Page 75 of Ten Beach Road

Twenty-four

“What was that?” Nicole leaped out of bed and raced to the window. She stared out not over the bay where the sun was still inching upward but down into the front garden where an army seemed to be massing. An army of people with white hair and really bad taste in clothing. She heard footsteps in the hall and threw open her door but knew she was too late when the bathroom door slammed shut. Avery and Madeline already stood in line. Five women and one bathroom belonged in the category of cruel and inhuman punishment. This house needed to be closed down like Gitmo.

Maddie shot her an apologetic smile.

“We let Kyra go ahead since she’s pregnant,” Avery said, not looking at all put out. But then she was first in line.

“Good God. I’d get pregnant myself if it would get me to the front of the bathroom line,” Nikki muttered.

“I don’t think you can do that yourself. Didn’t we establish that the other day in the kitchen?” Deirdre came out of the master bedroom fully dressed and made-up. If Nikki hadn’t personally delivered the master bathroom hardware to the King of Chrome, she would have suspected the designer of secretly convincing Robby to get her bathroom up and running. Through the closed bedroom door, Nikki could hear the whir of the window air conditioner Deirdre had had delivered and installed.

“The fact that I haven’t chosen to reproduce doesn’t mean I don’t know how the equipment works,” Nikki replied. “Or how a seed gets planted.” She moved closer to the fixed window above the front door. “Speaking of which, how long have Renée Franklin and her garden ladies been here?”

The army had spread out to attack different sections of the garden. John Franklin sat on a camp chair that had been placed near the fountain, a smile on his face as he watched his wife command her battalion.

“Mrs. Franklin wanted to get started before it got too hot,” Avery said. “I don’t think a single one of them is under seventy-five. They’ll fill in with some new plantings after the house has been pressure washed and painted.”

Nicole moved down the hall to peer out the rear windows above the loggia; that was the one advantage in being last in line—she didn’t need to hold on to her spot. Only her bladder. “Good God, that woman is climbing up that tree. I think she’s got a . . .”

The whir of an electric saw drifted up to them followed by the crash of a limb landing on concrete. There were a few “whoo-whoo-whoos” punctuated by surprisingly vigorous arm pumps and a lot of swinging arm flesh. The saw whirred again and another limb dropped into the empty crater of concrete in the center of the back patio.

“I guess it’s a good thing the pool hasn’t been done yet,” Deirdre said beside her.

“Right. Just like it’s a good thing we only have one bathroom because it cuts down on the cleaning.” Nikki narrowed her gaze on the immaculate Deirdre. “We do still only have one bathroom, right?”

Deirdre just smiled. “Of course,” she said. But Nikki vowed to make sure. Avery wasn’t the only one suspicious of her mother’s motives. Or maybe Nikki’s nose was just out of joint because Deirdre had proved even better at getting others to do her bidding than Nikki was herself.

Down below, the garden ladies continued to swarm over the property, cutting and pulling and weeding; each sure movement confirming that despite their advanced ages they were neither frail nor timid.

“Wow,” Avery whispered. “Look at her go.” Renée moved from group to group in a most un-Vanna-like way—a commander with a clear mission in mind. Occasionally she went back to her husband for a moment or two like a sun responding to gravitational pull. And then she was back at it, her husband’s admiring gaze following her wherever she went.

Nikki saw the sheen of tears in Avery’s eyes and felt the telltale prickle behind her own eyelids as she witnessed the couple’s obvious connection. Good grief! She swiped at them with the back of her hand as Madeline came out of the bathroom fully dressed.

“Jesus,” Madeline said. “I haven’t had a period in six months. I thought I was done.” She shook her head, disgusted. “It must be the stress. I’m not sure whose tampons those were, but I’ll buy some to replace what I borrowed.”

“No problem,” Avery and Nikki said at the same time, then the three of them looked at each other.

Nikki groaned. “This is what happens when you have a group of women living in such close quarters; everybody’s cycles start syncing up. I feel like I’m in the middle of Anita Diamant’sThe Red Tent.”

“Don’t look at me,” Deirdre said. “I amwayover that. But it may explain some of the whacked-out behavior over the last week. A pregnant girl and three PMSers? Somebody should warn Chase and his guys to tread lightly. Thank God there are no weapons in the house.”

“You know how much it hurts me to agree with you,” Avery said as she moved toward the now-vacant bathroom. “But you got that right.”

Maddie sighed and headed for the back stairs. “I guess I’ll mix up a couple of pitchers of lemonade to hydrate the troops.”

“Well, whatever you do don’t piss them off,” Nicole said. “Even the smallest of them seems to have major muscle and some of them have power tools.”

After what felt like an eternity, Avery finally came out of the bathroom. With a nod, she went down the front stairs. The bathroom was Nikki’s at last. Hers, all hers!

She raced in, locking the door behind her, and claimed the toilet. She sighed in sheer relief; the word “hallelujah” formed in her brain.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside and there was a knock on the bathroom door. “Ma’am?” The voice belonged to Robby the plumber. “I have to turn off the water! It’ll only be for about an hour.”

Nikki washed her hands in the sink and yanked open the door. “Oh, no, you don’t,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’ve been waiting for way too long, and I just now got in here.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.” That’s how young the plumber was. She was a “ma’am” in his eyes. “But . . .”

She looked him in the eye. He was very sweet, respectful, and earnest. Chase insisted he came from a long line of plumbers and knew what he was doing. At the moment none of those things mattered in the least. She reached out and grabbed a handful of Robby’s T-shirt and pulled him closer. “You can’t turn off the water right now, Robby. We only have one working bathroom. Which includes one sink. And one toilet. And one shower. For all five of us. And I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.” Something he undoubtedly now knew given how close they were standing.

---