Hot Mahogany

55

Before Stone left the house that evening, he called Tatiana. “How’s the cleanup going?” he asked.

“Pretty well, actually,” she replied.

“Would you like to join me for dinner, then?”

“Oh, I think I’m going to be very tired when we’re done. Will you forgive me, if I don’t?”

“Of course. I’ll be at Elaine’s with some friends, so if you feel like it, join us.”

“If I’m up to it,” she said.

Stone took a cab up to Elaine’s and found Dino and Genevieve sitting with Elaine. He joined them and ordered a drink.

“So, how’s it going?” Dino asked.

“So-so, I guess.”

“Any progress in finding our missing piece of furniture?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“So we’re going to miss the payoff, then?”

“Looks that way.”

“You don’t seem too upset about it.”

Stone shrugged. “You win some; you lose some.”

“Speaking of which,” Genevieve said, nodding toward the door, “here comes one of your losses.”

Stone looked toward the door and saw Eliza and Edgar arriving. Genevieve was waving them over.

“Hello, Stone,” Eliza said, permitting him to peck her on the cheek.

“Hello, Eliza, Edgar.” He shook Edgar’s hand.

“Stone, Eliza and I must thank you for the lovely wedding gift,” Edgar said.

“Yes, Stone,” Eliza chimed in, “it’s just beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Stone said.

They all got up to allow the waiters to put a bigger top on the table, and more chairs were found.

Stone realized that this was the first time Eliza had crossed his mind since he had met Tatiana, and he was feeling pretty good about that. Still, he was uncomfortable, and he had a strong suspicion that Genevieve had staged all this.

“So,” Dino said to Eliza and Edgar, “when are you two going to have a honeymoon?”

“Oh,” Eliza said, “Edgar is fully scheduled for surgery for the next month.”

“Yes,” Edgar said. “I’ve stopped taking new elective cases, so that we can have a decent enough gap to be able to go away for a bit.”

Swell, Stone thought. This is really what I want to talk about.

“And I have a lot of thank-you notes to write,” Eliza said, “so it’s just as well we can’t get away immediately.”

Stone wanted to scream.

Menus arrived, and everybody chose something. Then Genevieve and Eliza began dominating the conversation, as if they hadn’t spent the whole day together in the emergency room.

Genevieve turned toward Stone. “Oh, Stone, there’s a new nurse in the ER I’d like to fix you up with. She’s very pretty and she’s bright, too.”

“Thank you, Genevieve, but I’m seeing somebody,” he said with some satisfaction. He saw a flash of disbelief in her eyes.

“Oh, how nice for you. Who is the lady?”

“No one you know,” Stone replied.

“Oh, come on. Tell us her name.”

“Oh, all right. It’s Tatiana Orlovsky.”

“What a charming name!” Genevieve said, as if she didn’t believe a word of it. “What does she do?”

“She’s an illustrator.”

“Oh, good! Does she specialize in anything?”

“She’s more of a generalist.”

“Well, isn’t it convenient that she’s come along just at this moment in your life.”

Stone was embarrassed that this was going on in the presence of Eliza. “Dino,” he said, in a desperate attempt to change the subject, “what’s new in the world of crime?”

“Same old, same old,” Dino said. “You know how it goes.” He gave a little shrug, as if to say you’re on your own, pal.

“Excuse me,” Stone said, getting up. He went into the men’s room, though he didn’t need to, and splashed some water on his face, taking his time. They’d have to talk about something else, since he wasn’t there, and he could rejoin the conversation when the new subject was established. He dried his face and went back to the table.

“Stone,” Genevieve was saying, “while you were gone, Eliza and I were talking about having a little dinner party at Dino’s and my house. Saturday night? We’d all love to meet… what was her name?”

“Tatiana,” Stone said through clenched teeth.

“Can you come Saturday?”

“I’m sorry, but we’ve accepted an invitation to dinner in Connecticut that night, so we’re going up for the weekend.”

Genevieve smiled sweetly. “What a pity. I was sure it would be something like that.”

Dino turned to his girlfriend. “Genevieve,” he said softly but with an edge, “put a sock in it.”

She swiveled toward Dino but was met with a steely gaze. “I’m sorry, Stone,” she said, a little sheepishly.

At that moment the heavens opened for Stone along with the door to the restaurant, and Tatiana walked in, looking fresh and ready for the evening. Stone, vastly relieved, stood up and kissed her on the lips. “Tatiana Orlovsy, this is Dino, Genevieve, Eliza, Edgar and Elaine.”

“I’m so pleased to meet all of you,” Tatiana said, taking an offered chair next to Stone. She turned to him. “The men finished half an hour ago, and you’d never know anything had happened in the kitchen.”

“I’m really glad you could make it,” Stone said. He turned to the others. “Tatiana had a small fire in her kitchen last night, but there was no serious damage.”

“No,” Tatiana said, “just smoke and water, and it cleaned up nicely.” A waiter brought her a menu, and she ordered.

Stone watched and listened as, for the rest of the evening, Tatiana charmed and amused everybody except, maybe, Genevieve.

In the cab home, Stone kissed Tatiana. “I can’t tell you how glad I was to see you this evening.”

“Just what every girl wants to hear,” she replied, kissing him back.

“I used to go out with Eliza before she and Edgar were married, and Genevieve has been giving me a hard time about it.”

“Well,” Tatiana said, “she won’t do that while I’m around. You’re now under my protection. Oh, I talked to my lawyer, and he’s applied for a subpoena for Henry’s financial records.”

“Good.”

“I still wonder how you know about those expenses.”

“Trade secret,” Stone said, then changed the subject.