Tod came over, announced there was a sale at King Soopers and Stevie had bought a year’s worth of shaved turkey so we al went over to their side of the duplex to have turkey and Swiss sandwiches.
We walked in the backdoor to the kitchen and were confronted with a chow dog, smal for her breed, with an enormous ruff around her neck but her bottom was almost completely shaved. She looked like a miniature, beige lion— with attitude. She barked twice, her front feet coming off the floor, her claws clicking on the tiles when she landed.
Then she ran to each of us in turn, head-butting our shins.
I knelt down to give her cuddles and she panted in my face and al owed it as if she was prizing me with a sacred treasure. Then she pranced out of the kitchen, fluffy tail fur bouncing on her bald ass.
“That’s our dog, Chowleena.” Tod smiled down at me, “She likes you.”
*
We were sitting around the dining room table, Lottie, Indy and Tod comparing lash-lengthening strategies when my phone rang. It said “Daisy cal ing.”
I flipped it open. “Hey, Daisy.”
“Hey Sugar, what’re you up to?” she asked.
“Wel , I think my Mom is on the longest date in history with a crazy ex-con, Vietnam vet who has a shotgun, grenades, tear gas and twenty-five cats. And I got in a wet-t-shirt, knock-down, drag-out fight on the floor in Fortnum’s with my sister who’s just in from LA. Oh, and we did it in front of most of the boys on Lee Nightingale’s payrol ,” I said.
Silence.
“Darlin’, you know how to live,” Daisy final y said.
“Normal y, I’m real y boring,” I told her.
She laughed her tinkly-bel laugh. She didn’t believe me either.
“What’s up with you?” I asked.
“Got a cal from Shirleen. Rumor has it, Ray’s hittin’ her table tonight.”
I looked up at Indy, Tod and Lottie and my eyes grew wide.
“You girls ready to ride again?” I heard Daisy say in my ear.
“Just a second. Indy’s right here, let me ask.” I relayed the story to everyone. Indy and Tod smiled, Lottie looked angry.
“Dad’s a shithead,” Lottie said.
“You guys in?” I asked.
Tod and Lottie nodded.
“Al y’s got a shift at Brother’s tonight but I’m in,” Indy replied.
Al y was a bartender at My Brother’s Bar. It’d be a bummer that she couldn’t come but I figured with Lottie and Tod in the mix, we could almost equal her attitude.
“Al y’s working but Tod wants to come and so does my sister, is that okay?” I told Daisy.
“Peachy, darlin’. Can’t wait to meet your sister,” Daisy answered.
“You might know her, she’s Lottie Mac, Queen of the Corvette Calendar.”
“No shit? ‘Course I know her, Sugar, she’s a celebrity.” I grinned at my sister.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling proud.
Then I hesitated.
“Do you mind if we wear our own clothes?” I asked.
More of the giggle.
“Sure, just as long as you got a little sparkle on.” I figured I could do a little sparkle.
“Tel her we’l meet here,” Tod cut in.
“Tod says to meet at his place.” I gave her directions, signed off and flipped my phone shut.
“You ready for this?” I asked Lottie.
“Ready to kick Dad’s ass? Fuck yeah,” Lottie replied.
I rol ed my eyes.
Indy and Tod grinned at each other.
Guess Lottie had the seal of approval.
My phone rang again.
It said, “Eddie cal ing.”
“Uh-oh,” I muttered when I saw it.
“Eddie?” Indy asked immediately.
“Is that your new boyfriend?” Lottie asked.
Tod nodded for me.
I stil wasn’t ready to ful y commit to the boyfriend thing, I’d said it once and once was enough.
“Who told on me now?” I asked, flipping open the phone.
“Half a dozen you could choose from,” Indy said.
My life sucked.
“Hel o?” I said into the phone.
My opening was greeted with silence.
“Eddie?” I asked when the silence went prolonged.
“You sure you want to stick with this boring tactic? Gotta tel you, Chiquita, it seriously isn’t workin’.” Wonderful.
“Lee phoned you,” I said.
“Lee, Hank, Duke not to mention Mace and half a dozen cops who heard it on the grapevine and wanted to determine the commitment level of our relationship.” I blinked at the table. “Pardon?” I asked.
“For the record, I made it clear our commitment level is in the red zone,” he said.
Dear Lord.
“We’ve only had one date,” I replied.
Silence.
Then some muttering in Spanish and final y, “We gotta have another chat?”
No!
No more chats.
“I think I got it,” I told him.
“I hope so Chiquita, if you don’t, you wil ,” he said quietly.
Eek!
“I got it.”
“Shit, you’re kil in’ me,” he sounded frustrated.
I felt bad for him but I didn’t know how to help. Helping him would be putting myself out there and I felt plenty out there already.
I decided to change the subject, “My sister’s in town.”
“Yeah, heard that too. I’d like to meet her but I’m caught up in something and need to work late tonight. I’l pick you up from Tex’s.”