Chapter 30

Sunday brunch

Before dawn Sunday morning, Ben was up and dressed for his run.  When he walked through the house, he was surprised to find both Pauli and Joey sitting at the table.

“You’re up early.”

“Yeah.  I’m heading back to St. Louis this morning.” Pauli said.

“The Doctor here has given me permission to work out my lower body.  I’m heading to the weight room.”

“Safe drive, Pauli.”  Ben said as he headed outside.

He had planned a five mile run this morning and was back home in about 40 minutes.  Joey was still in the weight room.

“I’m flying Jess back to L.A. this afternoon.  Is the condo secure?”

“Yeah.  The locks have all been changed.  There’s a doorman now and he’ll give you the keys.  Just so you know, I have replacement shoes for her there and an extra pair for good measure too.  They should be in the condo. I don’t want it to freak her out. You’ll go in with her, right?  Get her settled and make sure she’s all right.”

“Yeah.  That’s the plan.” Joey said as he continued his work out.

Ben went through his normal workout and went upstairs.  Lane was sleeping as he passed through to the bathroom.  He closed the door, and despite discussions of water conservation the previous morning, Lane was still sleeping soundly when he dressed and went to the kitchen.

Jamie had gotten up and was heading toward the weight room.

“Bambino.  I’ll need to have you go pick up your Nana Evie after you’re dressed.  We’ll all go out for brunch.”

“Mom’s skipping her brunch with friends on the Plaza?”

Lane usually met friends in the Country Club Plaza area of Kansas City, Missouri on Sundays.  They had brunch, shopped and gossiped.  But Ben knew Lane was skipping it this morning so she could spend time with Evie and Jess before they both left.

“Yep.  She wants to spend time with Nana Evie and Jess before they head out this afternoon.”

“Okay.  I’ll be ready in about 45 minutes.”

Ben made coffee and sat at the kitchen table.  He’d made reservations at the Bristol for 11:00.  He thought that should be plenty of time for everyone to be up, showered and dressed.

At 9:30, Jamie drove to get his grandmother, and Ben went to the bedroom.  He found Lane in the shower.  He leaned against the door jamb and watched as she washed her hair.  He knew he had to get used to seeing her naked, but he didn’t think he’d ever stop appreciating the sight.

Lane turned, saw Ben and smiled. “You were quiet when you showered this morning.”

He nodded.  “You need your sleep.”

He got a towel and wrapped it around her as she stepped out of the shower.  He kissed her shoulder as he towel dried her hair.  He knelt and dried her legs.

She laughed.  “Oh that will really come in handy in a few months when I have trouble bending over.”

He patted her abdomen and tried to imagine her belly big with a baby.  She stepped away from him and bent over to run her fingers through her hair.

“You really do that every day?”  He asked.

She laughed.  “People think I spend a lot of time on my hair.  The truth is that I bend over and run my fingers or a pick through it, throw my head back, and let it fall where it may.  At least on the weekends.  You know I wear it up in the office.  A number of years ago, a mentor told me it was too sexy down; and to be taken seriously, I either needed to cut it or wear it up.”

Ben stepped up and took her in his arms, kissing her shoulder he said, “I’m glad you decided to keep it long.”

She leaned her head back and fluffed her fingers through her hair.  “Oh, no, I cut it all off after she told me that.  But that was a very long time ago.”

Ben kissed her and turned her toward her closet.  “Evie is on her way over and we have reservations at the Bristol at 11:00.  You need to get dressed.”

Lane pulled underwear, jeans, a sleeveless sweater, a denim jacket and boots out of her closet.

“I’ve been thinking about Evie and about your house and about our baby.”

Lane poked her head out of the closet.  “Those are broad, somewhat unrelated topics.  What have you been thinking?”

“I was wondering what you think about asking Evie to move down here.  Your house is vacant now.  What if Evie moved into it?  With the baby coming, I was thinking you’d like to have her nearby.  Give it some thought.”  Or, he thought, this house will be vacant soon.  But he wasn’t quite ready to tell her about the new house.

Lane carried her clothes into the bedroom.  “I don’t have to give it any thought.  I’d love to have Evie close.  The boys would love having her here too, but Evie might take some convincing.  She has an active life in Omaha.”

Ben sat in the sitting area watching Lane as she dressed.  He smiled.  It wasn’t something that needed to be decided today. “Well, it won’t hurt anything to talk with her about the possibility.”

Chapter 31

California here I come

Joey handed his and Jess’s bags to a steward, and put his hand in the small of Jess’s back as they ascended the stairs leading to the Lucky Bets Jet.  In the mid afternoon sunlight, Jess could see the logo plainly; an L and a B, each in the center of cubes, forming a pair of rolling dice.  She’d have seen it when they left Long Beach airport five days ago, if she hadn’t been so rattled by the break-in, Joey’s rescue, and the theft of her favorite shoes.  Seeing the logo, she couldn’t help but notice that is was also the first initial of the last names Luciano and Bellini.

There was obviously a lot about these two families that the Parkers didn’t know, and now they were forever linked.  It warranted some investigation.  Jess remembered the reaction of her friends the first time they learned that she knew “the Bellinis”. It was the first time someone had told her that the Bellinis were mobbed up.  Joey managed a casino in Vegas.  It wasn’t such a stretch to imagine that the casino was owned by the family.  The question was only whether it was owned by the family or by la famiglia.

Jess settled into a seat and looked out the window to where her Mom and Ben stood.  She waved at her Mother as the plane began to taxi.

*****

Lane and Ben had driven them to the Executive Airport.  Lane watched as Jess boarded the plane. Jess had turned and waved at Lane using the signal for I love you.  Little finger, index finger and thumb extended.  It was for the letters I, L & Y from American Sign Language.  Lane smiled, she’d taught it to her kids when they were small, anticipating the days when they’d be too big to tell her or to hear from her the words that the sign conveyed.  The hatch was closed, and Lane and Ben got back into the Lincoln Navigator; but Ben didn’t start the engine until the plane was in the air.

He looked at Lane.  He was sure Jess had no idea that Lane’s eyes filled with tears every time she said good-bye to her daughter at an airport.  Lane reached into her purse, retrieved a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.

Ben squeezed her hand.  “She’ll be fine, Red.  You know she can take care of herself.”

“I know, it’s just that I always remember her as that little girl.”

“Oh, you mean the one who went toe to toe with you at, what was she, three when she told you not to yell at Jake?”

Lane dabbed her eyes again and smiled. “Yes, that little girl.”

*****

Joey had taken the seat across the table from Jess again.  He watched her as she gazed out the window until the Navigator was no longer in view.  “You okay?”

She smiled at him.  “Yes.  I worry about my Mom, that’s all.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, the old man is all about taking care of her.  I pity any man, woman, or beast who causes her the slightest bit of discomfort.  Her children excluded of course.”

Jess laughed.  “He can be just a bit over protective, can’t he?  I thought he was going to carry her to the SUV last night when she said she was tired.”