Page 72 of Pro Bono

“He’ll be adequate for our needs. He’s providing his lake house.”

Rose said, “Do you know how many lakes there are in the Sierra Nevadas? Thirty-two hundred. We could have taken our pick. Still can.”

“There’s another thing he’ll be helpful with. Remember, this woman fell for Danny and married him. Danny looked a bit like Peter, if you think about it. The same type—tall, with those eyes, and the earnest face. But he’s better looking than Danny. Nothing against Danny, it’s just true.”

“I know,” Rose said. “It’s also true that he doesn’t want any part of this. He’s been trying to talk it down since he heard of it. He’s got all the money he wants, and apparently, it’s enough to keep him happy. He’s out on his boat or hiking up here every day, and has a different little escort scheduled to show up every second day, and that’s enough.”

May said, “I don’t give a crap if he wants this or not. He’s a Rickenger. That means he’s got to help us. It also means that in time he’ll get over this and remember he likes money, as much as he can get. Now let’s get into Reno, buy the groceries and supplies, get them stored in his house, and head for the airport.”

Three days later the women calling themselves Wendy and Mary were back in the club in Los Angeles. They were swimming lengths when Linda Warren came outside in a bathing suit, slipped into the water, and swam, as she had been doing every day for two months. Wendy and Mary knew that Linda would swim between ten and twenty lengths today because she had already done her elliptical, treadmill, and weights in the women’s gym and was now mostly cooling off and relaxing her muscles.

When Linda got out of the pool and dried herself with a club towel, the two women knew, she would walk to the same space with the tableunder the umbrella. They knew there would be a psychological effect to her joining them that put her at a perfect level. She would come to them rather than having them come to her. That meant she hadn’t been invited, but their greeting would reinforce the feeling that she didn’t need to be invited because she was one of the gang. They got to it as soon as she had received a tall iced tea with a lemon slice and no sugar, her pulse seemed to be about sixty, and her breathing was around twenty. She was calm, relaxed, and feeling good after her workout.

Mary said, “We agreed weeks ago that Linda has proven herself, right?”

Wendy said, “Sure.”

Linda said, “Proven myself to be what?”

Mary looked around them, craning her neck to see who else was nearby. Then she said, “This is not something we talk about out loud. There are people you can go places with and everybody has a good time, everybody relaxes, there’s a lot of laughter, but not so much that it’s exhausting and your face hurts. Then there are others who can be perfectly nice, but none of those things are true when they come along. I’m not talking about whiners or complainers or people who don’t do their share or something.”

“Come on, you know what she’s talking about,” Wendy said. “It’s mostly mysterious. They just aren’t any fun to have along.”

Linda laughed. “Yes, I guess I do. I hope you’re saying I’m not one of those people.”

“You’re the opposite,” Wendy said. “We don’t want to sound like the mean girls in high school or something. That’s why we spend time with people before we invite them on one of our trips. This way everybody fits and there are no hurt feelings. We’re going up north soon, to this beautiful small lake in the Sierras for a few days. We hike on trails in these incredible tall pine woods that smell like nothing else on earth,and kayak on this glassy lake. There’s a house. It looks like a ski lodge, and it’s luxurious, but we cook on an outdoor grill—a stove, really. It’s just a heavenly place to refresh and renew yourself, to think and talk about life and the things that matter. We’d like you to come with us.”

“I feel as though I just got a very high security clearance.”

Mary laughed. “It’s nothing like that.”

Wendy said, “Yes it is.”

“When are you planning on going?” Linda said.

“If you’re in, then it’s negotiable and you get a say,” Mary said. “We don’t have jobs anymore, and our husbands are used to us going places when we feel like it, as long as we don’t miss some big occasion that matters. On a trip like this one, we drive up, and leave on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to stay out of weekend traffic.”

Linda thought about it. She enjoyed their company and had not yet found much to occupy her time in Los Angeles except the club, and going back to Maui still felt depressing. She had lost friends there, but also several people who weren’t even acquaintances, just nice people she saw around, or worked in businesses where she went. A short trip to a forest lake in the mountains sounded like a good way to spend a few days. “I could leave on any of those days next week.”

“Wonderful!” Wendy said. “It’ll be fun. Today is Friday. Want to make it Tuesday?”

Linda said, “Tuesday’s fine. That will give me time to pick up some clothes. Most of my play clothes are in Hawaii.”

Mary said, “Hiking boots and good socks, swimsuit, sun hat, water-resistant pants, rain jacket with a hood, and tops and fleeces as you like. Think about how you’ll feel, not how you’ll look. People are scarce, which is part of the point, really. It’s hard to rest your brain when you think people are looking at you all the time.”

That afternoon Linda looked online to find out where the best sporting goods stores were these days, picked three, and went shopping. She managed to make it to all three before she had what she wanted. She expanded the list to include some things that were merely sensible—a compact first aid kit, sunscreen, insect repellent, a pocketknife with six blades and tools, a flashlight, a compass, a pack of three disposable lighters, and a water bottle. As an afterthought she bought a day pack to carry them in.

That night after dinner she called Charlie. After the “How are you?” and the small talk she said, “I’m going up north for a few days next week to the Sierras.”

“What’s up there?”

“Tall, fragrant pine trees, mountains, a blue lake, a luxurious house that supposedly looks like a ski lodge. That sort of thing.”

“Who are you going with?”

“You don’t know them. Two women named Wendy and Mary. I met them right after I joined the club. They work out about the same time of day I do, so we got to know each other. They’re at least ten years younger than I am.”

“I’d be interested in meeting them.”

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