Wish List (25 page)

“Getting ready to head out to the last grove. Most everyone is over by the cook tent getting fortified for the last fourteen hours. That’s how long Mr. Sanders said it would take to finish up. Somebody said there’s over 700 people here. That doesn’t count the media, who, by the way, have been working just as hard as the rest of us. We gotta get going. See you around, Ariel. Give me a couple of weeks to get the video ready.”

“She ain’t got a couple of weeks,” a surly voice said. “She ain’t hardly got any time at all. Now ain’t that true, Miss Ugly Movie Star?” a voice hissed from the semi-darkness, a voice only Ariel heard.

She didn’t think it was possible to have her blood run cold, but it did. “Mr. Andrews. No, that isn’t true at all. What are you doing here? What do you want?” She risked a glance to her left. The two cameramen were almost out of sight. There was no one around but her and Snookie. She licked at her dry lips.

“This is all your fault, you bitch. Everything was going just fine till you showed up. I was set for life until you fucked things up. You ain’t gonna get away with it. My men have you and that dog in their sights. We’ll plug him in a heartbeat.”

“Easy, Snookie. Stay,” Ariel said in what she hoped was a calming voice. “There are hundreds of people here. It’s over. The real FBI is here. They know all about Drew Marino. Whatever you’re planning now will only make it worse.”

“It can’t get any worse, bitch! You and that Mex, you did this. It don’t matter no more. You’re gonna get yours, right now, right here. And then that Mex gets his.”

Keep him talking. Think, Ariel. This isn’t a movie. He wants to kill you and Lex. He
will
kill you. She looked around to see if he was telling the truth about his backup. In the early morning light she thought she saw shadowy figures everywhere. Her hand went to Snookie’s collar. Did she dare risk the dog’s life? She moved to stand in front of the panting shepherd. Under her breath she whispered, “Find Lex and Dolly.”

In the blink of an eye, Snookie was through the shrubbery, an elusive streak of speed that confused the man in front of her. Her shoulders slumped. Where would he shoot her? In the chest, in the head, in the gut?

“I’m just gonna pound you to a fucking pulp. I’m gonna smash up that movie star face of yours till there’s nothing left. I’m not gonna kill you—you’re gonna die on your own.”

“Murder’s murder. It doesn’t matter how I die. They’ll lock you away for the rest of your life, maybe send you to the gas chamber.” For the life of her she couldn’t remember if the state of California had the death penalty.

Andrews scoffed at her words.

Ariel did her best to focus inwardly as she sought to bring Master Mitsu’s teachings to the forefront of her mind. Defense against multiple assailants. Pretend this is a movie, Ariel. You just stepped onto the set. Picture the page of the script, remember the lines you learned last night. Relax. Focus. Turn inward. Take the unorthodox “southpaw” stance. Depend on your right foot and hand. Remember, you have to be able to use both your left and right proficiently. Be cognizant of all your assailants’ positions. Focus. Shit!

You can take this guy, Ariel. You’re in shape. He’s a tub of lard. Yeah, two hundred and fifty pounds of lard. I’m tired. My arms ache. My back hurts. He’s going to try and bearhug you. You counter with a left front kick to his groin, step back, grab his arm, and flip him to the ground with a twist of his body. Finish him off with a straight punch to the face. If he gets up, go for the groin and throat-chop him with your left and punch with your right. If he’s still moving, give him a side kick to his chest. Fini. Yeah, yeah, on the mats that’s the way it goes, not here.

Ariel’s breathing was ragged. She needed to be calm, focused. From somewhere, the outer parameters, she sensed movement. Andrews’ men? Lex? Her friends? She saw stiff arms and huge hands, big as ham hocks. He was wiggling them, trying to terrorize her. She dropped down to a semi-crouch, her own arms loose, her stance secure. Focus, Ariel. Don’t take your eyes off him for a second. Snookie’s bark almost made her lose her stance. Focus, Snookie is okay. She’s bringing help.

Suddenly, she didn’t want help. Her adrenaline kicked in. She turned her hands palm side up. She wiggled them backward. “Come and get me, Mr. Truck Driver.” The air around her stirred. Fast movement. Not her friends. His people. They were leaving. It was just her and Andrews.

Focus. He’s scared. More scared than you. He’s pure fat. On your worst day you could take this guy. Master Mitsu said you could. Believe.

“Bitch!” Andrews roared.

“Bastard!” Ariel roared back as her right foot shot out, delivering a side kick to the side of Andrews’ forward knee, causing him to drop. She moved like lightning, trying to drag him aside so she could stomp his face, the exact thing he promised to do to her. He wiggled free, was on his feet, his ham-hock hands slashing the air between them. He landed a stiff blow to the side of her cheek and neck. She felt warmth on her cheek and knew the skin was split. She shook her head to clear it as she sidestepped and did a pirouette any ballerina would have been proud of, her forward foot jamming into his groin. From somewhere she heard applause. God, she had an audience. Don’t think about that. Focus.

“Somebody do something!” It was Lex’s voice. Again, she sensed movement. She knew instinctively that someone was holding him back. Focus.

“No!” It was her voice. She was going to finish this herself. She had to finish this. She moved. Andrews, for all his poundage, lunged, jabbing her in the chest. She reeled backward, stunned.

She heard Dolly’s voice saying, ever so shakily, “She can do it. Leave her alone.” And then even more quietly, “She
needs
to do this. I don’t know why, but she does.”

It was true.

“Ugly, fucking bitch! Your tinseltown didn’t want any part of your ugly face. I’m gonna make it even more ugly.”

She saw the pipe then. Maybe it was a stick. She wasn’t sure. “You and what army? Who do you think you are? You hijack my trucks, steal my loads, and terrorize my workers. I played by the rules all my life and I’m not going to let some scumbag like you ruin these people who worked all their lives to make a living. Do you hear me, you piece of shit?” She heard the roar of applause. Andrews heard it, too. For just one brief second, he lost his focus.

Ariel took advantage of the brief second to spin away from him, her right foot swinging high and wide. She caught him on the side of the neck. She spun around again. This time her foot knocked the thick stick out of his hands.

She lost her focus then, doing everything she’d been taught not to do. “You son of a bitch! Terrorize my family and friends, will you? Never again. You steal a man’s life and destroy it! I’ll show you what the word
destroy
means. Family means nothing to you—you don’t even take care of your own children. Mr. Able did it for you. No more!” Her breathing out of control, Ariel was in the air, on the ground, her legs and arms attacking like a swat team. She pummeled and battered, her mouth spewing words she didn’t know she knew. When he was down, when she was sure he wouldn’t land a blow in her direction, she called for Snookie. “Sit on him!” The shepherd growled, the skin peeling back from her canines.

“CUT!”

“What?” Ariel gasped as she staggered over to Dolly, who was running to meet her. “What’s he talking about?”

“You know these Hollywood types,” Dolly whispered. “Are you okay, Ariel? He got you good a couple of times. Your cheek is bleeding. You did good, real good. I think Lex needs to hear you say you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” she said wearily as she leaned into Lex’s arms. “I bet I smell worse now, huh?”

“Who cares? There’s a couple of people over there who want to shake your hand. I heard them say they couldn’t have done it any better. Don’t know if they’ll own up to that or not.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“For a woman that wasn’t bad at all.”

“Thanks, Steven.”

“I can give you a few pointers, but I don’t think you need them.”

“Thank you, Jean.”

“We’re making a film together. I’m going to write in a part for you. Picture this: you take on these two guys in a black lace leotard and spike-heeled shoes. Top billing. You up for it?”

“Not in this lifetime, Sly, but thanks for the offer.”

“I have to sit down, Lex,” Ariel said, slumping against him.

He was crooning soft words to her, words Dolly used from time to time when she was hurting emotionally. Words her mother never said. Suddenly she wanted to cry. Her shoulders started to shake.

“Let it go, Ariel. There’s no shame in tears.” She blubbered, because he said she could. He wiped her grimy cheeks with his dirty shirt sleeve. She cried harder. For the would-haves, the could-haves, the should-haves. Then she cried for sheer happiness.

“I’m okay now. Let’s finish up this job and get all these wonderful people out of here. I need some peace and quiet.”

“That won’t be for a while, Ariel. Don’t forget the party tomorrow,” Lex reminded her.

“Oh, God, I forgot about that.”

“I didn’t. Tiki and the other women have it under control. Dolly is supervising the whole thing. These friends of yours deserve the best we have to offer. There’s going to be all kinds of music. So, now what?”

“Back to work,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

“We still on for that hot tub assignation?”

“You bet!” She whistled for Snookie, who came on the run.

It was a party to end all parties. Truckloads of food from the finest caterers in Los Angeles seemed to disappear within seconds, only to be instantly replaced. Champagne fountains gurgled continuously. Everywhere, as far as the eye could see, people danced and laughed. It was like a thousand Christmases all rolled into one.

“Party’s over,” Lex said jovially. “You need to say good-by to your friends.”

“Yes, I need to do that.
Thank you
seems so inadequate.”

“I don’t think they even expect that, Ariel.”

“I know that, too. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Ariel stood next to Lex and the other ranchers, shaking each hand, saying all the grateful words she could think of. The responses warmed her soul. Words like ‘anytime baby, just call, my pleasure, I’d do it all over again, glad to help, just call.’ They were words of genuine sincerity. Tears dripped down her cheeks.

The last three guests to leave pulled up short. “So, how about an electric blue leotard with silver spangles and bright red spike-heeled shoes?”

“I told you, not in this lifetime. Thanks for coming.”

Three sets of dark eyes stared at her. As one, they said, “Thanks for inviting us. You take care now.”

When the huge gates were closed and locked, Lex drew her close. “We have a date.”

“Yes, we do. What’s all that noise?”

“The women beating up on their men. They came back last night.”

“And of course you took them back.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, I’m going to get out of these clothes. I’ll meet you at the hot tub.” Her heart started to beat furiously. This was it. Finally. The moment she’d been thinking about for days, weeks, months.

Inside Lex’s house, in the wide center hall, Ariel picked up her overnight bag she’d placed behind a giant cactus in a red clay pot. Toothbrush and makeup, plus underwear, clean jeans, and T-shirt for tomorrow. Her wish list and the little box she’d kept in her night table drawer for years and years. She picked up the bright red canvas bag and headed for the stairs.

Ariel tossed the overnight bag onto the bed in the room Tiki had assigned to her. She kicked off her shoes and struggled to peel off her panty hose. She couldn’t help but notice how badly her hands were shaking. Her stomach rumbled alarmingly. Oh, God. She bolted for the bathroom, certain everything she’d eaten, which wasn’t much, was going to come back up. Her eyes started to water, her shoulders shook. She was afraid. Pure and simple.

This was the end of the road in many ways. All those years, all those dreams, all those sheets of paper on her wish list. All geared to this point in time.

As she stared at her reflection, she talked to herself, the way she’d always done when she was preparing to do a scene. The end, always think about the end. Happy ever after. You and Lex will live happily ever after. What if . . . what if . . . How do I tell him? What will he think? Will he believe me? When you show him the braided ring, he’ll believe you. Maybe he already knows. Maybe you should call him Felix. Maybe it will be better if you don’t tell him. Maybe . . . maybe . . . maybe.

Get on with it, Ariel. He’s waiting for you. Maybe he’s going through the same emotional turmoil. Maybe . . . maybe . . . maybe.

The silvery sequined dress slithered to the floor. The flesh-colored body suit seemed to float in the air with static electricity before it landed on top of the dress. The heavy, spangled earrings thumped down on the vanity along with her bracelets.

The folded towel was buttercup yellow, so thick, so big, so luxurious, it felt better than a mink coat when she wrapped it around herself. She padded out to the bedroom where she fished for her thong sandals.

She was ready.

For her destiny.

Lex Sanders, aka Felix Sanchez, was her destiny. She’d known that from the day she walked up the mountain in her white dress.

She was almost to the door when she remembered the ring. Her heart skipped a beat when she slipped it on her finger.

Now she was ready.

Snookie was on her feet, her eyes following Ariel with adoration. She nuzzled her leg as they walked down the hall to the stairway. At the bottom of the steps, Ariel took a moment to crouch down and talk to the dog. “I want you to be good, Snookie. I want . . . I want you to go to sleep. There are times, like now, when you can relax and let Lex take over. He can take care of both of us. Trust me on this. I’ve waited all my life for this, Snookie, so help me out here.” She hugged the dog, her arms circling the shepherd’s neck. “I love you, too. I don’t think I could have made it this far without you.” Snookie licked at her cheeks. She tilted her head to the side and made a strange noise in her throat. She was on her feet then, nudging Ariel along the hallway that led to the outside patio and hot tub.