stopped by
Thursday evening when Cat was giving a party for former
Gloss
editor in chief Dolores Wilder.
“When they were dating, did this Jody guy sleep over?” I inquired. “I mean, were they shacking up?”
“On the weekends, I think,” Cat said. “We’re usually gone then, you know, but Carlotta comes in once in a while on the weekends
and I believe she got a shot of his bare ass once.”
“Was that against the house rules?” I asked.
“No. I mean, I certainly didn’t want guys traipsing in and out, and she knew better than to have anyone over during the work
week. But on the weekends it was okay, as long as I didn’t have to have it shoved in my face.”
I told her I’d make an attempt to connect with both of them and then swing by her house. I’d finally have the chance to ask
her about the things that had been bugging me.
As soon as I signed off, I called the number Cat had given me for Janice and she answered the phone herself. I explained that
I was a friend of Cat’s and that she had asked me to get in touch. Yes, she had heard about what had happened and was in her
words “totally freaked,” particularly because she had been unable to get through to the house for details.
“Well, that’s why I’m calling,” I said. “Cat wanted me to talk to you about some things. I was hoping I could drop by this
morning.”
Yes, she said, come by. She was going to be home until after lunch, and I told her I’d be there within the next hour or so.
After I’d tossed my cell phone back into my purse, I leaned back against the seat of the taxi, closed my eyes, and summoned
the memory of the first time I’d laid eyes on Heidi. It was late last summer in Cat’s garden at a dinner party she’d given
in honor of someone who’d done something of note, but I couldn’t remember who or what. As we were sitting down to eat, Heidi
brought Tyler into the backyard to say good night to his parents. Cat looked mildly annoyed at the intrusion—probably because
the delay was going to take the chill out of the gazpacho—but everyone else sat there in awe. Heidi, who had just started
the week before, was stunning to behold. She was about five feet seven and curvy in only the right places. She had long blond
hair, with streaks as light as butter, and her eyes were khaki green. I remember thinking that if I were married, I’d never
have the nerve to bring someone that gorgeous to live in my home, but then Cat had supreme confidence in her own beauty as
well as Jeff’s ga-ga-ness over her.
What struck me that night as much as Heidi’s stunning good looks was her aloofness. She seemed like an ice princess, the kind
of girl who would choose a horse over a guy any day, but it was clear that she connected with men on some imperceptible level,
kind of like the way a dog whistle works. A few of the men in the garden got goofy faced at the sight of her, and that included
my date (whom, by the way, I later ditched on the corner of 91st and Park, leaping into a cab as he attempted to scrape gum
off the bottom of his shoe).
After that night I bumped into Heidi occasionally at the house, and though she was polite, there was always that coolness
and we never became friendly. I had no sense at all of what she was really like.
My first stop was Starbucks, where I hoped to hook up with Jody. It was eleven forty-five and the place was almost deserted.
In the background some annoying merengue music was playing, all wrong for the mood and the time of day.
“Can I get a large cappuccino to go?” I asked a twentysomething girl in a green apron and black Starbucks cap. As the milk
steamed, she stared off into the distance, with the boredom of someone who’d heard that annoying whine a million times before.
I waited until she was handing me the change to pop my question.
“Is Jody here today?”
“Is it about a job?” she asked.
“No, it’s personal.”
“He
was
here. But
Thursday evening when Cat was giving a party for former
Gloss
editor in chief Dolores Wilder.
“When they were dating, did this Jody guy sleep over?” I inquired. “I mean, were they shacking up?”
“On the weekends, I think,” Cat said. “We’re usually gone then, you know, but Carlotta comes in once in a while on the weekends
and I believe she got a shot of his bare ass once.”
“Was that against the house rules?” I asked.
“No. I mean, I certainly didn’t want guys traipsing in and out, and she knew better than to have anyone over during the work
week. But on the weekends it was okay, as long as I didn’t have to have it shoved in my face.”
I told her I’d make an attempt to connect with both of them and then swing by her house. I’d finally have the chance to ask
her about the things that had been bugging me.
As soon as I signed off, I called the number Cat had given me for Janice and she answered the phone herself. I explained that
I was a friend of Cat’s and that she had asked me to get in touch. Yes, she had heard about what had happened and was in her
words “totally freaked,” particularly because she had been unable to get through to the house for details.
“Well, that’s why I’m calling,” I said. “Cat wanted me to talk to you about some things. I was hoping I could drop by this
morning.”
Yes, she said, come by. She was going to be home until after lunch, and I told her I’d be there within the next hour or so.
After I’d tossed my cell phone back into my purse, I leaned back against the seat of the taxi, closed my eyes, and summoned
the memory of the first time I’d laid eyes on Heidi. It was late last summer in Cat’s garden at a dinner party she’d given
in honor of someone who’d done something of note, but I couldn’t remember who or what. As we were sitting down to eat, Heidi
brought Tyler into the backyard to say good night to his parents. Cat looked mildly annoyed at the intrusion—probably because
the delay was going to take the chill out of the gazpacho—but everyone else sat there in awe. Heidi, who had just started
the week before, was stunning to behold. She was about five feet seven and curvy in only the right places. She had long blond
hair, with streaks as light as butter, and her eyes were khaki green. I remember thinking that if I were married, I’d never
have the nerve to bring someone that gorgeous to live in my home, but then Cat had supreme confidence in her own beauty as
well as Jeff’s ga-ga-ness over her.
What struck me that night as much as Heidi’s stunning good looks was her aloofness. She seemed like an ice princess, the kind
of girl who would choose a horse over a guy any day, but it was clear that she connected with men on some imperceptible level,
kind of like the way a dog whistle works. A few of the men in the garden got goofy faced at the sight of her, and that included
my date (whom, by the way, I later ditched on the corner of 91st and Park, leaping into a cab as he attempted to scrape gum
off the bottom of his shoe).
After that night I bumped into Heidi occasionally at the house, and though she was polite, there was always that coolness
and we never became friendly. I had no sense at all of what she was really like.
My first stop was Starbucks, where I hoped to hook up with Jody. It was eleven forty-five and the place was almost deserted.
In the background some annoying merengue music was playing, all wrong for the mood and the time of day.
“Can I get a large cappuccino to go?” I asked a twentysomething girl in a green apron and black Starbucks cap. As the milk
steamed, she stared off into the distance, with the boredom of someone who’d heard that annoying whine a million times before.
I waited until she was handing me the change to pop my question.
“Is Jody here today?”
“Is it about a job?” she asked.
“No, it’s personal.”
“He
was
here. But
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