Chapter 27
ZONA’S FRIDAY NIGHT AS A RIDESHARE driver turned out to be uneventful. But it did give her a ringside seat into relationships, both troubled and happy. She dropped off a trio of girlfriends, perfumed and giggly and ready for a fun night out.
“We’re going gunting,” one explained.
Guy hunting. That was a distant memory for Zona, but she could still almost recapture the excitement of going out with friends, looking forward to dancing and flirting and laughing the night away.
The mother in her couldn’t help cautioning, “You all be careful.”
“Oh, we are,” said one of them as she shut her designer purse. “We’ve got each other’s backs. We’re the three muskrats.”
“Musketeers, Mimi,” one of her friends corrected. “Sheesh.”
“Sorry,” Mimi said, sounding far from it.
“We’ve got you, anyway,” said her other friend, obviously the peacemaker. “Thanks,” she chirped as they slid out of the car.
“Have fun,” Zona said.
They hadn’t heard. They were already in party mode, chattering excitedly.
Zona couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit jealous. It was great to be young, with no worries, no problems.
Although youth was no guarantee of a carefree life. Her own daughter was a shining example of that.
Another ride request came on her app and she accepted it. Where the girls had been happy and bubbly, this thirty-something couple were tense and silent. Angry vibes got into the car along with them and swirled up to where Zona sat behind the wheel.
She couldn’t help taking a spying peek in her rearview mirror. Both had their lips pressed into angry lines. His jaw was clenched as he faced the window, determined not to look the woman’s direction.
“You better have this figured out before we get to your mom’s,” the woman hissed.
He said nothing. Just clamped his molars down harder.
Zona pulled up in front of a modest house in City of Hope and they both got out opposite sides of the car. He shut his door, she slammed hers.
“Have a good night,” Zona muttered as she drove away.
If it weren’t for men like Martin, Zona would be tempted to believe her daughter’s claim that all men were jerks. And Alec, she added. He was looking more and more like the kind of solid man a woman could count on. A heart healer and not a heartbreaker. She was so ready to be healed.
He’d taken her for an early dinner before she started work, and the kiss they’d shared had gone a long way toward cauterizing her emotional wounds. Snugged up against that hard, muscled body, she’d felt like she was in a fortress. And yet she feared to get her hopes up.
Her next ride was another couple, this one middle-aged. The woman talked all the way to the restaurant that was their destination. The husband, like the man before him, said nothing, preferring to look out the window rather than engage with his wife.
Zona wondered if what she’d witnessed between those couples was a normal occurrence or if she’d caught them in a moment where they simply weren’t at their best. She’d have liked to think it was the latter but suspected it was the former.
She could almost hear her daughter saying, “See? This is why you don’t want to get involved with anyone ever again. ”
But then she picked up the sweet older couple.
He was wearing a suit, and she had a gardenia corsage on the dressy jacket over her cocktail dress that filled the car with fragrance.
He had only a few strands of hair left on his head, and she looked like a walking bed pillow.
Both of them were beaming, and the minute they got in the car they held hands. They were adorable.
Their destination, The Penthouse in the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. Gary had taken Zona there once. The view from the eighteenth floor had been breathtaking, with the Pacific Ocean stretching out forever, and the food had been delicious. The whole evening had been romantic.
“It’s our fifty-second anniversary,” the woman informed Zona.
“Wow, congratulations,” Zona replied.
“Last year we took the family on a cruise,” her husband said. “This year we’re doing something just the two of us.”
“You’ve picked a great restaurant,” Zona said.
“A great restaurant for a great woman,” said the husband.
The warmth in his voice left Zona wishing she’d found a man like him on her first try.
“So, what’s your secret to a long and happy marriage?” she asked.
“Simple,” replied the husband. “Always love the other person more than you love yourself.”
“Simple but not easy.” It hadn’t been for her husbands.
“Oh, he didn’t say it’s easy,” put in the wife. “Every relationship takes work. But if you care about the person, you’ll be willing to roll up your sleeves and do it. Are you married?” she asked.
“I’m divorced,” Zona said. It felt like a shameful thing to admit to this couple who had worked hard at creating a happy marriage.
“I am sorry,” said the woman. “I hope you’ll find someone who’s willing to do the work with you. It’s worth it.”
“Sure is,” said her husband.
They arrived at the hotel. “Have a lovely time,” Zona said as the man came around the car to help his wife out.
“Oh, we will,” said the woman. “And you have a lovely life.”
A lovely life. What would that look like? Baseball games, backyard barbecues, Super Bowl parties. Dance lessons.
Well, who knew? Maybe.
SATURDAY MORNING IT was time for Zona to focus on her other side hustle. Even though she and Martin and her mom had left early, the garage sale scene was in full swing.
Zona was quick to scoop up a mid-century modern starburst clock. People loved those and she was sure she’d get a lot more for it than the twenty-five dollars the seller was asking. She also found a vintage Lorus watch featuring Mickey Mouse. Score.
Two more garage sales proved to be worth their time also. Zona found a purse and a Fitz and Floyd cookie jar shaped like an ice cream truck. Louise was happy with her sequined top and the same Betty Crocker children’s cookbook she’d had as a child.
“You going to make some of those recipes?” Zona teased as they waited for Martin to move the car from where he’d had to park it a block down the street.
“I just might,” Louise said. “Or I might save it and make something with a great-grandchild someday.”
“I hope you’re not holding your breath on that one. Bree’s sworn off men. Remember?”
“The young vow all kinds of things,” Louise said, still confident in a happily-ever-after for Bree.
“I’d rather see her single than miserable,” Zona said.
“Who says she has to be miserable?” Louise argued. “I wasn’t with your father.”
“Men were different back then.”
“Men have always been men. You just have to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff.”
“Someone ought to teach a course in that,” Zona muttered as Martin pulled up.
After their last stop, they went home via In-N-Out. They chatted and laughed and Louise complimented Martin on the half dozen Nancy Drew books he’d found.
“Little Hildy is going to love them. You’re a good grandpa,” she said, and he beamed.
They were so cute together. Zona was going to have to have another talk with her mother about paying attention to the perfect man who was right under her nose.
She forgot all about that plan when they got home. Louise was concentrating on swinging herself up the front walk and Martin was next to her. Neither was paying attention to what sat in the driveway, but Zona saw it as she walked past. An ugly slash ran all along the driver side of her car.
She hurried inside the house, set down her purchases, and then went back out. Walking around the car she saw the passenger side had been vandalized as well. It had clearly been keyed.
Something cold stole over Zona and grabbed her heart. There was only one logical suspect.
When had she done this? It had to have been a quick job, done while they were out hitting garage sales.
This woman didn’t hesitate to destroy property. What else wouldn’t she hesitate to do? A fresh chill stole over Zona. What would follow this malicious act if Zona continued to see Alec? What or who would be the next target? Maybe Darling. Maybe Mom. For sure, Zona.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Martin said to Louise and started down the front walk. Then he stopped and stared at Zona’s car. “When did this happen?”
“Probably when we were out. Don’t tell Mom. She’ll just worry.”
“You need to report that,” he said.
“I’m going to, right now,” she assured him.
So much for being rid of Alec’s stepsister. So much for the happy interlude they’d been enjoying.
Underneath that calm, the Loch Ness Monster was thrashing around, ready to surface and devour her.
What turned people so toxic, and was there ever a way you could pull the toxin out? In the case of this woman, that would be impossible.
She pulled her phone from her jeans pocket, took pictures, then went online and filed a police report. Even though she couldn’t prove who the vandal was, the crime still needed to be reported. And she’d need the report for her insurance company.
Back in the house, she casually asked Louise if she could borrow her car for the evening. “Mine’s low on gas.”
A flimsy excuse, but Louise didn’t hesitate to say yes. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.
It was hard to concentrate on cleaning and putting her latest finds up on eBay. She’d look at her computer screen and see her damaged car. Then she’d see red. Angela had better stay hidden, because if she didn’t, Zona was going to take her down.
ZONA WAS IN the kitchen, working on a chicken stir-fry when Gilda arrived for Louise patrol. Zona could hear her in the living room, talking to her mother. A moment later she heard the clomp clomp of Louise’s crutches.
“Why didn’t you tell me your car had been keyed?” Louise demanded.
So, Gilda had seen. Thank you, Gilda.
“Not much you could do about it. Not much I can do right now, either,” said Zona.
“So, you’re not out of gas,” Louise accused.
“That, too,” Zona lied.