Deadly Dosage (28 page)

     “Yes, but I wanted to make sure you were okay
with the nasty weather we’ve been having. I went into the ditch this morning. My
car is okay though.”

     “Wow. Alan said it was bad. Our power went out last
night and it’s not back on yet. I stayed home, but I’m doing some work from
here. I can access The Cloud and download information.”

     “That’s a little too high tech for me. Any tips
for the day?”

     “Sell Google and buy gold.”

     “Swell. Now give me a few grand to play with.” I
bit into my sandwich.

     “Hear from Sam since his surprise appearance
Saturday night?”

     I hadn’t told her about our reconciliation yet. I
wasn’t sure how she’d react, but I didn’t think it would be favorable.

     “Spill it, Sunny. I know something’s up when you
get quiet.”

     I could never fool her. I looked at the roses on
my desk. They were opening nicely and made me feel really guilty about being
with Lloyd last night. Maybe that’s what Sam had intended when he sent them. If
so, it was working.

     “Sunny?”

     “Sam and I agreed to date again, though not
exclusively.”

     “So, he talked you into taking him back,” she
said with frustration.

     “I know. I know. I didn’t plan it. It just sort
of happened.” A smiled formed on my face remembering the intimate details. Of course,
Lloyd nosed ahead in the race last night, which brought an even wider smile to
my face.

     “So, are you taking him to Spring’s wedding
then?”

     “That’s too far in the future to think about. We
could have a big blow up by then.”

     “Or not.” She sighed. “I’ll never understand you.
But I know from experience there is no point arguing with you. I guess I’d do
it my way too. We’re all stubborn. Just like Dad.”

     “So will you go out with Donna and me?”

     “When?”

     “Friday night. We can grab a bite to eat and do
some bar hopping.”

     “Sure, if the weather is better.” She paused a
moment. “Sunny, what does Donna think?”

     “She thinks I’m nuts.”

     “God bless her. I didn’t have the heart to say
it.”

     “Hey, got to go. Only five minutes to finish my
pathetic lunch.”

     “Call me before Friday. Don’t work too hard.”

     “Okay. Bye.” I hung up and gazed again at my
roses. I leaned over and inhaled their sweetness, repeating what I had done
earlier this morning with the flowers in my apartment.

     I shook my head to clear it and finished my lunch
with a minute to spare.

At two o’clock, I walked down the hall with my notepad
and pen. It was for appearances only. I passed Mrs. Dixon on the way and she
stopped me halfway to my destination.

     “Hi, money lady,” she said cheerfully. She wore a
flattering navy blue pantsuit with a floral rayon blouse. Her hair was styled
perfectly.

     “Hi, Mrs. Dixon. You look pretty today.”

     “Just got my hair done.” Every Tuesday and
Thursday, she had an appointment with the visiting hair stylist. In the last
three years, she only missed two appointments when the stylist didn’t show up.
“I’ll be stopping by later. I need to take $40 out to reimburse my daughter.”

     “I can write her a check from your account,” I
said helpfully. Fortunately, The Hawk went to the bank yesterday to replenish
the resident funds, so I had cash available.

     “No thanks. She wants cash. You know kids.”

     Actually I didn’t and it bothered me how most of
the residents’ kids wanted payment for every item they bought, even birthday
gifts.

     “Okay then, I’ll be expecting you later.”

     She continued her walk. I knew she was going to
visit in the Medicare wing. Sometimes she seemed more like a volunteer than a
resident.

     Donna spotted me as I entered the room and waved
me over. I sat next to her just before Barbara, the scheduler, took my seat.
Barbara was nice but she weighed at least three hundred, loose pounds that
tended to spill over her chair onto yours. Not to be mean, but it was rather
disgusting, since she smelled like spoiled milk.

     “A second later,” Donna said, her eyes on
Barbara.

     “Sorry. Stopped by Mrs. Dixon on the way in.”

     “I got a family coming in at four tonight to sign
paperwork. They stood me up on Sunday. I wasn’t pleased to say the least.”

     “I talked to Autumn. She’s on for Friday night.”

     “I still need to call Chuck, but he won’t care.
He prefers going with the guys anyway.”

     The room filled quickly with nurses, aides and
the medical records clerk. When the clock hit two, the director of nursing
began her speech.

     Forty-five minutes later, Donna and I were
completing the test. We helped each other with a few answers, since we were
talking more than we were listening. As a treat, we each were given a small,
sample size bottle of hand sanitizer.

At 3:15, I gave Mrs. Dixon her money. She wanted it in
specific denominations, but I couldn’t meet her demand. I asked Shantel if she
had two fives for a ten and she laughed. I told Mrs. Dixon I was sorry but she
took the offered bills.

     “So, Shantel, where are you meeting Leroy?”

     “Oh a little piano bar over where I live, a relic
of the late forties. Plays soft jazz.”

     “Meeting him alone?”

     “Oh hell no, my sister Loreen is coming along
with her husband. He stands around 6’4” so I don’t think Leroy will be trying
anything.”

     “Then I shouldn’t worry about you?”

     “Shucks no. Should I worry about you?”

     “Seeing Mr. Harper’s son tonight.”

     “Why you little vixen. Girl, you got all the
bases covered.”

     I gave a quick smile. “Well, time to fly. Have a
good time.”

     “Yeah, you too.”

     I went back and grabbed my handbag and coat
before I headed to the time clock. Two hours until Lloyd picked me up. Enough
time to make myself pretty if I made it home alive.

Chapter
35

Here we
go again, I said pulling into my parking space. Sam’s familiar ride was
glistening under the street lamp. I walked around to the passenger side of his
vehicle to get to the mailbox with my arms filled with grocery bags. I noticed
the key scrap was gone. I balanced one bag on my knee as I opened the box. No
mail. Good I thought. It wasn’t like people sent me postcards and love letters.
I shut the door and made my way up the stairs that for once, were salted.

     The
door opened before I reached it. Sam took the bags from my hands and I closed
the door.

     “Thanks.
I thought my arms would far off.”

     “Saw
you coming.” He carried them into the kitchen for me. “What do you think of the
paint job?”

     “Excellent.
I can’t even tell it where it was scratched.”

“Friend of mine did it for cost. If I can take your car one of
these days, I’ll have him fix it. The price is right.”

     “Sure.
Maybe I could have Brandi follow me in the morning to his house, and then drop
me off at work.”

     “Would
make more sense if I just dropped you off at work and took the car. He could
probably finish that job in a day.”

     “Well,
okay, if you don’t mind. I’ll pay your friend for his time.”

     “Don’t
worry about it. It’s on me.”

     Brandi
walked into the room. “Hi, Sun. Buy anything good?”

     “Quick
trip. Lunch meat, fruit, cookies, stuff like that. Not much. Hey, before I
forget, you owe me five hundred dollars for rent and utilities when you get
your check.”

     “I
get paid next week, so I’ll write you a check. Boy I won’t have any money left
over. They expect me to buy some more clothes by next week to kind of advertise
them in the store. Gets expensive.”

     I
addressed Sam. “So, where are you two going tonight?”

     “Brandi
wants to see,” he looked at her, “what was it again?”

     “Gosh,
I just told you. That one with that goofy comedian that looks weird. Mr. Beano
or something.”

Sam
looked at me for help. “Sounds great,” I said giving him a grimace. “Have fun.”

     “You
want to come along?” she asked. “We can get that large bucket of popcorn.”

     “Thanks,
but I have a dinner date. If you don’t mind, I have to get ready.”

     It
quickly became apparent that Sam did mind. “Maybe you and your date would like
to join us?” he asked suddenly.

     “He
won’t be here for another hour.”

     “Movie
isn’t until 7:30,” Brandi added. “We could join you for dinner. Nothing to eat
here anyway.”

     “Well,
I don’t know what Lloyd has planned.”

     “I’ll
ask him when he gets here, okay?” Brandi was beaming and Sam looked triumphant.

     My
stomach turned. “If you want,” I said with a weak smile. “Need to change.”

     I
backed out of the room and went straight to my bedroom. Talk about awkward. I’d
been on many double dates with Sam but on all occasions, I was
his
date.

     In
ten minutes, I was dressed in a snug fitting, forest green, stretchy sweater
with dark blue, low-rise jeans and brown leather cowboy boots.

     While
my curling iron heated, I swiped on some black, waterproof mascara, eyeliner,
and my new sparkly gold eye shadow. I finished with a pale pink lipstick, just
a shade darker than my natural lip color.

When the ends of my hair were curled, I turned off the
curling iron and sprayed my hair lightly. A quick pit stop and I was ready to
go.

     On
my way into the living room, my cell phone rang and I dug in my handbag for it.
“Hello?” I said, putting my handbag down on the couch.

     “Sunny,”
Lloyd said apologetically, “I’m sorry for the short notice, but I’m going to
have to reschedule our date for tonight.”

     I
sat down on the couch.

     “I’m
down in Illinois. Ice storm came through two hours ago, when I was heading back
north. So many cars were going off the road that they closed off part of the
expressway. There was a five car pileup just south of Libertyville.”

     “Are
you okay?”

     “Yeah.
I managed to get off in time.”

     “Where
are you now?”

     “I
just pulled into a spot in front of Ethan’s condo. I’m spending the night
here.”

     “Okay.
I’m glad you got there safely.”

     “Is
the weather bad in Wisconsin too?”

     “Nasty
this morning. I spun into the ditch on the way in to work. No damage. The roads
were all salted on the way home.”

     “As
long as there’s no damage to you.”
     I smiled. “I’m fine.”

     “Can
we reschedule for tomorrow night? I think the Wednesday night special is steak
fajitas.”

     “That
works for me.”

     “Same
time?”

     “Sure.
Oh, what about the orange juice?”

     “I
gave it to him. Said he found something odd with the first one, and was glad he
had another sample to confirm his findings. Could be just an anomaly, but he
won’t be sure until next Monday when the test results come back and comparisons
are run.”

     “Did
he give you any clue about his findings?”

     “No.
Said he wanted to wait to say anything until he was completely sure. Listen, my
battery is just about dead. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

     “Okay.
Be safe driving back. Bye.”

     “Bye.”

     I
hung up and returned the phone to my handbag. All dressed up and nowhere to go.
I looked up at Sam and Brandi. “Looks like I’m free to go to that movie if you
don’t mind a third wheel.”

     “Fine
with us,” Sam said jubilantly, ignoring Brandi. “We can stop at Erv’s Mug to
kill some time before the show. You like their hamburgers, right?”

     “Yeah,”
I said. “Is that all right with you Brandi?”

     “Anything.
This is going to be fun,” she said. “Wait Sam, I need to get my jacket from my
bedroom.”

     She
left the room and Sam closed the distance between us. “I’m glad you’re coming,
without Lloyd. His loss is my gain. By the way, you look gorgeous tonight. That
color matches your eyes.”

     Brandi
stepped into the room wearing her multi-colored rabbit fur jacket. Underneath
she wore a short, black shirt-dress with knee high boots. To me she looked like
a hooker.

“Ladies,” he said holding the door open.

     Brandi
exited first, followed by me, and then Sam, who managed to keep his hand on the
small of my back as we walked down the stairs.

     When
we reached his truck, I jumped in the tiny backseat so Brandi could sit up
front by
her
date. It was the first time I sat in the back and it wasn’t
the most comfortable.

     “You
okay back there, Sunny? We could all squeeze together up front.” Sam said,
viewing me from the review mirror.