“Oh. My. GOD!” Nina Caliente cried. “Dina, what did you DO?”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Nina,” her sister replied, unable to tear herself away from the mirror in which she admired herself. “It’s just a haircut. People get them all the time. Isn’t it just FABulous?”
“It looks like some sick Marilyn Monroe fantasy,” Nina huffed.
“Hmm. I think Mortimer might like that,” Dina laughed, finally putting away the mirror. “Happy… birth… day,” she sang, affecting a breathy contralto, “to… you.” Nina frowned.
“It’s not right,” the redhead said, “what you’re doing to that poor man.”
“I’m not ‘doing’ anything ‘to’ him, sister dearest,” the blonde countered. “This is romance. What we’re doing, we’re doing together.”
“Then why won’t you tell him the truth?” Nina demanded. “The whole truth.”
“You’re talking about ancient history, Nina. What’s past is past, and it has nothing to do with Mortimer. If I decide he needs to know, then I’ll tell him.” Dina’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Key words: if I decide.” Downstairs, the doorbell rang, and Dina smiled. “That’ll be dear Mortimer now. Why don’t you find something useful to do? Perhaps you can spend some time with Don, now that he’s free of that mousy little frump.” Nina’s cellphone rang as Dina headed downstairs.
“Hello?” Nina answered. “Oh, hi! We were just… WHAT?! You… no, I… do you need… oh. Okay. Where? Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She closed the phone, and rushed down the stairs.
In the living room, Dina was greeting Mortimer Goth with a hug.
“Darling,” she said, “I’m so glad you could come!”
“Gottagobebacklaterbye,” muttered a redheaded blur that blew past them and out the door.
“Alone at last,” Dina giggled, as the door closed. “Why don’t we head upstairs and have a drink?” Mortimer assented, and she led him up to the rooftop terrace. Dina made straight for the bar and began mixing drinks while Mortimer gazed off into the distance.
“You seem distracted, Mortimer,” Dina cooed, bringing him a cocktail. “What’s wrong?”
“Cassandra has moved out,” Mortimer revealed.
“Oh,” she said, then a moment later, “OH!” She handed him his drink. “You poor dear, all alone in that big, empty house.” Mortimer turned to face her at last.
“I do still have Alexander...”
“Of course,” Dina cooed, sidling up to him. “But you must long for… conversation.”
“I think you’d find Alexander can more than hold his own on just about any topic you can imagine,” Mortimer bristled, with not-undue pride.
“Oh, I’m sure,” she answered. “Still, there are some things you simply can’t discuss with a little boy.” She laughed, lightly. “Come have a soak, darling. You need to relax a bit.”
In the hot tub, Dina wrapped her arms around Mortimer and cooed words of comfort over and over until she felt the tension finally leaving his shoulders. After an hour or so, she led him down to the kitchen and fixed some lunch for the two of them.
“Darling, you’ve been alone too long,” Dina began.
“But I’m not alone,” Mortimer insisted. “I have—”
“You have Alexander,” Dina interrupted. “Yes, I know. And you know full well that’s not what I’m talking about. You’re a grown man. An adult, with adult needs. You need adult companionship. And think of poor, dear Alexander. Don’t you think he can benefit from a woman’s influence? Especially now that Cassandra isn’t around?” Mortimer looked thoughtfully at the pattern of the tabletop.
...
Nina walked into Speedy’s Fast Lane Bowling & Eats and almost immediately spotted Don Lothario seated at a table. He smiled wearily as he saw her.
“What the hell have you been playing at, Don?” Nina asked as she took a seat. “Getting arrested? For stalking?!”
“I don’t know,” he muttered, ruefully. “I just… she… ugh! She broke up with me, Nina. She… broke up… with me! What is that?!” Nina just stared at him for a moment, then laughed.
“Holy crap, are you full of yourself, or what?” His face fell.
“You know, I called you because I figured you’d have my back here,” he told her.
“Then you really miscalculated, didn’t you? Look, Don, I know you, I know how you think, because we’re a lot alike. We’re playas, both of us. And, you know… I like playing with you. A lot. But come on, what did you expect? I don’t know that much about Cassandra, but you kinda had to see this coming! Most people can’t separate love and sex quite so easily as you and I. What we consider… ‘friendly recreation,’ they see as betrayal.” Don fixed his gaze on the mustard dispenser in front of him.
“Wow. That’s...”
“Harsh,” Nina said. “I know. But it’s the truth, and you needed to hear it.” She smiled at him. “I’m on your side here, okay? But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna tell you when you’re being an ass.”
“It’s just… it’s always been about having a good time for me. I never really wanted to be… tied down, you know?”
“Oh, yeah,” Nina chuckled. “I know.”
“And as much as I never really felt like I wanted to be married...”
“You really fell for her,” Nina finished. He nodded. “You gotta let it go, Don,” she told him. “She needs something you can’t give her.”
“I could change,” he said, hopefully.
“It’d be nice to think so, wouldn’t it?” she responded. “If you wanted to badly enough, I suppose you could change. But it’d be awfully hard. Like an alcoholic and drinking. You’d be tempted by every pretty thing that came within a hundred yards. And for you and me, ‘look but don’t touch’ is a lot easier said than done.” She reached out and took his hand.
“Truth is, you’re not a bad guy,” Nina said, smiling softly. “But you’re not the guy for Cassandra, even though you want to be. You’re a leopard, Don… those spots don’t come off. Accept it. If you really love her, the best thing you can do for her is to let her go. Let her find what she needs, and when she does, be happy for her.” He lowered his head and thought about what she said for several long moments, then looked back up at her.
“I knew there was a reason I called you,” he said with a wry smile.
“Glad you think so. Now let’s get a lane. I feel the urge to mop up the alley with your sorry carcass, Doctor Lothario.”
...
A couple of hours later, Nina returned home to find her sister jumping on the sofa like a hyperactive child… or a lovestruck movie star.
“I’m getting married! I’m getting married!” Dina crowed, over and over. Nina was taken aback.
“You actually finagled a proposal out of Mortimer?!” Dina stopped jumping on the furniture and looked at her sister.
“Well, I kind of proposed to him,” she admitted.
“And he accepted?”
“Mostly.” Nina was puzzled.
”‘Mostly?’ How in the world did he ‘mostly’ accept a marriage proposal?!”
“Very sweetly,” Dina replied. “He said he needed time talk with dear, little Alexander about it. But this is a done deal. I can feel it.”
“You are seriously deranged,” Nina said. “Did you tell him about—”
“I told you,” Dina growled, “to stop bringing up ancient history. When and if I tell anyone anything is my decision. Period.” With that, she stormed up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
...
The next morning, Cassandra Goth came down to her kitchen to fix some breakfast before heading off to work, when her doorbell rang.
“Hi,” Nina Caliente said, simply, as Cassandra opened the door. “We need to talk.”
05 May 2006 | 01:27 AM