“I’ve never even lit up a joint,” Angela asserted. “Can you say the same?”
Jimmy laughed and admitted that he couldn’t.
“What would you like to see happen now?” he asked.
“In my wildest dreams?”
Jimmy wondered if she would admit her attraction to Richard.
“Enough money to start over.” She must think the lawyer was beyond reach, either that or she wasn’t as smitten as his friend.
“I think I might go back to school,” she continued. “Become a lawyer. Put my devious streak to good use.”
Jimmy laughed.
“I can see you as a lawyer,” he admitted. “Let’s get Aggie in here.”
“You’re not going to tell her about the Gioacometti?”
“Temporary insanity. I plead you not guilty and the charges are dropped.”
“Thank you,” Angela smiled. Her body sagged back into the chair.
“Aggie,” Jimmy went to the door and called. She looked up from the living room sofa but didn’t move. “Will you come join us?”
She turned her back and sat still. Jimmy walked into the living room.
“My relationship with your sister is separate from my relationship with you,” he explained from the seat beside her. “Just like my relationship with your father.”
“Do we have a relationship?” she asked.
Jimmy smiled and kissed her forehead.
“Come into the library.”
She stood and walked back through the lobby ahead of him.
“Here’s my offer.” Jimmy stood before the two seated twins. “Aggie will finished out the last three nights of the contract with me. I will give you the hundred-twenty thousand dollars to split however you want between you.”
“It’s that simple?” Angela asked.
“That’s it?” Aggie added.
Jimmy nodded to them both.
“Three more nights.”
“Tomorrow is Christmas,” Aggie reminded him.
“We’ll celebrate.”
“Excuse me,” Angela interrupted. She looked down at the floor, then she lifted her chin and continued. “Was that one hundred-twenty thousand in American or Canadian money?”
Jimmy chuckled.
“The ad was in a U.S. newspaper,” she reminded him.
“You’ll make a good attorney,” he complimented her. “The money will be in U.S. currency.”
“Well, I’m leaving,” she smiled and stood.
“I’m coming too,” Aggie announced.
“What about…” Angela began.
“It’s okay,” Jimmy interrupted. “I understand. It’s been a long evening.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Aggie promised.
Jimmy led the twins back to the lobby and helped them into their coats, pulling his on as well.
“No need to pretend with a cab anymore,” he commented.
He escorted them down to the lobby and out the door. The three walked the short blocks along the waterfront back to the Sylvia, where Angela said goodnight and slipped inside. Ignoring the passersby, Jimmy pulled Aggie into his arms and squeezed.
“It’s midnight,” he told her with a hard kiss onto closed lips.
“Merry Christmas.”
“Be ready to celebrate,” he whispered in her ear. Then he tipped up her chin and gave her a preview. It would be a merry Christmas indeed.
Chapter 24
Aggie spent Christmas morning with her family and Andrew. She and Angela had bought each other identical presents, a red silk nightgown and robe. They laughed when they opened them, and explained to Andrew and Mary that it had happened before. That evening the older Trouts took Andrew and Angela out for Christmas dinner while Aggie went to Jimmy’s. Her father and Mary obviously thought the personal ad romance was sailing smoothly. But they didn’t know about the money.
Aggie thought about little else. One hundred-twenty thousand dollars. Jimmy was paying her ten thousand dollars a night to have sex with him. He knew, he must know, that she would be happier if the money hadn’t been offered, hadn’t been taken. But it had. And Angela needed the money. Aggie thrust aside the ugly image that arose in her mind. Her alternatives seemed to be Jimmy and money, or no Jimmy and no money. She wanted Jimmy.
She had gone out the day before looking for a Christmas gift for him. What could she get a man who could blow off, literally, a hundred thousand dollars? The search was hopeless. Finally she made a phone call to a friend in Cincinnati. With luck, the gift would arrive at Jimmy’s by special messenger tonight.
She dressed in festive red and green, red pants and a green and red striped tunic blouse. She felt foolish but hoped the clothes would brighten her mood. Jimmy had promised they would celebrate and she didn’t intend to disappoint him. She twirled in front of the mirror and smiled. She looked like an elf, a very tall elf.
Aggie decided to walk the short blocks to Jimmy’s apartment. Her cheeks and nose were freezing by the time she entered the lobby of the building and Jimmy’s arms. He hugged her tight and then hurried her upstairs to the warmth of the apartment. When she took off her coat, he laughed and hugged her again, calling her his little elf. Aggie’s spirits rose as the minutes passed in Jimmy’s presence. By the time they finished a sumptuous turkey dinner complete with flaming Christmas pudding, Aggie had forgotten about the money. She was with the man she loved and that was all that mattered.
The buzzer rang while Jimmy was in the kitchen getting them coffee, so Aggie pushed the release button for the elevator. She hoped her package for Jimmy had arrived. It had. She thanked and tipped the messenger and carried the parcel into the living room. Jimmy met her with their coffees.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Merry Christmas,” she smiled as she handed him the package.
“What’s this?’
“Open it,” she prodded, then added, “I couldn’t think what to get you.”
Aggie watched as Jimmy carefully peeled off the tape and folded back the cardboard. The item inside was wrapped in tissue.
“I made it when I was in grade ten,” she explained. “I hope you like it.”
“I love it,” Jimmy answered as he held up an elongated clay figure.
“I thought it looked a little like that statue you have in the library.”
“The Giacometti?”
“I guess. Is that really a Giacometti?”
Jimmy nodded. “And now I have a Trout.”
Aggie laughed. “It’s kind of a cross between Gumby and a self-portrait.”
“I recognized you instantly,” Jimmy said with a straight face. “I love it.”
“Merry Christmas,” Aggie smiled.
Jimmy kissed first the statue and then her. Then he set the figure carefully on the coffee table and left the room.
“I got you something too,” he explained as he returned holding a large box.
Aggie grinned and took the box onto her lap.
“I love presents,” she told him. “This is heavy.”
“Open it.”
Aggie untie the bows and slid her finger under the tape, carefully preserving each piece. Jimmy waited patiently through the several minute procedure.
“I like the anticipation,” Aggie explained. “Once the present is open, it’s done. Oh!”
She lifted the lid off the inner box.
“It’s a Samuel Johnson!” She recognized the ornate lettering on the cover of the book immediately. She wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s throat. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“I guess you like it.” He cleared his throat as she lifted the top volume out of the box.
“There’s another one,” she commented.
“It’s a three volume set. The closest I could get to the original print date.”
“It’s wonderful!” Aggie exclaimed again. She had never gotten such a valuable gift or such a carefully appropriate one. “You’re wonderful!”