Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) (11 page)

But first—she couldn’t help it
. S
he opened the door to the terrace and walked outside pretending to check the weather
, coffee mug firmly in hand
. She strolled to the opposite corner from the dividing wall, hoping to hear the neighbor calling her name. Maybe he had today’s paper. Maybe he was still sleeping. She circled back, stretching her neck to peek over the wall. No one on the terrace, and she couldn’t see inside the condo because the drapes were drawn
closed
.
D
rapes?
Diego had window coverings? How about that
?
Well, she was going to file a complaint, there.

With that thought, she marched back inside just as the phone rang. Margo was at the gate. She asked Margo to wait for her in the car. Mina took her time
strolling to the elevator, thinking she might run into Diego on her way out
. She was obsessing over this man she knew nothing about. Guilt slipped into her conscious
ness
, and she mentally apologized to the universe like she used to do when she was a child. Still, while walking through the common garage, she looked for Diego’s Harley. No bike in sight.

“I feel like your nanny,” were the first words out of Margo’s ruby lips. “Not complaining, mind you, no
siree. A change of scenery is good for the soul. So, what’s the plan?”

“Adams wants me out of town so I won’t talk to the wrong people, I guess. I told him I was going to spend the day at Sea Word, but I have a better idea. Let’s drive down to Del Mar, and then track back on Pacific Coast Highway and stop in every funky little store we see. And we can eat at some earthy café, maybe in Encinitas. What do you say?”

“You paying?”

“Sure, you drive, I pay. We have all day. Maybe we can find some really old Christmas decorations in an antiques store.”

“Did you get a tree?”

“Not yet. Hey Margo, you were right
about the neighbor. I have one.”

“Ah! What did I tell you? Did you meet him? Is he as nice as he looks? Come on, come on, spill the beans.” Margo turned down the volume of the radio. “I’m listening.”

They left Newport Beach behind and were already South of Corona Del Mar. Mina
was
excited. It was going to be a fun day and she
could
talk
about Diego
to someone
who wouldn’t raise her
eyebrows. She loved that expression, raising eyebrows
.
T
oo bad it didn’t sound good translated in Italian.

“He is
sort of nice. I’ll say Diego is more interesting than nice.” Mina said.

“Oh, Diego. Good name. I like that. What did you two talk about? Did you see him on the terrace?”

Mina wasn’t sure she wanted to share all the details. She mentioned how they met at the restaurant, that he spoke Italian and a few other inconsequential facts. Above all she didn’t want Margo to suspect that she was attracted to this man of mystery.

“How old is he?” Margo asked.

“I don’t know. He said he had no wife or kids, so you were right about that. I’m guessing thirty, thirty-five years old?”

“Thirty
-
five would work
.
”

“Would work for what? Oh, Margo, honestly, one track mind.”

Mina’s vest
turned out to be
unnecessary
due to the mild weather as she and Margo
went from small dingy stores to high end antiques, from Del Mar to Solana Beach and Encinitas. By the time they made it to Carlsbad, the sun was setting
. T
hey were tired of shopping and famished. Both had bags with silly second hand jewelry, glass beads, and scarves. Mina found an angel for the treetop. The angel looked cross-eyed but had cool gold colored hair and somehow reminded her of an old plaster guardian angel her grandmother kept over her bed for protection. Maybe she could do the same, hang this little angel over her bed.

After much
debate
, they stopped to eat at a
“
beach hut
.
”
It wasn’t really a hut and it wasn’t on the beach, but Margo once had a fling with one of the owners and was hoping to bump into him. The
staff
consisted
mostly
of
high school kids. Mina felt pretty sure the only organic
item
in the whole establishment was the grass in the server’s jeans pocket. Margo had been a real sport the whole day, so Mina settled in her wobbly beach chair and ordered something that
required
cook
ing and she requested
it
“
well done
.
”
S
he wasn’t going to eat anything raw in that joint.

Mina had promised Adams she would be gone
twenty-four
hours.
M
aledizione
. I
t hadn’t even been
half that
. Maybe they could catch a movie in Mission Viejo. They
left the beach café
and
,
instead of continuing on the PCH, opted for Interstate 5 and headed north.

Once outside Oceanside, the vast, deserted span of priceless land
hosting
Camp Pendleton had to be crossed
, but there was n
o waiting at the
checkpoint
that
separat
ed
Orange County from San Diego County. Below the highway, on the beach side, the
Amtrak
Pacific Surfliner head
ed
south to San Diego,
carry
ing people and their dreams to that lovely city. The water of the Pacific had on its evening gown, and at the far horizon, sky and sea blended into one shimmering shade of grey.

It
was Mina’s first trip that far down the coast since she moved from her mother’s house in Mission Viejo. Her stomach churned. All the memories...she re
called
the perfume cap
and
vowed to
buy some super glue
to
fix it when she
went home
.

“Margo, can we get off the freeway before the Mission Viejo mall? I need to get some super glue.”

“We don’t need to go to the mall for glue
. W
e can get that at any drugstore. You know this part of O.C. better than I do
. T
ell me what exit to take
.
What did you break?”

“Nothing, I didn’t break a thing, it happened moving. We can get off at the last San Clemente exit, there is a drugstore right by my old gym.”

“Oh, okay. Where do you work out now? Or did you stop altogether? Don’t you miss your yoga classes?”

Mina had managed to block out the Ginger/Barbara drama for most of the day. Margo innocently brought it all back. Mina shrugged and didn’t answer. They parked by the drug store. Margo wait
ed
in the car, said she felt tired. Mina hurried
to pay
for the glue and headed back to Margo’s Chevrolet.

“Mina, is that you?”

Did someone call her name?

She recognized Jessica, the owner of her old gym. She walked over to say hello.

“Hi Jessica, how are you?” From the corner of her eye Mina noticed Margo getting out of the car in a hurry. In a hurry for what?

“Excuse me, please, I need to go to the bathroom really bad.” Margo bounce
d
from one foot to the other.

“Oh, sure, come over to the gym. I just opened up for the evening classes
,
” Jessica said.

“Jessica, this is my friend Margo. Margo
…
” Mina
spoke
to her back. Margo was already inside the gym, probably searching for the bathroom.

“When she said she had to go,
I guess
she meant it.” Jessica smiled
and
closed the door behind Mina. “Did you stop by to get Ginger’s things? She said someone would be coming by to pick
them
up. I didn’t know it would be you. Nice surprise.”

Mina was the one who was surprised. What
did
Ginger le
ave
behind to be picked up? She couldn’t ask or Jessica would guess it wasn’t intended for Mina. Jessica, her lithe body enhanced by the black gym outfit, sashayed to
a
row of cubicles behind her desk, opened one
,
pulled out
two
dumbbells
and handed them
to Mina. The pink hand weights Ginger used for her classes. Mina let out a sigh of
relief, just
dumbbells. S
he had imagined all kinds of hocus pocus.

“I guess she really isn’t coming back to teach, huh? Wonder why she left these behind? I’ll make sure she gets them.”

“Is she back from Vegas yet?” Jessica asked.

“I assume so. I left a message for her, but you know, she is probably still enjoying her honeymoon.”
Mina, you liar.
She told herself it was for a good cause. After all, she was trying to help Ginger.
“Strange that Ginger would forget her dumb bells, she always reminded the class how special they were to her.”

“Oh, she didn’t forget. She packed all her equipment in her car and took off. The weights were left on top of the trunk and rolled off. I picked them up and tried to catch her, but she drove
off
too fast.
S
he called
later
and said someone would come by to get them. And here you are. So nice to see you. We miss you.”

Before Mina could answer, Margo came from the bathroom look
ing
a little pale.

“Margo, you okay?” Mina asked.

“I don’t
think
so
, must be something I ate. Let’s get going.”

“Okay
. W
ell, bye, Jessica. Give hugs from me to everyone. By the way, what was the name of Ginger’s complex? I forgot.”

“The Promenade. You know? By the Mission Viejo Shops? Got to get ready for the next class. You take care now.”

“I will. Bye
-
bye.”

Mina set the pink hand weights
on the back seat of Margo’s car
next to the bag with the super glue.

“Margo, you don’t look so good. You want me to drive?”

“I’m fine now, but
,
boy, don’t know what was in my food, plenty of fiber, for sure. You don’t have any problem? What do you need those silly pink weights for?”

“They belong to my former yoga instructor.” She didn’t want to mention Ginger’s name, concerned it would bring bad luck. “Do you feel like making a detour so I can give them to her?”

“Where does she live?”

“A couple of miles north from here, just off the freeway.”

“Okay, I guess.” They drove in silence until Mina pointed to the exit ramp.

Just as they reached Marguerite Parkway, Margo
grew
restless.

“Oh, man, I think I need to go to the bathroom again.”
Without another word, s
he turned into a gas station
and jumped
out
,
leaving the car idling. The Chevrolet was parked sideway
s
, occupying
two
spaces. Damn. Mina hated touching other people’s cars, but she didn’t want to get yelled at. She slid into the driver’s seat, adjusted the mirror and began to back up. She noticed the motorcycle in her rear view mirror.
Diego
?
Not possible. She was imagining things. What would Diego be doing here, in Mission Viejo,
only a couple hundred
yards fro
m
Ginger’s place?

Mina felt paralyzed. She didn’t want him to see her
and schooched down in the seat
. Was it really Diego
,
or was she projecting her fantasies?
S
he could only see the rear wheel of the bike,
until
it moved
, and then there was only a blurred glance f
or a split second.

Come on Margo, hurry
. Mina’s instinct was to follow the motorcycle. How? This wasn’t her car. She
sighed,
turned the
off
engine and waited for Margo.

“I can’t believe what’s happening,” Margo said. “I also got my period. I need to get home.”

“Do you want to stop to buy
—
?
”