You Knew Me When (22 page)

“We're still on. Definitely.”

“The whole week?”

“The whole week.”

“Pinkie swear?” I held out my right hand and she linked her smallest finger to mine.

“Pinkie swear.”

“Excellent! Now let's go get something to eat. I'm starving.”

Kitty laughed. “Good to know some things never change.”

“I
'm having flashbacks to college.” Laney sat on the floor of Luella's closet, her legs crossed Indian style, while she divided Luella's jewelry, and, boy, was there a lot of it, first by category—earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings—and then by subcategory. Pearl, diamond, hoop, and chandelier earrings. Bangle, charm, gemstone, and cuff bracelets. Choker, pendant, beaded, and statement necklaces. Gold, silver, stacking, and diamond rings. There must have been at least a hundred of everything.

“I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do about it.” Katherine sat across from Laney, adeptly folding Luella's mass of silk scarves.

“I thought you ran the company. Can't you just say no?”

“I don't run the whole company. I run the largest department and oversee the others. I do have a boss, though, if only one. And she needs me to meet with some very important clients who were able to extend their visit from Hong Kong. I can't just say no to that.”

“Yeah, sure.” Laney held a diamond teardrop earring up to her left lobe and glanced at herself in the mirror. “You better come back this time.”

“Don't worry.” Katherine rolled her eyes. “By the way, I called the cleaning people. They'll be in every day this week to make sure the house is spotless.”

“Great. Rick and his guys can start touching up the paint and fix anything else that's broken.”

“Remember the door.” Katherine was suddenly in boss mode. “And we should also replace any lightbulbs that are out.”

“I'm sure you'll make a list before you go.” Laney smirked. “When are you coming back?”

“I'm going to try to leave as early as I can on Friday, but I won't make it to the house until Saturday morning.” Katherine placed her neat stack of scarves into one of the many open boxes. “Hand me those.” She pointed to a pile of leather, chain-link, and suede belts, most boasting chunky designer buckles.

“That's fine. I think one more weekend should do it. And then we'll schedule the estate sale for the following weekend. Does that work?” Laney pushed the belts toward Katherine.

“I've already blocked out the next two weekends to come up here. I'll also plan to be around for the closing, once we have a buyer.”

“I guess we can work out all the financial stuff after that.”

“It'll take a little while, but it looks like we're going to survive it. All of it.”

“Imagine that.” Laney smiled reluctantly. Her feelings of anger and resentment toward Katherine hadn't disappeared, but somewhere throughout the week they'd subsided. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as Laney had originally made her out to be. Sure, she was particular. Even the way she was handling the scarves and belts was enough to clue anyone in to her obsessive compulsivity. But there had been moments when Laney had seen a hint of Kitty, an expression she used to make, or something she would say that sounded more like something the old Kitty would say. And last night at her mom's house, there had been a very specific look on Kitty's face—one Laney had recognized instantly—when she'd first laid eyes on Grant.

It was so hard to understand why Grant wasn't more upset with her. When Kitty had left all those years ago, he'd been shattered, a shadow of his former self, sulking around for months on end, unwilling to talk about it with anyone. Laney hadn't even tried to comfort him. She'd been submerged in her own ire, coupled with the fear of what life was going to be like not only without Kitty, but with a baby on the way. Eventually, Grant had resurfaced from his yearlong funk, the fog lifting gradually month by month, and then day by day. The irony was that he'd never seemed terribly angry
at
Kitty. It had seemed more like he was angry with himself for having invested in their fairy tale to begin with.

Now, looking back, Laney realized that while she and Grant were cut from the same parental cloth, there couldn't be two more different siblings. For that reason, they'd had two very different ways of dealing with things. While Grant had dipped into a quiet depression of sorts, Laney had been consumed by a fierce rage. A fierce rage that had been directed solely at Kitty. And now that said rage had faded, there was nothing left but the vestiges of bitterness and resentment.

“Does this mean you've forgiven me?” Katherine regarded Laney dubiously.

“It's not that simple.” Laney stood in front of the mirror, clasping a four-strand pearl choker around her neck. If Katherine expected them to be best friends again just because Laney was easing up, she had another think coming to her. Laney would tolerate Katherine for now, until she went back to New York for good. That was the extent of it.

“It would have been twelve years ago.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Laney whipped her head around.

“I'm just saying it's not like I didn't try to apologize.”

“Really? I don't remember any apology.”

“That's because you refused to take my calls.”

“Oh, right. All two of them. Sorry, I was a little busy being furious and pregnant.” Laney crossed her arms—her reflexive pissed-off pose—and the pearl choker fell to the floor.

“I remember.” Katherine picked up the pearls and walked behind Laney, fastening them around her neck. She stared at her friend's reflection in the mirror. “They suit you. You should take them.”

“What?” Laney sputtered, temporarily sidetracked by Katherine's abrupt change of topic and by the fact that she could no longer press her buttons as easily as she'd once been able to.

“The pearls. Do you want them or not?”

“I'm sure they're worth a fortune.” Laney admired herself. They did suit her. “Half of which is your fortune.”

“I don't mind.” Katherine shrugged. “Seriously, they're yours. Just say the word.”

“Maybe.” Laney tilted her head to one side. “I don't even know what I'd wear them with.”

Katherine turned and walked toward Luella's closet, rifling through one of the many racks until settling on a simple, sleeveless black shift dress. “Here, try this.”

Laney held it up in front of her. “They do go well together.”

“I'll be the judge of that. Let's see it on.”

“I'm not trying it on,” Laney protested.

“And why not?”

“I don't know.”

“Come on. You know you want to,” Katherine prodded.

“Fine. But only if you put on the white gown,” Laney challenged.

“Which one?”

“Don't play dumb with me. You know full well which one.” Of course Katherine had to know that Laney was referring to the white chiffon with the gold beading from the most extravagant gala Luella had ever hosted; Laney could still read Katherine's expressions, and she knew she had fallen in love with it all over again.

“Okay.” Katherine went back to the rack and retrieved it.

Both women changed, back-to-back—Laney's directive—so they could turn around on the count of three for the big reveal.

“Ready?” Laney was already a little giddy. “One, two, three!” They pivoted to face each other. “Holy mother of God!” She stared at Katherine wide-eyed. “You look like a movie star.”

“You think?” Katherine faced the mirror, appraising herself in the layers of flowing chiffon with delicate gold beading adorning the neckline and nipping her tiny waist. She looked spectacular. There was no denying it.

“I'm not sure about this one.” Laney stood next to Katherine, twisting from side to side.

“Wait a minute.” Katherine glided back toward Luella's closet, in the same fashion Luella had that enchanting evening; it was almost hypnotizing. “Put these on.” She handed Laney a pair of elbow-length black silk gloves and the highest pair of black peep-toe heels Laney had ever seen, much less worn. “Now stand up straight.” Katherine came behind her, tugging the dress in this direction and that. “There you go. All you need is sunglasses and a tiara.”

“Yes, because I'm so very Audrey Hepburn.” Laney grabbed one of the permanent markers they'd been labeling boxes with and held it up like a cigarette. “I don't think I'll be eating breakfast at Tiffany's any time soon.”

“You should definitely keep the necklace.” Katherine laughed a little. “I'm sure Gemma will like it, if nothing else.”

“Oh yeah, sure. She can wear it when she's smoking in the girls' bathroom.” Laney rolled her eyes and focused on Katherine again. “Let's find the gold heels!” She walked back toward the stacks of shoe boxes they'd set aside and started flipping lids. “Could this woman have owned any more footwear?”

“Come here,” Katherine called from a second, adjacent closet. “
This
will look amazing on you.” She held up a midnight blue, floor-length gown with a gold choker-inspired halter neckline. “With your eyes, this is going to be perfect. Put it on. But you have to take off the pearls.” Laney scrunched up her face. “I didn't say you have to give them back; just take them off for the moment.”

Laney snagged the dress and draped it across Luella's bed, before opening one more shoe box. “Jackpot!” Katherine darted toward her, peering over Laney's shoulder like a little kid.

“Oh yeah, those are the ones.” Both women were breathless. “I almost don't want to touch them.”

“Then I will.” Laney extracted the gold brocade masterpieces from the box carefully, as if she were handling a newborn kitten, and then handed them to Katherine. “Go on.”

Katherine sat down on Luella's bed and slipped each shoe on gingerly. She stood up again, making sure her posture was perfectly straight, and took a deep breath. “So?”

“Unbelievable. I feel like I'm standing next to Julia Roberts. And I'm her ugly cousin.”

Katherine laughed aloud and then sucked her breath in. “Oh, apparently, no laughing in this dress. I might split it down the side. Jeez, Luella was skinny.”

“Hard to believe anyone could be thinner than you.”

“I could say the same.”

“You
have
to take that dress, Kitty. It was made for you.”

“Only if you take the Audrey Hepburn—gloves, pearls, heels, and all!” Katherine arched an eyebrow.

“Okay, you twisted my arm.”

“Now let's see the midnight blue number on.”

“You're relentless.”

“Not the first time I've been told that.”

“Shocking.” Laney struggled to unclasp the pearl choker. “Can you help me out here?”

“I still can't believe Luella didn't put any of this jewelry in a safety-deposit box. It's like a thief's dream come true.” Katherine unhooked the necklace in one fluid movement.

“I know. Can you imagine if she'd let us in here when we were kids?” Laney arranged the pearls carefully in their case, snapping them in securely.

“No. Though I probably wouldn't have appreciated it back then.”

“True.” Laney put the velvet case back in its place with the other pearl necklaces, took off the black shift dress and gloves, and stepped into the gown Katherine had selected for her. “Zip me up.”

Katherine obliged. “Done.” And then stepped back. “Oh yes.
That
, my friend, is the one,” she practically squealed, clapping her hands together.

“It does look nice on me.” Laney smiled, catching herself in the mirror at every angle. “Not as good as the white on you, but I'll take it. Thanks.”

“You're welcome. Honestly, though, you'd look fantastic in any of them.”

Laney took one last look in the mirror before Katherine unzipped her. “So, what happened to you last night? You skipped out without saying good-bye.”

“Not exactly.” Katherine undressed next to Laney, returning the gown to its garment bag and the shoes to their resting place. Then slipped back into her own clothes, and sat down again to start rolling belts. “I did come to find you in the kitchen, but you were engrossed in an interesting conversation with Michelle. One I didn't particularly think I should interrupt.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that.”

“How much did you hear?”

“Something about me being sentimental while I'm here and then heading back to my bigwig job. And, of course, there was the fabulous bit about Grant loving Kitty, not Katherine.”

“Right.” Laney shifted from one foot to the other, squirming a little. Obviously, that conversation had not been intended for Katherine's ears, but Laney had nothing to hide. She hadn't said anything to Michelle she wouldn't have said directly to Katherine's face. “You can't blame Michelle for being wary.”

“Well, as you said, I live in New York now, so she has nothing to worry about.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“You tell me. You seem to have it all figured out. Apparently, I am not the woman Grant was once in love with.”

“Well, are you?”

“In some ways, no.”

“Okay, then. That was all I was saying.”

“It doesn't mean I still don't have some of the same qualities.” Katherine reached for a small black satin box and instinctively cracked the lid. “Oh. My. God. You have to see this!” She waved Laney over.

“Holy shit!” Laney knelt down next to Katherine, her mouth hanging open. “That's some fucking rock.”

“More like a boulder.” Katherine freed the hefty ruby ring from its slot and slipped it onto her left ring finger, even though she knew it wasn't Luella's engagement ring.
That
she'd worn every day, and it had most definitely been diamond. “The center stone can't be less than six carats. Seven, with the smaller rubies flanking it.”

“Wowza!” Laney looked down at her own ring finger, which was still sporting the same one-carat diamond solitaire Rick had bought her when they were just kids. Twenty-two-year-old kids, but still. Rick had been working for another construction group at the time, well before starting his own company, and the pay had been negligible, to say the least, scarcely above minimum wage. Fortunately, Laney's parents had been able to take them in until they'd saved enough money to rent a small one-bedroom condo on the outskirts of town. Those first years had been dicey, with Laney unable to contribute a second income and Rick unable to offer much help with Gemma.