Leo, but it raised another about why Sandy would invite her to
such an event. “It sounds like fun, but honestly, I don’t want to
horn in on you and your friends.”
Sandy scowled. “Oh, that’s bullshit. One thing Leo and I have
in common is that I don’t invite people unless I want them to
show up. I’ll run interference and make sure they all know you’re
just a friendly. Just wave that rock under their noses.”
She looked self-consciously at the diamond on her hand. It
was a whole lot bigger than it needed to be, but Mike didn’t do
anything on a small scale. “Maybe I should leave this at home.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’ll be fighting off horny
dykes all night.”
She could feel herself start to blush. Getting hit on wouldn’t
bother her as long as they respected her response, but she
couldn’t imagine they would waste their time on someone who
was straight. “I doubt that.”
“Trust me, Claudia.” Sandy hooked her purse over her
shoulder and flipped off the lights, signaling an end to their
workday. “They’d be on you like flies on honey.”
Chapter 4
Leo spread the photos out on her coffee table. The rest of
her film from the job at Melrose Elementary had gone to the lab
for developing and wouldn’t return for another five weeks, but
she had saved the roll from her Nikon to develop at home. It held
only the three photos of Claudia Galloway.
She stared at the images with brazen interest, her eyes settling
on the outline of Claudia’s breasts in the pink shirt. The dip of
her neck revealed a small jade pendant, which Leo remembered
from their meeting but hadn’t allowed herself to study. From the
boyfriend, she surmised.
She set the photos aside and propped her feet beside them.
After shooting a wedding all day on Saturday, it was nice to
relish a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do, nowhere to be
and no one to see. She had spent the morning in her basement
darkroom and now was toying with the idea of calling the number
Claudia had given her to say her photos were ready. A creeping
nervousness had stopped her, similar to what she typically felt
before the handful of blind dates Sandy and Maria had arranged.
There was no good reason to put her feelings about Claudia into
the same category with those girls. This wasn’t a test to see if
romance could blossom between them. But for some reason it
was imperative that she make a good impression on Claudia.
A sudden thud sent the photos sliding across the coffee
table.
“Hello, Madeline.” She scooped her calico kitten into her
lap. “You can’t stand it when I pay attention to something else.”
The cat responded with a steady purr as she pushed her head
into Leo’s chin. Her tail twittered in anticipation of her back
being scratched.
“How did you get to be so rotten in just six months?”
She swiped at the cat, a birthday gift from Patty, who had
joked at her party that Leo needed a little pussy. It was an
embarrassing pronouncement made all the worse by its obvious
truth. Leo hadn’t made love with anyone in over four years, but
that wasn’t for lack of trying on Patty’s part. She proclaimed her
undying lust nearly every time they saw each other. Leo played it
down with humor, refusing to take her overtures seriously. That
only increased Patty’s flirtations, but it let her save face while Leo
dodged her advances. Patty wasn’t her type.
“What do you think, Madeline? Do I even have a type?” She
clutched the kitten to her chest as she leaned down and retrieved
one of Claudia’s photos from the floor. “What do you think of
this one? Cute, huh?”
Yes, Claudia could be her type…or someone like her. Leo
didn’t need to be fantasizing about someone with a boyfriend,
but that didn’t mean she couldn’t use Claudia to figure out what
kind of girl she did want. Something about her was intriguing,
something that might give Leo a clue about romance. This
fumbling through blind dates and talking with friends of friends
at parties hadn’t gotten her anywhere.
When it came to romance she had been a late bloomer, not
fully realizing until her second year at the community college
in Monterey that she was attracted to women. It hadn’t come as
a complete surprise because the two dates she’d had with boys
from her high school had fizzled in mutual awkwardness, and
neither had aroused her sexual curiosity. Not so with Melissa, a
classmate and off-and-on lover for two years. Melissa had been
fascinating and experienced, and had shown Leo the pleasures
of lesbian love, but she wasn’t long on monogamy. Frustrated by
Melissa’s dalliances with other women, Leo finally broke things
off. No one since had interested her sexually, but what she missed
far more than sex was the sheer joy of having someone to care
about.
Claudia stared back at her with gorgeous hazel eyes set deep
above high cheekbones. Her light brown hair was fine, with soft
curls that looked like they defied control. Overall, it was a gentle
look that fit nicely with the calm yet commanding way she had
handled her third graders.
“I’m going to call her,” she told Madeline, reaching for the
phone. She pressed the first six numbers and then took a deep
breath. “No, I’m not.”
Why was she being such a chicken? It wasn’t rational at all to
be stressing about calling someone to say her photos were ready.
She did it twenty times a week. What was the worst that could
happen? Her boyfriend could answer the phone and drill her
with a million suspicious questions. It was just photos. Calling
now would get this over with. Claudia could stop by for a quick
tour and pick up her packet, then run off to spend the rest of the
weekend with Romeo.
With new resolve, she dialed the number, and was about
to hang up after six rings when a ragged female voice suddenly
answered. An image of Claudia sweating amidst rumpled sheets
filled her head as her mouth went dry.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Uh, Claudia?” The wheels in her brain spun in search of what
to say. “This is Leonora Westcott, from Westcott Photography.”
Way too formal. “Leo, from the school.”
0
“Leo!” Claudia gasped for breath. “I almost didn’t get to the
phone. I was coming up from the laundry room when I heard it
ring.”
So she hadn’t been in the middle of heated sex after all. “I’m
sorry. I can call back if you’re busy.”
“No, no. I’m glad you called. What’s up?”
Leo smiled with relief. “I just wanted to let you know your
photos are ready if you want to stop by sometime and pick them
up. Or I can mail them if you want to give me your address.”
“You have them already? The paper I sent home with the
kids said five weeks.”
�
��Yeah, that’s because theirs went off to the lab. I switched
cameras for you, remember? If I’d used the one on the tripod,
it would have lopped off the top of your head.” Talking about
her work relaxed her. “Anyway, I had some other shots on that
roll”—a lie—“and I developed everything this morning.”
“Am I funny-looking?”
“No, you look great.” Madeline bobbed her head against the
corner of the photo. “Even my cat likes them.”
“Your cat, huh? I guess that’s a good sign, but I was counting
on something I could put on the door to scare burglars away.”
Leo chuckled, enjoying Claudia’s self-deprecating humor.
It was hard to believe she didn’t realize how attractive she was.
“These won’t work for that, I’m afraid. It’s hard to scare somebody
when you’re wearing pink.”
“So you think I should wear something else for
Halloween?”
“I believe it usually calls for black and orange.” She wondered
if Sandy had followed through with an invitation to her party.
“I’m embarrassed to be caught at home doing laundry on a
Sunday afternoon. You must think I have no life at all.”
“Then that’s two of us, because I’m sitting here on the couch
with my cat. But I worked a wedding yesterday, so I don’t feel so
guilty about putting my feet up for a change.”
“It sounds like you work all the time.”
“Not really, just odd hours. No one gets married at eight
o’clock on a Monday morning.” She leaned back on the couch
and stretched her foot out to scratch Madeline’s chin. This was
exactly what she had hoped for, a casual conversation. No tests to
pass, no one to impress.
“I was about to suggest that I come over this afternoon, but I
don’t want to ruin your day off. Why don’t you tell me what day
works and I’ll stop by after school?”
The idea of seeing Claudia today stirred both excitement and
anxiety. “This afternoon would be fine. Maybe we can get a bite
to eat or something.”
“Now you’re talking. I’m so tired of take-out, but I hate to sit
in a restaurant by myself.”
Why would she be by herself? Where was the boyfriend?
“Then come on over. I’ll give you the nickel tour and we can walk
down to Old Fisherman’s Wharf. I have two customer parking
spaces on the side of the house, so pull on around the corner. My
Volvo will be there.”
“I’m only about ten minutes away,” Claudia said. “But I have
to wait for my clothes to finish drying, or someone else will
dump them on the floor of the laundry room. Is an hour from
now okay?”
“Perfect.” Just enough time to straighten up and grab a
shower, but not enough to get herself worked up.
Leo paced the parlor, stopping occasionally to peek through
the beveled glass that lined her front door. Everything was in
order with five minutes to spare. Five minutes she would spend
worrying whether she looked okay.
A quick check in the full-length mirror by the studio door
helped to settle her doubts. The tips of her hair were still wet
from her shower, leaving a damp ring along the collar of her gray
T-shirt. Her black jeans fit snugly and her sneakers finished the
casual look. Overall, she was satisfied. Not too dressy, not too
sloppy.
A car slowed in front of her house and turned into her
customer parking area. It wasn’t just any car—it was a white
Nissan 300ZX and it looked brand new. Its top was open, the T-
bar bisecting the cockpit.
From the side window she watched Claudia remove her
headband and fluff her hair in the rearview mirror. Then she
brushed her sweater, a light blue crewneck that was considerably
dressier than Leo’s T-shirt. Leo grew suddenly self-conscious
when Claudia climbed from the car to reveal navy slacks and
polished shoes. It was too late to run back upstairs to change.
She could only hope Claudia wouldn’t think her a slob.
Abandoning all pretense of nonchalance, she stepped outside
as Claudia walked up the five stairs to the porch, her heels landing
with a sharp click. Alligator boots. Expensive. “Glad you could
make it.”
Claudia eyed her up and down. “Damn, I was afraid I’d be
too dressed up. I didn’t know what you had in mind at the marina
so I decided to play it safe.”
“You look great. If it’s any consolation, I had the same
conversation with myself, but obviously it took me somewhere
else.” She couldn’t resist brushing her fingers on Claudia’s
cashmere sweater. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I’m not
sure I own anything this nice.”
“Maybe we should just swap tops,” Claudia said with a grin,
briefly gripping the hem of her sweater. “I don’t think we could
trade pants. Mine would only come to your knees.”
Leo chuckled as Claudia pushed past her into the circular
parlor, which was the turret on the front left corner of the Queen
Anne house.
“Wow, this is so cool! I love old houses. My grandmother’s
house in Cambria was just like this. It had all this elaborate
woodwork and high ceilings. What I remember most was a whole
bunch of tiny rooms.”
“That’s how this one used to be, but we’ve made a few changes
handed down from her grandfather to her father, and now to her.
“I’m the third generation in this house. Except it isn’t much of a
house now…more like a studio with an apartment upstairs.”
“Now that’s what I call an easy commute. I wonder if I could
get them to let me live over the school?”
Leo tipped her head in the direction of the parking area. “If I
had a car like yours I wouldn’t mind a commute. Those are some
nice wheels.”
“Yeah, I have sort of a weakness for sports cars. I’m just not a
four-door kind of gal. You know what I mean?”
She nodded mindlessly, deciding it was rude to ask how a
teaching intern could afford such a car. “I have to haul things
when I go out on shoots, so I need to drive a station wagon.”
“That Volvo? It looks like a classic.”
“I don’t know about that, unless it’s just a polite way of saying
‘old car.’ It was my dad’s.”
Claudia studied the detail of the beveled glass that framed
the door. “This is exquisite. They don’t make houses like this
anymore.”
“Let me show you around.” Leo gestured to the antique
chairs and davenports. “This is technically a parlor but I use it as
my waiting room in case my appointments get backed up.”
“I love these antiques. Are they heirlooms?”
“Antiques…heirlooms.” She tried her best to keep a straight
face. “You sure have a lot of pretty words for my old junk.”
Claudia’s eyes went wide before she realized Leo was joking.
Then she sneered. “You almost had me there. Show me more.”
She charge
d into the next room.
Leo caught up with her and scurried in front to show off her
office. “This front part is where we used to have the studio but
now it’s where I do all the boring stuff, like ordering supplies
and sending out bills.” A large round table stacked with catalogs
and tablets sat between the front window and a fireplace, and an
L-shaped oak desk filled the far corner. Samples of her work—
among them, family portraits, babies and brides—were mounted
on all four walls.
The alligator boots clicked again on the worn hardwood
floor as Claudia inspected the displays. “These are beautiful. I
bet your customers love you.”
“I don’t know about love, but most of them appreciate what
I can do.”
“Does that mean you fixed my pointy chin?”
Leo was accustomed to dealing with her subjects’ insecurities
about their looks, many of them exaggerated. It was hard to
imagine someone as attractive as Claudia being insecure about
anything. “I bet you’re the only one in the world who thinks you
have a pointy chin,” she said seriously. “You have a very beautiful
face.”
Claudia’s face turned a light shade of pink. “Thank you. I
didn’t mean to go fishing for compliments. It’s just that growing
up all I heard was how much I looked like my father. He’s a
handsome man, but what girl wants to be handsome? Maybe if I
had a goatee like his…and a little moustache.”
Leo laughed and shook her head. “I can give you both of
those if that’s what you really want.”
“Now you’re scaring me.” She pointed to the next room.
“What’s in there?”
“Right, the tour. That was the parlor, this was the formal
sitting room, and this in here”—she turned on the lights to her
studio—“used to be the dining room. For obvious reasons it’s
now my favorite room in the house.”
Claudia walked to the center of the room and twirled
slowly, studying the slate-gray backdrop, the modeling lamps,
the reflector umbrellas and the camera tripod. A stylist chair sat
before a mirror in the corner. “There’s hardly anything in here.”
Leo looked around the room and shrugged. “I have different
props and backdrops depending on who I’m shooting, but I