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There was a knock on the door, and then Zeke walked in. Mimi nearly swallowed her tongue. Toby ran around in excited circles barking, and Cameron did a double take. “You look like a spy,” he said in awe.
“Thanks.” Zeke winked at her and Mimi tried to find her misplaced tongue.
“You look very…elegant,” she said for lack of a better word. The truth was Zeke looked beautiful. A white tux and black pants were enough to make any man look good, but on Zeke it was devastating. He held an unlit cigar in one hand.
“Don’t worry,” he said, following her gaze. “It’s a prop. I don’t intend to smoke it. Not tonight, anyway.” Then he grinned and she had to practically roll her tongue back inside her mouth.
She tried to compose herself by picking up the white clutch bag that held her lipstick and cell phone. “Ready when you are,” she said cheerfully.
Zeke placed his elbow out, leaving Mimi no choice but to accept his escort. She placed her arm around his. “Here’s looking at you, Kid,” he said, imitating Bogey’s rough and sexy voice.
Oh, boy. Mimi had a strange feeling that tonight was either going to end up very badly. Or very, very good.
*~*~*
Bunco was at Kitty and Steve Pappas’s house. Last year, Shea and Moose Masterson had hosted and Kitty had gone into labor a few weeks early. Her water had broken in the middle of a game. Luckily for everyone, Nate Miller had been there and he and Lauren had driven with Steve and Kitty to the hospital with the rest of the group following in their cars. But Kitty’s labor had been fast and furious, ending with a birth on the side of the road. Nate wasn’t an OB GYN, but he was a doctor and he’d delivered babies in his residency, so all had ended well (except for Kitty not getting her epidural, of course).
Everyone was laughing about it now. Including Steve, who Mimi had been certain at the time was going to pass out from stress. Baby Amanda was now a year old and the apple of her daddy’s eye.
They
were taking a break from playing and Mimi had a hard time keeping her gaze off Zeke. He weaved in and out of other people’s conversations seamlessly, laughing at their jokes and telling a few of his own. He was charming and he fit right in. As he should. These weren’t just her friends, they were his friends, too. What had started out as a potentially awkward night was fast becoming one of the most pleasant evenings she’d had in a long time. It was like the two of them had never spent time apart.
“I’m so glad to see you and Zeke together again,” Pilar said. She wore a long white gown with gold sandals and bracelets on her upper arms. Nick, her husband, was totally into the role of Marc Antony, although he looked more like a gladiator than Roman nobility.
Mimi took a sip of her pomegranate martini, the signature drink of the night. “We’re here together, but we’re not together,” she told Pilar, who made a face at the news.
“I wish you two would get your act together. First you’re separated, then you’re not and then you are. Make up your mind already!” Pilar said good-naturedly, although Mimi suspected she’d already had one too many martinis.
Shea and Moose (or rather Adam and Eve) caught the tail end of the conversation. Shea wore a tan leotard covered in leaves. Moose, who didn’t get that nickname because he was a small guy, was also covered in foliage. Mimi just hoped all those leaves kept hidden what they were supposed to.
“Make up your mind about what?” Shea asked.
“Nothing,” Mimi said brightly, trying to steer the conversation off her and Zeke. “Did I tell you the festival committee hired Fatback Bubba and the Rattlesnakes?”
Everyone began talking at once, congratulating Mimi on what a good job she was doing as mayor. She felt herself flush. She hadn’t meant to toot her own horn, but she had to admit, things were coming together better than she ever dreamed possible.
After she’d signed a contract with the band and given them their twenty-five percent deposit, things had taken off. Doreen was in charge of the festival Facebook page and they’d gotten over a thousand new “Likes” the first week alone.
Zeke had managed to convince any police officers who wanted to provide off-duty security to forego pay this year in exchange for community service points—a system he created to reward cops who gave back to the community. The city council was meeting next week to approve a final budget, and everything for Allie’s wedding was taken care of. The invitations were in the mail, the flowers were ordered, a menu had been decided on for the reception and Mimi had even had time to get a dress. Since Allie didn’t care what she wore, she’d picked out a lime green above the knee halter dress that had a similar feel to the dress Allie had bought.
Even Claire seemed happier. Most days, anyway. Every once in a while Mimi thought she detected a sadness in her eyes, but then it would pass. Cameron’s soccer team was in first place in the district, and even Toby didn’t seem to drool so much anymore. It was downright creepy how smoothly life seemed to be going.
The only dip in the road, of course, was her marriage.
Maybe she was being too hard on Zeke. Maybe she expected too much of him. Who was she to tell him how to feel about his own father’s abandonment?
After a long break, they resumed playing Bunco. She and Zeke weren’t winning, but they weren’t losing, either. The night ended with Shea and Moose as the big winners and Moose threatening to “begin molting.” Much to the guys’ disappointment (and the girl’s relief), with one steely eyed glare from Shea, however, he quickly changed his mind and kept all his leaves in place.
Mimi was still laughing when she and Zeke got in the minivan to go home. The night was warm and he’d shed his white tuxedo jacket a while back. He carefully folded it and placed it in the van’s middle seat.
She took off her hat and began rubbing her scalp. Her hair which was still stiff from all the hair spray, felt like it belonged to someone else.
Zeke put the car in gear and glanced at her. “You okay?”
“I’m great. It’s just, my hair feels like a Brillo pad.”
“Have I told you how beautiful you look?” he said quietly.
