These Foolish Things (16 page)

“If the highest bid on this package goes over $2,500, His
Honor, Judge Frank McCafferty, will include a free pass good to excuse the
bearer from one contempt charge in his courtroom.” This was met with enormous
laughter and the Judge looked pleased. The lot went for $5,000 to a young
lawyer who blurted, “I hope to God I don’t need this” and Judge McCafferty
said, “You will, Son, you will.” The audience laughed and applauded.

Ty introduced the next item. “Lot Number 24, donated by
Elizabeth Gardner,” he looked at Liz who nodded, “is a tiramisu made by
Attorney Gardner,” here he looked at Liz again, “with her own two lovely hands.”
Ty picked up Liz’s hand and kissed it. Photo flashes went off, capturing the
moment. The audience whistled and hooted its approval. Ty kissed her hand
again. Liz was too startled to do anything but smile.

Liz expected the tiramisu to fetch somewhere around $40 or
$50, the usual. Liz stood back, expecting a brief round of bidding. Someone
handed her a glass of water and she sipped while she waited.

As expected, the bidding started at $25 from someone Liz
didn’t know. Joey advanced the bid to $40.

“$100,” said Ty in a firm voice. Liz almost choked on her
water.

“Hey! You can’t bid!” Joey protested. He glanced at Liz, who
shrugged and looked bewildered.

Ty looked at him coolly. “I’m not the auctioneer, so yes I
can.”

“Guys, don’t do this, please,” she pleaded. Joe ignored her.

“$125,” he said. He and the other members of Liz’s gang had
clearly banded together to ward off this interloper. She could see them
discussing strategy.

“$150,” from Frank McCafferty. There was a murmur from the
non-bidding members of the audience. McCafferty’s face said he was up to
something, although exactly what, Liz wasn’t sure.

“$250,” answered Ty. “It’s worth far more than that.”

“$300,” from Joe.

“$400,” from McCafferty. Liz could hear gasps in the
audience.

“$450,” from Joe with the approval of his cohorts.

“$500,” Ty announced. Liz and the auctioneer looked to Joe,
who shook his head, but, Liz noted, he looked pleased with himself instead of
disappointed at losing the bidding. McCafferty, too, shook his head with a
smile. “Going once, going twice.” No challenges. The auctioneer brought down
his gavel with a crash, “Sold to the gentleman for $500. Congratulations, Sir.”

The remainder of the auction was a blur as Liz kept asking
herself why Ty had done it.

One item came up that Liz had wanted for herself since the
donation was made. One dozen roses per week for a year. Following Ty’s lead,
she made a bid on it, but the item quickly went over her range to someone who
had made arrangements for bidding by proxy. She applauded with the rest of the
crowd and caught an odd look from Ty as she smiled.

Getaway weekends were sold and sports memorabilia. Corey’s
donation of a homemade sushi dinner for two caused the AMbeciles, who had
managed to recover enough to watch the auction, to run back to the men’s room
at top speed, with an attorney in pursuit.

Without so much as a flicker of guilt, Dan Dennis bought Sal
Randazzo’s golf clubs. The Bad News Barristers pitcher won Millie’s pitching
lessons (“Good job!” yelled Ty, “Maybe we’ll actually win next year.” ). As
expected, the Aerosmith album cover went for thousands of dollars.

There was only one small sour note as the auction wound
down. The last lot was a getaway weekend for two to a romantic Cape Cod hotel.
The Silicone Queen had managed to work her way to the foot of the stage and had
mouthed “get it for us” at Ty. Liz couldn’t tell if he had noticed. The bidding
was spirited, particularly among the men surrounding her, but Ty remained
silent. Liz saw the rage building on the Silicone Queen’s face until the
auctioneer’s gavel fell and Ty had not bid at all. She looked at Liz who noticed
how ugly the Silicone Queen’s face became when it reflected a nasty mood. Liz
saw the woman mouth one word at her. “Bitch.” Liz turned her attention to a
tally sheet handed to her by one of the runners. She smiled and turned back to
the audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to
announce that, due to your generosity tonight, we have raised $75,000 for the
Bay State Breast Cancer Foundation. Thank you, thank you and thank you.” The
applause was thunderous. Ty held up his hand.

“In a few minutes, we’ll begin dancing. Until then, the
bar’s open.” There was more applause and the crowd began to disperse to the
food and drink stations.

Liz gratefully handed her microphone over to the auctioneer.
“Thank God that’s over.” She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and knew it was
Ty’s. She turned to look at him. He was smiling at her and gently rubbing her
shoulder. There was an affectionate warmth in his eyes as he looked her over.
The pleasure of his touch went far beyond the kindness of it.

“See, I knew you could do it, Liz,” he said. Before she
could ask him why he had bought her tiramisu, Millie called to Liz.
Reluctantly, Liz stepped away from the caressing hand. She offered her hand to
him.

“Thank you so much for backing me up. Truly, I don’t know if
I could have done it without your help.” Ty took her hand, but instead of
shaking it, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it. On the stage, she’d been
too distracted by the auction, but now, Liz had a hard time controlling her
breathing.

“My pleasure,” he said, “By the way, Counselor, I meant to
tell you, you look incredible tonight.” He kissed her hand again. “Is your
dance card full or could you fit me in somewhere? I really want to talk to you.”
His eyes were focused on her face and there was an intensity to his expression
that Liz found both exciting and unsettling. He raised her hand back to his
lips and said, “Please” against it, the word causing him to kiss it again.
Liz’s heart nearly stopped.

“Of course,” Liz was surprised to hear how husky her voice
sounded. Her heart was hammering and she could feel the blood rising to her
cheeks. She gently pulled her hand away from Ty. “I really need to freshen up
right now, but I promise I’ll come back.”

As she stepped away to join Millie, Liz heard Ty say, “The
last dance is mine.” The two women made their way to the ladies’ room, their
progress slowed by people wanting to congratulate Liz on a successful auction.
Luckily, this had the happy effect of delaying their entry into the ladies’
room until after most of the crowd had left it.

“What was all that about?” Millie asked Liz. She handed Liz
the purse she’d been holding for her. Liz was about to answer when they heard a
loud sniffing sound coming from the handicapped access stall. This was followed
by two more. Liz looked at Millie who held a finger to her lips. They remained
silent and eavesdropped.

“Do you believe that bitch?” came the voice of the Silicone
Queen. “That fat cow gets him onstage with her, he buys her shit, he won’t even
look at me. I mean, what the fuck?” The snorting continued. “That is my man and
she’s trying to steal him.”

Another voice piped up from the stall. “I know, what’s she
got that you don’t?”

“Wrinkles,” someone said. They all giggled.

“I see her again, I’m gonna totally beat her ass,” said the
Silicone Queen. “I’m tired of her fucking with me.” More sniffing. “This is
really good shit. Jimmy gets totally awesome blow.” The other girls murmured
agreement.

Liz had turned and started to leave as the stall door burst
open. The Silicone Queen and her friends quickly blocked her exit. Liz had a
sudden flashback to a darkened high school hallway. Somewhere, deep down, she
found courage for the confrontation. Best defense, she thought.

“So, you’re going to beat my ass. Here?” She asked. “Your
name is…” she groped for it, “Cheryl? I’m Elizabeth.” Liz held out her hand.

The Silicone Queen took a step forward and slapped away
Liz’s proffered hand. Liz could see how raw the underside of the other woman’s
nose was and how her heavy makeup was beginning to smear. Liz felt Millie step
in behind her.

Cheryl pushed Liz, who was stopped from falling by Millie.
“I don’t give a shit what your name is,” she hissed. “That is my man and you
just keep your fat ass away from him or I will fuck you up. He’s mine, got it?”

“That’s not what he told me.” Liz heard her own voice but it
was as if someone else had spoken. Even Millie blinked.

“What? Bullshit. When did you talk to him?” Cheryl demanded.

“On his birthday, when he spent the night at my house. Actually,
weather aside, we had a great time.”

“Did you fuck him?” Liz heard panic behind the aggression.
It gave her confidence.

“That’s none of your business.”

This stunned the younger women. As quickly as the shock hit,
it wore off and Cheryl’s face became red and angry.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Ask him.” Liz said quietly. “He drove me home from work and
spent the night.”

“Don’t think I won’t, you fucking liar!” Cheryl and her
posse turned and barged out of the bathroom, knocking women aside as they left.
Liz and Millie watched them go, not daring to move. Liz exhaled and turned to
Millie.

“I can almost feel sorry for her. I mean, she doesn’t really
understand that he just sees her as …” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Millie snorted, “Oh please, from what Corey tells me, she’s
been treating him like an ATM. Don’t waste too much of you sympathy on her. But
you be careful, too.”

“About what, Mil?” asked Liz.

“I noticed that Hadley’s knocking back the Scotch at a
pretty good clip tonight. And I hear he gets a lot of practice. Are you sure
you want to get involved with a drinker?”

Liz looked at her. “Mil, nobody’s getting involved with
anybody else. I told you, I’m done with dating. Beside,” Liz started putting
items back into her bag, “When have you ever been to a Bar Association event
that didn’t have a bar? Lawyers drink.”

“Well,” said Mil, “If he’s as good at drinking as he is in
court, he’s got problems. And by the way, you aren’t seeing what I see. That
man is looking at you like a hungry dog looks at a bone. I mean it, Liz. He
wants you.”

“If that’s true, Millie,” said Liz innocently, “then I guess
he’d be the one with the bone, huh?” She elbowed Millie and the two of them
broke into giggles. Liz sobered. “He just feels guilty for the black eye and
he’s been trying to make up for it ever since.”

“Jesus Christ, Elizabeth, will you open your eyes?” Millie
exploded. “Just because you don’t recognize flirting doesn’t mean it’s not
going on. If you weren’t so damned stubborn, you would see this. And by the
way, you should see what he sees.”

“What’s that?”

“The glow in your eyes when you talk to him.”

As they returned to the party, Millie receiving a warm kiss
from John. Liz caught a questioning look from John and nodded at him. She
ignored Millie’s frown as she looked between the two of them, just smiling
cheerily.

Liz walked to the bandstand, again stopping from time to
time to receive congratulations for a job well done on the auction. As she
reached the foot of the stage, she motioned the bandleader over and exchanged a
few words with him. He nodded and spoke to the band. As previously planned,
they began to play “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Liz saw John escort Millie out
to the dance floor and pull her in close.

“May I have this dance, Counselor?” Liz heard Ty’s voice
next to her ear. “I know you’ve had lessons.”

She smiled at him.

“You asked for the last dance, Counselor,” she teased. “This
isn’t it.”

Ty chuckled and Liz caught herself. “Touché,” he said, “but
I want this one, too.”

“In a minute. I want to watch this,” she turned her
attention back to John and Millie.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Watch.”

John knelt in front of Millie and took her hand in his. Liz
couldn’t hear him, but she knew what he was saying. “Is he proposing?” Ty
asked.

“He certainly is.” Liz watched John take a small box from
the pocket of his tuxedo and watched Millie gasp. “YES!” Millie’s excitement
overrode her volume control. The watching crowd laughed and applauded as John
slipped the engagement ring on Millie’s finger and rose to kiss her. The band
struck up “Wonderful Tonight” and the couple began circling the floor in each
other’s arms.

Liz felt Ty pull circle her waist. “You helped him do that,
huh?” he asked.

She finally turned towards him. “I did. I arranged things
with the bandleader, I advised John about the ring and tricked Millie into
telling me her ring size.” She felt an urge to kiss him.

Ty led Liz out to the dance floor. “Now remember, just keep
looking me in the eye and you’ll do just fine.”

Liz put one hand on his shoulder and let him take the other
in his hand. They began to move in time with the music. Liz’s heart was
pounding and she thought she could feel some kind of deep, slow vibration that
had nothing to do with the music coming up from the floor. She had no idea what
was going on, but she wasn’t complaining about it, either. Liz looked into his
eyes and saw the same intense expression she’d seen earlier. “Tell me, Ty,” Liz
was surprised she could find her voice. “Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

Liz smiled back. “Pay $500 for something I’d have made for
you just for asking. Why did you do it, Ty?”

Ty smiled mysteriously. “I have my reasons. One of them
being that you didn’t expect anyone to pay much for it, did you?”

“No,” Liz admitted. “It’s not much compared to getaway
weekends and baseball tickets.”

“Well, I’ll bet you anything that 85% of the people in this
room are talking about it and watching us right now. Next year, it’ll go for
over $100 with or without me. Besides, the money went to a good cause, it’s tax
deductible and I get more of your tiramisu,” he concluded. Liz felt Ty’s hand
slide up from her waist to the bare skin of her back and back down again. Liz
almost stumbled from her knees going weak.