Cowabunga Christmas (14 page)

“Thomas,” Jessica asked, “is this true?”

“Thomas, you haven’t called me Thomas
since I was twelve...” his voice trailed off when they made eye contact. “It’s
true,” he said looking at his hands and then a big, fat tear rolled down his
cheek. “I didn’t know you’d take it so bad.”

“Take it so bad! You could have killed
me. You gave me that without knowing what medication I might already have
taken. And I was drinking—a lot!” The volume of Jessica’s voice rose again.

“Wow, I never thought about that did you
Tommy?” Brien asked, wide-eyed.

“I am so sorry,” Tommy said. “I’ve never
seen anyone get so weird after one roofy and a few drinks. You shouldn’t ever
do that again.” Tears were streaming down his face now.

“Oh, I won’t do that again,” Jessica
said, grim-faced. “And neither will you. Not to me, or to anyone else. If I
ever find out either of you have pulled a stunt like that again I’m calling Uncle
Don.” They both looked down at the floor. Sergeant Donald Fontana with the Palm
Springs Police Department was Tommy’s uncle. She wasn’t sure she’d really call
him but it sounded like a good threat.

“And I’ll tell Bernadette.”

Two heads snapped up, looking at her to
see if she was serious. Seeing the set of her jaw, they both blanched with
terror.

“We won’t do it again. Please don’t
tell, Mrs. B. It’s not just about my job,” Brien said with great conviction,
“that woman has powers.” Tommy nodded in agreement.

Jessica knew what they meant. If she had
to choose she’d face Uncle Don and spend a few days in jail rather than push
Bernadette too far. They both looked miserable.

“You two get out of here, now!” Jessica
reached for the big leather Buti tote sitting on her dresser and pulled out her
keys. “Take my car,” she said, tossing the keys to Tommy. Tommy brightened and
snatched the keys right out of the air.

“You still love me, Jessica, you do, you
do,” Tommy said with a smile of relief on his face. True.

It’s tough when you’re young and you
lose someone your own age, shattering the illusion of invulnerability before
you have your feet planted firmly under you. After Kelly died Tommy never quite
got it together to decide what he wanted from life, much less how he would get
it. He took courses at College of the Desert, the local community college,
without ever settling on a direction. Then he dabbled in computers and
videography. Later, he got excited about a career in xeriscape so he could
design desert landscapes, until he tried working outdoors in the desert heat.

Jessica considered the tattered ruins
that remained of her own well-planned life and let out a huge sigh.
The best
laid plans
, she thought. She held out her arms and Tommy rushed into them
for a hug, sobbing again.

“It’s okay, Tommy,” she said patting him
on the back, tears welling up in her eyes as a rush of maternal feelings
engulfed her. Her blasted biological clock! Fueled by fertility drugs, she had
plunged into a primordial soup of hormones from which she was still emerging
months later. Jessica looked up just as Brien took a step toward them raising
his arms.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said. Brien
stopped mid step.

Tommy wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “Get
it back tomorrow and in perfect condition or else,” Jessica admonished. They
nodded their heads obediently and left the room.

Jessica felt exhausted but relieved to
find out she wasn’t going nuts or hadn’t gone too far down the road toward
alcoholism. She
was
living too close to the edge though. It was time to
take a step back toward normalcy whatever that meant at this point in her life.
Jessica finished cleaning the room, even changed the sheets and made her bed. A
shower would be great but the next thing she needed to do was patch things up
with Bernadette. Tightening the cord on her soft chenille robe, like a fighter
about to enter the arena, Jessica padded in bare feet out to the kitchen to
find Bernadette.

Want to read more? You can find kindle
and paperback editions of A DEAD HUSBAND on AMAZON at
http://smarturl.it/deadhus

Cheers!

Life is an extravaganza!
Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the
challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school
drop-out I had married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually the
police let me go, but the rock band broke up. Our next stop: Disney World,
where we trained to be chefs. More education landed us in academia at The Ohio
State University. For decades I researched, wrote, and spoke about a number of
gloriously nerdy topics.

Retired now, I’m still married
to the same sweet guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write
mysteries set in sunny California! The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery
series set here in the Coachella Valley and the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery
Series set in California’s Central Coast. Coming Soon: The Misadventures of
Betsy Stark also set in and around Palm Springs.