Look Closely - Laura Caldwell [57]
I heard a call and saw that Maddy had entered the bar. I swiveled on the stool and fell into her hug. I held on longer than usual.
“You all right?” I heard Maddy ask, her words muffled by my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said, releasing her.
“You’re sure?” Maddy’s hazel eyes squinted as if trying to read my face. Her dark curly hair was pulled back, a few tendrils escaped at the sides of her face. She wore a lilac suit, cut snug to show off her curves.
“Let’s get a table. I’ll tell you the whole saga.”
We ordered two entrées—the sea bass and the mushroom risotto. I launched into the story, telling Maddy briefly about the McKnight arbitration, then moving on quickly to the weekend in Woodland Dunes.
When I got to the part about getting drunk with Ty on Saturday night, Maddy held up her hand. “Okay, first things first. We’re getting you off the vodka right now and switching to wine.” Maddy flagged down the waiter, and ordered a bottle of Chardonnay.
“The next issue,” Maddy said, leaning forward on the table with her elbows, “is this Ty person. Let’s talk about him.”
I groaned. Maddy was the dating queen of New York. She was forever giving me hell for not going out with enough men.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“You told me twice he was cute,” Maddy said, pausing to okay the bottle of wine the waiter proffered. “And he sent a tray with wine and cheese to your room with a nice little note that I bet you read at least three times.”
I burst out laughing. Maddy knew me implicitly, and that felt so damn good.
“I knew it. And then to top it off, you act like an intoxicated fool, and yet he doesn’t leave you in the street like he should have.”
I accepted a glass of wine from the waiter. “So?”
“So? He sounds like a gem. Why didn’t you kiss him and see if the whole world disappeared?”
I shot her an exasperated look. Maddy knew about my flimsy test for true love. Sometimes, I wished I’d never told her about it. “I’d just met the guy!”
“When is the last time you had sex?”
“Oh, no. I’m not having this conversation.”
“Okay, fine. You don’t have to sleep with him anytime soon.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“But,” Maddy continued, “you should at least think seriously about dating him. He sounds like a prince.”
“Maddy, he’s a hotel owner in Michigan, and I’m an attorney in Manhattan. Does that sound like it’s going to work?”
“Never know until you try.”
I shook my head and fell silent while Maddy sipped her wine. I would never win the argument.
“When are you going to see him again?” Maddy said.
“Never? I don’t know.”
“Look, I’m not trying to bug you.”
I gave her another look.
“Okay, maybe I am.” Maddy gave me a devilish grin. “But just promise me you won’t dismiss this. Not yet. See what happens when you go back to Chicago.”
“Fine,” I said to get her off my back. The entrées arrived, and I cut the sea bass down the middle, putting half of it on Maddy’s plate. I let myself think about Ty for a second. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. If he lived in Manhattan, I’d probably be all over the guy. But the long distance seemed too great an obstacle, when I already had so many others.
“All right,” Maddy said, a pleased little look on her face. “Glad we got that settled. Now keep going with your story.”
I told her about the letters from Della and the dinner with the Mannings.
“Oh, God. That must have been horrible,” she said when she heard about the abuse suspicions Chief Manning had considered.
I didn’t let myself linger on the issue, because the truth was that the thought made me sick. “It wasn’t true, though,” I said. “That’s what Ty’s dad decided, he…” Something snagged in my mind.
Maddy looked up at me as my words trailed away. “What?” she said.
“I was thinking of my conversation with them.” I went quiet, making myself review that night and the exact words Chief Manning had said.
Maddy waved a hand in front of my face.
“Now that I think about it,” I said. “I don’t remember him saying he decided the abuse allegations weren’t true.