DASHED DREAMS (12 page)

“They’ll be finished up in about an hour or so,” Bertie informed the ladies. They all thanked her.

After lunch, the girls said goodbye to Celeste and returned to Jillian’s room. Emma, Lynda, and Jillian were sorting and comparing their acquisitions, when the phone rang. Lynda, closest to the phone, answered in a most officious voice, “Hello, Miss James’ suite.” She was silent and then smiled.

“Hold on, Sir. I’ll see if she’s receiving calls.” She laughed and motioned the phone’s receiver towards Jillian. “Your shining star.”

Jillian shook her hand at Lynda, “Hello…. Nope just waiting for you to return. How was golf?” The girls were trying ask where Gary and Jack were, but Jillian swatted at them, and continued, “We had lunch downstairs.”

“Are you ready to go house-looking? We’re munching lunch right now. Jillie, come on down to my room. After I finish, we’ll go look at my house. Hey, bring the girls. Jack and Gary are here eating, too. See you in a few?”

“We’ll be right down.”

After hanging up the phone, she felt two sets of eyes focused on her.

“Come on, we’re meeting the guys down at RJ’s.”

After lunch Jillian and RJ met with Lionel, who was waiting with the car. No one in the hotel lobby seemed to notice RJ, as he was still dressed in golf clothes and wearing a golf cap.

“Good afternoon, Miss James and Mr. Montgomery,” Lionel said as he opened the rear door for the couple.

The limousine turned onto Highway 50. In about ten minutes they reached Tahoe Drive. The car turned left off the highway. At the security gate, Lionel handed the guard a paper. He handed Lionel a card that he slipped onto the dash. The guard opened the gate, and as the car passed he nodded to the occupants. RJ had given Lionel a set of directions. He continued on Tahoe Drive. The road had a very steep descent to lake level. Once they reached lake level, Lionel made a brief left turn, and the house was directly in front of them. The limo pulled into the covered horseshoe-shaped driveway. One of the first things Jillian noticed was the shiny tile driveway and another was a massive rock exterior.

“You’ve been calling this a house. This is a villa.” Jillian motioned with her arms outstretched wide, indicating the vastness.

“Nah, it’s just somewhere this old country boy can unpack his duds. The big house is in LA.”

They both laughed. RJ unlocked the front door. Standing in the entryway, the view was breath-taking both inside and out. Across the vast living room were massive picture windows revealing majestic Lake Tahoe.

“Kind’a takes your breathe away.” Jillian remarked. Her voice echoed due to the lack of furniture.

“Yeah, ain’t seen nothing yet, kid. Roam around and get to know the place.”

The interior of the home was designed like a wagon wheel, with spokes coming off the center. The dining room was off to the left of the great room, with the kitchen entry to the far side of the dining room. On the same wall was an open-through fireplace between the kitchen and dining room.

Jillian walked into the kitchen. “Wow! If my mother could see this! This is exactly like what her dream kitchen would look like. Come to think of it, just like mine.”

A hand touched her shoulder. “I’m glad you approve.”

The kitchen was every cook’s dream, with a large restaurant-style stove in the middle of a large kitchen island. Jillian walked around inspecting everything. Off the kitchen, was a breakfast nook. There was another bank of windows affording spectacular views. Jillian stood at the nook, looking back into the kitchen, imaging a snowy day with a roaring fire burning in the fireplace. RJ looked at her daydreaming and fell deeper in love.

“Hey, come on, we have more to look at.” the
rabbit

He took her hand and escorted her down a hall from the kitchen. They inspected two bedrooms with their own sitting areas and baths. Again, they were in the entryway, heading down another hall, one that revealed two more bedrooms, with the same configuration as the previous ones.

When they reached a grand double door, RJ opened it and once again, the view was breath taking. Jillian thought to herself: Strange, but each view throughout the house of the lake is somewhat different. She stepped up on a landing, looked out over the lake, and smiled. Turning and looking towards the middle of the room, she saw RJ looking at her, smiling.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just loving what I’m seeing.”

She walked past him and touched his cheek. He took her into his arms. “If only there were a bed right here.” He motioned to the exact spot Jillian had imagined she’d place the bed, if she were decorating the room. He kissed her. “There’s more to see.”

The twosome looked at his and her master baths each with its own walk-in closets. Down the hallway led to a giant laundry and mudroom with a door on the far side of the room. Jillian opened the door, she found herself inside a four-car garage. She noticed that the flooring in the garage was the same shiny tile as on the driveway. Off the same hall were another three rooms: An office, complete with two built-in oak desks located along the far wall. Another empty room contained a sitting room, bedroom, and bath.

“These are the servants’ quarters.”

From that room down the hall was another door, which led into a room -- that was the plainest of all -- no wood, no built-in cabinets, nothing but a door leading out onto another deck. RJ opened the door, and they were standing on a small deck area. The steps led down from the small deck onto a grass yard. The couple stood looking at the lake, then turned to look at the house.

Jillian was taken with his remark and changed the subject. They walked back into the great room, out onto the deck from the French doors leading out of that room. RJ took Jillian’s hand and they walked down the walkway that came off the deck. Several yards down the walkway they came upon a boathouse and a pier. RJ tried several keys and opened the locked gate. They walked out onto the pier. At the end of the pier was another small deck, probably used as a swim platform, as a metal ladder was propped against the boathouse.

The couple sat on a redwood bench. RJ looked back at his home. “Years ago, never in my wildest dreams I ever thought I could have something like this.”

“RJ, it’s something to be proud of. It is….” Jillian thought for a second trying to find the right word, but all she could say was, “breath-taking.”

They sat quietly; listening to the lake’s ripples slap against the concrete pilings.

When they started back to the house, they were holding hands. RJ said, “Too bad this wasn’t furnished and we could’ve stayed here tonight. Another time.”

They locked up the house and got back into the car. While mixing a drink, RJ asked Jillian if she wanted one. She shook her head no.

It was almost evening when the pair returned to Tucker’s. In RJ’s suite the foursome of Gary, Emma, Lynda, and Jack left a note saying that they were having dinner at
The Top of The Wheel,
across the street at Harvey’s.

“Want to join them?”

“No, thanks. I’m kind’a tired. Since we leave tomorrow, I want to just relax tonight. I might just order room service,” Jillian said.

“Want to have dinner with me here? We can order room service and just kick back,” RJ said as finishing mixing a drink. He motioned a silent, “Do you want a drink?” to Jillie, and she shook her head no. He kicked off his shoes and planted his feet on the coffee table, sipping his drink.

“Thanks. Sounds good.” Jillian said, watching the late-afternoon sun reflect on the lake. She sat down next to him and also removed her shoes.

“Whatever you want for dinner, it’s yours. What do you feel like? Think I’m going to order something that you’re going to scold me for eating.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, to start off, I’m going to have an order of Chicago Wings, then the largest cheeseburger they can make. One of those ‘Elvis’ burgers with a fried bun and with cheese dripping off the sides, with French fries and onion rings. And to complete that, a large vanilla malt, with a couple of beer chasers.”

“Heart attack ready to happen.” Jillian laughed. “Hey, I’ll have the same, but skip the beers.”

When dinner was finished, RJ asked Jillian if she wanted to watch a movie or listen to music. She declined both, saying she’d just like relax, knowing that tomorrow everyone would be leaving. The couple talked about their parents, their childhood, and their dreams.

At about ten the phone rang; it was Gary. He said the plane would be ready for him and RJ, whenever they were ready to head back to Los Angeles. He said the rest of the support crew left a few hours ago and were heading home. RJ told him that he’d be ready by mid-morning.

After the call RJ mixed himself another drink, again offering Jillian one, which she declined.

They talked until the wee hours of the morning. RJ walked Jillian to her room; they opened the door and stepped inside. After Jillian closed the door, he took her into his arms and held her tightly. They didn’t speak, just held one another. He whispered in her ear, “Jillie, I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this weekend. I’m glad you were here to share it with me. Thank you.”

RJ kissed her, a gentle kiss, a loving kiss. When he moved his lips from hers, she pulled him closer, not wanting him to leave. She said in a hushed tone, “Stay.”

“You know I’d stay in a heartbeat, but both of us know that’s not what you want. We’d both be sorry. Jillie, I really care for you. You’re very special.”

“RJ, thank you. And I really care for you.” She wanted to say that she was falling in love with him, she thought better of confessing.

They said goodnight. He reminded her to lock the door. About ten minutes later, Jillian was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed, when the telephone rang. For a second she thought about letting the voice mail get it, but then answered.

“I finished in 9
^th
place, one under. I won $34,000 for charity. Not bad pennies for a fun time. I should let you get some sleep, but I don’t want to hang up the phone. I know you’re right down the hall, I don’t want to say goodnight as it’s also goodbye. Jillie, I love you.”

“Robert, goodnight.” She wanted to say she loved him but couldn’t.

She held the receiver to her chest for a second, then hung up the phone. Kneeling, during her prayers, she prayed to God to give RJ the strength to pare down the alcohol.

The weather turned rainy and the horses were affected by the change. They ran with their tails up, the colts jumped and kicked as the cooler temperatures arrived. Dan stood on the front porch watching the clouds roll across the alfalfa-covered hill. The westward breeze brought a pleasant cooling. Seated in one of the rockers, Grace brought a couple of glasses of iced tea out and sat down next to him.

She looked over the circle drive. “You know, Dan, I think we should finally order the new kitchen appliances. We’ve been planning on the new ones for a couple of years, and I think now’s the time.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the girls coming?”

“Probably, but you know we’ve been talking about it for some time. I have the ones we want picked out, and they said they could deliver them day after tomorrow. The carpenter said he could do the framing tomorrow. How about it?”

“Anything you want, you know that.”

“You know, Jillie will be surprised, since she’s been after us for years to remodel the kitchen. I’ve used everything Mamma used and everything’s almost worn out. Thank you, Dan.”

“You don’t have to thank me, you know that.”

“I’m really excited to see how everything will turn out. We’ve only had the plans to look at. Dan, do you think she’ll ever want to live here? You know, this was her grandparents’ home and now ours. I don’t want to hound her about it, but I’d love to think some day she’d live out here with her husband and children, our grandbabies.”

Dan sighed. “Please, while she’s here, don’t keep after her about grandbabies!” Grace nodded as she knew exactly he was talking about. Dan just looked at her with that look he gives her, a look she understands after all their years of marriage.

“I think I’ve planned out a few days for the girls, that is if they haven’t already planned their trip. We’ll hit all the Targets, the Fort Worth Mall, and spend a spa day at the Morning Star Spa.”

“I’ve booked a round at the country club. There’s going to be a quarter horse sale at the stockyards while they’re here, so thought I’d take the girls to the sale if they want to go. I know she’ll want to get reacquainted with Sugar. That horse misses her. I know Jillie will enjoy that.” Grace smiled as she looked towards her husband.