Death Tidies Up Read online

  “What happened?” Charlotte teased. “Did someone forget to pay the light bill, or are you just out of light bulbs?”

  The moment the words were out of her mouth, the lights in the room suddenly flashed on, illuminating a crowd of laughing and smiling people near the center of the room.

  “Surprise!” they shouted in unison. “Surprise! Surprise! Happy Birthday!”

  Stunned, Charlotte froze. Next to her, Hank placed a steadying arm around her waist, and all she could do was stare wordlessly while every person in the room sang “Happy Birthday.”

  It took a moment for it to all sink in, and when it did, she had to lean heavily against her son. Sudden tears sprang to her eyes, and a self-conscious warmth spread over her face and burned her cheeks.

  Through a blur, she saw Madeline, Judith, Daniel, and Carol, all front and center. Crowded on either side of them were her cleaning crew, including Nadia Wilson, standing next to Daniel. Little Davy was in her arms, his face all smiles. Louis was there too, and so was Bitsy Duhe, along with other faces of neighbors, friends, and clients.

  Blinking away tears, Charlotte turned to Hank. Too choked up to utter a sound, all she could do was smile and mouth the words, “Thank you.”

  The second the song was over, Hank nudged her into the room, and she was immediately surrounded by a crush of family and employees, each greeting her with a hug or a kiss on the cheek.

  Then others crowded around, and when Louis stepped up, Charlotte swallowed hard and her heart thudded like a drum. She’d never seen him in a suit before, and she couldn’t help admiring how the dark gray color seemed the perfect foil for his steel-gray hair and dark eyes.

  “I thought you were sick with the flu,” she told him. Louis shrugged, and before she had time to realize his intentions, he leaned down and kissed her, full on the mouth.

  He tasted of wine, and she felt the kiss all the way to her toes as she breathed in his unique scent, a clean smell of soap and the spicy cologne he always wore. All too soon, the kiss ended.

  “Happy birthday, Charlotte,” he whispered near her ear, his warm breath sending tiny shivers down her spine. “And by the way, you don’t have to worry. I’m not contagious. I don’t have the flu after all—just a bad sinus infection.”

  “Can you believe it?” Madeline said a few minutes later as they made their way to the dining table. “Hank reserved the entire room just for your party. Must have cost him a fortune—the music, the food, the cake and—” She shrugged. “Just everything.”

  Charlotte was every bit as overwhelmed by it all as Madeline to realize the expense that Hank had gone to in order to make her birthday so special.

  The spacious Garden Room, with its walls of mirrors, white latticework, and huge windows had been designed to enhance the outdoor setting of oaks and palms visible through the windows, and had been decorated beautifully. Festive balloons in an array of colors hovered against the ceiling and baskets of flowers were scattered about.

  Divided into two sections, a group of dining tables, covered with pristine white tablecloths and gleaming china, had been formed into a horseshoe shape in the center of the front section. Along the walls were more tables. A huge birthday cake sat on one while another one was stacked with gifts; the rest of the tables were filled with silver dome-shaped serving tureens and platters of food.

  Except for the small string combo of musicians in one corner and a portable bar in the other one, the back section of the room had been left open for dancing.

  Once everyone had finally settled at the tables, champagne was quickly served, and Hank stood up to offer a toast.

  “Thank you all for joining us tonight to celebrate my mother’s birthday,” he said. “By the way, in case you’re wondering, she’s sixty going on twenty-nine and can still work circles around me.” When the titter of laughter died, he continued. “Also, in case you don’t know it, my mom is a very special lady. She’s the kind of lady that any son or daughter would be proud to call mother.” He turned to stare straight at Charlotte, and her already tight throat tightened even more as her eyes again filled with tears. “Every good quality that I possess,” he continued, “and all that I’ve accomplished, I owe to you, Mom, to all the sacrifices you’ve made for me and to the wonderful example you set for me. So here’s to you.” He held out his glass. “To a wonderful woman who has not only enriched my life but has enriched the lives of everyone who’s had the honor and privilege of knowing her.”

  “Hear, hear!” she heard Daniel and several others chime in. As glasses clinked and a round of applause ensued, the tears that filled her eyes overflowed.

  “Speech!” Someone called out. And that was all it took as a chant of “Speech! Speech!” was taken up by the others.

  Grinning, Hank leaned over. “If you don’t say something, we’ll never get to eat.”

  Trembling with emotion, Charlotte dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief that Hank had slipped her, and with his assistance, she stood. “Th-thank you,” she said hoarsely, then had to clear her throat. “To say I’m overwhelmed is the understatement of the year. Here I was expecting a nice quiet evening with my son, and instead, I—I get this wonderful surprise.” With a shaky smile and to more applause, she collapsed back onto her chair.

  An hour later, Charlotte was so stuffed she could hardly breathe.

  “Time to blow out the candles,” Carol told her.

  Charlotte made a face. “Do I have to?”

  When both Hank and Carol nodded, she groaned. “Looks like the whole cake is on fire,” she grumbled, warily eyeing the flaming confection in the center of the table along the wall. “Did they have to put all sixty on it?”

  “Don’t worry, Aunt Charley.” Judith grinned. “We’ll all help you.”

  “And don’t forget to make a wish,” Daniel called out.

  “Make wish, make wish,” Davy chanted.

  To her relief, they were as good as their word, and once all the candles had been blown out, she was allowed to return to her seat of honor.

  While several waiters cleared away the dishes from the dining tables to make way for cake and coffee, one began transferring the gifts from the gift table to where Charlotte had been sitting.

  As Charlotte made her way back to her chair, she caught a glimpse of a well-dressed woman entering the room. Dread, like a deadly cancer, spread throughout Charlotte’s very being, and as Hank seated her first, then sat down, thoughts of crawling beneath the table to hide came to mind.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Unfortunately for Charlotte, it was already too late to hide. Marian Hebert had spotted her and was heading straight for her. Even worse, Marian was bearing a gift, which made Charlotte feel ten times worse.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Marian told her breathlessly as she leaned down to give Charlotte a brief buss on the cheek. Hank stood up to greet Marian, allowing Charlotte a bit more time to compose herself.

  Hank smiled politely. “Welcome. I’m Charlotte’s son, Hank.”

  “Oh, my, so you’re Dr. LaRue,” Marian gushed and offered her hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Marian Hebert.” She held out her hand. “Charlotte has told me so much about you that I feel as if we’ve already met.”

  Hank briefly shook Marian’s hand. “Nice to meet you too, Ms. Hebert. We’re glad you could join us.”

  “Oh, thank you so much for inviting me, and I’m sorry I’m late. As I was about to tell Charlotte, I’m afraid I can’t stay but a moment.” She turned to Charlotte. “But the boys made me promise to bring you this.” She set the gift, wrapped in gold foil paper and topped with a gold satin bow, down in front of Charlotte on the table.

  “B.J. and Aaron helped me pick it out,” she said. “Both of them really wanted to come, but there’s a special post-homecoming activity at the school, and the boys were required to be there.” She smiled at Hank. “My boys just love Charlotte.”

  Marian’s words stabbed Charlotte right in the center of her guilt
-ridden heart. Charlotte swallowed hard, and though she couldn’t quite bring herself to look Marian straight in the eyes, she forced a smile. “Won’t you at least stay and have a piece of cake and some coffee, Marian?” Please don’t stay…please don’t stay…

  “I’d really love to, Charlotte—I really would—but I guess I’d better get back to the school myself.”

  Charlotte could only hope that the relief she felt didn’t show on her face. “At least let me send the boys a couple of pieces of cake for later.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Mom,” Hank offered.

  “Oh, no,” Marian protested. “That’s very kind of you, but I really must go now.”

  This time Charlotte’s smile was genuine. “Please tell the boys thank you for me.”

  Marian nodded. “Oh, I will, and again, happy birthday, Charlotte.” Then, with a fluttery little wave, she rushed off toward the door.

  The moment Marian disappeared through the doorway, Charlotte let out a relieved sigh and sagged against the back of her chair.

  Tilting his head, Hank eyed her with a calculating expression. “Anything wrong, Mom?”

  “Why, no,” she lied, feeling even more guilty than she had felt before. “Of course not. What on earth could be wrong on such a lovely night?”

  Her son knew her too well, and the look on his face said he didn’t believe a word she was saying. “Are you sure? I got the distinct feeling that you really didn’t want her to stay.”

  “Oh, Hank, don’t be silly.”

  Since everyone had just about finished their cake, he didn’t push it. “Time to open your gifts,” he said.

  The first gift that Charlotte opened was the one from B.J. and Aaron. It was a darling little jewel-encased music box. Perched on top of the lid was a tiny white dove. When she opened the box, the song “Wind Beneath My Wings” played. Amid the ohs and ahs from her guests, Charlotte had to swallow several times to keep from sobbing out loud.

  As if sensing how emotionally charged the moment was for her, Hank quickly handed her another gift to open.

  Charlotte lost count of the number of lovely gifts she’d opened, and yet Hank kept placing more in front of her until finally there were only two packages left.

  The smaller package of the two turned out to be a sweater set from Madeline.

  “Oh, Maddie, it’s beautiful, and so soft. Cashmere?”

  Madeline nodded. “I thought that color blue would look good on you. And it will go nicely with those cream-colored slacks that Judith gave you.”

  “Thanks, Maddie. It’s gorgeous.”

  The final and last gift was rather large, and the small gold tag on top of the ribbon indicated it was from Victoria’s Secret.

  Victoria’s Secret! Who on earth would be giving her something from there?

  She had yet to receive a gift from Louis, but surely he wouldn’t…She lifted up the gift card, and her face grew hot with embarrassment. Whatever was in the box was from Louis.

  Her instinct was to look at him, to see what kind of expression was on his face, knowing that she was about to open his gift. But Charlotte fought the urge and kept her eyes on the package instead. Just the thought of Louis shopping for her at all made her feel kind of funny, but only the good Lord knew what kind of gift the man had ended up with from Victoria’s Secret.

  Be nice, Charlotte. No matter what it is, be nice.

  Charlotte tore off the wrapping paper, then lifted the lid off the box. There seemed to be layer upon layer of tissue paper that she had to go through before finally unearthing the gift itself. With a frown marring her forehead, all she could do was stare at the contents. Leopard print?

  “What on earth?” she murmured, silently praying that it wasn’t a nightgown. She’d never hear the end of it from her family if it was. Then, with trembling fingers, she lifted it out of the box. It wasn’t a nightgown, but it might as well have been. The luxurious robe was made of satin on the outside and lined with a sumptuous soft terry. Beautiful…even sexy…but also practical.

  “Oh, wow!” Madeline exclaimed. “Who on earth is that from?” Before Charlotte realized her intention and could stop her, Madeline grabbed the gift card. “Louis? Louis gave you that?”

  Judith leaned across in front of Madeline. “Uh-huh, now we know,” she drawled. “And all this time you’ve been telling me that he was just a tenant and nothing else. Yeah, right, Aunt Charley.”

  Madeline nudged Charlotte with her elbow. “Come on, now, sister, dear. Do tell.”

  Rolling her eyes, and with as much dignity as she could muster, Charlotte ignored the teasing. All she could do now was hope that Louis hadn’t heard the remarks.

  Intending to thank him, she glanced over in the direction where he was seated. But his chair was empty, as empty as her insides suddenly felt.

  While part of her was glad, relieved that he hadn’t been around to hear Madeline’s and Judith’s teasing remarks, another part of her was truly disappointed…and puzzled. Where was he? she wondered, craning her neck to search for him. Had he left already, left without even saying good-bye?

  Suddenly there was the piercing squeal of a microphone, and everyone at the table winced and groaned.

  “Sorry about that,” the leader of the string combo apologized. “But I have an announcement to make. We have the first request of the evening. So get your dancing shoes on and grab your partner. It’s time to work off all that great food and birthday cake.”

  Charlotte immediately recognized the beginning, bittersweet strains of “Unchained Melody,” and she recalled the last time she’d heard it, coming from Louis’ half of the double. She closed her eyes for a moment. She was so caught up in the feelings the tune always evoked that when she felt the light tap on her shoulder, her eyes flew open and she jumped.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Charlotte jerked her head around and up.

  Louis.

  He hadn’t left after all.

  He made a little half bow, then held out his hand. “May I have the honor of this dance, milady?”

  Charlotte swallowed hard. More pleased than she wanted to admit that he hadn’t left, she gave him a warm smile. In keeping with his mock formality, she nodded once, placed her hand in his, and said, “But of course, kind sir.”

  The dance floor was only a few steps away, and as Louis pulled her firmly into his arms, Charlotte had the strangest feeling that she was exactly where she belonged, that in some odd way, she’d finally come home. Probably too much champagne, she thought, dismissing the sensation.

  “So, did you like the robe?” he asked, his warm breath tickling her cheek as they swayed to the music. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you, giving you something like that. The salesgirl assured me it would be appropriate enough, and to tell you the truth, I got tired of seeing you in that old ratty thing you wear around all the time.”

  “Ratty!” Charlotte pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes. “It’s not that ratty, and I’ll have you know I do not wear it all the time.”

  “Aw, come on, Charlotte. Admit it. You needed a new one. Now didn’t you?”

  A grin tugged at her lips. “Well…I suppose so,” she drawled. “I guess my old one is getting a bit worn looking—but not exactly ratty,” she hastened to add.

  “So you’re not mad at me?”

  Of all the men she’d ever met, she would never have dreamed that Louis Thibodeaux could be so insecure about something like a gift. “Louis, the housecoat is lovely, just perfect, and if you hadn’t run off, I would have told you so right after I opened it.”

  “Humph! Well, that’s a relief—and I didn’t run off. Hank said it was time to get the dancing started, so I got the ball rolling.”

  “I should have known,” she murmured. “So you’re the one who made the song request?”

  Louis shrugged. “Hey—I happen to like this song. It brings back a lot of memories of the good old days, if you know what I mean.”

  “Fo
r your information, I happen to like it too,” she retorted. “For all the same reasons. And by the way—” With her hand that was resting on his shoulder, she smoothed the fabric of his suit. “I’ve been meaning to tell you all night that I really like your suit too. It looks very nice on you.”

  “Well, I hope so,” he drawled. “It cost enough, but hey—I needed a new one anyway—or so that niece of yours keeps telling me.”

  “You just bought it?”

  “Yeah, thanks to Judith. She’s a lot like you, you know—pretty stubborn at times. The other day when she came by, she wanted to see what I was planning on wearing to this shindig. Well, when I showed her my old suit, she snatched it right off the hanger and stuffed it in the trash can.” He chuckled. “Just like a woman, throwing away a perfectly good suit just because the lapels aren’t the right size or some such nonsense. Anyway—she called up this friend of hers who works at Macy’s and—” He shrugged. “I ended up with this.”

  It was almost midnight before the last of the guests finally said good night. Since Davy had fallen asleep on Daniel’s shoulder earlier, Daniel and Nadia had already left.

  With only Louis and the rest of her family still remaining, Charlotte didn’t feel like she was being rude when she announced, “I’ve had the most wonderful day that anyone could ever ask for, but this old birthday gal is tired and ready to call it a night.”

  She stepped over to where Hank and Carol were standing. “Thank you, son. And thank you, Carol.” She gave Carol a quick hug. “Thank you both for everything. It’s been a dream come true and a day I won’t ever forget.” She wrapped her arms around Hank’s waist and hugged him tightly.

  “You’re very welcome, Mom,” he said, hugging her back, then releasing her.

  “We just wanted to make it special for you,” Carol told her.

  Louis walked over to join them. “I’m kinda pooped myself,” he said, “and if you’d like, I can give Charlotte a ride home.”