San Francisco or the wine country—Arizona wasn’t sure she could make it as far as the front door without curling up in a little weeping ball on the floor. What would be the harm if she stayed here for a few hours? There was nowhere she needed to be.
Checking out the bizarre array of items offered in the gift shop, including an elaborate year-round Christmas section, Arizona decided to do a little early holiday shopping. Her parents, she was convinced, would adore a leprechaun-decorated soup tureen. The jolly little guy was three-dimensional, perched on top of the porcelain lid, and the soup ladle could be cleverly stored by hooking it to a ring attached to his belt. You couldn’t get much cleverer than that. Her brother would love the selection offered in the “beef jerky sampler” and no need to worry about buying that too soon with the expiration date two years hence. Her sister, an accomplished gourmet chef, would go crazy over the lacy green “Murphy’s Momma” apron. Arizona began filling a small shopping cart with gifts for everyone in her family. The prices seemed more than fair compared to Hollywood, and the offerings were truly unique. You’d never see any of this stuff on Rodeo Drive!
Arizona paid for her haul with a credit card, and somehow mustered the energy to walk outside and stash three large shopping bags filled with Murphy’s souvenirs into the trunk of her car. It felt strange, but kind of nice, to be outside in the hot summer air. She decided to take a little walk down the road toward what seemed to be an endless cow pasture, if her sense of smell was anywhere close to accurate.
The iPhone bark identifying Kira Brantley startled her.
“Hey, honey, what’s up?”
“What are you doing today?” Kira sounded just a tiny bit out of it. Perhaps she was just getting up…
“This is early for you. I’m out for a walk right now…”
“Want to go shopping? I need a new outfit for that thing.”
“What, the AIDS benefit? Didn’t we get you something last week?”
“Yeah, but I ate a cheeseburger last night and gained two pounds. I need something new. Can you come with me?”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I should have mentioned…I’m out of town at my uncle’s funeral.”
“Oh!” Kira sounded devastated to hear the news. “But…”
“Let me call the office and see if Gina can take you shopping.”
“No, no, that’s OK. Gina’s kind of a pill, she’s not sweet like you. Can you call the car service to take me to see Dr. Friedman? Maybe he can give me something for weight loss.”
“I can’t imagine that would work. You have to be really overweight to use diet pills. Why don’t you just go on a cleansing fast for a day or two? The AIDS benefit isn’t till next weekend, right?”
“Oh, it’s so much easier to ask Friedman.”
Arizona sighed and placed the phone back in her purse. As she stared at acres of grazing cows, Kira, Dr. Friedman, and Los Angeles seemed like another planet. There was really no rush to get home, or anywhere else, was there?
Maybe just one more night here would give her a chance to clear her head and figure some things out.
Or not.
*
Jerry dropped Stephanie off at Jews for Jesus headquarters and drove off toward his office. Two blocks away, he already missed her! He speed-dialed her cell phone number on speakerphone and she picked up on the first ring.
“Hi, baby,” she said in that low, breathy voice that made him crazy.
“I miss you already. I had such a great time last night.”
“Me too, baby.”
“Let’s do more of this. Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
“What about your wife?”
“She’s super busy right now; totally preoccupied with work. Meet me at the Ivy at seven.”
Stephanie accepted his invitation, said a little prayer of thanks, and called her boyfriend to tell him that, once again, she’d be working late and not to wait up. Too bad about Jeff. He really was a nice guy. She said a little prayer for