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“Will do,” I called out. I listened and when I heard the door close, I raced out, pulled on my clean boxers, and then yanked up a pair of shorts that I’d sniffed before. Bridgette returned in a few minutes, smiling at me, an iron in one hand and a small tabletop ironing board in the other. “Nice thought to bring an ironing board.”
“I’m not just a pretty face,” she parried as I handed her my shirt and pants. One thin eyebrow crept up her forehead. “Is this what you’re wearing to dinner?”
“Maybe?” She grimaced. “Okay, being frank here, I got no clue what corporate casual is, and them there smelled the freshest.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” She didn’t sound so sure, but what could a guy do? She set up the board on a big, wooden desk in front of a bow window that looked out on grapes being turned a dull, dark blue as the setting sun tinted the vineyard. “I know you.”
“Oh yeah?” I enquired while sitting down to dig under the bed for my sandals. They weren’t there. Huh. I had no clue where they were. Maybe in the flowerbeds? Shit, now what would I wear? I straightened, then dug through my clothes to find a matching set of socks.
“Yep, you play for the Gladiators. My sister is best friends with Benji Dobbs, the little brother of Criswell who is living with your team captain now.”
“Bean! Oh yeah, I met your sister Bethany a few times. She’s so cute! Nice to meet you, Bridgette.” We shook hands and then she got busy on pressing my dinner clothes. “So, like, tell me about this house. Do you like working here?”
“I do! Everyone is really nice. They treat me really well, and Mr. Gaudion pays better than any other place in Watkins Glen.” That was good to know. “Also, he is so good-looking!”
“Uh-huh. Kind of.” Totally gorgeous, but that wasn’t going to be said because he was a rich boy snobby pants. “If you’re into that kind.”
“Right, the stunningly sexy, rich man with a heart of gold. Who would be into that?” she teased, glancing back to give me a saucy wink. Yep, me and Bridgette were going to get on good. She held up my now wrinkle-free shirt. “Are you sure this is what you want to wear to dinner?”
I yanked up my dress sock. They were all I had that didn’t smell like week-old salmon fritters that had been left out in the sun.
“He said casual. Well, corporate casual, but since I don’t do office work, I got little knowledge of what that actually entails. Are they in suits?”
“No, no, nothing that uppity just…well, not generally Hawaiian shirts, but since you’re in an emergency situation, no one will mind.”
I had a sneaking suspicion that Barney would mind. Also Henry, and for some stupid reason, I didn’t want him to think I was uncouth. I mean, yeah, I kind of was, but I didn’t want him thinking I was lesser in any way.
“Thanks. Yeah, who cares anyway?” I asked, shrugging off the worry as I slid my arms into my shirt. “This ain’t Buckingham Palace. It’s just a house sitting on a hill among a shit ton of grapes.”
“Exactly,” she concurred while working on my pants. “I’ll get on your wash first thing in the morning. Then you’ll have clean clothes to wear.”
“Nah, you don’t got to do that. I’ll take them to the laundromat down by the Burger King. I ain’t visited with Paulie who manages the Splash and Bubble since I got back to town. Me and him both used to work in dry cleaning. I spent a few summers during high school at the front desk of my uncle Ivano’s dry cleaning shop on Cherry Avenue right next to the podiatrist who went out of business a few years back after it was found he wasn’t a real foot doctor at all but a farrier. One of them people who do horse feet?” She was not ironing now, just gawking at me as I talked. “I know, we were all shocked, especially Uncle Ivano because he went to Dr. Liganowski to have his extra toe removed. It’s crazy that his mother didn’t have that done for him as a kid, right? We all thought that too but seems his mother was really into astrology.”
“What does astrology have to do with foot surgery?” Bridgette asked as I picked up my wallet.
“Not much usually, but she thought him being born with an extra toe during a full moon when Sagittarius was rising made him a chosen child of some sort. All I know is that he always had to buy shoes that were too big just for one foot, which made shoe shopping tricky.”
“Wow,” Bridgette whispered.
“I know. People, huh?”
She passed over my khakis and I gave her five bucks. “Oh, Mr. Greco, you don’t have to do that. I really do get paid well.”
“Nah, you take that. Buy an ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s or something. You did extra work and deserve a tip.”
“Well, thank you. I’ll get your wash sorted first thing in the morning. Just dump whatever you’d like to have washed in the hallway.”
“That’s great. You’re a peach.” She waved me off and then unplugged the iron. “Now, one more thing. Where the hell is the dining room?”
With a laugh, she led me down to the first floor, then tipped her chin in the direction of a large set of doors, opened wide, that glowed with muted golden light.
“Just in there. You’ll be just fine, Mr. Greco,” she assured me.
I tugged down my Hawaiian shirt. “You got to call me Phil.”
“Okay, Phil. See you tomorrow.”
She hurried off with her board and iron. I drew in a breath, let it out, and then pushed into the dining room. It wasn’t at all like I expected. Instead of this massive table for eighty, there was a smaller table, seating for twenty, maybe, with Henry seated at the head. The walls were rich, gleaming light maple, the floors the same. Above the table hung a chandelier that filled the room with a soft glow from the LED bulbs. Barney stood in the corner with a skinny woman with silver hair pulled tightly into a bun. Henry stood from his seat when I entered. Three sets of eyebrows rose when they saw me. I told myself it was because I wore my shirt so damn well.
