Losing Control (10 page)

“And you are twenty two years old?
And divorced?”

“Apparently, you’ve done your
homework, Mrs. Trahern.”

“You’re right, I have. Jardin, serve
us please.”

The butler entered and began doling
out fancy bits of quiche and fruit tarts and slices of bacon and ham. Fawn
looked at Taury, he winked at her; she smiled.

Once Jardin had left the room,
Elizabeth delicately nibbled at her food, her eyes never glancing at the plate.
They remained locked on Fawn’s face, in an effort to intimidate her or what,
Fawn wasn’t sure but she was determined not to falter in front of this strange,
ominous woman.

“You’ve given her a ring, I see.”

“I have.”

“Did you set a date?”

“Not yet, but it will be as soon as
possible.”

“Why the hurry? Are you expecting,
Ms. Hamilton?”

“If you’ve looked into my life as thoroughly
as I imagine you have, Mrs. Trahern, I suspect you already know I haven’t been
able to conceive a child.”

“Taurus, your taste is improving.
She’s much smarter than the last one you brought here.”

Fawn pointed her gaze at Taury; he
lowered his head.

“Ah, I see I’ve opened a can of worms
this morning. I’ll retire to my study while you explain yourself. Join me when
you’ve finished eating.”

She rose, walked out of the room with
all the regal pomposity of a true queen.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Fawn sighed
with a bit of relief.

“Just wait, the day isn’t over yet.
What do you think of her?”

“I’m not sure I should say. I don’t
like using four letter words.”

“I can think of a five letter word
that describes her perfectly. Has something to do with female dogs.”

“Taury, who was she talking about?”

“A girl I thought I loved a long time
ago. I was only seventeen then, and so was she. Her name was Meg, and she came
from the wrong part of the hill … the bottom. Elizabeth hated her at first
sight, wound up secretly offering her … and her family … a fortune to go off to
New York and forget me, which she did quite easily, I might add. Last I heard,
she’d married some wealthy as sin Broadway producer and had triplets!”

“Did that hurt you? I know it must
have.”

“For awhile, but I was young. Hell, I
didn’t even sleep with her, you know? So I couldn’t have been too serious. And
I’m glad I waited. It made being with you even more special.”

“I’m glad, too. Your mother … oh, I
shouldn’t call her that! What do you call her? To her face, I mean.”

“I still call her Mother. She doesn’t
know that I found out about Inger.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Didn’t see any point to it. Are you
up for this fundraiser tonight? If not, we’ll head on home and pack then fly to
the moon or wherever. You still want to get married, right?”

“Yes, but we can stay, if you’d like.
It’s up to you.”

“Sure, it might be fun. It’s a
Venetian ball, with fancy outfits and masks. I haven’t been to one in years.”

“What is she raising funds for,
anyway?”

“Politicians, of course. Elizabeth
doesn’t do causes. That’s too trendy for her.”

Fawn nodded; as they finished their
breakfast she imagined the dame sitting with perfect posture at a Rococo desk
decorated with elaborately initialed stationary, writing out letters in cursive
and slipping them into dainty envelopes, like an alive though older version of
Rebecca de Winter.

ELEVEN

The true picture was slightly
different. They entered the dark-paneled study to find Elizabeth Trahern
sitting at a sleek Parsons desk with a laptop – but her posture was perfect.

She closed the laptop, threw a
scrutinizing glance towards Fawn. Was she disappointed that her mild revelation
had failed to cause a lovers’ spat?

“I just received an email from Libra.
She says the weather in Europe is splendid and would love for us to come visit.
Do you think we could manage it, Taurus?”

“You can go if you like but I don’t
think I could stand watching Libby play at being a duchess. Besides, I have
other plans.”

“She’ll be sad. She misses you
terribly.” She returned her gaze to Fawn’s guarded expression. “Well, did you
enjoy your meal, Ms. Hamilton?”

“Yes, it was very nice.”

“Nice is hardly a word I’d use to
describe anything in my beautiful house … much too bland … but I’ll accept that
as a compliment. Sit down. Taurus, why don’t you go to the factory, and leave
us alone? I’d like to get to know your fiancée.”

“I’ll bet you would, but no doing!
I’d never leave her alone with you.”

“Taurus, you wound me.”

“No one can wound you, Mother. If you
want to get to know Fawn, you can do so while I’m here.”

“Fine, if you think she can’t handle
my questions.”

“Oh, I’m sure she can. I just don’t
want to leave her. I’m kind of stuck on her, you know?”

“I remember the unbridled passion of
youth. It burns like a fire then vanishes once the spark wears off, which
usually happens fairly quickly, unless the object of that passion is quite
desirable. I’m afraid he’ll grow tired of you before the year ends, Ms.
Hamilton.”

Fawn shook her head, thinking if all
the woman could offer were lame insults she’d have no trouble dealing with her.
Her own mother had cornered the market on that stuff years ago.

“I disagree, Taury still feels it
quite strongly … at least he did this morning … in the shower, as a matter of
fact.”

The look on Elizabeth Trahern’s face
did not change but her eyes watered at the humiliation of Fawn’s announcement.

“TMI, as the kids say. Taurus, does
Ms. Hamilton know how much you are worth?”

“I doubt if she cares, Mother.”

“Oh, I’m certain you’re wrong there,
dearest. At last total, Taurus had a net worth of roughly one hundred million
dollars. Didn’t think candy was such a lucrative venture, did you, Ms.
Hamilton? Or perhaps you did.”

“It never crossed my mind. Taury and
I don’t waste our precious time together talking about money.”

“But I should imagine you do think
about it occasionally, like when you first met him, and decided to shall we say
take him for a ride?”

Taury stood up, fuming.

“That’s it! I will not sit here and
allow you to put her down! Fawn is the love of my life, Mother! The sooner you
accept that the better off you’ll be! Come on, Fawn! I want to show you the
town!”

He grabbed her hand, pulled her out
of the room. Her face was beaming with pride and joy – “the love of my life” he
had said. And she felt the same way. There could never be anyone else for her
but Taury Trahern!

He raided the basement garage, found
a sporty Porsche – a bright yellow one – to drive around in. They headed for
his apartment in an old neighborhood near the candy factory. The building
looked like a set from
The Maltese Falcon
– very 1940s, and his
apartment reflected the same. It was rather small, with a foyer leading into a
trim living room decorated in muted colors with Bogart movie posters framed and
mounted on either side of a very modern flat screen TV. An adjoining dining
area led to a minuscule but efficient kitchen, and a balcony overlooking the
industrial part of the city. Off the living room, in the rear, was a
comfortable bedroom and bath.

“Isn’t what you were expecting, I
know, but it’s really just a place to drop my drawers and sleep.”

Fawn laughed. “I like the imagery of
that! But I’m not disappointed. I love it! Especially the Marlowe bed! Where
did you find that? I’ve always wanted one!”

“It’s a reproduction. Most of the
furnishings in here are. I wanted an apartment that Sam Spade would be proud
of. I’m kind of a
film noir
freak.”

“Another thing to love about you; I
can’t get enough of films like that!”

“Would you like to see the factory?
It’s only a block from here.”

“I do! I remember taking a tour of a
candy factory in third grade. I can still smell the chocolate!”

He laughed, gave her a sweet kiss.
“Fawn,” he hesitated.

“What is it?”

“I think I’d better call my doctor
now, before I lose my concentration.”

“Oh, all right.”

He flipped open his phone, punched
out the number. While he talked to a receptionist, Fawn strolled about the
apartment, admiring his taste in DVDs and old vinyl records, and trying not to
think about having to visit a doctor’s office again.

“Well, that was a waste!” he growled
as she returned to him.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Doctor Morrow is out of town … for a
golf tournament, of all things! He won’t be seeing anyone until next week.”

“I can wait.”

“Maybe I could call somebody else.”

“No, Taury, really, I can wait. It
hasn’t hurt since last night.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“All right, but if it starts again,
you’ll tell me? Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay. Let’s head out to the factory
… I have a request before we go … you might think it’s kind of strange.”

“What?”

“Could you not wear your panties for
the rest of the day?”

“What? Go without them, in public?”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to know how
sexy that would feel, being beside you for hours, with you bottomless, and me
not being able to do anything.”

“Wouldn’t it drive you crazy?”

“Yeah, but in a good way. Will you do
it?”

“Oh, Taury, I don’t know … what if
someone noticed?”

“Take them off, and walk around a
bit.”

She shrugged, did as asked. It felt
so sinful and bare but free, too.

“I can’t tell, and I’m staring right
at you. As long as you stay out of the wind you’ll be fine.”

“Ha! I’m so sure! Do the paparazzi
ever follow you around? I’d hate to climb out of the Porsche and get my picture
taken then have my muffin revealed to the whole world!”

He started laughing. “You don’t have
to worry about that! I don’t have a reality show so they leave me alone. Let’s
go!”

They left the apartment, boarded the
elevator and rode the six stories down with Taury’s hand itching to take
advantage of Fawn’s situation but he forced himself to be a gentleman.

The Trahern Candy Company had opened
as a tiny store in Oakland in 1910. From there Amos Ambling Trahern, an Irish
immigrant who’d been a railroad builder in his youth, created a sweet empire
that stretched from San Francisco to New York, from London to Shanghai.
Everyone from one to a hundred and one loved Amos’ candy, or so said the plaque
that welcomed visitors to the factory.

Taury led Fawn around the production
line, introducing her as his fiancée. She smiled demurely and shook as many
hands as possible, while keeping at least one arm free to batten down her
sundress. She wasn’t as uninhibited as Taury would like to believe. This whole
situation mortified her. The factory had several floor grates that blew cool
air from somewhere down below. She avoided them like they were hungry mouths
ready to devour her, fearful that one might catch the skirt of her dress at just
the wrong instant and give everyone a full monty.

“Well, it worked for Marilyn Monroe,”
Taury grinned when she told him her fears. “Remember that scene in the movie,
The
Seven Year Itch
when the subway passes underneath the grate she’s standing
on and her skirt flies up?”

“She had panties on in that scene!”
Fawn whispered.

He laughed and pointed her towards
the cafeteria. “Want some lunch?”

“I wouldn’t mind. Can we go back to
your apartment now?”

“No, I want to show you the diner!”

“The what?”

He held open the cafeteria doors.
They entered an enormous white room with a black and white tile floor, chrome
tables with banana-patterned Formica tops and a jukebox that was playing
My
Boy Lollipop
. Curvy Neon signs announced that they were in Amos’ Diner.