A Very Good Life (23 page)

“That reminds me,” Nina said. “I hope everyone will join NOW to help with the March 8th rally to celebrate International Women’s Year.”

“Nina, come with me,” Dana said quickly before Nina had time to start a sign-up drive in the living room. “You remember my friend Phoebe Cirone? She’s planning a wine tour of the Alsace region in the spring, and I thought you would have a few suggestions for her. Bea, why don’t you and Helen relax on the sofa. I know it’s been a long day. We’ll be right back”

“Bea, let me ask you an honest question,” Helen said when Dana and Nina left. “What is Dana up to with those kids in the contest? I’m highly suspicious. She keeps scooting into Bob’s office, and I can’t help but think that something’s up.”

“Are you still upset over the teen makeup counter?” Bea asked, lighting a cigarette.

“Counter? That’s all it is? I can live with that. But don’t quote me.”

“Dana does have a way with Bob,” Bea remarked, “but all I know is that he gave his blessing regarding something to do with the contest. He told me before I left the store that it’s going to be a huge surprise, so I have no idea what it is.”

“Well, whatever it turns out to be, it will need my blessing as well if it has anything to do with the Junior Department,” Helen said. “I won’t have my twenty-five years of buying experience run over by those teenagers of hers.”

Bea raised her eyebrows and lit another cigarette. She knew Dana well. She also knew that underestimating the young woman’s abilities would be a mistake.

• • •

Brett stood in the center of the living room, a champagne glass raised in the air.

“I’d like to propose a toast to all of our good friends. Thank you for coming, and may you all have a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday, and a prosperous New Year!”

“Hear, hear!” several guests said, their voices and glasses raised.

Dana looked around for Matthew and saw him kissing Janice on the lips as Brett finished his toast. Well, she would speak to Matthew the following day, although she noticed that Patti Hartlen was also taking a great interest in the couple, which made the situation all the more embarrassing for Dana. Patti seemed to notice everything, for that matter. She’d been eyeing Brett, Janice, and Matthew ever since arriving. What was she looking for? Dana advanced towards her brother.

“Matthew has another year and a half at the University of Hawaii,” Dana told Janice. Dana thought that the physical distance between them in their everyday lives might pose a severe impediment to their forming an actual relationship. It was worth emphasizing.

“Yes!” Janice said. “Brett is giving me a couple of days off next week. I’m flying back to Hawaii with Matthew on Saturday so he can give me those surfing lessons. And I suggested that we drive up to New England when he returns for Christmas break.”

Dana nodded her head. “That’s . . . interesting.” Dana could see that Janice was aware of how upset she was that Matthew had become an object of romantic interest. Janice was relishing every second of flaunting that interest in front of Dana.

“Johnny is going to fly out after Janice leaves,” Matthew said.

“So I heard,” Dana said.

“Brett told him that the islands might help him get over the cancelled wedding. I know a few friends who might help him relax a bit and take his mind off things.”

Dana rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you do,” she said. “Just remember that Uncle John is moving to the city and needs him.”

“No problem, big sister. Johnny is just coming out for a quick visit. He’ll be back in time for Christmas.”

Dana smiled and circulated among her guests, her eyes continually searching for Matthew and Janice. The pair remained inseparable.

B
rett and Janice emerged from a meeting with Richard Patterson and Patrick Denner at ten o’clock the following morning. The two litigators suppressed smiles at the news that had been disclosed in Richard’s office, news that would profoundly affect their careers and personal lives.

“This is incredible!” Brett said when the two were seated in his office a few minutes later. “We’re going to San Francisco!”

“For six months!” Janice said. “The gods have smiled upon us. We really have a sweet deal, my dear Mr. McGarry. How do you think Dana will take the news?” Janice asked, shooting a finger at a picture of Dana in the sitting area on the far side of the office.

Brett leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. He appeared both calm and relaxed, as if he were considering a golf game rather than his career and marriage. “She’s not going to like it initially—not at all—but if she wants the life she’s been talking about lately, she doesn’t have much recourse but to accept the arrangement.”

During the previous hour, Richard had updated Brett and Janice on a case they’d been working on. The firm’s client, owner of an office building in lower Manhattan, had sued a construction company with offices in San Francisco and New York for installing asbestos in the ceilings of the Manhattan building. In the past ten years, asbestos had been linked to several lung diseases, such as emphysema and asbestosis. Many workers in the building, owned by an insurance company, had been diagnosed with lung illnesses and were seeking compensation, so the insurance company was, in turn, suing the builder for failing to disclose the presence of asbestos and provide a safe work environment. Precedent had been set in such cases as early as 1964. During the past six months, during which time Davis, Konen and Wright had represented the insurance company, the paper trail had led to the builder’s San Francisco office, where the decisions on construction materials had been made when the building in Manhattan had been erected in 1962. The company had also ignored medical research conducted in California, research warning of the health risks involved from exposure to asbestos. While many pertinent documents were held by the construction company’s New York office, more than half the files were at corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The judge had ordered a change in jurisdiction and that all relevant New York documents be sealed and shipped to the West Coast. Brett and Janice would remain on the case and live in the Bay area for the next six months. The defendant was suing for one hundred million dollars in compensation, and the fee for Davis, Konen and Wright more than warranted the presence of Brett and Janice in California.

“It sure is easier than sneaking around,” Brett said, “although we’ll have to maintain separate apartments since the firm is picking up the tab. They’ll no doubt be checking in on us frequently, but three thousand miles is a pretty good buffer.”

“We’ll have enormous freedom,” Janice proclaimed. “Amazing luck!”

Janice was even happier than Brett realized. The separation from Dana that would be imposed by the case might represent the final breaking strain on Brett’s marriage. Additionally, she would have at least six months, maybe longer, to indoctrinate her lover in the more laid-back lifestyle of California. To Janice, the news represented a win-win situation.

“I guess your flirting with Matthew wasn’t necessary after all,” Brett theorized.

“To the contrary,” Janice said. “It has thrown everyone off the trail—Dana, Patti, and Patrick for starters. There’s no better way to begin our adventure than to have deflected any suspicion about you and me. It was the perfect prologue.”

“It was quite a performance last night,” Brett admitted. “Dana, Patti, and Richard couldn’t take their eyes off you.”

“You think I’m a naughty girl, don’t you?”

Brett thought for a moment. “Reckless,” he said. “Refreshingly reckless.”

“Be careful,” Janice said. “After California, you may never want to give me up.”

Brett smiled thinly. Could Janice’s words be true? Was he in over his head?

Brett shook off the thought quickly. He was in control. He was
always
in control. He would go along for the ride, so to speak, but he would never leave Dana. Sooner or later, his pleasant diversions with Janice Conlon would have to end.

But not yet.

D
ana had asked Matthew to meet her for lunch at Charleston Garden at twelve thirty on Friday.

“Ready for the Ball tonight?” Matthew asked. “You’ve put an awful lot of effort into this contest.”

“It always requires a lot of work,” Dana admitted, “and this year’s contest was more taxing than most. But it has been worth every second. I hope I’ve helped the contestants acquire even greater maturity and confidence. They’re all terrific. There’s one girl in particular who really needed this experience.”

“I’m sure you helped her. You’ll be a great mom when the time comes.”

The remark caught Dana off guard, and Matthew immediately picked up on Dana’s hesitation. “Anything wrong?”

“Brett and I have been discussing starting a family for the first time in a long time. I really feel I’m ready. We have the money, and I’m not getting any younger.”

“Is Brett on board with this?”

Dana raised her eyebrows. “He says he is, and from what I’ve seen these past few days, I believe him.”

“Good. You’ve been a wonderful wife, and I think it’s time for the next phase of your life to begin.”

“Speaking of new phases in life, where are
you
, Matthew? Anyone special out in Hawaii?”

Matthew leaned back and folded his arms after sipping from a glass of iced tea. “What you’re really asking is if I’m serious about pursuing a relationship with Janice,” he said with a grin. “I saw you staring at us last night as carefully as a private detective.”

“Guilty as charged,” Dana admitted. “It’s just that . . . well . . .”

“You disapprove, but you don’t want to interfere with my life, right? Just like Johnny and Uncle John with all the wedding drama before the ceremony was cancelled.”

“You’re exactly right, Matthew. Frankly, I find Janice’s personality more than a little abrasive. At a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, she actually—”

Matthew held up his hand, causing Dana to pause in mid-sentence. “Don’t worry,” Matthew said. “She came on awfully strong last night, but it’s a moot point. She called me this morning to say that the firm has dumped a lot of work in her lap. She won’t be coming to Hawaii with me next week. In fact, she said that the little trip she suggested to New England over Christmas break would have to be cancelled as well. I think it’s for the best. It was fun to flirt, I suppose, but she was moving way too fast for me.”

“Whew!” Dana exclaimed, lowering her head in relief. “Music to my ears.”

“Hey, you were really worried about me, weren’t you?”

“I think she’s bad news, Matthew. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but she looks to me like a schemer. I don’t trust anything about her.”

“Her call this morning caught me off guard,” Matthew said. “I got the impression last night that she was genuinely interested in spending time with me, but her calling it quits before anything developed—that’s strange. I’ve been dumped before, but never in less than twenty-four hours.”

Dana and Matthew both laughed.

“Maybe she found someone else this morning—Janice Conlon’s fresh catch of the day,” Dana suggested. “I don’t think she has any concept of boundaries, and she probably pursues whatever she wants without hesitation. Trying to figure her out would be a waste of time. The important thing is that I don’t have to worry about you getting tangled up with the likes of her.”

“You don’t, but I appreciate the concern.”

“I’m
always
concerned about you, Matthew. So are Mom and Dad. We’re a close-knit family, and that won’t ever change.”

“Like the Cirones,” Matthew remarked. “Uncle John is so relieved that Johnny’s wedding is cancelled that he’s taking Mom and Dad out tonight to celebrate. He’s also donating ten thousand dollars to Chaminade High School.”

“Uncle John is the best. I’m glad everything worked out.”

“Just like a Shakespearean play,” Matthew said. “Everybody ends up with the right person at the end.”

They both laughed again, but Dana knew that confusing situations didn’t always resolve themselves in the manner of the famous bard’s comedies. Finding the right person—that was sometimes a difficult task. She had prayed very hard during the past week that her marriage and career were on the right track. She felt that her prayers were being answered.

A
fter lunch with Matthew, Dana made sure that all last-minute preparations had been taken care of for the Sugar Plum Ball, which would be held in the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria. She left work early, returned home, and got dressed, changing into the black gown from the House of Cirone. As she looked in the full-length mirror in her dressing room, she added a few ropes of pearls, pinned a white silk camellia, and draped the Chantilly lace shawl. In that moment, Dana thought of fashion’s most enduring icon who created this elegant and alluring style, and the happy personal life that eluded her. Mademoiselle Chanel died in 1971 at the age of eighty-eight while working on her spring collection, but her passion for work did not fill the void of marriage and children. Her success was costly, but clearly the choice of an uncompromising woman determined to achieve greatness on her own. She had once said, “I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.”

As she checked her makeup one last time, Dana wondered what Helen would think when she announced the winner of the contest. Bob had thought her idea to be absolutely ingenious, but the solution would affect other departments in the store, especially Helen’s. In the long run, Helen’s reaction would not affect Dana’s announcement or, for that matter, her future actions at the store. She had proven herself this past week, and had shown her colleagues that she was more savvy than they had given her credit for. She respected the executives who had paid their dues for many years, but if Ira were going to pursue the emerging youth market, then she would continue to speak up when she felt she had something to contribute.

“You look beautiful,” Brett said as he finished donning his tux.