Out Of Love Part 16

"Just like that?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It's exactly what I wanted, but I'm not used to getting it."

Carmen grinned. "I'm having a good day." She continued on to Cathy's office and rapped gently on the door jamb.

"I hear laughter down the hall. Are you sick?"

"No, but I'll need an extra night in New York. And can you get me an open return on Sat.u.r.day"-Carmen glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening-"in case I decide to sleep in?"

110.

Chapter 10.

Judith slowed her gait to study her reflection in the window on Forty-Second Street. She had lucked into a sale at Marshall's where she found gray slacks and a black sweater that looked . . .

well, like they were off the rack at a discount store. But she didn't buy much she couldn't toss in a washer and dryer. Besides, she was through with pretense. Carmen needed to see the real Judith O'Shea, a woman who lived on a tight budget.

At the corner, she turned onto Broadway, where foot traffic was heavy, typical for a Friday night. She loved the theatre, but hadn't been to a show in almost a year. That had less to do with her budget than her social life. Tonight was her first real date in almost three years, if she didn't count the times she went out to the clubs with Celia, where both had been on the prowl and returned home alone, discouraged by the scarcity of women their age in the club scene.

111.

As she closed in on Times Square, she checked her watch.

She was four minutes early, which would seem like an eternity waiting at the Marriott, where the ground floor was like a fish-bowl.

She was anxious about what her first moments with Carmen would be like, if there might still be chemistry between them after their awkward parting. Last time had been raw and spontaneous, but tonight was orchestrated-dinner and a show.

Civilized. Formal. There would be no going back to Carmen's room tonight, no matter how big the temptation.

As she crossed the valet drive-through, she spotted a dark-haired woman leaning casually against a wall inside the brightly-lit enclosure of the first floor. Her doubts about whether there would be sparks dissipated immediately as her nervousness was replaced with antic.i.p.ation. Walking closer, she confirmed it was Carmen and studied her through the gla.s.s. She was elegantly dressed in black slacks with a high-collared white shirt, and her calf-length Burberry raincoat. She looked fabulous, easily the prettiest woman Judith had ever gone out with.

"Hi! Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here."

Both of them smiled broadly and greeted one another with a light hug and kisses on the cheek. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it was clear they weren't sure where they stood with one another.

"You look nice," Carmen said.

"Thank you. So do you." Judith couldn't help but blush a little, and she briefly regretted not splurging for something cla.s.sier to wear. "I love that shirt."

Carmen tugged at the collar. "There's enough starch in here to stand up a corpse."

"You never know when you're going to need a good neck brace."

"Let's hope it isn't tonight. My luck, these tickets will turn out to be obstructed view." Carmen's arm went around her waist 112 as they exited the building.

"What show did you get?"

"Mama Mia. I've seen it five times already, but I love it."

"I haven't seen it, but it sounds like fun. Are you going to sing along?"

Carmen laughed. "No, I'm really trying to make a good impression here. I don't think my singing would help that."

Judith liked that Carmen wanted to impress her, but it would be too easy to fall into that trap again. "You know what? I'm already impressed by you. You promised me you'd be yourself tonight."

"So you're giving me permission to sing?"

"As long as we don't get kicked out. It's so embarra.s.sing when they shine that flashlight and people point at you."

"Ah, so you're shy when it comes to public spectacles."

"I didn't say that," Judith answered with a chuckle, her mind going back to two weeks ago when she and Carmen were making out on the sidewalk next to Central Park.

Carmen stepped in front of her and blocked her path. "Are you flirting with me? Because I respond very well to flirting."

Judith instantly recognized that she, not Carmen, was responsible for their drift in conversation. "So where are you taking me for dinner?"

Carmen squinted at her as though scolding her for changing the subject. "Trattoria, if that's all right. I guess I should have asked."

"It's good. I happen to like Italian."

"But does a sweet Irish la.s.s like yourself like Italians?"

"I like some Italians."

"I would take that as encouragement if I weren't so insecure."

In spite of herself, Judith snorted at the remark. If there was one thing Carmen wasn't, it was insecure.

Carmen took her hand and hooked it through her elbow, guiding her into a turn at Forty-Fourth Street, and through the 113 door of the restaurant. Judith was impressed with how well she knew her way around New York and said so.

"I get here about four or five times a year on business. I usually stay in midtown because Zeigler-Marsh is on Forty-Sixth, so I've found a few places around here I like." She paused while they were being seated at a table for two. "Speaking of Zeigler-Marsh, Sofia asked about you today. She's still interested if you change your mind about where you're working."

"I, uh . . ." Judith scrunched her mouth. The topic of two weeks ago was like an elephant in the parlor, one they were going to have to at least acknowledge if tonight was going to be a new start. "To tell you the truth, I'm too embarra.s.sed about what happened to follow up with her."

"I told you not to be."

"I know. But it really made me uncomfortable to realize that everyone was in on the private joke but me."

The smile Carmen had been wearing since the Marriott was gone. "I'm really sorry about all that. For what it's worth, I didn't tell anyone about what happened on Sunday night . . . except Cathy. And I only told her because I fired everyone and she hired them all back. She's so insolent."

Judith couldn't help but laugh. "You fired everyone?"

"I was in a foul mood. My doctor says I have to turn stress outward."

"You fired everyone?"

"Not really. But they were all using the back stairs so they wouldn't have to pa.s.s by my door."

"And you looked like such a happy crew."

"An illusion." They paused to place their order with the waiter. When he left, Carmen leaned forward and folded her hands on the table. "Now, would you like to talk some more about the last time I was here? Because I can probably apologize for at least another hour without saying the same thing twice."

"I don't think I could stand to listen to that for an hour.

114.

Besides, I told you already I wasn't exactly innocent myself."

"That's right, the Cinderella thing. I didn't really get what you were saying. Did you expect it all to disappear when I left town?"

"No, it wasn't that." Judith fingered her linen napkin nervously. "I felt as if the gla.s.s slipper just happened to fit me of all people. And then I got caught up with you being so beautiful and important. I was paying more attention to what you were than who you were."

Carmen looked at her seriously before breaking into a small smile. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Of course you are." Judith couldn't stop her own embarra.s.sed smile. "And no, I'm not flirting."

"Pity."

"But like I told you on the phone, I want to know the real you, not the Carmen Delallo everyone at the conference knows."

Carmen sighed and leaned back. "What if I told you the real me is that person you already met?"

"Is it?"

"Pretty much. I know we weren't going to talk about work tonight, but it's a very big part of who I am. Outside of my family, most of the people I'm close to are people I'm connected to through work."

"Except Brooke."

"Except Brooke," Carmen said quietly.

Judith studied Carmen's serious expression and weighed whether or not to make Brooke an issue tonight. Her specter had already ruined their first weekend, and if tonight turned out to be their only real date, there was no point in stirring it up again.

"Tell me about your family." She was instantly glad for her decision, as the question produced a broad smile.

"My twin sisters are the youngest, and I have three brothers.

I'm the third oldest."

"Your poor mother had six children?"

115.

"We're Catholic. Blame it on the pope."

The waiter interrupted again with their salads and warm bread. Judith took her cue from Carmen, filling her bread plate with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. It wasn't her usual habit, but Carmen made it seem like the proper way to eat Italian bread.

"Is your whole family still in Chicago?"

"Pretty much. My oldest brother, Paul, lives in Milwaukee, but that's close enough for Sunday dinner in Evanston, which we aren't invited to unless we've been to Ma.s.s."

"Sounds like your folks and the pope are pretty tight."

"Just my mom, really. I'd like to think seventeen years of Catholic school earned me a lot of credits for down the road."

"If that's the case, I'm in deep trouble. The public schools in Brooklyn didn't offer much in the way of spiritual development."

"Don't worry. I probably got enough for you too."

Judith set her bread and salad aside to save room for her main course. Had she been with Celia down in the Village, she would have asked the waiter to wrap it to go. "What was it like growing up in a family that large?"

"I was spoiled because I was the only girl for a while. And I never had to share a room because I was seven when the twins came along."

"Are all of you still close?"

"We try to get together on holidays and special occasions. We even have a message board on the Internet so we can keep up with everyone. We're now at nineteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren."

"How do you even remember all their names?"

"It's funny you say that. I'm so bad with names." She laughed and took a drink of her wine. "Sometimes I have to fake it. If there's one I can't remember, I hang back and wait for someone else to call them."

Judith wasn't having much success separating the charming 116 woman before her from the one she thought was merely an illusion. Carmen sounded every bit as animated tonight as she had at dinner with her friends. "Are the rest of your siblings as busy as you?"

"Busier, I'd say. Angie's the only one who doesn't have kids, but she's an OB-GYN, so babies rule her life anyway."

"Your sister's a doctor?"

"Both of my sisters are doctors, and so are two of my brothers."

No wonder Carmen was so driven to succeed. "You have four doctors in your family?"

"Five, counting Dad. He was on the faculty at Northwestern."

"How did you manage to end up in the travel business?"

Carmen shrugged. "Medical school didn't really appeal to me. I studied behavioral science at DePaul thinking I might go into psychiatry. But I took a couple of business courses my senior year and decided that was more fun."