The line was long, but she’d hurried through it, only to discover that the beautiful passenger with the toothpaste commercial smile was already gone and out the double doors into the greater Fort Myers area, never to be seen or heard from again. It was a shame, really. Liv had never met a man who could make her heart flutter and her palms sweat; not even Robert had elicited such a reaction. Frankly, she’d long suspected she had passed the age where palpitations and perspiration were still a possibility. It was kind of nice to know she still had it in her. Perhaps she wasn’t lost on a downward spiral to an old-age home after all. At least not quite yet.
Liv opened the window and let the balmy breeze caress her face as she followed a Lincoln Continental with a penchant for braking for no apparent reason. The sun was warm and the skies a vibrant blue, hardly a cloud anywhere in sight. Several strange white birds that looked like storks pecked at the ground at the side of the road.
“What in the world?”
As she drove by them, Liv let out a laugh. “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” she said. “Or Ohio either.”
Josie's house was larger than she’d expected, an L-shaped stucco ranch with palm trees and flowering pink shrubs in the front yard. Several orange-pink and green plastic palms were placed in the rock garden near the front door, and she groaned as she leaned over and picked them up, one at a time, in search of the house key until she found it.
A large glazed Mexican tile was cemented into the stucco over the front door. Enter and be blessed, it read.
“Gladly,” Liv muttered.
No sooner had she turned over the deadbolt than the sound of scampering paws and snarling growls drew closer. A matted, hairy thing that resembled a dog, wearing a large lampshade around its neck, barreled toward her, and Liv instinctively backed out the door again and yanked it shut.
The illustrious Missy Boofer, no doubt, she thought, her hand still on the knob.
As the animal threw itself at the front door several times, snorting and barking, she released her hold completely, stepped back even farther, and placed her hand on her hip as she groaned. “Now what?”
Deciding on a different plan of attack, Liv went back to the car and unloaded her luggage to the front porch. When silence indicated that the dog had taken a break, she quickly opened the door, tossed the larger bag inside, and slammed the door again just as Boofer started another tirade.
“Okay,” Liv said in as friendly a voice as she could muster, “I understand.”
Two more stabs at entering initiated a fury of snarls and barks. When the dog finally settled down, Liv sent a quick wish upward, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Boofer was a four-legged contradiction. Baring her teeth as she growled at Liv, the ball of coarse fur was wrapped in a pink doggie T-shirt with Princess in Training written across the back in glittering rhinestones. She ran toward Liv, her big old lampshade rocking from side to side, and she seemed to be spitting as she protested Liv's presence. Missy curled her upper lip at Liv.
Liv took a deep breath, extended her index finger, and, in the loudest voice she could muster, shouted, “Look!”
The dog stopped in its tracks, sliding the rest of the way toward her on its behind.
“I am not a robber. I’m a friend. I come in peace. Your crazy owner has asked me to come here and take care of you, and that's what I’m going to do. You are not going to bite me or growl at me anymore. Is that understood?”
Apparently not, because the dog snarled at her, but only once.
“Okay. Now I’m going to just walk through here, and you can either come with me or not. It's up to you. But you’re going to let me pass.”
When the dog did let her pass, Liv whispered, “Thank you, Jesus.”
Beautiful terrazzo tiles created a subtle pattern on the floor throughout the house, and thick, colorful area rugs gave the place a foundational personality that greeted her from room to room. The kitchen was a Tuscan paradise, with a center island and a magnificent hooded gas stove and grill. Beyond the sliding glass doors at one end of the sunroom was a sparkling blue pool encircled with terrazzo tiles and a free-standing hot tub, barbecue grill, and cushioned bamboo lounge chairs, all caged inside a large, screened lanai. A grassy, landscaped yard extended beyond the lanai, and a tall slatted fence allowed privacy from the view of those occupying the house on the other side.
Boofer remained right on her heels as Liv wandered down the hallway. The walls were dotted with framed photographs of Hallie, Jim, and the kids. She passed a bathroom and two small guest rooms before reaching a master suite that just about took her breath away. Moss green walls surrounded a wood-framed queen bed with striking barley-twisted posters, a headboard of framed panels, and a rosewood inlay with a carved rope molding that arched the design. A thick paisley comforter in greens, golds, and wines extended from a pile of enormous pillows, and the deep emerald green rug covering the tile floor was plush and inviting.
“Well, Boofer, I’d say you’ve got quite a little setup here in Florida.” Boofer flopped to a sitting position beside her. “What do you say you carry in my luggage while I take a nap, huh? Is that a deal?”
The dog just whined and scratched the lampshade with her back paw in an attempt to knock it off. When she wasn’t able to break free, she looked up at Liv and growled.
“Hey. What did I say about growling at me?”
Boofer seemed to consider the question, then just dropped to her side and rolled onto the lampshade with a whine.
“That's more like it.”
A purple sticky note stuck to the television screen in the living room invited Liv to “turn it on and press play,” which she did. She hadn’t seen Josie Parish in a couple of years, but the sweet, silver-haired comedienne looked just the same.
“Hi, there, Olivia,” she said in her high-pitched Mrs. Butterworth voice as she wrinkled her nose from inside the television. “And welcome to sunny Florida. Isn’t it just beautiful? It's not always this pretty, like when we move into hurricane season a couple of times a year, but I predict it will be just lovely while you’re here. Oh, other than some afternoon showers that sometimes last about an hour or so, and then they go away and the sun comes out again.”
At the sound of Josie's voice, Boofer came running. She made an attempt at jumping on the sofa but missed and tumbled to the floor with a thud.
“Oh, dear!” Liv exclaimed, picking the dog up and placing her carefully on the cushion beside her. “Don’t do that again. I can help you if you need to get somewhere.”
Boofer laid her lampshade on Liv's knee and looked up at her gratefully.
“I’ve checked Granny Doogan's Almanac,” Josie continued, “and it looks like the weather will be in the low eighties for most of the time that you’ll be here on the island. If you want to make the pool water warmer, there's a thermostat on the wall above the barbecue grill. And if you want to make the air conditioning cooler, there's a keypad in the hall next to the guest bathroom.”
Liv ran a hand over Boofer's back and smoothed her thick fur, and the dog made a tiny popping noise.
“Oooh, what was that, huh?”
Pop-pop-poppety-pop.
“Oh. Boofer. Are you … are you all right?”
“Missy Boofer gets one can of special dog food each morning, and then two scoops of dry in the evening,” Josie said, drawing Liv's attention back to the screen. “She can have a couple of cookies as a snack each day, and I’ll leave it up to the two of you to decide when. She has a section of her own in the pantry off the kitchen. Oh, and the big plastic collar can come off on Monday. If you need it, her veterinarian's information is on the front of the refrigerator.”
Pop-pop-poppop.
Liv grimaced and looked down at the dog, who appeared completely unfazed.
“Be very careful with her, Pumpkin. My little puppy dog is a runner. If she sprints by you, just prop open the screen door by the pool, and she’ll come back on her own eventually.”
Liv
cast Boofer a quick glance. “Don’t run away, okay?”
The dog made no promises.
“I guess you can figure out by her name,” Josie explained, and then she cupped her mouth with one hand and broke into a whisper. “Missy Boofer has a bit of a flatulence problem.”
“Your name?” Liv asked the dog. “Is that what that means? Boofing means to—”
Pop-pop-phlooop.
“Oh!” she cried, pressing pause on the television and hopping to her feet.
Boofer stood up on the sofa and looked at her curiously just as the odor reached Liv's nose.
“Ohhh!” she cried, covering her mouth and nose with both hands. “Oh, come on! Are you kidding me with this?”
Pop-pop.
“Stop that! Am I being punked?”
Liv raced toward the sliding glass door to the lanai and yanked it open, waving her arms to coax the sudden stench out the door.
“I see you’ve met Boofer.”
She wheeled around and let out a scream as she came face to face with a tall, muscular young man wearing floral Bermuda shorts, rubber flip-flops, and an open denim shirt. He stood poolside and held a bottle of juice. Boofer let out one bark and then tottered across the floor and raced excitedly toward the stranger.
“I’m sorry,” he said, crouching down to scratch the dog inside the lampshade. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Josie mentioned you’d be arriving sometime today, and I just wanted to stop by and see if you needed anything.”
“And you are … ?”
“Rand,” he replied, and he stood up and offered his hand. She shook it tentatively, and then he pointed over his shoulder toward the pool. “The other side of the fence. Your neighbor.”
“Oh, I see.”
He was young, probably not much more than twenty-five, and he reminded her of a TV actor on one of the daytime soaps. Liv tried not to stare, but she hadn’t seen a rippled chest like his up close in a lot of years, or maybe not ever, at least in person.
“Well, I’m just on the other side,” he told her, “if you find you need anything.”
“Thank you.”
He turned and started toward the screen door at the other end of the lanai, and then he paused and glanced back at her. “Oh, and about Boofer. I dogsat over the summer a couple of times. If you hold back on the special canned stuff and just feed her dry food, you’ll be much more comfortable in the long run, if you get my meaning.”
Liv chuckled and nodded her head, and then shot Rand a grin. “I appreciate the tip.”
“It's really bad, isn’t it?”
“Unique. Yes.”
“By the way, we’re having a barbecue tonight around seven, just some neighbors and a few friends. If you’d like to come over and meet some people, you’re more than welcome.”
He raked his wavy hair with one hand and took a swig from the bottle of neon liquid, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I appreciate the offer,” she told him. “But it's my first night here. I think I’ll just get settled in.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and something about the way he swaggered, and then smiled at her, gave new meaning to the invitation. “I’d love a chance to get to know you better.”
“Thanks, Rand. But I don’t think so.”
Run along now before I have to call your babysitter.
“All right. If you change your mind, just come on over.”
“I’ll do that. But don’t plan for me.”
She stood in the doorway and watched him until he was out the door and had disappeared on the other side of the gate after latching it. She started to close the sliding door behind her as she stepped back inside, but one whiff of what she’d run from a few minutes earlier inspired her to push it open wide instead.
Josie's video welcome lasted another twenty minutes, with tips on the good restaurants, where to go to church on Sunday, and when to expect the pool service. Just about the time that Liv considered turning it off before she was through, Josie told her she could find some other useful information on the dining room table, she wished her a happy holiday on Sanibel Island, and she was gone.
“At last. ”
Liv dragged her luggage into the bedroom and spent some time hanging things in the closet. She set her suitcase up on the chair in the corner to hold her folded items and lined up her shoes on the floor in front of the window.
Boofer moseyed in, sat down in the doorway, and looked at Liv curiously.
“Well, that killed half an hour,” Liv said to the dog as she passed her and headed down the hall. “Now what?”
Boofer scampered behind her, and Liv talked to the dog all the way into the kitchen. “I’ll tell you a little secret, Boofer. I’m not too great at the whole concept of vacationing. The truth is I don’t really like to have too much free time to think. I’d rather keep busy. Know what I mean?”
Boofer cocked her head, and Liv couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Why don’t we have a little snack?” Liv suggested. “I’ll grab a couple of cookies for you, and maybe one of those apples on the counter for me, and we can go out and sit by the pool. What do you think of that?”
Boofer didn’t seem to object, so Liv set about following the plan. She pulled down a serving tray from the shelf in the pantry and grabbed a few dog biscuits from Boofer's private stock. She dipped a spoon into a jar of peanut butter and set the spoon on the tray next to an apple and a knife, and then she grabbed a bottle of water from the door of the refrigerator.
“Let's go,” she said, and Boofer followed her straight out the door.
Liv stretched out on one of the lounge chairs and sliced the apple into wedges atop the tray in her lap. Male voices in the distance drew her attention toward the fence, and she recognized one of them as Rand. The other seemed oddly familiar to her as well, which she knew was pretty unlikely, but she strained to listen more carefully anyway.
“Okay if I dump the ice into the cooler and get the sodas and stuff in there?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll fire up the grill.”
They were gearing up for the barbecue that Rand had mentioned. She wondered who the other voice belonged to as she tossed Boofer a meaty bone-shaped treat.
“Hey, Dad, any chance you could make some of that salsa of yours?”
Oh, it's his father, Liv thought, and she couldn’t help but wonder what the father of a soap star would look like.
Curiosity outweighed courtesy. It couldn’t hurt to have a peek over the top of the fence. Liv set the tray on the edge of the lounge chair and approached the fence. Stepping up on the ledge of the brick planter, she popped her head over the top of the fence.
Rand looked handsome dressed in knee-length khaki shorts and a dark green knit shirt, but where was his father?
At just that moment, a second person emerged from the house and walked out onto the patio by the pool. Salt and pepper hair, suntanned skin, and a toothpaste commercial smile.
Jared Hunt!
Suddenly, Liv lost her balance and began twirling her arms in circles, desperately trying to stop the inevitable. Then, with a little squeal, she fell backwards off the brick planter and rolled across the terrazzo tile, straight into the deep end of the pool.
4
Prudence could hardly believe her wide donkey eyes!
All sizes and shapes of creatures and beasts milled about in the clearing. There were sheep and cows and tigers and frogs. She even spotted a chicken! And they all shared the path surrounding the pond, conversing like friends while munching on grass and leaves and hopping bugs.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Do you live in the meadow?”
Pru craned her neck to look into the gold eyes of the gleaming black stallion that stood before her. He was beautiful, and he took her donkey breath away.
“N-no,” she stammered. “I-I’m just passing through.”
“Not too quickly through, I hope,” the stallion replied with a rich, resonant whin
ny that rocked her to the core.
Liv hadn’t shaved her armpits in two weeks. Frankly, there simply hadn’t been the need. In theory, her underarms had become a bit like a sewing kit to her; no one ever thinks about a needle and thread until they split their pants or pop a button. But now she grazed over them carefully with a disposable razor, and then hit each leg twice in the shower to rid herself of what Hallie liked to call “the winter coat.” She wasn’t facing late March in Ohio any more, and she certainly wasn’t going to wear a dress and sandals anywhere without some very keen attention to detail.
Jared Hunt.
She’d repeated his name in her head about a dozen times since spotting him on the other side of the fence. What were the odds? Really, what were they? The handsome guy that she’d lost track of somewhere in the airport terminal—turning up on the other side of Josie Parish's wooden fence!
Liv changed outfits three times before deciding on the brown and pink tie-dyed Ombre dress with ruching across the bodice and spaghetti straps. She was still tying the brown satin ribbon around her waist as she slipped into jeweled pink sandals and wiggled her freshly painted Cinnamon Toast toes.
She clasped the palm tree necklace Hallie had given her, one of several Florida-themed early birthday presents, and then stood in front of the full-length beveled mirror and took a long gander at the woman looking back at her. Despite the silver threads running through her hair, and the very, very white complexion that betrayed a long winter season in Cincinnati, Liv took note that she looked a bit revived. She could hardly attribute it to Florida since she’d been here less than twenty-four hours, or to Jared Hunt since they’d only met so briefly.
“I think it must be you, Boof,” she said to the Lhasa Apso lying prostrate at her feet. “You make me feel like a new woman.”
Boofer's tail thumped several times against the thick green carpet, and Liv tickled the dog's chin with her index finger.
The Big 5-OH! Page 3