Tuesday’s Child

wait to get back there myself. Did you decide what you’re going to do with the rest of your life?”

“My plans are a work in progress. But, I’m making inroads. Much to my father’s dismay, I might add. Not that it matters to me what he thinks. The funny thing is, Kala, it matters to me what you think. Whoever thought I’d be saying something like that? Go figure.”

Kala set her coffee cup down and placed her hands on Spenser’s shoulders from behind. “The only thing that matters, Spenser, is that you be true to yourself.” She gave his shoulders an extrafriendly squeeze before she headed upstairs to shower.

A long time later, smelling like her fragrant lanai in Hawaii, Kala joined Spenser in her kitchen. Her hair was wet and piled on top of her head. She was wearing the ancient comfortable bathrobe that was her best friend. There was fresh coffee. She poured herself a cup and sat down at the table. Spenser looked up once, his face expressionless before he lowered his eyes to keep reading. Kala could see he had just a few more pages to go.

Kala sipped at her coffee and waited patiently.

Chapter 28

PATTY BUSTLED AROUND IN THE KITCHEN AS SHE PREPARED breakfast. She glanced at the clock; Nick was running late. He should have been there by then. She listened to Sophie’s footsteps overhead as she prepared for the press conference that was to take place at ten o’clock.

She herself had gotten up well over an hour ago. She liked to take an early-morning hour out on her little patio with a cup of coffee as she thought about her day. She’d been surprised the previous evening to get a call from Fox News asking her to represent the network. It was all politics, she knew that. The people at Fox knew she had the inside track with Kala and Sophie, so why not use her. It would be her first job for the network. She knew for a fact because Kala had told her that after the conference, neither she nor Ryan Spenser would be taking questions. That’s where her inside track came in.

Patty turned the bacon in the fry pan. The waffle mix was ready to be poured, and the scrambled eggs were a huge wet lemon color in the bowl just waiting to be poured on the grill. Waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs had always been the favorite meal of Nick, Sophie, and herself.

She looked up to see Nick standing in the doorway. How handsome he looked. He’d really dressed for the occasion in a summer suit, power tie, and sparkling white shirt. His unruly dark hair was slicked back. He looked like the professional he was. She herself was wearing a robe, but she’d applied her makeup earlier after her shower. All she had to do was scoot into the downstairs bathroom and slip into the dress she was wearing to the press conference.

“Hey there! Just in time. I’m making our favorite breakfast. I hope you brought your appetite. You look… wary. What’s wrong?”

Nick sat down gingerly. He shrugged. “You know what they say about expectations? Guess mine weren’t met. Sophie’s different. She was wearing the locket, though.”

“You noticed, huh.” It wasn’t so much a question as a comment. “I think she was just overwhelmed. We didn’t talk or anything after you left. She never came down again, and I just sat down here and watched TV. It wasn’t exactly the reunion I expected, but it’s understandable. Hey, Fox called last night. My first assignment is to cover the press conference. Yeah, I know, it’s all politics, but what the heck. Do you think Sophie will give me an exclusive interview?” She laughed. “Kala and Spenser okayed the exclusive. I heard on the early-morning news that Spenser’s father, Speaker of the House Spenser, is going to be at the conference. Do I hear the words photo op anywhere?” She laughed again.

“We better get moving here. There’s going to be all kinds of traffic this morning.” Patty deftly finished cooking the breakfast and handed a plate to Nick. She looked at her own plate and wondered if she would be able to eat all the food piled on it. Sophie’s plate would stay warm in the oven.

Normally a robust eater, Nick picked at his food while Patty pushed hers around, breaking off little pieces of her waffle, then mashing them into the scrambled eggs until she had a mess on her plate. There was no way she was going to eat any of it. Why, she wondered, had she even bothered to go to all the trouble?

I’m trying to hold on to something that is slipping from my grasp, she thought. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought Nick was thinking the same thing. She knew him so well.

Sophie stood in the kitchen doorway, Sula at her side. Patty was stunned at how beautiful her friend looked. “Good morning, my two favorite people in the whole world,” she gushed as she walked over to the door to let Sula out. “Ah, our favorite breakfast from the old days. I hate to tell you this, Patty, but I don’t eat like that anymore. I think prison ruined my stomach. Then when I was in Hawaii, I had to learn to eat healthy, but I appreciate the thought and effort.

“Nick, how handsome you look,” Sophie said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. She walked around the table and did the same thing to Patty.

“How-how did you sleep, Sophie?” Nick asked.

“So-so. I kept thinking about all the things I have to cram into five days. I slept soundly toward morning. I’ll just have juice and coffee, Patty,” Sophie said, sitting down at her place setting.

I’ll just have juice and coffee. A devil perched itself on Patty’s shoulder. She pointed to the coffeepot and the fridge. “Help yourself. I just have orange juice.”

“Really! I’m now addicted to pineapple juice. That’s okay. You couldn’t know that, Patty. I’ll just have coffee.”

Well, you’re going to die of thirst if you think I’m going to get up and pour it for you, Patty thought. She did get up and head toward the downstairs bathroom. “I’m going to get dressed and head out. Nick will drive you to the courthouse. Don’t worry about cleaning up, my day lady comes in today.”

“Ooooh, you have come up in the world, haven’t you? A day lady!” Sophie trilled. She made it sound like a day lady was the next thing to the queen’s cleaning Patty’s little house.

Patty wished she could wipe the sappy look off Nick’s face. She shut the bathroom door with a little more force than was necessary. She was seething and didn’t know why.

In the kitchen, when Sophie realized no one was going to pour her a cup of coffee, she got up and did it herself. She touched Nick’s shoulder, and said, “So, Nick, how are things going? I know we spoke on the phone that day, but we were all so wired up all we did was reminisce. Tell me about yourself, because there’s nothing I can tell you about me. I’m like some kind of open freaky book.”

“A rich one,” Nick said.

“That, too. That just boggles my mind. They said on the news that you were going to have your other hip done. Is that true?”

Nick thought she sounded like she cared. “It’s true, but I still have a lot of therapy to go on the one that’s been replaced. My golfing career is over, that’s for sure. Some of my endorsements are sticking with me. Then there’s product out there with my name on it. That stays in place.

“I see you’re still wearing that locket I gave you.”

“It’s my most treasured possession. Linda mailed my meager belongings to me. I put it on right away. It almost makes me feel whole again. Do you have any idea what that means to me?”

Nick nodded. “About Jon,” he said, changing the subject. “Are you okay with that?”

“Good Lord, no. I cried all night. That was one of the reasons I couldn’t sleep. I really don’t want to talk about Jon now. I’ll grieve when I have more time.”

I’ll grieve when I have more time. Nick’s eyes burned the way they always burned when he thought of his lifelong friend. “We probably should be going now,” he said. “If you’re ready,” he said coolly. He was surprised at how calm and collected his voice was. “You can’t bring the dog. You know that, right?”

“No, I didn’t know that, but it’s okay. Sula won’t destroy Patty’s little house. You know, Nick, I used to be in love with you. I dreamed about you all the time. When I was in prison, when all hope was gone of ever seeing you again, the dreams became so intense they actually allowed me to talk to a shrink. It helped a little. Unrequited love is a terrible thing, you know.”

Nick felt his insides start to crumble. He hoped his voice was as light as he wanted, but he knew he failed