Chapter 26 Natalie
Natalie
The following Friday, Natalie and Elaine were in the Scotts’ living room, talking about Mrs. Smith.
They’d had multiple phone calls since the cocktail party. During these calls, they dissected every detail of her appearance
and wondered where she’d bought her dress. They spoke about the ripples her presence had sent through the yacht club community.
“She’s got all the wives worried,” Natalie had said toward the end of Tuesday’s phone call.
“Benjamin didn’t say a thing about her looks, but he went on and on about how clever she is,” Elaine had responded in a sour
tone.
On Wednesday, Natalie called Elaine to complain that she’d overheard Jimmy telling one of his buddies that his neighbor was
“foxy as hell.”
Ever loyal, Elaine had said, “So are you.”
“Not to Jimmy. Not this week. He’s been in a pissy mood ever since the cocktail party. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
Now, perched on the edge of a chair in Natalie’s living room, Elaine said, “Did you hear about the fight in the parking lot?
It happened after we left.”
Natalie handed Elaine a glass of white wine. “No. Between whom?”
“Rod Kerry and the valet. Apparently, the valet ground the gears of Rod’s new Porsche or something like that—you know I’m
clueless about cars—and Rod yelled at him. Instead of apologizing, the valet jumped out of the driver’s seat and hit Rod in
the face.”
“No!”
Elaine nodded. “Broke his nose. The valet got fired, of course, but if you ask me, he probably did Rod a favor. His nose was
pretty awful before.”
The women cackled.
“I have a story, too.” Natalie took a swig of wine and continued. “I ran into Judy Strauss at the dry cleaner’s, and she told
me that Coach Patrick was completely soused by the time he left the cocktail party. She said he was nasty to the kids during
Monday’s practice. She even saw him pull Misty Duncan’s ponytail because she was talking while he was giving instructions.”
Elaine tutted. “That’s a bit much.”
Natalie glanced at her watch. “I thought Beth would be here by now. Did you talk to her today?”
“Yes. She said she was coming.”
“I’ve called her a bunch of times this week, but she never picked up or called me back. How did she sound?”
Elaine took a sip of wine, considering. “She sounded okay, actually.”
Natalie’s brows shot up in surprise. “Really? Do you think they’ll work it out? She and Don?”
“I hope so. I mean, what would Beth do if they got divorced?”
This gave Natalie pause. “Start her home baking business?”
“From what home? Without Don’s income, she’d be in an apartment over someone’s garage.”
“That’s true.” Natalie glanced around her comfortable living room. “What would you do in her shoes?”
Elaine let out a soft laugh. “Benjamin would never cheat on me, but in the unlikely event that he did, I’d keep it to myself.
You and I aren’t in the same boat as Beth. We’re mothers. I wouldn’t tear apart my family over an affair, would you?”
“No,” Natalie admitted. “If Jimmy and I got divorced, I’d have to do even more than I do now. I probably wouldn’t be able
to keep Una on, and if I had to quit my job to do nothing but clean and take care of the kids, I’d be crushed.”
“Speaking of your job, congratulations on the McCreedy sale.” Elaine saluted her with her wineglass. “May it be the first
of many.”
Natalie felt a rush of affection for her friend. “Thank you. I am very pleased. Just between you and me, I was getting worried. In the time it took me to convince the Sherifs to put an offer
in writing and to negotiate with the McCreedys, Sid gave Gina another fantastic listing.”
“What will you do if he gives you another dud?”
“Oh, I fully expect another challenging property. And since I won’t make enough money selling duds, I’ve come up with a plan.”
Natalie smiled slyly. “You see, all the agents are supposed to take turns answering the phone, but the guys never do it. Gina
will put promising leads right in the guys’ laps because that’s what we’ve been told to do, but I’m going to keep them for
myself. That’s how the Sherifs became my clients and that’s how I got the listing for the colonial down the street from our
church.”
“The Richardsons’ house?”
“Yep. They’re moving to Port Washington because Phil wants to be closer to the city.
Phil wanted to work with a male agent, but I got lucky because he didn’t call Gold Coast. Barbara did.
When I told her the men didn’t have much time to give their property the attention it deserved—not with their busy golf and tennis schedules—she talked Phil into giving the listing to me. ”
“Do all the men play golf and tennis?”
Natalie flicked her wrist. “I have no idea. Technically, it was Gina’s turn to receive a cold call lead, but she doesn’t have
three kids to send to college and Sid will always throw her a bone. I have to bend the rules to get ahead.”
Natalie had done more than bend the rules. She’d crossed a line. She would never tell Elaine, or anyone else, what she’d done
after Gina cornered her in the break room for a little “talk between us girls.”
“Don’t rub Sid the wrong way, or he’ll give you the garbage listings forever,” Gina had advised. “Try being nicer to him.
Compliment him once in a while. And smile more when you’re around the guys. I know you’re a mom and all, but you’re still
pretty. You may as well use it while you’ve still got it, am I right? After all, it works for me. I’m top of the sales board
this week. Again.”
Gina had done a little shimmy, grabbed her coffee cup, and walked out of the room, leaving Natalie rigid with fury.
That bimbo thinks she’s better than me!
Natalie had seethed all day. She kept staring at the sales board, noting the addresses of Gina’s listings.
The closing for the cute cape near the school was coming up. The family had already moved out and the house was empty.
After work, Natalie drove down the quiet street. She’d parked a block away from the house and walked toward the Gold Coast
sign. Everyone in the office knew that Gina used her birthday as the code for her lockboxes, so Natalie had no trouble gaining
entry to the house. Once inside, she’d wriggled the dishwasher out of its cubby and used a serrated knife to make several
small, jagged holes in the water hose.
“Mice will chew anything,” she’d mumbled as she pushed the dishwasher back in place. Then she’d set the machine to its longer run cycle, started it, and left the house.
Two days later, Sid had erased the address from the sales board.
“Kitchen flooded,” he’d told Natalie. “Deal’s off. Gina can try again when everything’s fixed up.”
No, Natalie had thought. That’s going to be my listing.
The doorbell rang, startling Natalie from her reverie and causing a riot of barking from Lady and Tramp, who were downstairs
with the kids. She told the dogs to hush up and opened the front door.
She expected Beth to be haggard and disheveled, but her friend looked completely put together in tight jeans, a pink tank
top with a ruffled neckline, and wedge sandals. Her nails were done, her hair was recently permed, and she wore a bold, musky
fragrance instead of her usual floral scent.
“Here’s our Beth, looking lovelier than ever.” Natalie gestured at the sofa. “Get comfy while I make you a drink.”
Elaine held out a hand. “I’m so glad you came tonight. How are you?”
“I’m good,” Beth said, squeezing Elaine’s proffered hand. “Don confessed everything to Reverend Koterba. We met with him on
Wednesday and the reverend believes what I believe—that that woman put a spell on Don. He said that demons come in many forms
and that we should strengthen our marriage so we’ll be prepared to fight evil together. And Don agreed to go to the orphanage
with me next week. If we can’t have children the natural way, we’re going to adopt. We also met with someone at the bank,
and I’m finally going to start my baking business.”
Natalie and Elaine tripped over themselves to congratulate her.
“I have some news as well,” Natalie said. “The McCreedy house is under contract.”
A shadow passed over Beth’s face. “I’m happy for you, but I feel sorry for the new owners. Those vines will grow back. They’ll
creep over that fence and bring her darkness into their lives. I hate living on the same street as her. I hate being here right now—being so close.”
Natalie felt hurt by Beth’s comments. Her friend had every reason to be mad at Mrs. Smith, but couldn’t she see how important
the sale was for Natalie? Why was she trying to make her feel guilty for succeeding at her job?
“The McCreedys have lived behind her for years. Nothing happened to them,” she pointed out.
Beth rolled her eyes. “That couple is barely alive. What could she possibly take from them?”
Having no idea how to respond to this, Natalie walked over to the bar cart to make herself a second old fashioned.
Elaine pasted on a smile. “Maybe she’ll move. Now that she’s healed and can go anywhere, there’s no reason for her to stay
here. This is a family neighborhood. She doesn’t fit in.”
Beth’s eyes narrowed. “Have you seen her since the cocktail party?”
“Only glimpses of her getting in and out of taxis. They show up first thing in the morning and bring her back late in the
afternoon. One of the drivers almost hit the new mailman. I thought they might start a fistfight in front of my mailbox.”
“We have a new mailman? Since when? What happened to Paul?” asked Beth.
Elaine told Beth how Paul’s wife had found him at the bottom of the stairs.
“Must’ve been a heart attack. Paul’s wife was out of town, and he was supposed to pick her up at LaGuardia on Sunday.
He never showed up, so she had to take a taxi home.
When she walked in, she saw him on the floor.
He’d obviously been dead for hours. There was a crushed cookie in his hand, so at least his last meal was a good one. ”
Beth had gone very pale. “How do you know all this?”