Page 85 of The Happy Month
“I’m sitting in front of a condo in Signal Hill.”
“Why?”
“I’m waiting to see if Sammy Blanchard comes out.”
“You’re on a stake out? And you didn’t invite me?”
“Your idea of fun is very strange. Tell me about your showings last night.”
I’d actually fallen asleep the minute I got home from La Mirada. Ronnie hadn’t gotten home yet. That was later than usual for him, so it must have gone well.
“I showed Andrew and Carl six houses last night and then they put an offer in on the first one.”
“That happens a lot with you.”
“Well… I always show the best choice first and then show the lesser ones next. It solidifies people’s choices.”
“Congratulations.”
“It does mean another commitment ceremony. They’re tying the knot next month.”
“That seems to be going around.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about commitment ceremonies. They were either a radical political act or a slavish devotion to straight culture. Not that I personally cared as long as I got to wake up next to Ronnie every morning.
“Buying property together is enough commitment for me,” he said, again. I wondered if that was true or whether he was just picking up on my ambivalence about commitment ceremonies.
It seemed a good time to say, “I love you, Ronnie Chen.”
“Wow, stakeouts must be really boring.”
That made me laugh. Then he added, “I love you, too. But I have to go. If you’re going to disappear tomorrow morning, leave me a note.”
I worried my way through another two hours. I spent the time thinking about what I might say to Sammy whenever I decided to confront her and make my pitch for a deposition. At one point, I slipped out of the Jeep and took a piss behind one of the larger bushes next to her garage.
It was nearly ten when I saw her walking across the garage toward her car. I started up the Jeep and waited. A couple of minutes later, a nearly new, white Camaro convertible came out of the garage. Despite the glumness of the day, she had the top down. She turned south. I gave her a good lead and then followed.
When she reached the bottom of the hill, she turned right. I scooted up a little, just in time to see her turn right again. She was going north on Cherry Avenue. I relaxed. A few moments later I made the same turn. I could easily see her several car lengths ahead of me, heading up the hill.
I tried to anticipate where she might be going. We were going to pass The Home Depot, but I doubted she was a fix-it kind of girl. It was easy to stay a ways behind her, the white convertible made her stand out. We crossed the 405, drove by a dozen or so car dealerships, went through an industrial area. I didn’t know where she was going until we turned right on Del Amo.
We were heading to the Lakewood Mall. Things turned residential on Del Amo, a decent neighborhood if you wanted to live in the suburbs while still being close to everything. Traffic thinned out a bit, which meant Sammy could speed up. I was fairly certain it wasn’t because she’d noticedme. She had a sports car. Making it go fast was part of the point.
The mall was sprawling. We turned north on Lakewood and then about a couple blocks later, turned into the parking lot. The mall was popular, particularly on a Saturday morning. In the lot across from Macy’s she cruised around looking for a space. She was one of those people who kept driving around to find the closest spot possible. I chose a spot on the furthest side of the lot next to Lakewood Boulevard. I sat in the Jeep for a bit, trying to catch sight of her in my rearview mirror. She drove past me once. Then I got out of the car and watched as she waited for a car to pull out just a few spots from the entrance to the store.
I walked over to the next row so I wouldn’t look like I was following her, and walked slowly down it as she got out of her car and then went into Macy’s. I was in the store just a few moments after her. This entrance put you in bedding. Kitchenware was to the left. I caught sight of Sammy just as she turned toward women’s wear. I didn’t follow her.
Instead, I worked my way through men’s. Parts of it bordered on the women’s department. I made my way to the edge. Just to make myself a little less suspicious, I picked up a folded sweater and carried it around with me.
I found Sammy looking through a rack of tops. I could tell she was going to be a while. I turned my back on her. She had no idea I was following her. She wouldn’t. It can be hard for people to figure it out even if they suspect someone might want to follow them.
When I turned around again, she was still at the same rack. She’d placed several tops onto the rack. It looked like she might be about to try them on. I was a few feet from the shoe department. I went over and sat in a chair. I could wait, but she wouldn’t see me.
After a few minutes, a cute, young salesman came over and asked if he could help me. I said, “No, I’m just taking a little rest.”
“If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
Then he stayed nearby moving things around. He was trying to look like he was straightening things up, but honestly, they looked just fine. I don’t know whether he was trying to pick me up or he’d pegged me as a shoplifter. Either way, I decided I needed to move on.
