Pleased to see her name, even if it was at the bottom bunched up with
“One last thing, Aunt Louise.”
Aunt Louise gave Angelica a
“I would like to purchase the flowers that will rest on Hamilton’s casket,” Angelica said very tactfully.
“No, honey, that has been reserved for the family. The family spray was one of the items listed for the service.”
“But who’s going to pay for it?” Angelica asked.
“It was on the list, and it should have been paid for when you took care of everything.”
“Well, Aunt Louise, I took it off. I felt that, with all the money you were spending, or should I say Hamilton was spending on himself, I deserved to give my ex a little something. Can’t take my name off the obituary; I’ve already approved it to go to press.”
“I’ll be!” Aunt Louise shouted. “No wonder Hamilton divorced your behind. Such a contrary spirit.”
Angelica laughed. It was infectious and Edward and Jefferson joined her.
“I guess we’re through here?” Edward asked.
“Yes, and I won’t be going to the wake tomorrow,” Angelica offered.
“Fine by me.”
“Look, I’m going to get home since you don’t need me,” Jefferson said.
“Maybe we can all go out and get something to drink,” Angelica said. “We can celebrate Hamilton’s life our way.”
“No,” Jefferson said. “I promised Margo I’d come right home. We have dinner planned. Angelica, you ought to stop by and see Margo before you leave.”
Angelica was caught by surprise. She knew that Jefferson didn’t mean it any more than she believed man had landed on the moon, regardless of what NASA claimed though their scientists had a record number of pictures to back it up. If Margo wanted to see Angelica, she could have come to the funeral home with Jefferson.
“We’ll see,” she lied. “When was the last time you talked with Malik?”
“Gotta go,” Jefferson said, not offering any further explanation. He shook Angelica and Edward’s hands and left the way he came.
Angelica watched Jefferson’s back disappear into the parking lot with her mouth hanging open. “I think I hit a nerve, Edward.”
48
The telephone call from Malik left Margo disturbed. Unable to rest, she got up from the bed and went into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, half expecting the devil to be waiting for her. Seeing her own reflection, she grabbed the sides of her head and shook it, as if to erase the accusation of infidelity her image rendered.
“Get yourself together, Margo,” she said to herself out loud.
She found the blow dryer and dried her hair, after which she massaged her body with scented lotion. It seemed to revitalize her to the point that she decided to fix dinner for Jefferson. Not sure how long Jefferson would be, she hurriedly put on a pair of jeans and a tank top and then went to the kitchen and put on her little maid’s apron.
Lying in the refrigerator were a couple of salmon steaks she had planned to cook yesterday but had gotten home too late to do so. She would grill them and fix some garlic mashed potatoes to accompany them. Opening the refrigerator again, she reached in the vegetable compartment and pulled out a head of romaine lettuce. She grabbed four eggs and quickly put them on the stove to boil. One small tomato Margo planned to use for something else found its way under the rinse water and then was sliced for the salad. Creme Brulee would be their dessert, if she had enough left from when she had made it a couple of days ago.
With the salmon broiling and the eggs on boil, Margo rushed to find one of her best linen tablecloths, which she placed on the dining room table. Next, she pulled out a few pieces of her Noritake china and set places for two. Rounding out the setting was her best crystal stemware, used only during special dinners. She opened the blinds that hid the floor-to-ceiling beveled windows that stretched the full length of the dining room and, pleased with the way the room looked, she closed the French doors so that she could surprise Jefferson when he came home.
In half an hour, all was ready. Not expecting Jefferson anytime soon, she was surprised when the front door opened. Jefferson was toting bags that he struggled to carry since he wasn’t using his walker. His nose sniffed as he moved closer to the kitchen and then he let out a smile when he saw Margo in her maid’s apron.
“What have you done, woman? I’m supposed to be cooking dinner for you, not the other way around.”
Margo looked at the clock. “You weren’t gone long. I was going to jump into something other than my jeans.”
“You’re fabulous as you are. Would you mind helping me with these grocery bags? I think I’ve been on my legs too long today. I’ve got a real bad ache.”
Margo took the bags and peeked inside them. “You were going to fix me filet mignon? We can save my meal for tomorrow.”
“No, I’ll save mine for tomorrow. It smells good now, and I’m famished.”
Jefferson watched Margo as she scurried around in the kitchen and then carried dinner into the dining room. Her attitude had changed drastically, and he wasn’t sure why, although he wasn’t going to complain. Something must have happened between her and Malik. He’d find out soon enough; he was glad to have his wife back.
When invited to do so, Jefferson followed Margo into the dining room. His face lit up upon seeing Margo’s good china and crystal set out for the two of them. He put his arm around her shoulders and fought back tears.
“Reminds me of the last Christmas we had before all hell broke loose,” Jefferson said.
“It does, doesn’t it? Only thing, Linda won’t be showing up tonight and Blake is already dead.”
“Let’s not allow those memories to spoil this wonderful dinner you’ve prepared.” Jefferson looked at Margo. “That was a long time ago, Margo. It’s just you and me now.” He thought about telling Margo that he believed he saw Linda the other day at Taco Bell, but telling her would cause a setback in healing the wounds that were still painful. It wasn’t worth the risk.
Jefferson said grace, and he and Margo enjoyed a wonderful dinner together. They chatted about local and world events and stole glances at each other as if they were on a first date. Nothing was going to spoil this evening.
“I want every day to be like this, Jefferson. I want to share my day with you, ask your opinion about things, and have great sex with you.”
Jefferson stared back, not knowing what to make of this one-hundred-eighty-degree turnaround. He felt blessed and happy that Margo was ready to make their marriage work, but the timing was strange given her attitude only a few days earlier. He smiled, however, not wanting her to think anything was wrong. It was more than her believing that he and Angelica had done no wrong-much more. There was definitely more to the story than he was hearing.
“I’m happy, Margo. I’ve waited for this day a long time. Why don’t we skip the Creme Brulee and get some real dessert?”
Jefferson and Margo dropped to the floor and crawled under the dining room table. Margo covered her ears in an attempt to drown out the noise.
“Stay down, Margo!” Jefferson shouted. “Sounds like an automatic weapon. I think the windows in the living room were blown out.”
Margo was visibly shaking. She moved close to Jefferson.
“I’ve got my cell in my pocket,” Jefferson said. “I’ll call 911.”
“The alarm is going off; the police are probably on their way,” Margo cried.
“Just in case, I’m going to call anyway. Someone tried to kill us.”
