“Me, too. But don’t buy any tickets if it’s weird, okay, Mom? Remember that year’s supply of soup you won a couple of years ago? They were really bad.”
“I know.”
It had seemed like a great prize until they’d sampled the first can. The soups had been inedible.
“You wouldn’t even give some of them away,” he grumbled. “We had to eat them all.”
“I didn’t want to make anyone else suffer.”
“But it was okay to make me suffer?”
“Of course,” she told him with a grin. “You’re my child. I can do all kinds of horrible things to you. Like make you eat vegetables.”
He laughed. “And clean my room.”
“And do homework. Or like now, when I tell you to go pick out something nice to wear.”
He grumbled under his breath as he turned on his crutches and moved out of the kitchen. She watched him go, seeing so much of her late husband in her son. Every day Cody reminded her more and more of Brian. She treasured the similarities, even as they continued to break her heart.
Someone knocked on the front door. She walked through the living room and let in her friend Linda.
“I come bearing basic black,” Linda said. “Along with a couple of blazers and accessories.”
“Thank you. You’re saving me here. I don’t have a charity-worthy wardrobe. It’s just an afternoon thing, but I know all those rich people are going to be really well dressed and I need to fit in.”
“You’ll do great,” Linda told her. “Now let’s get you dressed.”
Kerri led the way into her small bedroom. She’d already curled her hair and put on makeup. After Linda closed the bedroom door, Kerri slipped out of her robe, then studied the selection her friend had brought.
“I like the black skirt,” she said, picking it up and holding it in front of her. “Basic, but a good simple style. I bought some black pumps at the thrift store last week. They’ve barely been used and they’re Stuart Weitzman. Who gives those away? I figure somebody must have died or something and the family had no idea what they were donating.”
“Lucky you.” Linda held up a cobalt-blue blouse. “What about this? I have a black tweed blazer. You’ll look coordinated without being too matchy. With some earrings and maybe a bracelet, you’ll be good to go.”
“It’s perfect.”
Kerri quickly tried everything on. The blouse and blazer were a touch long but otherwise fit great. The shoes were two kinds of heaven. Stylish but comfortable. She shrugged out of the blazer, then went into the bathroom where she began removing the curlers.
“Tell me you’ve received the money,” Kerri called. “I’m not stepping one foot into that limo if it hasn’t been transferred yet.”
She looked in the mirror as she spoke, making sure she got all the curlers. Linda was still in the bedroom.
“It’s been transferred,” the other woman said.
“Good. So you’re going to be hiring more researchers?”
“It takes time to pull it all together.”
That didn’t sound right. Kerri dropped an electric curler into the sink, then stuck her head in the bedroom. “Is there a problem?”
Linda shook her head. “It’s fine. Things are moving along.”
All the right words, so why did Kerri suddenly have a knot in her stomach? “The money got into the bank, right?”
“All fifteen million. Apparently it came from Nathan King’s personal account.”
If only, Kerri thought ruefully. “Yeah, I’ll have that much when I get paid on Friday.”
“Oh, me, too.”
They laughed.
“So what’s he like?” Linda asked. “Are you enjoying him?”
“I haven’t tied him up and asked him to call me his love poodle yet.”
“Good to know. You’ll want to save that for your second week together.”
“We’re not together. I have to admit he’s good-looking, but his attitude could use an adjustment.”
“It’s not in your nature to be totally grateful, is it?”
“I’m grateful, but I won’t crawl. I think I bug him, which is just an added bonus. He’s a little straitlaced.” She returned to the bathroom and pulled out the rest of her curlers, then smiled in anticipation as she said, “Not a bad kisser.”
There was a moment of silence followed by Linda’s appearance in the small bathroom.
“You kissed him?”
“He kissed me, but it was still good. Lots of tingles. It made me realize I haven’t seriously kissed a guy since Brian died. I miss kissing and touching.” But not with just any guy. If she had the choice, she would like to be doing all that with Brian.
“Now you can do both,” Linda said. “Although I’m not sure about Nathan King. Be careful. He’s a dangerous guy.”
“Not to me. I’m not interested in him or anyone that way.”
“How did you come to be kissing?”
Kerri tried to remember. “I’m not sure. We were talking about whether or not his giving up the fifteen million meant he could sleep with me.”
“What? He expects to get sex?”
“I’m not sure. I think it was more an intellectual discussion, then he kissed me. Probably to shut me up.”
Kerri bent over at the waist and brushed her hair. Then she fluffed it with her fingers, straightened and reached for the can of hair spray.
It took a couple of good passes to get all the curls to stay in place. “I’ll do another spray right before we leave.”
She put on fake pearl earrings and a gold-tone watch, then slipped into her fabulous shoes and pulled on the blazer. Then she stared at herself in the mirror.
“I still look like me,” she said. “I was hoping for better.”
“You look great.”
Kerri knew that on a good day she could pass for pretty, but no one would ever describe her as elegant or sophisticated.
“This isn’t my world. I won’t know what to say to anyone.”
“Just smile and if someone gets bitchy, remember she gets cramps and bloats, just like the rest of us.”
There was another knock on the front door. “That’ll be Tim,” Kerri said as she walked through the living room to answer it. “I suddenly feel so popular.”
“It’s because you’re a special person,” Linda teased.
“I’m getting that.” Kerri opened the front door and smiled as she saw both Tim and Lance on her tiny porch. “Two for one,” she said. “It’s my lucky day.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Lance said as he walked inside, then kissed her on the cheek. “You’re looking very ladies-who-lunch. Love the shoes.”
“Aren’t they great? Less than ten dollars.”
Lance winced. “You’re not going to want to mention that today.”
“I know. Hi, Tim.”
“Kerri.”
Tim nodded slightly as he, too,