* * *
I awakened the next morning to a gentle tapping on my door. “Come in?”
There were two grinning faces in the opening. Meghan was peering over Mrs. Sims’ shoulder as she stood, awaiting my invitation to come in while holding a tray full of breakfast.
“I hope you don’t care,” piped up Meghan. “I asked Mrs. Sims to put both our breakfasts on a tray and bring them in to your room. I thought we might eat together. Uncle Brayden already left for work earlier this morning and Captain Bob is back and waiting for us.”
“Waiting for us?”
“Uncle Brayden said we, that is you and I, were going shopping and you’re getting a new wardrobe. Gosh, don’t tell me that’s not true because I was really looking forward to it.”
I smiled. “Of course, we can go shopping. Anyway, you might need a few things, too, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes!”
Mrs. Sims was smiling and setting up our breakfast on a small table by the window. Meghan pulled up two high-back wicker chairs and I grabbed for my brush in my purse before joining her. There was a bowl of fresh fruit: mango, banana, peaches, oranges, grapes and kiwi. Each piece was decoratively cut and looked absolutely delicious! I lifted a silver lid off a platter and found a selection of small pieces of sweet ham tinged with brown sugar at the edges, link sausage and bacon. Another platter revealed scrambled eggs and a bowl with white linen wrapped within it held fresh biscuits. I could smell the coffee in the small decanter set before my plate and tasted a little orange juice before digging in to the fruit. “Do you always eat like this?” I asked.
“Is there something else you’d rather have?” Mrs. Sims asked in a quiet but cheerful voice.
“Just not used to so much. It looks delicious, Mrs. Sims. I’m sure it’s perfect.”
Mrs. Sims nodded, and I could see she was pleased. She left us to chat.
“So, Meghan, where do you suggest we start today?”
“Well, hmmm… Uncle Brayden said there’s a lady who is supposed to shop for you. We’re meeting her at Utopia and then going in to Miami Beach. I think we’re going to start at the Design District and then do the Aventura Mall. There are lots of little shops, and I’ll just bet that lady knows them all. Uncle Brayden always does things with the best. We’re sort of lucky to live with him—at least I am.”
“I think you’re right. We are both lucky to live with him. So, you like shopping, I take it?”
Meghan nodded, munching her fruit. “Uncle Brayden says I have Paris in my blood. He’s going to take me shopping there for my sixteenth birthday and maybe, when I get old enough for college, he’s going to get me into one there and I can learn design. I love clothes.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fashion was never one of my strengths, I’m afraid. I’m good as long as I’m comfortable.”
“That’s the difference between good design and just designers showing off,” she said with an air of knowledge. “The best design is very comfortable to wear.”
“I’m really glad to be having you along, Meghan. I think you know what you’re talking about.”
“I’d better,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “If I’m going to make my living doing it, I’d better know what I’m talking about, right?”
I laughed and nodded. “You say Captain Bob is waiting for us?” I looked at the small clock on the nightstand. “What time is he expecting us?”
“Oh, he’ll just wait. It’s sort of his job to wait. Harper, have you ever ridden in a taxi? That looks so exciting to me!”
I grinned. “Yes, I’ve ridden in a few in my life, and I can promise you that having your own boat and captain waiting for you is even better than an old taxi.”
Meghan frowned. “I think people always want to have what they don’t already have.”
“I think you’re right,” I agreed. “Tell you what. If you’re finished, why don’t you give me fifteen minutes to get ready and I’ll meet you at the dock?”
She nodded, snatched another biscuit from the linen folds and scampered out of the room. I hit the shower, decided on a pair of casual khaki slacks and a t-shirt. I put on my walking shoes. Dressy gowns or not, I wanted to be comfortable looking for them.
Captain Bob saluted as he welcomed me aboard. Meghan was already ensconced in a swivel side chair, a life preserver hugging her torso. “I’m really excited,” she told me, and I could have told that by the light in her beautiful green eyes.
When we made port at Utopia, I wanted to go inside and tell Brayden hello, but Meghan shook her head. “He told me when he left that he had a busy day planned. Might be better to wait until he comes home tonight. Besides, then you’ll have things to show him.”
I wondered at the feminine wiles already developed in this small minx of a girl. I had a feeling, Brayden or not, she would go a long way on her own.
“Aren’t you excited about your new car?” she asked, and I could tell she was desperate to show it to me. I was excited, but it felt extravagant for Brayden to have given me such a gift. I decided it was an advance on salary and if anything happened, I’d return it to him immediately. I still hadn’t brought myself to the point of being as casual about money as he had.
“I can hardly wait! Do you know which door it’s behind?”
She skipped to the door next to where I’d seen Brayden keep his own car. “This one!” She pointed repeatedly, and it was like being with a child at Christmas. Her enthusiasm was contagious and I was loving it. I pulled out the keyring Brayden had given me and selected the key that was smallest and didn’t look like an ignition key. I plugged it into the lock panel next to the garage door and turned it. Instantly, the door began to rise and there, with its grille facing me and a giant white bow with ribbon cascading from its roof, sat a baby blue Mercedes Benz convertible. I gasped.
“Do you love it? Do you just simply love it?” Meghan was dancing around in her excitement. “Get in and see if you fit!”
If I fit? I motioned her to the passenger door and I tapped the key fob to unlock its doors. I climbed in beneath the wheel and sat there, my mouth agape at the instrument panel before me. I’d never sat in a Mercedes before and while the cockpit of a plane has the ability to make a girl hard with desire for all of its buttons and switches, this baby belonged to me! I was beside myself with anticipation and I knew from its reputation that a Mercedes was known for more than its cockpit, so to speak. To answer Meghan’s earlier question, I most definitely did fit behind the wheel. The wheel was leather-bound and as I put the key into the ignition and turned it, the motor found its voice and I felt like I was sitting with the power of a rocket beneath me.
“Put the top down!” Meghan pleaded. I bent forward, searching the controls for the switch, but she’d beaten me to it. I heard a soft whir and the car top lifted and then folded into the trunk. She tapped the sound system and music surrounded us. I reached down and shifted the car into drive. I was right. The car drove like a dream and I fought the desire to press the gas pedal all the way to the floor.
“Where to?” I asked her and she pointed north. That seemed perfectly logical and off we went.
It turned out to be a wonderful day. We met with the personal shopper Brayden had engaged and sat on tufted powder-blue chairs as clothing options were paraded before us. The shopper, Margie, was professional and therefore exactly what Brayden had ordered. Her tastes were a galaxy away from mine, so while I tried to follow her lead, and did in a number of selections, I also followed my own heart and sense of style in others. I don’t think I’d ever had a poor sense of style so much as a poor pocketbook. That was no longer the issue.
Once we’d parted from Margie, we took in some trendier stores so Meghan could do a little shopping of her own. She was approaching that age when she was developing a sense of self, including personal style. It was all about self-expression and from what I could tell, she was well beyond her years.
“I think we need a mani/pedi,” Meghan suggested.
“Lead the way!”
As a teenager, girlfriends and I had given one another manicures, but I’d never had a salon pedicure before. Meghan had, and she seemed innately comfortable in the salon setting. Although she and I were separated by a generation, I discovered she was highly intelligent and mature for her age, and I genuinely enjoyed her company. She was fun; giving me a younger perspective. I think for her, I had a nice mix of youth that let us relate to one another, and yet enough age on my part to be an authority figure. I wondered which of us needed one another more.
“Tell me more about how you grew up,” she urged. I didn’t think she was ready to know more about the seedier aspects, so I touched lightly on who my parents and sister were and how I’d come to know Brayden.
“I’ll bet he was a real jerk in high school,” she commented, to my surprise.
“Meghan! Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe because he can be a jerk once in a while now.”
“You shouldn’t talk about your uncle like that,” I chided her.
“I notice you didn’t deny it, though.”
What was I supposed to say to that? I decided on the least explosive and said, “Let’s get some ice cream!”
I could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn’t buy my subterfuge. “It doesn’t matter,” she summarized. “Sometimes it’s good to have a jerk on your side.”
I marveled at the wisdom in one so young. I also agreed.