Chapter three

"Gail!" Karen yelled. "Where the hell are you?" Gail heard her wandering through the spacious farmhouse. "What's for lunch?"

"I'm back here and I'm not cooking," she yelled from the laundry room. She placed the final towel into the laundry basket and greeted Karen when she entered.

Karen wrapped her arms tightly around Gail. A quick kiss to Gail's lips followed a powerful bear hug. "You call me your best friend, and I haven't seen you in a month? Did you finish the book? Can I read the final draft? And what the hell are you doing in the laundry room? Where's your housekeeper?"

Gail looked at Karen and counted her answers with her fingers. "One, at least a month; two, yes; three, my editor has it; four, doing laundry, and five, I gave Nancy the summer off with pay."

"Really? With pay? Wow. You're very generous. She's an excellent cook. Do you think she would be interested in catering your party for me?"

"I doubt it. She and her boyfriend are going to Aruba to open a dive shop. I figured they could use the money."

"Good for her. I can't believe you didn't make a copy of your book for me. So much for friendship," she muttered. "And what are you going to do without someone to pick up after your many coffee mugs that sit and fester?"

"I suppose I'll have to wash them." She looked around the laundry room. "I'll just throw them into the machine." Gail flipped her thumb toward the Maytag behind her.

"Smart-ass." Karen hugged her again. "I've really missed you, and I'm glad you have some free time. Now talk to me. You sounded troubled on the phone."

"Troubled? Yes, I guess I am. C'mon, let's walk."

Blue bachelor's buttons lined the sidewalk to the wooden footbridge behind Gail's house. Sprinkled among them were soft pink pixie star dianthus. Gail and Karen crossed the bridge and ambled down a wooded path of white birch. Late spring buds were maturing with a promise of an abundant summer. Bees were awakening and soon would assist Gail with her garden. This was a cheerful season, but Gail could not help the feeling of sadness that overwhelmed her. She linked arms with Karen.

"What's going on, Gail?" Karen asked.

"Tannen Albright," she said simply.

Karen quickly replied, "Nude scenes."

Gail held back a smile and nodded. "I can't dispute that response, but this isn't word association. I spent a day with her recently."

"Wow. Tannen Albright made you glum? I think most people would feel ecstatic. I know I would. She's the epitome of sex appeal." Karen stopped them in their tracks and jerked Gail's arm. "You didn't make a pass at her, did you?"

"Oh, please." Gail pulled her along and continued, "Why do you even think that?"

"Hitting on women is what you do, Gail. You see a pretty girl and you tell her. You see a beautiful woman and you tell her. Then you throw her onto the closest bed."

"That's a false accusation."

"It's often true. I'm living proof of what effect you can have on a woman after sixty minutes of conversation."

"Give me a break, Karen."

"Tell me you believe otherwise and I'll call you a liar. Can you honestly say you had no thoughts of-"

"Okay! Of course I had thoughts. Tannen is very desirable and I'm human. So what?"

"Just trying to make a point, dear." Karen chuckled.

They continued through the woods.

"And I don't throw women into bed." It was a feeble attempt at self-defense, and Gail knew Karen would call her bluff.

"You're so full of shit, Gail. I can remember at least three times you assaulted me in that way."

"I assaulted you?"

"It was wonderful. You're a first-class lover."

They reached a small lake in a clearing. A family of geese pecked at the ground near them. Spooked by the presence of humans, the parent geese hissed in defense and then waddled their way toward the water. Five goslings wobbled behind them. The offspring were still feathered green, but Gail could see the darkening beginnings of adulthood. The ducks hit the pond with soft splashes.

Gail spread a blanket on the ground. She stretched onto her stomach and rested her head against her arm. Karen sat cross-legged.

"Back pocket, left side," Gail said.

She felt Karen's hand reach into the loose fit jeans and pull out the CD.

"Is this another one of your unscripted dialogue videos?"

"No. It's your copy of the final draft."

"No title yet?"

"Nope. Still thinking about Sommer's Last Winter, but it sounds a bit too banal."

"This," she waved the disk through the air in front of Gail, "is good, and I love you for it, but why are you rubbing elbows with Tannen?"

"She wants to film Tenfold and wants me to write the script."

"Oh. Wow." Karen was silent for a moment. "That's not good."

"Adaptations rarely do a book justice, and it would take away from the love I put into writing it. I don't want to lose a single word, or any of my emotion, to celluloid."

"Gail, this is Tannen Albright we're talking about. She doesn't involve herself with a role that doesn't reek of emotion."

"But will it translate as well? Will the transition still be my novel? I don't think so, and I don't think I want to rewrite it."

"Well, you wouldn't actually rewrite the story. More of a cut and paste or...whatever it is you people do. What does Tannen say?"

"She would do it justice."

"And you won't trust her with it?"

"It isn't simply a matter of trust. If she wanted to film Tucker's Detail, I'd be at her heels. Writing a script means living it all over again. I like to think I've moved on."

"Not being able to rewrite the story should tell you that you haven't fully moved on. Look, working with Albright is a unique opportunity."

"She's definitively unique," Gail muttered.

"Tannen's hot, huh?" Karen grinned. "I knew it. She's a goner."

"Karen," Gail snapped. "Be serious about this."

"I'm sorry."

Gail sat up and picked at the grass in front of her. She noticed two buttercups that had survived late into the season. She pulled them from the ground and placed them on Karen's knee.

"How sweet you can be." Karen leaned to kiss Gail's cheek. "Are you crying?"

"A little bit."

"Aw, honey." Karen wiped a tear with her thumb and wrapped her arms around Gail. "Do what's in your heart. To hell with Sundance and the Academy. I think Tucker's Detail would make a better movie anyway."

"And not Tenfold?" Gail gently smacked Karen on her thigh.

"Hey! If you'd written a book about us-"

"We weren't together long enough for a book."

"Agreed, but with creative license and all-"

"Are you jealous?" Gail asked as she helped Karen stand. She draped the blanket over her shoulder and turned toward the path. They began the short trek back to Gail's house.

Karen shrugged. "Spilled milk. It matters most that we're friends."

Gail slipped her arm around Karen's waist and tickled the other side.

"Stop." Karen laughed. "I don't know why I put up with you. I'm probably still in love with you."

"Shall I call your husband?" Gail teased. "He may want to know about this."

"Jeff's in Denver with a thousand other shrinks. Forget about it."

Gail breathed a sigh of defeat, much like her sigh when she first saw Tannen at Talley's. She followed Karen to the pool.

"I've turned the heater up. Let's have a swim."

Their bathing suits dried as the women lay idle on the rafts. Gail glanced over and noticed Karen had removed her top. Without opening her eyes, Karen reached over and pulled Gail's raft closer.

"This is nice. You've checked the chemical levels in the pool, haven't you?" Karen asked.

"I've done nothing to it."

"Oh great. God knows what we have lurking in our suits."

"We aren't going to die. Maybe itch a little." Gail laughed and Karen groaned.

"Terrific." Karen was quiet and then asked, "What will you tell Albright?"

"I don't know." Gail searched the blue sky for answers.

"I think it would be a mistake to turn down the offer."

"I've done worse." Gail splashed the water lazily with her hands.

"What's Tannen like?"

"Nice company and better looking in person."

"Better looking is difficult to imagine."

"She's stunning, Karen."

"Tannen is so screwed."

Gail reached over and yanked the raft from under her.

After Karen left, Gail turned on the stereo and played Reva Caspian, her favorite classical pianist. She poured a small amount of Napoleon brandy and drank it in one swallow. She poured a larger quantity and brought the bottle to the sofa.

Gail picked up the phone and pulled Tannen's phone number from her shirt pocket. She punched in the number. Gail swirled the liquor in the glass, warming it, waiting for Tannen to answer. After five rings, her voice mail picked up. "Please leave a message," it digitally sounded, without benefit of Tannen's English voice. Disappointed, Gail clicked off the phone and set it down. She took a long sip of her drink and let it linger before swallowing.

"That's nice stuff." She felt a gentle buzz hit her brain.

Gail Prescott was a fan of women. She admired most aspects of them, never finding much fault. Their beauty blinded her, and she flirted openly with the sole purpose of sleeping with them. Sex was a neutral act for her. She didn't need or want love. Her lovers could go home to their significant others, or their parrots, knowing their secrets were safe. Few remained in contact with her and that was fine with her. Simply put, Gail wasn't responsive to love.

She respected the women she slept with, but probably not as much as they deserved. And now she was about to turn forty. If she died tomorrow, her legacy would be nothing more than a large bank account and a stack of dusty romance novels left behind by an egotistical jackass. At least she felt like one.

Gail stretched her legs in front of her and leaned back into the cozy pillow. That makes you nearly climbable, Tannen had said, and it echoed in Gail's brain: nearly climbable nearly climbable nearly climbable. Tannen's flirtations intrigued her. "I'm not going to do your film, and that leaves me in a quandary." The quandary had a name: Tannen Albright.

Tannen was more appealing off screen than she was on. Her sharp wit and sense of adventure also appealed to Gail. She'd felt a sense of pride and distinct honor when Tannen dropped any plans she had and spent her day with her. Gail felt special from the moment Tannen took hold of her arm.

Naturally, Gail was sexually attracted to Tannen, but pursuit was out of the question. The best advice Gail had ever received was from a professor at Penn State University. "Gail," she had said, after Gail had hit on her, "I'll give you some advice, and I want you to take this to heart: Never shit where you eat." Gail finished the brandy and poured another. She raised her glass. "Advice taken, Professor."

And it was sound advice. Gail would recommend it to anyone within earshot, but it didn't apply to her situation. She was single and so was Tannen. Gail stopped swirling her drink. "Is she single? I never thought to ask her. How did that happen? I lost all control of our conversation."

Gail closed her eyes, ran her fingers through her hair, then massaged her scalp and neck to ease the tension she felt. She liked Tannen and thought about her daily. She didn't dare Google Tannen, in fear of becoming an information junkie. Aside from that, there was still her promise.

I promised my heart to you, Olivia. All of those women...and I couldn't give myself to one of them. Gail felt the loneliness she had been denying, and then the phone rang.

She reached behind her head, to the end table, and grabbed the phone. "It's Gail."

"Why didn't you leave a message, darling?"

Gail nearly melted. "Mmm. I do love listening to you. It isn't any wonder that I prefer to vacation in England."

Tannen laughed softly. "How lucky for us Brits, I say. So...?"

"So? Oh! No message. Sorry, I have a buzz going here. I'm alone with Napoleon." She tried to focus on the conversation. "Right. No message. I don't know. I just didn't leave one."

"Do you get a buzz on often?"

Gail noticed the hesitation in Tannen's question.

"What? Oh. No. I only wanted to relax and listen to some music." She watched the slow spin of the ceiling fan, or maybe it was her brain spinning. "The buzz was an afterthought," she said, and rolled to her side.

"I was in the shower when you called."

"The shower?" Gail sipped her drink and visualized water droplets beading and then sliding from Tannen's breasts. Can't I be more imaginative than that? She smiled. Screw imagination. The woman has nice breasts. "What an exquisite thought." Oh, shit. Gail tried to correct herself. "I could use a warm shower about now."

"Darling, did you want to talk about Tenfold?" Tannen asked, in a voice that told Gail Tannen hadn't blinked at her remark, or she had ignored it.

"No. I...hmm, actually I wanted to invite you to Connecticut for the weekend." She felt awkward, extending the invitation. Gail emptied the glass in one swallow and set it on the coffee table. She let out a slow, deep breath.

"Will Napoleon still be there, or should I bring another bottle?"

"Plenty of Napoleon to share with the actor lady. You'll come, then?"

"I would love spending the weekend with you, Gail."

"Great." As Gail's brain grew fuzzy, her thought processes turned against her. "See you Friday. Wow. Friday is tomorrow." She rubbed her hand over her face. "I better get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Darling, don't hang up!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" She poured a bit more brandy into the glass.

"I need your address." Tannen spoke as gently as she had her first sentence.

"Right!" Gail giggled as the alcohol kicked her brain to the curb. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have..."

"Gail?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me your address."

"Okay. My address..." She thought hard, and won her battle over Napoleon. "Two five four Hastings Road. Lane!" she corrected. "It's a lane." She then blurted, "That's Woodbury!"

"Really, darling? I know Woodbury. I've been antiquing there."

"That's just swell," Gail said lazily. "See you tomorrow, actor lady."

Gail dropped the phone to the sofa, finished her brandy, and set the glass on the coffee table. She felt her way to the stereo, turned it off, and stumbled toward the steps.

"Upward and onward," she said and then fell into her bed. "Able was I."

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27