Tales of the City 04 - Babycakes

I’m afraid. It died on me several days ago.”
“I’ll tell him,” she replied. “That’s O.K.”
They looked at each other helplessly.
“Will you write?” she asked at last.
He reached out and stroked her hair. “I’m not very good about that.”
She smiled at him. “Neither am I.”
“Give Brian my best,” he said. “When the time is right.”
“I will.”
“Well … I’d best be going. My taxi is probably …”
“Simon, please don’t hate me.”
He studied her face for a while before leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Never,” he said softly. And then he walked away.
As night fell, she tried to stay occupied, but she couldn’t shake the dread that gripped her. When the phone rang at seven-fifteen, she lunged at it like a madwoman.
“Hello,” she answered hoarsely.
“Hi. It’s DeDe.”
“Oh … hi.”
“Is this a bad time?”
“No,” she lied.
“Good. Well, D’or and I thought you and Brian might like to play tonight. Mother’s got the kids, and we’re just a couple of good-time gals on the town,”
“That’s sweet,” said Mary Ann.
“But?” replied DeDe.
“Well … Brian isn’t here right now,”
DeDe heard the uncertainty in her voice. “Is … uh … something the matter?”
“Yeah. More or less.”
“Sounds like more,” said DeDe.
Mary Ann hesitated. “We had a fight.”
“Oh.”
“It was major, DeDe. I’m worried. He left here early this morning, and I haven’t heard from him since.”
“He’ll be back.”
“It isn’t that,” said Mary Ann. “He was in no shape to drive. He’d been up all night doing coke, and … I don’t know. I just feel creepy about it.”
DeDe paused, then asked: “Did he give you any idea where he was going?”
“Well … sort of.”
“Where?”
“Uh … Theresa Cross’s house.”
“Jesus. How did he meet h er?” “Through me,” Mary Ann answered lamely.
“Big mistake,” said DeDe.
“I don’t care about that part, really. I can deal with that. I just want to be sure he’s not … you know,”
“Yeah.”
“I’d rather know where he is than not know where he is.”
“Well,” said DeDe, “she lives just half a mile away. I could check out her driveway and see if his car is there.”
Mary Ann was flooded with relief. Of course. “Oh, DeDe … would you mind?”
“Gimme a break. Of course not. Call you back in half an hour.”
“It’s the Le Car,” said Mary Ann, “and please don’t let her see you.”
It was more like forty-five minutes, but she answered after only one ring.
“Yeah?”
“It’s DeDe.”
“Yeah?”
“The car isn’t there, hon.”
“Oh.”
“They could’ve gone out, of course. I mean … I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. You don’t even know for sure that that’s where he went.”
“No.”
“Please don’t worry, hon.”
“I won’t.”
“It’s early yet,” said DeDe. “Maybe he’s just visiting a friend.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have any Valium?” asked DeDe. “Yeah.”
“Then take one before you go to bed.”
Mary Ann did as she was told.

Weirding Out
T HE FUNERAL WAS BEING HELD IN A SMALL SHINGLED chapel with orange and green stained-glass windows. Mouse stood next to her, holding her hand. She was crying more than he was, but she knew he was probably cried out by now. As the organist began to play “Turn Away,” she turned toward the window and saw that it wasn’t stained glass at all but dozens of orange and green parrots arranged geometrically on perches. One by one, they flew toward the starless sky, and darkness spilled like molten tar into the hole they had left behind….
The phone rang.
Her hand, only barely connected to her brain, felt for the receiver in the dark. She croaked something unintelligible.
“Mary Ann?”
It was Michael. “Oh … Mouse.”
“I know it’s early, Babycakes.”
“What?”
“Don’t be pissed at me. I just wanted to give you a change of … oh, God, you’re pissed.”
“No. It’s O.K. Gimme a chance to get it together.”
“You sound really out of it.”
She checked the bedside clock. “It’s five fifty-three, Mouse.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“And I took a Valium before I went to bed.”
“Uh-oh.” He began to hum the theme from Valley of the Dolls.
“Lay off,” she said. “Where are you?”
“In England,” he replied. “Easley-on-Hill.”
“Where?”
“I’m staying at Lady Roughton’s manor house.”
“Right,” she said, impatient with his teasing.
“I’ll tell you about it later. I just wanted