For His Little Girl

Claudia had foreseen.

Josie regarded her with pity from behind a mountain of many flavored ice creams topped off with chocolate sauce that was truly 'disgustingly delicious.'

'Wouldn't you much rather have ice cream?' she asked. 'It's ever so nice.'

'No thank you,' Dominique said. 'I need to think of my figure.'

'But you've got a smashing figure,' Josie said generously.

'Thank you.' Dominique relaxed a little.

'Do you have to work really, really hard at it?'

'That's enough, Josie,' Luke said hastily. 'Eat your ice cream before it melts.'

'Any swaps for my pistachio?' Claudia enquired. 'Josie, your raspberry looks delicious.'

There was a general swapping, with long spoons moving back and forth and a lot of laughter. Then Pippa and Josie simultaneously made a takeover bid for Claudia's coffee and nut, and in the resulting melee a huge dollop landed on Luke's favorite pair of five-hundred-dollar slacks.

'Oh, dear,' Pippa said. 'I'm sorry.'

'Sorry, Daddy,' Josie said.

'Yes, it's a pity, isn't it?' he said ruefully. 'A real waste of good ice cream.'

Josie giggled.

'How about you?' Luke turned solicitously to Dominique, beside him. 'Did any go over you?'

'Luckily, no,' she said. 'But I've just remembered an urgent appointment. Good night, everyone. It's been so nice.' She rose, gave the barest nod of farewell and stalked away. Claudia followed at once, and before they reached the exit the others saw Dominique turn on her. They couldn't hear the words, but it was obvious that Dominique was in a sulphurous temper.

'You planned this whole thing,' she spat at Claudia.

'I've done you a favor.'

'You said something needed to be done-'

'And I've done it. On the beach this morning I saw a side of Luke I've never seen before. Now you've seen it, too, and I've saved you wasting any more time on a man you can't win. Luke's spoken for. I guess he's been spoken for for the last eleven years, even if nobody knew it, including Luke.'

'That dowdy little nobody-'

'Wise up, Dominique. He cares about her. I saw that in the first five minutes. I don't know if he's in love with her, but he cares about her in a way that he doesn't care about anyone else, except Josie. One day you'll thank me.'

'Well, don't hold your breath.' Dominique swept out.

'Was it accident that she showed up tonight?' Luke demanded when Claudia returned to them.

'No,'' she said calmly. 'I sent for her. It seemed only kind to make her face facts.'

'Thanks,' Luke muttered. 'Guess you came to my rescue again.'

'Someone always does, Luke,' Claudia said tartly. 'That's how you fix things. Someday you'll find yourself in a situation you can't fix.'

Without waiting for his answer, she turned to Pippa and gave her a broad wink. Pippa had only half followed the conversation, but now she saw that Claudia's eyes were honest, humorous and shrewd. This woman was nobody's fool, she thought, beginning to like her.

Luke's show was recorded at the studios of GFI-Cable, on Marine Street. One show in the morning and two in the afternoon made a long day, and they set out very early next morning.

'Don't expect too much,' he warned on the journey. 'This isn't NBC or any of those big-time stations. We just work out of a cellar.'

Ten minutes later he swung down into an underground parking lot, and they made their way to the studio, which Pippa thought was a good deal smarter than he'd made it sound, although far from grand. Josie seemed entranced by the cameras, the lights overhead and the people wandering around with clipboards. Best of all was the set, done up to look like a traditional kitchen with copper pans and glowing wooden doors. The walls were red. The work surfaces were red. The knobs and handles were brass. Remembering the clinical precision of Luke's real kitchens Pippa studied this rustic kitsch with amusement.

She'd always known that easygoing Luke could be a dictator, even a tyrant, where his work was concerned. But the years had developed him. On the journey to the studio he'd used his car phone to check that the food was on its way. The discovery that it wasn't brought forth a few crisp words that left no doubt of Luke's feelings. They reached the studio to find the van just ahead of them, already being unloaded by two of his employees. He bounded out of the car and gave them a stream of instructions, ending with, 'And don't start the microwave until I tell you.''

They wouldn't have dared. Pippa half expected them to salute.

He ushered them into the studio and introduced them around. And that was how they met Ritchie who, for pure entertainment value, was one of the great experiences of Pippa's life.

It seemed that nobody had told Ritchie that this was a small cable station. His hair was elegantly blow-dried, his puce shirt was open to the waist, showing an expanse of tanned chest against which a gold chain gleamed. When he spoke, his voice resonated. He gave instructions as though beaming messages to the four corners of the world.

One person hung on his every word, and that was Derek, a young man of downtrodden appearance who rejoiced in the title of assistant and ferried Ritchie's inhaler from place to place, to help him cope with the kind of crises that engulfed all great men.

Ritchie greeted Luke with the respect due to a star who had single-handedly doubled the channel's subscribers. But his version of respect was like nobody else's.

'Luke, baby, glad you could make it!' he exclaimed, as though Luke had risen from a sick bed.

'I always make it, Ritch,' Luke observed mildly.

Ritchie made a sound like a ruptured hyena. 'You have to have your little joke, Luke baby! Now, are things all right? Is everything here just as you like it?'

'Everything's just as it always is.'

'That's what I like to hear. A satisfied customer. I just know today's shows are going to be the most wonderful ever-'

'I've a couple of people I'd like you to meet,' Luke said, breaking into the cloud of hyperbole. 'This is Pippa, and this is Josie, her daughter-and mine.''

Ritchie was wide-eyed. '' You… have… a… daughter?' he gasped, in a tone that implied Luke had invented nuclear physics. He surveyed Pippa and Josie as though they were an alien species. 'Well now-well now-I just never dreamed-''

'No reason why you should,' Luke said affably. 'But they're spending some time with me, and I'd like them to enjoy themselves here.'

'I'll make that my personal responsibility,' Ritchie declared with fervor.

'Seats in the front row.'

'Well, that might be a little difficult-'

'Seats in the front row, Ritch.'

'Whatever you say. Derek, where are you? My inhaler.'

At last the studio settled down and the rehearsal began. It fascinated Pippa that Luke got through this as fast as possible, passing from dish to dish with the barest outline of what he intended to say.

'Don't you have some sort of script?' she asked when he'd finished.

He shuddered. 'Perish the thought. I just say what comes into my head. It's usually okay.'

'And if it isn't, they can always do a retake,' Josie said, beaming.

Luke regarded her with fatherly disfavor. 'Yes.' he said through gritted teeth. 'They can always do a retake.'

'I should have warned you,' Pippa said, chuckling, 'one of the joys of kids is that they're always puncturing your little balloon.'

He grinned. 'I'll be lucky if I still have a balloon when my daughter's finished. Okay, here are your seats, middle of the front row. I have to go now. Bye! Have fun.'