by Marja McGraw
My mother wandered into the kitchen after Chris left, and the first words out of her mouth were, “See? I told you I should have had a walkie-talkie, too, Sandra. But noooo, you said I wouldn’t need one.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, appearing moody. I didn’t think it had to do with hormones this time. She was upset with me, and had every right to feel that way after our encounter with Joshua.
~*~
Dolly, my mother and I went to the Red Barn for lunch before Mother returned to Arizona. Pamela had turned into a new person. She no longer looked tired, and she mentioned that she’d quit her second job. She was even wearing clothes that fit instead of the ragged old over-sized waitress uniform. She smiled a lot and laughed with her customers.
It warmed my heart. Chris was good for her, as she was for him.
Sharon Stone had kept her word and hadn’t bugged me about what was going on, so we gave her an exclusive story for the newspaper. She was the talk of the town with details in her story that no one else could come close to. She thanked me so profusely that I was almost, but not quite, embarrassed. And her editor gave her a promotion that included her own byline. She wasn’t doing fluff stories anymore, and she said she felt fulfilled. I saw a new maturity begin to grow in her.
My mother left for Arizona and about two weeks later Dolly and I returned to the Red Barn for lunch. Pamela had quit, saying she was moving on to bigger things. No one seemed to know where she was going.
Chris dropped by the office once, but when I asked him about Pamela he clammed up. He was smiling though, so I didn’t push him.
A few months went by and my mother called. “Frank and I are coming for a visit. Chris Cross called and invited us. He said he has a surprise that he wants to include us in. I don’t know what it is, but I feel flattered.”
“I don’t know what’s going on either, Mother. He called and asked Pete and me to keep next Saturday night open. Stanley said he and Felicity got a call, too. He even phoned Dolly, asking if she felt like staying up late. Isn’t that odd?”
“I wonder what he’s up to. At least we won’t have long to wait.” Mother hung up sounding cheerful. She liked being a part of the surprise.
After a phone call from Chris, we gathered at my house early Saturday evening. He wanted us all in one place, and he’d told us to “dress to the nines.”
“Anybody know what this is all about?” Pete asked.
“I haven’t a clue,” I said.
No one else seemed to know anything either, except for Stanley. I noticed he was suspiciously quiet, and he kept glancing at his watch. He stood up and I finally noticed his suit was 1940’s vintage. I’d become so used to the way Chris dressed that the style hadn’t struck me at first.
My curiosity got the best of me. “Stanley? What’s going on?”
He walked over to the window and seemed to be watching for something. “Ah, here we go. You’re soon going to find out what all the secrecy has been about. Come on.”
He motioned us, actually tried to herd us, to the front door.
There was a limousine waiting at the curb.
We all chatted and tried to figure things out during a drive that seemed to take forever, and finally arrived at our destination. One by one we climbed out of the limousine, looking up and around. Searchlights lit the sky, indicating a new business. Follow the lights. There was a Grand Opening banner draping a business front. A large and tasteful sign read, Good Joe’s Honky Tonk – Fine Dining and Dancing.
The Bogey Man and a dazzling 1940s doll, Pamela, walked out to meet us. Her white dress, more thirties vintage, clung in all the right places and when she turned it was mostly backless. Chris was in his Bogey persona with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Big band music floated out the door, inviting us to enjoy our evening. It sounded like St. Louis Blues. Pete surprised me when he took my arm and did a little dance step.
I wondered at the crowd filtering through the doors. How had all these people heard about Good Joe’s when we hadn’t heard a word?
Stanley turned to me. “Didn’t you wonder when your newspaper disappeared the past couple of mornings? We didn’t want you to see the advertisements.”
I grinned and turned to Chris. “Awesome. I think I just found my new favorite restaurant.”
“We’re puttin’ on the Ritz tonight, ladies and gents. By the way, you’re all invited to a wedding to take place here in two weeks.”
Pamela grinned and nodded when I turned to her.
Something caught my eye and I turned to see what it was. Nah, it couldn’t be. A man in a trench coat and fedora stopped and tipped his hat at me. Another Bogey impersonator? Had to be. He just had to be. Shoving a cigarette in the side of his mouth, he grinned and winked at me, and disappeared around the corner.
I started to say something, but no one else was looking in that direction.
My mother turned to Frank. “Hubba-hubba. Let’s go cut a rug, Lambie-pie.”
Frank rolled his eyes.
I smiled, and turning toward the Bogey Man, I winked at him. This had been a case to remember, and it wouldn’t have been half as much fun without him.