"Mimi, darlin', you're gonna have to calm down for me, ok?" It was killing Christina inside to listen to the warmth in Jolly's voice when she talked to Mimi. Only a day had pa.s.sed since she had been on the receiving end of the same affection. "You can explain, but you don't have to."

"I want you to understand," Christina tried again.

"What, that you have the ability to bed women?" Jolly let loose some of her temper and it was Mimi who pressed her feet into the elevator floor to keep Jolly back when another couple walked in and didn't know how to react to the tension.

"Come on, Jolly, I think we should walk Ms. Griffin to her car," suggested Mimi.

"Please, Jolly, she didn't mean...," started Christina.

"Don't!" Jolly pointed a finger in her direction. "Don't insult me by finishing that sad excuse. You want to f.u.c.k someone else, that's your prerogative, but don't do it and expect me to believe it doesn't matter. Be a big girl and own up to it. I don't own you and you sure as h.e.l.l don't own me." Mimi decided she'd best hang on to the back of Jolly's pants since she had never seen her this mad.

Christina ignored her and put her hands out palms up in a plea of mercy. "It didn't matter. She was someone I used to live with and she ran into my parents on their flight. I didn't mean for it to happen. Jan's my past, but I want a future with you." Christina stood in front of Jolly not caring that Mimi hadn't left the architect's side. If there was a chance Jolly would give her another chance, Christina didn't mind the size of the audience present to hear her begging. Mimi just snorted and walked back to the door not willing to listen to anymore of the explanations Christina had. If Jolly wanted to pulverize her it would be something Mimi was willing to live with.

"That's one big joke; a future with you? I don't think so. As your architect let me explain to you what a bad idea building on a faulty foundation can be. I think that holds true for most things in life."

"It's one mistake, Jolly, one." Christina put her index finger up to make her point, only making Jolly madder.

"Me finding you with your face buried between some woman's legs is not a mistake. That would fall under the category of cl.u.s.ter f.u.c.k. If you can't grasp that concept, it tells me you're more sorry you got caught than that you were a willing partic.i.p.ant."

"I'll give you some time to get over your anger, then I'll call you," said Christina before turning and getting into her car.

Jolly stood on the sidewalk and shook her head. "Yeah, you do that."

"You ok, big guy?" Mimi asked as they rode back up to Jolly's place. The new elevator key was already resting on Mimi's key ring in her pocket, and Mimi was resting against Jolly's chest.

"Just irritated I guess. She acted like some kinda delicate flower for over a month, then some woman from her past comes along and she's doing the nasty two minutes later," said Jolly as she put her arms around Mimi and looked at the roof of the elevator.

Jolly's looking up was the reason she missed the big smile that broke across Mimi's face momentarily. "You didn't sleep with her, and that's why you're upset?" Yeah, they never slept together.

"Please. I'm not wired that way, Mimi, so no that's not why I'm upset. When you meet someone, let's say at a bar, they come across with certain intentions." Jolly kept her arms around Mimi but moved her head to look into the green eyes.

"With you so far."

"You buy some drinks and maybe breakfast, depends on the girl. But when someone works you up to a point and keeps backing off, well that can only mean two things."

Mimi pulled Jolly out of the elevator by her belt and pushed her to sit on the nearest sofa. "Go on, it's fascinating to hear how your mind works."

"If she does that it either means she's not really interested, or she wants it to mean something when it finally happens."

"And she made you think it would mean something, didn't she?" asked Mimi.

Jolly laughed and lowered her head. "Big dummy, huh?"

"Oh, Babe, no. It just makes you human. If you changed that about yourself, you wouldn't be my favorite person anymore. You want to come home with me and watch me paint? It's better than watching the gra.s.s grow." She pulled on the belt again trying to get Jolly to smile, smiling herself when it worked.

"Sure, shrimpy, sounds good." Mimi hitched a ride down to the car on Jolly's back teasing her all the way down. It would take her some time, but Mimi was convinced she could get Jolly on the right track.

For the next month Christina made arrangements with Tim when it came to making decisions about the house. The time away from Jolly was killing her, but she wanted enough time to pa.s.s to help Jolly forget. The architect never saw Christina watching her work from the levee on the afternoons she could get away from the gallery.

Lisa had been right in that Jan had taken off before the sheets got cold, and hadn't called since. Christina was convinced she'd never have found out her ex was in the city if Jan hadn't run into her parents on that plane. No amount of time ever taught her the final lesson on Jan. The woman was only interested in the hunt, and she had proven herself easy prey too many times. The gallery owner had tried to drown in a sea of women when Jan had finally walked out, but Jolly was going to be the one to put a stop to that. So what if I slept with Jan, Jolly should understand if she cared about me, thought Christina as she watched the tall woman talking to Mimi.

Christina was starting to get an uneasy feeling about the number of times she saw Mimi at the construction site. The bubbly blonde was the only one out there who constantly got into Jolly's personal s.p.a.ce and was never rebuffed. Whenever Mimi sat in the shade with her sketch pad Jolly had a hard time keeping the smile off her face and her eyes off the beautiful young woman.

The days that pa.s.sed made the form of the house that much more recognizable, and it gave Christina hope since Jolly was still so involved with the project. Lisa didn't make any comment the day Christina showed up in jeans and a light sweater. It was not her boss's usual business attire but she figured there was a reason behind it and Christina would eventually tell her. When an hour of silence pa.s.sed she broke down and asked.

"Taking the day off?"

"Just going out to the house to review some flooring choices. Tim said they're starting to brick today so the guys are concentrating on the interior," answered Christina not looking up from the doc.u.ment in her hand.

"Jolly going to be there?"

"I don't know, Lisa, would you like me to pa.s.s along a note for you if she's there?" The good relationship the women had shared suffered after what had happened with Jan. When Lisa sided with Jolly's decision not to see Christina anymore, the gallery owner had found it easier to blame her a.s.sistant than herself.

"Chris, I'm not your enemy here. You asked me and I told you the truth, don't hate me for it now." Lisa left the office before Christina could respond, and Christina didn't try to call her back.

"Just take the doors off the hinges and the forklift will be able to get through," yelled Jolly over the engine of the delivery truck. The electricians and plumbers had finished their job, so they could start putting up drywall. Piles of the white boards were stacked on the truck she was standing next to, ready to be unloaded.

"Heard you were looking for a few good men," said the deep voice behind her. Jolly turned around in disbelief having not seen the guy in months.

Jolly crossed her arms and stretched out to her full height, so she could take advantage of her inch advantage, and looked him over. The blonde hair tied back in a ponytail now reached the middle of his back, and the beard had a little more white mixed in but the green eyes never changed. "Not a sorry looking son of a b.i.t.c.h like you."

"Bite me, b.i.t.c.h."

"You'd better not let your daughter hear you say that. She'd kick your b.u.t.t. h.e.l.l she might anyway considering it's been, what, five months since she's heard from you?"

"Cut me some slack, Jolly. You're my secret weapon, man, when it comes to keeping me on Mimi's good side."

Jolly laughed and opened her arms to give him a hug. Ricky Mulle was a man who traveled the country on a Harley looking for construction jobs only to fill his stomach and his tank. It was the reason his ex-wife had taken their three children and married Anthony Holland.

"How's it going, Rick?" Jolly asked keeping her arm around his shoulder.

"Working up in Phoenix for awhile, but I missed my kid. Called Tim and he told me where I could find a job before I had to go over to Mimi's and crash empty handed." Ricky looked at Jolly and wondered if she had found what was staring her in the face for six years.

"She doesn't care about that, Rick, you know she just wants you where she can find you. You missed her show a couple of months back. Sold every piece before the night was over." Jolly picked up his tool bag and threw it into the back of her truck. She wanted to go home and give Mimi her surprise.

"Thought you had dry wall to put up?" Ricky pointed to the forklift pa.s.sing by into the house.

"I've got a whole d.a.m.n house worth, but that'll keep. We have a lady to see about some paint," said Jolly. They were two blocks pa.s.sed the driveway when Christina's car pulled into the construction site.

When they reached the house, Ricky got out of the truck and leaned against the front looking at the new set of porch rockers Mimi had out front. He figured Jolly had been a busy girl since his last visit. The unlocked front door made him shake his head when Jolly opened it and walked right in, Mimi would never change.

"Jolly!" Mimi cried running over to hug her when she heard Jolly step into the studio. "You aren't sick are you?" She asked feeling Jolly's forehead.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to come home early and bring you something."

Home? The word was put away in Mimi's heart like a gold coin in a treasure chest. "A table to go with my new rockers?"

"Better, come on." Jolly took her hand and led Mimi to the front door. The shriek the blonde let out when she saw her father left Jolly a little light headed.

"Daddy, it's really you. Jolly get his stuff and put it in his room. You're staying right? Jolly's got stuff for you to do, and I want you to stay." She turned and looked at Jolly, "You have stuff for him to do, right?"

Ricky hugged Mimi close to his chest and laughed at the rambling. From her first word, he remembered Mimi had had only one speed for talking. Rapid fire, so you were agreeing to stuff you had no intention to, and by the time you figured it out she was off to the next subject.

"Slow down, baby girl, I'm staying and I got a job set up starting tomorrow. The boss was nice enough to give me the afternoon off with pay." Ricky smiled at the arched brow shot his way from Jolly.

"You're working for Jolly, right?"

"He's working for Jolly," answered Jolly getting her another hug when Mimi latched on to her. "Now bring my vacationing worker in for his grilling and I'll leave you alone to get it done." Mimi pouted at the fact Jolly was leaving and tried her best sad puppy dog eyes to get her to change her mind. "The sooner I get done, the sooner I can come back and take you two out to dinner."

"Promise you won't be late?" asked Mimi looking up at Jolly through blonde lashes.

"I promise, shrimpy, go have fun with your dad."

"Thanks for bringing him over and not making him work the rest of the day."

Jolly handed Ricky his tools before heading back to the site. She planned to lock up his bike for the night so he could have an uninterrupted night with Mimi. The two blondes watched the old Ford pickup turn the corner driving out of sight before heading into the house.

"You haven't told her, have you?" Ricky asked his daughter as they stepped into the house. Jolly's hand was everywhere he looked and it made him feel good. He had never been able to temper his wanderl.u.s.t, so having someone like Jolly take care of Mimi made him feel less guilty.

"This isn't open to discussion with her, daddy. Besides, she's getting over a broken heart." Mimi reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. Except for the hair and gender thing, Jolly and her dad were a lot a like. "Want to see the new dresser I got out of the deal?"

"Jolly loves you, Mimi, she just needs a little push to figure it out."

"She's my sister, daddy. Even the great state of Louisiana frowns on such unions," teased Mimi. They had had this conversation every time they were together from the first time Ricky had seen the two of them together.

"Honey, Jolly's not related to you. Your mother was her father's secretary and they ended up with the same last name through marriage. If you're fond of the name Andolini then marry her. Trust me, it's the one way I'll be happy for you to get it tacked on after Mulle, and I'd love to see the look on big Tony's face the day that happens. You have to love a plan that makes everyone happy."

"Promise me you won't say anything. Jolly's my best friend and if that's the only way I can get her, then I'll be happy." Mimi looked up at him and looked into his eyes. Ricky might have never been around as much as she had wanted him to, but like Jolly, he wasn't a liar.

"I promised you when you were sixteen, Mimi, and I promise you now, I won't say anything. The other thing I promise is, the day she finally wakes up and finds you standing there, I'm going to whack her one upside the head. She's brilliant at so many things except for the one that's the most important. Tell me about your show?" Ricky put his feet up on the kitchen chair across from him and put his chin in his palm to listen to his daughter talk. He missed this most of all when he got the urge to hit the road. Mimi always made everything sound like an adventure you were sorry you missed sharing while it was happening.

The tour of the house came next and Ricky spent a half an hour looking at the dresser Mimi had bragged about. The detail of the piece and the hours he knew Jolly had put into it, made it easy to decide how he would spend the next few months. No one put that kind of work into something for someone they weren't in love with. Ricky wanted to give his daughter the one gift that would make up for all the disappointments she had experienced because of him.

"You two ready?" Jolly called on her way home wanting to know what they were in the mood for. Ricky was a man of simple taste so there would be no gourmet meal in her future tonight.

"You promised you wouldn't be late."

"Honey, it's four thirty in the afternoon. I usually don't get home until six. I'm not late. Tell me where you want to go so I can dress accordingly."

The blonde was currently standing in front of her closet in her underwear wondering the same thing. "You aren't coming here first?"

"At the moment I'm covered in white dust. I think you'll want me to take a shower first. How about twenty minutes, a fresh pair of jeans and I come pick you up?"

"You think he'll want to be a little more adventurous than Mexican tonight?" Mimi asked as she tapped the nail of her index finger against her front teeth as she visually looked through all the stuff hanging in front of her.

"This is Ricky Mulle we're talking about, right? Take one of those l's out of the last name and you'll have your answer."

"Jolly, be nice, he's my father," laughed Mimi.

"I know, now put something on and I'll be there in a few minutes." Mimi looked at the phone and wondered how Jolly knew she wasn't dressed. When she couldn't, she just stuck her tongue out at the receiver before putting it back in its cradle.

Ricky let Jolly in when she knocked thirty minutes later, both of them surprised Mimi wasn't ready to go. He handed her a beer and they stepped out to the backyard to discuss an addition Jolly was considering for the house. The home Mimi had moved into three years before had been a dilapidated mess when Jolly had purchased it for pennies on the dollar almost right out of school. It had been her idea to fix it up a little and put it back on the market, but Mimi had fallen in love with its location.

The modest house sat on a large expanse of land a couple of blocks off St. Charles Avenue. It was the size of the lot that had made Jolly think it was a good investment since the house could be added to extensively still leaving a good sized yard. The best thing about the place was it backed up to Audubon Park.

In the middle of one of New Orleans's oldest neighborhoods, Audubon Park was a huge haven of ma.s.sive oaks and colorful flowers. The city planners had set aside enough land to eventually include a public golf course, playgrounds, picnic areas and a two-mile track that circled the whole thing. To the front was the famous St. Charles avenue and Tulane University, and to the back was the revamped Audubon Zoo. The fact Mimi could have all that by just walking out the back door was what had grabbed her from the moment she stepped into the house. Like in most things, Jolly had given in and aside from repairs to make it livable, the only addition she had made was the large studio at the back.

Stucco dividers held up the large panes of gla.s.s that mostly made up the walls letting in light no matter what time of day it was. On the floors Jolly had put thin strips of long leaf pine that had been varnished to a high shine, not for looks but for easy cleaning. The paint that dripped off Mimi's brush was buffed up once a week by the crew Jolly hired to clean the house. When Mimi had protested, Jolly told her beautiful women shouldn't waste time doing housework.

"I'm thinking you should consider a nice gazebo out here under the oaks," said Ricky. He took a swig out of his beer and pointed to the spot in the yard he was talking about. Jolly nodded her head and tried to picture how that would look.

Behind them Mimi stepped out to the patio and cleared her throat to pull their attention away from the talk of wood. Jolly turned around to say h.e.l.lo when the beer she had been drinking slipped without notice from her fingers. The splatter reached even Ricky's jeans when the bottle shattered after hitting the floor.

The wet spots on her pants snapped Jolly out of the trance she was in and she looked down as if not sure where the bottle had come from, much less how it broke. Mimi was standing there in a pair of black leather pants with matching vest with nothing on underneath. The curve hugging material did everything but have arrows saying 'look here' to accentuate Mimi's figure, and Jolly was having a hard time breathing all of sudden.

"You ok there, Jolly?" asked Ricky slapping her on the back. Mimi shot her father a warning glare before his questions got any further out of hand.

"I'm sorry, it just slipped out of my hand. Let me get a broom and clean this up before we go." Jolly walked into the kitchen and got the broom and dustpan out of the closet, cursing herself mentally with every step.

The hose washed away the beer after Jolly had gotten all the gla.s.s into the garbage. She had made Mimi and Ricky go inside to wait on her so they wouldn't get wet. The double paned doors she had installed out to the patio kept Jolly from hearing Ricky's roar of laughter.

"d.a.m.n, girl, I think Jolly just got a clue you aren't sixteen anymore. Nice choice of outfit, Mimi."

Mimi's blush ruined her plan to deny the allegation so she just said, "Thanks. I just get curious every so often to see if she's paying attention."

"You struck her dumb, sweetheart, I'm thinking that counts as paying attention. Jolly, all finished?" Ricky's voice rose to let Mimi know their friend was finished and standing at the door.

"Yeah, I smell like a brewery, but if you two can live with it, I'm ready. How about Tacqueria Corona on Magazine street?" Jolly picked up the last piece of leather apparel to Mimi's outfit and held it up for her. The black jacket matched a larger version of one Jolly owned but it was a rarity for them to have to pull them out so soon into the fall season.