Luck of the Draw

Chapter 29 - The Mother of Invention

Carly moved about the room in silence. Ever since Mickey's visit to Sally's house to supposedly tend her cactus - a euphemism she decided, and one she found particularly disgusting - their relationship had faltered. Mickey desperately tried to convince her that it was true. He insisted she ask Mac, and she did, getting a less than reliable delivery of halting concurrence.

"Will we ever talk again?" He tried.

Silence and a tightening of the mouth.

"Carly, I can't take this. I need you to say something."

She stopped setting the table, an occupation that at least said there was some hope, and gave him a nasty stare.

"Was she as good as advertised?"

Not exactly what he wanted to hear. "Carly... c'mon. We had lunch."

"Oh God, you are so disgusting with your metaphors."

"Carly! It's true, she made sandwiches and we had a little wine. I examined the plant, told her how to help it and where it should sit. C'mon, eh?"

"Why was Mac so defensive?"

"I don't want to say." He saw immediately the reaction that brought. "Okay, look. What I'm about to tell you goes nowhere else and you have to promise."

She studied him and, crossing her arms she leaned on one leg and waited.

"Promise?"

An abrupt nod.

Mickey told her about Mac and Sally as he'd heard from the horse's mouth... both horses.

Carly sat at the table and closed her mouth with her finger. She just couldn't accept Mac's deception of Katherine.

"It was years ago apparently. I'm not even positive Mac and Katherine were married. They were engaged though." He went to the table and took her hand without resistance. "Let's get past this okay? We have a good thing going between us, Carly, and I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm falling—I've fallen—in love with you."

It was slow but steady, and by the end of their meal together they were on a much more compatible plane. Carly hadn't reciprocated her feelings, but he sensed genuine warmth and a softening in her stance. Good thing, he scolded himself guiltily, lunch with Sally Hundwinter had been one unbelievably outstanding experience, even when he whacked his elbow on the atrium tiles. One not to be repeated if he valued anything he and Carly had between them.

!!!!!

Barclay walked around the lot examining the trees. He squatted down and fingered some of the needles and beckoned Teddy over.

"Look." A few of the needles were brown and curling up.

"Oh shit. Maybe they need water."

"They're not supposed to. Besides, how are you going to water five thousand trees?"

"Oh Jesus, what am I gonna do?"

"You? Where's the customer that bought them?"

Teddy's face took on a pained expression, and he confessed that he was the buyer.

"You? What the hell for?"

"I had to do something. The nursery guy told me to get lost and there was no other buyer. I couldn't fail again; my old man would have... will... kill me. What the hell could I do? What can I do?"

"Two choices. Sell the hell out of them before they all turn and make tracks or swallow the loss, leave the whole mess, and just make tracks."

"But I owe Sally the money."