Finding Isadora (27 page)

Inexplicably, my eyes were wet. Why did that stupid phrase resonate so deeply, making me crave the one thing Richard and I didn
’t have? Might never have? “He’s my fiancé and I love him,” I said defiantly, swiping a hand across my damp lashes.

“
So you say, cutie,” Owl commented.

“
Yes, I do say,” I told him. “Pogo,” I called, ignoring my neat couch with the tea and bagel set out beside it, “let’s go for a very long, brisk walk.”

We did, and he loved it, and I didn
’t end up feeling even a tiny bit better.

When I went into the clinic, I checked the results on Princess Anne
’s fungal culture. The cat did indeed have ringworm. I phoned to give Althea Fitzsimmons the news, and she said she’d send a courier to pick up pills and shampoo for her cat.

After putting together a package for her, I checked on the fate of
Valente, whose body had been taken away for cremation. I asked Margarida, who was on the reception desk, to have the ashes delivered back to us, and gave her billing information for Gabriel.

“
He is a fine man,” she said, her brown eyes lighting. “His mother was Portuguese, you know, like me.”

“
Uh, yes, I did know that.” Though I’d learned it only last night. “You know him, Margarida?”

“
I recognized him when he came in yesterday. From the Portuguese Club. It’s a community center on Commercial Drive, for immigrants from Portugal and their descendants. Sometimes I go there with my family. Mr. DeLuca, he goes too. Most often, with Maria.”

“
Maria?” I asked, trying not to sound desperately curious.

“
Yes, she is a wonderful lady. And the two of them are so close.”

“
Lovely,” I muttered. So Maria was wonderful. And smart and gorgeous, no doubt, as well as being
so close
to Gabriel.

Margarida
’s eyes narrowed. “She has adapted so well to this country, you know. Better than many of the older ladies. She is a good role model.”

“
She’s a, uh, older lady?”

“
In her early seventies.” The hint of a smile twitched her mouth. “Why do you ask?”

“
Oh, no reason,” I said hurriedly. Then, belatedly, the rest of what Margarida had said sunk in. “Mr. DeLuca hangs out at this Portuguese community center?” Somehow it didn’t seem in character. I’d envisioned him as more of a loner.

She nodded enthusiastically.
“He is a lawyer, you know. He gives talks sometimes, free for anyone who wants to come, and tells people about their legal rights. And he helps them with things like reading contracts and making wills. The older people especially, who don’t speak English so well or can’t afford to hire a lawyer.”

“
That’s kind of him.”

“
My mother says that his mother, bless her soul”—she made the sign of the cross—”would be very proud of him.”

“
I’m sure she would.”

A good Portuguese son. One who hadn
’t shared that heritage with his own son.

The door bell jingled and Jill and Mona, a pair of retired teachers, strode in with their lovely weimaraner,
Dustin. Time to get back to work.

I was busy for an hour or so, then there was a lull and I went to our staff room to make myself a cup of peppermint tea. Martin came in on my heels, glanced around rather furtively, then said,
“Your friend Janice has been tutoring me. Thanks for arranging it.”

“
You’re welcome. I’m glad it’s working out.”

Jan would be furious if I didn
’t take advantage of this opportunity, so I said, “The two of you are getting along well?”

Had his dark cheeks just grown a little rosy?
She’s very smart, and a great teacher.”

“
And a nice person,” I added. “We’ve been friends since elementary school.”

“
So … she’s your age?” he asked, his back to me as he poured himself a mug of coffee.

Janice, with her shiny hair, clear skin, and lack of make-up did look younger than twenty
-seven. I hoped Martin wouldn’t be too disappointed—or discouraged—when I said, “Yes, she is.”

He nodded and stirred milk and sugar into his coffee.
“Got a Masters in Education?”

“
That’s right.”

“
High school teacher, that’s an important job.”

“
Yes.” I hesitated. “Martin, are you … interested in her?”

His
usually steady hand jerked and coffee slopped over the rim of his mug. “Interested? No, no.” He mopped up the spill. “Woman like her’s out my league.” Grabbing up the mug, he hurried from the break room.

I sighed. Clearly, he was interested. And so was Janice. Would the two of them manage to stumble their way into a relationship or were they both too insecure to make the first move? Would he tell her the details of his past, and would Jan be able to understand?

Did the course of true love ever run smooth?

It was mid-afternoon when Grace and Alyssa showed up. They looked almost like mother and daughter in their jeans and pink T-shirts with peace symbols on the front. I remembered the similar tee I
’d worn to elementary school, and the ambivalent feelings it had caused me. Of course I believed in peace, not war, but I’d have preferred to make a fashion statement rather than a political one.

I bent down to give Alyssa a hug, which she returned warmly.
“Nice shirt,” I told her. “Does that symbol mean something special?”

The girl smiled proudly.
“Peace, Izzie. It means, people in the world should make love, not war.”

I choked back a chuckle, and gazed up to meet my mother
’s laughing eyes. “You’re recruiting them young, Grace Dean.” Then I turned again to Alyssa. “You’re absolutely right, honey. If everyone thought like you, the world would be a much better place.”

“
Doc, is this my apprentice?” Britt, the high school student who worked for the clinic, clomped up in the baggy, dark clothing that was her own fashion statement. “Hey, kid, cool tee.”

“
Thanks,” Alyssa said shyly. Staring at the pink Kool-Aid streaks in Britt’s blond hair, she added, “Cool hair.”

Britt laughed.
“We’re going to get along fine.” She extended a hand. “Want to go meet the animals?”

Alyssa cast a quick, questioning look at Grace and me, then said,
“Yes, please,” and took Britt’s hand.

When the two girls had headed toward the back, Grace said,
“Looks like they’ll be okay for a while. Can I use the phone in your office, hon?”

“
Sure.”

I ushered her in and shoved files out of the way.
“Work or pleasure?”

“
Work. The disability rights case. I’m calling people on disability benefits to explain what we’re doing. To see if they’re interested and might qualify as plaintiffs.”

“
Qualify?”

“
The nature of their disability, if and how the program cuts affect them, sources of income and support, and so on. Gabriel did up a list of questions and guidelines.”

Gabriel. Always Gabriel.

Glancing out the door to make sure no-one was in earshot, I said, “That’s great news about Alyssa’s mother coming out of the coma. It sounds like she’s going to recover quite well?”

“
It’ll be slow, but they think she’ll be fine in the end.”

“
That’s wonderful.”

“
It surely is.”

We exchanged smiles of relief.
“Did you make it to the hospital to see her?”

“
Jimmy Lee and I went in last night. Cassie’s a sweetie. She’s had a hard time of it, though. Alyssa’s father has never been around for them. Mind you, Cassie got pregnant when they were dating and they hadn’t made a serious commitment to each other, so I suppose—”

“
Grace,” I broke in. “What did she say about Alyssa?”

“
Oh. Well, it’s fine with her.”

I ground my teeth. My mom had a habit of going on for ages about inconsequential matters, and then, when it came to the critical stuff, clamming up.
“You explained who Jimmy Lee is? That’s he’s been charged with arson?”

“
And the fact he didn’t do it,” Grace said with asperity. “Yes, we told her everything. She believes Jimmy Lee. She understands that protesting against cruelty to animals is not the same thing as setting fire to a building. Incidentally, she’s been disturbed about the practices at Cosmystiques, but it was the best job she could find and she needs the money.”

“
So she agreed you and Jimmy Lee can take care of Alyssa until she’s able to go home?”

Grace nodded.
“We’re taking Alyssa to the hospital tonight to visit her. We didn’t want to do it last night because we didn’t know what kind of shape Cassie was in. But she doesn’t look too bad, and we’ve explained to Alyssa about the tubes and monitors.”

“
Alyssa will sure be relieved to see her mom, and vice versa.” I paused then said, “Please tell me you’ve talked to Gabriel about this.”

“
Yes,” Grace said, surprising me. “This morning. I told him everything. He cussed a blue streak, then said we were damn lucky how things turned out. He figures it’ll look good for Jimmy Lee, having the victim trust him with her daughter.”

I left her to her phone calls and, over the next hour or so, checked on Alyssa and Britt between appointments. Alyssa was in seventh heaven and Britt gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up, though she said,
“Need to get Alyssa a kid-sized pair of leather gloves. She’s fearless, and almost got scratched.”

“
The kitty didn’t mean it,” Alyssa asserted. “He was just scared, and feeling sick.”

“
Most of the animals here are scared and sick,” I told her, “so you have to be careful how you approach them. Watch Britt. She’s learned from experience.”

I went back to my own work, but kept an eye on the time. Grace had told me she and Alyssa needed to leave by five thirty, so, when that time was approaching, I went to tell her. My mom was morally opposed to keeping track of time, so relied on others to do it for her.

“Alyssa’s doing great,” I assured her.

She stretched back in her chair.
“So she’s welcome to come back?”

“
Any time. She has a natural affinity for animals. But could you remind her to be careful?”

“
Careful?”

“
Apparently she almost got in the way of a cat’s claws. She needs to understand that animals can be dangerous. Often they don’t intend to hurt, it’s just an instinct to strike out, especially when they’re hurting or scared.”

Grace nodded soberly.
“People too, unfortunately. You’re right, Isadora, I’ll make sure she understands. About people too, not just animals.”

I smiled at her.
“I remember you and Jimmy Lee teaching me that same thing when I was a kid. You didn’t want me to walk around in fear, but you did tell me to be careful.”

“
Judgment is something that develops as you get older. Kids can be so trusting.”

And here I tended to think of Grace as a bit too naive and trusting herself. Yet I did remember the lessons she
’d taught me and the care she’d always taken of me, particularly when there were strangers in the house. Maybe I’d misinterpreted my mother’s openness and empathy for naivety. After all, I knew Grace was anything but stupid. Impulsively, I reached down and hugged her shoulders. “You’re a good mother, Grace.”

“
Well, thanks, hon. I appreciate your saying so.” Grace gave a little laugh. “More than that, I appreciate your believing it. Most parents try really hard, and it seems most kids end up in therapy whining about their rotten parents.”

Guiltily I thought of the number of times Richard and I had shared complaints about our parents.

“You’ll be a good mother too, Isadora,” Grace said.

“
I sure hope so.” If I ever sorted out my emotional quandary.

Perceptive Grace stood up and touched my cheek.
“What’s wrong, hon?”

“
You know I love Richard.”

She didn
’t answer immediately, then said, “I know you’ve said so.”

“
Don’t you believe me?”

“
I believe you care deeply about him, but… Are you sure you want to hear this? You’ve never been very open to, uh, input about your relationship with Richard.”

I walked over to the office door and closed it, then returned and sat on the edge of the desk.
“Go on. I’m feeling confused.”

Her brows rose.
“Okay. Well, a solid long-term relationship requires a lot of things. Like, a firm friendship and mutual respect.”