Butterflies in Heat (15 page)

Ralph stopped at a roadside Cuban shack and ordered two strong black coffees for the both of them. "You may not believe this," he said, still remembering New York, "but Leonora used to pimp for me."

"Come on."

"No, it's true. The first night I met her she invited me out to dinner.
It
turned out to be a gay place on the upper east side. When we went in, Leonora whispered something to the manager. We got the handsomest waiter in the house. We met the kid later—by arrangement, of course—in the bar of the Plaza. She'd bought him for me as a present."

"The only thing I find hard to believe is that Leonora would
be
so generous. I thought she was tight."

"It
depends entirely on what she's trying to prove. I thought I'd really found a friend in Leonora although how she figured out I was gay I'll never know." Frowning at the bitterness of the coffee, he downed
it.
"I soon learned that being Leonora's friend left no time for anybody else. She's all consuming."

"Then how did you manage to marry Anne?" Numie was alarmed at the curiosity in his voice.
It
was as if he were enduring the conversation about Leonora just waiting to find out what he really wanted to know.

As
if
detecting that, Ralph looked at him, said nothing, then walked on down the street. At the comer he stopped. "I'm sure Anne forgot to mention it," he said sarcastically, "but she was Leonora's girl in those days."

Numie couldn't believe it! That statement was like a slap in the face. Ralph was telling a lie. Anne wasn't that way.

A new enthusiasm came over Ralph now. "The first time I went to Leonora's apartment, she was living with a broken-down actress named Joan. Leonora was even then getting on in years. She'd long ago tired of Joan. But Joan wasn't about to let go of a good thing."

"But how did Anne fit in?"

"Leonora had developed a passion for girls much younger than herself. I knew she was having an affair with someone and managing to keep
it
a secret from Joan. But that old dyke's suspicions were hard to contain. One day Leonora took me to meet Anne."

Numie swallowed hard. Ralph was telling the truth. He knew it.

"Anne ran a boutique called 'bedtime fun'. She sold mechanical devices to lull a person into sleep. Lace-ruffled pillows that played Mozart concertos, muzzles to fit under the chins of snorers. She even peddled violet-sprinkled chamberpots. We talked and laughed a lot that day, making fun of the gadgets. Anne and I struck it off, right from the beginning."

"Leonora wasn't jealous?"

"To the contrary, she encouraged
it.
She wanted to have Anne around the house more. So she told Joan that Anne and I were lovers. Joan bought the story, too."

"That sounds like a cozy arrangement." A slight bitter edge came into Numie's voice.

"Not really. Somewhere along the way, Anne began to believe it."

"You mean, she really wanted to make it with you."

Again, Ralph cast Numie a strange look. He didn't say anything at first, as if he were trying to figure something out. Then, deliberately and provocatively stalling, he asked "Want a
bollo?"

"What's that?"

"Ground black-eyed peas seasoned with Cuban spices. Deep fried."

"No thanks."

Ralph walked over to a street comer vendor and bought one for himself. Only then, did he answer Numie's question. "Yes, she did. She'd been married once before, and she got the crazy idea that one night with her would cure my liking boys forever. Christ, women are conceited, aren't they? Anne, you see, wasn't really a dyke. But she was ambitious. As
it
turned out, Leonora was financing that sleepy time boutique."

"Leonora just buys people, doesn't she?"

"She's always bought her friends. She was buying me, really conning me into thinking she was going to back my lousy play. But I would have liked her anyway. I had absolutely no money in those days. I was living at Leonora's apartment. Even had to ask her for cigarette money. I'd moved out of my hotel after the first week in New York."

The summer sun was hot on Numie's head. He closed his eyes. "Did you and Anne ever ... ?"

Ralph interrupted. "With Anne I enjoyed the first female companionship in my life. She used to be fun to be with. Bright and in those days supportive. But I never felt the faintest desire to get it on with her. Although we tried once"

"Let's have a drink," Numie said. He had stopped in front of a former private home with a sign reading, "An inexpensive place for people with money."

Out on its deck with a view of the ocean, Numie hurriedly downed a Scotch while sitting in the shade of a giant seagrape.

At the far end of the deck, an elderly woman in a flowery dress was laughing loudly at a joke told by a man in a flowery shirt.

Ralph looked disgusted, "That's Ted Albury."

"Yeah, Numie said. "I've seen his name around town. Who's the granny?"

"Ruthie Elvina, as she calls herself," Ralph said. "Leonora's old girlhood enemy."

Signaling for another drink, Numie said, "You were telling me about your marriage."

"It
was Leonora who kept insisting we get married," Ralph said. "Believe it or not; Leonora's very conventional. We did, finally. But the marriage has been a sham." Ralph drifted off a bit, his eyes on one of the waiters. "Leonora wanted us married, and she got her wish. Things went downhill after that. Once she got that ring on her finger, Anne started behaving like a real wife. I felt trapped. What made things even worse was that Anne was getting a little old for Leonora."

"She sure likes them young, doesn't she?"

"Yes sir! Leonora took up with a little Puerto Rican girl. But she liked Anne and agreed to keep her on as a secretary. I became, 'My caddy, darling', as she puts it."

"And Joan?" Numie asked.

"She found out about Anne and Leonora," Ralph said. "Joan and Leonora broke up. Joan ended up on the street. But now ... " His voice drifted off. The waiter was at his table.

"Another drink, Mr. Douglas?" the boy asked.

Ralph eyed him provocatively. "Yes, I need servicing."

"Look," the boy said angrily, "I told you the last time you were in here, I'll serve you drinks—nothing else." He turned and walked away.

"That son of a bitch is not going to have a job tomorrow," Ralph said defiantly. "Albury probably offered him more money."

The second round of drinks was brought by a different waiter.

At the end of the drink, Numie had enough courage to ask a troubling question. "Is Leonora all there?"

"Very much so," Ralph answered without hesitation. "She's very practical, especially about business. Though you'd never know it the way she carries on. Of course, she's got a ripe fantasy when it comes to her own charms and talent. But when a dollar's involved, she's got the mentality of Internal Revenue."

"How does Tangerine fit in?" Numie asked.

"Another caddy. Her duties are whatever Leonora wants them to be. Leonora's been known to change her mind in mid-sentence. Why do you want to know all these things?"

"I'm trying to get on as Leonora's chauffeur," Numie said. "Right now I'm shacked up with Lola La Mour. That's not where I'm at."

"You and Lola?" Ralph asked, puzzled. "That's disgusting!"

"It is for me," Numie said. "But I'm hanging around trying to meet the Commodore. Hope to work up something with him. In the meantime, can you swing something with me and Leonora?"

"It
depends ... " He paused. The sun outlined the harshness of his face. "You did give me a helping hand the other night, and you delivered as promised on the island. Sure, I can get you a job with Leonora. No sweat, I do the hiring and firing anyway. But you have to clear it with her."

"She practically kicked me out the other day," Numie said.

"Leonora always pulls these stunts," Ralph said. "They're perfectly harmless. She's probably forgotten all about it now. That is, if she still remembers you."

"I was busted," Numie said. "Yellowwood picked me up. Leonora had given me one of her favorite cigarettes and like a fool I carried it off with me. Some workout I got at that goddamn jail."

"I know," Ralph said. "Yellowwood's a sickie. But a real nice guy when you get to know him."

"No thanks!" Numie said. "I called Leonora from the jail and asked her to help me. She didn't know me"

"Why should she?" Ralph asked. "That didn't mean she doesn't like you."

"I don't understand," Numie said.

"Leonora doesn't want to be understood," Ralph said.
"If
she thought anybody understood her, she'd slit her wrist. Better yet, she'd slit theirs. I'll set up an appointment for you this afternoon. I'd like you to be her chauffeur."

"Great!"

"Only thing is .." Ralph paused.

Numie frowned. Now, the catch.

"You take your orders from me," Ralph commanded. "You report to me. You check everything with me—regardless of what she tells you to do. I feel I can trust you. Also, if you drive her around the island, I want to know where you take her, who she talks to. The whole thing. Okay?"

"I can play that game," Numie said. "You really handle Leonora's affairs, I see."

"Yes," Ralph said, "Anne and I have to look after her." There was a long pause.

Ralph smiled, as if he knew all along what Numie was thinking. "Okay, as far as Anne is concerned, you're free to sock it to her."

Numie couldn't conceal his startled look. Was this another trap? He smiled. "I always like to get the husband's permission. "

Ralph seemed perfectly serious. "She's horny as hell most of the time," Ralph said. "And she doesn't get anything in town--only when she goes back to the mainland. Which isn't often."

"I think she's very attractive," Numie said. "If you don't mind."

"Mind?" Ralph asked. "You'd be doing me a favor.
If
she's getting laid, she won't be picking so many fights with me."

"You're doing me a favor, too, in more ways than one" Numie said. "I don't like being in anybody's debt. The problem is, the only thing I've got to pay you back with right now is the old bod. And you made it clear you don't like seconds."

Ralph looked at him, his eyes traveling from head to toe. Then he glanced at the waiter who had spumed his offer. "This one time," he said, "I'm going to make an exception to my rule. Let's go back to the hotel, the place where you found me."

"I'm not welcome around there," Numie said. "They have my possessions locked up, and I can't pay the bill."

"You'll get them all back," Ralph promised. "The guy at the desk has been on my payroll for the past six years."

"Fine," Numie said.

Back at the beach, Numie looked at the volleyball players as he was getting into Ralph's sports car. So young and so healthy. Everybody ... having fun. Shoulders sagging, he sat down on the hot leather seat.

Ralph pulled out of the parking lot.

The deep blue sky was shining brightly, and puffy cottonball clouds were bouncing around overhead. But Numie wasn't noticing. His eyes were glued on the street in front of him.

The first thing he focused on was the weather-worn sign of the Dry Marquesas Hotel.

Regretful, unfulfilled, and somehow betrayed, Numie was in a dark mood. Something was welling within, but the message was unclear. It was like a shipwrecked sailor stuffing a call for help into a bottle and tossing it into the sea.

Could he really expect an answer?

In the main hallway at Sacre Coeur, Anne was extending her hand. "You are persistent."

"That's how I got so far in the world," Numie said. "At least I'm in better shape than the last time I called."

An awful moment passed, then she said, "I understand jails are rough. Particularly the Tortuga jail." Somehow she had managed to throw off his attempt to give her guilt.

He decided to persevere. "I needed your help. I was desperate."

"I hardly know you," she answered, turning away. "Besides, Leonora calls the shots around here."

She opened the glass doors to the parlor. A gray smell of death was in the room. All the perfumed scents of Leonora were lingering in the comers.

"Think
I'll
have any luck with Leonora today?" he asked.

"I certainly do," Anne said, inspecting the dying leaf of a rubber plant. "She's in a much better mood—or was five minutes ago. With Leonora, one never knows." She twisted her fingers at her waist. "At least my husband was impressed with you."

He couldn't understand this sudden possessiveness in her voice when she spoke of Ralph.

"First, the watch," Anne continued. "Now calling Leonora from the factory to make an appointment for you." She paused, a wry smile on her face. "It's nice to know you're good at your work."