OK, I’ll admit it. Michael Rhodes saved my ass at the Marlowe funeral. And he and Lila together saved my career. Really, it was very unfair for two people to possess such a degree of charm. By the end of the day, they had smoothed every ruffled feather. When we returned to the restaurant for the second half of the funeral brunch, I watched, amazed, as the two of them worked the room, glad-handing like a couple of politicians. I know it was thanks to them that business didn’t slow down after that disaster.
To be honest, I wouldn’t necessarily have minded a bit of a slow down. As I said, Lila’s patronage had caused my business to take off, and I was in demand all over the tri-state area. On the one hand, it was great – my bank account hadn’t looked so robust in years. On the other hand, I was exhausted. I had managed not to double-book again, but I was handling two to three funerals a week by the middle of August. Keeley was amazing, but there were limits to how much she could help, considering she was still in the chorus of Chicago, and had to work around rehearsals and performances.
Still, I knew I couldn’t complain. Or, rather, I knew I shouldn’t complain. Too much work is something of a luxury problem, I know. But, I couldn’t help but hope for good health for the greater metropolitan area for a few weeks. Seriously, New York actually ranks fairly high on the list of healthiest places to live in the US, but you wouldn’t have known it that summer. However, I finally got my wish as August drew to a close. Unexpectedly, I found myself with an entire week off. Now, if this had happened immediately after the stoner hearse driver incident, I might have worried. But since it was a few weeks later, and since I knew it was a case of simply no one of any great fortune dying (I read the obits everyday – creepy, I know), I decided to accept it as a much-needed vacation.
Well, I say vacation. It was more an opportunity to clean my apartment, tackle the huge piles of laundry spilling out of my closet, and take Roxie to the dog park and on some long runs along the Esplanade in an effort to gain her forgiveness for several weeks of neglect. It was on one of those days, as I was leaving the little dog run in Carl Schurz Park that I ran into Michael for the first time since the Marlowe funeral.
Roxie had just enjoyed a half hour of frolicking in the sprinkler, and I was trying to grab her to towel her off, but she was having none of it. Apparently, she decided it would be a fun game to let me get within a six-inch reach and then to spring away, yipping loudly, as if she were laughing at me. Anyone who has dogs knows this particularly annoying trick. Even if Roxie wasn’t laughing at me, a few of the other owners were certainly getting a good chuckle over her antics. And, I couldn’t help but laugh myself at the absurdity of the situation (if you’ve never been to the little dog run at Carl Schurz, it’s really little – more a dog patio than a dog park!). But, in a split second, I was no longer laughing.
Roxie had just sprung away from me again when someone opened the gate to come into the dog park. Most owners are very aware when they open the gate – it’s actually a double-gate, so if a dog gets past one, it’s not likely to get past the other. But, this woman was busy talking on her cellphone, and didn’t seem to notice that her massive handbag was propping the outer gate open while she was trying to open the inner gate with the hand that held her corgi’s leash. In the moment that both gates were open, Roxie slipped past and out into the main park.
I sprinted after her, pretty much body-slamming the oblivious woman out of my way. I saw Roxie pelt across the grass and then up to the Esplanade. At least she was nowhere near the street, and it wasn’t like she could jump into the river, but with all of the runners, bikers, and dogs around, I worried she’d manage to get herself hurt anyway. A few people made grabs for her as she ran by (it was clear that this was a jail break, especially with the madwoman running behind her). But, no one had any luck. That is, until Roxie, who actually looked over her shoulder as if to taunt me, ran straight into a strong-looking pair of legs and bounced right off. She shook her head, as though she were stunned, and that was all the time it took for a pair of large hands to pick her up.
Winded, I came to a stop as well, and watched as Roxie wriggled energetically in the arms of Michael Rhodes. I didn’t say anything at first, because I have to admit I was a bit bemused at the site of this tall, generally officious, man, grinning like a little kid and ruffling Roxie’s fur, asking, “And who do you belong to, little one?” His voice was gentle, and Roxie seemed to respond to it. She ceased wriggling, and instead turned to look Michael in the face. An instant later, she gave him a big wet kiss, setting him to laughing, something I had yet to hear from him. It wasn’t an unpleasant sound.
He was looking at her, not at me, so it wasn’t a surprise that his head jerked up when I said, “Thanks for catching her.”
“Francie!” he exclaimed, still maintaining a firm grip on Roxie. “Is this miscreant yours?”
I nodded. “Guilty.” Roxie began licking him again, and Michael shifted her in his arms before she could get too intimate. “I can take her now,” I offered.
“No, it’s fine. She’s a friendly one, isn’t she?”
I looked at him curiously. “Actually, Roxie doesn’t usually like strange men.”
Michael raised an eyebrow. I’m not sure if it was because of the name or my comment. “Well, she seems to like me,” he said, as Roxie settled more comfortably in his arms, the little traitor. “At least one member of the Fellowes household does.”
This time, my eyebrows went up. I shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Well, you’re being nice to her.”
Michael looked at me, and I almost apologized, but he spoke first. “I guess I deserved that,” he admitted. “Any chance you’d be willing to start fresh?”
“I shouldn’t have said that,” I hurriedly said. “I owe you.”
“No you don’t. I had the ability to help, so I did. That’s all. But, you’re right. I haven’t been very nice to you since we met. I’d like a chance to start fresh,” he said again.
I nodded and he gestured to a nearby bench. We sat and I finally relieved him of Roxie, attaching her leash, and letting her explore at our feet. I looked out over the river, at a complete loss about what to say next.
“So, Roxie, huh?” Michael asked, breaking the tension. “As in Roxie Hart?” He smiled at my surprise. “Just because I know a bit about musical theatre, don’t go jumping to conclusions.”
My jaw dropped ever so slightly. “No, I, that is, yes, that’s how she got her name. My friends got her for me from Miranda Lane. The name seemed fitting.” Or at least, it had seemed fitting after far too many vodka shots.
“Doesn’t she play Velma, though?”
“Wow, you really do know about musical theatre,” I said, with a grin.
Michael shrugged. “Let’s just say that I’m my grandmother’s go-to escort for any number of events around town. Some things are inescapable. And Miranda hosted the Finley Foundation’s charity gala last year.”
Of course, I should have known that. The Finley Foundation Gala was the most sought-after ticket of the charity fundraiser circuit, and always received a ton of press coverage. I had never attended, being too young when my family had moved in those circles, but my mother had always looked forward to it. Every year, in mid-December, Lila transformed the ballroom of one of New York’s many posh hotels into a winter wonderland. Blue Bloods and Celebutantes came from around the country, and even around the world, to attend. I idly wondered if I would get an invitation this year, since Lila had seemed to take me under her wing, as it were.
Belatedly, I realized Michael was waiting for me to speak. “I see,” I mumbled. “Makes perfect sense.”
“Yeah, I can see that it does,” Michael commented. When I looked at him, he was smiling. He certainly seemed to be in a good mood today. I opened my mouth to reply, but then Roxie jumped straight up on his lap, not waiting for an invitation. We both laughed, and any lingering awkwardness passed.
“So,” I said, once Roxie had settled in for a nice back rub on Michael’s lap. “A fresh start, huh? Does that mean you no longer see me as, what was it, ‘unseemly at best and parasitic at worst’?”
Michael actually flinched, his hand coming down a touch too hard on Roxie, who glared at him. “Is that what I said?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and it sounded like he meant it. “I should never have said that. It’s just that I’m—”
“Very protective of your grandmother, I know.”
“Exactly. Anyway, in my defense, I seem to remember that I didn’t say that about you. I said it about your profession.” I just stared. “OK, so that’s much of a defense,” he admitted.
“No, it’s not,” I agreed.
“Sorry.” He smiled as Roxie rolled over on his lap to give him access to her belly. “Really, I am sorry. I can be a bit –“
“Obnoxious?”
“I was going to say rigid, but OK. Truce?”
I looked at him for a long moment. He did seem sincere. I suppose if I were honest with myself, I’d have to admit that I judged him as harshly, and quickly, as he had judged me. Holding a grudge at this point would be a bit childish, I guess.
“Sure, truce,” I said.
“Well, that’s a relief,” he said with a smile. “Otherwise Labor Day weekend would have been unbearably awkward.”
“Next weekend?”
Michael looked surprised. “Yes, at the Hamptons. Didn’t my grandmother mention it?”
“Uh, no.” I would have remembered an invitation to the Hamptons, and that seemed to be what he was talking about.
It was. “Oh, sorry. I would have thought she’d have mentioned it by now. She’d like you to join her for the Labor Day weekend at her place in the Hamptons. If you don’t have other plans, that is.”
“None to speak of,” I said.
“Well, before you jump at the opportunity, I should warn you about one thing.” Michael paused, then added, “I’ll be there too.”
I smiled. “I think we can manage to get along for one weekend,” I offered.
“It’s a long weekend,” he replied.
Now I laughed outright, and said, “I’m willing to take the chance, if you are.”
By now, Roxie had grown bored and had jumped off Michael’s lap. She was now pulling on the leash insistently. Michael noticed and shook his head. “Fickle,” he commented.
I shrugged. “She’s young. Short attention span.” And she’s yet to discover just how nice it can be to have a man’s arms around you, and just sit for hours, I added silently. I felt myself blush a bit at that thought, and rose in some confusion. “But I should get her home.”
Michael rose as well. “It was nice seeing you, Francie,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’ll look forward to seeing you at Grams’s for the long weekend.”
“Uh, yes. Me too.” I took his hand, said goodbye, and started back toward my apartment, my mind in a bit of w whirl. It was all very curious. That had by far been the most civilized conversation I’d ever had with Michael. I knew I shouldn’t attach too much significance to it, but it had felt a bit like flirting, to be honest. And he had seemed genuine in saying that he looked forward to seeing me in the Hamptons. And, I couldn’t help but feel a bit excited about seeing him there too. And that was the most curious thing of all.
