Obsessed (19 page)

And now it was Friday, the fifth date in a row for Nita and Michael. They were slated to go to another midnight movie, and Judy had read the reviews. The reviewer had said it was a touching, sensitive story of a love that survived despite terrible odds. It was the type of movie she might have wanted to see with Michael. There would be plenty of opportunities to hold hands and hug. But Michael would be with Nita.

At least Berto had promised to confront Nita tonight, and Judy hoped he could shame her into dropping her relation ship with Michael. Berto had told her he hoped his sister would listen to reason, but that didn’t guarantee success. Judy was so busy worrying about Berto’s upcoming talk with Nita, she totally missed her light cue at the end of Michael’s love song. The moment she realized it, she quickly dimmed the lights, but the old light box wasn’t built to handle any sudden changes. There was a loud snap, the stage went completely dark, and Judy groaned. She’d blown a fuse!

Luckily, Judy was prepared. She grabbed the flashlight she always kept in her pocket and replaced the fuse. Then she brought the lights slowly up again. But when she glanced out on stage, she realized that Michael was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn!” Judy swore softly under her breath. She whirled around and gasped as she bumped straight into Michael. Thank goodness he didn’t look mad, but she had no idea why he was grinning.

“Sorry, Michael.” Judy started to apologize. “It’s my fault. I guess I was thinking about something else, and . . .”

“It doesn’t matter.” Michael interrupted her. “I wanted to get off stage in a hurry anyway. Have you seen Nita?”

“No. I suppose she’s out on the floor, waiting on . . .
”

“I’m right here.” Nita stepped out from behind the screen. “Are you ready, Michael?”

Michael nodded, and turned to Judy. “Okay, Jude. Wait for us to get out on stage, and then bring the lights up full.”

“But . . . but, why?” Judy was confused. The show was over, except for Michael’s encore.

“Nita’s helping me with the encore tonight. Just light it the way you usually do. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Judy nodded. What else could she do? And then she watched with a sinking heart as Michael picked up another stool and carried it out on the stage for Nita.

Carla stepped behind the screen to join Judy, just as Mi chael got Nita settled on her stool. He sat down next to her, gave her a little hug, and grinned as the audience ap plauded. Judy knew why they were applauding. Nita had laughing brown eyes and hair the color of midnight. They knew that Nita was the girl he’d described in his ballad.

“What’s going on?” Carla turned to Judy with a question in her eyes.

“I don’t know. Michael just said that Nita was helping him with the encore tonight.”

“But she’s a waitress! She doesn’t sing, does she?”

“Search me.” Judy shrugged. “I really don’t know her that well.”

Michael began to strum his guitar. He was staring straight into Nita’s eyes, and Nita was smiling.

“She’s grinning like the cat that ate the canary,” Carla sighed with disgust. “She probably thinks she won the con test.”

Judy nodded. “Maybe she did. She certainly looks smug.”

Then Michael started to sing to Nita. It was a new song he’d written about a man who’d found his one true love. Judy listened to the lyrics for a moment, and then she turned to Carla. “I wish I hadn’t blown that fuse at the end of Michael’s set.”

“Why?”

“Because it would look deliberate if I blew another fuse right now. And I’d love to!”

Carla laughed. “I think you should do it anyway. You can always say the light board has a short.”

“Should I?” Judy touched the switch with the tips of her fingers. “Really?”

“Go ahead, Judy. Live dangerously. Do it!”

“Michael’s going to kill me.” Judy winced a little. “He’ll never believe it wasn’t deliberate.”

Carla picked up the· special carbon dioxide fire extin guisher that hung next to the light board. “Sure, he will . . . especially if I say there were flames shooting out of the box, and I sprayed it down with this thing.”

Judy stared at Carla for a moment, and then she nodded. “Okay. But if you ever tell anybody . . .
”

“I won’t. I promise.” Carla glanced out at the stage again, and clutched her stomach. “Hurry up, Judy. All this sappy love and devotion is making me sick.”

Judy’s fingers tightened on the switch. She hoped Carla was right. Michael would never forgive her if he suspected she’d blown a fuse on purpose. “Get ready with that fire extinguisher, Carla. Here she blows!”

With one shove, Judy pushed up the lever to its maximum position. There was a loud pop, and everything went black. Almost immediately, flames shot out from the light box. Carla gasped, and began to douse them with the spray from the fire extinguisher, but the flames kept right on coming.

“Oh, my God!” Judy grabbed the second fire extin guisher and pressed the release. The flames were still leap ing from the center of the light board. They battled the blaze for a moment, and then Judy shouted at Carla.

“I’ll take over here. You go out and trip the circuit breaker by the side of the building!”

“I’ll do it, Jude! Just keep spraying that foam!”

Michael raced from the stage, and ran toward the emer gency exit at the rear of the building. A moment later, the lights in the showroom clicked off, leaving them in absolute darkness. Several people in the audience screamed, and Judy heard Mr. Calloway’s voice, telling everyone to stay calm. The powerful flashlight that Mr. Calloway always car ried winked on, and he began to lead the audience toward the exit.

The flames were almost out now, and Judy turned to Carla. “I can’t believe it, Carla. There really was a short!”

“And how!” Carla’s voice was shaking. “It’s a good thing it happened now, when we were prepared. I’d hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t been ready with those fire extinguishers.”

The last flame fizzled out, and Judy gave a big sigh of relief. “We’ve got it, Carla. Everything’s under control. We’d better go out and tell Mr. Calloway.”

“Right. And first thing tomorrow morning, I’d better call an electrician. I think that old light board has had it.”

Judy switched on her flashlight, and the two girls linked arms as they walked through the deserted showroom. They were almost at the door when Carla turned to Judy.

“I don’t think that Nita will ever get up on stage with Michael again. I saw her running for the exit, and she looked completely freaked.”

“Good.” Judy began to smile. “I don’t think Michael will ever sing that song again, either.”

“Why not?”

Judy’s smile widened until it stretched out happily across her face. “It’s the title, Carla. It was just too appropriate.”

“What is it?”

Carla looked curious, and Judy laughed out loud. “It’s called “The Flames Of Love.”

Sixteen

Nita sighed as she snuggled in Michael’s arms in the backseat of Judy’s Volvo. Traffic was light on the Golden State Freeway. It was two o’clock on Sunday afternoon and it was unu
sually hot. Most people were probably staying inside the air-conditioned comfort of their homes, except for the more adventuresome who had gone off to picnic in shady parks, or enjoy the sea breeze at the beach. Nita did her best to look
cheerful as Judy took the Exhibition Boule vard ramp off the freeway, and drove toward the Natural History Museum. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to spend the whole afternoon inside. If they finished early, they’d still have time to do something that was fun.

Moments later, they were pulling into a parking space right in front of the museum. Judy shut off the engine, and turned around to face Michael with a frown. “Are you sure it’s open today? I’ve never found a parking space this close to the entrance before.
”

“It’s open. I called first to check. But they told me they didn’t think they’d be crowded. They never are when it’s this hot.”

“This is great!” Berto looked excited. “We won’t have to wait in line to see their new Egyptian exhibit. I heard they’ve got an incredibly preserved mummy.”

Michael opened the door and helped Nita out. Then he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. “I’m glad we decided to come today, aren’t you?”

“Definitely. It should be wonderful!” Nita smiled, even though she felt more like frowning. She hated museums. They were stuffy and boring, and they usually smelled like damp basements. She’d hoped they would go somewhere else, like the beach, where she could show off her new bathing suit, and
Michael would rub suntan lotion on her back. Anywhere would have been better than this horrible old museum. It was impossible to be romantic when you had to look at a bunch of old, dead things.

As they climbed the steps to the ornate doors, Michael glanced down at her new red sandals. “Are you sure you’ll be able to walk in those? We’re going to be covering a lot of ground.”

“I’m sure.” Nita nodded. She wasn’t about to admit that the thin straps on her sandals were beginning to chafe her ankles. The sandals went with her new red sundress. That was why she’d worn them. But Michael hadn’t even com mented on her appearance. Ramon’s eyes would have prac tically popped out of his head if she’d worn her revealing halter top and short skirt for him.

“I guess no one else showed up.” Judy flashed her mu seum membership card at the door, and led them into the two-story marble lobby. “Carla said she’d try to make it, and so did Andy. Even Mr. Calloway thought the museum would be fun on a Sunday.”

Nita glared at Judy. Having Judy and Berto along was bad enough, but if Carla, and Andy, and Mr. Calloway showed up, she wouldn’t have a chance for a moment alone with Michael. “You invited other people?”

Judy looked very proud of herself as she nodded. “Sure. I told everyone at Covers that we were coming here today, and I invited them all to join us.”

“That was a good idea, Jude,” Michael smiled at Judy. “Going through the museum is always more fun if you’re with a group of friends. Maybe they’ll show up later.”

“Maybe. What shall we do first? The Egyptian Room?”

“Great idea!” Berto looked delighted.

“That’s fine with me.” Michael nodded. “What do you want to see, Jude?”

“The dioramas, but we can leave that for last. What’s your favorite section?”

Michael frowned. “It used to be the antique cars in the basement, but they moved those. How about the American History section? There’s lots of good stuff in there.”

“Okay.” Judy nodded. “We’ll do the Egyptian exhibit first, and then we’ll go through the American History sec tion. What do you like best, Nita?”

Nita hesitated. She didn’t want to admit that she’d never been to the Natural History Museum before. She’d been sick when they’d gone there for a field trip in fourth grade, and she’d never bothered to go on her own. But Michael would think she was a real idiot if she didn’t come up with something. The safest thing was to agree with Judy. She sounded like she’d been here before. “I like the dioramas, too. They’re wonderful.”

“Okay.” Michael nodded. “Two votes for the dioramas. What else do you like, Nita?”

Nita racked her brain to come up with an answer. What did they have in museums? Bugs? Birds? Rocks? She didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Then, like a flash of lightning, she remembered a movie she’d seen where Cary Grant was putting together some dinosaur bones and Katharine Hep burn kept looking for a leopard. If they had a dinosaur in this museum, she’d be home free. “Actually . . . I’m very interested in dinosaurs.”

“Great!” Michael gave her a hug. “So am I. But I hated it when they changed all the names. I memorized all the old ones when I was a kid, and I never got used to the new ones.”

Nita nodded, and tried to look as if she knew what he was talking about. “Me, too. I think the old names were better.”

“Listen up, gang.” Michael took charge. “Here’s the or der of business. We’ll do the Egyptian exhibit, take a little lunch break, and then we’ll go on to the American History section. After that, we’ll take in the prehistoric animals, and then we’ll go to the dioramas. If we happen to get separated, everyone knows our agenda. And if that fails, we can always meet at the car.”

“You remind me of my fifth grade teacher,” Nita giggled as she slipped her arm around Michael’s waist.

Judy frowned. “Did you like your fifth grade teacher?”

“Oh, I was crazy about him. He was kind, and smart, and very handsome. I wanted to marry him when I grew up.”

“But you changed your mind?” Michael was curious.

“Not exactly.” Nita gave a little laugh. “We had a class picnic on the last day of school, and everybody brought their families. That’s when I found out that my fifth grade teacher was engaged to be married.”

Judy saw her opportunity and grabbed it. “So you learned a valuable lesson, right?”

“What lesson?” Nita looked puzzled.

“You learned that people who are engaged, or about to be engaged, are off-limits.”

Nita gave Judy a long, hard look. It was clear that Berto had told Judy about her relationship with Ramon, and that meant she had to shut Judy up before she mentioned it to Michael.