urge to cry. Finally, a lone tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. She swiped at it angrily.

  She was so wide-awake it was scary. At any given moment she could go back upstairs and walk down the hall to Marcus’s room and vent her anger at the man who had made her so miserable for what seemed all her life. Thebest years of her life. Yes, she could do that. But, she wouldn’t. Because…because she still loved the man.

  Maybe she should do a crossword puzzle or, worse yet, make a red-velvet cake. Or she could go out to the front veranda and sit there while she imagined the restoration that would soon begin at the Gunn houses. All of the above meant she would have to get up and move.

  When Diddy looked at the clock on the stove again it was four-thirty. In another half hour she could get up and make some fresh cinnamon rolls. Fred loved her cinnamon rolls. She’d make an extra batch, so he could take them home to Trixie. All she had to do was get through the next hour and a half.

  She heard a tree frog then. It sounded like it was right outside the screen door. Sometimes they got into the house. She didn’t mind since they always found their way back out, and, if they didn’t, she helped them.

  Diddy sensed his presence before she actually turned to see him standing in the doorway. Her old heart kicked up a beat. It just wasn’t in her to be inhospitable. She motioned to a chair at the table. She looked at the ratty robe he was wearing and wondered where he’d gotten it. Maybe it was one Russell had left behind. Yes, it was probably Russell’s. It seemed to fit. “Do you want a cup of tea, Marcus?”

  “Tea would be nice. Thank you. I couldn’t sleep.”

  Diddy busied herself at the stove with the teakettle and pouring tea leaves into the little tea strainer. “Why?” she asked. “Because I put you in Russell’s room?”

  “I suppose,” Marcus said wearily. “He seemed to be everywhere.”

  Diddy whirled around. “I loved that boy as though he were my own son. I don’t have one iota of sympathy for you. Not one. Maybe in time…”

  Marcus Gunn’s shoulders slumped. He started to wring his hands, his lips trembling. “I know,” he murmured. “What’s going to happen to me, Diddy? I don’t know what to do. Help me here.”

  Diddy plopped the teacup in front of her guest. “You’re talking to the wrong person. If you’re looking for absolution, you came to the wrong place. I’m fresh out of it.” While the words were harsh, her tone was gentle.

  Marcus raised his eyes to meet hers. “When did you get so hard and bitter, Diddy?” He sounded like he was going to cry any minute.

  “The day you broke my heart, that’s when. For years I dreamed about you. I prayed that you’d come to your senses. I lied and lied, we all did, to your children. You didn’t come to your senses. I was such a fool,” she cried, her voice breaking.

  Marcus voice was gentle when he said, “You were never a fool, Diddy. You were the woman I loved. You were kind, caring, gentle, and you made my heart sing. I was the fool. When I saw you at the house the day you and your sisters rescued me, all the years came rushing back. I mistakenly thought you were coming for me because you wanted me. How trite that sounds now.”

  “In a way Iwas coming for you. I had such high expectations for all of ten minutes. We snatched you because of Mary, Russell and Ben. Not for me. I finally locked all that baggage away.” Diddy’s voice was so cold it could have chilled milk. Her eyes were misty with tears. She turned away so Marcus couldn’t see them.

  “What should I do, Diddy?”

  He looked so pathetic, Diddy took pity on him. “There’s nothing in this world you can do to make Ben love you. Although I sensed forgiveness in him this evening. You have to realize that. Then there’s Mary. Mary will never come to you. It will be up to you to get yourself well enough so you can go to New York to try to make amends with your daughter. This is just my opinion, but I think Mary needs you. Ben doesn’t need you. Russell didn’t need you either. Both of your sons figured that out a long time ago. You have to live with that. You have to tell Ben that half of the money to start up Gunn Industries came from Myrna, and it was always her wish that Ben and Russell take over the business when you retired. Ask him to take over. I don’t know if he’ll agree, but I tend to think now that he’s going to marry Darby and restore the house he might be in the market for a job.”

  “I am so sorry, Diddy.”

  Diddy smiled, a wonderful, warm smile. “I’m sorry, too. Maybe when the shoe rings with laughter and small children things will be different. We’ll be having birthday parties, pony rides, and picnics. I’ll always make sure to invite you.”

  “And I’ll accept,” Marcus said smartly.

  Hot tears again pricked at Diddy’s eyelids. She sniffed. “Then we both have something to look forward to.” She looked at the clock on the stove. Time to start making the cinnamon rolls. Then she remembered that Fred and Marcus were diabetic. She wouldn’t be making cinnamon rolls. Perhaps a fruit cup with yogurt. An egg-white omelet with green peppers, tomatoes, and onions. The possibilities were endless.

  “It’s five o’clock, time to start a new day, Marcus. Would you like some more tea?”

  “What are you going to be doing, Diddy?”

  “Ducky and I are going to Japan with Dodo to see if we can bring her son and his family here. It’s our hope that they can move into Russell’s house. Then the shoe will be complete again.”

  Marcus sipped at his tea. He looked confused. “I didn’t know Dodo had a son. What’s he doing in Japan?”

  “He lives in Japan with friends of Dodo. He’s half-Japanese, Marcus. He has two little boys, a girl, and a new baby on the way,” Diddy informed Marcus. And, not knowing what Dodo and Ducky had decided, Diddy went on, “I just bet there’s a job at Gunn Industries waiting for him. A high-paying job. I don’t know how all that immigration stuff works. If he needs a sponsor aside from Dodo and us, I would expect Gunn Industries to step up to the plate. Are you getting my drift here?”

  Marcus’s eyes twinkled. “I can personally guarantee it. I guess I should be thinking about taking a shower and getting ready for the new day. I wonder what it holds for all of us.”

  “Hopefully, only good things, Marcus. Only good things. It’s been a long, hard road, but I think we’re at the end of it now. When you go upstairs, wake up Fred. He said he wanted to get an early start. I’ll have breakfast ready when you come back down.”

  “I enjoyed our little talk, Diddy. Thank you.”

  Diddy nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She reached for a melon and started to peel it, her tears dropping onto the rind. This time she didn’t try to stop them.

  19

  Darby stared at the castle in front of her. She’d made excellent progress during the past month. With all the family tur
moil going on she’d had her doubts about finishing the dollhouse on deadline. But with the aunts in Japan and Ben spending his days at Gunn Industries, she had been able to devote all her time to the castle. All she had to do now was install the windows, put in the door for the drawbridge, then paint it.

  Willie barked as he nudged her leg. Time to go out. Darby looked at her watch. Where had the time gone? The last time she’d looked at her watch it was one o’clock, and it was already six-thirty. She had to feed Willie, clean up, and meet Ben at the Shogun restaurant for dinner. If she put some grease on her shoes, she just might make it. She took one last look at the creation on her worktable, knowing that the little girl in Scotland was going to love it.

  Darby tidied up and turned off the light. She opened the door for Willie to bound out when the phone rang. She debated answering it, but, thinking it might be Ben, she turned the light back on and picked up the phone. Her greeting was cheerful. “Jason!”

  “I finally got it all, Darby. Do you want me to drop it off or wait till tomorrow? I can be there in ten minutes.”

  “Every single one?” Darby asked in awe.

  “Every single one. They’re all in Louisiana. Seems Mrs. Gunn did make that stipulation. Your call, Darby.”

  Darby’s heart was beating so fast she had to take a deep breath before her breathing returned to normal. “Drop them off now, Jason. Come around the back through the kitchen door.”

  “Will do.”

  Darby hung up the phone, turned off the light, and left the workroom. By the time she made her way to the kitchen, Willie was at the screen door waiting to be let in. He raced to his empty food bowl and looked at it, then at Darby with reproach. She hastily opened the refrigerator and took out a deli chicken she’d picked up the day before. She picked off the white meat and mixed it with some wet dog food. She knew Willie would pick out the chicken and leave the dog food. Because she knew what the retriever would do, she picked more chicken until his bowl was full. Willie scarfed it down, nosing the dog food out of the way. When he was done he sat up on his rump and barked again. Time for dessert. Darby laughed the way she always did. Russell had always given Willie a strawberry Pop-Tart, the kind with frosting on the top. This treat Willie took his time eating, the tart between his front paws as he nibbled.

  Darby washed her hands, ran upstairs, washed her face, brushed her teeth and her hair. She slipped out of her work clothes into a cranberry pantsuit. She was halfway down the steps when she realized she’d forgotten her shoes. She was back on the stairs when she heard Willie bark. It was the bark that meant company. Jason must be at the kitchen door. She flew down the rest of the steps, through the house, and out to the kitchen. She was so breathless, she had to lean against the door to open it.

  “Jeez, Darby, where’s the fire? I would have waited.”

  Darby eyed the bright red folder in the computer hacker’s hand. Russell’swhereabouts in a red folder. The thought was so crazy, she grew light-headed. Her hand was shaking so badly when she reached for the folder that she dropped it. Jason picked it up and laid it on the kitchen table.

  “Everything you asked for is in that folder, Darby. You need anything else, call, okay?”

  “I will, Jason. Thanks. Listen, you didn’t…what I mean is, they…

  “Nah. I know what I’m doing. You and I are the only ones who know. I didn’t even read it, just printed it all out for you. Do us both a favor, though. When you’re done with it, burn it.”

  “I will, Jason, and thanks again. I owe you.”

  “No, you don’t. I did it for Russell. See ya.”

  Darby looked down at her watch, then at the red folder. She had twenty minutes till she had to meet Ben. Time to peruse the contents. She probably had time actually to read the contents. No. She wanted time to sit down someplace quiet to do that. In the end she carried it with her to show Ben.

  Ten minutes later Darby parked her car and walked into the restaurant. She loved the ambience of this particular restaurant, even more so now that a new family from Japan would probably be coming to live in the shoe. She looked around to see if Ben was there. He wasn’t. She sat down on a slatted bench next to a trickling fountain surrounded by miniature bonsai trees. A broadleaf tree behind the fountain held chimes that tinkled softly from the air gushing through the air vents in the ceiling. Darby closed her eyes, her thoughts on the red folder in her handbag.

  Sensing a presence, Darby opened her eyes. “Ben!”

  “President Gunn to you, ma’am.” Ben laughed as he hugged her. Darby melted into his arms. “I missed you.”

  “Not half as much as I missed you. Are we going to have an argument over this?”

  “Nope.”

  The hostess, dressed in a long scarlet dress with a mandarin collar, motioned for them to follow her to a long table where four other people were sitting. They settled themselves, smiled at the strangers across the table, ordered drinks, then sat back to talk to one another while the chef with a tall red hat and a set of wicked-looking knives took up his position behind the grill.

  “Ben, Jason came by the house just as I was getting ready to leave. He…he brought me the profiles of the recipients along with their family members. I have phone numbers and addresses. At least I think I have them. I didn’t actually look. Jason said he got everything I asked for. I don’t know what to do, Ben,” she whispered. “We talked about this a hundred times, and I’m no clearer in my mind now than I was when we first discussed it. I had a long talk with the aunts before they left for Japan, and they feel I should go ahead and search out the recipients and the families but not do anything about it. Sort of satisfying myself. This isn’t about me, though. Do you see it any differently?”

  Ben chose his words carefully. “I see it as a matter of a promise made to Russ. I thought about this a lot, Darby. Every person’s last wishes should be honored. A terrible mistake was made, and nothing you or I or anyone else can do is going to change what’s been done. If it takes you checking it out, seeing the recipient, then you need to do it for your own peace of mind. It’s that simple. Which way can you live with it, Darby, checking out the recipients and their families or not checking them out and simply walking away? I can’t do it, Darby, but I support you one hundred percent.”

  “I’m going to make my decision this evening after I read everything. Jason told me all the recipients live in Louisiana, that it was one of Bella’s stipulations, and the donor program here in the state obviously agreed. I didn’t know you could do something like that. Bella was literally holding the donor program hostage if you stop and think about it, since time was of the essence. Someone, say in West Virginia, might have been at the top of the list waiting for a kidney, but Bella said no, the person at the top of the Louisiana list gets it. I want to cry every time I think of it. Let’s talk about something else. Ah, here’s our Sapporo beer. I still say Lane Beer is better even though I like Japanese and Chinese beer.”

  “Do you have any idea how much Lane Beer Gunn Industries ships overseas?”

  “Nope, no clue. How’s it going at Gunn Industries? Do you feel like a president?”

  “It’s a hell of a lot different than being a ranger on Mustang Island. I have free rein, and I have plenty of ideas. Right now I’m just getting my feet wet.”

  “Have you heard from your father?”

  Ben grinned. “Yes, I have. The last time we spoke he said he was going to New York to see Mary, and that was three weeks ago. I think he’s still there. We just might become father and son again, but it’s going to take time.”

  “I’m okay with that, Ben.”

  “Then we’re both okay with it. Have you heard from the aunts?”

  “Not since that initial call I had transferred to you. Were you able to help Dodo with immigration and all that stuff?”

  “We did what we could from our end. If things move forward, Dodo’s family should be here by Christmas. By the way, I’ve never heard her so happy. She said Ducky and Diddy a
re having the time of their lives.”

  “What’s the news on the rebuilding? I get home so late I can’t see anything, and I leave in the morning while it’s still dark. How’s it going?”

  The chef took that moment to start banging his salt and pepper shakers and throwing them in the air. He swiveled and caught them behind his back. Everyone clapped in approval.

  “I walked over this morning. All the wood rot has been replaced. The new roof is on, and the first floor is being Sheetrocked tomorrow. Believe it or not, the pine floors are intact and just need to be sanded and refinished. It’s being rewired this afternoon. Then it’s the plumber’s turn. Most of the work has passed inspection. The new windows arrived yesterday. The double front doors are being repaired and will be beautiful when they’re finished. Even the hardware is still good, believe it or not. The front veranda and the back porch are what’s taking so much time. Most of the wood is rotted. Finding cypress wood isn’t all that easy. Three more weeks and the house should be ready to be painted. Then if they start right away on the other house, it is possible it could be ready by Christmas. The aunts are going to besoooo happy. Weather is going to play a big part in everything from here on in.”

  The chef waved his knife for attention to ask who wanted sesame seeds and who didn’t. Six hands shot in the air. The chef stirred and swirled, then scooped the crunchy fried vegetables onto the plates. He started on the rice, adding eggs and finely minced carrots and scallions. Someone across the table asked for extra ginger sauce.

  The next hour was spent eating and making small talk with the four strangers at their table.

  Outside the restaurant, Ben kissed Darby soundly. “Are you sure you don’t mind that I’m going back to the office?”

  “Of course I don’t mind. I’ll wait up for you. Willie really misses you. Oh, I made such headway on the castle today. A few more days, and I’ll have it finished. Then it just has to sit and dry. I made my own hinges for the drawbridge. And, I even made the pulleys that will allow the windows to be opened and closed. I’m thinking maybe I should patent that little device. What do you think of that?”