Page 56 of Kiss Me at Midnight
“Lily, I need your help.” It was Grandma Dotty. She wore camel-colored slacks and a white turtleneck sweater beneath a white raincoat. She would have looked the height of matronly fashion, except her hair was still tinted silver and she wore bright yellow sneakers. “My birthday is coming up and I want the cast ofThe Music Manto perform.”
The room was silent. No doubt, everyone was making the leap from the popular Broadway musical to one of its most popular stars in the past year–Judson Hambly.
“Hello?” Dotty repeated her request. “Did you hear me?”
Lily nodded, imagining she could hear her own heartbeat pounding out a warning.
“Hello, Nina. Hello, Zach. Hello, Tunda. Hello, Ayaliya.” Grandma Dotty chuckled. “I feel like I’ve stepped into an episode ofRomper Room,only I’ve forgotten my magic mirror.”
Finally, Lily found her voice. “Doesn’t Mom usually plan your birthday party?”
“Yes. But she and your father told me I couldn’t haveThe Music Man.” Grandma Dotty tsked, came around Lily’s desk and sat on the arm of her chair. “I’m old enough to have whatever I want. And besides, it’s on my bucket list.” She beamed at Lily’s staff. “So, I’ve come to the office of my favorite politician to ask for help in the matter.”
“No,” Lily choked out.
“No?” Her grandmother’s brow wrinkled. “As in, no you can’t use your political power to help me? Or no, you, my granddaughter, won’t help me?”
Lily waved her staff out the door, waiting until Nina closed it behind her to gently bring her grandmother to her feet. “You can’t ask me to help you. Jud lied to me. I explained all this to you on the plane ride home.” She stopped herself short of asking Grandma Dotty if she remembered.
Grandma Dotty folded her legs and sat down on the floor next to Lily’s chair. “That’s it. You left me no choice but to stage a sit-in.” And then she began to singSeventy Six Trombones.
Lily closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. Her heart hurt whenever she thought about Jud. She wasn’t up to seeing him again. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“Seventy six trombones caught the morning sun,”Grandma Dotty warbled.
Lily buzzed Nina at her desk. “I need you to draft a letter stating I’m not running for re-election.” She had to repeat herself twice before Nina understood.
“There were over a thousand reeds…”
Lily pounded out an email on her laptop to Zach requesting he begin writing a speech about her stepping down at the end of her term.
“Clarinets of every size!”
Lily emailed Tunda asking her to swing by Hot Meals and Shelter since it was on her way home and congratulating them on the donation.
“Seventy six trombones hit the counterpoint.”
Ayaliya poked her head in the door. “Sorry to bother you, but you need to proof our social media post about brownstone rezoning changes that are coming.” She carried her laptop in and held it while Lily read the post.
“Run with it,” Lily told Ayaliya.
“And they’re marching still right today!”Grandma Dotty practically shouted the last line before sinking back against a filing cabinet. “I might need oxygen.”
“Take slow, deep breaths.” Lily rested her elbows on her knees. “I can’t help you.”
“You have to. That silly agent of Jud’s won’t take my calls.” Her grandmother pouted. “How am I supposed to get in touch with him?”
Lily sat back in her chair. “I don’t have his cell phone number. Contact him through social media.”
“I thought of that.” Grandma Dotty continued to pout. “I forgot my password. It’s not like I’m asking you to call Jud. His snooty agent might accept your call.”
Lily wasn’t calling anyone. “You can reset your password. They’ll send you a link to your email to do it.”
“I forgot my email password, too.” Her grandmother extended her hands, silently requesting help getting up. “Please? I just want this one thing.”
Lily resisted helping her up. “And then your bucket list is finished?”
“My bucket list is complete when I’m dead.” Grandma Dotty waved her hands more urgently.
