Pretty Woman

by Fern Michaels

  “What took you so long?” Rosie said, holding out her arms. “Damn, you smell good! And you look even better. Just so you know, I’m not entering your race next year.”

  “Why not?” Jack said, squeezing her so hard she yelped for mercy.

  “Because…because…I’ll be pregnant by then.”

  “Are you…?”

  “No, not yet, but I plan to do everything in my power to make that happen. It takes two people, though. You up for it?” she teased. Neither one of them noticed when Luna Mae left the room. Before she had time to close the door, Buddy raced through the room and leaped onto the bed. He lathered his mistress’s face with wet kisses as he snuggled and wiggled to worm himself between Rosie and Jack.

  “Oh, well! There’s always later. Your adoring public awaits, Miss Olympus. You have no idea how much pleasure it’s going to give me to award you the Olympus Trophy,” Jack said, beaming. “Listen, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Iown the Olympus gyms.”

  “And you have no idea how much pleasure it’s going to give me to accept it, Mr. Silver. Youown them! Oh, well, I love you anyway.”

  The rest of the day passed in a blur for Rosie. Her television, radio, and print interviews over, she settled herself in Jack’s La-Z-Boy recliner. Vickie brought her a plate of food, which she devoured. Jack brought the second plate and her second glass of wine, and a third plate for Buddy.

  Rosie basked in contentment as the other contestants stopped by her chair to congratulate her and to say good-bye. By eight o’clock, the house was empty of visitors. Only the kitchen crew remained.

  “Jack, I wonder if you can do me a favor.”

  “He’s doing fine, Rosie. I already called. He’s out of Recovery, and they have him on a morphine drip. I hired a private duty nurse for him for the next couple of days. I told the charge nurse to tell him you called.”

  “Thanks, Jack. Can I go to bed now?” Rosie asked sleepily.

  Jack bent down and scooped Rosie into his arms and carried her upstairs. She was sound asleep before he hit the top step. He placed her gently in the bed and tucked the covers up around her shoulders. “Okay, Buddy, you can take over now,” he whispered. The big dog looked from Jack to Rosie and leaped up on the bed. He lowered himself gently, then placed his head on Rosie’s stomach. Jack petted the dog’s head and whispered again, “If you need me, I’ll be downstairs.” He swore later that Buddy nodded.

  In the kitchen, he finally took his Thanksgiving dinner out of the warming oven and carried it into the living room, where he sat down on his favorite chair. How in the hell could he have forgotten to eat? He took a slug of the beer in his hand before he tackled what looked to him like the best Thanksgiving dinner of his life.

  Outside, the temperature dropped steadily as the rain continued to batter the house. Like he cared. His immediate world was perfect.

  The fire crackled in the fireplace, casting the room in a delicious, warm orange cocoon. Jack looked over at the mute television screen. He should probably turn it off. It seemed like a tremendous effort. He reached for the lever that would lower his chair to the recline position and leaned back. Perfect.

  A moment later, he bounced upright. He walked to the front door and opened it to stare across the yard at the big oak in the center. Unmindful of the rain, he ran across the yard to the swing. He wondered what would happen if he sat down on it. He needed to talk to Martha. One last time. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that after tonight, Martha would be locked away in his heart. He had to tell her why. He sat down and waited to see if she would boot him off like the last time. He sat perfectly still, then smiled when the swing started to move on its own until he was almost to the top of the tree. He reached out and plucked a leaf. When the swing was still again, he started to talk.

  A long while later, Jack stepped off the swing and walked over to the emerald patch of moss beneath the old tree. He dropped to his knees and ran the palms of his hand over the moss. A sense of peace and contentment washed over him. And then a strong gust of wind propelled him forward. He laughed, the sound echoing up through the dense foliage of the tree. “I’m getting on with it. I am.”

  Jack sprinted for the house. At the door, he turned and waved. The biggest branch, the one that held the swing, dipped, then righted itself.

  In the house, Jack walked over to the bookshelf and withdrew his memory book. He slipped the leaf next to the ones Martha had reached for so long ago. There was a sense of finality when he closed the book and returned it to the shelf.

  Jack took the steps two at a time. He stood in the open doorway to observe Rosie. She was still sleeping peacefully, Buddy’s head still on her stomach. He smiled.

  His little family.

  Epilogue

  Rosie was stunned to see all the Christmas decorations when she walked into Savannah Memorial Hospital. She blinked at the dazzling Christmas tree twinkling in the middle of the lobby.

  She was tired, but it was a nice kind of tired. She’d driven to Atlanta, leaving the house at five in the morning and returning as soon as she finished her business. It was after eight now, almost the end of visiting hours.

  Rosie looked around for a directory that would lead her to Kent’s room. She wasn’t sure if she felt guilty or not as she walked down the blue-zoned corridor that would take her to the orthopedic unit. Coming here was a private personal matter, and she really didn’t owe anyone an explanation. Not even Jack.

  Rosie stopped at the desk to ask which room Kent was in; 411 she was told.

  The hospital bustled with early-evening activity, meds were being dispensed, visitors were preparing to leave, and hospital volunteers were busily pushing their juice and snack carts down the halls. Doctors’ pages sounded over the loudspeaker, one after the other, jarring Rosie’s thoughts. She hoped the pages weren’t life-or-death calls.

  She was brought up short by the number on the closed door—411. She knocked softly and was told to enter. She did so, but cautiously.

  “Rosie!”

  Rosie turned, half-expecting to hear a trumpet blast heralding her arrival. She grinned. “That’s my name. I just stopped by to see how you are.”

  “As good as can be expected.” He patted the soft cast on his knee and pointed to the aluminum crutches leaning against the nightstand. “I get out of here in five days. Therapy is just about all day long and wipes me out. I know it’s a little late but congratulations. When I woke up after surgery, all I could think of was that Thanksgiving dinner I missed. Believe it or not, I’m glad you won.”

  For some reason, Rosie believed him. She sat down on the only chair in the room. “What are you going to do now, Kent?”

  “As soon as the doctor gives me the go-ahead, I’m moving on. I’m thinking of ten days at the most. Listen, Rosie, I’m glad you came by because I need to do somefessing up here. When I leave, I don’t want any loose ends. I took Jack’s gun. I think I was a little crazy back then. I’m also the one who broke into your house, and I stole your jewelry box and the money inside, and an antique Rolex from Luna Mae. The gun is in my locker at the gym. Your stuff is in the trunk of my car. I can say I’m sorry a hundred different ways, but it won’t make a difference to you, I’m sure. Something happened to me when I took that gun. I started to see where I was going, what I had become, and I didn’t like it.

  “I started to train, and my life changed. I was so exhausted at the end of the day, it was all I could do to eat and go to bed. I can’t explain it any better than that. Look, Rosie, I was a son of a bitch, and I apologize. You should never have married me. You were way too good for me. I’ll be out of your life completely in a few months. I’ll send you a Christmas card every year if you want one.”

  “Where…where are you going, Kent?”

  “I’m thinking Montana. Big Sky country. Don’t ask me what I’m going to do there because I don’t know. Something. It won’t be real estate, that’s for sure. I can see myself working on a ranch.”

 
; Rosie burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. Kent had the good sense to look embarrassed. Rosie continued to laugh. “I can see you as a ranch owner but not a ranch hand.”

  “Well, that isn’t going to happen. I guess it is kind of funny. So, you look like you recovered from the race ordeal. It’s a good thing I was knocked out from the operation, or I would have climbed the walls. Every bone in my body, every single muscle screamed in agony. You got the trophy, huh?”

  Rosie reached into her purse and pulled out the trophy. “You would have won, Kent. It belongs to you. Consider it a going-away present.”

  “Nah, I can’t take that. You won it fair and square. You were dead tired and about to quit yet you picked yourself up and ran ahead to get the ambulance for me. That tells me all I need to know about you, Rosie. I hope you and Jack have a good life.”

  “I hope you do, too, Kent. The past is gone. Hopefully, we both learned from it. I know I did. You know, right up until I stumbled across that finish line I had myself convinced that I was in that race for myself. I lied to myself. I did it to show you up. I was so bitter, so angry at you. I wanted to make you pay for what I allowed you to do to me. I’m okay with myself now. The trophy is yours. Be gracious in your acceptance, Kent.”

  “Okay. I’m glad you stopped by. I hate to ask you this, but do you think you could float me a loan until I get settled? I’ll sign a note and pay you back.”

  “How come you don’t watch television?” Rosie queried, ignoring his question as she tried to figure out if he’d seen her accept the check for the Wonderball lottery.

  “I just haven’t felt like it. Why, did something big happen in the world today?”

  “Yeah, something pretty big happened.” Rosie opened her purse again. She handed over a white envelope.

  “What’s this? Please don’t tell me it’s a subpoena.”

  “Nah. Just a little something to make your life easier. Oh, I almost forgot, here!” she said, tossing him a key ring.”

  “This is the Porsche key. Is it the spare?”

  “Nope. The real thing. The dealer couldn’t get me a fair market price, so I took it back. I paid it off, and it’s yours. You can go in style to Montana.”

  “Jesus, Rosie, I don’t know what to say. Thanks.”

  “Thanks is good. See ya, Kent. Don’t forget to send me a Christmas card.” When Rosie reached the door, she turned around and waved airily, then blew him a kiss. She was about to step into the elevator when she heard Kent’s whoop of pleasure. She laughed all the way out to her own car.

  Nurses and doctors ran down the corridor only to see Kent hopping around on one foot waving a check for all of them to see. “Sixty-eight million dollars! Do you believe that?” The staff watched while their giddy patient did a one-legged dance, all the while kissing the check in his hand.

  “Rosie,” he whispered, when the door closed behind the staff, “I’m even going to send you a Christmaspresent.”

  Seeing Jack’s car in her driveway, Rosie got out of her car and ran up the steps. Jack met her on the front porch. He picked her up and swung her around until she was dizzy. Buddy barked as he nipped at Jack’s ankles, a signal that he wanted affection from his mistress. “Everything is ready, so we can leave anytime you want,” he whispered, as Rosie bent down to hug the big black dog.

  “Hey, I’m ready right now. River house, here I come!”

  “You looked good on television this morning. How does it feel to have all that money?” Jack grinned.

  “Not one bit different from before. I stopped by the hospital to give Kent his share. I gave him the key to the Porsche, too. He’s going to send us a Christmas card every year,” Rosie giggled. “By the way, the gun he took is in his locker at the gym. You might want to stop and take it out before we head over to the river house. I don’t know if this will mean anything to you, Jack, but Kent said he turned around his life, and he said it happened after he took the gun. Meaning, of course, that he had sunk so low there was no place to go but up. In the end it was a good thing, I guess. He’s not our problem anymore. From here on in, it’s just me, you, and Buddy.”

  “Sounds like a road song,” Jack said, hugging her.

  “I was hoping for something a little more substantial. Like an earth-shattering kiss that sends rockets off in my head. Or makes me weak in the elbows. Blowing my socks off is good, too.”

  “If you’d shut up for a minute, I would be more than happy to oblige you.”

  It all happened, just the way she wanted it to happen. “Oooh,” she murmured a minute later, “that curled my toes.”

  Jack laughed as he held the car door open for her. “What now?”

  “Now, I have two weddings to plan before I start on my own. I promised Luna Mae and Vickie that we would throw each of them a wedding at the river house. Just us and immediate friends, you know, your dad, your uncle, all of Luna Mae and Curly’s NASCAR buddies, all of Vickie’s friends and her fiancé’s fellow lawyers.”

  “Doesn’t sound very little to me. The old house is going to rock, that’s for sure.”

  Rosie’s voice turned suddenly shy. “Jack, tell me the truth, are you as happy as I am?”

  “Happier. I didn’t think it was possible, but I am.”

  “Is this where one of us says, All’s well that ends well?”

  “This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning,” Jack said, nuzzling her neck.

  The ride to the river house was made in record time. While Jack carried in her bags and all of Buddy’s gear, Rosie walked across the lawn to the old tree. “Hi, Martha, it’s me,” she said softly. “I’m moving in. I wanted to tell you myself.” Rosie looked up at the branch that held the swing, holding her breath. When it didn’t dip in greeting, her stomach started to churn. She swallowed hard. “I will love him just the way you did. I’ll do my best never to say a cross word, and I’ll never let us go to bed angry with each other. And one thing’s for damn sure, your pictures will always remain exactly where they are in the house. I just want you to know that.” Still the branch didn’t move, but the swing jiggled in the cool evening air. At first she thought she was seeing things until it whirled completely around. “You want me to sit on it? Are you sure?” The branch dipped. Rosie grinned from ear to ear as she sat down on the swing. When it started to move, she squealed with delight. Higher, higher, and still higher. From somewhere far off, she could hear gentle laughter.

  Rosie held on to the ropes as the swing returned to a still position. In her hand were a bunch of leaves. A lone tear rolled out of the corner of her eye as she slid off the swing. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll be back,” Rosie whispered. She held her breath as she waited to see if the big branch would dip. It did. She turned to run into the house and ran straight into Jack’s arms.

  “How did it feel?” he whispered.

  “Like I could reach all the way to heaven. It was wonderful! Look!”

  Jack looked down at the leaves, then up at the big tree. He smiled and waved. Rosie waved, too.

  “I love you so much it hurts,” Jack said.

  “Me too,” Rosie said.

  Buddy barked.

  “It’s unanimous.” Jack grinned.

  “You bet it is. We’re a family, and families have to stick together.

  The big tree suddenly took on a life of its own as the branches rose and dipped, then up again and down. The wind seemed to be saying, welcome, welcome home!