Page 100 of The Lady on Esplanade
“I drove it all the way from Mississippi, and it runs like brand-new, and I didn’t see any hitchhiker in the backseat.”Jaxson chuckled, but his smile faded when he noticed that nobody else found his comment amusing.“Sorry.Too soon, I guess.”
“It will always be too soon,” I said.
“Duly noted.Anyway, as I was saying, the car was meticulously maintained, and if I were that guy and I was looking down at mymost prized possession, I’d be thrilled that someone beautiful and responsible like your sister was the new driver.”
“Thank you,” I said.“But I’m still not crazy about being behind the wheel of any car again.My boss is letting me work from home, so there’s no fieldwork.And that’s all good, because I’m so behind on paperwork right now that I’ll never catch up.”
Jaxson helped Jolene out of her coat.“Isn’t that what you were supposed to be doing while I was gone?”
Turning to Jaxson, she said, “Thank you,” then gave him a look like the organizer of a surprise party might have right before opening the door for the victim.
Beau appeared from the direction of the back stairs carrying the box from the backseat, with two paisley quilted Vera Bradley totes stacked on top.“Where should I put these?”
I opened my mouth to tell him exactly where I wanted him to put them, but Jolene cut me off.“Thank you so much, Beau.Please put the totes in my room, and you can just drop the box right next to that armchair.And I apologize—I don’t know where my head is lately—but I should have told you to leave the box in the car.It’s fine just where it is, though.We can keep it here until Trevor asks for it back, and in the meantime I can find a doily to cover it so we can use it as an end table.”
“Trevor?”
After Jolene explained the whole Henry story, Beau laughed.“Good for Trevor.Henry’s getting on Mimi’s last nerve, but she doesn’t want to say anything because Camille is so nice and such a great friend.We’re all hoping they find their own place soon, but Camille’s been a real comfort to Mimi.”
“That is an unexpected blessing,” Jolene said.“It’s like Adele orchestrated it all, isn’t it?Her best friend appears right at the moment Mimi, you, and Felicity need her most.”
Beau nodded.“I’m going to agree, since otherwise it would be a coincidence, and we all know there’s no such thing.”He sent me ameaningful glance.“She’s also a pretty amazing salesperson.Our numbers at the store have skyrocketed since Camille started….”
The pain in my ankle radiated all the way up to my head, but it was still hours before I’d want to take one of my pills.
Beau had stopped talking and was reaching for the bottle on the tray next to me.“You haven’t taken one in a while, have you?It looks like you need one now.”
I glared at him.“Don’t you have someplace else to be?Someone else’s life you can interfere in?”The hurt look on his face barely registered as I snatched the pill bottle from him and opened it.I tipped it over, and only five pills spilled out onto my palm.I upended it to make sure nothing was stuck on the side, and when nothing else came out I held it up to my eye and confirmed that the bottle was empty.
“That’s not right,” I said, putting four of the pills back into the bottle.“I think I’ve had maybe three since I’ve been here, and hardly more than that while I was at Mimi’s.”I looked at Mardi, whose eyes were as alert as ever.“Sarah—did you pick up all the pills after I knocked over the bottle?I don’t want Mardi to eat any.”
“I didn’t see any,” Sarah insisted.“I even got down on my hands and knees to be at Mardi’s level to make sure there weren’t any on the floor.And I vacuumed before Jolene got here, so if I missed any, they’d be in the vacuum bag.”
I sat back, relieved.“Thank goodness.”Sensing my need for reassurance, Mardi came to stand next to the couch, within petting distance, and I accommodated him with a scratch behind one floppy ear.
Jolene handed me a water bottle she’d pulled from her bag.“Here.Take your pill and wash it down with this.You’ll feel better soon.”
I did as instructed, then rested my head against the pillow, willing the medicine to work quickly.
“You should be taking them as prescribed,” Beau said.“It’s important that you get ahead of the pain so—”
My phone rang, preempting the response that was burning on my tongue.I didn’t recognize the number, though it had the local 504area code.I had a fifty-fifty chance of it being a call from someone I actually wanted to talk to rather than a sales call.But if I answered, I wouldn’t have to talk to Beau.
“Hello?”I deepened my voice so that if it was a sales call I could pretend they had the wrong number.Being able to avoid sales calls was the main advantage of having a lifelong nickname.
“This is Joan Wenzel.Am I speaking with Nola Trenholm?”
“Hello, Mrs.Wenzel.This is Nola.”
“I’m sorry.It didn’t sound like you when you answered.”
“I think I might be getting a cold,” I said, to avoid explaining.“Did you have a chance to speak with Honey?”I put the phone on speaker.
“I did.I’m thrilled that Zeus came out of his shell, but he hasn’t said anything since I’ve been home, so who knows if he’s cured?”
“Do you have any idea what he meant by ‘the key’?”
“I have no idea.The only key in the house that I was aware was missing was the one from the armoire, but you found that.”
