Holiday Escort (18 page)

She set the phone on the table between us and pressed a button.

"Madeline?"

"Hey, Karen."

"I didn't know you were having lunch with mom."

I laughed. "Neither did I."

Rhonda spoke up. "Karen, your wife is a little confused about a few things. I'm handling it."

"I like that word," Karen said. I could hear the smile. "I probably should have asked her before you did it for me, Mom."

"I want a ring and a proper proposal!"

Rhonda smiled at me. "Karen," she said. "What is Madeline's spending limit before she has to talk to you?"

"I don't know," Karen said. "I suppose whatever fits on her credit cards."

"So ten grand?"

"Yeah, I guess,"
Karen
said. "If she spent that every mon
th, we'd have to talk about it."

"But-"
I started to say.

Rhonda held up a finger. "So, if she wanted to go clothes shopping or buy a new computer, that's okay?"

There was silence for a moment. "Madeline? You haven't been buying the things you want? I just assumed-"

"I will take care of this, Karen," Rhonda said. "I just wanted to be sure I understood the situation."

"I thought-" Karen said. "You and Daddy."

"Of course," said Rhonda. "Have you bought a ring yet?"

"Mom, take me off speaker."

Rhonda picked up the phone and put it to her ear. She listened to Karen for a while. "I'm sorry," she said. There was a pause. "I'll take care of that part." There was another pause and she handed the phone to me.

"Karen?"

"Madeline, I love you."

"I love you too."

"Listen to my mother."

"All right."

"Madeline, I'm sorry. I just assumed."

"It's okay."

"I love you, Madeline." And then we said goodbye.

I gave the phone back to Rhonda, who put it back in her purse.

She looked at me. "I ruined her surprise. I'm sorry."

"She's going to ask me to marry her?"

"I don't know anything about that," she said. She was smiling.

The waitress chose the same moment I started crying to bring our food to the table. Rhonda handed me a tissue and told the waitress we were fine. I dried my tears and covered my embarrassment by diving into my lunch.

We ate quietly before Rhonda said, "Karen's job is to make the money. Your job is to spend it. Wisely. I don't recommend maxing the credit cards every
month."

"She gave me full access to her bank accounts. I thought she was being foolish."

"She probably
also
told you how she does her investing at work."

"Yes, and I told her for the amount she makes, she could be doing a Roth IRA as well. She told me to handle it."

"Starting to understand?"

I nodded.

"Remember. Wisely."

"I understand. She has put more trust in me than I realized. I wouldn't violate that."

"Good."

We finished our meals before talking further. I thought about everything.

"So no job?" I said eventually.

"Not if it's about money," Rhonda said. "Being bored out of your mind, though, that's a second conversation."

"But everything we just talked about, that has strings attached. Karen is treating me like Fred treats you. A housewife. But I can't have her children."

"Our children have been out of the house for a long time, but I still keep the same habits." She paused. "Yes, Karen wants a housewife. Fred and I have had a very good marriage, and she grew up seeing that. She wants the same thing. But more important than that, she wants you to be happy."

"I am happy. Mostly. If I get a job, will I lose Karen?"

"I don't know."

"It's not worth losing Karen."

Rhonda smiled hugely.

"But I still don't know what to do."

"Madeline, you are a very smart woman. Think outside the box. It might take you some time, but you'll find the proper solution."

The waitress came by. We declined dessert, and Rhonda handed her a credit card for the bill.

Rhonda turned to me. "Madeline, you need to understand this. My Fred and your Karen need us. They both look like they are fine on their own, but they aren't. Their heads are filled with their jobs. There isn't any room for all the other things that go into life. They need our heads to handle absolutely everything else. They also need the warmth we offer when they come home at night. They need the things we give them that lift their spirits and feed their souls." She paused. "And their jobs need us. At the level they are both at, there are expectations, very 1950s expectations. They can do the jobs they do and make the money they make because we make it possible. Do you understand?"

"I think so," I said.
"Rhonda, is she really going to ask me to marry her?"

"I don't know anything about that," she said, smiling. "Madeline, this needs to be resolved before you say 'yes' to any proposal that may or may not be coming."

I thought about it. "How much time do I have?"

She thought about it before answering. "When are you going to Paris?"

"Early May," I said, starting to cry again.

We sat there while I pulled myself back together. Then I looked at her. "Rhonda, do you have any plans this afternoon?"

"Not particularly." She smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

"Care to do a little clothes shopping?"

"I would love to do some clothes shopping!" she said. "Really?"

* * *

I drove her to her car first,
then
followed her to her house. She left her car there and got in with me.

At four, we were still at the mall. "Oh no," I said. "Dinner."

"Oh honey," she said. "That's why they invented restaurants."

Still, we hurried things along. I dropped her off and was back home by five.

* * *

I was wearing one of my new dresses and still learning how to use the new
iPad
when Karen got home at six. I met her at the door and pulled her into a tight hug.

She hugged me just as tightly. "I love you," she whispered. Then she pulled away and looked at me. "I recognize my mother's influence. Did you have a nice afternoon?"

"I did." I paused. "We have reservations at seven."

She laughed. "I figured." She paused. "Honey, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay."

"What haven't you been buying?"

"Clothes
. The
iPad
I wanted. And I've been wondering about my laptop. It's not due yet, but soon, maybe next year."

"I was wondering why you hadn't bought the
iPad
after you said you wanted one. I decided you must have changed your mind. I should have asked."

"It's okay. I bought one this afternoon."

"How was it you ended up at lunch with Mom?"

"Actually." I paused. "I went to see your father."

Her expression froze. "You asked him for a job." I nodded. "But mother talked you out of it."

"She talked me out of finding a job for the money. But honey, I've been trying to talk to you about this. I'm going out of my mind here."

Her face fell. "I want you to be happy," she said. "If that means a job, you should get one."

"So I should tell your father I have your blessing?"

She nodded. "Yes." She looked at the clock. "Honey, I need to work for a few minutes before dinner. Can you leave me in my office until it's time to go?"

"Sure. We can talk more over dinner."

She kissed me quickly then disappeared in her office, closing the door.

I sat back down with my laptop and
iPad
and continued to load applications on it, including a few intriguing games.
I kept an eye on the clock, then when we still had just a few more minutes, I set it all aside and knocked on Karen's door. I didn't wait for a response before answering.

She was sitting in her chair, staring out the window. "Time to go," I said.

"All right," she said. She didn't turn to face me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

I walked over and turned her to face me. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh my god, honey, what's wrong?"

"You're leaving me," she said.

"I am not!"

"You'll get a high power job and we'll never see each other anymore." She started sobbing and hyperventilating. "I'm not enough to make you happy. I've been trying so hard.
Oh god, I'm not enough,
"
she wailed.

"Honey, I turned your father down." Kneeling in front of her, I pulled her into my arms. She sobbed into my shoulder. "Honey, I turned him down. Well, I told your mother to thank him for me. I still have a problem to solve, but your mother told me to think out of the box."

I held her and let her cry. I kept repeating I wasn't going anywhere and that I loved her.

It took a few minutes, but she calmed down, then pulled away and grabbed tissues from a box on her desk and blew her nose.

"Now I'm a wreck," she said.

"I can cancel the reservations and pick up some Chinese," I told her. "Or toss something together."

"No, but do I have time to clean up?"

"I'll call the restaurant."

I decided to plan Paris almost exactly like I would have for Marsha, except without the advance visit. I didn't have time to do all of it, but everything I had done in the past for Marsha was on my laptop from when I'd work at home in the evenings.

I stepped up how often I went to lunch with Karen. I also set up weekly luncheons with Mom and Rhonda. The two hadn't met, but they got along fabulously. The second week we got together, the last Thursday in March, I excused myself to use the restroom, and when I got back, they looked like they were conspiring together. The conversation clearly changed when I returned.

"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously.

"Not a thing," Mom said. "We were just talking."

We went shopping later.
I didn't buy anything, but Mom and Rhonda both did.

Planning the Paris trip was exciting. I made my basic plans then began contacting the places I wanted to stay. I no longer had my copy of the language software I'd used in the past, so I bought a new copy and started working with it every day. I began speaking French around the house. Poor French, but French nevertheless.

As I worked on the details, I realized something. I really enjoyed this. And I wished I were doing it for a full group. That would keep me busy for months.

When I realized that, I stopped dead in my thoughts, backed them up, and ran through them again.

Then I pulled out some paper and began taking notes. I made a list of people to call. At the top of the list were David and Jenny Foster, Karen's boss.

I called the
Kilador
main line and asked to speak to David. I got routed to his assistant, Peggy. "Peggy, it's Madeline Burnet. Karen Greene's girlfriend."

"The woman who keeps sending all the treats to the office."

"Yes, that's me," I said. "Any chance I can speak to David?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it's a personal thing. I'd be just as happy to talk to his wife, Jenny, but I didn't think you'd give me her number."

Peggy laughed. "No, I wouldn't. David is free, let me transfer you."

David answered after a moment and I told him who I was. We exchanged a moment of small talk, then I said, "David, this is going to be very weird, but I want to ask you something, and I don't want Karen to know about it."

"Are you asking me to pick sides in something?"

"I am doing research for something I want to present to her."

"All right," he said. "Ask away."

"I was hoping I could take you and Jenny to lunch.
The sooner the better.
Without Karen knowing."

"Let me have Jenny call you." I gave him my number and we hung up.

Jenny called about ten minutes later. We chatted for just a moment and she recommended lunch the day after tomorrow. "Is that soon enough?"

"It's perfect."

We agreed that because I didn't want Karen to catch us, David would meet us at a restaurant in Edina. After that we exchanged a few more pleasantries and hung up.

Then I made more phone calls.

* * *

Lunch with David and Jenny was great, and they told me exactly what I wanted to hear.

* * *