Page 2 of Four Dates and A Forever
“Oh no you don’t. Not today, Carl. Not today!” She raced around the front of the truck, arms wide over the hood, blocking his exit. “You have to take it back. Just say I wasn’t home. In fact, say the place was boarded up and it didn’t look as if anyone had lived here in months.”
Which, until last night, had been true. Axel loved the glam of Los Angeles. The night life, the fast pace, the slight notoriety around town—drummers weren’t all that famous outside of the music scene. Elsie preferred it here, in the quiet of her peaceful neighborhood nestled in the hills above Portland. She also preferred monogamy—and being close to family.
Well, at the moment, family just extended to her grandmother. Her mother was another story.
“Don’t blame the messenger.” He threw it into reverse. “If you’re satisfied with my service, be sure you leave a review. And you have a good day, Ms. Ross.”
“Dodd. It’s Ms. Dodd!” she hollered to the taillights disappearing around the corner. “D-O-D-D. Dodd.”
“You’re back and as disruptive as ever,” a lemon-puckered voice called from the side yard one house over. It was Ms. Gilford, self-appointed neighborhood president and busybody. “Is everything okay over there?”
“Yes, Ms. Gilford. Just seeing off an old friend,” she lied. It was bad enough that she’d come home broke and divorced, she wasn’t about to give her nosy neighbors food for fodder.
“What is this about you being a Dodd?” Garden-gloved hands and a mauve sunhat with big black glasses appeared over the fence. “Does that mean you’re no longer a Ross?”
“Born a Dodd, will die a Dodd,” was all she had to say on that matter.
“Well, Ms.Dodd, you might want to take yourself inside. Mr.Ashkenazi’s got his binoculars out and you know how bad his heart is,” the older woman said. “Wouldn’t want him to file an indecent exposure complaint with the community board.”
Elsie looked across the street at Mr.Ashkenazi and gave her shoulders a little shimmy. “Hi, Mr.Ashkenazi.” The man was half blind and old enough to have picked apples with George Washington, but he dropped the binoculars and excitedly waved back. “I don’t think he’ll be filing any complaints today.”
Ms. Gilford harumphed. She’d been itching to cite Elsie ever since Elsie’s house was named Greenhill’s brightest star on the community Facebook group.
“Well, you just be sure to keep it down over there. Ten o’clock is the mandated neighborhood noise ordinance. So please, let Mr.Ross know that we won’t stand for his late night ‘jam’ sessions.” Ms. Gilford tossed up some seriously aggressive air quotes.
Shoulders back and chin up, she reminded herself.
“I don’t think that will be a problem.”See, that wasn’t so hard. “And a good afternoon to you, Ms. Gilford.”
With a Queen Elizabeth wave, Elsie went back inside the house, that letter turning to lead in her hand. By the time she got to the kitchen, where she poured herself a screwdriver, vodka minus the OJ, she was certain she’d be sick.
“Tomorrow,” she said and stuffed the envelope into the junk drawer and out of sight. She took three steps and her feet stuck to the floor. There was no way she could enjoy tonight with the weight of that letter looming overhead.
She pulled out the envelope and stared at it, then finally tore it open. The paper was heavy weight, meticulously folded in thirds, and the top line read,Harry, Waxer, and Bush LLP,with the address of Axel’s law firm. It went on to say:
Dear Ms. Ross,
This letter is to inform you that you have thirty days to vacate the property. The residence has been sold and is in escrow. Upon the sale, the profits will be divided in half as specified by the prearranged divorce decree.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Harry, Esq.
“No, no, no, no, no,” she whispered, clutching her chest. She needed more than thirty days. She needed the whole summer. She’d promised herself the summer in the house that held so many memories. Some bad, but most of them good. Plus, the small bungalow she’d purchased across town, which would double as her residence and office, wouldn’t be available until end of August.
She should call her lawyer and fight this. She picked up the phone, then remembered she’d fired her lawyer. Not only was he completely inept—classic case of “you get what you pay for”—she also didn’t have the money. Between the prenup and Axel moving all their assets overseas, every penny she had was either tied up in this house or earmarked for her new boutique interior architect firm,Space Reimagined. Firm might be stretching it, since it was a business of one, but over this past year Elsie had learned that all she needed was belief in herself. And money—which was tied up in the sale of the Greenhill property. A property she just couldn’t sell until the end of the summer. Axel knew this.
Elsie punched in her ex’s number. It went straight to voice mail.
“You son of a bitch! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you can’t evict me from my own house, you two-timing rat fink! This is my home, and you can’t sell it without my permission.” At least that’s what her lawyer had told her. “If you try, you will find yourself back in court.” She started to hit end, but pulled out her lucky coin and kissed it before adding, “I hope you get a disease and your dick falls off!”
She set the phone on the counter and took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking.
You will not cry, Elsie Marie Dobbs.Today was about her dress and her friends and her fresh-start party—not a pity party. She gave herself permission to shed a single tear, then she’d finish her hair and makeup. Except both eyes teared up and she knew it was going to be a doozy of a breakdown.
Elsie thought of her house, which she’d purchased before the marriage, with money her grandpa had willed her. After the wedding, she’d stupidly put Axel on the title, which led to his entitled attitude.
To her this wasn’t just a house, it was a showcase for her clients to see her skills and talent. It was also her last marital asset, which would sever every last tie to Axel. But as she looked around, nostalgia took over. It wasn’t a big space, but it was a stunner. With its stone and redwood frame, vaulted ceilings, and wall-to-wall windows that connected the inside to the outside, the space was an award winner and had been featured in the local paper.
