Accidental Love (43 page)

"That sounds like a good idea, Mother. Be right back." Ronnie turned and moved through the crowd as quickly as she could. To her unpleasant surprise, she ended up face to face with Michael.

"Ah, fancy meeting you here," he said, smirking at his own joke.

"Don't you think the Eddie Haskell routine was a bit much, Michael?"

"Oh please, that's just my natural charm."

"Whatever." As much as she enjoyed a good verbal fight, this was neither the time nor the place for it. "Have you seen Susan?"

"Last time I saw her she was out in the kitchen with that friend of yours." Raised voices caught both their attention.

"….Bullshit, John. I told you to sell when they were at forty-eight and an eighth. It's not my fault you didn't do it." People quickly moved away from the two angry men, forming a circle.

"You're my broker. You're supposed to take care of these things for me. Do you have any idea how much money I lost?"

"You knew they were talking merger." Ronnie broke through the circle at that moment. "If you don't act fast, you lose out."

"Like Sally Ryan?" The executive took a deep breath. Old girlfriend's names were never a good sign.

"You knew she didn't have a date for the dance. It's not my fault I asked her out before you did."

"You knew I wanted to go out with her. She was all I talked about that year."

Ronnie knew this was going to escalate quickly into a classic Cartwright scuffle. She stepped between the fighting brothers. "ENOUGH! You are supposed to be here mourning Tommy's death, not fighting over some girl you lost fifteen years ago." An intense throbbing began behind her eyes, the sign of a relative headache. "John, you're not in high school anymore. Get over it." The men exchanged foul looks and stormed off in different directions. A murmur of words and then everyone else returned to their previous conversations. Ronnie ran her fingers through her hair forcefully.

"You okay?" a soft voice from behind her asked.

"Yeah." She turned to see familiar green eyes looking up at her with concern. "Really, Rose. I'm fine."

"Just making sure. I heard you yell."

"Just a typical Cartwright get-together," Ronnie sputtered. She caught a flash of orange-red out of the corner of her eye. "Uh oh." Susan and her mother were approaching fast. "I see Mother found you," she said once her sister was within earshot.

"I told you she hadn't left yet," Beatrice said. The look in Susan's eyes made it clear she wished she had not been found.
Oh boy, this is gonna be a good one,
Ronnie thought to herself. "I was just telling your sister that I want to go through Tommy's things. I assume you still have boxes up in the attic?"

"What, from when he lived here? He took what he wanted and I threw out the rest."

"But there were trophies and ribbons and awards…?"

"If he didn't take them, they're gone."

"And it never occurred to you that I might want those things?" Beatrice stood directly in front of her eldest child. "How could you be so inconsiderate?"

"Mother!" Susan exclaimed. Rose stood there quietly, her attention focused on the twitching muscle in Ronnie's jaw.

"Tomorrow I'll go over to his apartment and see if he kept anything."

"Don't bother. Your sister will take me over and I'll look for myself." The sisters exchanged glances. Susan shrugged her shoulders. This was the first she was hearing of it as well.

"I think you should wait a few days, Mother. His belongings aren't going anywhere." Ronnie was worried about what they would find there.

"Nonsense. Tomorrow will be fine."

"I don't think tomorrow…"

"Veronica Louise!" The twitching became a solid clench. Rose moved closer to her friend and discreetly placed her fingertips against Ronnie's back. The muscles were bunched and tight, another indication of Ronnie's tension. She pressed slightly and began rubbing in small circles.

"Fine, Mother. Susan and I will take you to Tommy’s tomorrow."
Great, now I have to go over
tonight and check things out.
She leaned almost imperceptibly into the gentle touch of Rose's fingers.

"Honestly, I don't know why you make things so difficult, Ronnie. On this day of all days you have to be stubborn." Beatrice dabbed at dry eyes with her handkerchief. "I ask a simple thing. I just want something to remember my son by and you have to be difficult."

"Mother…"

"No Susan. I asked one simple thing of her. Just because she couldn't get along with her brother is no excuse for upsetting me."

Ronnie's back was now a solid band of tension and it took her a moment before she could relax her jaw enough to speak. The gentle circling motion on her back increased in pressure.
You think
I'm about to lose it, don't you?
She cast a sideways glance at her companion. Seeing the look of understanding and support in those green eyes was enough to keep the sharp remark from passing through her lips. Instead she looked at her mother and nodded. "I didn't mean to upset you. I guess we're all still in shock." Ronnie knew she was caving in, but today was not the day to make a stand with her mother. "I had better go check on things. Excuse me." With her back to her mother, she gave Rose a loving smile and left the room.

Entering the kitchen, Ronnie was pleased to see that the only person there was Maria. She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She took a long swallow before speaking to her housekeeper. "Do you have any aspirin? I have a pounding headache and I really don't want to go out there again."

"Been talking to your mother again, haven't you?" Maria opened a drawer and pulled out her purse. "I'm sure there's some Tylenol or Motrin in here."

"Sorry," Susan said as she entered. "She's in rare form today." The two sisters stood near the end of the island. Maria found something to do in the laundry room, allowing the two women their privacy.

"When was the last time you were at his place?" Ronnie asked before tossing three pills into her mouth and taking several gulps of water.

"This one? I've never been there. Why would I go to his apartment?"

"We're going to have to go there, you know. Who knows what it looks like or what things he may have laying out." She put the bottle back into the fridge. "Can Jack keep an eye on the kids?"

"I'm sure he can." Susan looked at her watch. "We're going to be leaving in a few minutes. You want to meet at Tommy's place around six or seven?"

"Seven would be better. Who knows how long everyone is going to stay." Ronnie looked out the glass door at the rainbow of cars that littered her driveway. "At least another hour or two."

"And then there's Mother."

"Oh no." Ronnie shook her head. "You are
not
going to leave her here with me. When you go, she goes." She cast a glance at the living room. "Speaking of which, what's she up to?"

"I don't know. After you walked away she kept going on and on until Rose asked her something about Tommy and his trophies. I saw that as my escape and took it." The redhead leaned in and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. "Personally, I don't think she's really interested in his trophies."

Ronnie smiled with pride. "She isn't. She's trying to keep me from committing matricide."

"Did you want to bring her along tonight?" Susan offered.

"No. Hopefully we won't be there long." She paused for a moment, then added "but it was nice of you to ask." She sighed and rapped her knuckles on the countertop. "I suppose I can't hide out here forever."

"I'll take Mother with us when we leave. You won't have to suffer much longer."

"How did I ever survive eighteen years with her?" Ronnie asked, shaking her head in bewilderment. "I can't get through one day without wanting to tell her off or wring her neck."

"Oh, that's easy," the redhead smiled. "I was there most of the time."

"That's right, you were." Ronnie tapped an elegant finger on her chin. "I remember you." She dodged a playful shove. "Weren't you the one that ran into Dad's car with your bike and blamed me?"

"Um…well that was a long time ago, Ronnie. Weren't you the one that forgot to unlock your window one night and had to sneak back in through mine?"

"Ah, true." She wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders. "But weren't you the one…" she began as they walked back into the living room.

***********************

Ronnie put the key in the lock. "What's that smell?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. Susan shrugged her lack of an answer and pulled a scarf out of her pocketbook. The door opened and the executive flipped the switch. "Son of a bitch," she breathed. Clothes were tossed everywhere, the couch cushions were on the floor, the coffee table and every other horizontal surface was covered with beer cans and trash. Stale beer and unwashed clothes mixed with another unidentifiable smell.

"Oh my God," Susan said as she took in the scene. "This is disgusting."

"Sad is more like it," Ronnie muttered, picking up a small square mirror she found lying on the counter. The telltale razor blade was resting next to it. "It's a good thing we came here first." She showed her sister the mirror clouded with a fine white powder. "There is no way we can have Mother see this place looking the way it does." Susan nodded in agreement. Ronnie tossed the offensive mirror onto the counter and unzipped her jacket. "I guess we'd better look around for some boxes and trash bags for all this shit." To her surprise, the redhead, who was adverse to any kind of domestic work, did not argue.

"I'll put some music on," Susan said, kicking a path to the stereo. "Let's see, how does this one work?" She hit the power button and was immediately blasted with an insanely high decibel of noise.

"SHUT THAT THING OFF!" Ronnie yelled while covering her ears. A second later there was peaceful quiet again.

"How could he stand listening to it that loud?"

"Damned if I know. Maybe the drugs affected his hearing. Come on. Let’s get to work. I want to get home at a decent hour." The kitchen shared a half-wall with the living room, allowing the two sisters to talk while packing up the garbage. Ronnie lifted the lid to the trashcan in the corner. "Oh God." She covered it up quickly. "I think I found out where that smell is coming from," she choked, taking a few steps back.

"I can't smell that anymore," Susan called from the far side of the living room. "All I smell is beer." She moved a cushion to find a half-eaten pizza glued to the carpet. "Oh Ronnie, I don't want to touch this."

"I'll tell you what. I'll clean up whatever it is you're looking at if you get these dishes out of this…um…I guess you'd call it water." She reached closer with the tips of her fingers but just could not bring herself to touch the slimy liquid. "I know I'm not touching it."

"We should have brought gloves." The redhead picked up an empty beer case and started throwing bottles into it. "So things are good between you and Rose?" she asked casually.

"We get along fine, yes." Ronnie arched an eyebrow. "Susan, I told you…"

"I know, I know. You are not lovers, you're just friends." The younger sister waved her hand dismissively. "I give up trying to figure it out." She put the case down and walked over to the counter that separated the living room and kitchen. "She gives me the same story you do but you don't act like friends."

"We have a lot of work to do here, Susan."

"Ronnie, look at me." When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "I don't care. I've watched the way the two of you act around each other."

"And what did you see?"

"What do I see?" Susan gave a small smile. "I see you happy in a way I never thought you would be." She laughed at her sister's blush. "Come on. You asked the question. Really Ronnie, it's obvious to me that you're hooked on her. As for how Rose feels about you…" The dark-haired woman's head snapped up. "She is not Chris."

"No she's not," the executive agreed emphatically. "Rose has never asked me for anything. Whatever I've given her, it was because I wanted to."

"I see that," Susan replied. "You don't think I've been watching? You take more days off than you ever have and you don't go anywhere. I don't see any new cars, although I didn't see your Porsche around. Did you sell it?"

"Yes." The truth was, as soon as it was repaired, she had signed it over to Hans to sell at whatever price he could. "She doesn't want cars or expensive things. She doesn't even have a driver's license. She's not trying to get anything from me."

Susan held her hands up. "You don't have to defend her, Ronnie. I was just saying I didn't see any of the things that would tell me she was using you and I don't believe she is. I like her."

"You like her?" Surprise showed on her face. That was a rare admission from her younger sister.

"So…it would be okay with you if we were…a couple?"

"I'm not going to pretend that I understand why you want to be with a woman. It doesn't make any sense to me." She raised her hand to keep her sister from speaking. "But it is your life. If Rose makes you happy, then that's all that matters. So yes, it's okay with me if you two are a couple." She watched Ronnie come from behind the counter and happily accepted the hug. "It's your life, Sis. If Rose is the one for you then don't let anyone keep you apart," she whispered into the dark hair.

Ronnie pulled back until they were an arm's length apart. "What made you change your mind? I remember you calling her everything but a reincarnation of Christine."

"I was wrong," Susan shrugged. "Hey, it happens." She brushed her hands together.

"I'm making her my secretary," Ronnie volunteered. "I've been bringing work home for her to do and so far there have been no mistakes." She smiled softly. "She's got a good head for figures too…and organized?" If anything, the smile grew wider. "You know how bad I am about sorting my email?"

"You mean she straightened out that mess you call your inbox?" Susan shook her head. "I remember when you asked Laura to do that. I thought she was going to quit on you right then and there."

"Rose did it without even being asked," Ronnie said proudly. "That's how she is."

"It sounds like you are very lucky, Sis. Now enough of this sensitive chat. We have work to do here. You wanna try and get the stereo to a volume that doesn't shatter glass?"