Madam of Maple Court (13 page)

When Gary walked through the restaurant door Pam was surprised at how nervous she suddenly felt.
This is ridiculous
, she thought.
This isn't a date. It's just a business conference
. She took a calming breath.
Who are you kidding? It feels like a date
. She wondered how it felt to Gary.

Gary's face brightened as he spotted her and walked over.

He extended his hand. "It's good to see you again. You've sounded so distant each time I called recently that I was beginning to wonder whether I was getting the brush-off."

That sounded personal, Pam thought as she took Gary's hand. "Not at all." Over glasses of surprisingly good pinot grigio she told him about the wedding.

"No wonder you've been so busy, but when I talked to you, you sounded so calm and, I don't know, put together. I'd have been a nervous wreck. You must be pretty good at this party stuff."

"I'm discovering I am. The wedding planner asked whether I'd be willing to have the house used again and I said yes immediately. Belinda said a few of her friends said the same thing. I think it would be fun. Maybe I could even become a cottage industry. Weddings and other functions. Actually, Marcy suggested it to me today also." She spent the remainder of the meal filling Gary in on her conversation with Marcy and Liza, without going into any details about Liza and Vin's encounters.

"My first impression of Marcy was overwhelmingly positive," Gary said when she finished. "She's quite a woman despite what she does to earn a buck."

"Much more than a buck, she told me." Pam's laugh was a little forced. "She even invited me to become the suburban branch of the club."

"You're kidding. She must really like and trust you."

Trust. It had become something to treasure. "She must."

"What did you answer?"

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "No, of course."

"Why not?"

"You've got to be kidding. Me?" She lowered her voice. "Run a whorehouse?"

"Not necessarily run something like Club Fantasy, but what's so wrong with what she does? I listened to Marcy quite a bit when we met last week and I've been thinking about it ever since. Lots of what she said made sense. I know it's illegal and all, but why shouldn't a woman be able to sell something that's hers? She can sell her services as a secretary or a singer or even a day laborer. She can sell the use of any other part of her body. Why not sell the rest? I guess rent it out would be a better term."

"Okay, that makes sense in a strange way, but it's still both immoral and illegal."

"The illegal part is true. Immoral? Probably true as well. But what's so different about paying for it that way, rather than asking your secretary to dinner with hanky-panky afterward while your wife's home with the kids?"

"It's the secretary's choice."

"It's Marcy's choice, too, and the women who work with her."

"From what I gather she doesn't actually do it. She just keeps the books and does the scheduling. Did you know they even pay taxes as an escort service and all the women have health insurance?"

"You're kidding. What a day and age we live in."

"Yeah," Pam said. "I remember reading several months ago about that Washington woman who was arrested for pandering. Doesn't she worry about that, I wonder."

"I would guess that she feels pretty insulated, but the law is probably always a danger. She's probably got a client list that won't quit, though, and maybe that's what keeps her safe. And remember that the guys have as much to lose as she does if the police get involved."

"I hadn't considered that, but you're right." She paused, then said, "Did you know that not only does she have kids and a home life, but so does Liza? Liza's got two kids in school and a new romantic relationship with someone she met at a her daughter's school."

"Bravo for her," Gary said, his deep blue eyes gleaming. "Dating is so difficult these days."

Did that comment have a double meaning
? Pam wondered, but she let it pass.
No need to stick your neck out
.

By this time they'd finished a long leisurely dinner and were opening their fortune cookies. As he read his fortune he chuckled. " 'You will be successful in your love life.' " He met Pam's gaze and she held her breath. "I'd like to think I'll be successful in my dating life, anyway." He hesitated, then said, "Would you have dinner with me some other night—a dinner not involving business?"

A date. Holy shit. A real date. She hadn't been fantasizing about something that would never happen. Here it was, and suddenly she couldn't form a coherent thought. When she didn't answer, Gary said, "I'm sorry. This might be too soon for you. I didn't want to upset you."

Her brain began to function. "You didn't, and I'd love to have dinner with you sometime soon." She felt her face warming and she smiled slightly. "Strictly nonbusiness."

Gary beamed. "Great."

Okay, time to find out a few things. "Tell me a little about yourself. You know lots about me. If we're going to—well, whatever we're going to do, I'd like to know a bit more about you."

"Fair enough. I'm thirty-six, married and divorced with two wonderful children." His face lit up when he mentioned his children. "My wife lives in Riverdale and I've got an apartment less than a mile away so I get to see my girls every other weekend and lots of evenings during the week."

Trying not to be jealous of his having the children she couldn't have, she said, "How old are they?"

"Melissa is seven and Amy is five. Toni and I have been divorced for four years, but I think the kids are doing pretty well, all things considered. Toni's remarried to a doctor and the girls love him to pieces. It's really worked out fine."

"How do you feel about your wife's new husband?"

"He's a great guy, a surgeon. I like him as a person and he's wonderful with the kids." His words seemed genuine and Pam was pleased. He was obviously as nice a guy as she'd thought he was.

"I envy you your children. I wish Vin and I had been able to have kids."

"I'm sorry about that." When the silence lengthened, Gary said, "Anyway, how about dinner and a movie or something? I usually have the girls over the weekend, but maybe some evening next week."

"I'd like that." And she wasn't just being polite.

"Great. I could rent a car and come up to Westchester."

"Not necessary. Driving is second nature for me and I really don't mind coming to the city. Eventually"—if there was an eventually,—"if you want to try the joys of Westchester County, I could always drive down and pick you up."

"What do you enjoy doing when you're in the city?"

"Vin and I used to go to Lincoln Center a lot." She looked down at her hands. "Actually, I'm more of a lightweight musical person, but Vin loved big concerts. He and a friend of his used to go to the opera about once a month." Or was that a sham to cover his visits with Liza?

"I can see your mind working, and I think it's probably counterproductive to wonder about things that used to be and are no more. Whatever was, was."

"That's a great philosophy. I only hope I can abide by it. What do you enjoy doing?"

"Mostly I work, but when I have time to spend I love amusement parks. My kids and I have season passes to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. They love it there. They've got cartoon characters, rides, and food, of course. I got friendly with one of the women who takes care of one of the food areas and she occasionally looks after the girls on her break so I can I ride the roller coaster."

"The roller coaster? You're kidding."

His face lit up as he talked about it, almost as much as he loved talking about his daughters. "Nope. I'm addicted to Kingda Ka. Did you know it's the fastest roller coaster in the world? It hits almost one hundred thirty miles per hour."

"I hate to say this, but I've never been on a roller coaster."

"Lady, you've got a thrill in store for yourself. I'll see to that." There was a double entendre in his voice but Pam chose to ignore it. "I also like comedy clubs. Many of the performers are pretty lame, but from time to time you get to see someone really talented and on the way up."

"Vin and I went with his business friends every now and then, and I usually enjoyed myself. Vin always seemed to be above it all."

"You've got to have a drink or two first."

"Vin didn't drink." She thought about it for a minute. "Probably a control thing, like most of the rest of his life."
He only dropped his guard with Liza
.

"I like to get a little mellow and laugh at bad jokes. Let me see who's doing what this week and maybe we can visit one."

"I'd like that." She looked at her watch. "My lord, it's almost ten, and I think the waiter is wondering whether he'll ever get to go home."

Gary signaled for the check. "Don't even think about it," he said as Pam reached for her wallet. "This is a date and I get to pay."

"Okay. I won't get silly about it, but from here on we share. Right?"

"When we take our first trip to the Caribbean we can split it. For the moment, I know your financial condition and, even paying child support, I make enough to take you out from time to time. Got it?"

He was right about her financial condition, and she sort of liked the fact that he was old-fashioned. For the moment, she let it go. When the waiter brought the check, Gary put his credit card on the little black tray. "How about Thursday?"

"That would be wonderful." She had a date. A real official date. Amazing.

"I'll call you and we'll make firm plans."

"Are you going back to the Bronx? I can drop you if you like."

"That would be wonderful."

After they bailed Pam's car out of the parking garage they drove north and chatted about nothing of consequence as they wended their way through sleepy streets. Gary directed her to a block of small houses and she pulled to a stop in the middle of the block. "This one's mine," he said. "When Toni and I split, I found a little upstairs apartment that the folks who live here have carved out to earn a little extra money. My place even has a second bedroom so the girls can stay over. They're hot for their bunk beds and they don't even notice the stairs."

"You sound like a good father."

With a slight smile, he said, "I hope so." He unfastened his seat belt. "Awkward moment alert," he said, then leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "End of awkward moment."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You're right. That was perfect." He climbed out of her Lexus and before closing the door he said, "I'm glad you needed my help. Otherwise we'd have never met and that would have been a shame."

"Right you are. Good night," she said and he closed the car door.

•

Pam and Gary met for dinner the following Thursday evening and went to a comedy club the Tuesday after that. Pam enjoyed the evenings thoroughly and was excited by the idea of dating. She loved the careful selection of what to wear, the excitement of not knowing where they'd go, and the little flutters of her heart when she thought about possibly taking this dating thing to its logical conclusion, bed. She tried not to get too deeply into sexuality, but between her evenings with Gary and her conversations with Marcy and Liza, the idea of making love was never far from her consciousness.