Annie's Rainbow (18 page)
Authors: Fern Michaels
“Bring me a big one with lots and lots of stuff in it. Add some cherries and don't forget the umbrella.” The waiter nodded and smiled.
Annie laughed when he returned with a carved-out pineapple, filled to the brim, that required two hands to hold. A bright pink umbrella stood at attention in a mound of whipped cream. “Absolutely decadent,” she giggled. “Is there a phone around here I can use?”
The waiter brought a phone with a long cord and set it on the little table next to her elbow. She tipped him generously, then charged the drink to her room.
“Good night, ma'am.”
Ma'am.
“Good night.”
Ma'
am
not
miss
. Suddenly she felt a hundred years old. She didn't realize how tired she was until she took several hits from the pineapple drink. She started to relax immediately. Elmo was old. Tom was old. If she could still have babies, then she was young.
Ma'am.
She hated the way it sounded. She was a young woman in Paradise with no man in sight.
What
are
you doing,
Parker?
Do you ever think of me? Do you hate me for
all
those things
I
said to you?
“Good night.”
Ma'
am
not
miss
. Suddenly she felt a hundred years old. She didn't realize how tired she was until she took several hits from the pineapple drink. She started to relax immediately. Elmo was old. Tom was old. If she could still have babies, then she was young.
Ma'am.
She hated the way it sounded. She was a young woman in Paradise with no man in sight.
What
are
you doing,
Parker?
Do you ever think of me? Do you hate me for
all
those things
I
said to you?
Annie looked around. It was so peaceful here. The low walkway lighting twinkled at her from the lush shrubbery. It occurred to her as she looked around to wonder if there was any crime in this peaceful setting. She shrugged when she realized she was alone in the pool area. Maybe she should go upstairs and drink in the privacy of her room. She hated to move. There was something out of sync, but she couldn't put her finger on it. “I wish I had a lei around my neck. If I don't accomplish anything else while I'm here, I'm going to learn how to make my own.” That's what was out of sync: The air wasn't flower-scented. She sniffed. Chlorine. Of course, they'd probably serviced the pool before closing it for the night. “It's not fair,” she muttered as she slurped from the pineapple.
Annie kicked her shoes off and fired up a cigarette. Alone in Paradise with a drink she couldn't pronounce and a cigarette. Even Elmo didn't want to be with her. The dogs had gone willingly. Alone. One way or another she'd always been alone.
Annie started to cry. What was it Tom always said? Life's a bitch, then you die. What a happy thought. She sobbed once, then blew her nose just as a young girl dressed in the skimpiest bathing suit Annie had ever seen and spike-heeled sandals walked past her, a bottle of Budweiser in her hand. She backed up when she heard Annie's sob.
“What's wrong? Are you okay?”
“Nothing's wrong. I'm all right. I don't know, all of a sudden I started feeling sorry for myself because I'm all alone,” Annie blurted.
“That won't get you anywhere. See, that was your first mistake. You should never come to a place like this alone just like you should never go on a cruise by yourself. I'm on my honeymoon. We got sooooo much money for our wedding that Joe and I decided to come here instead of going to Disney. I haven't seen a single guy since I got here two days ago. I still look âcause it's fun. Joe looks, too. It's okay to look, but you can't touch. Stella Kaminsky,” Stella said, swigging from the beer bottle. “Listen, honey, if you want you can pal around with me and Joe. It's not like we're on a real honeymoon you know. We lived together for five years before we decided to get married. I'll bet we could fix you up. Frizz up your hair, some darker makeup, a better-looking dress, one that says, let's get it on. You know the kind. You're kind of dressed like a den mother or something. Is that a real Chanel bag? Of course it isn't. Someday I'm going to get a real Chanel bag and sport around with it. I guess yours isn't real 'cause, if it was, why would you be staying in a dump like this?”
“Annie Clark. Is this place considered a dump?” she asked.
“Honey, did you take a good look around in the daylight? It's downright shabby. If you want to snag a man, you need to go to some fancy place. This is okay for me and Joe because we have each other. With a little work you could probably get something going. I'm free tomorrow morning if you want me to help you. How long are you staying?”
“Ah ... I'm leaving tomorrow,” Annie said.
“Some guy dump you and you came here to get over it?”
“Something like that,” Annie said in a strangled voice. “Are those breasts your own or did you have implants?”
Oh, God, did I just say that?
Oh, God, did I just say that?
“Straight from the factory. Model number SJ264. Joe paid for them two birthdays ago. Saucy, he calls them. I think they're perky. What do you do?”
Saucy. Perky.
Uh-huh.
“I sell coffee.”
Uh-huh.
“I sell coffee.”
“Coffee's good. So what went wrong with the guy that dumped you?”
“He didn't like hearing the truth. The truth as I saw it. It really wasn't any of my business, but I thought I had the right to voice an opinion. I don't know if I'm sorry or not. It's getting late. Guess I'll go upstairs. It was nice-meeting you, Stella.”
“Listen, I'll be out here by the pool around ten. If you need to go somewhere, I can drive you. We learned to get around in just two days. Joe and I rented a car. If you want to hang out, fine. I'll wait for fifteen minutes. Howzat?”
“That's . . . that's fine.” Annie opened her bag and stuffed the contents into the pockets of her shorts. “Here,” she said. “Consider it a wedding present.”
“Jeez, you don't have to do that.”
“Sure I do. Nice meeting you, Stella. By the way,” she called over her shoulder, “it's a real Chanel, not a knockoff.”
“Jeez. Thanks. Wait till I show this to Joe. These babies cost
thousands
. ”
thousands
. ”
Annie smiled all the way to her room.
The first thing she did when she entered the room was check the phone's red message light. It didn't glow. “Damn.”
Annie showered, washed her hair, mixed herself a drink from the portable bar, and carried it to the small balcony along with the phone. At one o'clock she would call Tom since he always got up at six. Elmo and the dogs were probably halfway home by now.
The minute the hands on her watch pointed out the hour, Annie placed the call to her brother. She half expected to hear a sleepy, groggy voice. Instead she heard concern when she announced herself. “Annie, where in hell have you been all day and night? I've been calling you every fifteen minutes?”
“I guess I blew it, Tom. I came on to Miss Kiki like a pile driver. She was and is going to raise the price. I gave her an ultimatum. Who gives a good rat's ass anyway. She said she had to talk to her brother. Ask me if I care. By the way, Elmo and the dogs are headed home. He said at his age he wants to be around his stuff. The first condo had a flood, and they moved us out. Somebody I met, Stella, just told me this place is a dump, so I guess I'm going to leave tomorrow. I'll call you when I decide where I'm going. You don't need to worry about me. I'm a big girl. Elmo wants to work on the bins for the coffee we're going to sell, providing we find someone who will sell it to us. Now, tell me, why are you so worried? Why were you calling me every fifteen minutes?”
“If you'd just shut up, I'd tell you.”
“By the way, how are you?”
“I'm fine. I'm really fine. I walked around the house three times today. Yesterday, I mean. Kiki Aellia has been calling here every fifteen minutes. She's been calling all over the island trying to find you.”
“I don't think she tried very hard. I called the Whaler several times, and they said there were no calls for me. None were forwarded. There were no calls here at the Monarch either. Did you believe her?”
“She was certainly agitated with your deadline of five o'clock. She wanted me to intervene because she couldn't get hold of her brother. It seems his old housekeeper retired along with her husband, and now Mr. Grayson just has someone to come in and clean one day a week. Kiki says he goes fishing and snorkeling on his days off, which seem to be four days out of every week. Don't quote me on that. Maybe you should call her in the morning.”
“Maybe I shouldn't, Tom. How hard could it have been for her to send someone to the Whaler or here to tell me whatever it was she wanted to tell me?”
“Listen to me, Annie. I think Kiki Aellia's situation with her brother is just like ours but in reverse. I would never make the kind of decision you asked her to make without consulting you. This is just a guess on my part, but I don't think she has the authority to make such an important decision. She'll probably lose her job, sibling or not, if you pull our business from them. It isn't her fault she couldn't reach her brother. She did call me thirty-three times. That alone shows she values our business. You're pissed, and I can't say I blame you.”
“She knew I was coming here, Tom. She said, get this, she carved thirty minutes from her schedule to meet with me. Thirty whole minutes. No one picked me up. I had to take a taxi both ways, and no one gave me a lei. That really pissed me off. I hate people who are so full of themselves. If I ever get like that, slap me good.”
“Give me the phone number where you're staying before we hang up. What are you going to do today?”
Annie rattled off the phone number. “When I hang up I'm going to go to bed while you eat your breakfast. Then I might meet Stella and check out this island. On the other hand, I might move to a better location. Then again, I might head for one of the other islands. Don't call me, I'll call you. Night, Tom.”
“Wait a minute, Annie. What should I tell Kiki if she calls again?”
“Tell her whatever you want. I couldn't care less.”
“Wise-ass.”
“Takes one to know one,” Annie shot back before she hung up the phone.
She picked up the phone and dialed the front desk. “This is Annie Clark in sixteen-o-four. Don't put any calls through until I tell you otherwise. By the way, were there any calls for me today? No? Thank you.”
Parker Grayson rolled over on his side just as the first streaks of dawn crept through the louvered doors. A moment later the phone shrilled on his nightstand. Who the hell was calling him at this hour? He rolled over again to reach for the phone. He barked a greeting that would have intimidated anyone but his youngest sister Kiki.
“Slow down, Kiki. What do you mean where was I all day? I don't ask you where you go on your days off. You said you could handle things. I believed you. I still believe you. What the hell happened? Slow, Kiki, real slow. Speak in English. I'm listening. Annie Clark is here on the island. You didn't tell me she was coming. I thought we did business with Tom. She what? And you didn't call me! What do you mean she yanked her business? We have a contract. Contracts are binding. I never, ever, told you to raise the price, Kiki. That's a joint decision. Now look what you've done. She said what? I didn't think they were ready for the coffee sale. Tom said they were just in the thinking stages. Let me understand this, Kiki. You just blew ten million dollars a year because you didn't like what she said and the way she said it! I think you need to tell me what it was you said first. I know this lady. Don't leave anything out.”
Parker groaned as he listened to his agitated sister. “You said you carved out thirty minutes from your schedule. What the hell schedule are you talking about? Didn't you send the van for her? For Christ's sake, you didn't even give her a lei! We always entertain our customers. I spend the whole day with Tom when he comes over here. Why would the
owner
of the Daisy Shops be any different? You should have stood on your head for her. What the hell does a Chanel handbag, whatever the hell that is, and a straw hat with a ribbon have to do with anything? Stop crying. You're supposed to be a businesswoman. No, I am not going to help you. You created this
womanly
thing, now uncreate it. I never heard of such a piss-ass way of doing business in my life. You were greedy. We do business fairly. I warned you about that in the beginning. We do not cut corners, and we do not cut deals that benefit only us. The customer is our main concern, and the Daisy Shops are half our business. You seem to have forgotten that. Papa must be spinning in his grave over this one. I'm going to hang up now, Kiki, before I
really
get mad.”
owner
of the Daisy Shops be any different? You should have stood on your head for her. What the hell does a Chanel handbag, whatever the hell that is, and a straw hat with a ribbon have to do with anything? Stop crying. You're supposed to be a businesswoman. No, I am not going to help you. You created this
womanly
thing, now uncreate it. I never heard of such a piss-ass way of doing business in my life. You were greedy. We do business fairly. I warned you about that in the beginning. We do not cut corners, and we do not cut deals that benefit only us. The customer is our main concern, and the Daisy Shops are half our business. You seem to have forgotten that. Papa must be spinning in his grave over this one. I'm going to hang up now, Kiki, before I
really
get mad.”
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