Waiting for Mr. Darcy (18 page)

Gabby, Alicia and Lauren tentatively made their way over to the buffet table.

Lauren leaned over Alicia's shoulder. “Are we in the right place?” she whispered.

“It looks like my parents' place, but there's something going on here.” Gabby was leery.

The doorbell rang.

“Ladies, I think we just fell down a rabbit hole,” Alicia whispered as she picked up a plate.

Gabby was filled with dread. She hoped it was Ian and Emily.

Terrence Talbot walked in. “I hope I'm not late for tea,” he announced.

Alicia turned to Gabby. “I think I see a stop at the Levain Bakery and a big chocolate chip cookie in your future.”

Gabby looked at Terrence, who was all prepped out in chinos and a polo shirt. “I think I see two chocolate chip cookies.”

* * *

Gabby, Lauren and Alicia looked as if they'd been given detention after they'd sat through an hour of Terrence's discussion on color mixing and the difference in how flat, semi-gloss and high-gloss paints were manufactured. Fortunately, Mr. B fell asleep less than ten minutes after Terrence began his lecture, but he was the only one allowed to nod off. Bunny, on the other hand, kept the conversation afloat as she tried to entice Gabby to talk.

“Gabby, didn't you just have painters at your place?”

“Yes, Mother. I had my office re-painted.” She sipped her tea.

“Did they use my paint? A lot of professional painters prefer ours.”

“I can't say I checked what brand of paint they used. I just wanted them to use the colors I requested.”

Lauren nearly gagged on her lemonade.

“Oh my, are you all right, Lauren?”

Lauren cleared her throat. “I'm fine, Mrs. Blanchard. I think it just went down the wrong way.”

Alicia covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

Mrs. Blanchard got up. “How would you girls like to go outside and get some air? The gardens are so pretty, and you can relax a little by the pool.”

Lauren and Alicia practically leaped from their seats at the mere mention of an escape.

“That sounds good, Mother.” Gabby started to get up.

Her mother stopped her. “No, Gabby. You stay here with your dad and Terrence. I'll take the girls.”

Gabby reluctantly sat back.

“You can join us in a little while.” Lauren gave her a halfhearted smile as she and Alicia followed Bunny out of the room.

Terrence got up and sat next to Gabby. “Alone at last.”

Gabby's skin crawled. “We're not exactly alone.” She looked over at her father.

“I know, but your dad is fast asleep.”

“Gabby?” Mr. B said softly.

“Yes, Daddy?”

Mr. B yawned. “You're still here. Can you wheel your old dad to the sunroom?”

Gabby leaped at the chance to escape. “Sure, Daddy.” She quickly got behind his wheelchair. “If you'll excuse us, Terrence.”

“Sure. Can I help?”

“No, thank you, young man. You stay and enjoy one of those desserts. Bunny will be along soon to keep you company.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gabby wheeled her father out of the great room.

“Thanks, Daddy. You saved me again.” She stopped to kiss his cheek.

“Don't mention it, sweetie. You know it was a little bit of self preservation, too.”

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

“The man was boring enough to put me to sleep. If I'd listened any longer, he might have induced a coma.”

Gabby laughed.

* * *

Bunny gave Lauren and Alicia a short tour of the gardens before one of the staff came out to get her for a telephone call. In the meantime Lauren and Alicia sat under an umbrella by the pool.

“When you said that watching paint dry was more scintillating than a conversation with Terrence Talbot, I thought you were kidding.”

“I told you. Obviously the man is in love with the sound of his own voice. Otherwise he would have shot himself a long time ago.”

“I'm surprised someone else hasn't beaten him to it. Has he ever been married?”

“Terrence Talbot has been married six times.”

Lauren's face fell. “Get out of here. He convinced six different women to marry him?”

“It's more like his bank account convinced them.”

“He's paying alimony to six women?”

“I think they each got lump sum settlements, which I'm sure is more like workman's compensation, since they'll never get the time back they wasted listening to the finer points of custom paint colorization.”

As Lauren cracked up, her custom tone on her cell let her know she'd received a text. She read it and rolled her eyes.

“That doesn't look like good news. Who was it?”

“Ken.”

“What's he texting you for?”

“He wants to try to become a desk commentator for
NFL Weekly
.”

“And what does he expect you to do for him? He has an agent.”

“I told him that, but it hasn't stopped him from trying to get me on board.”

“He's got some nerve.”

“Tell me about it. He even sent Patrick to my office to plead his case.”

“I know you told him no way.”

“I did. He understood, but Ken's another story.”

“He's used to getting his way.”

Alicia's cell phone rang. “Excuse me.”

“Sure.”

“Hello?”

Nathaniel was in his backyard. “Hello, Alicia, how are you?”

She grinned. “I'm good, Nathaniel, how are you?”

“I would be better if I were in the Hamptons with you.”

“That's sweet of you to say. It was a last-minute thing.”

“I know. Harrison told me you're on the Blanchard estate.”

“Indeed I am.”

“Are you staying overnight?”

“Oh no, we're heading back this afternoon.”

Nathaniel laughed. “You answered that fast.”

Alicia laughed. “I know. It's not like I'm trapped in some hell hole in Tijuana.”

“Gabby is,” Lauren interjected.

“Lauren is with you, too?”

“Yes. She and I are out by the pool.”

“Where's Gabby?”

“Poor thing is trapped with the dullest man alive.”

“That's kind of harsh. Who is it?”

“Terrence Talbot. Do you know him?”

“The paint prince and I went to the same boarding school. And you're right, he is the dullest man alive.” He paused. “So are you doing anything tonight?”

“No.”

“I thought that maybe you could help me sharpen my culinary skills. I bought your latest cookbook, and I got the stuff to make short ribs, potatoes with butter and thyme and sautéed spinach.”

Alicia was touched. “Well, I think that's fair.”

“Do you think that makes it a date?”

“Yes. What time?”

“Maybe around seven.”

“Okay.”

“I'll see you then. I can't wait.”

“Neither can I.”

“Bye, honey.”

“Bye.” She closed her phone.

Lauren grinned.

“What?”

“Look at you. It seems Gabby and I aren't the only ones with a glow,” she teased.

“Maybe so, but my glow is strictly vertical.”

“I know it's been a while for you, Alicia, but you can get this glow horizontally, too. Hell, you can get it sideways and even upside down.”

“Are you trying to scare me? I'm nowhere near ready to get naked and assume the positions.”

“I'm only teasing, Alicia. I'm only teasing. Besides, you'll know when you're ready to make that step. In the meantime I'm pretty sure Nate is fine with your schedule.”

“He told me we'd go as slowly as I need to.”

“See? So what are you two doing tonight?”

“We're cooking at his place. He wants to make something from my cookbook.”

“Oh, that's precious.”

“I know. It's not exactly dinner with a five-star chef, but it's good.”

“It is nice to be with a man who can cook.”

“I bet. Are you doing anything together this weekend?”

“It's crazy with the restaurant today, but he did take Sunday off for us.”

“Nice.”

Lauren looked back at the house. “Do you think Gabby was able to escape?”

“With Mr. B in there I'm sure she was able to get away from Terrence. However, Bunny is another story.”

* * *

Though she appeared calm and pleasant, a highly annoyed Bunny walked into the sunroom with Terrence.

“Excuse me. Terrence has to take his leave.”

“Oh really?” Gabby tried to disguise her relief.

“Yes, there's an emergency at the company I need to handle,” Terrence said.

“There's a paint emergency?” Mr. B. appeared perplexed.

“It's a transportation issue and I've got to get down there to see what's happening with the trucks.” He turned to Bunny. “Thanks so much for inviting me.”

“You're welcome. We have to do it again.”

When he walked over to Gabby, he looked like a man who wanted to plant a kiss on her, so she quickly extended her hand to shake his and thus headed him off at the pass. “It was nice seeing you, Terrence.”

He was obviously dejected, but he went with it and shook her hand.

“It was nice seeing you, too, Gabby.”

Mr. B. spoke up. “Drive carefully now.”

“I will, sir. Thank you.” He turned to Gabby. “Maybe we can get together sometime soon.”

“That would be nice,” her mother answered for her.

“If you'd say my goodbye to Alicia and Lauren, I'd appreciate it.”

“Consider it done.” Gabby smiled.

Bunny waited to see if Gabby would make a move towards Terrence. She didn't. “I'll walk you to the door, Terrence.” Bunny and Terrence left.

“You know she's going to let me have it when she gets back here, right, Daddy?”

“She's your mother, but you are entitled to be your own woman. Don't forget that.”

“I won't, Daddy.”

“Gabrielle Blanchard, what were you doing in here while we had a guest?”

“Daddy wanted to be moved to the sunroom. And we had guests, Mother, plural. Or did you forget about Lauren and Alicia?”

“Of course not.”

“I asked her to bring me here and keep me company, Bunny.”

“You left Terrence by himself. Have you no manners?”

Gabby was equally vexed. “Of course I have manners, Mother, and I really came out here to be with Daddy, and not to be blindsided with a setup.”

“What if I tried to set you up? Terrence is a good catch.”

“But I told you I was seeing someone and still you couldn't resist.”

“How serious could it be if you won't even tell me who this man is?”

“It's serious enough that I want to keep it to myself,” she huffed.

“Oh, good Lord, it's another artist. Hasn't this family had enough of those people?”

“Bunny, don't do it,” Mr. B warned.

Gabby rolled her eyes. She knew who her mother was talking about. Her older brother Dick had married Elena Green, an artist who grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Yet despite the fact that Elena studied art in Europe and was a well-known and respected sculptor, Bunny could never get over the fact that her eldest son had looked outside the proper society girls and married someone who was barely middle class. It was one of the attributes Gabby disliked the most about her mother.

“You know, Mother, Dick and Elena have been happily married for twenty-eight years, which is more than I can say for some of the women you wanted him to marry who are now bucking to be the next Liz Taylor.”

“That's not true. Joan Webber has only been married once and now she's single.”

Gabby couldn't believe her ears. “Joan Webber came out, Mother.”

“What do you mean she ‘came out'?”

“I don't mean as a debutante. She came out of the closet. That's why she got divorced. She's a lesbian.”

“Oh you're just saying that.”

“No, Bunny, even I know about that,” Mr. B added.

“But that's not even the point, Mother. You don't trust us to make the right decisions for our own lives. I did it your way once and it didn't work out. Now I want to choose someone I want to be with based on how I feel and not how it looks to other people.”

“We don't live in a bubble, Gabby. Our choices matter.”

“That's where you and I differ, Mother. I think happiness matters.”

“So you are with an artist.”

“What if he is an artist? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You have a gallery. He could be using you to get ahead.”

Gabby laughed. “He doesn't need me to get ahead. He's talented enough to make it himself.”

“Sometimes you are so naïve,” Bunny huffed.

Gabby had had enough and stood up. “It's getting late and the girls have plans. We'd better be heading back before the mass exodus begins. If you'll excuse me.” She left the room.

“You just can't stop yourself, can you, Bunny?” Mr. B said as he shook his head.

“Richard, you know I only want the best for our daughter.”

“Then leave her alone and stand by her choices and decisions. We've been over this time and again. Stop with the parade of mind-numbing suitors.”

Bunny laughed. “You think they're mind-numbing, Richard?”

“This last one talked to us about paint for nearly an hour. What do you think?”

A smile washed over her face. “And how do you know that? You fell asleep less than ten minutes in.”

“Correction, my love, I closed my eyes. His tone was so monotonous it was like trying to fall asleep when the emergency broadcast system is on.”

She laughed and then kissed him. “You were never boring, my love, and you're still filled with surprises.”

“Thank you. Now do us both a favor and let our daughter run her own love life. She might be our baby, but she's forty-six years old.”