“See,” Savannah said, “she’s still happy, still joyful, but with all the authority of a grown woman who’s been through the fire and emerged whole.”
Abigail nodded as they watched the dancer bow to her audience —who responded with wild applause—then disappear out the door.
“She’s beautiful!” Abby said, her eyes sparkling, her face flushed. “She’s so, so, so...”
“I know.”
Abby shook her head in disbelief. “And she’s not even skinny.”
“Or especially young.”
“I’d say she’s downright plump. But she’s so graceful, and look at them... they love her!”
“Of course they do,” Savannah replied. “She’s courageous enough to let her spirit shine through, to express her joy and pride in herself through movement and music right here in front of everyone. And she allows the rest of us to feel it too when we watch her. That’s quite a gift.”
Abigail nodded thoughtfully. “It is. For her and {ox us.” She turned to Savannah and smiled, then gave her a hearty hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget her... or you, for bringing me here.”
Savannah returned the embrace. “Miss Abigail, you’re pretty darned unforgettable yourself.”
“Now,” Abby jumped up from her chair and glanced at her watch, “if you don’t mind, I have a date. He should be arriving here any minute now.” She glanced toward the door. “Hey, there he is now.”
Savannah turned toward the entrance and was surprised to see a smiling Jeremy Lawrence standing there, looking as gorgeous as ever in a pale blue silk shirt and navy slacks. He was holding a red rose in one hand. He spotted them right away and headed in their direction.
“Oh...” Savannah gulped. “Oh, I didn’t... I mean... wow! You go, girl!”
Abby laughed. “He’s taking me to Santa Tesla Island to look at the lighthouse.”
Savannah glanced at her own watch. “But it’s almost nine o’clock. You’ll barely even make it out there before you have to turn around and come back. The last ferry leaves there around eleven, you know.”
“I know.” Abby smiled, reached for the grinning Jeremy and gave him a lusty kiss on the lips. “And with any luck, we’ll miss it... just like you and Dirk.”
The two of them hurried away, leaving Savannah standing there with a sappy grin on her face and a warm feeling in her heart. “Well, hopefully not exactly like me and Dirk,” she said.
“Bon voyage.”
The next day, Savannah and Tammy sat next to each other on Savannah’s sofa, looking through the latest Victoria’s Secret catalogue, which had just arrived in the morning’s mail.
“I loaned Abby my cell phone,” Tammy said with a slight pout. “I’ve called her four times. You’d think she’d at least pick up and tell me she’s okay over there on that island.”
Savannah smiled. “She’s fine. She’ll come up for air eventually.”
Someone knocked on the front door and Savannah yelled, “Who is it?”
“The big bad wolf.”
“Come in, Dirk,” she yelled back. “Use your key.”
He entered, wearing a contented, peaceful smile.
“You must have just busted somebody,” Savannah said, looking up from her catalogue. “You have that all’s-right-with-the-world look on your face.”
“I just heard that Loco Roco’s back in for at least another three years.”
“I knew it was something like that.”
He glanced over to see what they were looking at. “What’re you two doing there?”
“Ordering new undies,” Savannah said with a chuckle. “Wanna help?”
"No.”
“You sure?”
He grinned. “I’ll take the catalogue home with me when you’re done with it though.”
Tammy snatched it up and held it to her chest. “No way, you perv. We’re going to be ordering for weeks. We’ve got money to spend. Lots and lots of money.”
“Yeah,” Savannah said. “Clare Du Bois came by earlier and dropped off a really nice check for us. The money that Myrna embezzled, it goes back to Suzette’s estate, and Clare’s her beneficiary. She wanted to reward us. So we let her.”
“Must be nice to be a civilian,” he grumbled, “and be able to accept a reward.” He glanced up and saw Diamante and Cleopatra sitting on top of the bookcase. “What’s up with the cats?”
“Clare brought Sammy over with her. She’s adopted him. The kitties are still protesting.”
“How long are you going to be doing... that?” He pointed at the catalogue.
“All day long and into the night,” Savannah replied. “Why do you ask?”
“I just heard they’re releasing Jake the Snake this afternoon.”
“No way! But you just locked him up last year!”
“Actually, it was three years ago. Time flies when you’re having fun... or getting old.”
“You gonna go watch him?”
Dirk smiled. “Oh yeah. I figure he’ll head right back to his old lady’s house and beat her up again. It’s just a matter of time before the call goes out on a domestic over there and I want to be the first to respond.”
“Need company?”
“No, I don’t need nobody.”
“Oh, right. Mr. Macho. Do you want company?”
“Well, I don’t know. I guess you could come along if you really wanna. You got any more of those pecan chocolate chip cookies?”
Acknowledgments
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
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11-Corpse Suzette Page 25