CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: Know Where You Got Your Shoes
The first glimmer of daybreak entered Debbie’s room. It caught her eye as she smacked her dry lips. She felt a pair of soft arms wrapped around her. One arm was caressing her belly, while the other was underneath her. She turned over and saw Marlena still asleep. Not remembering how they got into this position, Debbie thought, I know I’ve been upset at men, but this is a little extreme.
Andie was finishing her second cup of coffee from the room’s in-house pot. The news report on TV was covering the airplane crash site. The victims were flying in Wainwright’s plane, but he was not one of them. She knew something wasn’t quite right.
Benny and Julie staggered in from their night on the town. After the sex session that Andie and Debbie overheard, they went back to the Quarter and stayed out all night. They jumped into bed and collapsed.
Nick was still sleeping. He stayed up until five am, talking to the piano player. This time, it was the piano player that did most of the talking. He told Nick a story, which paralleled Nick’s. The man had lost what he thought was the love of his life to another woman. He also had a feeling that Satan was following him everywhere he went. When Nick asked him how everything turned out, the man told him how he was just released from a mental institution. That was where he learned to play piano.
Harold was driving up to Carlos’ front door. He drove from the airport just in time to pick up Gina, who was walking out the door as he drove up.
“You look like shit, baby,” said Gina.
“Had kind of a rough night – and please don’t call me baby,” said Harold.
“Okay – lover.” She laughed as she jumped into the car and licked Harold’s cheek in a long, seductive motion. Harold slumped lower in his seat and drove away.
Peter was walking into his office to find Carlos waiting.
“Carlos, so nice to see you. How did you get in here?”
“What’s all this mess with the plane crash?” Carlos asked.
“There’s no mess. Everything is fine.”
“Fine? You call this fine? Wainwright’s plane was found on shore with bodies in it – and none of them were Wainwright’s.”
“No need to panic…”
“I am not panicking. A Verona doesn’t panic. He finds answers.”
“Well, I have an answer.”
“This better be good.”
“It is,” said Peter. “You see, we, uh, decided to have live bodies on the plane to make the plane crash seem more natural.”
“How natural is this? Wainwright’s plane crashes and he isn’t on the plane. What did the plane’s records show?”
“Well, it showed that Wainwright was on board.”
“Well, where the hell is he?” Carlos yelled. His grey fedora fell off his head, revealing his just dyed hair.
“Settle down, Carlos. We both know where he is.”
“But where in the hell do the authorities believe he is?”
“They think he jumped off the plane. They found three bodies on a four passenger plane.”
“So, they’re searching for him?”
“As we speak.”
“Who were the victims? You promised me no victims – no real deaths. What if this all comes back to me?”
“Don’t worry. I’m finding out everything. Absolutely nothing will be linked to you in any way, shape, or form.”
“You act like everything is under control.”
“Of course it is. Everything is fine. We just changed plans a little.”
“Well, next time, inform me of the changes. I don’t like surprises. You better stick to your end of the deal and make sure that man continues to suffer.”
“No problem, Carlos. Did Harold pick up Gina?” He was trying to change the subject.
“I would assume so. I left before eight o’clock.”
“I’m sure he’s showing her a good time.”
“Okay - it looks like everything is going all right,” said Carlos. He started to calm down. “I’m going against my better judgment and trust you on this. I’m going back to my home. You let me know if anything changes - understand?”
“Yes, sir. I sure do.” Peter let Carlos out the door and started hyperventilating. “Oh – my – God,” he said to himself.
“You know what I want to do today?” asked Gina.
“No – and I’m afraid I don’t want to know,” said Harold.
“Let’s take Uncle Carlos’ jet to New Orleans.”
“What? No - absolutely not. There is no possible way I’m taking you to New Orleans.”
“That’s too bad. I would hate for Uncle Carlos to find out exactly what we’ve been doing,” she threatened.
“You wouldn’t?”
Gina smiled. “It’s nice to be in control. I’ll just call the airport and they can have the plane ready to go within the hour. We’ll have a great time.” Harold turned the car around and went back to the airport.
As Debbie slid away from Marlena’s still-sleeping hug, she checked herself out to make sure all her clothes were still on. Marlena started waking up.
“Are you feeling better, sweetie?” asked the waking Marlena.
“I think so. Just what in the hell happened?”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine. We need to repack and get to the airport. Our plane leaves at ten.”
She got out the bed and walked to the bathroom. Debbie stared at Marlena’s perfect body. I guess if I’d start liking women, she’d be a good one to do, thought Debbie.
Andie decided to take advantage of being by herself. She got dressed and went downstairs. There were plenty of brochures showing places to go. She took a walk along the river, sat on a bench, and watched the ships go by. It was a relaxing, cool spring morning as the breeze blew from the Mississippi. It gave her plenty of time to think. She watched a saxophone player belting out his sound, which seemed to echo across the river. An old black man walked up to her.
“Excuse me, miss. I see you have some lovely shoes on,” he said.
Andie didn’t quite know what to make of this, so she just said, “Thank you.”
“You know, I bet you five dollars I can tell you exactly where you got your shoes.”
Andie bought her shoes at Ramone’s Boutique in her building. There was no way this man could know that, she thought.
“Okay, you’re on.”
“You got your shoes right there on your feet in New Orleans, Louisiana.”
“You’re wrong,” said Andie. “I bought them at Ramone’s Boutique in New Lake City.”
“I didn’t say where you bought them, lady. I said I could tell you where you got them. Look at your shoes. Right now, you got them on your feet, in New Orleans, Louisiana.”
A con artist had just duped Andie. She reached into her purse and gave the man five dollars.
“Are all the street people as slick as you?” she asked.
“No ma’am. I’m the best,” said the proud street hustler.
She got up and walked to the French Quarter. She ate beignets at Café Du Monde as she listened to the trumpet player. He pointed her out and asked if she had a request.
“Anything would be fine,” she told him.
“You seem a little lost,” said Horace.
“No, I’m just enjoying the scenery.”
“I’m not talking about that kind of lost, pretty lady. You see that woman over there?” He pointed to the old blind woman.
“Yes.”
“You wipe that powdered sugar off that pretty little face and go over there. You tell that woman Horace sent you. She’ll fix you up.”
“Excuse me, sir, but I don’t need fixing up.” Horace started laughing and began playing Hello Dolly. Andie wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. She had just been conned once and had the feeling it would happen again if she talked to this woman. Being the naïve soul she was, she decided to give it a try. She approached the old lady, who stopped shuffling cards as she heard Andie’s footsteps.
“You seek my advice?” asked the woman.
“Horace sent me,” said Andie. She could tell right away that the woman was blind.
“You are troubled,” said the woman, as she laid the tarot cards on the tray.
“This is part of your set-up, right?”
“You are a non-believer.”
“I’m just tired of being taken for granted.”
“Your lover does not show you proper attention.” A reversed Lovers card was dealt.
“See? That’s a basic question. I wouldn’t even call him my lover, because…”
“He leaves when it is time for intimacy.” She dealt a reversed Justice card.
“Exactly,” Andie agreed.
“He left you in this city all alone while he attends other matters.” She put the card back into the deck.
“Right,” said Andie. “Hey - how did you know that?”
“It’s right here in the cards.” Andie was impressed. “What else does it show?”
“I see false affection.” She changed the deck. The first card pulled was the Fool.
“On whose part?”
“Both.”
“Both?”
“Yes, both. Your so-called lover is showing you attention only to get you to make love with him.”
“And myself?”
“You are just horny, my dear.” She smiled as she pulled an upright Empress card.
Andie turned red. “How do you know this?”
“It’s in the cards. This is what I do. Haven’t you figured this out by now?”
“I’m sorry. Tell me more.”
“It’ll cost you.” Andie took twenty dollars out her purse and handed it to her. The woman took the money, turned over another card, and froze.
“What’s the matter,” asked Andie.
“I see something amazing.” An upright Lovers card showed up next.
“What?”
“I see a true love.”
“Who is it?”
“It isn’t the man you are connected to right now, at least not physically.”
“What do you mean by that? I’m not connected to anyone physically right now.”
“But you sure have been trying with the one you are with.”
“I guess you could say that,” Andie stated, as she blushed.
“I just did. You’re just as evasive as Nick.”
Andie was baffled. “Did you just say Nick?”
“Yes, didn’t you hear me?”
“Why did you say his name?”
“Because he is the object of your desires.” She dealt a reversed Strength card.
“No way – not Nick.”
“You have been having erotic dreams about Nick.”
“Maybe so, but there is no possible way that Nick is the object of my desires, as you so casually put it.”
The old lady just smiled.
“You are confusing the heck out of me,” said Andie. “Here you are, knowing Nick’s name, which is amazing, but saying that he is the one my heart needs is the most asinine thing I have ever heard.”
“You doubt me?”
“Yes and no.”
“Well, for five dollars, I can really tell you where you got your shoes.”
“I know, I got my shoes, on my feet, in New Orleans, Louisiana,” Andie proclaimed.
“That may be where you got them now, but you bought them at a store near to where you spend most of your time. Would that be work?” She didn’t need any cards to come up with that one.
Once again, Andie was amazed. “You have to excuse me, ma’am. I’m really stunned here. You’ve nailed everything down, except for the Nick part. It’s an amazing gift you have there but you shouldn’t tell people things that just aren’t true. It’ll confuse the hell out of them.”
“As you are now.”
“Right.”
“Then my job is done.”
“What job are you talking about?”
“You will find out, my dear. You will find out.” Andie gazed into the dark sunglasses the woman was wearing and didn’t move.
“You’ll have to get going now. There are people waiting,” said the lady.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look in back of you. There are people waiting.”
Andie turned around to see a line of curious on-lookers waiting their turn. “I’m leaving now. I don’t know what to make of everything you just told me, but I want to at least thank you for the entertainment.”
The lady started laughing again.
“What’s so funny?” asked Andie.
“You’re in for a lot more than just entertainment,” she said while still laughing. “Next.”
Andie walked away and started thinking. How did she know about me dreaming about Nick, much less even knowing his name? How did she know about me not making love to Harold and him leaving to take care of business? How did she know where I got my shoes? What if she was right about Nick being what her heart desires?
A street kid walked up to Andie at that moment and said, “Hey lady, for five dollars, I can tell you where you got your shoes.”
“Oh yeah? Well, for ten dollars, I won’t be putting these shoes up your ass.”
The kid ran away in fear. Andie couldn’t believe she just said that. She lowered her head in embarrassment, as two older ladies had just witnessed her threat.
The Devil's in My Bathroom Page 40