Words Unspoken (54 page)
Ev felt his mouth turn upward softly.
I’m ready, Lord.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 , 1987
Lissa could not stop yawning. The line of people hovering outside of the bookstore continued to grow. When she had arrived at five a.m. the line was already wrapped around the parking lot. Now, at nine, the bookstore had put up rope partitions, and people walked back and forth as if they were waiting for the most popular ride at Disney World. The whole town of Chattanooga must have decided to buy this book for Christmas.
Lissa had driven by herself in her yellow Camaro along East Brow Road and down the winding Ochs Highway to the bottom of the mountain, gotten on I-75, and traveled three miles until she arrived at the exit for this shopping center. She had done it alone, calmly, her new license in her wallet inside her purse.
Thank you, Mr. MacAllister.
Thank You, God.
When at last the bookstore opened and she walked inside, she felt her stomach lurch. Stacks and stacks of hardbound copies of
Driving Lessons
lined the floor.
I miss you, Ev MacAllister.
A flustered store manager was explaining something urgent to his staff. When the salesclerk handed Lissa a copy, she opened it and slowly flipped several pages. She stopped at the dedication page and read,
In memory of my sister, and for my daughters, with all my love.
She put the book in the back of the yellow Camaro and drove onto I-75 toward Clover Leaf Stables.
________
“I don’t suppose you’re carrying the new novel by S. A. Green?
Driving Lessons
?”
Evan came from around the counter in The Sixth Declension and shook Silvano’s hand. “Are you kidding? We just got in about a hundred copies. Greece and Rome and Latin always make way for S. A. Green.” Evan laughed good-naturedly. “I wonder if someday we are going to figure out who that woman is.”
Silvano shrugged. “I don’t think it really matters, does it? I mean, the message is the same, even if we never see the face.”
Evan looked at him carefully. “You’re a sly one, Silvano. I don’t know if I should trust you.” He tossed a copy of the latest edition of
Persona
magazine on the counter beside the cash register. “I think you know a whole lot more than you let on in this article. I think you know who she is.”
“Why would you say that, Evan? I think you know me well enough to realize that if I had discovered the true identity of Miss S. A. Green, I wouldn’t keep it to myself. I’d tell the whole world and make a bundle of money off of it.”
Evan laughed. “
Si.
That’s probably true, my Italian son.”
________
Lissa walked into the bookstore still wearing her riding boots and jodhpurs. She greeted Evan and then headed to the back, where Silvano was seated at the little round table.
He felt a little fluttering in his gut, seeing her for the first time in so long. “
Ciao
, Lissa Randall.”
“
Ciao
, Silvano Rossi.”
“Thanks for showing up. I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
She sat down beside him. She looked confident and in control. “I never turn down free espresso.”
Bella Lissa.
“How’d you get here?”
“In the little Camaro. Alone.”
“Fantastico!”
“Yeah. Yeah, it is. I got my license just as soon as they took my cast off. It’s the least I could do for Mr. MacAllister.”
“I wanted to come to the funeral, but I didn’t think it would be appropriate.”
“You were right.”
“How is Annie doing?”
“Managing—as she always does. Relying on some deep inner strength.” She cleared her throat.
“I’m so sorry for all of you.”
Lissa stared off toward the shelves of picture books of Rome.
There were so many things he wanted to tell her about all that had happened in the past six weeks.
Go slowly, Silvo.
“Well, Eddy Clouse fired me.”
Lissa turned back to face him, relieved, it seemed, to change the subject. “That’s exactly what you deserved. Actually, what you
deserved
was a huge kick in the seat of the pants to send you all the way back to Rome.”
Now she was Lissa Randall, back in form.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I told him everything, you know.”
“You only did what was the very least to be expected.”
She was not making this easy.
“Did you get another job?”
“I’m working on it. Several promising interviews with big-name publishers—”
She had narrowed her eyes and was shaking her head.
“Okay, I’ll level with you. I might have one interview next week. Until then, I’m helping Evan out.”
“Now I believe you.”
“Did you see the article in
Persona
?” He pointed to the magazine lying on the table.
“Yeah. I read it while I was standing in line for my book this morning. ‘An Essay on S. A. What I learned from America’s favorite anonymous writer. By Silvano Rossi.’ It wasn’t bad.”
“They paid me for it. Nothing like what I could have made if I’d told them what I really knew.” He glanced at her. “The magazine was disappointed at first, but after reading what I wrote, they decided it was worth publishing, even if it wasn’t what I had promised.” He shrugged. “I’ll send the money to Mamma. We’ll see if it helps get my family over here.”
Finally, Silvano saw Lissa’s face soften. She met his eyes.
“So what made you change your mind? Why’d you decide not to tell the world about the MacAllisters?”
“A beautiful woman begged me not to.”
Lissa rolled her eyes. “You Romeo wannabe.” She looked away quickly.
He wanted to reach for her hand, to squeeze it and tell her everything. But it was not time. “There were a number of very convincing reasons, Lissa. And it was obvious that I needed, as both you and S. A. Green said, to pay attention to coincidence.”
She looked at him. “Thank you, Silvano.” Now her tone was soft and sincere, and her lovely brown eyes sparkled with kindness.
“It was very strange, Lissa, but all of a sudden, on the way back to Atlanta in the middle of that crazy night, it became very, very clear what I was supposed to do. And then it almost seemed easy. Someday I’ll tell you the whole story.”
“Someday I’d like to hear it.”
“So can I get you an espresso?”
“Of course. Why did you think I stopped by?”
“I was hoping it was to tell me you don’t hate me anymore.”
“Dream on, Italian.”
She laughed, almost seemed at ease, but then she changed the subject abruptly.
“The girls got back from the Latin competition. One of them made it to the finals.”
“A trip to Rome.”
“Maybe. And I’m starting courses at a community college in January. And filling out applications for a ‘real college,’ as Daddy says, in the fall. He’s thrilled, needless to say.”
“
Brava
, Lissa.
Brava
.” Once again he was tempted to take her hand. Once again he refrained. His heart was hammering steadily. He toyed with the magazine, got up his courage, and said, “Lissa, do you think there’s any way that if I called you up and asked you out to dinner, you might say yes?”
She narrowed her eyes, leaned across the table, and whispered, “I think it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
________
Down, down, down
. Ted reviewed the long list of damages in his mind: separated from his wife and children, living with his parents, the house on the market, the Mercedes sold, Lin Su back at work, his appearance before the arbitration board two days ago. Even now, it made him break out in a cold sweat just to think about it. He wouldn’t wish that experience on his worst enemy. He had felt like he was standing in front of them stark naked, trying desperately to find a fig leaf to hide behind, but every question and every remark left him feeling all the more exposed. Exposed! Humiliated! Ruined.
The verdict: fired from Goldberg, Finch and Dodge, his broker’s license suspended for two years, and he was responsible to pay back an incredible amount of money that he didn’t have.
But even that wasn’t the worst. The worst was the court decision: illegal activity, misdemeanor, forgery. Six months in jail.
Lin Su had taken the news with amazing stability. She had found a job, found a baby-sitter to help with LeeAnne and Sammy on the days Ted did not keep them, and found an apartment to lease when the house sold. Lin Su was in control.
Still, his last conversation with her had given him a tiny bit of hope.
“When you get out of jail,” she had said, the mistrust less apparent, “I think there will be room for you too.”
He’d lost her for now, but there was a glimmer of hope for later.
Now he was on his way to see Stella Green for the third time this month. What more could she take away from him?
Jerry Steinman met him at the entrance to the club and shook his hand briefly. Ted had not expectd to see Jerry again so soon after the last humiliation.
“Hello, Ted. Come with me. She’s got a table in a little private room over here.”
A room reserved for still more bad news
, Ted imagined.
Stella rose when the men entered the room and stuck out her hand. He was always surprised by her powerful handshake. Business as usual. She motioned for them to be seated and picked up a stack of papers.
“Ted, I asked Jerry to come today to be a witness of this conversation. He has been kind enough to devote quite a bit of time to sorting out the mess you left my accounts in. He’s also explained in painstaking detail my losses and what I can expect from Goldberg and from you.”
Jerry pushed his glasses back on his nose.
Ted cleared his throat. “Miss Green. Please let me say again that I am deeply sorry for my mistakes, for my illegal actions. I take full responsibility for them and intend to restore in time what I have lost through fraud. I—”
“There’s no need to grovel, Ted,” Stella interrupted him. “You have already given me this little speech.” She set the papers down, and a sly grin came to her face.
This is it. What else can she do to me?
“All of that is now in the past. Forgiven. What is in the future, your future,
our
future, is the reason I asked you here today. Jerry has approved.”
Ted winced and nodded. The batty old lady was being her enigmatic self.
“Just so we’re clear and up front, the Stash Green Cash Foundation—the one you tried to destroy—seems to be doing just fine. The giving will be down, of course, but I’ll still be writing a sizeable check to the Swiss account—totally legitimate—at the end of the month. The charities— all of them also legitimate, I might add—have not suffered as much as I feared. By the time you get out of jail …” She looked him straight in the eyes.
Ted felt his face redden. She was enjoying rubbing salt in the wound.
“… I expect the foundation to be stronger than ever. However, I am tired of dealing with all of these things. To put it simply, Jerry has agreed to manage the foundation for me.”
Ted glanced at Jerry, who nodded.
Stella continued. “And, Ted, when you are … free to work again— next July, I believe—I would like to hire you on as Jerry’s consultant. I’ll pay you a very modest salary the first year. If you handle things right, I’ll double it the next year. And then, if you’re still doing things the right way, when you get your license back in two to three years you can start investing again. And perhaps take over the management of the foundation.”
Ted wiped his brow with a handkerchief and looked back and forth at Jerry and Stella. “Why in the world would you do this for me, Miss Green?”
“Call me Stella.”
He swallowed hard. “Stella.” It came out as a squeak.
“Because I knew a man, a fine man, who made some bad mistakes when he was young and kept going down until he hit rock bottom and tasted complete humiliation. But once everything had been taken away …” For one brief moment Stella faltered, and a look of vulnerability washed over her face. She recovered quickly. “He came up against himself and had to decide, Am I going to start making good choices? He did change, and went on to live a very worthy life. He started using his mind and his talents for good.
“And I want you to answer those same questions with a yes, Ted Draper. I want to give you another chance. I think you’ve got it in you, and I’m willing to take a risk.”
“You’ll take a risk on me?”
Now Stella and Jerry looked at each other, and she gave a tight smile. “Yes, you heard me correctly. I’m putting my options on you, Ted. It’s a high risk, but I don’t think it’s speculative. I think it will prove to be a sure thing.”
Ted took a napkin and wiped his mouth, even though he had not taken a bite of anything. He placed the napkin back in his lap. His hands were shaking. “I, I don’t know what to say.” Without thinking he reached across the table and clasped Stella’s hand.
She did not pull it away.
“Thank you.”
________
Katy Lynn dialed her sister’s phone number by heart. “Hey, Janelle. Am I calling too late?”
“Are you kidding? The kids are like little dervishes with all the things you sent. They’re living on a sugar high. They won’t be in bed for another hour. They like counting all the gifts under the Christmas tree. You cannot keep spoiling them like this!”