Tomb With a View

The way it was, I bumped the lamp with my arm, and as if it were happening in slow motion, I turned just in time to watch it skid to the edge of the table, tip, and teeter.

Believe me, I knew what was going to happen next, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

My heart bumped, my adrenaline pumped, and I reacted as fast as I could. I stretched, grabbed, and saved the lamp from ending up in a million pieces on the floor.

Trouble is, when I did, I also knocked into a tall skinny vase (yes, Garfield’s face was painted on that, too). It was filled with a bunch of those really long, old-fashioned metal hat pins, and the vase tipped, but lucky for me, it didn’t fall and break. The hat pins fell out, though. Every single one of them bounced against the table on the way down. Except for the rumble of Ray’s voice and the murmur of Marjorie’s, it was deadly quiet in the house. The hat pins ping, ping, pinged like gunshot.

I cringed and froze, and that’s how Marjorie found me when she came . . . well, it wasn’t exactly running, seeing as how she was still wearing those high shoes.

“What on earth!” She looked at the hat pins scattered across the floor, so upset, the tight knot of the head scarf under her chin quivered. She tottered over, picked up the hat pins one by one, and set them back where they belonged. “Really, Ms. Martin, you need to learn to be more careful around precious objects. One would think you would have learned that working in a place as full of treasured things as Garden View. Sit down, why don’t you.” It was more of an order than an invitation. “And keep your hands to yourself. I’ll be right back.”

She marched . . . er . . . tottered back the way she came, and afraid she might be right and I might get in serious and possibly expensive trouble if I tried to look at anything else, I did as I was told. I plunked down on the couch and waited.

I would have stayed right there, too, if Ray’s voice didn’t float out from the back room. It was louder than it had been before, and more insistent. I couldn’t catch exactly what he said, but let’s face it, that made me more curious than ever.

I got up and sidled my way into the dining room.

“I don’t know why you’re getting so upset. Mistakes happen. And that’s all it was, just a mistake.” This was Marjorie speaking, and even long distance, I could hear that she was trying so hard to sound honest, there was no doubt she was lying. “I was confused. I spoke before I should have, before I had all the information. Now . . . well, now I know things aren’t going to work out the way I thought they would. I was sure you’d understand. I never dreamed you’d hold it against me, Ray. I can’t believe you’re that kind of man.”

“This is the last straw, Marjorie!” I didn’t know people ever really said that, I mean, not in real life. I tipped my head to try and catch every word. “So what you’re telling me is that you’ve been leading me on. Is that it? This whole thing . . . it’s been nothing but a charade. And now this!” Ray paused like maybe he was showing something to Marjorie. “This just about proves it. You don’t care about anyone’s feelings but your own. You act like I’m some sort of trained monkey.”

“But, Ray . . .” Marjorie must have known how desperate she sounded. She swallowed so hard, even I heard the gulp. When she started up again, she tried so hard to sound sexy, it was pathetic. Not to mention nauseating. “You aren’t going to ruin a perfectly good thing just because—”

“There is no good thing. Don’t you get that? There never has been. Whatever relationship we have—”

“It could be good. It could be better than good.” Maybe she saw that trying to reason with Ray was getting her nowhere fast. Marjorie’s voice iced over. “I simply can’t believe you’re getting upset about such an insignificant thing. If you’d just give me a chance—”

“I’ve given you all the chances you’re going to get. I’ve been patient. And I’ve been willing to believe you’d come through with what you promised. And all I get is the runaround.”

“That’s not it at all.” Suddenly, Marjorie’s voice sounded closer, as if Ray had walked out of the room and she was following. I scooted back into the living room. “It’s just that I want things to be good for us, to go smoothly. If you can’t see that—”

“It doesn’t matter, don’t you get it? I’ve had it with this whole thing. I’ve had it with you.” Ray’s voice was louder, too. I sat back down on the couch, and grabbed one of the books off the coffee table, the better to look like I was busy reading—and not eavesdropping.

Just in time, too.

His cheeks flushed, Ray walked into the living room. I think that’s the first he remembered I was there. He stopped long enough to acknowledge me, then headed to the door. “I’ll . . . I’ll see you around Garden View, kid,” he said, and he didn’t wait for me to answer. He was out the door in a flash.