One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell [49]
Annalisa took a sip of her wine. “Wow,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“I thought you wanted to have children.”
“I do. I just wasn’t thinking about having one so soon.”
“Why not?” Paul said. “We’ve got plenty of money. And you’re not working.”
“I might go back to work.”
“None of the other wives work,” Paul said. “It’s inconvenient.”
“Says who?” Annalisa asked.
“Sandy Brewer.”
“Sandy Brewer is an ass.” Annalisa took another sip of wine. “It’s not that I don’t want to have a child. But we don’t even have an apartment yet.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Paul said. “You know you’ll get this Mrs. Houghton’s apartment if you put your mind to it.” He picked up the menu and studied it, absentmindedly patting her hand.
“You’re not going to work today?” James Gooch asked his wife the next morning.
“I told you. I’m going to Mrs. Houghton’s memorial service.”
“I thought you weren’t invited,” James said.
“I wasn’t,” Mindy said. “But when did that ever stop me?”
Upstairs, Philip Oakland knocked on his aunt’s door. Enid greeted him dressed in black slacks and beaded black top. “I saw Sam Gooch yesterday,” she said as they were riding down in the elevator. “He said you had a young lady in your apartment.”
Philip laughed. “What if I did?”
“Who was she?” Enid asked.
“A young lady,” Philip said teasingly. “I was interviewing her.”
“Oh, Philip,” Enid said. “I wish you wouldn’t. You’re getting to an age when you need to be sensible about women.”
The elevator doors opened, and finding Mindy Gooch in the lobby, Enid put aside her concerns about Philip’s love life. Mindy was also dressed in black, causing Enid to suspect that Mindy was going to try to crash Mrs. Houghton’s memorial service. Enid decided to let this pass unnoticed as well. “Hello, Mindy dear,” she said. “Sad day, isn’t it?”
“If you want to look at it that way,” Mindy said.
“Any outside interest in the apartment?” Enid asked casually.
“Not yet. But I’m sure there will be soon,” Mindy replied.
“Don’t forget about our interest,” Enid said pleasantly.
“How can I?” Mindy said. She strode out of the building ahead of Enid and Philip, fuming.
The memorial service was at St. Ambrose Church on Broadway and Eleventh Street. There was a snarl of traffic in front of the entrance; a cacophony of honking horns was followed by the wail of a siren as a police car tried to disperse the traffic.
Mindy put her hands over her ears. “Shut up!” she screamed. After this outburst, she felt a little better. She joined the crowd in front of the church, slowly shuffling their way in. She passed a line of police barricades, behind which stood the usual pack of paparazzi. When she reached the steps, she was stopped by a massive security guard. “Invitation?” he asked.
“I left it at home,” Mindy said.
“Step to the side, please,” the guard said.
“Mrs. Houghton was a very good friend. We lived in the same building,” Mindy said.
The security guard waved more people through, and Mindy took the opportunity to try to sneak in with the group ahead of her. The guard spotted her and stepped in front of her. “Move to the side, ma’am.”
Chastised, Mindy moved a little to her right, where she had the pleasure of seeing Enid and Philip Oakland about to pass her by. At the last second, Enid spotted Mindy and, wiggling through the crowd, touched Mindy on the arm. “By the way, dear, I meant to tell you. Sam was such a help yesterday with my computer. Thank God for young people. We old people couldn’t survive in this technological world without them.”
Before Mindy could respond, Enid moved on, and Mindy’s irritation nearly reached the boiling point. Not only had Enid insulted her by implying that she and Mindy were in the same age category (“old,” Enid had said), but she had cruelly and deliberately left Mindy outside. Enid could have easily brought Mindy into the church, as no one said no to Enid Merle. Enid was what little girls called a fair-weather friend, Mindy thought, and planned to return the favor someday.