Authors: Nancy Martin
“Thank you. I’ll let you know. And thank you for bringing Grace all this way. Her television appearance is important today.”
“She’ll be great.”
“We’re having a light lunch afterwards. Just appetizers and champagne with a few friends of mine. Would you like to join us?”
Luke shook his head. “I’m too hungry to wait that long.” He looked at Grace and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll go get a burger while you do your thing. Meet you later?”
“All right,” Grace said. She had already given Luke her afternoon schedule, which he had memorized as if it were something from a team playbook.
“Good luck,” he said, meeting her eyes directly. The spark in his gaze caused an electric reaction in her chest and quickly traveled south. He must have guessed her physical response, because he grinned and walked away.
Nora linked her arm through Grace’s and pulled her into the building. As soon as they were alone, Nora started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Grace demanded in the elevator.
“Grace, he’s gorgeous! Hardly the kind of man I thought you’d be attracted to, but how can you help yourself?”
“He’s very sweet,” Grace said, knowing she sounded defensive.
“Sweet is not the first thing I noticed about him. And you were kissing the stuffing out of the man.”
“I was not!”
“You were, too. And three cheers for it.”
“Just don’t tell my mother, okay?”
Nora laughed again. “And risk the wrath of Dear Miss Vanderbine? Do you think I’m crazy?”
Nora accompanied Grace upstairs, through the receptionist and into the green room. She helped Grace finish her makeup and smooth her hair. In no time, Grace was on camera. And very glad she had worn slacks, not another short skirt.
Even with half her mind still on the sidewalk with Luke, she managed to summon some Vanderbine poise to do her television interview. She fielded questions first, then led the host’s three college-age children through a mock business lunch. Today, she was very glad not to be doing the tea party segment her mother had rehearsed with her. Her confidence had been thoroughly shaken. As Nora pointed out, a business lunch was more Grace’s area of expertise: How to make conversation that didn’t spoil your chances for getting a deal or a job, what to do if you spilled something or a cell phone rang or someone from your past lurched up to the table and made an embarrassing scene. The students started out stiff and uncomfortable, but Grace thought of Luke’s handling of the woman at the airport bar, and she put his technique to work. She teased the students into loosening up, and the segment went beautifully. At the end, the host did a nice pitch for the book, and Grace told the camera where she would be appearing later in the day.
When the camera light went off, the host praised Grace for a job well done. Still, it was a
great relief when she and Nora managed to disengage themselves from the station staff.
“Great appearance,” Nora said when they were alone. “You looked comfortable in front of the camera, Grace. And you really connected with the kids on the set.”
“Thanks. This one felt better than my flashing my undies.”
Nora laughed. “As your confidence grows, you’ll get better and better. And business etiquette might be your best bet, don’t you think?”
“It certainly feels more natural than tea parties.”
They talked more about the possibilities as they dashed around the block for the meet-and-greet at one of Nora’s favorite restaurants, Champagne. Nora must have invited many friends, because the room was full of smiling faces. Most of them were taking a lunch break from nearby desk jobs, though, and they were already glancing at their watches. Grace could relate. Not so long ago, she’d also been an employee trying to network over her lunch hour. She met everyone, and Nora expertly kept the guests circulating. Waiters carried trays of nibblies through the crowd—tiny crab cakes, little veggie canapés, even cake pops for dessert. Although she told herself she was working as she talked with everyone, Grace enjoyed herself. Many of the guests told her anecdotes that she might be able to work into future interviews.
Grace signed a few copes of
Miss Vanderbine’s Modern Manners
and made a little speech at the end, thanking Nora for her kindness and sharing one of the anecdotes, which made everybody laugh and leave the restaurant smiling.
“You know how to throw a great party,” Grace told Nora when they were out on the street just as quickly, bundled against the cold and hurrying to the next event.
“Funny you should say that,” Nora said as they walked together. “I think I’m going to take a job.”
“What kind of job? Party planning?” Grace knew Nora’s financial situation wasn’t great, but this news surprised her. Nora had grown up in the lap of luxury and was well-educated—but she was hardly the working girl type.
“I’ve been asked to write for the
Philadelphia Intelligencer
. Rory Pendergast’s newspaper. Do you know Rory?”
Of course Nora would know the old tycoon who dabbled in newspapers when the mood struck him. Nora knew everybody. Grace said, “Mama knows Rory, but I’ve never met him.”
“He’s an old sweetheart and has always been so kind. He wants me to be the society columnist’s assistant. I think he’s creating the job just for me, so I feel a little guilty. But I need a job desperately. So I’d attend parties and report on them.”
“Nora, that’s so perfect for you! You know everybody, and you have such good taste.” Mostly, it was a relief to hear that Nora was moving on, trying to get past her husband’s death. Work was always good medicine. Although Nora’s naturally porcelain face looked very pale, there were tiny spots of healthy pink returning to her cheeks. With fondness, Grace said, “You’re going to have fun with it, too, aren’t you?”
“I hope so,” Nora said cautiously. “I’m a little afraid of the society columnist, Kitty Keough. She’s a bit of a character. I hope I can work with her.”
“You can work with anybody,” Grace said. “Rory knows what he’s doing by hiring you. But—I can see the look on your face. You haven’t accepted the job yet, have you? Second thoughts?”
“I haven’t accepted yet, no. I have a lot on my mind.” Nora tried to shake off her reluctance. “Grace, I think I’m going to move. Back to Blackbird Farm. My parents left it to me, you know, and I feel as if I need to be there now.”
“Are you sure?” Grace remembered visiting Blackbird Farm one summer. It was a lovely old place, but falling apart at the seams. The house was a creaky old mansion that should probably be torn down for safety’s sake, and the barn wasn’t much better. “I know it’s your ancestral home and all, but—why would you want to isolate yourself like that? When I moved back to Connecticut, it was a culture shock, and I’m still not sure it was the right decision to be so far from my friends just to be closer to my mother. Do you really think it’s a good idea?”
“I don’t have a choice,” Nora finally admitted. “I can’t afford my condo much longer. And Mama and Daddy have skipped town.”
“Skipped town?”
“I think they’re running from creditors. For better or worse, they’ve left the farm in my hands. To tell the truth, they took my trust fund when they left. I can’t afford to keep both the condo and the farm.”
Nora’s parents were a couple of idiots, Grace thought. Always thinking of themselves and spending money as if they were throwing it off a parade float. But she didn’t say so aloud. Nora was already on the edge, she could see. It broke Grace’s heart to see her plucky friend so down on her luck.
“Do you need money?” Grace asked bluntly. “I have some savings.”
“I do need money,” Nora replied, managing a smile. “But not from you. It’s time I grew up, Grace. It’s time to get a job like a real person. I need to pay a mortgage and learn how to get along by myself. Don’t feel sorry for me. I want to do this.”
Grace hugged her friend, sorry to see her still so emotionally vulnerable. “If you need help—anything at all—you know you can call me.”
Nora’s eyes welled with tears. But she laughed and said, “You’ll be too busy with that new man of yours to answer the phone.”
“He’s not my new man,” Grace said.
“Well, have a fling with him, darling.” Nora pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. “He looks as if he could tickle your fancy.”
“Have a fling? That’s your advice?”
“You and I have both had serious relationships that blew up in our faces. Maybe we should have played the field more. Built better careers. Gotten to know ourselves a little better before we tried settling down.”
“I see your point. We should have decided what we really needed to make our lives complete before we put those diamonds on our fingers.”
Nora nodded. “Experimenting with a few different men might have helped us along that road a little farther.”
“Nora, I had no idea you felt this way.”
“Maybe I didn’t.” Nora peeped a smile at Grace. “Maybe not until I got a glimpse of that hunk you’re traveling with. Is he interesting?”
“Interesting? He’s not exactly sophisticated,” Grace said with honesty. “He was married once, did I tell you that? But he’s got some pretty appealing family values. And I know this sounds unlikely in a football player, but I think he has … depths.”
“Depths? You mean he wants more than sex from you?”
“Oh, he wants sex from me,” Grace admitted, laughing. “And to tell the truth, that’s really what I wouldn’t mind getting from him.”
“Well, that’s honest. He turns you on.”
“Yes. Oh, yes. I mean, you’ve seen him. And it’s been a long time for me, so I have a few pent up hormones. But he’s also … kind to people. I think he might actually have some emotional intelligence.” Luke’s willingness to divulge his sister’s drug problem had been rolling around in Grace’s head since he told her the whole story. She had spoken first, and he had reciprocated. He was sexy,
and
he could hold a conversation about more than superficial things.
Nora looked intrigued. “How does he make you feel about yourself?”
The question startled Grace. She considered her response. “I feel as if I don’t have to pretend to be somebody I’m not.”
Nora smiled. “Then have a fling. See what else he makes you feel.”
Nora pulled Grace into a small boutique on the chic side of Walnut Street. It was a high-end lingerie store. Elegant nightgowns were on display on mannequins and on padded hangers. Sexy corsets were fetchingly draped on a plush bed in the middle of the sales floor. Stockings of all descriptions were displayed in lighted cases.
Nora introduced Grace to the proprietor, an elderly woman wearing a snug pencil skirt with a low-cut blouse that revealed the lacy edges of a fancy brassiere underneath. Her patterned stockings had seams up the back, and her sky high shoes were the latest fashion. Only her white hair and considerably powdered face indicated her age, which Grace calculated as approaching eighty.
“I’m Anne Marie Fouchet,” the woman said in perfect English slightly laced with a French accent. Firmly, she shook Grace’s hand. Her gnarled fingers were decorated with many rings, and her long, long fingernails were lacquered killer red to match her lipstick. She said, “Nora and I thought you should come to my shop and talk about bedroom etiquette. I have a few customers gathered in the back who are excited to meet you and talk naughty things. Are you up for it?”
Grace wasn’t sure what she was getting into, but she trusted Nora wouldn’t lure her into anything unpleasant. Besides, there was a new chapter in
Miss Vanderbine’s Modern Manners
that addressed a few topics Mama had disapproved of, but Grace felt couldn’t be ignored. Truly modern men and women were still struggling with how to start relationships, build them and end them. Good manners, Grace said, shouldn’t be left behind at the bedroom door. Mama had argued for days, saying the subjects were tacky, but Grace won. Here was a chance to find out if her instincts were right or not.
To Anne Marie, Grace said, “I’m definitely up for it.”
In a kind of public anteroom in front of three private dressing rooms that were draped with acres of pink chintz, a clutch of young ladies eagerly surrounded Grace. She gathered they were all members of a book club that had come to try on lingerie together after reading an erotic novel together. Their bedroom etiquette questions were fun.
“Who brings the condoms now?” one exasperated young woman asked as she waiting for a dressing room to try on sexy nighties. “Do I have to be in charge of everything?”
“Have you ever known a man to have one when he needs it?” her friend scoffed, coming out of the dressing room in a sexy teddy and tap pants. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. “Besides, would you trust that man you’ve been seeing to carry a rubber that hasn’t been deteriorating in his wallet for ten years?”
“How do I bring up the health discussion with my new boyfriend?” another anxious woman asked in a much softer voice. “I don’t want to have sex with him if he’s been fooling around with a lot of other partners. How can I ask him if he’s had a blood test recently?”
Grace did her best to provide honest answers, but with a sense of humor.
“It never hurts to have a condom or two in your handbag,” she said to the first woman. “Have you seen the fun ones, different colors, different options? You might as well be prepared, but make it playful.”
To the health-conscious woman, she said, “Maybe it’s best to be frank.”
“Yeah,” said the woman in the teddy and tap pants. “Tell him you don’t want to catch an itch.”
Grace was soon swept up in their laughing discussion, and all of the ladies purchased autographed copies of her book.
“You’ll want to buy copies for your friends,” Nora encouraged. “The book makes a wonderful gift.”
More copies flew off the stack piled by the shop’s register.
A couple of hours passed before Grace realized it. When all the books were gone, she went back out onto the shop’s sales floor, feeling euphoric. She thanked Anne Marie profusely, but the proprietress was too busy ringing up sales to chat. Grace found Nora sitting in one of the pink armchairs by the front window.