Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures)

by Swan, Maria Grazia

  “Mina, do you have a larger container we can use to empty the boxes that are already opened?”

  Again, she nodded and went to get one of the larger boxes where her clothes used to be. She brought it into the bathroom and they checked box by box. All had been opened, obviously searched, and then set back to look untouched. Angelina had a busy night.

  “Why?” Mina asked herself out loud.

  “She was looking for something.”

  “Looking for what? Inexpensive toiletries, trinkets? Look, a broken purse mirror. Well, I hope that gives Angelina however many years of bad luck you Americans say.”

  Trying to joke didn’t help. Next came the box where Mina had packed her mother’s Boucheron bottle. The spilled perfume had dried in a dark ring on the cardboard. Inside, the delicate cap was broken, but the glass bottle remained intact. Mina was devastated. She didn’t want to look anymore. This was senseless. Why?

  Diego grew quiet. “Mina, Angelina wants something you have. It must be something small, something that would fit in one of these boxes. Think about it. Did she mention anything? Maybe as a joke, asked to see something personal?”

  Mina kept shaking her head. She felt violated. In a way, she was glad to have Diego there. It gave her a sense of security she didn’t quite know how to define.

  Her phone rang again. She hesitated, then stood and walked over to the bed where she had left the phone after DeFiore’s call.

  She felt like a defeated soul. “Hello?”

  “Mina, what’s wrong?” Brian sounded concerned.

  “Oh, hi, Brian. You know, it’s Christmastime. You are a million miles away.” She wasn’t going to talk about Angelina and spilled perfume bottles.

  Mina felt Diego’s stare on her back. She turned. He mimicked walking with his fingers. She understood, watched him stride to the end of the hall, past the living room and leave through the terrace door. His scent of mountain pine lingered long after he left.

  Chapter 10

  A drab December sun preened on Mina’s terrace. She watched from inside the glass door, her hands entwined around her hot coffee mug. By morning’s light, last night seemed surreal. She had shared a glass of Prosecco with Diego, the former cook at Bosom Bodies. And she liked the time spent together. That was the sticky point, so sticky, she had trouble dealing with it.

  At first she convinced herself her sense of bliss came from Brian’s phone call, but after they hung up, she went to lock the terrace door through which Diego left. She lingered there.

  Morning found her thoughts still with Diego. Secretly she wished he would come to borrow a cup of sugar or something. He didn’t, and the open boxes became a niggling reminder. Sooner or later she would need to talk to DeFiore about those boxes. Maybe she should ask Diego’s opinion. Yes, that was a wise decision. The ringing of the phone stopped her from opening the door to the terrace. Did Diego know her phone number? She hurried to answer.

  “Good morning, Mina.” Adams.

  “Oh, hi.”

  If Adams sensed the disappointment in her voice, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Did you see today’s paper?”

  “What paper? Oh, no. I don’t get the newspaper, why?”

  “They wrote about Barbara Spencer’s death.”

  “Oh, good. Is there something about me in the article?”

  “No, thank God. There is only a mention of a Volkswagen. But just in case some zealous reporter decides to snoop around, it would be better if you take a few days off.”

  “Off of what? I’m not doing anything.”

  “Mina, you could spend a few days up at my cabin on Big Bear. I’ll send a driver. Better yet, let’s ask Margo, she’ll keep you company.”

  “Adams, forget it. I bet it is snowing up there.”

  “Mina.” His tone changed. It wasn’t louder or anything, but suddenly she knew he was done making suggestions. He was telling her. Adams never, ever talked to her like that. This must be serious.

  “Okay, send Margo over and I’ll go to Sea World.”

  “Sea World?”

  “Yeah, you know, in San Diego, they have a big fish named Flipper or something. People from everywhere come to watch it do tricks. After that I can go down to Tijuana and buy some Christmas decorations.” She sensed his hesitation. He probably didn’t believe a word she said.

  “I promise, I’ll stay out of here for twenty-four hours, at least. What’s going on anyway?”

  “We are so close with the business deal, and we don’t need bad publicity. Asians are a little different about that sort of thing. Get ready. I’ll have Margo come by in about thirty minutes or so.”

  “Adams, what about my car?”

  “Patience, my dear, patience.”

  To hell with patience, she felt like a prisoner. Well, she was a prisoner. Go there, do that, enough already. She wasn’t going to go to Sea World. What was she, twelve years old? Mina could always count on Margo if she wanted to have fun and she was, oh, so ready! Yes, let’s have fun. She went looking for her jeans and her boots. Where was her hoodie? A shiver ran up her spine. She lent her hoodie to Angelina. She should have told DeFiore, except she hadn’t remembered until now. Well, she could tell him when she picked up her car. She grabbed a light sweater and a zippered vest. That should be good and warm. Would the guard call her when Margo arrived? Mina figured she had enough time for another cup of coffee and maybe a banana.

  But first—she couldn’t help it. She opened the door to the terrace and walked outside pretending to check the weather, coffee mug firmly in hand. She strolled to the opposite corner from the dividing wall, hoping to hear the neighbor calling her name. Maybe he had today’s paper. Maybe he was still sleeping. She circled back, stretching her neck to peek over the wall. No one on the terrace, and she couldn’t see inside the condo because the drapes were drawn closed. Drapes? Diego had window coverings? How about that? Well, she was going to file a complaint, there.

  With that thought, she marched back inside just as the phone rang. Margo was at the gate. She asked Margo to wait for her in the car. Mina took her time strolling to the elevator, thinking she might run into Diego on her way out. She was obsessing over this man she knew nothing about. Guilt slipped into her consciousness, and she mentally apologized to the universe like she used to do when she was a child. Still, while walking through the common garage, she looked for Diego’s Harley. No bike in sight.

  “I feel like your nanny,” were the first words out of Margo’s ruby lips. “Not complaining, mind you, no siree. A change of scenery is good for the soul. So, what’s the plan?”

  “Adams wants me out of town so I won’t talk to the wrong people, I guess. I told him I was going to spend the day at Sea Word, but I have a better idea. Let’s drive down to Del Mar, and then track back on Pacific Coast Highway and stop in every funky little store we see. And we can eat at some earthy café, maybe in Encinitas. What do you say?”

  “You paying?”

  “Sure, you drive, I pay. We have all day. Maybe we can find some really old Christmas decorations in an antiques store.”

  “Did you get a tree?”

  “Not yet. Hey Margo, you were right about the neighbor. I have one.”

  “Ah! What did I tell you? Did you meet him? Is he as nice as he looks? Come on, come on, spill the beans.” Margo turned down the volume of the radio. “I’m listening.”

  They left Newport Beach behind and were already South of Corona Del Mar. Mina was excited. It was going to be a fun day and she could talk about Diego to someone who wouldn’t raise her eyebrows. She loved that expression, raising eyebrows. Too bad it didn’t sound good translated in Italian.

  “He is sort of nice. I’ll say Diego is more interesting than nice.” Mina said.

  “Oh, Diego. Good name. I like that. What did you two talk about? Did you see him on the terrace?”

  Mina wasn’t sure she wanted to share all the details. She mentioned how they met at the restaurant, that he spoke Italian and a few other
inconsequential facts. Above all she didn’t want Margo to suspect that she was attracted to this man of mystery.

  “How old is he?” Margo asked.

  “I don’t know. He said he had no wife or kids, so you were right about that. I’m guessing thirty, thirty-five years old?”

  “Thirty-five would work.”

  “Would work for what? Oh, Margo, honestly, one track mind.”

  Mina’s vest turned out to be unnecessary due to the mild weather as she and Margo went from small dingy stores to high end antiques, from Del Mar to Solana Beach and Encinitas. By the time they made it to Carlsbad, the sun was setting. They were tired of shopping and famished. Both had bags with silly second hand jewelry, glass beads, and scarves. Mina found an angel for the treetop. The angel looked cross-eyed but had cool gold colored hair and somehow reminded her of an old plaster guardian angel her grandmother kept over her bed for protection. Maybe she could do the same, hang this little angel over her bed.

  After much debate, they stopped to eat at a “beach hut.” It wasn’t really a hut and it wasn’t on the beach, but Margo once had a fling with one of the owners and was hoping to bump into him. The staff consisted mostly of high school kids. Mina felt pretty sure the only organic item in the whole establishment was the grass in the server’s jeans pocket. Margo had been a real sport the whole day, so Mina settled in her wobbly beach chair and ordered something that required cooking and she requested it “well done.” She wasn’t going to eat anything raw in that joint.

  Mina had promised Adams she would be gone twenty-four hours. Maledizione. It hadn’t even been half that. Maybe they could catch a movie in Mission Viejo. They left the beach café and, instead of continuing on the PCH, opted for Interstate 5 and headed north.

  Once outside Oceanside, the vast, deserted span of priceless land hosting Camp Pendleton had to be crossed, but there was no waiting at the checkpoint that separated Orange County from San Diego County. Below the highway, on the beach side, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner headed south to San Diego, carrying people and their dreams to that lovely city. The water of the Pacific had on its evening gown, and at the far horizon, sky and sea blended into one shimmering shade of grey.

  It was Mina’s first trip that far down the coast since she moved from her mother’s house in Mission Viejo. Her stomach churned. All the memories...she recalled the perfume cap and vowed to buy some super glue to fix it when she went home.

  “Margo, can we get off the freeway before the Mission Viejo mall? I need to get some super glue.”

  “We don’t need to go to the mall for glue. We can get that at any drugstore. You know this part of O.C. better than I do. Tell me what exit to take. What did you break?”

  “Nothing, I didn’t break a thing, it happened moving. We can get off at the last San Clemente exit, there is a drugstore right by my old gym.”

  “Oh, okay. Where do you work out now? Or did you stop altogether? Don’t you miss your yoga classes?”

  Mina had managed to block out the Ginger/Barbara drama for most of the day. Margo innocently brought it all back. Mina shrugged and didn’t answer. They parked by the drug store. Margo waited in the car, said she felt tired. Mina hurried to pay for the glue and headed back to Margo’s Chevrolet.

  “Mina, is that you?”

  Did someone call her name?

  She recognized Jessica, the owner of her old gym. She walked over to say hello.

  “Hi Jessica, how are you?” From the corner of her eye Mina noticed Margo getting out of the car in a hurry. In a hurry for what?

  “Excuse me, please, I need to go to the bathroom really bad.” Margo bounced from one foot to the other.

  “Oh, sure, come over to the gym. I just opened up for the evening classes,” Jessica said.

  “Jessica, this is my friend Margo. Margo…” Mina spoke to her back. Margo was already inside the gym, probably searching for the bathroom.

  “When she said she had to go, I guess she meant it.” Jessica smiled and closed the door behind Mina. “Did you stop by to get Ginger’s things? She said someone would be coming by to pick them up. I didn’t know it would be you. Nice surprise.”

  Mina was the one who was surprised. What did Ginger leave behind to be picked up? She couldn’t ask or Jessica would guess it wasn’t intended for Mina. Jessica, her lithe body enhanced by the black gym outfit, sashayed to a row of cubicles behind her desk, opened one, pulled out two dumbbells and handed them to Mina. The pink hand weights Ginger used for her classes. Mina let out a sigh of relief, just dumbbells. She had imagined all kinds of hocus pocus.

  “I guess she really isn’t coming back to teach, huh? Wonder why she left these behind? I’ll make sure she gets them.”

  “Is she back from Vegas yet?” Jessica asked.

  “I assume so. I left a message for her, but you know, she is probably still enjoying her honeymoon.” Mina, you liar. She told herself it was for a good cause. After all, she was trying to help Ginger. “Strange that Ginger would forget her dumb bells, she always reminded the class how special they were to her.”

  “Oh, she didn’t forget. She packed all her equipment in her car and took off. The weights were left on top of the trunk and rolled off. I picked them up and tried to catch her, but she drove off too fast. She called later and said someone would come by to get them. And here you are. So nice to see you. We miss you.”

  Before Mina could answer, Margo came from the bathroom looking a little pale.

  “Margo, you okay?” Mina asked.

  “I don’t think so, must be something I ate. Let’s get going.”

  “Okay. Well, bye, Jessica. Give hugs from me to everyone. By the way, what was the name of Ginger’s complex? I forgot.”

  “The Promenade. You know? By the Mission Viejo Shops? Got to get ready for the next class. You take care now.”

  “I will. Bye-bye.”

  Mina set the pink hand weights on the back seat of Margo’s car next to the bag with the super glue.

  “Margo, you don’t look so good. You want me to drive?”

  “I’m fine now, but, boy, don’t know what was in my food, plenty of fiber, for sure. You don’t have any problem? What do you need those silly pink weights for?”

  “They belong to my former yoga instructor.” She didn’t want to mention Ginger’s name, concerned it would bring bad luck. “Do you feel like making a detour so I can give them to her?”

  “Where does she live?”

  “A couple of miles north from here, just off the freeway.”

  “Okay, I guess.” They drove in silence until Mina pointed to the exit ramp.

  Just as they reached Marguerite Parkway, Margo grew restless.

  “Oh, man, I think I need to go to the bathroom again.” Without another word, she turned into a gas station and jumped out, leaving the car idling. The Chevrolet was parked sideways, occupying two spaces. Damn. Mina hated touching other people’s cars, but she didn’t want to get yelled at. She slid into the driver’s seat, adjusted the mirror and began to back up. She noticed the motorcycle in her rear view mirror. Diego? Not possible. She was imagining things. What would Diego be doing here, in Mission Viejo, only a couple hundred yards from Ginger’s place?

  Mina felt paralyzed. She didn’t want him to see her and schooched down in the seat. Was it really Diego, or was she projecting her fantasies? She could only see the rear wheel of the bike, until it moved, and then there was only a blurred glance for a split second.

  Come on Margo, hurry. Mina’s instinct was to follow the motorcycle. How? This wasn’t her car. She sighed, turned the off engine and waited for Margo.

  “I can’t believe what’s happening,” Margo said. “I also got my period. I need to get home.”

  “Do you want to stop to buy—?”

  “No. You drive, let’s just go.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Mina didn’t say anything else. All the same, she headed across the street where La Promenade apartments stood, in all their pink
glory.

  The first street lights came on. Margo’s eyes were closed as Mina turned into the complex. How would she know which condo was Ginger’s? Most of the assigned parking spaces appeared empty. People were still at work. The fourplex by the pool seemed to be the only one with signs of life. Mina headed that way. Maybe she could ask someone. She drove slowly, as the private street signs suggested, and was near the end of the circular driveway when she noticed the green sedan. Maledizione, there was only one sedan with that sick green paint job. DeFiore. The car was empty and parked next to another empty car that looked very much like an unmarked police car. She floored the gas pedal and made a fast U-turn.

  They were almost back to the road. Maybe she’d gotten by unseen. That’s when she noticed the familiar woman outside on one of the balconies, and from what Mina could tell, that’s when the woman noticed her. It was Sam, DeFiore’s partner. Had she recognized her? Maybe not, after all, Mina was driving Margo’s car. Sam had never met Margo. The last thing she needed was for DeFiore to assume she was snooping around. She wasn’t, but he would draw his own wrong conclusions as usual. Time to head home. So what if Adams would be disappointed? She’d had enough excitement for one day.

  Margo was in a terrible mood, said she was feeling worse by the minute. “Forget the movie. Forget everything. I just want to go home.”

  Mina drove up to the gate of the Bayside complex, got out quickly and waved goodbye to the exhaust pipe of Margo’s Chevrolet.

  “Good evening, Miss Calvi.” Herb was the guard on duty.

  “Oh, hello, how are you, Herb?” Mina didn’t really want to go home. She walked over to the guardhouse. The big lamp post above attracted hundred of little bugs, flying in the slice of light like snow flakes in a vortex. Should she take a taxi to South Coast Plaza? She could catch a movie there. Decisions, decisions.

  Just then Diego passed through the gate on his Harley. He pointed his headlight in her direction and came to a stop in front of her. He wore a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black boots, but the most striking item was his new helmet. New to Mina. It looked like a smooth chunk of black obsidian. The front was open to show Diego’s face. Mina found the headgear fascinating.