The 7th Tarot Card (18 page)

“
I can’t. I just can’t do this. That’s all.” Julie was on the verge of tears. She went horizontal, lifted the covers and disappeared beneath them. Carl, still in the doorway, began snorting, then took off running towards us, leaped onto the fallen bolster, and spring boarded himself up onto the bed. With his stubby legs digging furiously, he burrowed under the covers next to Julie, then tunneled upwards until his black and tan muzzle came out of the sheet, next to Julie’s face. All I could see was Julie’s left eye and Carl’s tiny black nose and flared nostrils.

“
What do you mean you can’t do this? I don’t understand. Talk to me.” Mystified, I sat down on the edge of her bed and waited.

S
he heaved another disconsolate sigh, then slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard, pulling the sheet and blanket up around her protectively, like a cocoon. Carl climbed into her lap and stuck his head out of the sheet just below her chin, staring at me, black eyes glittering.

“
What if he doesn’t like me?” Julie said in a timid little girl’s voice. “What if he’s disappointed?”

I
gaped at her in shock. It looked like, dare I say it, actual fear in her eyes. “First of all, he already likes you. Secondly, you’ll knock his socks off in that tight little number you picked up downstairs. What’s this really about?”

“
I don’t know,” she began. “I’ve never dated anyone like him before. He’s hot. I mean really hot. All my boyfriends have been smart, nice men, but I’ve never dated a hunk before. What’ll I say? What’ll I do? I don’t know how to act.”

It was time to bring out the big guns.

“Amanda!” I yelled into the other room.

“
What?”

“
We have a medical emergency in here. Bring alcohol stat.”

From the living room came the sound of
the minibar opening and bottles clinking together. Soon Amanda came rushing through the doorway, arms laden with miniatures and mixes, and dumped them all onto the bed. I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a glass from the sink. Amanda already had a cobalt blue, SKYY vodka bottle opened and poured the entire amount into the glass I held out for her. Then she popped open an orange juice can and gave it a splash. Carl bounded off the bed and raced around the room in circles, dashing right and left, barking and yipping.

“
Here, have a sip of this.” I handed the glass to Julie. She drank the whole thing in one gulp, coughed, and handed the glass back to me.

“
Where are your clothes?” I asked.

“
In the bathroom.”

I grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Now you listen to me, soldier. If you weasel out on this date tonight, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You’re gorgeous, baby, you’re sophisticated. He’s the lucky one. Now I want you to march into that bathroom on the double, and put on that pushup bra and that sexy red cocktail dress you bought today. Anything worthwhile is worth fighting for. Surrender is not an option. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

“
Power to the people!” Amanda shouted, fist in the air. Julie and I both looked at her.

Amanda held her hands up
. “What?”

“
I am feeling a little better now,” Julie conceded as she climbed out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. “Maybe I
can
do this. Thanks, guys.” When she reached the bathroom door, she turned and looked at us over her shoulder. “And by the way, I don’t need a pushup bra.”

Amanda and I
exchanged satisfied looks. Our work here was done.

A knock on the front door reminded Amanda that the dog sitter was overdue, and she went to let her in.
Carl and I followed her into the living room and waited for Julie to get dressed.

While
Molly, the gum-chewing, bubble-blowing dog sitter got acquainted with Carl in the kitchen, Amanda and I sat on the sofa, waiting for Julie to appear. I was just about to go check on her again when my cell phone text message alert sounded. Flipping my phone open, I was thrilled to see a message from Spencer and read it out loud.

Hi Mom, Greetings from China.
Met a cute girl. Think I’m in love. Hate the food. Lost 10 lbs. Next stop S Korea. More later. Sayonara, Spence

P.S. Can you ship my guitar to me? Let me know and I
’ll get you an address in Seoul. Ying Li has a cousin there.

I shook my head.
“You raise them, you take care of their every need for years, then one day, they are just so many words on a cell phone screen.”

“
Spencer’s in love?” Amanda asked as she pulled out her compact and examined her makeup. “Do you think it’s serious?”

“
I would if he wasn’t already in love with someone from Venice, Ireland, and Walla Walla.” I had just popped my phone back into my sequined evening bag when the text alert sounded once more. “He must have forgotten something,” I said smiling as I pulled it out again and flipped it open.

What I read was not what I was expecting.

When are you coming home Victoria? I have a surprise for you.

“
What is it? What did he say?” Amanda asked, noting the change of expression on my face.

I looked up at her
and thought for a moment. “It’s not from Spence. Not sure whom it’s from, but I’m afraid it’s probably my stalker. But then, how did he get my cell phone number?”

Amanda pulled the phone from my hand and
silently read the message. “Maybe it’s from your good-looking neighbor.” For my benefit, she was attempting to make light of it, but I could hear the underlying concern in her voice.

“
No, that’s not his style. Anyway, I have his number programmed into my phone. It would have identified him. This is from an unknown caller.”

“
Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” —Anaïs Nin, French author

*******

According to the ad, Stoney’s Rockin’ Country Nightclub is the hottest country nightspot this side of Texas. The action-packed dance floor included an unobstructed view of the mechanical bull. Conveniently, the club was located on The Strip, not too far from our hotel. Bobby and Dakota had waited patiently in our hotel lobby, but I think they felt it was worth the wait, based on the whoop that came out of Dakota’s mouth when Julie finally appeared in that eye-popping red dress. Bobby looked me up and down and gave me his nod of approval too, in his laid back, country gentleman manner.

“
You ladies look amazing, but we’re just a couple of jeans-wearin’ ole cowpokes,” Bobby drawled. “You do know that we’re going line dancing at a country bar, right?” He winked and focused his smile on me.

Amanda chimed in,
“Yes, we know. Yesterday was such a disaster, we needed to get dressed up and feel like women again.”

Dakota picked up
Julie and swung her around. “Yup, you definitely feel like a woman.” Her face turned scarlet, matching her dress, but she looked happy as a little red clam.

We
made our way across the twenty-five-hundred square feet, hardwood dance floor and found an empty table where Bobby, Dakota, and Julie ordered beers. I went for a Cosmopolitan and Amanda decided on her usual, a Grey Goose martini, straight up with two olives. A live band was playing some rompin’ stompin’ country music and soon we were all up and on our feet, dancing like carefree college kids.

Dakota disappeared for a moment,
leaving Julie alone on the dance floor, then reappeared with a sparkle in his eye and whirled her around just as the song ended. As we headed back to our table the band announced a special dedication of their next song to the red-hot women from Seattle. We screamed and cheered with delight as they began belting out Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman.” I ditched my heels and followed the group back onto the floor, singing and laughing as I tried to learn line dancing from Bobby, who was a pretty fair dancer in spite of his size.

A
fter a couple more songs, my throbbing toe got the best of me, so Bobby and I headed back to the table to take a break. Oddly enough, Amanda took to line dancing right away, and if it wasn’t for her silk pants suit, it would have been difficult to distinguish her from the rest of the cowgirls. Somewhere along the way she picked up a cowboy hat and wore it proudly as she did the Electric Slide, sashaying back and forth, stepping and turning, and shimmying with the rest of them.

Back at the table, Bobby and I
watched the action and chatted as best we could over the pulsating music. The band was in high gear, blasting out Rascal Flatts’s “Me and My Gang” and the raucous crowd sang along. As he leaned into me, Bobby gave me a flirtatious smile and yelled over the din. “You know, Victoria, I really like you.”

“
I like you too, Bobby,” I shouted in reply, feeling growing affection for this fine-looking Texan that had come into my life so unexpectedly.

He moved closer to me
, took my hand in his, and spoke into my ear, “You’re everything a man could want in a woman: beautiful, intelligent, fun to be with.”

Y
es, I thought, keep going. “Thank you, Bobby,” I said dreamily, feeling light as a feather, as if I were floating on a gossamer cloud high above the Earth. “You’re quite a man yourself.” Our heads were tantalizingly close together.

He
rubbed my hand, kissed it softly, and continued, “If it wasn’t for the fact that I just started dating someone, I’d move hell and high water to see you again.”

Ouch
. Sucker punch. I fell off my cloud and landed in a cow pie. Just when I finally met a man of potential, it was all taken away from me in one tragic instant. At least he was honest, which made him even more attractive. He asked for my number, in case anything changed, and feigning cheerfulness, I handed it to him as Amanda returned to our table.

She said she
’d had enough, and I’d definitely had enough, so we decided to call it a night, but we couldn’t find Julie and Dakota anywhere. After an extended search we discovered them in a secluded corner, on an old leather loveseat making out like a couple of teenagers. When she surfaced for air, she told us to go home without her, and she’d be along soon.

Right.

~

“
Where’s Julie? Did she come home last night?” Amanda asked in a raspy voice as she walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee from the pot I had just made. She took a sip and made a face. It was nine-thirty A.M. and since neither one of us was a morning person, we were gently easing into the day. Shortly thereafter, Carl appeared with Henrietta and headed for his water dish.

“
No,” I replied, adjusting the ice bag on my propped up toe. “She should be doing the walk of shame any moment now I would imagine. And what’s wrong with the coffee?”

“
Nothing, just a trifle strong for my tastes. I’ll try one of those miniature creamer things. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out two half and half singles as the front door opened and Julie entered the room, still wearing her red cocktail dress. In her right hand she carried a large, black shopping bag.

“
Ride ’em, cowboy,” I said, unable to resist.

“
That’s very amusing, Vic,” Julie said as she passed through the living area and disappeared into the bedroom. Amanda and I looked at each other.

“
What’s wrong?” I asked when Julie returned, enveloped in her oversized puffball of a robe.

“
Nothing’s wrong,” she replied. “Everything’s right. So right, it’s scaring me.”

“
Then why do you look so serious?” Amanda queried as she brought her coffee cup into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Curling her legs up beneath her, she took a sip and continued, “And what’s in the bag?”

Julie sighed and headed into the kitchen.
“This attraction, or flirtation, or whatever you want to call it caught me by surprise, I guess. I’m not quite sure how to handle it.”

“
So what’s in the bag?” Amanda asked again.

Julie pulled a
sunflower-colored coffee mug from the cabinet and turned to us. “Can anyone ever sustain a long-distance relationship? And look at the guy. He’s a babe. He’s probably besieged by women wherever he goes. Can he be faithful? That’s another question.”

“
Hello, Julie, what’s in the bag?” Amanda asked a third time.

“
Cowboy boots. Dakota bought them for me last night. He wants me to wear them when I fly to Dallas next month to see him.”

Amanda and I exchanged looks.

Julie picked up the coffee pot and filled her cup almost to the brim, then took a careful sip, and changed the subject. “How’d things go with Bobby?”

“
Except for the finding out about his girlfriend part, it was great,” I replied.

“
Sorry, Vic, that’s gotta be rough,” Julie responded. She put her mug down and gave me a look of support.

“
It’s for the best, really,” Amanda interjected. “I mean after all, what’s she going to do—jump off the deep end and move to Dallas? That’s not a rational option for anyone, is it?” Lost in thought, Julie sipped her coffee and didn’t appear to pick up on the not-so-subtle hint from Amanda.

After a leisurely breakfast from room service, we donned
the travel clothes we’d picked up yesterday from the hotel gift shop: a long-sleeved, black T-shirt and khaki stretch jeans for Julie; a tropical print sundress and sea green pashmina shawl for me; espresso brown slacks with a cream-colored cotton knit top for Amanda; and a white, jeweled “Elvis” cape for Carl. How Amanda managed to keep those sunglasses on him is still a mystery to me. We checked out, and after numerous ‘group’ attempts at the slots proved futile and expensive, caught a cab to the airport.