The Battered Heiress Blues - By Laurie Van Dermark Page 0,28
head that off at the pass.”
“Well…”
“She thinks you’re hot. She said that when we saw you down at the beach.”
“She did?”
“Yeah. I’ll even babysit Mattie. Why don’t you go tonight? Have some dinner?”
There was a knock at the front door. Gabe excused himself to answer it. I was perturbed that we were interrupted when I was on the crux of sealing the deal. He returned with Kate in tow.
“Look who’s here,” Gabe said fidgeting.
“How was your nap?”
“Uneventful. No crazy ex-husbands disturbing the peace.”
Mattie ran in to the room and stood by Gabe.
“This is Mattie.”
Kate knelt down, realizing that he wouldn’t respond and hugged him tightly.
“Hi Mattie, I’m Kate. I live next door in that big white house. You must come and have tea with me sometime.”
Mattie ran back to the living room and began lining up his trucks. She followed and sat down in front of him, mirroring his every move, car for car, until two lines were forming. I looked up at Gabe and smiled with that ‘told you so’ grin. Kate had just affirmed my earlier argument for dating. I motioned my head towards her, egging him on to be assertive. We walked over to join them. Gabe knelt down beside Mattie and looked up at Kate.
“Mattie has horse therapy at a nearby farm. We usually go for ice cream before he leaves with my mom for the weekend. Would you like to join us?”
Kate was trying to be calm, but she was visibly about to jump out of her skin.
“Love to go.”
Her smile made my heart happy. Maybe her joy would be contagious. She paused and turned her head back toward me, concerned to leave me alone.
“Do we have plans? Do you want to come?”
Gabe realized that she was trying to be inclusive.
“Of course, you’re welcome to come with us, Julia.”
“No. I have thank you notes to write. The sooner I start them, the sooner I’ll be done. Why doesn’t Gabe join us for card night?”
“What’s card night?” Gabe inquired.
“We try our hand at poker and blackjack; have some pizza and a few drinks. We’re not that good, but we enjoy playing.”
“That sounds like fun. Maybe once I get Mattie on his way.”
“Good. It’s settled. I’ll see you both back at the house around seven o’clock? I’ll order the pizzas.”
I said my goodbyes to Mattie and left, relishing in my match making abilities. On my way back to the house, I stopped at the gate to the cemetery. I still couldn’t go in, but I decided to sit awhile in the chapel and ponder Gabe’s opinions on suffering, before heading home.
After fifty notes of thanks, I ordered the pizzas and hopped in the shower. Kate and Gabe arrived a little after seven o’clock. I could tell that they had hit it off. She was laughing like a school girl and hanging on his every word. He was eating it up. He certainly wasn’t used to the attention. He and I were very similar. We were both suffering from a failure to thrive. No one had touched us in so long that we were wasting away. At least Gabe had a prospect. Good for him.
We finished eating and adjourned to the drawing room. Kate turned on music while Gabe shuffled the cards. I filled three baskets full of food. They would act as our poker chips. We took our seats. Let the games begin.
6
No one had noticed Henry walking through the front door. Gabe, Kate, and I were about to show our cards. We were playing the final hand. By this time, we were plastered. I had won Gabe’s tie and was wearing it around my face like a headband with it hanging down my cheek. Kate had swindled him out of his hat an hour ago and took to wearing it backwards. Gabe had won my pink kiss the cook apron which he wore proudly with the accompanying chef’s hat. Little did he know that we were strategically letting him win to give him a false sense of security. Kate and I were in our element. We were the Harvard card sharks. Many a monthly allotments from daddy had been lost to us during college.
I was sitting on a queen-nine. The pot was full of every delicacy stashed away by the caterers. I knew what I had to do. I was feeling lucky. I would bet my favorite Godiva chocolates against Kate’s caviar and Gabe’s Kobe steaks. They were going down.