A Little Help from Above (24 page)

“Gotcha.” He nodded, staring as if he was trying to place her, too. “Sorry. I guess I wasn’t who you thought.”

Oh believe me. I’m sorry, too. “Actually it just dawned on me that you are sort of.”

“Excuse me?”

“Who I’m looking for.” Shelby took a deep breath. “I mean no, you’re not who I thought at the beginning…I’m not sure how to ask this…If you’re Mr. Armonk’s son-in-law, does that make you M.J. McCreigh?”

“You lost me. You didn’t know he was the lieutenant governor, but you know my name? Who are you?”

“A reporter for the New York Informer.”

“Oh, you’re kidding. The one doing that story about our anniversary?”

Shelby nodded.

“That’s really funny. So we were both on the way to my house?”

“I guess so.” Shelby laughed. “Small world.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know your name. The only thing my wife said to me before I left was to be back at one to do an interview with some lady.”

“I’m the lady,” she extended her hand. “Shelby Lazarus. Pleased to meet you.”

Mr. McCreigh’s face turned ashen. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you.” He pointed to the trucks. “Could you repeat that?”

She cupped her hands and shouted. “Shelby Lazarus.”

His expression went from amused to shocked to elated. He grabbed Shelby and hugged her so hard she could barely breathe, just as Officer Donnelly returned. Shelby prayed it was not to apprehend her.

“Careful there, Mr. McCreigh.” A softer, sweeter cop tried moving them away from the passing cars. “We don’t generally recommend state roads for reunions. Looks like this is your lucky day, ma’am.” He returned her license and registration. “Seems as if all charges against you are being dropped…”

M.J. McCreigh didn’t hear a word being said. “After you said that you thought I was an old friend, I looked at your face and said to myself, wait a minute. Could it be her?”

“Okay, now I’m the one who’s a little confused. Do you know me?”

“Did you grow up on Long Island?”

“Yes.”

“In Manhasset?”

“Yes?”

“At 68 Majestic Court?”

Shelby swallowed hard.

“And did this friend of yours used to call you Shebby?” He pushed the bangs from her eyes. “And write you poems, and build you snowmen, and make you eat Campbell’s chicken noodle soup in July…”

“So I’d be warm enough to jump into a freezing pool.”

“Oh my God!” his jaw dropped.

“Matty?” she whispered.

He nodded yes, and the world on the edge of State Road 120 suddenly came to a standstill. She’d been right? Incredibly, miraculously right? She stared deep into Matty’s great green eyes, located the tiny birthmark on his left earlobe, then let out a primal scream that startled the previously unflappable Officer Donnelly.

“Long time no see.” Matty kissed her, doing his manly best to hold back tears.

“I don’t understand.” Shelby started to cry. “How can you be…You just said your name was M.J. McCreigh.”

“Yeah, which is it?” Officer Donnelly eyed him suspiciously.

“Both, actually.”

“I got a minute I can spare,” he said. “Give me the short version.”

“Okay.” Matty took a deep breath. “The short version is I was born Matthew Jay Lieberman, we moved to California, my dad split, my mother remarried, and her new husband adopted my sister and me. After that I was Matthew Jay McCreigh. M.J. for short.”

“Ah-hah,” Officer Donnelly said. “And you didn’t recognize the lady, she recognized you?”

“It’s been almost thirty years.” Matty held Shelby’s hand.

“Well that’s a hell of a good story to tell the grandkids.” He chuckled. “Aw, don’t cry, ma’am.”

“You don’t understand,” Shelby’s whole body convulsed. “I was afraid I would never see him again. And for it to happen today of all days…”

“It’s not your birthday,” Matty said.

“No,” she replied, wiping her eyes with the tail of her shirt. “It’s just that my life is such a mess right now. A couple of months ago my dad and stepmother, you remember Aunt Roz, were out jogging and were hit by a truck a few blocks from the house. Right on Royal
Lane. Anyway, they nearly died. Then after I flew home, I found out I lost my job, Lauren told me she’d discovered she was a DES daughter, and she needed me to be her surrogate mother, which I agreed to do, and then today on the way here, she called me in the car, hysterical crying, to say the test showed I was pregnant with twins, and that when her husband found out, he packed his bags and took off for Israel because the situation was too crazy for him…”

Matthew’s eyes opened as wide as bagels. “Your father and Aunt Roz jog?”

“That’s what I said!” Shelby burst into laughter.

“All right.” Officer Donnelly looked at his watch. “Looks like you two have some catching up to do. Meanwhile, ma’am, I suggest you hightail it back to the Illinois DMV as soon as possible to apply for a new license. The one you’re carrying expired in June. Of last year.”

“I will,” Shelby was still shaking. “I promise.”

“And please give my regards to the lieutenant governor.” Officer Donnelly winked to Matty. “Tell him the boys support his aggressive plans for vehicle confiscation.”

“Will do, Officer…?”

“Donnelly,” Shelby finished his sentence, just like old times.

“Without a doubt, I’d have to say this is the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me.” Matty touched his heart. “Look at you. You’re gorgeous.”

“No, I’m not.” She blushed. “I’ve probably got mascara running down my face.”

“Yeah, but it’s definitely your color.”

“Forgive me.” Shelby tried to catch her breath. “I’m in shock. You have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you. And the last place I ever expected to run into you was on a highway.”

“Almost literally.” Matty chucked her shoulder. “Come. We’ll go back to my car. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Shelby couldn’t move. Please God, not his kids. As thrilled as she was to see him, she wasn’t ready to face reality. He was married, to the lieutenant governor’s daughter no less, they probably had beautiful children, a magnificent home, health and happiness…

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I’m not ready to meet your children. I need a minute to collect myself.”

“Okay, but how long do you need to meet my dog?”

“Your dog?” Shelby laughed. “Oh, right. I saw him in the back of your car.”

“He’s a she actually, and I think you’ll appreciate her name. At least I hope you will.”

“Is it Lassie? After your goldfish?”

“You remembered that?” Matty sighed. “Pretty incredible, but no, it isn’t her name. Her name…this is kind of embarrassing…is Laz.”

“Are you serious? You named your dog after me? Why?”

“It’s a very long story.” He shrugged. “And the truth is, I’ve thought about you, too, Shelby. A lot.”

Shelby looked down, barely able to see her own feet as her eyes were filling with tears again. What an incredibly, loving admission he’d just made. He’d thought of her. A lot. It could only mean one thing. She didn’t care if Matty was married to the goddamn emperor’s daughter. She was going to win back his heart if it was the last thing she did. What did they used to say when they were kids? Finders keepers, losers weepers?

Score one for Mom. No, not for the extraordinary circumstances that have just unfolded that finally brought Shelby and Matty back together. I’d like to take credit for that, and so would her Spirit Guides and the angels who watch over her. But we’ve all seen her karmic map and know the crazy circumstances of her life are unfolding exactly as they were predestined.

All I’m saying is, the little car trouble she’s about to have? That’s my doing. And if you’re wondering what good that’s going to do, let’s just say it will be like chicken soup. It couldn’t hurt.

From this plane it’s referred to as divine intervention, or as I like to call it, a little help from above. Where Shelby is right now, she’d call it a pushy, Jewish mother butting in.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Matty naturally suggested that Shelby follow him home so she didn’t get lost. Little did he know it had been her intention from the start, but what an incredible dream come true that rather than having to tail him the whole way, he was serving as her private escort. Good thing, too, for with the tidal wave of extraordinary events that had unfolded since this morning, she was feeling too light-headed and unhinged to be able to read a map.

Besides, the only navigational matters she wanted to think about were more personal. Whether to stick with the pregnancy or terminate it now that the father had gone AWOL, how she would handle meeting Matty’s lucky bride and beautiful children, how she would feel seeing his presumably grand house, how to finagle seeing him again, and uh-oh, what to do now that a stupid red light on the dashboard was blinking, service engine, service engine, service engine…

“Nooooo.” She smacked the steering wheel. “Not car trouble now. Haven’t I had enough to deal with today?” What the hell did it mean anyway? She knew as much about what was lurking inside the hood of her car as she did about what was lurking inside her uterus.

Shelby thought about trying to signal Matty to pull over, but when she saw the sign,
WELCOME TO CHAPPAQUA
, she decided to chance it and deal with the problem when she got to the house. He had told her he had a wonderful surprise waiting for her, and although she had no idea how that was possible given that their meeting was totally accidental, she was busting to find out what he meant. If he’d named his dog after her, who knows what other ways he could prove he’d thought about her? A lot.

Shelby was practically giddy with excitement as she followed the Range Rover down a long, winding road set in a great, green forest against a backdrop of palatial, gated estates. One could only wonder the property tax rate these homeowners paid for the privilege, but it was probably like being handed a menu without prices at a fine restaurant. If you had to ask, you couldn’t afford to eat there. And from the looks of the imposing homes that dotted Chappaqua’s landscape, clearly these people weren’t quibbling with the maître d’.

And yet in spite of the fact she was quickly growing accustomed to the grandeur, she could not believe her eyes when Matty signaled he was turning, then waited momentarily for a massive, iron gate to open electronically. For God’s sake, he was pulling into what looked like the New York version of the Ewing Ranch. J.R. and Bobby eat your hearts out.

The house, if you pardoned the expression, was an exquisite redbrick Tudor with stone pillars that stood high atop a hill overlooking acres of lush, rolling lawns. The better to put the stables, tennis court, pool, and assorted guest cottages, my dear, Shelby thought. But how could you send out for pizza, then answer the door with a straight face?

Clearly this had to be the surprise Matty was talking about. Poor, Jewish boy from a broken home marries into prominent gentile, Republican family and lives happily ever after in the magic kingdom. No wonder he’d been so excited about bringing her back here. It was the best show-and-tell he ever had.

Unlike where they’d grown up, in the Formica capital of the world, Shelby imagined this place would be teeming with Georgian silver, Canton china, brass candlesticks, Chippendale secretaries, Mother’s needlepoint pillows, and enough nautical tchachkes to make Daddy feel as though he was back on the Vineyard.

The living room, she assumed, would be a veritable tartan plaid convention boasting furniture that gleamed and ancestral portraits that hung gallery-perfect. The throw pillows, dried flowers, and coffee table books would all be flawlessly arranged, and not a single toy would be left lying around. In fact, the only thing missing would be the velvet ropes.

So no way was she getting out of the car until she’d had time to put herself back together. How could she possibly walk in looking like the hired help when she was about to meet the “other woman”?
Damn. Any chance Aunt Roz kept a strand of pearls in the glove compartment?

“Well?” A beaming Matty opened Shelby’s car door. “What do you think?”

“It’s not bad if you like small and charming.” She sniffed. “Jesus, Matty. You could have told me you were the Crown Prince of Chappaqua.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not that big.”

“True. I think Hearst Castle is slightly larger.”

“Sorry. Hate to brag, but we recently measured, and we beat it by a few thousand square feet.” He cupped her chin. “What do you say we go in? There’s someone who will absolutely go crazy when she sees you.”

“Are we talking royalty, celebrity, or high-ranking official?”

“All of the above. It’s my mother.”

“Oh, God, you’re kidding? That’s wonderful. Does she live with you?”

“God no,” he cringed. “She and Gwenny don’t see eye to eye on much. In fact, the only reason she came in is, remember her brother? My uncle Irving?”

“Of course,” Shelby smiled. “The best part of summer was visiting him at the Jersey Shore.”

“I know.” Matty nodded. “Anyway, he just died of cancer, and she flew in for the funeral.”

“Uncle Irving died?” Shelby clutched her heart. “I am so sorry. I loved him.”

“Thank you, but he’d been sick for a long time. In the meantime, I have to take her back to La Guardia soon, and I want us all to have as much time as possible.”

“Aw, can’t James drive her?” Shelby pleaded.

“No, sorry. He has to clean the stables on Saturdays.”

Shelby laughed so hard she snorted.

“It was so much cooler when you made Kool-Aid come out your nose.” Matty winked.

“Can’t say I’ve done that in a while.” Shelby wanted to rest her head on his shoulder. Matty was everything she remembered and more. So sweet and funny and adorable and wonderful and now handsome and sexy, too. God, what she wouldn’t give to be with him.

“You ready?” he took her hand.

“Would you mind very much if I tried to put myself together before I go in? I promise I’ll just be a minute.”

“Sure. Of course,” he pushed the bangs from her eyes. “But honest, Shelby. You look great.”

“Thanks.” She actually blushed.

No doubt seeing him again was not at all how Shelby imagined it would be. Her daydreams about running into Matty Lieberman, and there had been hundreds, had been more in the vein of bumping into him at a restaurant when she was dressed in a little black number by Armani that cost more than her zip code. Or, crossing paths at a busy airport like O’Hare, just as they were passing a billboard on which her face appeared. But in all the scenarios, never once did she envision an encounter that also included a New York State trooper, Matty’s mother, and his wife.

Interestingly, even in a worst-case scenario, she never imagined running into him when her hair was windblown, her face was dirty, and her makeup was worn off. Talk about needing emergency roadside assistance. She would have paid a king’s ransom for someone to pull up with a hairblower and a washcloth. Instead, she was left to ransack her bag looking for anything resembling beauty items. Then when she concluded she’d done her best to revive herself given her limited resources, she approached the McCreighs’ massive front door.

But even before she could tap the solid brass knocker, Matty was anxiously waiting. “Come on in. Can I get you a cold drink, would you like to use the bathroom, do you need to use the phone, how are you feeling….”

“Wow, slow down.” Shelby laughed, touched that he was trying so hard to make her feel welcome. “I’m fine. A cold drink would be great, the bathroom would be even better.”

And then after turning out the bathroom light, but before getting a chance to snoop around, he was calling his mother to come downstairs.

“I can’t wait to meet your wife,” Shelby lied, as they waited for the former Mrs. Lieberman to descend the longest spiral staircase she had ever seen. “Is she here?”

“Actually, I don’t know where she is.” His brow furrowed.
“Which is very unlike her. She’s always so punctual. But I’m sure she’ll be back soon. She must have gone out on an errand.”

“No problem,” Shelby replied, wondering what possible errand a lieutenant governor’s daughter needed to run? A quick stop at a Christian Lacroix trunk show?

“Mother, come down here,” Matty yelled again.

“What is it, darling?” she called from upstairs. “I hope it’s not time to leave yet. I still haven’t finished packing.”

“No, we have time. But there’s someone I want you to meet. Someone really special.”

“Can it wait?”

“I think she’s waited long enough. Please just come down…Do you know where Gwen is?”

“I give up. Where?” She carefully took one step at a time.

“That’s what I’m asking you? Have you seen her? Do you know where she went?”

“All I know is she took off like a bat out of hell right after you left. Who knows? Maybe she was running low on headbands.”

“Mother! Stop it!”

But Shelby was loving every minute of this familiar exchange. The teasing, loose-lipped Mrs. Lieberman saying whatever came to mind, to the chagrin of her helpless son. And how wonderful she looked. Tall and slender as she remembered, with the same store-dyed red hair. But then as she looked closely, there were laugh lines around the mouth and wrinkles around the eyes.

“You’re impossible!” Matty took a deep breath and reached for Shelby’s hand. “Mother, I asked you to come down here because look who I found.”

Carol McCreigh studied Shelby up and down with approval. “I have no idea. Miss July?”

“No.” He laughed nervously. “Although I agree with you, she certainly could be. But look again. Really close. What former person in our life does she remind you of?”

Once again Mrs. McCreigh examined Shelby, checking out the eyes, the hair, the coloring. And then a strange sense of déjà vu came over her and she threw open her arms. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she cried. “Shelby?”

“Yes.” Shelby embraced her, taken aback that they were approximately the same height.

“I can’t believe my eyes. You’re an absolute vision.”

“Thank you, and you look wonderful, too,” Shelby returned, her heart filled with joy.

“I can’t believe how much you look like Sandy. I should have figured it out right away. Oh for heaven’s sake,” she repeated. “What happened? Did you two just bump into each other?”

“Just about.” Matty chuckled as he ushered her and Shelby into the sitting room, or parlor, or Shelby wasn’t sure what the hell to call it, with its wall of French doors, stone fireplace, and books from floor to ceiling.

“Like the Palace of Versailles, isn’t it?” Mrs. McCreigh asked as she watched marvel cross Shelby’s face.

“Actually, it reminds me of your house on Majestic Court.” She looked around.

“It does?” Matty and his mother replied in unison.

“Sure. With the den being off the kitchen and all.”

Hands down, it was the greatest one-liner of her life, and the key that opened the door to a magical conversation, where Shelby offered up the Reader’s Digest, condensed version of her volatile life since 1969. For someone like herself who coveted privacy, it amazed her how comfortable she felt spilling her guts.

And obviously the phenomenon of sharing was so new and strange, she’d completely monopolized the conversation. She expressed her condolences to Mrs. McCreigh on the loss of her brother and recalled the fun times she had at his home on the Jersey Shore. Then suddenly darkness descended. Gwendolyn Armonk McCreigh walked in with a puss that could have killed Boots.

“Are you the reporter from the Informer?”

“Yes, hello…” Shelby stood up to shake her hand. Was it just her imagination, or had the house gone from sunny and cheerful to black and ominous the minute Gwen entered?

“Good. Because here’s a late-breaking story for you.” She put two Ann Taylor shopping bags down and marched over to the window. “Your car is leaking oil all over our driveway, and I’m afraid the surface is damaged. We’ll have to bill you or the paper for the repaving. Right, honey?”

“I’m sure if there’s a problem, the paper will do the responsible thing.” An embarrassed husband ran over to peck his wife’s cheek.

Don’t hold your breath, Shelby thought. “I’m very sorry,” she said instead. “It must be why this red whatchamacallit light kept blinking on my way over here. Let me know what the damage is, and I’ll…”

“Gwen, please,” Matty interrupted. “I’m sure this isn’t going to be a problem…Honey, there’s something important I have to tell you. This is Shelby Lazarus.”

“Yes, I know.” Gwen removed a cigarette from a gold case in an end table drawer. “We spoke on the phone.”

“The funny thing is, you never mentioned her name. You just said a reporter was coming over, and as it turns out, we go back a long time. We grew up together.”

“Is that right?” Gwen took a long drag as she eyed Shelby’s legs. “Nice to meet you. How long will this take?”

“Fifteen, twenty minutes tops?” Shelby smiled. No doubt the longest fifteen, twenty minutes of her life. What had Matty seen in this woman, aside from her beauty, prominence, and vast wealth?

“Fine, but no more than that. I need to get my roast in the oven.” She addressed her husband. “Mummy and Daddy will be here at six for drinks, then Missy and Bink are joining us at seven.”

And will Chip and Dip be here, too? Shelby wanted to howl. Instead, she found herself coughing from smoke inhalation. Did she dare ask the lady of the house to step outside?

Thankfully Matty came to the rescue. “Gwen, honey. Shelby just found out she’s pregnant. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be around smoke.”

“Is that right?” Gwen eyed the other blonde’s flat abs. “No problem.” She extinguished the offending cigarette and narrowed her eyes. “Is she the one you named your dog after?”

“Yes,” the elder Mrs. McCreigh said. “But you’d think if he was naming it after a bitch…”

“MOTHER!” Matty hollered. “Does it ever occur to you not to speak?”

“Sorry, darling.” She patted his cheek. “Sometimes I forget my place. Old age and all. I think I’ll go up and finish packing. Shelby, dear. Please don’t go without saying good-bye.”

“Of course.” Shelby hugged her.