Love in E Flat (9 page)

“That isn’t necessary. What time is this game of yours?”

“Eleven. We’ll need to leave about ten. Too early?”

Agata shook her head. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” She showed no signs of being cold. Lou could only nod as Agata smiled. “Go get warm.” She then finished in a soft voice. “
Spokoinai nochi
.”

Lou’s mouth went dry; suddenly she was warm, too warm. “I have no idea what you just said, but please say it again.”

Agata smiled and repeated it in the same soft tone. Lou knew she was grinning as Agata chuckled. “It means good night.”

Lou actually sighed, much to her dismay, because she glanced back at Nick, who raised an eyebrow. Lou cleared her throat. “Well, good night, Aggie. I’ll see you in the morning.” She took Agata’s hand. “Thanks for being a good sport tonight.” She saw the look of confusion and continued, “It means you were very kind to suffer my inadequate attempt at interviewing.”

“Ah,” Agata said, still holding Lou’s hand. “It was not too horrible, to tell the truth.”

“I’m glad. So…”

“Yes?”

“So Nick gets a kiss and all he did was drive around?” She frowned. “It’s his job, ya know.”

Agata pulled her coat around her neck and laughed. “But he does it with great love.”

Lou still held her hand, giving her a challenging grin. “I’m not letting go.” She grinned wider when Agata’s blush flooded her cheeks.

“You are like child.”

“Before I was like dog with bone,” Lou said in a thick Russian accent.

“That too.” Agata shook her head. She gently tugged on Lou’s hand, pulling her closer, and softly kissed her on the cheek. “Good night,” she whispered.

Lou felt her soft lips on her cheek and sighed. “I think I deserve more than a—”

“I will see you in the morning.” Agata gently pushed Lou away while laughing.

“Wait till I show you how we Chicagoans say good night,” Lou called out, grinning like a fool.

She heard Agata laugh; while she walked away, she raised her hand and waved. Lou watched as Agata walked through the revolving doors of the hotel. Was she still smiling? Lou thought. When she was out of sight, Lou walked back to Nick.

“Do you want…?”

“Yes, I do. But you’d better take me home.”

“Oh, man. Ya got it bad, Lou.”

“Shut up.”

Nick laughed as Lou climbed into the warm cab.

*******

“That’s great, Lou. It’s good for your interview.”

Lou heard the excitement in Edie’s voice, but she also heard something else. However, she had to agree. “It’s good for our interview,” Lou corrected her as she juggled the phone. She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the couch. “This was your interview, Edie. I’m just helping out.”

“No way. You’re doing more than I could do. It’s your byline.”

“Nope. We both get the byline on this or nothing. Deal?”

She heard Edie sigh on the other end. “Deal.”

“Good. Now please tell Ron I won’t be in tomorrow at all. I’ll email my article on the football game. And the story on the St. Xavier basketball game is already on his desk, so we’re good until next week.”

“I’ll tell him. Don’t worry.”

Lou felt the hesitation from Edie. “Was there something else?”

“What’s she really like?”

Lou laughed through her yawn. “She’s actually nice. I can see where she’d appear standoffish. And I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”

“Which given the opportunity, I’m sure you’d find.”

Lou heard the motherly tone and smiled. “I’m behaving.”

Edie laughed. “I doubt it, but thanks for trying anyway. Go to sleep, it’s late.”

“Spoke onyna nochi,” Lou said with a deep accent.

There was silence for a moment. “And that means?”

“I can’t remember. I think good night, but I was too busy staring at her lips.”

“Lou…”

There was silence on the line for a long moment.

“Did you?”

“Did I what?” Lou asked, grinning like a fool.

“Lou…”

“Aggie is a very nice woman, and I had a wonderful time with her. She kissed my cheek.”

“You sound like a little kid,” Edie said with a laugh. “But she kissed you?”

“Don’t get excited. She kissed Nick, too. But we did go, um…”

“Where did you take her?”

Lou heard the firm motherly voice. “Hey, I was prepared to take her back to the hotel after dinner. It was Madam Karetnikov’s idea to go out. So I took her to Scarlet on Halsted.”

“Hmm. That’s actually a nice place. Good choice.”

“Thank you. We had a drink and continued our conversation.” Lou then laughed softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“She got me to talk a little about myself.”

“You’re kidding. What did you tell her?”

“Just the basics. I’m too much of a coward to tell her anything else.”

“You’re not a coward.”

“It was just such a good night I didn’t want to ruin it with…”

“I know. But you’ve worked hard to get over it. It might do you a little good to talk more about it.”

“Why? As you say, I’m over it. It’s in the past where it belongs.”

“Have you talked to Charlene recently?”

“Yes, matter of fact. Just a couple weeks ago. She met a guy.”

“No kidding? That’s wonderful.”

Lou smiled. “Yeah, it is. I hope it works for her. She deserves it after…”

“I know,” Edie said softly. “It’s late. Go to bed. I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Me too. Good night. Hey, wait.” Lou sat up. “How did John’s doctor’s appointment go?”

Edie was silent for a moment.

“What is it?”

“It’s his sperm. The poor guy has everything going against him. He has a very low sperm count and low quality. Do you want to hear this?”

“Of course I do,” Lou said. “I love you guys.”

“We love you, too.” Edie sniffed. “They don’t know if it’s from his playing football and the groin injury when he was a senior. You remember.”

“I do. I felt so bad for him. I joke about him being a lousy middle linebacker, but I think he had a good shot at the NFL.”

“Yes, he did. Remember how long it took to get over that fact? Even after he recuperated.”

“Yeah.” Lou’s heart sank. She knew Edie had all the tests possible to ascertain if she was the reason they had not conceived. All her tests came back fine. So it was John. Lou felt so bad for that big lug.

“We never thought there would be a problem having children. And we wanted so many. Well, that’s that.”

“What about adoption?” Lou asked.

“We’ve talked about it for the past year. And now, we’ll talk about it more—seriously. John suggested we have a donor. I said no. If I can’t have his baby…”

“I totally understand. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. There’s a reason for this, I know. God has some plan for us.” Edie laughed softly. “John said he wished he knew what it was. But we have faith. There’s a reason.”

They were silent for a moment. Lou didn’t know what to say. Mercifully, Edie ended the conversation. “Enough of this for tonight. Get some sleep. Good night, you nut.”

“Good night, Edie. I love you. Tell John…”

“I will,” Edie whispered and hung up.

*******

After a quick hot shower, Lou crawled into bed and cuddled the quilt around her. She felt horrible for Edie and John. Why? she thought. Why did this have to happen to two people who loved each other and wanted to have kids?

She punched her pillow, trying to get comfortable. She could understand why her life turned out the way it had—she deserved it. She brought it on herself, and worse, she brought it on someone else, as well. She avoided Agata’s questions for a simple reason: She’d have to explain her mistakes, and Lou would avoid that at all costs. Lou had done this many, many times since it happened. Conceal it, hide it, pretend it never happened, and put it far away in her mind where forgotten things belonged.

The problem was it was never forgotten. It was always there in Lou’s face reminding her of her shallowness, her arrogance, and just how immature a person could be. It was a hard lesson she learned. And that alone would have been just fine, but it was all the other people her folly affected. All the other lives that were forever changed because of her. “Okay. Cut the melodrama and go to sleep.”

Lou tossed and turned until sleep finally came.

Chapter 8

The alarm clock nearly found the bedroom wall. Lou groaned and placed the clock none too gently on the nightstand before she crawled out of bed. It was nine o’clock, and on another day, she’d already be at the paper. “Too much merriment last night.” She stretched as she sat on the edge of the bed, glancing at Nick’s card on the nightstand. She dialed his number—he was far too chipper.

“Sure, Lou. I just got my coffee. I can be there.”

“Great, thanks, Nick.” Lou snapped the phone shut. She liked Nick, but she worried about getting too close; it was common for someone who lived and worked in downtown Chicago not to have a car. Still, Lou didn’t want Nick to become too familiar to ask. “Mark Twain was so right. Familiarity breeds contempt.”

The hot shower revived her as she dressed, grabbed her coat and her laptop bag, and ran out the door.

“So where to?” Nick asked as Lou climbed in the backseat. “The nice Russian woman?” He wriggled his eyebrows.

“Yes. And why the look?” she asked as he pulled away from the curb.

“No offense. She seems nice, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Lou said warily.

Nick laughed and drank his coffee. “What? Don’t ya think she’s nice?”

“Yes.”

“And pretty sexy-looking.”

“Nick, watch the road.” Lou looked out the window. “And why would I care?”

“One hears rumors bein’ a cabbie.”

Lou looked in the rearview mirror; Nick’s dark eyes danced as he looked at her.

“And just what rumors have you heard?”

He shrugged as he honked at a pedestrian. “Ya wanna get killed?” he yelled though his window was closed and the man probably didn’t hear him. Nick looked satisfied as he turned left. “Now what were we…? Oh, yeah, rumors. Well, I heard, and not that I care…”

“Uh-huh.”

“I heard you liked the ladies. And you took her to that classy bar last night. True?”

“True.” Lou laughed as she watched several people jump back onto the curb as Nick drove by.

“So my great detective mind figures…” He shrugged and watched the traffic.

“And you don’t care?”

Nick shook his head. “Don’t give a tinker’s damn, as my father used to say.”

Lou felt Nick watching her. “Can I ask ya a question?” He stopped at the red light and turned to her.

“Maybe.”

He laughed. “I heard you were supposed to be on the USA soccer team a long time ago. They say you were hot stuff, a long time ago.”

“A long time ago, yes.”

“You’re not that old, what in your thirties?”

“Thirty-eight.”

“What happened?” he asked softly.

Lou took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This is exactly the conversation she didn’t want to have with a Chicago cabbie, no matter how endearing Nick may be. Eventually, when you spend too much time in one place, they remembered. And Lou was all about forgetting.

“You mean you haven’t heard?” She didn’t want to sound snippy, but she knew she did.

Nick winced apologetically, and mercifully, the light changed. “Sorry…”

“No, don’t be. I was rude. Life just got in the way. How’s that for now?”

Nick looked relieved as he winked in the rearview mirror. “Works for me. Life’s been getting in my way since I was a kid.” He laughed so hard, he coughed.

They were still laughing when Nick pulled up in front of the Four Seasons. “Want me t’wait?”

“Please.” As she noticed when she first got into Nick’s cab, he did not have the Plexiglas partition between them. She reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “Aren’t you afraid of the possible nefarious fare?”

“Huh? Oh,” Nick said with a laugh. “No glass. Nah…If my time is up, it’s up. I like people too much.”

“Thanks, Nick.”

“You got it, Lou.”

She then had an idea and hoped she wouldn’t kick herself later... “Hey, Nick,” she started quietly.

Nick slipped off his seat belt and turned to her. His eyes showed a mix of concern and curiosity. “Yeah?”

“I think I’m gonna be taking Agata a few places for the next few days. I-I don’t own a car, and I thought maybe…”

Nicked grinned. “You want to hire me for the duration?”

“If you can.”

“I’m an independent cabbie, and I own my taxi.”

“Okay. You work up a fare, and I’ll pay you.”

“Not to worry, Lou. This’ll be fine. Now go get that good-looking Rooskie.”

As Lou walked up to the door, Agata was waiting.

“Good morning, Aggie.” Lou held the door open.

“Good morning, Lou.” Agata smiled as she walked past Lou.

Lou gently sniffed the air. Oh, man, she thought, does she have to smell good, too? She noticed Agata wore a pair of dark wool slacks and black leather boots. Aggie pulled the collar of her coat around her neck, then slipped into a pair of leather gloves. Agata Karetnikov looked sexy and comfortable at the same time. Lou mentally kicked herself when she sighed openly and noticed Aggie staring at her.

“What is wrong?” Agata asked.

“What?” Lou asked in an almost dreamy state. She shook her head. “Oh, nothing. You’re dressed appropriately for a football game.”

“Yes, I know,” Agata said, grinning slightly.

Nick opened the door for her. “Good morning, madam.”

“Good morning, Nick. It is nice to see you again.” Agata got in the cab, and Lou followed.

“The accent gave me the chills. How ’bout you?” he whispered to Lou’s glare.

“Where to, ladies?” Nick asked as he buckled up.

“Northwestern, Ryan Field.”

“I thought they were done with college football,” Nick said as he pulled away.

“They are. This is an alumni holiday benefit. I think they’re only playing a half. But it’ll be a good story for the holidays. All the proceeds are going to charities.” She turned to Agata. “So I trust you had a pleasant night?”

“I did. I slept very well.”

“Must have been the company you kept.” Lou gave her an encouraging grin.

Agata looked out the window. “Or the magnificent food.”

Lou frowned and avoided Nick’s grunt. “The food good at that place?” he asked. “Never been. Looks kinda expensive.”

“Very good.” Agata glanced at Lou. “Why are you frowning?”

“I’m not frowning.”

“When there is a deep crevice between the eyebrows, it is called a frown.” Agata smiled slightly. “At least that is what we call it in Russia.”

Lou rubbed her forehead as if to erase the deep furrow. Why was she frowning?

“Now tell me about this footballer game.”

“Foot…? Football. It’s called football.”

Agata waved her off. “It does not matter. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Well, sure I understand. I’m not an idiot.” Again, she avoided Nick.

Agata frowned. “I did not say you were.”

“Well, you kinda implied that I didn’t know…”

“I implied nothing. I stated exactly what I wanted to state. That you chose to read something into it is your doing, not mine.”

Again, Lou avoided Nick’s grunt, which he covered up with a cough. Lou just wanted to get out of this conversation and the cab, but as luck would have it, they stopped at a red light.

“Why are you so irritable this morning?” Agata asked. “Perhaps you need fiber in your diet,
nyet
? What did you have for breakfast?”

“I didn’t have breakfast,” Lou said, glaring.

“Breakfast is the most important—” Nick stopped abruptly at the glare Lou shot at him.

“I had a marvelous breakfast,” Agata said with an annoying grin. “And I am not irritable.”

Lou grunted sarcastically and sat back. “Aren’t we there yet?”

“We got another twenty minutes. Morning traffic, Lou. You know how the outer drive is. At least it ain’t snowing yet.”

Lou looked out the window. “That’s something, I guess.”

They sat in a very uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Nick spoke. “So, Madam Karetnikov…”

“Please, call me Agata.”

“Agata. That’s a beautiful name. So you’re a musician?”

“I am.”

“Whattaya play? I gotta tell ya, I can’t sing for nothin’. At least that’s what my wife says. Oh, I can sing in the shower, but hell, who can’t?” he went on before Agata could answer. “Come to think of it, I’m not musically inclined at all. But my mother? Now there was a woman with a song in her heart. When we were kids, we used to sit around the piano with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. She’d play the old songs, and they’d sing along.” He laughed as he drove. “Yep. That woman had a song in her heart, that’s for sure. But she was Irish, and ya know how they love to sing. Ya know she was good storyteller, too. Like Lou. I think that’s why I love to read your column, Lou. You got a way with words, like my mother.” He glanced back at Lou.

“Are you finished?” she asked.

Nick blushed and laughed nervously. “Sorry. I get carried away.”

“It is all right. Tell me more of your mother.” Agata frowned at Lou, who rolled her eyes and sat back.

“Not too much to tell. She was a good woman with a good heart. Devoted to her husband and her kids. Never worked outside of the house but worked like a dog to keep us happy and clean and fed. She used to say it was worth more than any salary she could get.” He stopped for a moment. “She was worth more to us…”

“There is nothing more important to a child than a loving mother,” Agata said, looking out the window.

“I agree. How about you, Agata?” He looked in the rearview mirror.

Lou noticed the smile that seemed to come from someplace deep inside Agata. “
Da
,” she whispered. “I had a good mother and father.”

“So ya never said what you played,” he said.

“You never gave her a chance,” Lou said. Nick’s nervous laugh was his apology.

Agata laughed, as well. “I play the cello.”

“Were your folks musically inclined?”

“Yes. Like your wonderful mother, my father played the piano and taught music. My mother played the violin professionally.”

“Strong genes, huh?” Nick asked as he watched the road. “So it came natural-like?”

“Yes, it did.”

“Kinda like Lou. Right, Lou?”

“I can’t play the cello,” Lou said.

“No,” Nick said. “I mean Agata comes by music naturally like you do with athletics.”