The Davonshire Series 2: Loving Words (12 page)

Elsie arrived downstairs as the family began to rise and mill about.  The microphones had been set up as well as the keyboard.  Elsie double-checked with Wilfred and Rod to make sure they were ready.  Gianni was talking to David Sr., who was thoroughly flabbergasted to be having an actual conversation with the youngster.  David Jr. was still watching her with some speculation while White Bear sat in the corner mooning over Elsie.  Wilfred was watching White Bear and frowning.

With a nod to Raul for him to turn on the mikes, Elsie took the stage.  “Good afternoon, Devonshire House!”  Everyone turned to look at her and wondered what was going on.  “As we move into part two of the afternoon, we have a special treat for you today.” 

The family began to gather in the makeshift auditorium seating.  Elsie was grinning from ear to ear as she began the remainder of the big surprise.  “Tonight we have a special debut performance of the Devonshire Quartet.”  The family was shocked and surprised, followed by more
oohs
and
ahhs
as Elsie began to introduce the members of the group.

“On keyboards we have Gianni.”  She realized she didn’t even know the boy’s last name, so Gianni would have to suffice, but she added some fluff.  “He likes to be called Master Gees on the Plastic Keys.”  Gianni came up to the makeshift stage to a modest welcome, taking a seat behind the keyboard and tickling the plastic ivories.

“On background vocals we have the smooth stylings of Mario the Handler.”  The family added more applause as they recognized Raul’s son.

“On tenor, we have the COO with the vocals that blow, Roderick Hill.”

Gianni was playing introduction music.  Rod and Mario began their doo-wop background vocals while Elsie introduced the lead singer.

“Without further ado, I present the lead singer of the Devonshire Quartet, the man with the plan, the Boss on the Hoss,” she paused for effect, “Wilfred Devonshire!” The family was in shock.  He jogged up the center aisle and grabbed the microphone, picking up with the group doing their rendition of
Motown Philly
to get the audience warmed up, which transitioned into a version of Chuck Brown’s
I Feel like
Bustin’ Loose
.  The family got up and started to dance along with the quartet.

David walked over to Elsie.  “I’m not sure what you’ve done or how you did it, but I’ve never seen him like this.”

He extended his hand for a shake.  “I apologize for being so rude earlier. I’m David Devonshire, the big brother.”  She smiled and flung herself into his arms.  Partly because she was grateful he accepted her and mainly because the man was sexy as hell – this could be her only chance to get close and feel him up.  David hugged her back, squeezing her tightly.

She blushed at her forwardness, uncertain of what had gotten into her.  As she pulled away, she headed inside to set up the movie in the family room for the older family members, put on some jazz in the living room for the younger adults, and had bags of popcorn ready for the upstairs group to either play a game or watch a movie.

She double-checked the locks on the pool house to make sure no little ones got in there.  She heard Gianni tickling the ivories, heading into the last song as Rod took the lead to sing
Always & Forever
by Heatwave.

She cued up the movie in the family room, lit the candles in the living room, and popped the popcorn in the microwave for the teens.  As Rod hit the final notes, she was back on the patio taking over the mike.  “Can we get a round of applause again for the Devonshire Quartet?”  The family hooted and hollered.  “After that large lunch, the Fourth of July heat, and early onset of
itis
from eating too much, I know you are ready to take it down a notch.”

She announced that on the big screen in the family room,
Blazing Saddles
would be starting in about five minutes.  In the living room were soft jazz and board games.  Upstairs was the Halo tournament and in the conference room were
Madagascar
and crafts. 

“You seem to have everything covered,” Elena said as she refilled her lemonade glass.  “
Blazing Saddles
is Big Daddy’s favorite movie.”  She nodded her head as she took her husband’s arm and headed to the family room.

Khalea had agreed to take the smaller kids into the conference room for crafts.  Elsie was tired and needed a few minutes before the sunset ride.  She made herself a cup of tea and found her favorite spot on the patio.

David stood in the corner watching her, waiting, not sure for what, but he still felt a need to protect his little brother and he was not sure what this woman’s angle was or what she was after.  Wilfred, with a glass of ginger ale in his hand, came and plopped down beside her.  “Great performance, boss man.”  She held up her mug of tea and clinked it to his glass.

“Thanks, for everything.”

“Just earning my keep.”  And she said no more.

“I guess I’ll let you stay a bit longer.”  He paused and she waited for the snappy closing statement.  She counted it down in her head: five, four, three, two, one….  He said, “Only if we can go grocery shopping again.” 

They both laughed.  She responded with, “Well, I guess I’ll be catching the flight back with Chuck.”  He leaned over and playfully punched her in the arm.  The silence between them wasn’t awkward or palpable, but a comfortable quietness between new friends.

“So what was with you hugging David?”  He had actually said it out loud.
Shit. I meant to keep that to myself.

“I have never seen a man that sexy in all my life. That thick wavy hair, those serious eyes. Those cute ears and that goatee.  He is all alpha male.  He filled the room with his presence and if I had been wearing some pearls, I would have clutched them.  I had to hug him to make sure he was real.” Wilfred didn’t know why her statement bothered him.

“What am I, chopped liver?” He found himself surprised at asking her such an almost out-of-line question.

She glanced over at him, giving him the same look he gave her when he said she had nice eyes. She scrunched up her nose like she was smelling something foul, “Eh! You’re okay if a girl….” she waved her hand at him in a circle fashion like she was doing a wax on- wax off impersonation “… likes that kind of thing.”

“Excuse me… that kind of thing?”

“You know, the scruffy cowboy, brooding artist, ooh, I eat granola kind of thing…”

He punched her again as she laughed as she turned her cup of tea up to her lips.  Elsie wanted to tell him that she knew, but now was not the time.

She glanced at him.  “So,” she said, “You’re a twin?”

After the movie, Chuck performed a last call for everyone who was headed back to Phoenix.  Uncle Earl and Aunt Geraldine fixed plates to take with them, as well as Uncle James and Aunt Betty.  Elsie was cornered by Jaelon’s brother, Jordan, a quiet young man, who thanked her for a “Frickin’ awesome day!”  

Chuck’s wife, who sat quietly watching the whole thing unfold, said, “See you Labor Day at the lake.  And please make that lemonade and banana pudding.”  Elsie knew nothing about the lake, but she realized she would still be under contract in September.

His parents opted to stay another day or so and asked Chuck to come back in two days.  That was also when Willie would transform back into Vanity Devons and head back to New York.  David and Halley were staying because the horses were being shipped tomorrow and they would be flying back on a chartered plane from Sierra Vista back to Napa.  Khalea and Stefano would be staying for a day or two before heading to Hermosillo for a week-long stay.

However, not it was time for the sunset ride. She questioned White Bear about fireworks, “we are in the desert Little Doe, too dry to run the risk of a random spark.”  It was okay with her because she was more interested in riding.  Elsie knew this would be her last ride on Morgana and she did not want to miss this final turn with her favorite lady. 

David Jr. was impressed that Elsie knew how to handle Morgana, as well as having some form of tenuous relationship with Lancelot.  She rode well for someone who had only been riding for a month.  White Bear was ever watchful and it had not escaped David’s notice that his little brother was watching White Bear watching Elsie.

Interesting
.

Elsie was unaware of them both.  She had five more months here.  Maybe Wil had made the right selection after all.  Although the mousy black woman was only five-foot-seven, weighed entirely too much for her height, had bad skin and that frizzy hair that needed some serious hair balm, there was something trustworthy and likeable about her.  She was, in fact, a hell of a cook, had managed to get his brother out of the house, and brought out the fun side of the old stick in the greenhouse.

The horses came to the rise and he wasn’t completely paying attention when Lancelot let down his ears and snorted, and the race began.  Gianni rode hard to keep pace, but Steady was taking lead with Morgana working up a lather.  Evidently this was something the horses had become accustomed to – this kind of daily race. 

David loved it.  He felt exhilarated and suddenly free.  Now, he knew he could take home his horses and his little brother would be in good hands.  He could leave tomorrow and be okay with this arrangement and with Elsie in his brother’s life.

The ride had tuckered Elsie out and she was completely spent. She said Goodnight to the Devonshire’s as she headed to her room for a hot shower and mental preparation for the next day.  Elena and David Sr. shared a private moment with their children downstairs in the kitchen catching up, passing out hugs, and enjoying the love they had for each other.  Khalea and Stefano broke away from the groups, taking a quiet moment away from the kids and sat on the patio enjoying the coolness of the desert evening.

She had showered, washed, and wrapped her hair with some of the hair balm David had given her and was ready to call it a night.  There was a light tap at her door and she wondered if Elena was coming back for a chat.  Instead, it was Willie. She opened the door to let her in.

“Can you help me with my hair?”

Willie had unbraided her hair and had a wire brush in her hands.  “Normally, I have an assistant who does this for me, or I torture Will, but tonight,” she smiled at Elsie, “I get to torture you!”

“Lucky me! Come on in,” Elsie said as she helped the world’s most beautiful woman with her mane of hair.  Champ came into the room and laid his muzzle on Willie’s thigh to be petted.  After he deemed she had sufficiently stroked his hairy coat, he took himself to his bed and passed out on his back.

Holding the brush, Elsie began long strokes of the tresses that hung down Willie’s back.  She realized she had never seen Will’s hair down and had no idea how long it actually was.  She felt uncomfortable to even think of such a thing and shifted her focus back to brushing Willie’s hair, absent-mindedly in her own thoughts when the questions came from out of the blue.

 “Elsie?” Willie asked innocently, “Are you sleeping with my brother?”

Elsie dropped the brush.  She picked it up from the floor and a startled Champ only groaned, found a new position, and went back to sleep.

“Your brother is my boss, and besides, I haven’t had that kind of interest in a man in over five years.”

“So, you’re gay?” Elsie dropped the brush again.

“No, I’m not.  I like men, a lot actually, but right now, I was hired to work on a project, and that is what I am here to do.”  She started brushing again.

“There are tons of women who sleep with their bosses, Elsie, you wouldn’t be the first.”

Elsie only grimaced.  “My boss in Atlanta is a five-foot-tall black man who thinks he’s British.”  She paused to deliver the running punch line on Wainwright.  “His favorite phrase is, ‘what’s all this then?’”  She rolled her eyes to emphasize the ridiculousness of it all.

“I love the ranch and the project that we started, and I want to possibly get a job with the company when this contract is over.  I don’t want to earn the position on my back, but my merits.”

The room was noiseless as she continued brushing the hair.  “I have a question for you, Ms. Rich and Famous.” Willie arched a perfect brow and in the mirror Elsie could see her skepticism, but she posed the question anyway.

“As one of the most famous people in the world, how difficult is it for you keeping the secret that your twin brother is almost as famous as you are?” 

Willie was surprised by the question and turned in the dressing seat.  “I honestly don’t know how to answer that question because so few people know who he is.” Willie talked about his modeling days and spoke of his acting roles and his short stint on a few daytime dramas.  “But his real love is words.  He loves the idea of being able to rewrite the ending to a bad story. You know… being the hero…”  Willie’s eyes were trained on Elsie’s face.

“I have a question for you now, Elsie.”  Elsie moved over to the bed and took a seat, waiting, she wasn’t sure for what, but waiting for the probative question.

“How have you managed to connect with him on such a deep level in such a short period of time?”

Elsie smiled as she retold the meeting in the elevator.  “He is comfortable with me because I pose no threat to him.  Besides, I think we’re becoming friends.”

Willie asked about the whole retraining of Gianni and they laughed, which brought another knock at the door.  This time it was Halley.  “That bed is hard as a rock. How does yours feel, Elsie?” 

Before Elsie could answer, Halley had climbed into her bed and was making herself comfortable.  Next entered Khalea, who climbed into the bed as well and started talking about the new fall line and Christmas collection for Vanity’s Pleasure. 

Halley exhaled.  “I think you should do a line of lingerie for pregnant and lactating women.”

“That is just frickin’ nasty!” Willie exclaimed.

“I want to still feel sexy, Willie, even though I feel like I ate a dolphin,” she said with pouted lips.

Halley made it worse by referencing David’s preferences, which made both Khalea and Willie stuff their ears.  Elsie was okay hearing anything about David. 
That is one hot hunk of manhood
.

Another knock came at the door and this time it was Elena.  Elsie pulled a chair out for the grand lady to sit. “What are you girls gabbing about?” she asked.

“Feeling sexy at any age and any state of being,” Halley chimed in rubbing on her stomach.  Elena began to share tips for long-term love, adding a few comments about David Sr. that made everyone in the room groan, including Elsie.  Elsie said what everyone was thinking.  “Mrs. Devonshire, there are just some things a person never needs to know.…”  Elsie looked at the ladies.  “… But by the same token, they have been married for fifty years ladies.”  They all burst into laughter.

David Jr., Wilfred, and Stefano were all at the door at the sound.  David and Stefano were looking for their wives, but Wilfred refused to enter the room on principle.  She remembered Wilfred’s house rule of being covered at all times and was grateful for the cotton pajamas.

Elsie said Goodnight to everyone and realized this was the closest thing she had to girl time.  She was surprised when Halley gave her a big hug.  “If you turn over tonight and feel a lump, it might just be me.”

“My bed is your bed.”  David wanted to know what that meant.  Elena gave her a light peck on the cheek on the way out. Khalea gave her a fist bump, and shockingly enough, Willie gave her a big hug.  “Thanks Elsie, for everything.”

Wilfred opened his bedroom door to let his twin in and looked back to see Elsie standing in the doorway as everyone scattered to their respective sleeping holes.  He nodded his head and she gave him a bit of a salute.  Elsie found it funny that Willie thought she was sleeping with her boss.

Weird. 

But Willie sleeping with her twin was even weirder.