Healing Tea Page 15

  I was asked to check something out for Adeline — semicovertly — and that’s what I’m going to do.

  I’ve still got some of the money I won at the casino. Adeline is paying for the big expenses of the trip and a whole bunch of stuff that is bound to make Teagan’s head explode. Besides, Teagan is a partner now; she can afford to have an adventure.

  I’m excited.

  ELEVEN

  TEAGAN MADE IT to my house — I love the fact that it really is a house now — early.

  “So, dingleberry, you going to tell me what we are doing?”

  “We are going to check something out for Adeline. That part of our trip will only take a couple of hours a day. Maybe a little longer. The rest of the time is just for us.”

  “For us to what, exactly?”

  “Just to have fun. An adventure. You know, like we used to.”

  “You can’t plan spontaneity, dingleberry. The reason we always had fun is because we just went with it. I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to revisit and rebuild what we had years ago. But you can’t do that. And what does this have to do with Mom?”

  “Mom said that we were getting to be negative people. Like you’re being right now. I plan a trip, and the first thing you can do is tear it down. Great.”

  Teagan took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. “Are we walking? Flying? Driving? Perhaps a train? Submarine?”

  “We’re flying.”

  “Great. How many planes have had problems lately? All we need is to get stuck on the tarmac somewhere with a …”

  “As of this moment, we are positive people. Every time you say something negative, I reserve the right to smack the crap out of you, Teagan. I’m serious. We’re gonna have fun, dammit.”

  “Okay. You’re right. I’ve been cranky for a while now.”

  “Yeah, months.”

  “So do I get to smack you?”

  “True. Okay. Sorry. Are you really ready to try? I think we can have a good time.”

  “I think I remember how to do that. I, Teagan O’Flynn — better known as the superlative sister — do solemnly swear to have a great time while participating wholeheartedly in Cara’s — better known as the exiguous sister — ridiculous attempt at creating an adventure.”

  “What does exiguous even mean?”

  “Look it up. Your picture will be on the page.”

  “Just tell me so that I don’t have to.”

  “Exiguous means small. Scanty. Meager.”

  “How do you even know that?”

  “Word of the day, dingleberry. Remember when Mom gave us those calendars when we were in school? I still buy them.”

  “Well, I’m not small. I’m bigger than you are.”

  “You’re taller than I am. You weigh about twelve pounds. We need to do something about that.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Good. Shall we go?”

  “A car is picking us up. They’ll text me when they are at the corner.”

  “Wow. A car. How she-she poo-poo of you.”

  “It’s easier than leaving our cars at the airport.”

  “So, we’re flying?”

  “No, we are going to the airport to catch a train.”

  “Dingleberry, with you making the arrangements, that could happen.”

  The car took us to the airport, and even Teagan was impressed when it went to the private area and dropped us right outside a private plane. Adeline insisted I use her plane instead of going commercial. She said she wants it known that her plane is in town. It will make her kids nervous.

  Alice greeted us and made sure we were comfortable. She asked after Caroline and was happy to hear that she was doing so well. She had been on the plane with the girls when they came home after their trip to DC.

  We had frozen margaritas and tortilla chips with way too much salt, just the way we both like them.

  Alice then came out with the best chicken fajitas with warm tortillas and frothy garlic-butter sauce for dipping. Maybe one of my favorite things of all time. She explained that they had come straight from a flight in Houston and picked up the meal at Pappacito’s in the airport. Adeline had mentioned to her how I love that food. So good.

  It never ceases to amaze me how much effort Adeline puts into making sure the people she cares about have what they are comfortable with. There must be something that happened somewhere along the line, but I don’t know what it was.

  When we had eaten way too much of everything, insisting that Alice join us, she disappeared and came back with dessert.

  Sin.

  Can you believe it?

  How did Adeline know that Teagan’s favorite dessert in the world is that triple chocolate, one-billion-calorie decadence on steroids?

  Teagan and I played cards, and Alice read a book until we landed.

  There was a limo waiting for us.

  We were taken directly to Adeline’s condo.

  I had heard it was beautiful, but I was truly not prepared, and I was so, so grateful that I’d brought Teagan with me. She’s better at handling stuff like this. I’m uncomfortable in a restaurant that has more than one fork. Can you imagine what I would be like in one of the finest buildings in Manhattan?

  We were greeted by the doorman, Johnny. Adeline had given me an envelope to give to Johnny for his son JonJon, her distinctive writing and old-fashioned wax seal on either side.

  “I can’t believe she remembered.”

  Since I didn’t know what he was talking about, all I could do was smile.

  “Adeline, she got my boy into school, really. He’s a good kid. Smart. Maybe too smart. But we couldn’t get him in school for nothing. Adeline wrote a letter, and the next thing you know, they’re calling him and telling him he has a spot. He’s done good. Made us all proud. He is a straight-A honor student. Made every list you can make. And he’s found himself a good girl. He’s doin’ just fine. I’m grateful. Real grateful.” He shook his head as if trying to clear the emotion.

  Johnny opened the door for us, and we entered rich-people Nirvana. There was a reception desk — actually, I’ll bet it’s more about security than reception. There was a huge seating area, and hand-carved wood was everywhere. There was incredible art on the walls, and the lighting showcased it to perfection. There were dark chairs with white suede cushions, and the biggest flower arrangement I have ever seen was on a round table and reached easily fifteen feet into the air.

  A man named Reggie introduced himself and said that he would see us up. He came around the desk and walked straight toward a wall of beautiful, heavy wood. He reached out and touched the wood, and it moved to the side. An almost-hidden elevator. I’m sure my eyes were as big as saucers. Teagan and I followed him into the elevator. I was greatly relieved when the limo guy said he’d take care of our bags. I’d feel stupid with my cheap suitcase in this building. I didn’t even bother to borrow the good ones from my brother.

  When Adeline said she wanted me to stay at the condo, it never in a million years dawned on me that it would be something like this. I thought it would be nice, but, wow.

  Reggie opened the door and explained that our fingerprints had already been entered into the security system.

  When Teagan looked confused, I said that they probably got them from my old apartment system. When Roland, Adeline’s security guy, put in the fancy system, they got our fingerprints.

  From the look on Teagan’s face, I could tell we’d be talking about that later.

  Elsa introduced herself as the house manager. She gave us a tour of the place, and if she noticed Teagan drooling or me panicking, she was kind enough not to say anything.

  From the bathroom with a silver-etched toilet that has a tank at least six feet tall, and matching mirror, to the Charlotte Thomas sheets, the house is magnificent. If Teagan hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have even realized what most of the stuff was.

  The personal spaces of the suite were stunning, but the public areas are
outrageous. Not even in magazines have I ever seen anything like it, and I did a whole lot of research for Adeline’s mansion.

  This puts that to shame.

  I wonder why.

  My assumption is that tastes, or maybe expectations, are different in the Tampa Bay area than they are in Manhattan.

  We were invited into what I assume is Adeline’s library.

  Elsa rolled in a beautiful cart full of all kinds of goodies. There was every kind of Hershey’s chocolate known to man. A couple I hadn’t heard of. Pepsi, tea, and ice-cold milk were also available.

  Elsa asked if there was anything we required, and when we said we were going out, she said the car was available twenty-four hours a day.

  “I thought we’d just take the subway or walk.”

  “As you wish, but Adeline called and told us that she wanted you — as she put it — very blue stocking.”

  Confused, I could only repeat what she said. “Blue stocking?”

  “It means she wants the world to think you are of a certain station. She wants those who observe you to think you are not one of her employees, but rather, a young contemporary. She’s quite certain word will get back to her children, and that is what she is desirous of.”

  “Oh, yeah, I knew that. That is pretty much why I’m here.”

  Teagan didn’t say anything while Elsa was in the room, but she jumped on me as soon as the door closed.

  “What exactly are we doing here?”

  “We’re bait.”

  “I’m bait, and you didn’t tell me?”

  “Not that kind of bait. Benign bait.”

  “Yeah, that’s what all bait is told. Then they grab a big hook and stick it in your mouth and out your eye, and life is just never quite the same. What’s going on?”

  “You know how Adeline has had a bunch of her grandkids move into the big house she has? They’re all working at learning different jobs inside her different companies. Well, Roland, the security guy, thinks maybe there is a spy among them.”

  “Very ‘bad movie,’ Cara.”

  “Doesn’t matter. If my boss wants to pay for me to have a free trip to New York so I can walk around looking rich for a few days, so the word gets back to her kids or maybe they try to find out who I am through their kids, so Roland can track all that, I’m good with that. Oh, and there’s a little surprise in this for you.”

  “I’m afraid to ask.” Teagan sounded less than impressed.

  “There will be a stylist coming here in about an hour. I told Adeline I didn’t think we needed any clothing custom made, but she insisted on supplying our ‘costumes.’ So, even though they won’t be one of a kind designs, they will be rather high-end, chosen just for us, and we get to keep them.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. Unfortunately, we’re also expected to dine on fine food, perhaps drink some fine wine, and make ourselves known a little bit.”

  “And how do we do that?”

  “Adeline says she believes there’s a tenant in this building who calls her kids when anything is going on in this suite, so all we have to do is come and go a bit, maybe sit down in the lobby while we wait for the car, chitchat in the elevator, and say something that we don’t say to anyone else, because the elevator only goes to Adeline’s place and one other, so if we run into someone in the elevator, and we say that pigs are purple, and it comes back to her that pigs are purple, she’ll know where the leak is.”

  “What’s she going to do?”

  “Kick them out, probably.”

  “How is she going to do that? Is she on the board or something?”

  “This whole building is Adeline’s.”

  I hadn’t seen Teagan’s eyes get that big in a long time.

  I laughed out loud.

  “I’m going to go take a shower and get ready for my fittings. What are you going to do, dingleberry?”

  “Please don’t call me that in Manhattan.”

  “Fine, your grace. By the way, it’s not my fault you have that nickname. You did it to yourself. If people knew the story behind it, everyone would be calling you that. What do you wish to do next, your eminence?”

  “Mom is gonna smack you. We are supposed to get along. You want her to come here right now and make us hold hands?”

  “I would love for her to come here right now.”

  “Me, too. Sorry. I’m going to call Adeline, make sure everything is still the way it was when we left, and then take a shower. I’ll still be done before you. Meet you back here?”

  “Perfect. And, Cara?”

  “Hmm…?”

  “Thanks for bringing me. I can’t really say that I needed this, but I needed something. This is going to be a blast.”

  “A blast? Wow. I haven’t heard that come out of your mouth since the time you and Jenna Plackton decided to TP Robert Munncherson’s house. You know how well that turned out.”

  “Don’t remind me. Mom was so mad at me I thought she was going to kill me. And Jenna.”

  “You would have been alright if you’d stuck to toilet paper.”

  “Nobody told me the mess the other stuff would make. We got it all cleaned up. All it took was three days, Dad’s pressure washer, and about four layers of skin off my hands.”

  “This should be much easier on you.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears.”

  Teagan smiled, got up, and walked out of the room. She had the old Teagan bounce in her step.

  This trip might be a good thing after all.

  The stylist was good, if a little too much for me. My hair has grown out enough that it looks like a pixie with attitude. I’m too skinny, I know that, but with the way the stylist dressed me, one minute I felt like I was too skinny, and the next I could understand how some girls get it all wrong. The clothes looked great on me.

  What is it about designers that they design for people who are too skinny?

  Or is it just that we have been programmed to think skinny is what looks good? There are a lot of other cultures out there that prefer a little meat on the bone, as Bernie always said.

  We didn’t go overboard on the clothes. The stylist was really good about mixing and matching and coming up with something totally different. She and Teagan got into a very long discussion about trends — which I don’t understand because Teagan isn’t trendy — and the proper way to build a wardrobe. Classic pieces. Good quality. A few trendy or statement pieces. All kinds of stuff I really don’t care about.

  When the stylist decided we would look good enough not to embarrass Adeline, we were told she would be back with the appropriate clothing, tailored to fit us properly, by late this evening.

  Basically, we were excused.

  Which made me laugh a little.

  “So, Cara, what now?” Teagan gave me a look.

  “What?”

  “I didn’t call you ‘dingleberry,’ and you didn’t even smile.”

  “I’m proud of you.” I gave her my best first-grade, picture-day smile. “You want to go sightseeing?”

  “Sure, what do you want to see? It’s nowhere near as late as I thought. I figured it would be a whole day of travel, but when you do everything private, there are cars waiting for you, and no lines. Normally, I’m at the airport half an hour early to find a good spot, then a couple of hours early to the gate, then the reverse. We went straight to the plane, and it only took — what? — less than three hours to get here. Even the stylist was quick. We have some time.”

  “There’s so much to see in New York and Manhattan, I’m not even sure where to start.”

  Elsa walked in. “If I may, what type of thing are you looking for? Museums? Shopping? Great food?”

  “Oh, I know!” It dawned on me. “How about the Russian Tea Room? We’re tea people.”

  Teagan looked confused. “I thought that place closed a long time ago.”

  Elsa filled us in. “It was closed, then opened again, has changed hands several times, but it is again servin
g. I believe you can get a quick afternoon tea for about fifty dollars a person.”

  I tried not to sound like a country mouse. “Fifty dollars a person? Really?”

  “It could be a little more by now. I’m not sure about it.”

  “I think I’ll skip that.”

  Teagan smiled. “We can shop. There is never a bad time to shop.”

  “Works for me. How about that F.A.O. Schwarz? There is supposed to be a huge Toys ’R Us. There’s also a big Hershey’s store in Times Square, right?”

  “I think Times Square will work for me. I’ll go put on some walking shoes, and we can go.”

  Elsa was starting to sound more like a housemother than a house manager. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but you ladies are supposed to exude a certain air. Adeline made that point multiple times, which is unusual for her.”

  “Is there a service entrance here? We’ll sneak out and go play, and then when our clothes get here later, we’ll officially put on our costumes — as Adeline calls them — and start Operation…” I shrugged. “Not sure what to call it.”

  “How about we don’t act like crazy people, and we don’t call it anything?” Teagan smiled.

  “Better approach. I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes?”

  Elsa said. “I will walk with you down the block. If anyone is watching, they will assume you are the help, and they will not give it a thought. One advantage of being of service is that you are quite invisible.”

  Teagan actually wore real walking shoes. I thought for sure she would come back into the library, wearing at least three-inch wedges.

  Wonder of all wonders.

  Elsa led us through the hallways, then through a kitchen I might consider murder for — even though I love my kitchen in my new house — and through the staff quarters. She then led us to a small elevator, hit the button, and we were almost free.

  I know it sounds stupid, but it already felt like an adventure. There’s just something about sneaking around that makes you kind of giddy.

  Once outside, we were led down a little pathway and out between two buildings that must face back-to-back with Adeline’s building.

  Elsa was just about to head back to the building when Teagan spoke. “I have a stupid question.”