Chapter 6
I Need a Favor
Ellen's doorbell rings early Saturday morning and a delivery man hands her a huge bouquet of orange gladiolas.
Ellen feels giddy as she arranges them in a vase. Because kissing Patty was a revelation. It answered about a hundred questions she has had about Patty… from what she tastes like to whether she likes tongue (yes, but not too much) to how she feels about Ellen. Patty cherishes Ellen. Ellen can't doubt it anymore. It makes her want to kiss Patty a lot more. Also, she wants to do more than kiss.
She is troubled, however, by the fact that Patty was so completely in control (as opposed to Ellen, who was tipsy and ungracious). She wants to do something that will throw Patty off balance and remind her with whom she is dealing. She wants to do something bold and romantic and surprising. Maybe she should propose, she thinks. Well, no, okay, it's a little soon for that. A lot soon. But she makes an internal vow that, if they get that far, she will definitely do the proposing. Not Patty.
Oh, wow, Parsons, she thinks. Patty kissed you one time and you're hearing wedding bells. She shakes her head.
But throughout the day, she catches herself humming. And long about four o'clock in the afternoon, she has a thought that makes her fairly cackle.
She scrolls through her contacts and makes a call.
"Hey, Ethan? It's Ellen. Listen. I need a favor."
Patty is working at home on Sunday afternoon. Catherine went to a movie with a gaggle of her friends and won't be home until dinner time. Patty wants to call Ellen, but she judges she should wait, because they spoke on the phone yesterday.
Her hopes are raised when the phone rings, and then dashed when she sees a number she doesn't recognize.
"Miss Hewes?"
"Yes?"
"I need to meet with you. I have some information."
The caller is a man. He has a deep, pleasant voice.
"What kind of information?"
"I really can't say over the phone."
"How did you get this number?" she says.
"Alvin Gallagher at the D. A.'s office told me call you."
It's a name Patty trusts, so she relaxes. This has possibilities. She already has two witnesses lined up to testify against her target, and she has some documents that will pretty well cook his goose, too, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a few more tricks up her sleeve.
"Okay," she says. "Where do you want to meet me?"
"Central Park. In front of Cleopatra's needle. Can you be there at five o'clock?"
"Yes, that's fine," Patty says.
"I'll be wearing a dark suit and a red tie. See you there?"
"See you there."
Patty has been waiting several minutes, observing the promenade of roller bladers, dog walkers and joggers, when a voice behind her says, "Miss Hewes?"
She turns. As promised, the stranger is wearing a dark suit and a red tie. But he is much younger than Patty would have guessed from his voice – he looks about nineteen.
More surprising is the fact that behind him are no fewer than thirteen young men, all wearing dark suits and red ties.
"What is this?" Patty says cautiously. It feels like she has stepped into one of her more surreal dreams. She shivers a little.
"Miss Hewes, I have a message for you," the mystery caller says.
"Well?" Patty says impatiently.
The boy looks nervous. He turns a little pink. Then, to her complete stupefaction, he starts to sing.
"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars–"
And then there are fourteen boys singing –
"– Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars. In other words, hold my hand –"
Apparently there is choreography, too. A crowd is gathering and people are staring.
"– In other words, darling, kiss me…"
Patty wants to be peeved, she really does. She has better things to do, and besides, she was genuinely frightened for a second. But she can't help it. She cracks a smile. And then she throws her head back and laughs.
And she stays put and lets fourteen members of a male a cappella group from NYU sing her two more songs. She claps politely after each number.
Ellen pounces on her phone when it rings.
"Well, that was… interesting," Ethan, her cousin, says.
"How did she react?" Ellen says, a little anxiously.
"There are no words," Ethan says. "In a good way," he adds quickly. "Totally in a good way."
"Oh my God! I should have had someone videotape it. Come on, tell me."
"Well, first of all, she had no idea what was going on. So when I started singing, she looked at me like I'd just, I don't know, started coughing up baby animals."
Ellen snickers.
"And then she figured out what was happening and she looked sort of annoyed and really awkward, because people were watching –"
"—I thought you said it was good!"
"No, no, it was. Because then she started laughing, and she got this huge grin on her face and she didn't stop smiling for ten minutes."
This is better than Ellen could have hoped for. Her insides are doing a dance.
"Thank you, Ethan. Thank you so much. I owe you."
"Wait, you are paying us, right?"
"Yes, of course. I'll write you a check."
When Ellen gets off the phone, she sees she has a text.
"You're in trouble," it reads. She smirks.
