Girl's Night

Tiffany tossed her purse and room key on the desk then turned to Lulu with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Okay," she said. "Go put on your pj’s and meet me back here in 10 minutes!"
Lulu laughed as Tiffany went flying into her bedroom. Her Godmother had taken her out for a belated birthday dinner and asked her to sleep over so that they could catch up. Carly had put them in the Metro Court’s best two-bedroom suite. Being with her mother’s best friend, doing fun things together and having heartfelt talks made her feel like she was with her mother a little bit. It was comforting. Aside from her father and grandmother, Tiffany knew her mother best. She smiled and went to change her clothes.
In the other room, Tiffany took a silver tray and loaded it with cotton balls, various nail polishes and polish remover. Then, she called room service.
"Alright, missy," she called. "Ready when you are!"
She went into the living room and placed the tray on the coffee table. Beside the sofa, on an end table was a Boise stereo. Tiffany turned it to WKPC 81.9. It was the oldies station and tonight was retro-night. Coincidentally, the year of reminiscence was1983. It was a good year. It was the year that Laura came home.
Lulu walked into the living room and arched her eyebrow, asking. "Why do I feel like you’re up to no good?"
"Well, the night’s young, Darlin’," Tiffany said, laughing. "We’ve gotta have a little fun!"
"I always have a good time when I’m with you."
She winked at Lulu and replied. "Your father said that to me just the other night."
Lulu’s eyes widened. "You saw Dad?"
"We had dinner," she said. "Don’t ask me where he is! You know I can’t tell you. It’s for your own protection."
Lulu knew the drill and knew not to ask those kind of details. It was just good to know someone had seen them. "Is he okay? Did you see Mom?"
Tiffany squeezed Lulu’s hands. "He’s taking good care of your mother - just like always," she replied.
Lulu sighed. "I’m so relieved to know that they’re safe."
Tiffany looked Lesley Lu deeply in the eyes. "You don’t have to worry about that, Sweetheart," she assured. "Your mama’s in the safest hands possible."
Lulu nodded and said softly, "I know."
Tiffany put some pep back into her voice. "So," she exclaimed, changing the subject. "Let’s get this show on the road!"
"Oh, my God!" Lulu screamed through her giggles as she spied the silver tray. "You are too much!"
"Now, before we get started," Tiffany said, excitedly. "First, and most important things first."
She patted the sofa for Lulu to come sit next to her and handed her a small, beautifully wrapped box. Tiffany’s gifts were too pretty to open - the bow on the top was as large as the box. "I can’t wrap things as beautifully or creatively as your mother does..." her voice trailed off.
"You do fine."
Tears came to Tiffany’s eyes as she touched Lulu’s chin. "You look so much like Laura, Darlin’," she noted. "So much..."
"Okay! Don’t get me started," Lulu said, as tears came to her own eyes.
"I know! I know!" she said, waving her hand trying to swat the tears away. "Looking at you just brings back so many treasured memories."
"Why don’t you tell me some of them."
"I can’t believe that you are the same age now as your mother was when I met her!"
"What was she like back then?"
Tiffany thought about it for a second, then replied. "Adventurous. Spirited...um...fun, loads of fun. Stubborn," then her eyes softened. "And very sweet."
Lesley Lu smiled.
Tiffany smacked Lulu’s thigh gently. "This is for you."
"Thank you," Lulu said as she carefully tried to unwrap the box.
"Oh, Honey!" Tiffany said, throwing her arm out dramatically. "Just rip it open."
Lulu laughed and tore into the box. She gasped when she saw the locket. It was sterling silver and very old. It was in the shape of a heart with a filagree outline of delicate silver that looked like lace. In the center of the heart was a claddagh. "It’s so beautiful..."
"Laura and I found this in an antique store down in the village," she explained. "Your mother fell in love with it. She liked what the claddagh symbolized: love, loyalty and friendship."
Lulu stared at the locket. "Mom had a bracelet that Dad had bought her when they lived in Ireland. It had a claddagh on it," Lulu said. "I remember she once told me that the claddagh’s motto was ‘let love and friendship reign.’ I never really thought about its meaning until now..."
"Open it," Tiffany encouraged.
Lulu pulled the locket open. Inside, the photo on the right was a tiny wedding picture of her parents from 1981. Lulu knew its image well. It was prominently displayed in their house. On the left was a photo of her mother and Tiffany. It was sepia-toned. They had their heads together, their eyes crossed and their tongues stuck out at the camera.
Lulu touched both photos then looked into Tiffany’s eyes. "I love it," she said. "When was this one of you and mom taken?"
Tiffany laughed as she recalled the memory. "It was about a month before your mom and dad got married. Robert, Luke, your mother and I decided to go to Cony Island for the weekend. Unbeknownst to us, there was a carnival in town. Laura and I insisted on going. God, we had such fun! Your mother and I ate our way through that carnival! We ate sausage dogs, roasted corn on the cob, funnel cakes, cotton candy. Your father said I was the only person he knew who
could out-eat your mother!"
Lulu started laughing. "That sounds like something Dad would say!"
"Before we left," Tiffany recalled, "your mother and I spotted an old photo booth. I think the pictures cost .50 cents back in those days. We made the guys take couples photos to which your father protested very loudly as I remember! After the couple shots were taken, Laura and I squeezed inside the booth onto the little bench and pulled the curtain closed behind us. Then, your mother said to me, ‘let’s do something silly!’ And that’s what we came up with..."
The two of you look like you had a lot of fun together."
"Oh, Honey!" she exclaimed. "That’s an understatement!"
Lulu hugged Tiffany. "You don’t know how much this means to me."
Tiffany tapped her finger once lightly on Lulu’s nose like she had done when she was a little girl. "I think I do," she said, softly. "I gave that to your mother on her 20th birthday."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh," she replied. "You mother and father were married by that time, and I knew Luke would want to spend the day with Laura on her actual birthday. So, I spent the night before her birthday at their place. It was a Saturday night. We were up until about 2 am - listening to music, painting our toenails, eating and laughing like two fools."
Lulu blinked a couple of times, envisioning what Tiffany was telling her. "Where was Dad?"
"We made him go to bed!" Tiffany exclaimed. "You can’t have ‘girl’s night’ with a boy hanging around."
"That does sound like it would put a damper on it," Lulu said with a chuckle.
"Fasten your seat belt, Honey!" Tiffany warned her. "You’re about to be inducted into the ‘girl’s night’ ritual."

* * *

Tiffany and Lulu sat on the sofa with cotton balls separating each toe as they propped their feet up on the coffee table, waiting for the polish to dry.
Lulu was recalling memories of her parent’s remarriage. "Oh my God, Aunt Tif!" Lulu doubled over in laughter. "You should have seen it! Alice had tied her up, gagged her and thrown her into the hall closet to keep her away from mom and dad."
Tiffany fell back onto the sofa, clapping her hands and roaring with laughter so hard that it made her snort which made her laugh harder. "Remind me to send Alice a dozen roses tomorrow." She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. "That’s priceless."
"No," Lulu disagreed. "It was priceless when Monica tripped her and she fell into the aisle. I think she was about to protest the marriage or something to ruin it for mom. Anyway, Alice threw her over her shoulder and carried her into the house. I tried not to laugh, but I almost wet myself, it was so funny."
Tiffany kicked her feet up and down and placed her hand on her stomach. "Stop!" she was laughing so hard, her sides hurt. She could picture all of this so clearly in her mind happening to Tracy. "What did your father do?"
Lulu’s eyes got wide in disbelief as she said. "He acted like he hadn’t seen a thing!"
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Lulu looked startled. It was almost 11. She couldn’t imagine who could be dropping by?
"Just a minute," Tiffany called, still laughing.
She made her way to the door in choppy steps, like she was trying to avoid a puddle of water. She lost two cotton balls on her way. Lulu watched as Tiffany pulled a $20 from her purse, and opened the door, knowing who was behind it.
"Good evening," she said, graciously. "You can put it over there, please."
"Certainly," he replied, wheeling the cart into the room, then he went to the hallway and brought in two chairs and placed them on either side of the cart.
Tiffany slipped him the tip, thanking him again.
"What’s this?" Lulu asked, looking over the cart with curiosity.
"Culture," she replied. "I did this for your mother that night I was telling you about. I don’t know a thing about cooking, but I can make a mean chocolate fondue!"
Lulu’s mouth began to water as she looked over the cart. There was a pot of melted chocolate on a stand above a can of lit Sterno. There was a tray of strawberries, banana chunks, plump cherries, an assortment of nuts, pretzels, cubed pound cake, shortbread cookies and graham crackers. In the center of the tray was a three-inch candle with the number 19 on it. There was also a champagne bucket, two champagne flutes and a small bottle of Cream de Cassis.
"Now I know why you didn’t want any dessert at dinner," Lulu marveled.
"I knew we had a night of decadence ahead of us!" She giggled.
"You made this for mom on her 20th birthday?"
Tiffany nodded. "I did, indeed. We ate every last bit of it too!" She lit the candle then turned to Lulu. "I’ll spare you my singing, but you have to make a wish!"
Lulu leaned into the candle, closed her eyes, thought about how much she wanted her mother to come back to them all, then blew out the light. She felt like a little girl again. "Can I try something? It all looks so good."
"Please do," Tiffany replied. She poured a tiny amount of the black currant liquor into the champagne flutes then popped the bottle. The bubbles danced from the bottle of the glass to the top. "This is Champagne Kir Royale. I introduced this to your mother years ago. She wasn’t much of a drinker but she did love this." Tiffany handed Lulu a glass. "Happy Birthday, Lesley Lu." She raised her glass, toasting her Goddaughter. "Cheers."
Lulu touched her glass to Tiffany’s, then took a sip. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "That’s really good!"
"Mmm," Tiffany agreed. "It’s classy. When you order a Champagne Kir Royale, they’ll know you’re a lady with class!"
Lulu already had a fondue spear of pound cake dipped in the chocolate and heading for her mouth. "I’ll remember that," she said. "Oh my God! This is to die for!"
"That’s my recipe," Tiffany said proudly. "I personally went to the kitchen and told the chef how to make it. It’s got cream, Godiva milk chocolate, a little butter, a little vanilla and some marshmallow cream all melted together. Sinful, isn’t it?" she asked, dipping a strawberry in the chocolate and taking a bite. "Mmmmm....Oh my.....it’s almost better than sex!"
Lulu choked on the champagne, the honesty of the comment surprised her a little. The champagne tickled her nose and she felt a little giddy. She couldn’t believe Tiffany had said it. "Aunt Tiffany!"
Tiffany made a funny face. "What?" she replied, teasing. "You’re a big girl now!" Tiffany dunked a shortbread cookie into the "liquid gold," as Laura had called it, and took a big bite. "So," she said, licking the chocolate from her lips. "Tell me about this boy you’re interested in....Logan...is that his name?"
Lulu took another sip of the champagne. "There’s not much to tell, really," she said.
"Don’t give me that," Tiffany said, shaking her head and pulling her fingers rapidly forward.
"Come on....give it up. I want to hear alllllll about him!"
Lulu hesitated. "Scott Baldwin is his father."
"What?!" Tiffany exclaimed, gulping as she swallowed the cashew she was chewing.
"He didn’t grow up knowing Scott though," Lulu explained. "Apparently, Scott got his mother pregnant but left Texas before he found out about it."
Tiffany wiped her mouth with a napkin and moved her tongue across her teeth before she spoke. "Sounds like Scotty...."
"Logan doesn’t even like him."
"Well," Tiffany said, pausing. "That makes most of us...."
"He’s got some serious father issues."
Tiffany listened then said puzzled. "Texas? ...How old is this guy?"
"He’s about Lucky’s age."
Tiffany shook her head in disbelief. "That must have been when Scotty had gone to Texas trying to find your parents in ‘84."
"Sounds about right."
Dear God. Tiffany thought. Luke and Laura’s daughter had a thing for Scott Baldwin’s son! This didn’t sound good. Tiffany’s stomach suddenly felt unsettled. She didn’t want Lulu to get hurt and, somehow, it seemed like Scott Baldwin’s son would do just that. But, it wasn’t her place to make waves about it. Lulu had to live and love and hurt and grow. It was part of becoming a woman. This decision was hers alone to make and, if Lulu wanted to open her heart to Scott Baldwin’s son, she would be supportive. She forced a smile. "So," she said. "What’s he like?"
"He’s complicated," Lulu replied.
"Aren’t they all, Honey!" Tiffany added, taking a sip of champagne.
"He can be infuriating and obnoxious to the point where you don’t want to have anything to do with him....then....other times, he can be sweet and thoughtful. He’s cute but pigheaded..."
Tiffany drained her glass and said before she caught herself, "Sounds like a winner."
Lulu slumped her head down. "Come on, Aunt Tif, don’t do that."
Tiffany looked at Lulu with a genuine concern on her face, Then asked, playfully. "Do what, Darlin’?"
"You haven’t even met him yet," she said, pouting. "Don’t diss him."
Tiffany acted shocked that Lulu would think such a thing. "Now you know that I’m not like that! He’ll get a fair shot with me. I just don’t happen to think that any boy is good enough for you."
"Tracy said Dad’s going to go ballistic!"
Tiffany let out an exasperated sigh, as she popped a chocolate covered cherry into her mouth. "Oh, poo! What does she know? Your father, above anyone, isn’t going to dictate to you who you can and cannot see It’s not his style. He may not like it but he’s not a hypocrite. And, you know that he won’t interfere."
"I tried to tell her that," Lulu explained. "But she wouldn’t listen. She just ranted and raved."
Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Tracy’s always been a little high-strung - just ignore her..." She looked at Lulu intently. "The most important question is do you like him?"
"Not at first," Lulu admitted. "But the more I’m getting to know him and talk with him, the more I like him. He’s cute but he’s got a vulnerable side that he doesn’t show to many people." Lulu added, raising her eyebrow, hoping Logan was sounding more endearing.
Tiffany couldn’t help thinking that this sounded like Luke as a young man. She hoped this boy was like Luke for Lulu’s sake. She looked at her Goddaughter and asked. "How long have you been sleeping with him?"
"Aunt Tiffany!" Lulu exclaimed, slightly embarrassed. "Honey. It’s me! You don’t have to be embarrassed," Tiffany replied seriously. "I know you’re new at this, but sex between two people who care about one another is a very beautiful experience. I just want to make certain you’re being careful – that you’re using protection."
Lulu nodded. "We’re careful."
"And I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing," Tiffany added. "Boys can be different in their desires. Don’t ever let anyone pressure you into anything."
"I won’t," she told her. "It’s not like we’re a couple or anything."
"Well," Tiffany said, knowing that this was serious relationship for Lesley Lu. "The best thing to do is take it slow and easy....see what develops and take it from there."
Lulu popped a piece of chocolate-dipped banana into her mouth. The chocolate was like a liquid fudge trail going from her lip to her chin. "God, this is so good."
"Well, that’s good because we’ve got a lot left to eat," Tiffany said looking over the half-eaten tray.
Lulu looked at everything that was left. "I definitely don’t see a problem."
"Well, then, let’s get on it!" Tiffany replied, handing Lulu another glass of champagne. She had Laura’s appetite... and hers! Lulu was a foodie just like them. It made her heart smile. "Oh, by the way," Tiffany added. "I hope your schedule is clear tomorrow. We’re going shopping," she replied.
"You’ve given me enough!"
Tiffany popped a chocolate-covered graham cracker into her mouth. "Please! Don’t be silly! I can’t leave until we go shopping, and I buy you a new outfit! Those are the Godmother rules!"
Lulu began to laugh. "You spoil me, ya know!"
"I wouldn’t say that. I just take my role very seriously," she teased.
Lulu didn’t need Tiffany to tell her that. She knew how seriously Tiffany took her role as maternal figure in her mother’s absence. Tiffany is the one who gave her a sweet 16 birthday party, took her to the theater in New York last year for her 18th birthday... she had come so many times over the last four years to spend time with her because Laura wasn’t there to do it.
The time that meant the most to her was last summer when she had the abortion. Lulu didn’t want her father to go with her. It was something she felt she needed to do alone. Yet, her father knew better. He had called Tiffany, who was sitting in the waiting room, there to whisk her away for a weekend of rest and pampering after that horrible ordeal. Tiffany had not judged her. She just loved her and took care of her as only a woman could. Whatever her need, her Godmother was always there for her...
A familiar song came through the speaker of the stereo system and stopped Tiffany dead in her tracks. She moved her hand quickly toward Lulu who was by the stereo and said excitedly. "Honey, turn it up! Turn it up!"
Lulu squinched her face, startled by the urgency of the request but did as asked and turned up the volume. She didn’t figure Tiffany for a rock-band groupie.
"Is that loud enough?"
Tiffany clasped her hand to her chest and began swaying to the music, as she nodded that it was loud enough. She looked at Lesley Lu, standing there, looking like a mini version of Laura and sighed. "Your mother and I luuuuuuuuuveddddd this song! We used to ride down main street with the top down on the car, our hair blowing in the wind and this song blaring. Oh, my....it takes me back."
Lulu stopped to listen. She loved learning things like this about her mother and the song was one she had heard many times over the years. On Saturday mornings, when Laura cleaned the house, she would play her favorite albums and dust, polish, sweep and iron while these special sounds filled her home. Sometimes, when she didn’t think anyone was around, Laura would move gracefully around the room, dancing with abandon for no one but herself. Lesley Lu had watched her, unnoticed, many times through the stairway spindles as Laura moved silently with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. Lulu recognized this voice but had never really stopped to listen to the words. She smiled to herself.
"I saw mom and dad dance to this song once," she said.
Tiffany turned her attention to Lulu. "You did?"
"Yeah," Lulu told her. "It was a Saturday afternoon and mom had been ironing. Dad had gone out to do some errands and must have come in through the kitchen door. Anyway, I was sitting on the stairs, watching mom as she danced alone to her music. She must have sensed dad was in the room but she never opened her eyes, and she didn’t seem startled when he took her hand and pulled her to him. I remember her smile got bigger and she leaned her head back and dad kissed her. He put his arm around her waste and moved slowly with her....I use to love to watch them dance."
Tiffany smiled at the image of her friends. "This song came out the year your mother miraculously returned home," Tiffany told her. "Oh, it was a good year! It’s a good song...."
They were quiet for a moment, listening then Lulu asked. "Will you help me put my locket on?"
"Sure," Tiffany replied. She picked-up the locket and moved to the mirror that hung over the writing desk.
Lulu was getting tall, she thought. She had almost caught up to Tiffany’s height. Lesley Lu picked up her hair as Tiffany dropped the locket down over her neck and fastened the clasp.
Lulu touched her hand to the locket as she looked in the mirror at the reflection of herself with her Godmother. She recalled so many times when she had done this very thing with her mother. She couldn’t find the right words to express her gratitude to Tiffany so she just smiled.
Tiffany leaned her head close to Lulu’s ear and whispered as she stared in the mirror at Laura’s daughter. "Right after Sean was shot, you were just a baby then....It was an awful time! Frank Smith had targeted him. Anyway, we all knew that Sean and I were going to have to disappear for a while, though we didn’t talk about it. It wasn’t decided until the last minute that we would secretly leave General Hospital that night, and I didn’t get to see your mother on that day. I only saw your father...
"However, the day before, your mother came and sat with me while Sean had surgery. We didn’t talk a lot; we didn’t have to. She just held my hand or brought me coffee. Your mother knew exactly the type of things that were running through my mind. She had experienced it so many times herself. Before your mother left to go home, she took this locket off and put it on me. It was as if she knew that she wasn’t going to see me for a while," Tiffany leaned her head against Lulu’s just as she had done with Laura so many times before. "It got me through a lot of lonely times."
Lesley Lu leaned her head back against Tiffany’s chest as she fought back tears. She understood why her godmother had given it to her. She touched the locket again. It was like having a tiny piece of both of them wrapped up in a tiny little heart that she could physically carry with her. Lulu looked into Tiffany’s eyes that were looking back at her in the mirror.
"I’ll take good care of it."
For a minute, Tiffany thought she was looking at Laura. Gently, she kissed the side of Lulu’s head. "I know you will..."

http://youtu.be/tVKoytRnEOw [It Might Be You/Stephen Bishop]