"I was just thinking if we grouped some of the smaller ones over there, and used a couple of those tile-topped tables - "
"I'll figure it out, then you can come behind me and . . . refine it. "
"If you put one of the larger ones on that wrought-iron patio table, and put one of the little brass lanterns with it, then set that sixteen-inch clay pot of bird of paradise beside it, it would be a strong display. And I'm going. "
Amused, Roz shifted stock, arranged the new. And since she had to admit Stella was on target, as usual, set up the table as outlined.
"Why, Rosalind Harper, there you are!"
Because Roz's back was turned, she indulged herself in a single wince before schooling her face to more welcoming lines.
"Hey there, Cissy. "
She allowed the standard greeting, a peck that stopped an inch from her cheek, then resigned herself to losing a quarter of an hour in chatter.
"Don't you look pretty," Roz said. "Is that a new suit?"
"This?" Cissy waved one of her French-manicured hands, dismissing the cherry-red suit. "Just yanked it out of my closet this morning. I swear, Roz, are youever going to gain an ounce? Every time I see you, I feel obliged to sweat an extra twenty minutes on my exercise machine. "
"You look wonderful, Cissy. " Which was invariably true. One of the skills Cecilia Pratt had most honed was in turning herself out. Her hair was an attractive streaky blond worn in a ruler-straight swing that suited her round, youthful face with its winking dimples and walnut-brown eyes.
From the outfit, Roz assumed she'd just come from some lady lunch, or committee meeting, and had come by to sow and to harvest gossip.
Gossip was Cissy's other keen skill.
"I don't see how I could, I'm just wornout . The holidays just about did me in this year. Every time you turned around, there was another party. I don't think I've caught my breath since Thanksgiving. Now before you know it, it'll be the Spring Ball at the club. Tell me you're going this year, Roz. It's just not the same without you. "
"Haven't thought about it. "
"Well, do. Sit down here a minute and let's catch up. I swear I can't stay on my feet anotherminute . " To prove it, she sat on the bench near the table display Roz had just completed. "Isn't this nice? It's just like sitting in a tropical garden somewhere. Hank and I are heading down to the Caymans next week for some sun. I need the break, let me tell you. "
"Won't that be fun. " Trapped by manners, Roz joined her on the bench.
"You ought to take yourself a nice tropical vacation, honey. " Cissy patted Roz's hand. "Sun, blue water, handsome half-naked men. Just the ticket. You know I worry that you just chain yourself to this place. But you've got that girl from Up North managing things now. How's she working out for you, by the way?"
"Her name's Stella, Cissy, and she's worked for me for a year now. That should be a good indication it's working out just fine for both of us. "
"That's good. You should take advantage of that and get away for a while. "
"There's no place I want to go. "
"Well, I'm going to bring you some brochures, that's what I'm going to do. I don't know if I could get through the next day if I didn't know we'd be sitting on a beach sipping mai tais soon. You were smart to skip most of the parties, though I was sorry I didn't see you New Year's Eve at Jan and Quill's. Lovely gathering, really, though it didn't comenear the one you put on. Flowers were on the skimpy side, and the food wasn't much more than mediocre. Not that I'd say so to Jan. Did you know she was going in for liposuction next week?"
"No, I didn't. "
"Well, it's one of those ill-kept secrets. " Cissy edged closer, her dimples doing a conspirator's wink. "Butt and thighs is what I hear. I just this minute came from lunch with her, andshe says how she's going to be spending a week at a spa in Florida, when everybody knows she's going for the vacuum, then holing up in her house till she can get around again. And, bless her heart, since you could set a table for a family of four on the shelf of her ass, I'd say it'll be more than a week before she's walking straight again. "
Despite herself, Roz laughed. "For God's sake, Cissy, her ass looks normal enough to me. "
"Not compared to the new administrative assistant Quill's said to have his eye on. Twenty-eight years old, and you could set that table quite a bit higher on that one, as long as you don't mind eating off silicone. "
"I hope that's not true, about Quill. I've always thought he and Jan were good together. "
"Some men just lose all sense around a big pair of tits, no matter if God or man made them. Which brings me around to what I really came by to tell you. I'm just not quite sure how. "
"I'm sure you'll find a way. "
"It's just that I feel I must, I'm obliged . . . How long have we been friends, Rosalind?"