Chapter six

The greenhouse was in need of new paint. Trying once more for the upper hand, and to keep her emotions at bay, Gail put Tannen to work the next day. Gail painted; Tannen grumbled.

Tannen parked her hands on her hips and looked around the clutter of gardening paraphernalia. "You want me to do what?"

Gail climbed the six-foot ladder. "Move things for me. That's all."

"Move what?"

From the third rung of the ladder, Gail turned and smiled down to Tannen. "Anything in my way. Plants, pots...bags of manure."

"Manure? No. Paint around it and stop grinning," Tannen said and dragged a bag of potting soil out the door. She grunted from the weight. After fifteen minutes, she stopped. "I can't believe I am doing manual labor." She wiped her sweaty forehead with her arm. "I can deal with a vacuum cleaner."

"Playing the diva card?"

"Yes! Darling, why don't you hire someone to do this for you?"

"Because I don't mind doing it."

"I mind," Tannen said, and dropped a potted azalea on the table.

"You're always complaining about the size of your ass, so think of it as helping to lessen the-"

"If I were using it to pick up these bloody plants, maybe."

Gail laughed loudly, visualizing the act.

"Then stop. I hereby abolish serfdom at the Prescott residence. Go to Karen's or something." Gail continued to paint. "She likes to go antiquing, and Woodbury is the perfect town, if only for that."

"I'll call her. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I'm sure."

Tannen returned to the greenhouse after showering the day's dirt and paint from her body. Dressed in a white Irish linen skirt and turquoise blouse, enhanced with a spiny oyster and turquoise bracelet and belt, Tannen looked ravishing. Do you ever look like hell? Gail wondered. When she slipped from the rung of the ladder, Tannen was there to prevent her from falling. "Thanks." Gail washed her face and hands. She dried them with paper towels.

"Shall I stay and watch over you?" Tannen asked.

"I'll be okay. I'm finished with ladder work." She moved closer to Tannen. "You have a bit of paint on your lip."

"Do I?" Tannen attempted to wipe it off. "Is it still there, darling?"

"Yes." Gail reached toward Tannen's mouth. With her thumb, she gently brushed the imaginary spots of paint from Tannen's lips. Tannen's perfume numbed Gail, as though she had just revisited the Napoleon brandy. Her mind clouded, and all she envisioned was this stunning woman who was quickly changing her life. Gail placed her fingers in Tannen's hair and vigorously brushed it around. "I like that disheveled look on you," she said, looking into Tannen's eyes.

"I like when you do that," Tannen said. "How do I look?"

You're a knockout, sweetheart, she thought, but said, "Socially acceptable. Where are you going?"

"Shopping with Karen. I need more clothing, and I don't want to drive into the city again." Tannen kissed Gail's cheek. "I'll see you later, darling."

Gail moved the final plants from the greenhouse and ended her laborious day.

She pampered herself with a full body massage from the local health club. After fifteen minutes in the sauna and a warm shower, she felt renewed. Aching muscles from hours of lifting and painting would not rear their ugly heads until tomorrow. She wrapped her bottom half in a blue paisley print skirt and pulled an orange angel-sleeve top over her head. Gail felt sexy and on the prowl. She stepped into navy sandals, then tossed her towel into the laundry bin.

"Is Joanne here tonight?" she asked one of the club trainers.

"She was moved to the club in Cheshire."

"Oh." Gail thought for a second. "Is Carol here?"

"Nope."

"Thanks," she said and exited the building.

Gail threw her workout bag into the backseat and leaned against the front of her BMW. A cigarette might calm her nerves. She watched the sun set and wondered if Tannen and Karen were having fun. She was missing Tannen's presence, and it annoyed her.

"I need this. I need to be away from her for a while," she said aloud and dragged heavily on the tobacco. She kicked at the small pebbles at her feet. "I don't want to be in love with her."

She flicked the ashes to the ground. The glowing tip brightened, and she breathed a slow breath against it, giving greater life to the embers. When they flashed brighter, the tip seemed larger than reality. Tannen does this to me. She's breathing life into me. She's weakening me. I wonder if she realizes the power she has with her calm demeanor, and...oh, damn, those eyes that turn me into a warm puddle. She dropped the cigarette to the ground and ground it out with her toe. It's time to prowl. I'll get laid and realize that all I really needed was a little lovin'.

Instead, she drove for half an hour. It felt like forever.

She wondered if she knew what Gail Prescott was about these days. Her mission for the summer was to sit in front of the television and pack on a couple of pounds. It was harmless enough. Instead, she felt like a schoolchild, yearning for her favorite female actor, having wet dreams, and sending letters of devoted love to someone who would never answer. If Gail sent letters to Tannen, she feared direct answers.

She pulled into her driveway, alongside Karen's Mini Cooper. Gail surmised that Tannen was happy riding around with the Union Jack above her head. Only the pool lights were on, and Gail followed their glow to the backyard. Karen and Tannen sat side by side on the edge of the pool. Their torsos were silhouettes against the lights. The two women dangled their feet in the water and Tannen playfully splashed water into Karen's face.

"You're a pest, Albright." Karen wiped her face on Tannen's blouse. Tannen rested her head on Karen's shoulder.

"Am I interrupting?" Gail asked and both jumped from the unexpected voice.

"Not at all, Gail." Tannen reached for Gail's hand. "We were thinking someone had stolen you away for the night."

"I'm sure it wasn't for lack of trying on her part." Karen pushed herself up. "You have two beautiful women in your backyard and you're out trolling the streets. Doesn't say much for us, does it, Tannen?" Karen peeled off her top and then her shorts. "I'm going for a swim."

"I don't troll! Don't be rude." Karen slammed into the water with a cannonball. Her tidal wave soaked Gail and Tannen. "I hate when you do that!" Gail yelled, but Karen was still underwater.

"Whatever you were doing, I missed you tonight, darling." Tannen pulled Gail down beside her. Karen's bra landed in Tannen's lap and she twirled it over her head like a lariat. "Ye har!"

Gail laughed with Tannen's added letter R. She never understood why the English would throw an extra R at the end of a word, yet barely pronounced it when it was present.

"She pisses me off when she says I'm trolling the streets," Gail said to Tannen. "I happen to be very selective." She laughed at herself and then ducked as Karen's thong whizzed past her head.

Karen climbed the ladder and walked to the diving board. Gail appreciated Karen's naked body.

"She looks great."

"Beautiful," Tannen said.

"To say the least. She's thirty-five, with the body of a twenty-year-old." Gail nudged Tannen. "Are you interested?"

"I'm very interested, darling..."

Gail turned to Tannen and their eyes met. Now aware that Tannen was talking about her and not Karen, she nearly gasped. Even in the dark of night, with nothing but the pool lights, Gail knew she blushed visibly. Inside, she trembled.

"...but not in Karen," Tannen said and turned back toward the pool.

"You looked quite cozy, with your head on her shoulder."

"I was cozy. She's been a good friend and I appreciate her." She looked back at Gail. "Were you jealous, darling?"

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you sometimes look at me as though-"

Gail forced a stop to Tannen's sentence, for fear of losing control of another conversation. Losing control of my mouth is more accurate. "I'm working on a new story," she said. "My attentions take flight. I drift. I stare blankly." Gail turned back to the pool and watched Karen execute some backstrokes. Please stop looking at me like that, she thought, uncomfortable under Tannen's gaze.

Tannen nodded and looked back at the pool. "That must be it." They watched Karen approach the edge of the diving board. "What is the précis of your story?"

Gail's gaze darted around the pool area and came to rest on a pot of pink and yellow begonias. "It's about a poor flower girl in old London."

"It's been done, Gail," Tannen said, and she rested her hand on Gail's thigh.

"Not with the approach I have in mind." Gail stood and gathered Karen's wet clothing. "I'm going to bed, Karen. I'll throw these into the dryer for you." Karen said good night and dove into the water. Gail reached down and messed Tannen's hair. I really should stop doing that. "Good night, actor lady." She walked toward the house, then stopped. She turned back to the pool. Tannen was watching her and she stood to meet Gail.

"Gail? Is...?"

Gail thought it odd to feel her own name wrapping around her like a cashmere sweater. She never heard the end of Tannen's question.

"I"-she looked at Tannen's mouth-"did I say good night to you?"

"Yes, darling." Tannen kissed Gail's cheek, just missing her lips. "Sleep well."

Gail proceeded toward the house, quietly talking to herself. "Not with the approach I have in mind? Ms. Prescott, for someone who earns a living from throwing words together, you certainly found a way of saying the wrong things at the wrong time. Knock it off."

From the window of the darkened guest room, Gail watched them at the pool. Karen seemed a bit taken by Tannen, or maybe Gail wanted it to appear that way for her own peace of mind.

Karen swam to the side of the pool. "Come on, Albright. Just drop the skirt and blouse. Join me. It feels great."

Gail turned from the window and went into her bedroom. Tired from the day's physical work, she didn't undress, but stretched on top of the bedding and closed her eyes. Within Gail's thoughts, Tannen stood, removed her skirt and blouse, and slipped into the pool from the edge. She dipped down and surfaced. Her shoulders glistened with reflected lights. Karen swam to her. She hooked her fingers under Tannen's bra straps and slid them slowly over her shoulders. Tannen took Karen's hands and placed them against her silk-trapped breasts. She placed her hands on Karen's shoulders and wrapped her legs around Karen's waist. Leaning closer, Tannen kissed her.

Gail's fantasy was broken when she heard Karen's Mini Cooper motor turn over and Tannen closed the back door. Quiet footsteps soon passed her bedroom and then disappeared into the guest room.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-27