Sweet Liar Part 12

Mike put his hand on her elbow. aI donat think now is the time,a he said as he began ushering her back toward the car.

Samantha twisted out of his grip. aNo! Iam going to talk to him now. I donat think Iall have enough courage to come back here again.a aThatas the best piece of news Iave heard yet.a aMike, can you get me through that crowd? If I can get near enough to that woman, I want to tell her that I want to ask Jubilee about Maxie.a Mike thought about wasting time arguing with her, but the futility of the exercise didnat appeal to him. Besides, the truth was, he wanted to meet Jubilee too and wanted to know if the old man knew anything of importance about Maxie and why she had left her family. Looking over her head, Mike nodded in question to the big black man standing by the car, and the man gave an answering nod.

Within minutes, Samantha had her hand firmly clasped around the back of Mikeas belt as he plowed his way through the people, the enormous black man behind them. When Samantha got to the bottom of the stoop, the woman with the broom made for the three of them. But the black man caught the broom handle before it touched them, thus giving Mike and Samantha time to call out that they wanted to ask Jubilee about Maxie.

From the look on the womanas face, she had heard the name before. With a grimace, she nodded to a child standing behind her, and the boy scurried into the house. Moments later he returned and waved his arm for them to enter. Mike with Samantha close behind him entered the house while their driver returned to the car.

The inside of the house had the used, worn look of houses that had been bought many years ago, decorated then, and not touched since. The baseboard and the ceiling moldings had been painted probably thirty or forty times over the years and were never washed in between, so the paint, over dirt, was peeling and flaking. The thickness of the paint hid most of the detail of the wood.

They followed the child up steep, narrow stairs to the top of the house, where it was hot and sunny and looked as though it hadnat changed since Jubilee was born. It was on the second landing that a man stepped out of the shadows and nearly frightened Samantha to death. He was a tall black man, extremely good-looking, and he had the angriest eyes Samantha had ever seen on a human being. He wasnat just angry at the moment but angry for a lifetime, angry forever, angry at everyone and everything.

After an arrogant, flared-nostril look at Samantha, he disappeared down a hallway. Swallowing, and after a rea.s.suring glance back at Mike, Samantha continued to follow the child up the stairs.

The child opened a door at the top of the house, allowing Samantha and Mike to enter, then left them alone in the room. The instant she saw the room Samantha loved it. Two walls were covered, floor to ceiling, with shelves containing hundreds of piles of what she knew to be sheet music. From the looks of the torn, yellowed covers, the music probably comprised the years from now back to the Flintstones. Dominating the room was an enormous grand piano, one of those black, glossy pianos that men wearing tailed tuxedos played. It was obviously an instrument that was loved, for it was polished and without so much as a scratch on it. A couple of old upholstered chairs with the stuffing protruding comfortably from the arms sat across from the piano.

Both Samantha and Mike were so intent on looking about the room that they almost missed the tiny man sitting on the piano bench, his head barely visible above the music stand. The TV camera had managed to hide a few of Jubileeas wrinkles and the lighting had softened the fact that there was no meat on his body, just dark, leathery skin over bones. He looked more like a mummy than a human, and his sparkling eyes were incongruous in his ancient body, as though some showman had found a way to make his mummy exhibit look more realistic.

Samantha grinned at him and he grinned back, showing a rather fabulous pair of false teeth.

aMy name is Samantha Elliot and Iam Maxieas granddaughter,a she said, extending her hand to him.

aI would have known you anywhere. Look just like her.a His voice was good, and Samantha had an idea that head never stopped using it, but his hand felt as much like skin as a good-quality piece of leather did. As he spoke, his fingers played softly with the piano keys in an absent-minded way, as though he werenat conscious of what he was doing; playing the piano was like breathing to him.

Mike stepped forward and began to tell Jubilee why they were there, about Doc and Maxie, about Samanthaas father, about the biography he was writing.

As Jubilee listened, he continued to tinkle with the piano keys, a faraway look in his eyes. When Mike stopped speaking, he looked at Samantha. aMaxie used to sing the blues. Sang them as well as any woman alive.a Smiling, Samantha sang the words to the song Jubilee had been playing, aGulf Coast Blues,a ending with the words, You gotta mouth full of gimme, a hand full of much obliged The first look of disbelief on Jubileeas face was replaced by joy, but a special joy, for here was an old man seeing something that he thought had gone from the earth. For just a moment there looked to be tears in his old eyes. aYou sound like her, girl!a he said and turned to the piano fully, both of his old monkey hands going to the keys. aKnow this one?a aWeepina Willow Blues,a she said softly as the man began to pound out the notes. There couldnat be much strength in that frail body, but what there was, was in his hands.

Samantha opened her mouth to sing, but closed it when, through the window, sounding like a ghost, came the mournful wail of a trumpet with a mute on it. For a moment she looked at Mike to rea.s.sure herself that she was still in the nineties, for a muted trumpet was not a modern sound.

aDonat pay him no mind,a Jubilee said impatiently. aThatas just Ornette. You know this or not?a Samantha knew without asking that the horn player was the ferocious-looking young man shead seen on the stairs, and she also knew that she was being tested. If that young man could play something as old and obscure as aWeepina Willow Blues,a then he had to have learned it out of love, not to make money on it. She also knew without being told that he didnat believe a little blonde woman could sing the blues.

Opening her mouth, Samantha began to wail the old song about a woman whoad lost her man. At the end came the staccato verse: Folks I love my man I kiss him mornina noon and night I wash his clothes and keep him clean and try to treat him right Now heas gone and left me after all I tried to do The way he treats me, girls, heall do the same thing to you And thatas the reason I got those weepina willow blues When she finished, Jubilee didnat say a word, but Samantha could tell from his face that she had indeed sung the song correctly. There was that look that needed no words to explain it: You sound just like her, hung in the air.

On impulse, while both Jubilee and Mike were staring at her in wonder, she went to the window and yelled angrily in challenge in the direction of the horn player, aDid I pa.s.s, Ornette?a At that, both Mike and Jubilee burst into laughter, Jubilee sounding like an old accordion that had a few holes in it.

aSa.s.sy like her too,a Jubilee said, nearly choking. aMaxie was never afraid of anybody.a aShe was afraid of something,a Mike said soberly, aand wead like to find out what it was.a Jubilee would tell them nothing about Maxie. He kept playing the piano, asking Samantha if she knew this song and that and repeating that he hadnat seen Maxie since the night she disappeared. When Samantha asked him if he had any idea why Maxie had disappeared that night, he mumbled that no, he didnat.

A hundred and one years old, Samantha thought, and he still couldnat lie convincingly. She tried to calculate how many times she was going to have to visit him, how many Bessie Smith songs she was going to have to sing, before he told her what he knew about Maxie.

When she and Mike told him good-bye, Samantha kissed the old, leathery cheek and said she thought shead probably see him again.

On the landing, waiting to lead them downstairs again, was the little boy, but he did what Sam thought was a rather odd thing: He slipped his hand into Mikeas. Shead already seen that Mike had a natural rapport with children, but still, there was something unusual about this. It wasnat until they were outside and she saw Mike slide the hand the child had been holding into his pocket that Samantha realized that the child had given Mike a note. From Ornette, she thought, and she knew without a doubt that Mike was going to keep whatever was on that note a secret from her.

In the backseat of the car, all the way back downtown, she acted as though she knew nothing about the note. aOrnette,a she said lightly. aI think Iave heard that name before.a aOrnette Coleman. Alto sax,a Mike said, looking out the window.

When they were back at the house, Mike instantly disappeared into the bedroom and Samantha was sure he was looking at his secret note. When he came out, he was dressed in shorts and a T-s.h.i.+rt and had the Sunday New York Times under his arm. They ate lunch (deli delivered) outside in the garden, both of them looking at the paper. Later, they sat in wooden deck chairs, Mike still with the paper, seeming to spend hours on the financial section, while Samantha put the laptop computer on her knees and tried to write down all the facts she knew so far about Maxie.

There wasnat much. Maxie maybe had been and maybe hadnat been in love with two men, or three if you counted Cal. However many there had been, in the end, she had left them all. Where had she gone and why?

Every few minutes she would get up from her chair, mumbling something cryptic, such as, aI need another floppy,a then disappear into the house, where she took as long as she dared to search for the note the child had given Mike. She searched the clothes he had worn that morning, looked in every box in the guest bedroom he was using (and felt a little pang of guilt that she had run him out of his bedroom), and even looked in the toes of his shoes.

It was on her sixth foray into the house that she dared to look in his wallet. Somehow that seemed to be the ultimate invasion of privacy, and she hesitated before picking it up off the dresser. But once she looked inside it, she made a thorough search. He had three credit cards, all gold, and twelve hundred dollars in cash, the amount making her draw in her breath a bit. There was nothing else in the wallet, no list of phone numbers or account numbers, nothing, but then she thought that maybe a man who could multiply as Mike could might be able to memorize the numbers he needed to know.

Just as she was about to put the wallet down, she remembered that when she was a child her fatherad had a wallet with a asecreta compartment, and he used to allow her to find treats in it. Digging around in Mikeas wallet, she found a hidden compartment and pulled out the piece of paper she found inside.

She nearly had to sit down when she saw that the hidden doc.u.ment was a photo of herselfa"a picture of Samantha when she was in the fifth grade, and she knew that Mike had to have taken the photo from her house in Louisville. Was it a gift from her father or did he take it from her room where she knew he had stayed? Why was he carrying it in his wallet?

Guiltily, she put the photo back into its hiding place, but when it wouldnat slide back in smoothly, she knew without a doubt that shead found the note.

Nelsona"Paddyas Bar in the Villagea"Mondaya"Eight With the speed of lightning, she put everything back the way shead found it and went back into the garden to sit with Mike. Her curiosity got the better of her, and after sitting quietly for a few moments, she asked him what his fatheras office telephone number was. Without looking up from his paper, Mike answered.

aYour oldest brotheras telephone number.a aHome or mobile unit or the office in Colorado or the office in New York or the house in the mountains?a aAll of them.a Mike put down his paper and looked at her. aIs this a test?a aWhatas my Social Security number?a With a crooked grin, he told her.

aDo you know my bank account number as well?a He put his paper back in front of his face as he told her, then he told her her secret pa.s.sword for using her cash card at the bank machine, but he would not tell her how he had come to know that number.

aVanessaas number,a she snapped out.

aStumped me on that one. In fact, Iam not sure I ever knew it.a He was lying, of course, but when she looked back at her computer screen, she was smiling.

At three oaclock, Samantha left her chair and went to the kitchen where she began rummaging in the cabinets trying to find what she needed.

When Mike heard Sam in the kitchen, he wondered what she was doing so he got up to see. He found her sitting on the floor, surrounded by half a dozen pans and looking puzzled. aTrying to figure out what to do with them?a he asked with a male smirk.

aI am trying to figure out how to make a sidecar.a aHire a welder.a aVery funny,a she answered, rising, starting to put the pans away. aI was hoping you had one of those drink-making books.a aAhhh, that kind of sidecar. Are you planning to get drunk?a he asked, hope in his voice.

aNo, Iam going to make a pitcher of sidecars and take it with me when I visit my grandmother this evening.a That announcement stopped Mike from speaking as he stared at her in astonishment. aWawhat do you mean?a She stopped moving to look at him. aFor some reason, Mike, you seem to think that Iam not altogether very smart and that you can keep things from me, but I knew that Abby was my grandmother the moment I saw her. She looks like my father, moves like him. She even quirks her mouth exactly like my father did.a She leaned toward him. aAnd you knew who she was too. It was written all over your face. You were so taken aback you could hardly speak.a Catching her hand in his, Mike held her fingers tightly. aI didnat say anything, not because I donat think youare smart but becauseaa aI know,a she said, smiling at him, squeezing his hand in return. aYou donat want anything to happen to me and you think itas dangerous for me to visit her.a aExactly.a She took a deep breath. aMike, you are so lucky. You have so many people who belong to you, but my people are all gone. Only Maxie and I are still alive, and sheas there in that horrible place alone day after day and Iam here andaand she wonat be there much longer.a When she began to tremble, he pulled her into his arms. aHush, sweetheart. Itas okay. Weall go see her if you want.a aYou donat have to go with me.a As they always did, Mikeas arms made her feel safe.

aSure,a he said, stroking her hair. aIam going to let you go by yourself. Youall probably get stuck in a revolving door.a Smiling, she looked up at him. aI was hoping youad go.a She pushed away from him. aNow,a she said, businesslike, ahow do I make a sidecar?a aSamantha, you canat take her booze. I donat want to have to point out the obvious, but sheas a very sick lady. I donat think her doctor will allowa"a She put her fingers over his lips. aMy granddad Cal said, aWhen you know youare dying, what can hurt you?a He hadnat smoked since the fifties, but on the day the doctor told him he was dying, he bought a big box of very expensive cigars and smoked one a day until he died. My father put the ones he didnat smoke under the lining of his casket.a Mike could only stare at her; she had experienced things that he couldnat imagine. She had grown up surrounded by dying people, and her father, when he wasnat dying, had demanded that no sunlight be allowed into the house.

Without a word, Mike reached into a cabinet above her head and took down a yellow book that turned out to be a collection of drink recipes. aLetas see. A sidecar: Cointreau, lemon juice, and Cognac. I think we can manage that.a aOh, Mike, I do love you,a she said, laughing, then was embarra.s.sed at what shead said.

He didnat look up from the book. aI should hope so,a he said, sounding as though what shead said meant nothing to him, but the color of his neck was a little darker than normal, almost as though he were flushed.

Busying herself with getting the lemons from the refrigerator, Samantha began talking quickly to cover her embarra.s.sment. aI do hope the nursing home doesnat give us any trouble and will allow us to spend some time with her. You know what I want to do, Mike? I want to take photos to her. Upstairs I have a big box full of alb.u.ms and loose photos of my father and mother and Granddad Cal and me, most of them taken after Maxie left. My goodness, but I canat keep calling my own grandmother by her name. What do you think I should call her?a aAbby,a Mike said seriously. aUntil she wants you to know that sheas your grandmother, I think you shouldnat let her know that you know.a He grimaced. aThe poor woman probably thinks that keeping her ident.i.ty from you will help keep you safe.a With a startled look at her, he stopped talking. aSam, from the first your goala"or rather your fatheras goala"has been to find out what happened to your grandmother. Youave found out: She ended up in a nursing home plugged into machines. If you know that, then why did we go to Jubileeas this morning? Why did you ask him questions about Maxie if you already knew the answers?a aI know where she is but not why sheas there,a she said softly.

Mike groaned. aSamanthaaa She knew that he didnat want her to do any more searching, but the more she found out about Doc and Maxie and Michael Ransome and Jubilee and everyone else, the more she wanted to find out what happened that night in 1928. At one point shead thought of her grandmother mother with what was close to hatred for leaving her family, for leaving without so much as a backward glance. But shead met her grandmother now, and she had seen the tears in Maxieas eyes when Cal was mentioned, making Sam sure that Maxie had loved him very, very much. Whatas more, Maxie loved her granddaughter. That was evidenced by the way shead reacted when Mike had told her that someone had tried to kill Sam.

aI wish I knew what my grandmother liked to eat,a she said. aI wish I could take herachocolate cake or something like that, whatever she really likes, something thatas bad for her, something that I was sure that insufferable place wouldnat give her to eat.a Putting his hands on her shoulders, Mike looked into her eyes. aCan I say anything to make you stay away? What if I told you that whoever tried to kill you might still be watching you and you might lead them to Maxie? I donat think that womanas body is strong enough to withstand an attack such as you had.a Samantha had thought of that and had weighed the possibilities. aHow long do you think she has?a Mike wasnat going to lie to her. aWhen I first contacted her, the doctor told me she had three months left, tops.a Samantha took a deep breath. aIf you were she and you had had no one for many years, and now you had a chance to spend a few weeks with someone you love, would you risk it?a He wanted to point out that just because Maxie had left her family in Louisville twenty-seven years before didnat mean that she had necessarily been alone since then, but he didnat say that. In fact, remembering Maxie in that loathsome place, he wondered if maybe Sam wasnat right and Maxie had been alone all those years. She may have run away because she was afraid of being discovered, so it wouldnat have made sense for her to leave one place and become a social whirl and therefore highly visible elsewhere.

aAny pictures of you naked mixed in with those photos?a Laughing, she moved away from him. aOn a fuzzy rug when I was eight months old,a she said.

aHow about eighteen years old? Young, nubilea"a aWhat does that mean? That Iam not young now?a Mike shrugged. aYoung body, old mind. Hey! you think Maxie would like caviar? We could stop at the Russian Tea Room and get blinis.a Samantha was still thinking about his ayoung body, old minda comment. aI would imagine she would love caviar, at least it sounds good anyway. I just hope the home doesnat give us too hard a time.a When what he hoped was an inspired idea occurred to Mike, his face lit up. aYou leave the home to me. Iall see that they let her eat whatever she wants and that sheas treated very well from now on.a

22.

I t was almost six oaclock when they arrived at the nursing home. Samantha was wearing her red Valentino suit and Manolo Blahnik high heels and carrying a red Chanel bag. Now that she knew how much her clothing cost, she was almost afraid to wear it and she dreaded getting into one of those filthy New York cabs. So she asked Mike if he was maybe, hopefully, going to hire a private car again, but he told her that no, he wasnat.

Because of his answer, she was not prepared for the long black limousine that pulled up in front of the town house. Her mouth was still hanging open in astonishment when the uniformed chauffeur got out and she saw that he was Mikeas cousin, Raine.

aGood evening, Miss Elliot,a Raine said politely, tipping his cap to her.

aGet the blinis?a Mike asked, his arm around Samanthaas waist so tight you would have thought Raine was a pirate trying to kidnap her.

aYes, sir!a Raine said smartly, clicking his heels together, then preceded them down the stairs and opened the back door for them.

aYouare sure you know how to drive this thing?a Mike asked his cousin, obviously doubting his ability to do so. aFrank will kill both of us if you so much as scratch it.a aWhoas Frank?a Samantha asked as they got inside.

aMy oldest brother.a Once inside the car, Samantha tried her best to sit very still and behave herself, for she was sure that women who wore designer clothes were used to stretch limos and didnat crawl all over them exploring, but Mike laughed at her. aGo on. Frank wonat mind.a She opened little doors, looked in cabinets, and turned the TV on and off, then Mike sent a fax to Colorado and received one from his grandfather that said, aMichael, my boy, when are we going to meet your Samantha?a Wide-eyed, Sam looked at Mike for an explanation as to what his family knew about her, but Mike just shrugged in reply.

After a while she settled back in the seat and thoughtfully looked at Raine so skillfully driving the car. She felt that she was beginning to know Mike and to understand a little about the way his family functioned. aIf heas doing this for you, what are you going to do for him?a aLooking over his portfolio.a aHis investment portfolio? Why would he want you to do that for him?a She wanted to know more about Mike, for she was finding out that he was good at giving away very little about himself.

aBecause none of the Montgomerys knows anything about math.a Begrudgingly, he said, aTheyare okay with words but not with numbers.a aYou still havenat answered my question: Why does he want you to look at his portfolio?a aBecause Iam good at it, thatas why,a he answered, and Sam knew that that wasnat really an answer at all.

When they arrived at the nursing home, Mike wouldnat allow her to get out, but made her sit in the car for ten minutes. aI want every one of them to see us,a he said, looking out the dark tinted windows through which no one could see at the faces that were peering out at them from the windows of the home.

After a long while, Raine opened the door for them and Samantha, moving as regally as she felt alighting from such a car, walked ahead of the two men. Mike was wearing his beautiful Italian suit, and Raine, in his chauffeuras uniform, his arms laden, looked like a bored rich girlas dream-come-true. By the time they reached the desk, every mobile person in the nursing home had crowded into the hall to see them. Four women and two men were attached to stands with bottles hanging from them, and one woman was in a wheeled bed pushed by two other women.

With Samanthaas arm tucked firmly in his, Mike stopped in front of the plastic-laminated counter and looked at the shapeless nurse behind it. She was obviously the person in charge; she looked so ain chargea that the words may as well have been written across her forehead.

aWeare here to see Her Royala"a Mike began, then when he saw Samanthaas shocked face, he patted her arm. aIam sorry, my dear, I know I keep forgetting that she doesnat want anyone to know the truth. What name is she using now?a Samantha blinked at him.

aAbby?a Mike asked. aIs that the name Her Royala"Oops! I was about to do it again. The princess will never forgive me if I reveal her secret.a Leaning across the counter, he gave the ugly nurse a look of such lasciviousness that Samantha wanted to hit him. aBut Iam sure that you already know all aboutaah, Abby, donat you?a The woman blushed like a girl, but it lost something in effect since all the blood rus.h.i.+ng to her face made the hairs on her chin stand upright. aOa course. We know about theathe princess.a aAnd youare taking good care of her, arenat you? Not that you need to curtsy, she hates all that fuss. When one has a childhood of nurses and nannies curtsying to one, it makes one come to hate such formalities. You understand, donat you? Buta"a aWhatever happened to the sapphire bracelet she gave her last nurse?a Samantha asked. Two could play this game. aRemember that nurse who was so nice to her?a Leaning over the counter, she smiled at the nurse in conspiracy, as though what she was saying was just between the two of them, but when Sam spoke she was loud enough to be heard to the far end of the corridor. aHer generosity is going to be the death of this family. If she tries to give any of her jewelry to the staff, would you please report it to us?a aW-why, yes, of course I will,a the nurse answered.

aNow, may we see her?a Mike asked. aUndisturbed?a aYes, certainly. Right away. Move it!a she snapped at a man in a wheelchair.

With all the expertise of an experienced doorman, the nurse opened the door to Maxie/Abbyas room and closed it behind them.

Abby, half asleep in her bed, looked up and had a momentas trouble focusing. aIaI didnat expect to see you two again.a Samantha had the box of pictures in her armsa"in fact, she had transferred them into the hatbox that had contained Maxieas dressa"and walked briskly forward. aIave come to ask a favor of you. Youare the only person in the world who I can find who knew my grandmother, and I wondered if you would mind going through some old photos with me.a aPhotos?a aOf my family. I know itas a terrible imposition, but I thought you might be able to tell me something, Iam not sure what, but maybe my grandmother might have told you something about herself.a aWhy do you want to know about her?a aBecause I love her,a Samantha said simply. aAnd I think she would have loved me if shead met me. Jubilee said weare very much alike.a aMet him, have you?a Abby was starting to come fully awake.

Stepping forward, Mike put the big picnic basket down on the edge of the bed. aShe gets her nose into everything. This morning she was yelling out the window at Ornette, Jubileeas grandson, anda"a aOrnette is Jubileeas great-grandson,a Abby said, then made a little face that said she wished shead kept her mouth shut. To cover herself, she said, aWhat do you have in there, young man?a aSidecars,a he said, removing a tall stainless-steel flask from the basket. aAnd caviar blinis.a For a moment Abby looked as though she were going to cry with a combination of happiness and regreta"for she well knew that Samantha should not be there. aYou two are fools, you know that?a she said softly, her remark addressed to Michael.

aYes, maaam, I know that very well, but Samantha is, as far as anyone can tell, just like her grandmother. Sa.s.sy is what Jubilee calls her, and she wanted to show you her photographs, so weare here. She had an idea that if her grandmother were still alive Maxie might like to see what shead missed, might like to see her son and her daughter-in-law, see her grandchild growing up, and she might like to see her husband as he grew older. Think Maxie would have liked to have seen that?a aYes,a Abby said softly. aShe would have.a aOh heavens!a Samantha said. aYouad think this was a funeral. Weare having a party! Michael, pour the drinks and roll those pancakes. Andaa She hesitated. aI donat know what to call you. If Maxie were alive, what do you think shead like me to call her?a aNana,a Abby said instantly. aI think she said that was what she wanted her granddaughter to call her.a aWould you mind very much if I called you Nana?a aI wouldnat mind at all. Now, where is my drink? I havenat had a sidecar in years.a Samantha climbed on the bed beside Abby, pulled the box of photos across her knees, and opened it, while Mike rather awkwardly rolled thin pancakes around red caviar and sour cream, then served them to the two women with crystal gla.s.ses of the cognac mixture.

Within thirty minutes all awkwardness between the three of them was gone. After the first drink, Abby got very sloppy at saying that Maxie would like so and so. Instead, she was saying things like, aI remember that. We kept the lawn mower in that old shed. Did Cal ever tear that thing down?a Mike teased Samantha mercilessly about pictures of her when she was a child, laughing at one where she was obviously furious and hadnat wanted her picture taken. Abby defended Samantha, saying she had been the sweetest baby alive.

Refilling Abbyas gla.s.s, Mike said in the most mournful tones imaginable that, for all he knew, Samantha was still the sweetest baby alive.

aMichael!a Sam snapped.

But Abby took Samanthaas side. aYou mean, a big, strapping hunk like you hasnat persuaded this dear little thing to go to bed with you yet?a The words, as well as the sentiment, were so very funny coming out of the mouth of an eighty-four-year-old woman that Sam and Mike laughed uproariously.

aWhy does every generation think itas invented s.e.x?a Abby asked in mock exasperation.

aWhy donat you tell us about s.e.x in your generation?a Mike said encouragingly. aAt least, that way, Iad be able to experience somebodyas fantasies.a aYouall get no lessons from me, Michael Taggert. Youall have to find out on your own.a The evening got more funny when Samantha showed pictures of herself, as promised, nude on a rug. Both Abby and Sam giggled at Mikeas heartfelt groans at Samas apinupa pictures.

When Raine entered the room, Samantha knew that the party was over and so did Abby. For a long moment, they clung to each other, Samanthaas strong, healthy young body holding the frail, weakening body of her grandmother.

aDonat come back,a Abby whispered. aIam not sure itas safe.a Pulling away from her, Samantha acted as though she hadnat heard her. aIad love to return. Thank you so much for the invitation. Are you ready, Michael?a She left the room without looking back, not seeing Mike kiss Abbyas cheek, then slip a piece of paper with his phone number and the private numbers of some of his family members on it into Abbyas hand before leaving the room.

On the drive back to the East Side and Mikeas town house, Samantha was quiet.

aEnjoy yourself?a Mike asked.

aMmmmm,a was all she answered.

aAre you okay?a aCertainly. I couldnat be better. It was great spending the evening with my grandmother. Iam just a little tired, thatas all. I think Iall go to bed early tonight.a Mike didnat say any more on the ride home and at the house, she went inside while he stayed outside talking to Raine. When he entered the house, Samantha was nowhere to be seen so he a.s.sumed shead gone to bed. For himself, he was a little too wound up to go to sleep, so he fixed himself a sandwich and a beer, took it into the library, and turned on the TV.

Samantha walked in so quietly that he didnat know she was near him until he looked up and saw her standing there, wrapped in his bathrobe, her face s.h.i.+ny clean, looking about twelve years old. He could see that she had something she wanted to say to him. Instantly he turned off the television and looked up at her.

Tentatively, Samantha sat on the edge of the couch a few feet from him.

aMike,a she said hesitantly, looking down at her hands in her lap. aI want to ask you something.a aSure.a Holding tightly onto her hands to still them, she said, aI look at this house and everything in it and I know it was expensive and I know that you paid for my new clothes and you told my grandmother that your grandfather was a man of some wealth and that you could support a person.a After that pauseless sentence, she took a breath, trying to stop her heart from racing, for she was filled with embarra.s.sment at asking for something else from a man who had already given her more thanamore than was necessary.

She looked up at him. aMike, do you have any money? I mean, enough that you could spare some?a Her eyes were pleading and apologetic at the same time.

aYes,a Mike said after a moment, but not wanting to elaborate on the answer. He liked thinking that she knew nothing about his finances, because women had dated him for his money. A couple of them had gone so far as to say that they loved him when they meant they loved his money.

aI want to ask a personal favor of you. Will you lend me some money? A few thousand? Ten at most, I think. Iall pay you back whenever I can.a He tried to keep from frowning. aWhatever I have is yours. May I ask what you want the money for?a aI want to buy some furniture.a aFor your apartment?a The words came out sharper than head meant them to as he thought of having asked Jeanne to redecorate Samas apartment.

aNo, of course not!a Samantha snapped, annoyed that he thought she was such a frivolous, ungrateful person as to ask him, who had given her so much, for something she didnat need. aItas not for me, itas for my grandmother. I want to make that dreadful room of hers beautiful. I want to buy some pictures for the wallsa"nice picturesa"a chair and a few accessories, but I want them to be of good quality, very good quality. My grandmother used to wear Lanvin and real diamonds and real pearls.a Samantha paused for a moment then said very softly, aMaybe we could rent the furniture. She wonat need it for very long.a Putting his hands on her shoulders, Mike kissed her hard, a kiss that told her he was proud of her. aWeall buy whatever you want. Tomorrow weall go shopping at a few antiques stores where they know my sister.a aMichael,a she whispered, not meeting his eyes. aIam so afraid. I donat want to see another person I love die.a Putting his fingers under her chin, he tipped her face up and looked at her in silent question, as though asking her what she needed. Then, as though he knew the answer, he opened his arms to her, not in desire but in warmth and comforta"and perhaps in love.

Without a thought, she moved onto his lap, her body as close to his as possible as she drew her knees into her chest, his big arms wrapping about her, making her feel safe, letting her feel the very aliveness of him. She could feel his heart beating under her cheek, and when she pressed even closer to him, she thought she could feel the blood coursing through his veins.

aHold me, Michael,a she whispered. aHold me tightly. Let me feel your strength, yourahealth.a Her voice was ragged with emotion.

He held her as tightly as he could without breaking her bones, spreading his hands to cover her head and as much of her back as possible. In his mindas eye, he saw what she must have seen: her grandfather slowly wasting away, gradually moving toward death, then her father eaten by the same illness, dying in her arms exactly as her grandfather had. Now shead found her last blood link on earth, and Mike well remembered the dry, nearly lifeless skin of the woman, the grayish pallor of her. Death was hovering over Maxie, already pulling at her, trying to take her from eartha"and from Samantha.

In spite of how tightly Michael was holding her, Samantha began to tremble.

aSam!a he said sharply in alarm, but his tone had no effect on her as her trembling increased, so he pulled his hand away from her head and held it in front of her face. aLook at my hand! Do you hear me? Look at it!a Slowly, she lifted her head. She was trembling so violently now that her teeth were almost chattering. She had no idea what Mike was doing as she obediently looked at his hand.

aStrong. Healthy,a he said, holding his hand inches from her face. aAlive and well. See it?a His hand was strong, glowing with the health of youth and exercise and just plain love of living. To Mikeas utter consternation, she pulled his hand to her face, held his palm to her lips, and breathed deeply, as though rea.s.suring herself that he was indeed alive and was going to stay that way. Moving her head slightly, she put his warm, callused palm to her cheek, closed her eyes, and rested her head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart while Mike held her as tightly as he dared.

Holding her as he stroked her back, he wished he could help her, wished that he could take some of her pain away, wished he could stop what they both knew was going to happen. But he could do nothing. No amount of money, no amount of love can stop a person from dying.

Even after Samantha fell asleep in his arms, Mike continued holding her, allowing her to relax against him, wanting to feel her warm little body next to his.

Sometimes, when he thought about how much he loved her, it was almost a physical ache inside him. He was to the point where he could hardly stand to be away from her, as though he were afraid head miss one of her smiles or even one of her frowns. It would have been impossible to describe the pleasure he received from watching her blossom, seeing her change from the little rabbit head first met to the woman who could yell out the window at someone like Ornette. He liked to see the joy she gave to other people, such as when she kissed Jubilee or when she befriended Daphne or when she climbed onto the bed with Maxie and hugged her.

Yet she terrified him with this continued pursuit of the people who had been involved with Maxie and with her need to know what happened so long ago. Right now Mike wished head never heard of Doc, had never heard of Dave Elliot. But if he hadnat, he reminded himself, he wouldnat have met Sam.