Tales of the City 06 - Sure of You

requested this; tie-dyed stuff was cool again, she said. It made him tired just thinking about it.
    “O.K., now put some more rubber bands on.”
    “Where?”
    “Anywhere.”
    “Point, O.K.?”
    “No, dear. I mean put them anywhere you like. That’s what makes them beautiful. The designs are all different.”
    “But I want one like you just did.”
    “Well, what good would that be? Then it wouldn’t be yours, would it?”
    Silence.
    “Go on, now. You’ll see.”
    Sitting up, Brian shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched the child coax the rubber bands onto the rolled T-shirt. “How’s it going?” he asked the landlady.
    “Beautifully.”
    Shawna rolled her eyes like the great Drew Barrymore. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
    “Well, go to it, then.”
    His daughter donned rubber gloves that were much too big for her, then dunked the trussed T-shirt into Mrs. Madrigal’s big porcelain tub.
    “These are for Michael and Thack,” Shawna volunteered.
    “That’s a good idea.”
    “They can wear them to the May Festival.”
    “Hey…there you go.”
    “Are they both mediums?”
    “Think so, yeah.”
    Shawna turned to Anna. “Told you.”
    “Yes, you did,” said the landlady, turning back to Brian. “How is Michael, by the way?”
    “Fine.”
    “He had strep throat the last time I talked to him.”
    “It’s gone now.”
    “I’m making the green one for Thack and the blue one for Michael.” Shawna raised her voice to get back their attention.
    “Yeah,” said Brian. “I think green looks better on Thack.”
    “Can we take them by there tonight?”
    “If you want to, sure.”
    “Michael says he’ll show me the parrot tree.”
    “Don’t count on it,” Brian warned her. “You can’t be sure of them.”
    “I know.”
    “Anyway, it’s more special when it’s a surprise. When they just swoop down out of nowhere.”
    The child turned back to Mrs. Madrigal. “If we add more salt it makes it brighter?”
    “Yes, indeed.”
    “Let’s add some more, then.”
    “All right, dear. Now watch very closely…”
    Shawna gazed at her mentor with a look of such adoration that Brian felt a brief stab of jealousy.

    Later, while his daughter was inside napping, Mrs. Madrigal sat on the bench and talked to him as he sunned. “How is her new place?” she asked.
    “Didn’t you see People this week?”
    “What people?”
    “The magazine.”
    “Oh. No.”
    “She’s in it. There’s a picture of the apartment.”
    “Ah.”
    “It looks good. Old-fashioned, with high windows.”
    “That does sound nice.”
    “Not much furniture, of course…”
    “No.”
    “They call her the new Mary Hart.”
    “The who?”
    “Just this woman on Entertainment Tonight .”
    “Oh.”
    “I’ll bring you the article.”
    “Don’t go to any trouble, dear.”
    He smiled a little.
    “You’ve lost weight,” she remarked. “Your tummy looks so flat.”
    “I’ve been working out again.”
    “Where?”
    “At home. I made her old closet into a weight room.”
    She chuckled. “There’s a clever boy.”
    “I thought so,” he said.
    His goal was to be back in shape by the end of summer.

    When Brian arrived at the nursery the next morning, Michael was in the office, watching television in the tie-dyed T-shirt.
    “Hey,” said Brian. “Looks good.”
    “Doesn’t it?” Michael swiveled his chest for an instant, then turned his gaze back to the set. “Guess who she’s got on.”
    Brian looked up and saw a very tanned Russell Rand, arranged with studied elegance on the near end of Mary Ann’s couch. He had just said something funny, apparently, because Mary Ann was laughing merrily.
    “But it was such a natural idea,” she said, composing herself. “Designer wedding rings. You wonder why no one thought of it before.”
    The designer’s expression was appropriately modest.
    “And you and Chloe, of course, are your own best ad.”
    Rand ducked his head. “Well…”
    “I mean it. It’s just so damned nice to see two people that much in love.” There was scattered applause from the studio audience, so she egged them on a little. “Isn’t it? Isn’t it nice for a change?”
    “Gag me,” said Michael.
    Brian smiled. “You think she’s got Chloe behind the curtains?”
    “Probably. So Russell can kiss her on camera.”
    “And let me tell you…” Mary Ann was on a roll now, developing her theme. “Those of us who haven’t had such good luck in matters of the