After the introductions, Mom lowered herself down on the sofa. Shooting a fearful look at Mattie and Sheena—Mattie in her MVPD sweatshirt, denim cutoffs, and gun holster, and Sheena, Amazon-like… long flowing hair, tight black tee, leather shorts, and studded belt.
Leigh glanced at Mom’s face—red and mottled as she stared, first at the women, then at Sabre, tucked in tight, by Sheena’s bare legs.
Leigh rushed over to the wet bar and poured out liberal measures of J.D.’s into two balloon glasses. She handed them to her parents.
There was an awkward silence.
Leigh’s bruised face glowed as she met Mom’s glance.
“Now, young lady.” Dad, glass in one hand, massaging the back of Mom’s neck with the other, threw a meaningful look at his daughter. “I think you have some explaining to do…”
Christ
Not quite.
It’s Wahconda and Charlie,
Clear as crystal, the words of the song popped into her head, making her smile. She felt a million years old. Very wise, and somehow philosophical about all that had happened this summer.
Sitting cross-legged at the far end of the sofa, she smiled at Mom, took a deep breath, and said:
“Remember Nelson? He of beef Willington fame?”
Taking a sip of brandy, Mom nodded slowly…
In the kitchen, Deana gave Warren a cheeky grin. “Looks like we got ourselves a situation out there!” She paused, head tilted to one side, then said, “So, lover boy, you came over to deliver our books?”
“Right.”
“That sure is one
They smiled broadly, and their eyes met.
Suddenly, they weren’t laughing anymore. They were deadly serious.
“God, Deana. It’s been a helluva long time.” Warren’s voice was low, breathy. “Too long.” He held out his arms. “Wanta finish off our… unfinished business?”
“Mmmm. Don’t I just…”
Deana snugged into him, pressing close, her arms tight around him. Their lips met. His searching, impatient; hers puffy, bruised, and hurting like hell. She pressed into him some more, feeling him stir and rise against her belly. Moaning, she felt the teasing ache between her thighs.
Damn right, she thought. It’s been a long, long time…
She trembled as his hand stole inside her blouse, shivering as he reached for her naked breast. He held it, squeezed it a little, his thumb stroking her taut nipple beneath the filmy cloth.
She moaned, squirming, wanting more—did a little exploring of her own. Easing in against him, she peeled down the zipper of his pants. Her hand closed around him, feeling his hard-on, strong and warm… They moved against each other in a steady rhythm.
Then, abruptly drawing away, she whispered, “Later, Warren. Later. Soon as Gran and Pops are gone, we can…”
“Promise?”
“Mmmmm,” she sighed, a surge of joy welling inside her.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.
She smiled softly, and her arms tightened around him…
AFTERWORD
Or How Things Turned Out
Everybody has a dream. Well, pretty much everybody I knew at Berkeley had one. Something to pin your hopes on, y’ know? Mine was to write the great American novel. Oh yeah? I know, I know… but seriously, that’s why I read American lit. And considering the stuff we’d been through that summer of ’99, I figured I’d enough material to write several novels. So that’s what I do.
Write novels, I mean.
Couldn’t have done it without Warren, though. Had his support all the way—once we decided to “finish what we started” the night we saw the last of Mommy Dearest.
We married soon after I graduated, and our first joint project was to coauthor a nonfiction work,
Since then, as well as running Eureka, Warren’s written a couple more books. Pretty serious stuff:
Next up was
That went down really well in the U.K. We were
Our second joint project, and most successful to date, were our triplets—yeah,
Spooky, eh?
We named them Jack, Warren Junior, and Helen. And get a loada this. At birth, Helen had a head of
Jeez. I’m trying not to dwell too much on that. For now, she’s simply our darling little daughter…
Anyhow, six months after the Mace ordeal, Mom met up with her old pal, Ben Dornay. They married a couple of weeks later. Ben Junior came along ten months after that.
Then Mom opened three more restaurants along the Coast; phew, that woman is truly amazing—she has
Right now, they’re enjoying the good life in Beverly Hills and, in the best movie tradition, are living happily ever after. Mom and Ben make a perfect couple. I’ve never seen Mom look so content—and that’s fine by me. She sure deserves it!
As for Mattie and Sheena—well, they got together shortly after the Mace affair and now live in San Diego. Mattie’s gotten her own personal security company, hiring herself out, and her team of bodyguards, to some pretty important people: Hollywood stars, government officials, heads of state…
Sheena opened up Movers & Shakers, a club in West L.A., a twenty-four-hour hangout for gays and other kindred spirits. The club attracts major celebs—incognito, of course—and I’m told it’s a huge success. As a legacy from her Pacey days, Sheena often stands on the door. Keeping her hand in, she calls it.
And yeah, Sheena and I get along fine—after all, we
