Hed been more the romantic equivalent of a brick.
What business did she really have trying to push Em to the realization that Simon was all wrong for her? Joss hadnt had any more lasting success in her love life than her friend, whose pre-Simon relationships had included a compulsive liar and a man who waffled weekly between Em and his ex-wife, but was at least honest about it.
Thankfully, Emily changed the subject away from men entirely. I was impressed with the improvements on the house, by the way. I went over to feed Dulcie, expecting a certified disaster, but it wasnt as bad as you made it sound. I think maybe youre just expecting too much too soon.
Who, me?
The new houserather, the seventy-year-old house shed recently purchasedwas either her pride and joy, or the albatross mortgaged around her neck for the next three decades. Depending on what day you asked.
Shed been en route to a subdivision of shinier modern homes with programmable digital thermostats and updated appliances when shed driven by the neglected two-story for sale. It hadnt been what she was looking for, but it had stood out among the houses shed seen, with their cookie-cutter floor plans and treeless postage-stamp-size yards. Ultimately, the urge to perfect had been irresistibleshe could buy the house at a bargain and reshape its raw appeal into her dream home.
Of course, recent business demands had thus far impeded her brilliant renovation schemes. And the bargain was costing her a fortune.
Emilys continued reassurance was cheering. The refinished dining-room floor looks terrificI dont understand why anyone carpeted over that hardwood in the first place!
Thanks. I plan to put hardwood in the foyer, too. It was on her ever-growing to-do list.
And I was really impressed with the progress on the wraparound porch. I made it all the way to the door without once worrying I was going to crash through rotting steps.
Progress was being made, but the porch would have been done by now if the man Joss had hired didnt have all manner of excuses for delaying. Weather, supplies, an emergency across town, his astrologist telling him Jupiter was in the wrong house for him to handle nails that dayPatience, she reminded herself. Rome wasnt build in a day.
Maybe Caesar couldnt find a decent contractor, either.
All right, I suppose I am a little impatient. I just cant wait to see what everything will look like once it all comes together. Whatever century that was. Ive got to get a new water heater, though. And I still havent decided on colors for the downstairs bathroom or my bedroom.
Emily laughed. I wouldve decorated the bedroom first and let everything else sit for months.
I dont think sitting is an option for the water heater. Its a disaster waiting to happen, and I havent finished my room because I just havent seen anything truly perfect yet. And then theres that hideous kitchen
Joss was in the middle of painstakingly stripping the current wallpaper. Current only in the sense that it happened to be on the wall, not that it bore any resemblance to something presently fashionable. Shed been pleased with how easy it was to peel off the busy vertigo-inducing pattern, but then discovered the reason shed been able to remove the paper so quickly was because it hadnt actually been attached to the wall. Instead, there was a second printless busy, just as uglybeneath.
Shed now uncovered three strata left by previous generations. My kitchen, the suburban archeological dig. Joss was investigating interesting sociological issues, such as how the hell had avocado and gold become so popular in the first place?
Mercifully, the third layer of paper, a lovely shade of bordello red, appeared to be the last. Joss didnt expect any more prints to pop up like never-ending clowns out of one of those little circus cars. The bad news, however, was that older wallpapers were considerably more difficult to remove than what was being manufactured these days, especially if the paper turned out to be nonporous, as her call-girl crimson was.
Now that Joss was back in town after her unsuccessful meeting with Neely-Richards, she needed to buy a puncturing roller and rent a wallpaper steamer. Probably not today, though. She already had a list of errands that might well take her into middle age, including Dulcies annual vaccinations this afternoon. The fact that the veterinarian was a great-looking guy helped compensate for the Siameses weeklong grudges after clinic visits. Joss glanced at her watch with a sigh.
Lunch was great, she said, but Im afraid I need to run. Ive got to take Dulcie to see the cute vet at three, and I should get around to looking at tile samples for that downstairs bathroom. You dont, by any chance, want to come with me and help narrow down a color scheme, do you?
Actually, I have to get going, too. Emily stood. Ive got some work to do before Simon picks me up. Were having an early dinner and catching a movie at that art house he likes.
He likes?
I like it, too. Emilys mumbled response didnt change the fact that she went to most of the movies on her must-see list with Joss, then reportedly spent her dates with Simon squinting at foreign-film subtitles. And hes right about memy horizons could use some broadening.
All right, that did it! There was nothing wrong with Emily. Or her horizons. If Simon couldnt appreciate her, Joss just might have to help her find someone who would.
Hmm, come to think of it, Dan Morris, the cute vet, was single. Joss would have dated him herself, but Dan was a dog person. She was allergic.
Joss?
Uh-huh?
Should I be worried? Emily asked as they turned toward the sidewalk that would lead them back to their respective cars. For a second there, you had that same look of psychotic determination as when you peeled off the second layer of wallpaper and we found the third. Everything okay?
Joss smiled, thinking what adorable kids Em and Dr. Dan could have. Absolutely perfect.
3
AFTER DISCOVERING Dr. Dan had recently started seeing someone and then spending a fruitless hour studying color samples, Joss arrived home Saturday evening with a taupe-tan-rosy-beige migraine and a hissing Siamese who harbored plans to lacerate her while she slept.
Despite the imminent kitty threat, she retired to bed early after a salad and a TV movie. It had been an exhausting week, and she needed rest before she tackled any of the formidable redecorating. She snuggled under the duvet and crashed hard, waking Sunday to a feeling of invigorated well-beingthat lasted three and a half seconds.
Then she winced in uncomfortable realization. Damn, she thought as she reached in her nightstand drawer for the plastic aspirin bottle, it was that time of the month.
Brunch with her mother.
Amazing how quickly headache threatened at the thought of seeing Vivian. Joss was tempted to cancel, saying she was under the weather, but mothers didnt fall for that sort of thinga lesson shed learned when shed claimed appendicitis in a fifth-grade attempt to gain more study time for a math test. Of course, she mightve been more convincing if shed been clutching her right side.
She stomped toward the shower, wondering what kind of mood the schizophrenic water heater would be in today, and ignored Dulcies feline smirk from the foot of the bed. The vengeful Siamese, a Christmas present from Vivian three years ago, obviously sensed that Josss day would be an experience comparable to yesterdays shots. Though Joss and her mother lived in the same urban area, they only saw each other on the first Sunday of each month, meeting for strained brunches. Maybe it was an odd tradition, considering their busy schedules and the lack of effusive affection between them, but they were each all the family the other had.
She stomped toward the shower, wondering what kind of mood the schizophrenic water heater would be in today, and ignored Dulcies feline smirk from the foot of the bed. The vengeful Siamese, a Christmas present from Vivian three years ago, obviously sensed that Josss day would be an experience comparable to yesterdays shots. Though Joss and her mother lived in the same urban area, they only saw each other on the first Sunday of each month, meeting for strained brunches. Maybe it was an odd tradition, considering their busy schedules and the lack of effusive affection between them, but they were each all the family the other had.
Today was likely to be even less pleasant than usual, Joss thought as she washed her hair. Vivian had made her mark in the city as a high-end real estate agent, and she hadnt been amused when her only daughter bought a house without once picking up the phone to consult her. Youd think she would applaud my self-sufficiency. After all, it was Vivian who had always endorsed striving for excellence and relying only on yourself. Vivs motto was an adjusted version of the armysBe All You Can Bebecause you cant depend on anyone else. A cynical creed, perhaps, but one that had helped her raise a child by herself, while not only holding a job, but becoming something of a local expert in her field. Vivian never accepted anything short of excellence.
Still, Joss thought as she went to her closet and debated what to wear, just once, it might be nice if she and her mother went somewhere casual, where they could relax and catch up andwait, she must be thinking of someone elses mom. Normally, their monthly brunches were held at a French bistro near Vivians condominium, but there had recently been a change in chefs. Josss mother refused to set foot in the place until culinary integrity was restored.
Instead, Vivian had picked out the Well-Fed Waif, a place downtown that consistently garnered rave reviews. Joss could attest to the excellent service and food, but these days, she rarely visited the restaurant where shed once been a regular. Located around the corner from where the Mitman offices had been, the Waif had been a favorite of hers and Hughs.
It would be heavenly to enjoy the restaurants eggs Florentine again, she thought as she pulled on a lightweight turtleneck. Of course, since it had been a place she and Hugh had visited often and since shed seen him so recently, he was bound to cross her mind. But that just made today the perfect opportunity for an emotional exorcism. What better way to drive out lingering memories of intimate working dinners and shared glances over morning mimosas than a few hours with her mother?
IF IVE DONE SOMETHING to offend you, Joss muttered, just turn me into a dung beetle and get it over with.
Vivian paused in her small talk with the Versace-clad hostess standing behind a stained-wood podium. Who are you talking to, Jocelyn?
The universe. Nobody.
Mumbling isnt very well-bred, her mother reprimanded.
Neither was the four-letter word that had sprung to Josss mind when shed entered the Well-Fed Waif and spotted Hugh Brannon. He sat at a corner table near the decorative fireplace, across from a gentleman who looked about Vivians age. Obviously the cosmos was having a little joke at Josss expense.
Hugh. Hes everywhere you dont want him to be.
At least he wasnt with a woman. Joss was over him, but that didnt mean she was in a hurry to find him wooing a date at their old table.
Vivian took in the conservative art, the strains of violin overhead and the fresh-cut flowers hanging in glass wall vases, then allowed a small smile of approval. This place is acceptable.
Geez, Mom, contain your exuberancewhat will people say?
Truer to form, Vivian frowned suddenly. Im not pleased with the wait, though. If Im to lunch with clients here, I need to know well be seated a bit quicker. You dont waste the time of Important People.
The hostess looked down, busying herself with straightening the reservation book and a basket of mints, clearly abashed, even though Joss and her mother had arrived mere minutes ago.
Vivian had that effectmaking people feel their best was inadequate. She wouldve had da Vinci stammering that of course the Mona Lisa needed a wider smile, and he didnt know what hed been thinking! In real estate, Vivian was such a whiz at finding fault with property that by the time her client made an offerwell below asking pricethe grateful seller was ready to agree to anything just to offload the dump.
Joss watched as her mother glanced around the restaurant again, not evaluating the setting itself this time, but looking to see if she knew anyone and whether there were any noteworthy individuals present. Noteworthy to Vivian wasnt just someone with enough money to potentially buy or sell in her specialized area of townalthough that helpedbut anyone with status in the community. Financial security and respectability were what a twenty-year-old and pregnant Vivian had been denied when shed shared the news of her pregnancy with her fiancé. Hed backed out of the wedding, which was only weeks away, and the appalled McBrides had threatened to disown their daughter if she didnt put the baby up for adoption, convinced single parenthood would ruin the life theyd envisioned for her.
Vivian had vowed to raise the perfect daughter all by herself, refusing her parents help when they softened a couple of years later. Instead, shed busted her butt to make money, and as far back as Joss could remember, her mother had taken every opportunity to rub elbows with those who had local prestigebusiness owners, philanthropists, the deputy mayor. Even now, Joss caught occasional glimpses of what a younger Vivian must have been like, facing abandonment with the determination to prove she was Someone.
Jocelyn! Do you know who that is over there?
Nine times out of ten, the answer to this question was no, but Joss dutifully followed her mothers gaze, anyway. You have got to be kidding me! For a horrible second, she thought her mom meant Hugh, which would be bad because Vivian wouldnt like finding out her daughter had been involved with a man for almost a month and hadnt mentioned him; much less introduced him. Then Joss realized Vivian meant Hughs companion, which, come to think of it, was just as bad if it meant Vivian wanted to say hello.
Thats Stanley Patone, Vivian said, emphasizing Patone as if the single word should draw the same social recognition as DeNiro, Madonna or Brad and Jen. Then came the dreaded words, We simply must go over and say hello!
Life as a dung beetle was looking better all the time.
Reminding herself that shed survived plenty of encounters with Hugh Brannon and that this would be brief, Joss held her head high and followed her purposeful mother.
Hugh saw them first, doing an astonished double take. Dallas was big enough that they seldom bumped into each other without expecting it beforehand, and he had to be wondering about the petite woman who was so obviously Jocelyns mother barreling, in her own graceful way, toward him. Joss had always found it oddly poetic that she looked exactly like a younger version of Vivian, with no visible genetic trace of the father shed never met or the grandparents who had balked at her existence.
Joss! Recovering quickly, Hugh rose from his chair. Joss could have sworn jeans were against the Waifs dress code, but he looked so good in them, who would complain? What a pleasant surprise.