Midsummer's Eve (18 page)

“
Let’
s not make this a habit.” Teri was quick to point out. “You girls know you need to book appointments at the salon. I made an exception tonight, because I
simply could not tolerate that
…thatch
on
Mallory
’
s head for another second.” She cast a doleful gaze at
Mallory
and continued, “How you could appear in public with that unsightly bush sprouting from your head simply behooves me.”

Ignoring her rhetoric,
Mallory
hugged Teri and thanked her profusely. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 9:00.
Adam
’s shift would end in two hours. I needed to hurry home and be waiting with open arms.

As we were getting our coats, Teri turned off the music and came to stand directly in front of me.

Oh, boy!

Here it comes!

When she turned off her music watch out!

She leaned over to help me with my coat and whispered, “
Pleas
e tell me that what I heard isn’
t true,
Eve
. Ease my mind and reassure me that you did
not
take the
imbecile back?”

I cast a wicked glare at the traitors who
suddenly
couldn’t seem to pull their rapt attention from
one of Lawrence’s horrible abstract paintings
.
A lot of good it had done to ask them not to broadcast the fact that
Adam
and I were on speaking terms again. It was
Mallory
. I knew asking her to keep a secret was like asking
Adam
not to tell a lie, impossible.

“
I don’
t know if you would exact
ly call us being back together.”
I was hedging and she knew it.

“
Oh,
you don’
t call him spending
the last two nights with you
being back together? Then please forgive me for jumping to ridiculous assumptions
.”

Here we go!

“
What is the plan,
Eve
? To pay Eric to keep Chia’s bed hot, so you can keep
Adam
?”

Three sets of eyes looked at her in shocked disbelief. That was cold even for Teri! It rarely happened with her, but I felt my blood
begin to simmer
. How could she be so spiteful and vindictive? To me?
“I’
m not paying Eric a
dime.”

“You’
re not? Oh, then forgive me if I spoke out of turn. I was under the impression that he remained on the clock during his mid afternoon romps with Chia.”

She had me there.

Then, totally confusing the three of us as we stood on the stoop of her front steps, she stepped back in an
d slammed the door. Immediately
she opened the door and informed
Tammy
and
Mallory
that she desired a
private word with them. I didn’t care
to hear what she had to say anyway, since it obviously concerned me. I started toward the car mumbling unkind things under my breath.
             

Tammy
had driven, and her car had
an oil leak, so she had parked on the road in front of the manse. I took the shortcut across the lawn and had only taken a few steps when the Pamela Anderson wannabe actually had the nerve to turn
on the sprinkler system
soaking me from head to toe! I screamed as the ice cold water soaked me through and through
in seconds
. Then I bolted across her lawn, which was the size of the Panther’s football field at Bank of America Stadium. In my confusion, I ran away from the driveway and into a field of
Lawrence’s beloved sod
where I
was inundated with huge blasts
of frigid water at every turn.

Get a grip,
Eve
!

I stopped,
took a deep calming breath,
swiped at the rivulets of water pouring into my eyes and
finally
spotted the driveway, seemingly about a mile away. I charged back through the sprinkler system and ended up on her doorstep looking like a drowned rat. Just let me get my hands on the spiteful bitch! I would kill her! I pounded on the door with frozen fists.

Teri opened it and tried to appear quite astonished by the fact that my hair and clothes were soaked and I was dripping large amounts of water
on her stoop
. “What on earth happened to you?”

“You did, you conniving bitch!” Faili
ng to think clearly in my icy
rage, I slapped her soundly across her implanted cheeks.

She slapped me back. With a quickness! And since she still had the inner workings and strength of a man, her slap sent me staggering backwards on the steps.

“Excuuuuuuse me!” she ground out.

Fortunately, she thought enough of me to catch me before I hit the ground.

Few people could call Teri a bitch, let alone lay hands on her and get away with it.

“Don’
t even try to pretend
you didn’
t turn the sprinklers on!” I
blubbered and shivered. “
I was already frozen clear to the bone from being inside your igloo!” I cried through chattering teeth.
“I’ll
probably
have pneumonia by morning.”

Snatching my hand, she rushed me inside and forced me into a hot shower fully clothed, while at the same time cooing, “
Eve
, those sprinklers are on a timer
, honey. They come on at
this time every night. You know how Lawrence obsesses over his sod.” She stuck her head in the shower, looked at me with a pitiful expression and asked, “Do you honestly think I would do that to you?”

“Yes.”

She screamed with laughter. “Me too. Damn, I wish I had thought of it!”

While I sat huddled in one of her thickest terry robes and an electric blanket, she applied a palm filled with styling gel and vigorously massaged it into my hair and scalp.
Tammy
and
Mallory
looked on with apparent amusement at the handprints on both our cheeks as she
dried and styled
my hair.

“
You know I tend to blurt things out
when I should just keep my
mouth shut,” she shouted above the noise of the hairdryer. After applying hairspray to force each strand to stay exactly where she wanted it and with what I supposed was her idea of an apology she admitted, “I should probably work on that.”

“Amen to that sister!” My anger evaporated
as we fell into each other’s arms. The girl’s words could cut to the quick, but it was impossible to stay mad at her.

“
I am just so
tir
ed of watching
that low life piece of dog excrement hurt you. Is he coming over tonight?"

“Yes.”
I couldn’
t help but smile at the thought of seeing
Adam
and she read me perfectly. It was also impossible to hide my emotions from her.

“
Then go home and get ready for him, at least you won’t have to do anything to your hair. There
is nothing I can say that hasn’
t already been said. You know
I love you.”

“
I know.” I smiled as she closed the door behind us. “I love you, too.”

An hour later, I arrived at home about the same time as
Adam
and was quick to discover he was in one of his foul moods.
             

“Where have you been in your bath robe,
Eve
?” 

I
explained the events at Teri’
s
with him failing to see the slightest bit of humor in the situation. At times the man could be so trifling.

We discussed the disturbing news that the company he worked for had recently filed for
bankruptcy.
We also
p
lanned a vacation to the mountains in a couple of weeks, with him failing to mention his recent visit to the vacation spot with Chia. I wondered if he had
missed the roll of film yet?

We grilled barbecued chicken, baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and corn on the cob with the shucks intact, but the laughter we normally shared was glaringly
absent. Since he didn’
t seem inclined toward conversation, we snuggled on the couch and watched a movie. I was deliriously happy to have him back home, but it was obvious that his mind was about a zillion miles from my living room.

When he left the next morning, without so much as a Happy Valentines Day, I filled the tub with bubble bath and hot water and sank down into it as nagging doubt assaulted me.
Adam
would s
ee Chia at work
every day. That was a given. What would happen?
W
ould a sexy smile from her cause him to fall mindlessly back into the same pattern of lust? Was the dashing Eric succeeding in his attempt to eradicate all thought of
Adam
from Chia’
s mind? Could she settle for the admiring attention of just one man? Did
Adam
really love me? Or was he filling my head with his customary lies?

Then again, Eric was at work, which meant Chia was alone and could quite easily pick up the phone. Would he answer if she called? Good Lord, I would go in
sane if I didn’
t stop the multitude of doubts from swirling around in my head.
Adam
had
continually asked me
to trust him, insisting that he could earn my trust. Could he? Who knew?
I c
ould call and
try to find out
though
.

“Happy Valentine’
s Day,
Adam
,” I chirped
, when he finally answered his phone.

“Happy Valentine’
s Day,
Eve
.
”
He sounded
like mine was the last voice he
had
expected to hear.

“
Tonight’s the night
I get to open the sequestered box!
”

“What box?”

He was so scatterbrained! I heard the pause on his line as he received a beep.

“Hold on a minute,
Eve
.” I waited several minutes for him to click back over. Finally he did and hurriedly said, “Hey,
Eve
…
it’
s my mom. I’
ll call you
later, okay?”

“Okay,
give her my love. B
ye.” Evidently, his mom was calling to wish him Happy V
alentine’
s Day. How sweet.
I should send her flowers from him. Lord knows he wouldn’t remember to.

My skin was beginning to prune, so I forced myself out of the tub feeling
the need for a liberal dose
of caffeine. There
is nothing like the smell of fresh
coffee in the morning. I tend to agree with the commercial. It is the best part of waking up.

In an effort to convince myself that I’d made the right decision by taking
Adam
back, I drove to the lingerie shop in town and bought a sexy lace teddy. After considerable debate, I chose a slinky red number with garter belt, h
ose and 6 inch heels. No doubt
I would tower over
Adam
, but I didn’
t plan to wear the shoes or any other part of the ensemble more than a few minutes.

With my sexy attire laid across the foot of my bed and me counting the minutes until midnight, I called all three of the girls hoping to wile away the hours. Teri was in the process of applying chemicals to a client’s hair.
Mallory
was riding the floor scrubber around the plant. And
Tammy
was busy accounting
. None of them had time to talk to me on what was sure to be one of the most momentous days of my life. Huh! Some friends!

Why was this
day going by so slow? I couldn’
t even sit still long enough to watch my favorite cooking show,
Barefoot Contessa.
I was a bundle of nervous energy, so I went next door to my parent
’
s
house
.

We feasted on a delicious supper of
barbecued
chicke
n
, creamed potatoes and gravy, pinto beans, homemade biscuits, and a plate of fresh, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, while I answered countless questions about my confusing social life. My dad said things like, “Be careful,
Eve
. A skunk ain’t gonna lose his stripe,” and “Some men just ain’t the
settling down type.
”
Mom had to add,
“Sometimes i
t’s best to cut your losses and m
ove on.” As usual, I ignored their
wisdom.