To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (30 page)

“
Wise enough. The shrink is
a nice guy. His mother is a friend of Hattie’s. He’s a little rough
around the edges, but I guess he’s all right.”

“
All right? Listen to
yourself, Nicci. Since when have you been interested in nice, all
right men?”

“
Since I learned that the
other kind can break your heart. Men like the shrink are safe and
can spare you a lot of pain.” I nodded to the champagne bottle in
her hand. “Do you want to open that?”

Val snatched up a towel
from the kitchen counter. She placed it around the bottle of
champagne. “I wouldn’t put much faith in your aunt’s selection of
men. She’s such a silly bitch. Did she bring those damned stuffed
crabs again?” She eyed the tray of crabs sitting on the counter.
“Anyway, I know the guy you’re seeing. He’s become the new flavor
of the month as far as shrinks go. Everyone who is anyone uptown is
trying to see him. Sammy Fallon is singing his praises all over the
city.”

I was momentarily stunned
like a deer in headlights. “Sammy? Are you sure?”

“
Yeah, Sammy. She’s his
number one patient. From the way she talks about him, I’d say she
is planning on making him her new play toy.” She pulled the cork
out of the bottle.

“
Val, does Sammy know I’m
seeing him?”

Val poured out two glasses
of champagne. “Not yet, but once old blabber bitch out there gets
to her,” she thumbed her nose toward the living room, “then your
secret is out. Although, I’m glad you’re getting even with old
plastic boobs Fallon. All the crap she pulled with trying to take
over Beauvoir Scrap. She’ll probably feel so overwhelmed when she
hears you and the good doctor are an item, she’ll go and have her
thighs sucked out.”

“
That might happen sooner
than you think. Michael invited me to BeBe Comeaux’s party at the
Hilton.” I raised my eyebrows, waiting for Val’s
reaction.

She grinned, appearing
pleased. “Then I will have to make sure I go this year. I’ll want a
front row seat to see the look in Sammy’s eyes when you walk in on
his arm. It seems you and Sammy are continually sharing men. But
this doctor, from what I’m hearing, is only concerned about his
reputation and his pocketbook. Be careful.”

The doorbell tolled. I left
Val in the kitchen, monitoring the spinach dip on the stove. An
ever-expanding Colleen and a scowling Eddie were waiting in the
hallway when I reached the entrance.

“
Colleen,” I said, truly
amazed at her girth. “You’re absolutely glowing.”

“
Thanks, Nic.” She turned
to Eddie. “See?”

“
I still think you look
fat.” Eddie walked off toward the den.

“
He’s just jealous of the
baby,” Colleen cooed, rubbing her belly.

I escorted her to the back
den. Eddie was already being smothered with kisses from Hattie. At
the sight of her daughter, Hattie stopped harassing her son-in-law
and ran to Colleen, hugging her ferociously. Hattie’s world had
always revolved around her only child. Even though they fought
continually, I could see Hattie was lost without her. Seizing the
opportunity to slip away, I made a hasty exit to the
kitchen.

Val was still stirring the spinach dip when
I returned. The bottle of champagne was already half empty.

“
Is your Uncle Lance here
yet?”

“
No, it’s Eddie and
Colleen.” I rolled my eyes. “Colleen looks like a small circus
tent.”

“
Oh, this I have got to
see.” Val handed me the spoon and rushed out of the kitchen, taking
her champagne glass with her.

Any opportunity to revel in
Hattie’s misery, Val was there. The only time I ever saw them agree
on anything, was the day of my mother’s funeral. They both held
each other and cried for hours. Her loss had been the only olive
branch they had ever shared.

I was about to carry a tray
of cookies into the den, when the kitchen door swung open. I was
expecting Val, but it turned out to be Eddie.

“
I’ve been wanting to talk
to you,” he mumbled, his eyes directed to the floor.”I want to
apologize for my behavior at the wedding.”

I tried to slip past him,
but he purposefully blocked the doorway. “It’s all right. I know
you were just coming to the aid of a friend. I never got to thank
you for being so chivalrous.” I nodded to the hallway. “You’d
better get back to your wife.”

“
Wife, ha!
You mean that cow I married. All she does every day, all day, is
eat. She is driving me insane. I swear one day….” His eyes were all
over me. “I love
you
, Nicci.”

I took in a deep breath,
clutching the tray of cookies. This was all I needed. “Eddie,
Colleen is your wife. She’s going to have your baby in a few
months. You can’t go around being married to one person and loving
someone else.”

“
I know I could make you
happy, Nicci.”

I tried to push him out of
the away. “I don’t want you to make me happy, Eddie.”

“
Why not? You don’t think
I’m good enough for you, but I’m good enough for the blimp out
there. Is that it? Or is it that shrink Hattie told me about? She
says you are going to marry that guy. Are you in love with
him?”

I was desperate to get out
of the kitchen, but again he stepped in front of me. I was so angry
with him that I jammed the heel of my right shoe into his foot. He
let out a loud scream.

“
Leave me alone, Eddie!” I
shot past him and out the kitchen door.

When I stepped into the
hallway, Hattie and Colleen were running to see what all the fuss
was about.

“
I heard Eddie scream,”
Colleen fussed.

“
He’s all right.” I calmly
directed them away from the kitchen. “He just stubbed his
toe.”

Thankfully, the doorbell
rang. I gave Hattie my tray of cookies and went to answer the
door.

Waiting on the porch,
holding out his arms to me, was my Uncle Lance.

“
Nicci!”

I warmly embraced him and
was immediately enveloped by his expensive cologne. I pulled back
and inspected his face. He was taller than my father, with striking
dark brown hair and pale green eyes. Wearing a tailored black suit
and red tie, Uncle Lance had classic, chiseled features and always
sported a deep summer tan, even in December.

“
Everyone here?” He peered
into the house. “Hoovers here?”

“
Wait until you see
Colleen, Uncle Lance.” I stood back from him and shook my head.
“But be nice.”

He grinned at me, chuckling
with delight. “Aren’t I always?”

I sighed heavily. It was
going to be a long night.

***

The party broke up around eleven. Uncle
Lance decided to stick around. My father went to bed, leaving the
two of us to clean up in the kitchen.

I noticed during the course
of the evening that Uncle Lance’s green eyes had some new dark
circles beneath them, and his usual lively step appeared slower
than I remembered. I knew he wasn’t working late at the office, but
he was working late somewhere.

He always had that hurried
look in his eyes, and was never calm until he was out the door and
on his way to his next destination. Uncle Lance was a wanderer. He
wandered through marriages, friendships, and life. Now it seemed as
if all that wandering was finally catching up with him.

“
You all right, Uncle
Lance?” I questioned, as he carried a tray of glasses into the
kitchen for me.

“
I’m fine, sweetheart. Just
too many nights out on the town.” He smiled and placed the tray
next to the sink.

“
Don’t you think you should
slow down? Maybe get some more rest? You know, you’re not a spring
chicken anymore.”

He tweaked my nose. “Listen
to you. Stop worrying about me and start worrying about school. One
more semester to go and then you’re outta there!”

I laughed at his impression
of an umpire at a baseball game. “I want to thank you for being so
supportive all these years. I appreciate it.”

“
That’s all right. I’m glad
you’re forging into new territory. Besides, your mother would be as
proud as hell of you. She always intended to go to nursing school
before she married your father. He was dead set against your mother
having a career.” He took the towel from me and started drying the
glasses. “Just give your old man some time, kid. He’ll be excited
as a fox in a hen house when he sees you walk up on that stage and
get that diploma. He just wants you to be close by, where he can
keep an eye on you. Billy always was the overprotective type. You
should have seen him with your mother when they were first married.
In fact, your old man wouldn’t even let me come to visit until you
were born. He was afraid your mother was still in love with me, or
something crazy like that.”

I turned and stared in
disbelief at my uncle. “I never knew that.”

“
Don’t let him know I told
you. He doesn’t like for me to tell you too much about our
relationship with your mother. He says I demean him in your
eyes.”

I handed him a glass to
dry. “That sounds like something Dad would say.”

“
I hear you got a new
fella,” he said, winking at me.

I shook my head. “He’s not
my fella. We’ve just had two dates. Nothing serious.”

“
Yeah right, that’s what
they all say. Your father doesn’t like him. In fact, he told me to
talk you out of seeing him anymore. He said he wasn’t artistic
enough for you. Whatever that means.”

In some ways, Uncle Lance
reminded me a great deal of David. They both had a carefree love of
life and lived it on the edge. They were passionate men, except
that Uncle Lance had never found the appropriate venue for his
passion. David, at least, had his painting.

“
Well, I’m going to the
Comeaux New Year’s Eve party with him. After that, I don’t
know.”

“
Wow, sounds like you’re
really interested in this guy. Careful, Nicci, you’ll have to
curtail your enthusiasm.” He clasped my arms and shook me. “Why are
you wasting your time with him if he doesn’t light your fire, so to
speak?”

“
I’ve given up on the big
bang theory of love. If he’s well mannered, comes from a good
family, and is successful, that’s enough.”

He let me go. “My God! Now
you sound like Hattie. Nicci, don’t ever sell yourself off to the
highest bidder, even if he happens to know how to hold a knife and
fork. There’s much more to marriage and a lifetime together than
what you just described. Anyway, what’s with the sudden talk about
husband hunting? You never talked like this before. What’s up with
you, kid?”

I went back to the dishes
while he hovered over me. “Are you going to dry?” I asked, handing
him another glass. “I’m okay, Uncle Lance, really. Just a little
tired and a little put off by Colleen and Eddie.”

He took the glass from my
hand. “Is the little bastard bothering you?”

“
Not exactly. He was
actually trying to apologize for the night of the wedding. Then he
started ranting about being in love with me, so I drove my heel
into his foot.”

“
That’s why he was limping
around for most of the evening. Sorry I missed that wedding. I
heard, as weddings go, it was the most entertaining of the
year.”

“
Dad told you what
happened?”

“
Hell, half the city told
me what happened.” He paused, pressing his lips together in a
half-frown. “Look, if Eddie gives you any more trouble, let me
know. He has some debts around town that his mother doesn’t know
about. I could have some people lean on him for
collection.”

My mouth fell open. “I
always knew you had underworld connections.”

Uncle Lance playfully
grinned. “This is New Orleans, kid. You ain’t nobody until you know
somebody who can do something illegal for you.”

***

The next morning, Dad and I
were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and waiting for Uncle
Lance to wake up. He always stayed over for Christmas when he
wasn’t married. I felt he just didn’t want to wake up alone on
Christmas Day.

My phone rang while we were
waiting in the kitchen. I checked the caller ID and then I peeked
over at my father. After my uncle’s disclosure the night before, I
debated about taking Michael’s call in another room. After three
more insistent rings, I decided against it.

“
Hello and Merry
Christmas!” Michael shouted when I answered.

There was a great deal of
noise in the background and I could barely hear him. “Merry
Christmas to you. Sounds like a party.”

“
Yeah, my family always has
a big party on Christmas Day. They are all asking about you. I told
them next year you would be here. We have the big dinner deal today
with all the relatives. They’re about forty of us. You’re welcome
to join us.”

“
I’m going over to my
Auntie Val’s. She has a big dinner every year and we always go
there.”

My father was straining his
neck to listen to the conversation.