These Foolish Things (24 page)

Beanie had gone to Wellesley the night before. Fortunately,
he had the soul of an explorer and going for a ride in the car didn’t require
drugging him. Even a trip to the vet clinic was routine and calm. Beanie had
sat in his crate, nose and whiskers twitching as he took in the new car smell,
occasionally stretching a paw out through the mesh covering the front of the
crate. Liz would reach over and gently hold the paw, feeling it flex as Beanie
tried to pull her hand back to his face for a lick.

Right now, Liz’s car was filled with boxes. Clothing, her
most treasured kitchen paraphernalia, her computer and her pictures. Ty was at
work. At the time she was heading to Salem to oversee the move, he was heading
into Boston for a strategy session. They had each filled travel mugs of coffee
and clinked them together in a toast. Liz had started to set hers down, when Ty
stopped her.

“It’s bad luck to toast and then set down the glass without
drinking.” She had sipped some coffee. “Liz, I’m sorry I’m not going to be
there to help you out,” he had started.

She had waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. You got me
hired muscle and I’m just supervising. I’ll be fine and be unpacked by the time
you come home.” It had felt odd to use that phrase and know that by the end of
the day, her definition of where home was would change. And that home wouldn’t
be solely hers anymore, either. Rather, she was joining another established
household. This was going to take some adjusting.

Ty had smiled and lightly kissed her. “After tonight,” he
said, “no more barriers between us.” He took Liz’s hand and started to lead her
into the den. “I have a surprise for you and for Beanie.”

The den was one of Ty’s favorite rooms. It was elegantly
appointed, but with an eye towards creating a space where people felt free to
relax and unwind. The sofas were overstuffed and long enough for a tall man to
stretch out comfortably. There was a coffee table topped in green marble that
Beanie had already claimed as his domain. A top of the line home theater system
had been installed and Ty had an extensive library of movies, stored in an oak
cabinet.

The prize, however, was the rug covering the floor. When he
had first showed her the room, Ty had moved a sofa out of the way to show the
rug to Liz. During his Rhodes scholarship period in England, Ty had befriended
a young man from one of the sultanates of the Middle East also studying at
Oxford. The boy had been struggling with his classes because of the language
difficulty. Ty had tutored him in English. He found out later that his friend’s
father was a powerful advisor to the sultan when two large men from that
country’s embassy to Britain had arrived at Ty’s dormitory room with the carpet
and a letter of gratitude from the father.

The rug was beautiful. Liz had felt the surface, expecting
to feel the prickly sensation of wool. Instead it was smooth and soft. “It’s
silk,” Ty had said as he stroked the surface with pride. The colors in the rug
did have the shimmer that only silk can lend and those colors were rich and
deep. Jewel tones of ruby red mixed with clear blues and forest greens in an
intricate geometric pattern.

“You know, Liz, I’m not into possessions. I have stuff and I
like to have good stuff, but I don’t get off on having it. This, however,” and
he picked up the corner of the rug, “really means something to me and I love
seeing it on the floor in my house.” He had carefully laid down the corner of
the rug and gently replaced the sofa where it had been.

Next, Ty showed Liz something in the corner of the den. She
laughed, “Ty, you are going to spoil that cat.” Beanie was already perched at
the top of a floor to ceiling kitty jungle gym in front of a window. Its
branches were topped with small carpeted platforms in a variety of shapes. Liz
could hear him purring from across the room. Ty walked over to the corner and
Beanie reached down from his perch to playfully slap Ty on the head. Ty laughed
as he darted a hand back to Beanie, who caught it and licked it. Liz watched
the two of them play.

“I guess you’re officially in if he’s already bopping you on
the head,” she said.

“I found a catnip mouse in my shoe this morning,” Ty said.
“Does that mean anything?”

“He’s made himself at home and he wants to share his toys
with you,” Liz answered.

Ty withdrew his hand from Beanie and stepped over to where
Liz was standing. He encircled her waist in his arms and asked, “Does he
consider you one of his toys? You’re the only thing I care about him sharing”
and he’d pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

Liz smiled as she remembered the scene. They’d left on their
separate missions shortly afterwards, exchanging a long, deep kiss at the door.
The one problem had been that Beanie had made a successful dash out the front
door and recovery was complicated by the presence of a squirrel. Ignoring Liz’s
calls, Beanie had taken off after the squirrel, almost getting into the street
before Liz caught him. On the way back into the house, Beanie had watched the
spot where he’d last seen his prey and struggled to get out of Liz’s arms and
finish the chase. Liz had barely managed to get him inside.

And now, she had to unpack the car and keep Beanie from
escaping. Simple, she thought, I’ll just throw him in the den and shut the
door. He’ll be happy.

Liz pulled into the driveway and pressed the button to open
the garage door remotely. After years of parking on the street, Liz appreciated
this small luxury no end. She pulled into the second space, noting that Ty’s
car was already in its space. He was home. Liz turned off the engine and closed
the big door.

She began unloading the trunk of her car, kind of surprised
that Ty hadn’t come out to the garage upon hearing her arrive. Maybe the
soundproofing in the house was really good. She opened the door leading from
the garage into a small mud room off the kitchen. Beanie dashed by her.

“Ha! Foiled again! The big door’s closed!” Liz called after
him. She turned to continue moving items into the house.

“Hello?” Liz called out. “Anybody home?”

Silence. She shrugged and went about her business, finally
shooing Beanie back into the house after she’d emptied the car. It hadn’t taken
long.

Liz was in the process of schlepping cartons upstairs when
Ty emerged from the den. “Hey, Babe, when did you get here?” he asked. “Let me.”
He took the boxes from Liz and headed upstairs with them.

“About 20 minutes ago,” she said. “You didn’t hear me?”

“I was on the phone. I thought I heard something, but I
wasn’t sure,” he answered over his shoulder.

It didn’t take long to unpack. The last item to be put into
place was Liz’s print of Pygmalion and Galatea. With Ty’s help, she hung the
picture on a hook near his bed. Their bed.

Ty leaned back on the bed propped on his elbows and studied
the print. Beanie jumped up on the bed and rubbed against him, whacking Ty with
his tail.

“It’s such a dark background,” he remarked. “Every time I
see it, I think about how gloomy it looks. And I can’t understand how you of
all people, would be attracted to a story about a man creating the perfect
woman. Doesn’t strike me as something that would appeal to you, Liz.”

Liz sat next to Ty and put her arm around his shoulder.
“Well, that’s one interpretation. I got the chance to talk to a sculptor at a
thing at the Museum of Fine Arts and I asked him how he chose what he would
sculpt. The guy said that he’d look at a piece of stone and see something in
it, then carve until he freed it. It was after that conversation that I found
this picture and it occurred to me that Pygmalion hadn’t created Galatea; he
had seen her trapped in the marble. Chiseling away the stone was how he could
free her. It’s dark because nothing else matters but freeing her. And I think,
maybe, in that way, she changed him, brought out qualities he didn’t know he
had until he began the work of chiseling her out.”

Ty leaned his head against Liz. “I see,” he said slowly. He
brought one arm around and gently pulled Liz down to the bed beside him. “So,
are you the statue or the sculptor?” he asked.

Liz thought for a minute, studying the picture. “I’d say I’m
the statue,” she said. “I was locked in that marble until you found me.” she
said softly.

Ty kissed the side of her face. “I think you’re the sculptor,”
he murmured, “Since I met you, I’ve felt more alive than I ever have.” He
kissed her again.

He leaned back, stroking Liz’s face. “Wow,” he said.

“What’s wow, Ty?” Liz asked.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Ty whispered. “You’re here
and you’re going to stay here and I get to wake up next to you every day and
come home to you every night.” He pulled her closer.

Liz pulled herself even closer to Ty. “I should have known
that when you clobbered me at home plate that it was the start of something.” She
kissed Ty’s forehead. “Maybe that’s why I kissed you.”

Ty chuckled. “You caught me by surprise with that one.” He
moved so that he was on top of Liz. “All we need is the ball. Hit me with your
best shot.” And Liz kissed him like she did the first time, except that this
time, Ty definitely kissed her back. Liz’s hands grasped the back of his shirt
and began tugging it out of his pants. Ty responded by unbuttoning Liz’s
sweater and kissing the flesh he exposed. In moments, they were naked and
entwined. Within minutes, Liz was gasping from a powerful climax as Ty spent
himself into her.

When she had caught her breath, Liz finally asked him, “So
what do you want for our first dinner as bunkies? I’ll fix you anything but sushi.”

Ty smiled and kissed her hand, “From now on, Elizabeth, as
the mistress of this house, you don’t have to lift a finger. We’ll go out to
this little Italian place in Chestnut Hill. It’s not Vincenzo’s but it’s very
good.”

“I’d be delighted to cook for you,” said Liz, “Maybe we
could go to that place tomorrow. Millie wants to get together for brunch.”

Ty winced. “Babe, you’ll have to go without me. I have to go
back into the office for a while tomorrow. I’m sorry.” He kissed her again.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

After dinner, they’d come back to the house and made love
for hours. Liz could feel Ty spooned up behind her, his arm around her as he
slept, his breath stirring her hair; he radiated contentment. She was sated
with lovemaking and tired from moving, but still unable to fall asleep.
Something at the back of her mind was nagging at her but didn’t want to fully
disclose itself.

Liz gave up and tried to fall asleep. For some reason, she
kept remembering Ty saying the word, “mistress.”

“Millicent Wentworth, I do believe you’re the biggest sadist
I’ve ever met who wasn’t a licensed dentist,” Liz winced. “I don’t think
there’s a part of me that doesn’t ache except maybe for my hair.” Liz gingerly
reached up and touched her scalp. “Nope. That hurts, too.”

Millie laughed. “Hey, you SAID you wanted to go hiking. You
SAID you wanted the exercise. You SAID you wanted something challenging. You
SAID you wanted something that would keep you occupied. You SAID you trusted me.”
Millie put up one hand. The other was on the steering wheel. “You’re unhappy
now because I did as you said. Talk to the hand. You got what you wanted.”

Liz leaned back in the passenger seat cautiously. “You know
I’ve said and done a lot of damned fool things in my life. As my best friend,
you’re supposed to stop me, not pack a lunch and go along for the trip.” Liz
winced again. “That’s it. You’re fired. I’m getting a new best friend. Wonder
if Corey wants the job?”

They had spent the early May weekend in the White Mountain
National Forest day-hiking. Millie had been going almost since she was in utero
and considered the area her backyard. What Millie considered “a good workout”
had the potential to drop an entire platoon of Marines. Liz, unfortunately, had
forgotten that.

Millie laughed. “I still can’t believe you. The Border Guard
asks us if we have anything to declare and you say, ‘Only my undying love for
Andy Garcia.’ He wasn’t amused, Liz.”

“First requirement for such a job, Millie, is no sense of
humor.” Liz laughed.

“I thought he was gonna bust us or take apart the car.
Instead, he just gets annoyed and tells us to get the hell out of there.”

They both laughed, Millie more heartily than Liz.

“Hey, how come you didn’t pick up any booze at Duty Free?” Millie
asked with genuine puzzlement. “How often do we get up there to get Brador?”

“Guess I’ve kind of lost my taste for it.” Liz said
offhandedly. “I got perfume, though, so while you’re smelling like a brewery,
belching and singing ‘Friends In Low Places’ in some key no one’s ever heard,
I’ll be smelling like a rose. Or rather, a blend of roses and starlight. Nyah.”

Millie continued laughing. “Good thing, too. You need it
right now, my friend.” She pretended to wave away unbearable odors. Liz made a
face at her and they laughed some more. She was glad Millie hadn’t questioned
her further about the beer.

Millie leaned back in her seat. “I can’t wait to see John,” she
smiled a secret little smile. “I think I’ll let him clean the Great North Woods
off me.” Millie glanced at Liz. “Of course, you’ve got Ty waiting for you. Good
thing we’re almost there. He’s probably pacing and watching the door. Gotta get
you home pronto.”

Liz just stared at the dashboard. “You don’t have to rush.” She
said it very softly.

Millie glanced at her, frowning. “Now that I think about it,
you were pretty quiet when you weren’t cracking jokes like that Andy Garcia
one. I know you, Elizabeth. Your sense of humor is your defense mechanism and
your armor. You’ve got it on so thick right now, I can almost hear clanking.
What happened with you and Ty? I thought you couldn’t keep your hands off each
other.”