“Who’s that?”
“She just walked by too.”
“Uh, her I would have noticed. She’sa magazine cover.”
“You were watching Paul. I saw her for asplit second.”
Beth peered at Liddy a bit open-mouthed; incongruouslylooked up and down the busy sidewalk and across the narrow street with itscolorful jaywalkers. She hadn’t seen the blonde. “Well, that sketch is evenmore gorgeous. Hey, the charcoal’s going to smudge. You gonna spray it?”
Liddy did. Got out her Krylon fixative forpastel and chalk and sprayed both drawings, flipping from the older,dark-haired woman to the girl with the crooked smile.
Then stared at her, touched her cheek andthen her delicate brow; seemed suddenly forlorn. Beth frowned and reached for herscrapbook, angled it on the table so she could study the girl’s face.
“I’ve seen her before.”
“Right. She just walked past.”
“I mean before today. Like, on TV orsomething.”
“Maybe she’s a model.” Liddy’s eyes stayedon the girl; now seemed almost lost as she angled her sketchbook back. Herexpression bothered Beth. It was how she’d looked in the days and weeks afterher accident.
“Lids? When was your last nightmare? And headache?Hey, you had a concussion, too.”
No answer. A car had honked and someonecalled out to it, but Beth was sure Liddy heard. She leaned closer.
“Fess up. Tell.”
Liddy snapped out of it. The question waspainful, so she looked out to the sunny street with its colorful commotion and adaisy-decorated bakery van and a man carrying brightly painted mannequins.“The headaches are fewer,” she finally said. “And this morning was anotherdream but they’re getting further and further apart too and I’m feeling better,really.”
“Okay, what about your memory?”
“Things are coming back.”
“Paul said so, he’s thrilled.”
“Yesterday for the third time I went outfor groceries. Got off at the right floor, imagine that. Not the wrongfloor, wandering around wondering why I couldn’t find our door. I also rememberwhere my sock drawer is and no longer replace the milk next to the Cheerios orthe soup cans. I’d love to see that loft.”
6
It was one of those narrowold cast-iron buildings Soho is famous for, painted the color of red brick withhuge, arching windows. On the stairs, which Liddy took slowly, they passed workmencoming down carrying Sheetrock panels and electrical wiring. Construction, Bethexplained, was underway on the fourth floor, and she snickered. “Construction’salways going on around here. Everyone has to have their own unique vision,blah, blah. Oh, and the first and second floors are owned by some rich guy fromShanghai who’s seldom here. You’d have the building practically to yourselves.”
Paul climbing up behind Liddy said, “Untilthe fourth floor people move in.”
“Which will be a while,” Beth answered. “Youshould see what they’re doing up there.”
At the end of a short hall on the thirdfloor landing, she turned the key in the door, pushed it open, and punched offthe security system. “After you, please,” she announced, hoity toity as ifshowing around her usual artsy types. “Watch your step.”
It was a bright but dusty artist’s loft, stillpartially furnished, the floor gritty with piles of ground gypsum plaster wherepoor Charlie Bass had apparently taken a sledge hammer to what was left of aninterior wall. Otherwise the space was mostly open with exposed wooden beams, originalcast iron columns painted white, and three huge arched windows facing south. Bethturned up the air conditioning, then droned almost reluctantly about the “twobedrooms, two baths, great kitchen,” but Liddy rushed – the fastest she’d movedin weeks - to the arched window furthest on the right.
“Ohh,” she burst out, shielding her eyesfrom the brilliant sun and looking around. Below, bustling Prince Street. Toher right and brushing her shoulder, huge plants - ficus trees, a rubber plant,smaller hanging ferns, and what looked like a lemon tree – and to her left, atelescope. Paul, coming up behind her, fingered the telescope, bent to examine thetripod it was mounted on, then rose to the telescope again.
“Hey, a Celestron Omni,” he said. “Nice.You could see Mars with this.” He peered into it; moved the ‘scope barrel up,then down.
Beth said, “Charlie Bass was a peeping tom.Considered the windows across the street better entertainment than cable.”
Paul thought that was funny and keptpeering through the telescope. Liddy asked, “Who’s been watering the plants?”
“I have. See that little hose running intothe wall? And this spray bottle?” She bent to it. “Despite the air conditioningthe leaves fry this close to the glass and need spraying.” Hurriedly, she sprayedsome of the leaves, put the bottle back behind the rubber plant’s tub, andstraightened. “Charlie called this his greenhouse and apparently loved it. Toldpals his dream was to run a real greenhouse someday, get out of trying to makeit in the nasty, crazy film world.”
She sighed, turned and looked back to thefurniture still in the room. “His executor says a lot of his stuff is for sale.”
“The telescope?” Paul asked.
“The plants?” from Liddy.
“Yes and yes.” Beth looked toward adoorway. “Want to see the rest of the place?”
They walked past the white columns and anexposed brick wall to the kitchen, never-used-looking all white with granitecounter tops and laundry/dryer and an all-purpose center island. The masterbedroom was large, nearly its whole wall another arched window now half coveredwith drooping, smeared drapes. At the sight of the second, smaller bedroom Liddycried “Oh, Paul,” found his hand and squeezed it. He said “Mm” noncommittally,but squeezed back.
It faced north, would be a perfect studio withshelves already built in, a three-sided window seat nestled into morefloor-to-ceiling shelves, and a long, east-west wall perfect for drying canvases.
Beth muttered, “I was afraid you’d likeit.”
Liddy spread her arms, as if to take in andembrace the whole loft. “I love it, it’s marvelous! We can fix it andmake it beautiful and replace poor Charlie Bass’s darkness with light!”
“Speaking of Charlie,” Paul said. “Wheredid he, uh…”
Beth showed them.
In the living area not far from the plants,she pointed to a ceiling joist running under one of
