Free The Secret Keeping by Francine Saint Marie Page B

pillows. There were ancient stains joyously scattered among its fauna and flora that whispered of good wine and fine food and it made the cheerful piece seem alive to her, that if she poked gently into its soft recesses she could get it to giggle and gossip.
    She was in need of its good cheer; it would be there by Thursday afternoon.
    For the rest of the day Lydia undertook to tie up the loose ends that had accumulated since winter. She came across Rio Joe’s last cover letter, copied it and put the stinky original through the shredder.
    He had switched strategies on her and all week she felt him circling again, all week casting her those long looks loaded with old suggestions. The renewed advance was filling her with an unwanted tension. She resented him for it and if he continued she feared an explosion, so she was constantly watching over her shoulder in an effort to evade him. She was not sure that she could make it to the weekend.
    With that in mind, she closed her office door, working then without worry or interruption, and mulling things over until five. After that she hung around putting the office in order and at six, just before leaving, sent a brief memo to VP Treadwell. Satisfied, she locked her desk, her files, and her office door and then left to have dinner with Delilah. Somewhere other than Frank’s had been Lydia’s only stipulation. She hadn’t said why.
    Armed with the diversion of the floors and couch, Lydia managed to escape her friend’s careful analysis, as well as any inquiry concerning her plans for the upcoming Friday night. Even after dinner, as she packed her clothes at Delilah’s and chatted, not a single word or emotion betrayed her.
    By ten that evening, she was living in her own apartment again, admiring the beautiful floors, checking her answering machine, and filling a garbage bag with the outdated papers that had piled up in her hallway while she was gone.
    At eleven-thirty she placed a long distance call and had a friendly discussion with the person on the other end of the line.
    At midnight she pulled her mattress out of the walk-in closet where it had been stashed by the workmen.
    She was going to replace that, too, eventually. She hauled it into the living room, threw some sheets, blankets and a pillow on it and went to bed where she lay wide awake into the wee small hours of the morning.
    In the morning she stayed in her bathrobe with no plans to go to work. Instead she waited until afternoon when the promised couch arrived. She had the delivery men place it next to the mattress and they eyed her funny as they left the apartment. After that she showered, dressed and put on her makeup, placing one more call to a midtown address before making herself some toast out of the stale bread left in her refrigerator.
    She had not unpacked her bag from the night before so there was no reason to fuss. She slung it over her shoulder, checked to see that the coffee was off and turned her answering machine back on before leaving the apartment and locking the door.
    In the hallway she took a deep breath, clutched the map she had drawn and hoped it was accurate.
    Downstairs in the lobby, she advised her doorman of her plans and tipped him handsomely for his confidence. She then proceeded to walk to a nearby parking lot, stopping to chit chat with a talkative booth attendant who finally handed her the keys to a rental car.
    It started fine, everything seemed to be in good working order, there was plenty of gas. She threw her luggage into the back, put the crude map on the passenger seat where she could refer to it when needed, pulled out of the parking lot and hurriedly left town.
    She’d send Delilah a postcard when she got there so she wouldn’t worry.
    _____

    Happy hour and everyone wondered where Lydia was. They called her penthouse and left loud messages full of the jubilant sounds of the bar, singing poor versions of well known songs, hoping that if she was there it might entice her to