The Midnight Tour

“Okay,” Dana said. “Thanks.” She pulled out a chair and sat at the table.

“As for your uniform,” Tuck said, “it’ll be a lot better after a few washings. What you need to do is wash both your uniforms every night whether they need it or not. That’ll get the stiffness out. Before you know it, you’ll look like an old hand.” She took down a cup and turned around. “So, how did you sleep last night?”

“I zonked. I tell you, Tuck... I still can’t believe I’m here. This is such a great place!”

“I thought you might like it.” She picked up the coffee pot and brought the clean cup over to the table. As she filled the cup for Dana, she said, “One thing, okay? Try not to call me Tuck when we’re over at the house. You know, in front of the others.”

“I’ll try. Might be tough, though. I’ve been calling you Tuck since we were kids.”

“For which I’ve never properly repaid you.”

'Think nothing of it,” Dana said.

“Anyway, try to avoid it, okay? The thing is, I’m the boss of things over there. It’s bad enough that I look like I’m only about fifteen years old.”

“A mature fifteen.”

“I’m also only twenty damn years old and have to go around giving orders to all these older people. All I’d need is to have them hear you calling me Tuck.”

'Don’t they know your name’s Tucker?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Nobody uses my last name over there, but they all know Janice is my stepmother. Maybe they think my name’s Crogan.”

“She should’ve changed her name when she married your dad.”

“Would you change your name to Tucker?”

“If I married a guy named Tucker.”

“Anyway, she didn’t. Just don’t call me Tuck in front of the employees, okay?”

“You don’t call me Moose, I won’t call you Tuck.”

“I never called you Moose.”

“Right. You preferred Bullwinkle.”

“Okay, I won’t call you Bullwinkle. I promise. Nothing but Dana. Or Miss Lake, if I have to berate you for doing something stupid.”

“Would I do something stupid?”

“Oh, not you.”

“So,” Dana said, “what should I call you?”

“Boss lady.”

Dana cracked up, and Tuck grinned. She waited for Dana’s laughter to subside, then said, “Lynn would be fine.”

Nodding, Dana lifted her cup. Steam drifted off the dark surface of the coffee. She blew it gently away, then took a sip. “Mm, good.”

'Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Good. We don’t have much time. We can grab a bite at the snack shop after we get there. Or we can stop for doughnuts on the way. Are you still a doughnut hound?”

“You bet,” Dana said. “But I’m not that hungry right now. I don’t usually eat much in the morning.”

“About ready to go?”

'Yep. You said to be ready by nine. I’ve been ready since I walked in.” She took another sip of coffee, then another.

“Take your time. We don’t have to rush off right away. I’m the boss, after all.”

'Yeah, but you shouldn’t be late.”

'Even if we don’t get there till nine-thirty, I’ll still be the first one to arrive. Nobody’s all that gung- ho. It’s just a job to them, you know?”

'What is it to you?”

'A passion!”

Dana laughed. 'Right.”

“Do you want the truth?”

'If you’re up to it.”

'I love it all. I really do. I love being the boss...”

“You’ve always been great at giving orders.”

'It isn’t just that, either. There’s something about Beast House. It’s got history, you know? An awful history, but...There’s something sort of old and romantic and mysterious about the place. I just love it there. It’s like a strange little piece of the past is still alive...I mean, you can feel it.”

'If you say so.”

'Did you feel it yesterday?”

'Mosdy, I just felt a little spooked.”

Tuck grinned. 'Good. You’re supposed to. But after you get used to the place, it probably won’t seem so creepy anymore.”

'Probably?”

'Well, it actually seems to get worse instead of better for some people. That’s pretty rare, though.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen to me.”

'Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Me, I like the place more all the time.”

“Someday, maybe it’ll be yours.”

'I ain’t gonna hold my breath,” Tuck said.

'You’re Janice’s only heir, aren’t you?”

'Well, shit, I guess so. She doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, and you know what happened to her parents.” Tuck frowned as if thinking about it for a few moments, then said, 'Other than Dad and me, she’s got nobody else except an uncle and cousin. But Janice is just in her thirties, for godsake. I doubt if she’ll be pitching forward on her nose in the near future. Besides which, she might even have a kid of her own someday.”

“She hasn’t so far.”

“Yeah, but she’s only been married for a couple of years.”

“She’s how old?”

Tuck frowned for a moment, then said, “Thirty-six.”

“Well, that’s not terribly old to be starting a family.”

“For all I know, she might already be knocked up. And if she’s not, she probably will be by the time they get back from the cruise. I mean, two months together in the South Pacific? I damn near get pregnant just thinking about it.”

“Have they been trying to have a baby?” Dana asked.

“Jeez! How would I know? She’s a great gal and everything and we really like each other, but it’s not like being with you. She my dad’s wife. I mean, I can’t just ask her about stuff like that.” Tuck raised her eyebrows. “Do you want any more coffee?”

“Nope, I’m fine.”

“Maybe we’d better get going.” She reached across the table for Dana’s cup. “I’ll rinse these out and batten down the hatches. You might want to grab your windbreaker. You never know when the fog’ll come rolling in. It can get pretty nippy.”

Five minutes later, Dana followed Tuck into the three-car garage. They walked past the eighteen foot cabin cruiser, then past a Mercedes, before climbing into the red Jeep Wrangler.

“I don’t know how you can stand living in such squalor,” Dana said.

“It’s tough.” As the automatic door rolled upward, Tuck started the Jeep’s engine. “I’ll probably have to move out if I ever get married.”

“Don’t get married. No guy would be worth it.”