Big Girls Don't Cry

by Linz, Cathie

  “Models that are size ten or larger are considered plus size,” Leena explained.

  “Says who?” Fanny demanded.

  “The business. The clients who hire models want a certain look.”

  “The emaciated look.” Fanny shook her head. “I remember when women were women. The classic Hollywood stars like Betty Grable and Ginger Rogers had curves. My favorite was Olivia de Havilland.”

  “Mine was Loretta Young,” Violet said.

  “Mine was Katharine Hepburn,” Nancy said. “Now there was a classy dame.”

  “How about that blonde that married Humphrey Bogart? What was her name . . . ?” Fanny frowned, trying to remember.

  “Lauren Bacall,” Violet said.

  Fanny nodded. “She had curves. She was slinky but she had curves. All those movie stars did. Not now though. Now you can see their bones showing through their skin on their rib cages and their backs. It’s not natural and it’s not healthy. Especially when young girls are looking up to them as role models.”

  “I read a recent study that showed eighty percent of ten-year-olds worry about their weight,” Nancy said. “Society does that. These kids view celebrities who are painfully thin and think that’s what they should look like. Skeletons. It’s so unhealthy.”

  “It’s not society; it’s the media,” Skye said. “They are the ones that show those images over and over again, on magazines and TV.”

  “Personally, I think it’s those white foam take-out containers. You know, that terrible squeaking noise they can make?” Sue Ellen shuddered. “I feel ill just thinking about it. Makes me want to hurl.”

  Yet again Sue Ellen had her own vision of the world around her. A vision no one else seemed to share.

  Leena had first realized Sue Ellen was . . . unique when an eleven-year-old Sue Ellen had told a four-year-old Leena that Sue Ellen was really the secret love child of Prince Charles of England while Leena was a baby their parents had found in the junkyard and brought home. A few months later, the story was that aliens in their UFO had come to visit Sue Ellen and that they’d wanted to take Leena away, but Sue Ellen had talked them out of it.

  For six months after that, Leena had panicked every time she saw lights blinking in the night sky; her mom finally assured her they were only airplanes, not UFOs.

  The stories had trailed off once Sue Ellen turned twelve but were replaced by wild New Year’s resolutions. At age thirteen Sue Ellen announced she was going to be a teenage millionaire that year. When that didn’t come come to pass, the next resolution was that she was going to marry a millionaire when she turned eighteen. Instead Sue Ellen had run away and married Earl a day after her eighteenth birthday.

  Leena hadn’t seen much of her sister for a few years after that. Once Sue Ellen divorced Earl, she moved back home for Leena’s senior year in high school. Leena hadn’t made resolutions, hadn’t bragged she was going to be a model someday. Rather, she’d quietly done whatever it took to accomplish her goal.

  A goal she’d attained and would recapture again.

  “Sorry I’m late.” The apology came from a young black woman who hurried inside. She had flawless skin and excellent bone structure. And she had curves. Not as many as Leena, but she was no beanstalk. “I had to speak to one of my student’s parents and the meeting ran late.”

  “Tameka is an English teacher at Rock Creek High School,” Skye said. “This is Leena, Sue Ellen’s sister. She’s joining us in class today.”

  “Wait a second,” Tameka said. “You’re Leena? You work for Cole?”

  “She’s just helping him out temporarily. Because she feels guilty for punching him when they were kids,” Sue Ellen said.

  “Sounds like that TV show My Name Is Earl. Where he goes back and tries to make up for all the bad things he did so he’ll get better karma. Is that what you’re doing here in Rock Creek?” Fanny asked Leena.

  “Ladies.” Tameka clapped her hands and used her teacher voice. “If we can get back to me for a moment. Leena, I have some information regarding Cole that you might find interesting,”

  “I know, I know. You heard that Cole was listed as one of the state’s sexiest bachelors, right?” Sue Ellen eagerly jumped it to say. “Rumor has it that my sister Leena here is the one who nominated him.”

  All eyes turned to Leena.

  “No comment,” Leena muttered, feeling more and more like a stuffed floral sausage in the borrowed pink pants. Faking it was much harder without the proper outfit to boost your confidence.

  Violet patted Leena’s shoulder reassuringly. “If it makes you feel any better, I think Cole is sexy too.”

  “Sexy or not, the man made a bet,” Tameka said.

  “A bet?” Leena repeated.

  Tameka nodded. “He and Algee made a bet. About us. You”—Tameka pointed to Leena—“and me. And a date.”

  Leena was confused. “A date?” she repeated. “They made a bet that you and I would go out on a date?”

  “I heard a lot of models are gay,” Fanny said in a semiwhisper to Violet.

  “The two girls would be lesbians,” Violet replied.

  The sight of two old women talking about Leena’s sexual persuasion freaked her out. She needed to nip this gossip-fest in the bud. “I am not a lesbian.”

  Tameka rolled her eyes. “Neither am I. That’s not what I meant. Algee bet that he could convince me to go out on a date with him before Cole could get Leena to agree to go out on a date with him.”

  “Uh-oh.” Sue Ellen eyed Leena nervously.

  “Are you sure about this, Tameka?”

  She nodded. “Algee spilled the beans himself.”

  “He’s a dead man,” Leena growled.

  Tameka looked alarmed. “Algee?”

  “No. Cole. He’s a dead man.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “What?” Fanny put her hand to her ear. “What did Leena just say about Cole?”

  “That he’s a dead man,” Violet replied.

  “But he’s Nancy’s nephew. You can’t kill Nancy’s nephew,” Fanny told Leena. “That wouldn’t be polite”

  “I agree,” Violet said with a prim nod. “It really would not be at all polite. Tell her, Nancy.”

  “I’ve grown rather fond of the boy even if he does stupid things every now and again,” Nancy said with a rueful smile. “How did you get Algee to confess to all this, Tameka?”

  “I used my teacher voice on him and he crumbled.”

  “Algee is a tough guy.” Skye joined the conversation for the first time. “He’s not the kind to crumble easily.”

  “Okay, so I may have flashed a little cleavage at him too.” Tameka threw back her shoulders proudly. “And maybe used one of those hip moves you taught us. The man was putty in my hands after that.”

  “Leena could do that too,” Sue Ellen loyally said. “If she wanted to, she could make Cole melt and he’d be Play-Doh.”

  Skye just laughed.

  Which did not endear her any to Leena “What?” Leena demanded. “You don’t think I could make Cole melt?”

  “Cole charms women. Not the other way around. Women don’t charm him. They don’t have to.”

  Leena wasn’t sure, but that sounded like an insult to her seductress abilities somehow. “Does he make a practice of placing bets about convincing women to go out with him?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “So that makes you special.” Sue Ellen beamed at Leena. “Maybe he was paying you a compliment when he placed that bet with Algee.”

  “He’s still a dead man,” Leena said.

  “Or you could go talk to him about it,” Nancy suggested.

  “No.” Leena stood firm. “I like my plan better.”

  “You did what?” Cole stared at Algee in disbelief.

  “Tameka made me do it, doc. Made me tell her about the bet.”

  “What did she do? Tie you in a chair with electrical tape and threaten to neuter you?”

  “No, she wiggled her hips
at me.”

  “I hear you.” Nathan smacked Algee on the back.

  “Tameka is in Skye’s belly-dancing class. That’s where she learned that move. And believe me, I know how powerful those hip wiggles can be.”

  “Man rule number two: Never let a woman make you betray your buddies. You protect their back at all costs.”

  “Affirmative. A Marine would never have divulged that bit of intel,” Nathan said. “But Algee here is a squid. A former navy man.”

  Algee glared at Nathan. “Two seconds ago you were smackin’ me on the back and telling me you heard me.”

  “I did hear you. I just would never break a man rule.”

  “I never even heard of this man rule junk. What is all that?”

  “The laws of nature in a man’s universe,” Cole said.

  Algee frowned. “What, like gravity or something? And I’m not talking about Skye’s cat Gravity here.”

  Nathan nodded. “Yeah, like gravity.”

  “Is that some kind of Marine thing?” Algee asked suspiciously. “You jarheads are a weird bunch.”

  “No, it’s not a Marine thing. Not that a Marine would ever break a man rule.”

  “What about Cole? He was never a Marine. He’s a vet—as in veterinarian, not veteran.”

  Cole waved Algee’s words away. “The origins of man rules aren’t the critical thing here.”

  Algee asked, “Do you think Tameka will tell Leena about the bet?”

  “How should I know?” Cole’s voice reflected his aggravation. “They’re women. They don’t act logically.”

  “I thought you two were experts on females,” Nathan said. “I guess this must be fate’s form of payback.”

  “You’ve been hanging out with Skye too long,” Cole said. “Fate has nothing to do with this. This is Algee’s way of throwing the bet because he knew he couldn’t win.”

  Algee was not amused. “Say what?”

  “You heard me.”

  “He’s not himself right now,” Nathan told Algee. “He’s got a thing for Leena even though he refuses to admit it.”

  “I’m man enough to admit I’ve got a thing for Tameka,” Algee said.

  “Obviously,” Cole growled, “or you wouldn’t have given me up to her. A man rule cardinal sin.”

  “Cardinal sin? Don’t you go threatening me with that nun aunt of yours.” Algee glared at Cole, who glared right back.

  “Okay, men, the way I see it, there’s only one thing to do here,” Nathan said.

  “I already know what to do,” Cole said. “Damage control. ASAP.”

  Leena was out of Ding Dongs, and Sara Lee’s siren call was saying, Buy banana cake now! So right after belly-dancing class, she headed for the mini-mart. She needed sustenance before killing Cole.

  She really needed three packages of cake—one for now, one for later, and one for “just in case.”

  She’d just tossed the third box of Sara Lee’s finest into her shopping cart when she heard the cashier saying, “Hey, Cole, good to see you. Congrats on that sexiest bachelor thing. I was one of the girls who nominated you, you know.”

  Leena stared down the frozen-food aisle to the bleached blonde with dark roots and too much eyeliner at the front of the store. How dare she try and take credit for Leena’s actions. Or maybe she was one of Cole’s previous conquests? Had he at one time bet someone that he could convince the cashier to go out with him too?

  “We’re all so happy they picked you,” the cashier gushed.

  All? How many was Bimbo Girl talking about here? Every female in Rock Creek?

  Leena unwrapped a Ding Dong and took a big bite.

  The crinkling paper gave her away. Cole followed the sound and located her with those too-sexy eyes of his.

  Had he tried to be charming and funny she would have slayed him with a single scathing look. But instead he approached her with an expression of serious chagrin and remorse. Smart move on his part.

  “I need to speak to you,” Cole said.

  Leena shook her head. “Forget it. I’m not at work now. You’re not my boss after hours.”

  “I don’t want to speak to you as your boss. This isn’t work related.”

  “No?”

  “No. Have you, uh, spoken to Tameka today?”

  “Tameka?” If the man thought Leena was confessing what she knew and letting him off the hook, he was off his rocker, as her mother would say.

  “She teaches English at the high school and she’s in Skye’s belly-dancing class.”

  “So?”

  “So I hear you joined the class today.”

  “Is nothing in this town private?” Leena said in exasperation.

  “Not much,” the cashier called out with a snap of her gum. “Are you going to buy that Ding Dong?”

  Leena guiltily stuffed the remainder of the snack into the package. “Yes. And this too.” She blindly grabbed something from the display section at the end of the aisle and headed toward the checkout counter.

  “Antifreeze?” the cashier said. “You’re buying a bottle of antifreeze?”

  “Yes.” Leena gave her a defiant look. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Only if you plan on drinking it to wash down the banana cakes and Ding Dongs,” the cashier said. “You’re the model, aren’t you? Is this what models eat in Chicago?”

  “Yes.” Leena swiped her credit card through the machine. “It is.”

  “Did you need me to put these in a bag or did you want to eat them right here?”

  “A bag will be fine.” Leena wanted to place it over the other woman’s head.

  “Your credit card didn’t go through.”

  “What?”

  “Did you want to try another one?”

  “I’ll pay for it,” Cole offered, reaching into his jean pocket for his wallet.

  “No,” Leena said. “I can buy my own antifreeze and stuff. Here, try this one.” Luckily the second credit card went through, but this meant that she’d reached the limit on the other one already. How had that happened? Probably because Leena had been paying so much attention to getting Cole’s accounts in order that she’d neglected her own.

  “Here, let me carry that.” Cole picked up the antifreeze.

  Leena took possession of the important stuff—the bag with her Sara Lee banana cakes and the Ding Dongs—and headed for her car. “You can keep the antifreeze,” she told Cole. “Consider it a gift from me to you.”

  “Is that your way of telling me that you’re going to freeze me out?”

  “Is there a reason why I should be freezing you out?” she countered. “Have you done something you shouldn’t have?”

  “Have you?”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. Sending my name in for that ridiculous sexiest guy contest.”

  “The cashier in there just told you that she was one of the millions of besotted women who nominated you.”

  Cole raised an eyebrow. “Besotted?”

  “That’s right. Besotted.”

  “So, are you besotted?”

  “No.” She opened the car door and placed her food treasures inside. “Have a nice night.”

  “Wait a second. I still need to speak to you.”

  “I don’t need to listen.”

  “So you did speak to Tameka?” His voice was cautious.

  Leena rolled her eyes. “It’s interesting how you’re trying to dance around the subject without admitting that you placed that stupid bet in the off chance that Tameka didn’t tell me about it.”

  “So you know?”

  “Leena knows,” Nancy said as she strolled past them on her way into the mini-mart. “She’s not a happy camper. I was there when she heard the news so I can testify to that fact.”

  “Actually I said you were a dead man,” Leena told Cole.

  He turned to his aunt for help. “Didn’t you defend me?”

  “I doubt she’s really going to kill you,” Nancy said.

  “That�
��s not what I meant.”

  “For a guy who’s supposed to be such a smooth talker, you sure have trouble finding the right words when you’re speaking to me,” Leena said.

  “Yeah, I wonder why that is,” Nancy said.

  Cole gave his aunt an impatient look. “You’re not helping here.”

  “I wasn’t really trying to help.” Nancy eyed the bottle he was still carrying. “What are you doing with antifreeze? It’s May.”

  “It’s Pennsylvania. The weather can change in an instant. That’s why we’ve got those prognosticators like the Punxsutawney groundhog.”

  “Too bad the groundhog can’t help you out with forecasting the outcome of this situation. Well, kids, I need to get some toilet paper. Try not to get into any more trouble, Cole.” Nancy waved as she passed them and went on into the convenience store.

  “Yes, Cole, try not to get into any more trouble.” Leena slid into her car.

  Cole opened the passenger door and got in as well, shoving her grocery bag to the floor.

  “Don’t crush my goodies!” Leena yelled, taking immediate action.

  Someone tapped on the driver’s window. “Is there a problem here?”

  It was the sheriff. Leena froze, her face inches from Cole’s crotch as she reached for her junk food on the floor.

  “Hey, Cole, is that an amorous woman on your lap?” Nathan asked.

  Leena snapped upright, whacking her funny bone on the steering wheel. Her arm tingled clear down to her fingertips.

  “Sheriff, are you harassing innocent women again?” Skye joined them, as did several other people from her belly-dancing class.

  “No, ma’am,” Nathan replied solemnly. “I gave that up when I met you.”

  “I should hope so.” Skye kissed him and then leaned down to look at Leena through the window before giving her the universal signal to lower the window. “What are you doing out here?”

  “It appears like they were making out in the car,” Nathan said.

  “Guess this means Cole won his bet, huh?” Skye said.

  “I can’t hear,” Fanny complained. “What’s going on?”