The Way You Look Tonight (21 page)

‘Yes, I am. Tomorrow. My course starts in a few days and I can’t see that there’s any more I can do to help down here. I need to pick up the threads, Lee.’

‘Of course you do,’ he answered. ‘Don’t worry, I completely get it. But listen – the moment we get our hands on Woods and he’s looking out at the world from
behind bars, I’ll be on the first plane to Boston to see you. I’m gonna miss you.’

‘I’ll miss you too, Lee. Really. I’m only going back because . . .’

‘Stella, I
get
it, really, it’s OK.’ He paused again. ‘But look . . . I’ve got something else to tell you. Well, ask you, actually. It’ll keep until
supper, though. I’ll see you then.’

Now, sitting next to Dorothy in the front passenger seat of the Lincoln, the arc of Stella’s story had reached the events of the previous night on the beach at Largo
Lodge.

She explained that they had just been served their sundowners when he’d leaned forward and reached for her hand.

‘Listen, Stella, I said there was something I wanted to say to you . . . well I’m just going to get right to it.’

He’d used his free hand to push his fringe out of his eyes. Stella realised that for the first time since she’d known him, he was nervous.

‘It’s like this . . . I think I love you. Hell, that’s just stupid: I
know
I do. I’m definitely
in
love with you, for sure . . . but I truly don’t
think this is some kind of silly . . .
infatuation
. I’m nearly thirty and believe me I’ve had a few of
those
before . . . but Stella, this is totally different. You
are the most incredible person I’ve ever met in my life, and you have to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’m dreading having to say goodbye to you tomorrow. I
know you have a huge career ahead of you and that means spending at least four years up at Smith, and God knows where you’ll go after that, but so long as I’m a part of your life I
don’t care.’

Stella smiled at him. ‘Um . . . don’t you think this is a little soon for a proposal?’ she teased.

He laughed, embarrassed. ‘Of course it is. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go down on one knee and produce a ring. But I guess this
is
a proposal, of sorts, Stella.
I’m asking you if we can . . . this is going to sound ridiculous from someone my age but I can’t think of any other way to put it . . . go steady. You know, not see other people. Give
this thing a go. What do you say?’

She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips.

‘I say I think you’re a lovely man and no one’s ever asked me to
go steady
, as you put it. And I can’t think of anything nicer. The answer is yes.’

But Stella couldn’t resist pulling Dorothy’s leg a little now.

‘I suppose I’d have to say he proposed to me, really.’

‘What? You’re
kidding.
You’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks! What did you say?’

Stella leaned back on to the soft, smooth leather bench seat, stretched her long legs all the way into the Lincoln’s capacious footwell, and began to sing, waving both forefingers to and
fro in time with the words.

‘Here comes the bride, here comes the bride . . .’

Dorothy gaped. ‘I don’t believe it! You can’t marry someone you’ve barely—’

Stella burst out laughing. ‘I’m sorry, Dorothy, I’m
joking
. But he
did
make a proposal of sorts. He asked me if we could – oh, it was so sweet –
“go steady”, and I said yes. He’s lovely, Dorothy, and considering the rocky start we had . . . well, we’re becoming very close.’

Dorothy was fanning herself with one hand in relief. ‘Well, for goodness’ sakes don’t go rushing into anything, dear . . . are you in love with him, would you say?’

Stella smiled happily. ‘If you’d asked me that yesterday morning, I’m not sure what my reply would have been. But when I woke up today I realised I
am
in love. He told
me last night that he loves me too and that sort of unlocked something in my head, I think. And I know this is a horrible cliché, Dorothy . . . but I’m missing him already.’

‘That’s odd.’

Stella walked back into the living room where the Rockfairs were settling down to watch the early evening television news.

Sylvia glanced up at her. ‘What is?’

Sylvia had run all the way home from class that afternoon, bursting through the front door and leaping on Stella – who’d just come downstairs after unpacking in her old room –
with screams of delight. ‘You caught him, Stella! You caught that monster, that horrible, horrible man! I’m so proud of you! We’re all so proud of you!’

Stella staggered back under the onslaught and almost fell. ‘Hey, steady on, Sylvia!’ she laughed. ‘You’ll have me over.’ She managed to recover her balance and put
her arms around the younger girl, hugging her tight. ‘Anyway, I haven’t caught anyone, I just helped identify him, and God knows where he is now. But never mind all that, it’s
wonderful to be back. I wanted to call you all every day but it was made pretty clear to me that I couldn’t. I haven’t even spoken to my mother since I went down to Florida.’

Stella could have sworn that Sylvia and Dorothy exchanged some sort of coded glance but the next second Jeb, who’d cancelled his last class of the day, was striding through the front door
and sweeping her off her feet and whirling her around and around, and the moment was swept away by another joyful reunion.

Now, several hours later, she sank down on the sofa next to Sylvia, shaking her head.

‘It’s just that I’ve tried to call my mother at least four times now, but she isn’t answering. I even rang her college and they said they think she’s gone away on
holiday, which is very strange – her lectures will be starting in a week or two and she should be preparing for them now. She always does that in her study at home, where our phone is. I so
want to tell her the news about Lee and me. I can’t understand where she’s gone.’

Jeb was fussing with his pipe.

‘Well, I’m sure you’ll talk to her soon,’ he said from behind a cloud of smoke. ‘You must try again later. It’s lunchtime in England right now –
she’s most likely out with a friend. And, by the way, please stop offering to pay for the call, Stella. Transatlantic telephone connections aren’t nearly as expensive as they used to
be. In fact, I read the other day that British and American television stations will soon be able to talk to each other live, in sound and pictures. Imagine that! In fact, I—’

He was interrupted by a knock on the front door. Jeb jumped up and went to one of the windows that looked out over the street.

‘Well now, there appears to be an airport taxi outside our house,’ he said, turning to the others with an exaggerated expression of surprise. ‘I wonder who this could be.
Dorothy? Sylvia? Are you expecting someone this evening; a weary traveller from afar?’

Stella looked suspiciously at the three of them. They all seemed to be struggling not to laugh.

‘What’s going on here, you lot?’ she demanded. ‘You’re up to something . . . and why isn’t anyone going to open the door?’

Dorothy managed to bring herself more or less under control. ‘Well,’ she answered, a touch unsteadily, ‘that’s because we figured it might be better if
you
did,
dear. Go on. Go see who’s out there on the porch.’

Stella rose from the couch, half-smiling now. ‘I have
no
idea what this is all about but fine, I’ll go.’

She strode across the Turkish rug and onto the polished wooden floor beyond it that led into the hall. A moment later she was pulling the front door open.

A woman on the step was paying off the cab driver, so she had her back to Stella. Then she turned around to face her and cocked her head to one side, frowning in mock reproach.

Stella gaped.

The woman spoke. ‘Come on, Stella. Don’t you have a hug and a kiss for your mother? After all, I’ve come all this way to see you.’

‘
MUMMY!
’

Behind her, Stella heard the Rockfairs’ triumphant shouts and slaps of palms. Beginning to cry with laughter, she fell into Diana’s open arms. ‘I’m so glad to see you.
I’ve missed you
dreadfully.
I have so much to tell you and I’m SO happy you’re here!’

Diana clasped her daughter to her. ‘Well, dearest, I believe I know the headlines already,’ she said, repeatedly kissing Stella’s cheeks and nose and forehead. ‘Jeb and
Dorothy have been reading me the American newspapers over the phone every day, although you’ve been in ours too of course. I’m very, very proud of you, my darling.’

After a moment or two, Stella pulled away, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

‘Ah, but there’s one headline you can’t possibly know,’ she said, hiccupping and laughing at the same time, ‘because it’s about something that only happened
yesterday evening.’

Diana’s eyes widened. ‘My goodness! Have the police got their man already?’

Stella shook her head. ‘No. But I think
I
might have.’

He’d never lived like this before. Under a new identity. In disguise.

He found it oddly liberating.

Going blond would probably have been enough in itself, he reckoned. No one looked past first impressions. But he was taking no chances. As soon as he’d slashed the rubber dinghy and
rammed its ribboned remains into the nearest dumpster, he headed straight for Duval Street, Key West’s throbbing main artery.

It was past nine in the evening but most of the crummy, tacky shops on Duval were still open. He went into the men’s fashion store opposite the Hog’s Breath bar –
‘HOG’S BREATH IS BETTER THAN NO BREATH AT ALL!’
the crudely painted sign hanging over the bar’s western-style saloon swing-doors proclaimed – and picked out the
clothes he calculated would best complete the transformation.

Skin-tight white jeans. Pointy-toed Chelsea boots. A short corduroy jacket in beige with matching cord trousers (if anything, tighter than the jeans). Some high-collared cotton shirts with
purposeless buttons running along both sleeves from flounced cuffs to elbows. A large, light blue canvas shoulder-bag swinging from a long cream-colored strap.

Three doors down he found a cheap jewellery store and bought some brightly coloured bangles and plastic rings, and a pair of steel-wire sunglasses with narrow rectangular frames and pale
yellow lenses.

As an afterthought he went back to the fashion store and bought a jaunty cap in white denim with a peak made from faux mother-of-pearl.

He crossed the street and went inside the Hog’s Breath, heading straight for the restroom. Inside a locked cubicle he stripped out of the clothes he’d been wearing since that
morning and put on the white jeans, boots, and a purple shirt. Outside in the restroom he balled his old things into the trash and transferred the rest of his new purchases and contents of the old
hold-all into a new blue shoulder-bag. He crammed the battered grip and empty fashion store bags on top of the rest of the stuff in the bin.

He put the yellow sunglasses on and slid every single bangle, bracelet and ring on his wrists and fingers.

Then he inspected himself in the cracked and dirty restroom mirror.

His own mother wouldn’t know him.

He grinned at his reflection.

He was ready.

‘I honestly don’t know when you’ll be able to meet him.’ Stella pushed the marmalade jar across to her mother and used the butter knife to spread the
dollop she’d just scooped onto her own slice of toast. ‘Lee’s not even in Key Largo any more – he went straight down to Key West with most of his team almost as soon as that
boat turned up.’

Stella took a large bite out of the toast and reached for her tumbler of orange juice. ‘The thing is,’ she went on indistinctly, ‘he can’t just take a couple of days off
and fly up here to see me – and meet you, of course – much as I know he wants to. He phoned before breakfast. Reckons he’s getting close to finding his man. But he can’t
afford to let up for a second. Woods is trickier to pin down than smoke.’

Diana nodded. ‘I understand, darling, of course I do. It’s just that I fly home in a week and it would have been lovely to meet Lee. From everything you told me about him last night,
I like the sound of him.’

‘I like the
look
of him,’ Sylvia chimed in from her end of the table. ‘Has Stella shown you his photo yet?’

Diana shook her head while her daughter smacked her own forehead with the palm of her hand.

‘How idiotic of me to forget! Lee gave me a photograph of himself before I flew back yesterday morning. I’ll run and get it.’

A few moments after she’d left the room, Jeb walked in carrying the morning mail.

‘Greetings all,’ he called. ‘Morning, Dottie; morning, Dee-dee. How ripping you both look this lovely October morning. It will break my heart to have to leave for work. Now,
let’s see . . . letter for you, Dottie . . . one, no, wait,
two
for me . . . nothing for the darling daughter, but that’s hardly surprising, is it? For Sylvia’s
generation the sixty-minute unbroken telephone conversation long ago replaced the art of writing a letter.’

Sylvia stuck her tongue out at her father.

‘But perhaps I’m wrong – there is one more here,’ Jeb went on, turning over a thick white envelope so he could see who it was addressed to.

He raised his eyebrows.

‘Well, well! My oh my! Who’d a’ thunk it? Our Stella continues to move in exalted circles.’

Stella came running back in, oblivious. ‘Here you are, Mummy. This is Lee. Isn’t he a bit of terrific?’

Diana took the photo from her daughter’s outstretched hand and almost immediately raised her eyebrows.

‘He certainly is. My word, you weren’t exaggerating last night, Stella – he’s . . . what do they say over here? “Straight out of central casting.” What a
dazzling couple you must make!’

Stella laughed, embarrassed. ‘Well, I don’t know about that . . . but I knew you’d like the look of him. Just wait ’til you actually meet him, though, Mummy. He’s
so incredibly—’