The Night's Legacy Read online

  Mom’s secretary was just packing up her purse when Lois showed up. Lorna Miner had been the closest thing to a grandmother Lois had ever known. Unlike Mom and Dr. Johnson, Lorna didn’t seem changed at all by the last seven years, probably because she was already old.

  She looked up and clucked her tongue. “Why as I live and breathe, is that little Lois?”

  “Not so little now.”

  Lorna put the glasses dangling from around her neck on her eyes. “Oh my, you’re so grown up now. I don’t think I could bounce you on my knee anymore.”

  “I guess not.” Lois worried the old woman might start crying, but she only gave Lois a hug. “Is Mom still working?”

  “Oh yes. She’s always keeping herself busy. Sometimes I think she invents work so she’ll have something to do.” Lorna didn’t have a Glare like Mom, but it was stern enough for Lois to understand what she meant.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

  “I know, dear.” Lorna patted her arm. “I hope you’ve got all that out of your system.”

  “Yeah, probably.” Lois looked towards the door, but she couldn’t see anything through the frosted glass with Mom’s name and title stenciled on it in gold. “How is she?”

  “She’s doing fine—all things considered.” Lorna’s knowing look indicated that Lois was one of those things to be considered. “She’s always worked herself very hard. Maybe now that you’re back she’ll take some time off.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  “I best let you in to see her. Feel free to stop by whenever you want. I may not be able to bounce you on my knee, but I still enjoy seeing you.”

  “I’ll do that.” Lois waited for Lorna to open the door and announce her. Then she brushed past Mom’s secretary, into the office.

  Like Mom, the office wasn’t pretentious at all. The walls had a couple of cheap landscape paintings inherited from her predecessor and Mom’s degrees from Michigan and Cornell. The desk was an old wooden one, more functional than a trendier glass one. All of the files and papers on the desk were stacked in neat piles, far too many piles for Lois’s liking. The only decorations on the desk were two photographs and a pink blob Lois had made in second grade that was supposed to have been a horse.

  “I’ll be done in just a minute,” Mom said as she wrote on a form. “You can sit down if you want.”

  Lois sat in one of the leather chairs across from Mom. The office didn’t look any different than when she had used to sit in the corner with her blocks. Later she had sat on this same chair with a book, reading while Mom worked. Some things never changed.

  “How was your first day?” Mom asked.

  “It was fine. Tony and Melanie are really nice. Dr. Johnson stopped by.”

  “I know. He came in here earlier.” Mom looked up from the piece of paper, her expression sad. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Betty. I was going to mention it later, once you had settled in.”

  “It’s all right. I wish I’d known. She was a good person.”

  “Yes, she was.” Mom turned back to the form and continued writing.

  “What about you? How are you feeling?”

  “Dr. Pavelski said I’m healthy as a horse.”

  “You’re still seeing her?”

  “Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”

  Lois shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought she might have retired or something.”

  “You haven’t been gone that long.”

  “But too long, right?”

  Mom stopped writing and then took off her reading glasses to Glare at Lois. “I wasn’t going to say that.”

  “You were thinking it, weren’t you?”

  “Seven years is a long time for a mother not to see her child.”

  “I know and I’m sorry.”

  “I know you are, sweetheart.” Mom stood up with a slight wince. “I can finish this tomorrow. How about we go out for dinner now?”

  “Sure.”

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know. Anywhere is fine with me.”

  Mom shrugged. “Maybe Dr. Johnson will have an idea.” She picked up the phone and dialed his extension. “Hi, Richard. She’s up here with me. We’re about ready to go if you’re ready. All right, see you in a few minutes.” Mom hung up the phone. “The car will be out front. Let’s go.”

  Lois resisted the urge to grab her mother’s arm to support her as she toddled over to the door, seeming even older than her secretary. Lois hoped Lorna was right and that Mom might finally start to relax. Otherwise she might be joining Aunt Betty before long.

  * * *

  For dinner they went to the Palm Palace, which had been Lois’s favorite growing up because it was Dr. Johnson’s favorite. He claimed they made the best Middle Eastern food in the city, though it still didn’t compare to the authentic restaurants he frequented when in Egypt. The place hadn’t changed much in nearly ten years, except the fake palms seemed a bit faded and the waiters in their billowy pants and vests seemed cheesier than before.

  While they munched on complimentary pita bread, Lois gave a PG-rated account of her travels. She didn’t mention any of the boys she had slept with along the way or the grosser details of living on the run like eating out of trashcans and sleeping in an alley with rats running across her feet. Mostly she talked about the towns she had visited and the friends she had made, albeit briefly.

  “Sounds like quite an adventure,” Dr. Johnson said. “Like something Kerouac would have written about. Hitting the open road and all that.”

  Mom didn’t say anything; she just nibbled on her pita bread. “It was pretty interesting,” Lois said, choosing her words carefully. She didn’t want it to seem like she had been having too much fun out there. “It was hard too.”

  “Have you given any thought to going back to school?” Dr. Johnson asked. “I could help you with your thesis—”

  “I really haven’t thought about it yet.” Lois stuffed a slice of pita bread into her mouth. She knew Dr. Johnson and Mom were going to press her about finishing her doctorate. She had been so close when she had dropped out of school. “I think I’d just like to get through the summer and then worry about it.”

  “I was thinking we should do some shopping this weekend,” Mom said. “We could look for some new decorations for your room—”

  “Actually Melanie already asked me to go shopping with her. If that’s all right.”

  “It’s fine. We can do that some other time.” From the way Mom looked down at her plate, Lois knew it wasn’t fine. After seven years, Mom wanted some time with her, to catch up on what they had missed. That was only fair, wasn’t it?

  “We can go on Sunday, unless you have any plans.”

  “No, Sunday should be fine.” Mom smiled a little, though she was clearly still stinging from the rejection. “I’m going to use the ladies room.”

  She held onto the edge of the table as she levered herself upright and then shuffled along the rows of tables, disappearing behind a palm tree. As Lois watched her mother go, she asked Dr. Johnson, “How long has she been like that?”

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” he said, hastily taking a piece of bread.

  “You know, so old.”

  It was Dr. Johnson’s turn to pick his words carefully. “It was hard for her, losing you and then Betty. Plus there’s been a lot going on at the museum. Donors aren’t as generous as they used to be with the economy and the government threatened to take away some of our research grants. And you know how much trouble she has with delegating any of that.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Lois sighed. She took a piece of pita bread, but wasn’t hungry anymore. Instead she kneaded the bread in her hands. “I should have been here, to help her through it. Shouldn’t I?”

  He reached across the table to take her hand and give it a squeeze. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You were doing what you thought was best. It took a lot of courage to do what you did. Not m
any people could have done it.”

  “Not many people are that stupid.”

  “Lois—”

  “She’s right. I could have at least sent her a postcard so that she’d know I was OK. She probably thought I was dead.”

  “We never thought that. We always knew you were too strong for that.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Look, the important thing is that you’re here now. Your mom is going to be a lot happier now, so long as you stay out of trouble.”

  Lois couldn’t help smiling at that. “Get into trouble? Me?”

  “I know, it’s preposterous.”

  As they laughed at this, Mom came back to the table. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing much,” Dr. Johnson said and winked at Lois.

  * * *

  When they got home, Mom gave Lois a kiss on the cheek. “I think I’m going to do some reading and then hit the hay,” she said. “Try not to stay up too late.”

  “I won’t, Mom.”

  “I love you, sweetheart.”

  “I love you too.”

  Lois watched the seldom-used TV for an hour and then went upstairs to change. She stopped at Mom’s door and heard her mother snoring softly. Lois eased the door open and saw Mom lying in bed with her glasses still on and a book on her chest. Lois took both of these to set on the nightstand. In a bit of role reversal she pulled the covers up to Mom’s chin and then kissed her forehead before turning out the light.

  For the next hour Lois rummaged through her closet. She had never owned many dresses and the ones she did own were too small now. Mom’s clothes would be too big, not to mention nothing Mom owned could be construed as “sexy” by any definition.

  Then Lois saw the slip of paper Melanie had given her sitting on the nightstand. Melanie’s clothes would probably be too big as well, but they might be closer in size. She picked up the old pink telephone and dialed the number. Melanie picked up on the second ring. “Oh my God, Lois! How are you?”

  “I’m all right. Can I ask you for a favor?”

  “Of course! What are friends for?”

  “I need to borrow a dress. I’ve got a date at this club—”

  “A date? I thought you got here yesterday?”

  “Well, yeah. I met him at this bar last night. He called earlier and he wants me to meet him at this club, but I don’t really have anything to wear, you know?”

  “I get it. What’s his name?”

  “Sam,” she said, thinking of the first name to pop in her head other than Tony.

  “Is he cute?”

  “Totally.”

  Melanie squealed so loud Lois had to hold the receiver away from her ear. “I think I’ve got a dress that would look totally hot on you. I’ll bring it over.”

  “Great. I’ll be on the front porch. My mom’s sleeping, so we need to keep this on the down low, you know?”

  “I’ll be totally ninja about it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lois sat on the front porch with a book while she waited for Melanie. She only had to wait twenty minutes before Melanie came galloping up the front steps, her face red and a garment bag slung over her shoulder. “This is so exciting!” Melanie whispered. “I was going to bring some shoes, but then I figured none of my shoes would fit, you know? My feet are kind of small compared to yours. Not that yours are huge or anything—”

  “They are pretty big,” Lois said. She had inherited her mother’s big feet as well as Mom’s red hair and blue eyes. The rest of her came from someone else, the father whose name she didn’t know. “Thank you so much for this.”

  “Anything for a friend, you know?”

  Lois gave Melanie a hug and then said, “I’ll give this back to you tomorrow at work, all right?”

  “Sure thing. Good luck on your date.” Melanie squealed, but managed to keep the volume down. “Whatever happens, you totally have to tell me tomorrow, all right?”

  “You’ll be the first to know.”

  She opened the garment bag upstairs. The dress was bright red and cut so that most of her back was visible. It was big enough that the skirt went down to her ankles. A little more modest than she intended, but it would work. She did what she could with her hair and put on a little makeup. She didn’t want to put on too much lipstick for when she kissed Tony.

  She stopped in the kitchen to write a note in case Mom woke up during the night. The note said she had gone out for a drink and would be back in a couple of hours. That way Mom might not call the cops to have them start looking for her. With a sigh she left the note on the table and then hurried out the door.

  * * *

  Her cab dropped her off in front of a warehouse with a rusty roof that looked ready to cave in. The only sign was the faded one for Bernstein & Sons, who had previously owned the warehouse. This was probably one of the many illicit nightspots in the city that operated without a license and long after legitimate clubs closed.

  She found Tony sitting on an old crate, smoking a cigarette. He was dressed similarly to the night before, only with a dark purple shirt, black pants, and no sport coat. He grinned at her and said, “Someone better tell Mount Olympus there’s a goddess missing.”

  “Nice line. Where’d you get it from?”

  “Here and there.”

  She did a turn for him. “You think it’s all right? I had to borrow it from Melanie.”

  “Melanie? You didn’t tell her—?”

  “No, I didn’t tell her it was you. You take Mom’s no fraternizing policy seriously?”

  “I just don’t want Melanie getting jealous.”

  Lois rubbed up against him, sticking a hand inside his shirt. “You afraid she’s going to go all Fatal Attraction on you?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s a little messed up in the head.”

  “Seems pretty harmless to me.”

  He shrugged. “Screw it, let’s go inside so everyone can see how smoking hot you are.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  The moment Tony opened the door, loud techno music assaulted Lois’s ears. Tony reached into his pocket to hand a twenty to a black man about the same size as Miguel who was obviously the bouncer. She leaned in close to Tony, letting him clear the way through loitering and dancing couples to the bar.

  The bar was made up of old crates stacked on top of each other. The bartender was about Lois’s age or maybe a year younger, though tall and blond like Melanie. Lois couldn’t hear what Tony ordered over the noise, but a few minutes later he was pressing a glass into her hands. It tasted like a martini, only fruitier. “Blueberry martini,” he said into her ear. “You like?”

  “It’s not bad.”

  They finished their drinks and then he pulled her into the fray. Dancing wasn’t really her thing, but her martial arts training gave her the reflexes to keep up with the other women nearby. Tony didn’t do a lot of dancing; he mostly bobbed in time with the beat while she moved around him. It was hard to tell when one song ended and another began, so she just kept going until her entire body felt slick with sweat.

  Tony finally put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a subtle push back towards the bar. “I’ve got to use the can,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Take your time.”

  He leaned down to give her a long kiss on the mouth; she grabbed a handful of his hair to keep it going. “You are so fucking hot,” he whispered in her ear before hurrying away.

  She ordered a run and Coke to sip while she waited for him to come back. Looking around, she wasn’t sure where the restrooms were. Maybe everyone just went outside and pissed into the harbor. She was glad she didn’t have to go.

  When she finished the drink she checked her watch. Fifteen minutes had gone by so far. Where the hell was he? Was the line for the men’s room really that long? She signaled for another rum and Coke and then made herself as comfortable as possible on a discarded pile of rope.

  When an hour went by without Tony show
ing up, Lois decided to go look for him. “Where’s the bathrooms?” she asked the bartender, having to shout the question three times before the woman understood and pointed off to a far corner.

  There was no line, at least not for the men’s room. Son of a bitch, she thought. She kicked open the men’s room door and then stomped inside. “Tony? Are you in here?” she called out.

  “I’ll be Tony if you want,” someone said from inside a stall.

  “Shut up, perv.”

  She bent down to check out the feet beneath the stalls. None of them were wearing Tony’s shoes. To be sure she kicked open the doors of the empty stalls. No one hiding inside. She kicked one of the doors out of frustration.

  The bastard had stood her up!

  Out front she saw a girl passed out. Lois reached into the girl’s purse for her phone. While she was at it, she found the girl’s driver’s license too for her address. No good would come for her lying around here with a bunch of drunk, horny perverts. With the phone she called for a cab to take them both home.

  On the way home, Lois thought of what she would do to Tony tomorrow. She could give him a chop to the throat and then a nice swift kick to the crotch for starters. She would make him beg for forgiveness and then for his life. Did he think she was just a whore he could cast off whenever he felt like it?

  The unconscious girl beside her stirred. She blinked a few times, her eyes focusing on Lois. “Who are you?”

  “I’m just sharing a cab.”

  “Cab?”

  “You’re going home. Don’t you remember?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, well, go back to sleep until then,” Lois said, not feeling the least bit sociable at the moment. She had been stood up before back in college. A fraternity at Northwestern had made it a rite of passage for new members. Every pledge had to ask the pimple-faced fourteen-year-old kid out on a date. She had been stupid enough to take the first two seriously.

  Those boys had seemed so earnest and she was so young and stupid she thought they were serious. The first had left her stranded at a rest stop outside Chicago, without so much as cab fare. She thought they had been stopping to use the bathroom, but when she’d finished, he was gone. She had to hitch a ride back to campus. The second got more creative. They broke into the campus pool and gone skinny-dipping. While they were swimming, his buddies were locking the doors. He asked her to stay in the water while he fetched a condom. But he hadn’t come back and when she finally got out of the pool, she found all of the doors locked from the outside. The girl’s swim team had found her the next morning, huddled in a corner and using a life preserver to cover herself.