Palomino (1981) Read online

  When the tub was full of steaming water, Samantha slipped slowly into it, let herself just lie there, and closed her eyes. For a brief moment she felt as though she were floating, as though she had no past, no future, no fears, no worries, and then little by little the present forced itself into her mind. The account she was currently working on was a disaster. It was a line of cars the agency had coveted for a decade, and now she had to come up with the whole concept herself. She had come up with a series of suggestions relating to horses, with commercials to be shot in open country or on ranches, with an outdoorsy-looking man or woman who could make a big splash in the ads. But her heart wasn't really in it, and she knew it, and she wondered briefly for how long this would go on. For how long would she feel somehow impaired, damaged, as though the motor ran but the car would never again get out of first gear? It was a feeling of dragging, of pulling down, like having lead hair and hands and feet. When she stepped out of the tub, with her long silky hair piled in a loose knot atop her head, she wrapped herself carefully in a huge lilac towel and then padded barefoot into her room. Here again there was the feeling of a garden, a huge four-poster was covered with white eyelet embroideries and the bedspread was scattered with bright yellow flowers. Everything in the room was yellow and bright and frilly. It was a room she had loved when she did the apartment, and a place she hated now as she lay in it night after night alone.

  It wasn't that there had not been offers. There had been, but she was immobilized by the interminable sensation of being numb. There was no one whom she wanted, no one about whom she cared. It was as though someone had turned off the faucet to her very soul. And now as she sat on the edge of the bed and yawned softly, remembering that she had eaten only an egg-salad sandwich for lunch and skipped both breakfast and dinner, she jumped as she heard the buzzer from downstairs. For a moment she thought about not answering, and then, dropping the towel and reaching hastily for a quilted pale blue satin robe, she ran toward the intercom as she heard the bell again.

  Yes?

  Jack the Ripper here. May I come up?

  For a fraction of an instant the voice was unfamiliar in the garbled static of the intercom, and then suddenly she laughed, and as she did she looked like herself again. Her eyes lit up, and her cheeks still wore their healthy glow from the warm tub. She looked younger than she had in months. What are you doing here, Charlie? she shouted into the speaker in the wall.

  Freezing my ass off, thanks. You gonna let me in? She laughed again and rapidly pressed the buzzer, and a moment later she could hear him bounding up the stairs. When he arrived in her doorway, Charles Peterson looked more like a lumberjack than the art director of Crane, Harper, and Laub, and he looked more like twenty-two than thirty-seven. He had a full, boyish face and laughing brown eyes, dark shaggy hair and a full beard, which was now dusted with sleet. Got a towel? he said, catching his breath, more from the cold and the rain than from the stairs.

  She rapidly got him a thick lilac towel from her bathroom and handed it to him; he took off his coat and dried his face and beard. He had been wearing a large leather cowboy hat that now funneled a little river of ice water onto the French rug. Peeing on my carpet again, Charlie?

  Now that you mention it' got any coffee?

  Sure. Sam looked at him strangely, wondering if anything was wrong. He had come to visit her once or twice before at the apartment, but usually only when something major was on his mind. Something happen with the new account that I should know? She glanced out at him from the kitchen with a worried look, and he grinned and shook his head as he followed her to where she stood.

  Nope. And nothing's going to go wrong. You've been on the right track with that all week. It's going to be fabulous, Sam.

  She smiled softly as she started the coffee. I think so too. The two exchanged a long, warm smile. They had been friends for almost five years, through countless campaigns, winning awards and teasing and joking and working till four A.M. to coordinate a presentation before showing it to the client and the account men the next day. They were both the wunderkinder of Harvey Maxwell, titular creative director of the firm. But Harvey had sat back for years now. He had found Charlie at one agency and hired Samantha from another. He knew good people when he found them. He had given them their heads and sat back with glee as he watched what they created. In another year he would retire, and it was everyone's bet, including Samantha's, that she would inherit his job. Creative director at thirty-one was not bad at all. So what's new, kiddo? I haven't seen you since this morning. How's the Wurtzheimer stuff going?

  Well' Charlie threw up his hands with an expression of acceptance. How much can you do for one of the largest department stores in St. Louis that has big bucks and no taste?

  What about the swan theme we talked about last week?

  They hated it. They want flash. Swans ain't flash.

  Sam rolled her eyes and sat down at the large butcher-block table as Charlie sprawled his lanky form into one of the chairs across from her. It was strange, she had never been drawn to Charlie Peterson, not in all the years they had worked together, traveled together, slept on planes together, talked into the wee hours together. He was her brother, her soul mate, her friend. And he had a wife she loved almost as much as he did. Melinda was perfect for him. She had decorated their big friendly apartment on East Eighty-first with brightly colored tapestries and beautifully woven baskets. The furniture was all covered in a deep mahogany-colored leather and everywhere one looked were wonderful little art objects, tiny treasures Melinda had discovered and brought home, everything from exotic seashells they had collected together in Tahiti, to one perfect marble she had borrowed from their sons. They had three boys, all of whom looked like Charlie, a large unmannerly dog named Rags, and an enormous yellow Jeep Charlie had driven for the past ten years. Melinda was also an artist, but she had never been corrupted by the workaday world. She worked in a studio and had had two successful shows of her work in the past few years. In many ways she was very different from Samantha, yet the two women had a gentleness in common, a softness beneath the bravado that Charlie treasured in both. And in his own way he loved Samantha, and he had been rocked to the core by what John had done. He had never liked him anyway and had always pegged him for an egocentric ass. John's rapid desertion of Samantha and subsequent marriage to Liz Jones had proved to Charlie that he was right, as far as he was concerned at least. Melinda had tried to understand both sides, but Charlie hadn't wanted to hear it. He was too worried about Sam. She'd been in lousy shape for the past four months, and it showed. Her work had suffered. Her eyes were dead. Her face was gaunt.

  So what's doing, madame? I hope you don't mind my coming over so late.

  No. Samantha smiled as she poured him a cup of coffee. I just wonder how come you're here. Checking up on me?

  Maybe. His eyes were gentle above the dark beard. Do you mind that, Sam?

  She looked up at him sadly and he wanted to take her in his arms. How could I mind that? It's nice to know someone gives a damn.

  You know I do. And so does Mellie.

  How is she? Okay? He nodded. They never had time to talk about things like that in the office.

  She's fine. He was beginning to wonder how he was going to lead into what he wanted to tell her. It wasn't going to be easy, and he knew that she might not take it well.

  So? What's up? Samantha was suddenly looking at him with amusement. He feigned an innocent expression and Samantha tweaked his beard. You've got something up your sleeve, Charlie. What is it?

  What makes you say that?

  It's pouring rain outside, it's freezing cold, it's Friday night, and you could be at home with your warm, cozy wife and your three charming children. It's difficult to imagine that you came all the way over here just for a cup of coffee with me.

  Why not? You're a lot more charming than my children. But he hesitated briefly you're right. I didn't just happen to drop by. I came up here to talk to you. God, it was awful. How co
uld he tell her? He suddenly knew that she'd never understand.

  And? Come on, out with it. There was a spark of mischief in her eye that he hadn't seen for a long time.

  Well, Sam ' He took a deep breath and watched her closely. Harvey and I were talking

  About me? She looked instantly uptight, but he nodded and went on. She hated people talking about her now. Because they always talked about how she was and what John had done.

  Yeah, about you.

  Why? The Detroit account? I'm not sure he understands my concept, but

  No, not about the Detroit account, Sam. About you.

  What about me? She thought that was over, that they weren't talking about her anymore. There was nothing left to talk about. The separation was over, the divorce had come and gone, and John was married to someone else. She had survived it. So? I'm fine.

  Are you? I think that's amazing. He looked at her with feeling and a trace of the anger he had felt all along for John. I'm not sure I'd be so fine in your shoes, Sam.

  I don't have any choice. Besides, I'm tougher than you are.

  You probably are. He smiled gently. But maybe not as tough as you think. Why not give yourself a break, Sam?

  What's that supposed to mean? Go to Miami and lie on the beach?

  Why not? He forced a smile and she looked at him, shocked.

  What are you telling me? Panic crept rapidly into her face. Is Harvey firing me? Is that it? Did he send you here to play hatchet man, Charlie? They don't want me anymore because I'm not as cheerful as I used to be? Just asking the questions, she felt her eyes fill with tears. Christ, what do you expect? I had a rough time' it was ' The tears began to choke her and she hurriedly stood up. I'm okay, dammit. I'm fine. Why the hell But Charlie grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to her seat with a gentle look in his eyes.

  Take it easy, babe. Everything's okay.

  Is he firing me, Charlie? A lone, sad tear crept down her cheek. But Charlie Peterson shook his head.

  No, Sam, of course not.

  But? She knew. She already knew.

  He wants you to go away for a while, to take it easy. You've given us enough to run with for a while on the Detroit account. And it won't kill the old man to think about business for a change. We can get along without you, as long as we have to.

  But you don't have to. This is silly, Charlie.

  Is it? He looked at her long and hard. Is it silly, Sam? Can you really take that kind of pressure and not buckle? Watching your husband leave you for someone else, seeing him on national television every night chatting with his new wife as you watch her pregnant belly growing? Can you really take that in stride without missing a step? Without missing a goddamn day at work, for chrissake, insisting on taking on every new account in the house. I expect you to crack yourself wide open sooner or later. Can you really put yourself on the line like that, Sam? I can't. I can't do that to you, just as your friend. What that son of a bitch did to you almost brought you to your knees, for God's sake. Give in to it, go cry somewhere, let go of it all and then come back. We need you. We need you desperately. Harvey knows that, I know it, the account guys know it, and you damn well better know it, but we don't need you sick or crazy or broken, and that's how you're going to wind up if you don't take the pressure off now.

  So you think I'm having a nervous breakdown, is that it? She looked hurt as well as shocked, but Charlie shook his head.

  Of course not. But hell, a year from now, you could. The time to take care of the pain is now, Sam, not later, when it's buried so deep that you can't find it anymore.

  I've already lived with it for this long. It's been four months.

  And it's killing you. It was a flat statement on his part and she didn't deny it.

  So what did Harvey say? She looked sad as her eyes met those of her friend. She felt somehow as though she had failed, as though she should have been able to handle it better.

  He wants you to go away.

  Where? She wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.

  Anywhere you want.

  For how long?

  He hesitated for only an instant before answering. Three or four months. What they had decided was that she would be better off away until John and Liz had had their much publicized child. Charlie knew what a blow it was to Samantha, and he and Harvey had talked it out over many a lunch, but neither could have been prepared for the look Charlie saw now on her face. It was a look of total disbelief, of shock, almost of horror.

  Four months? Are you crazy? What the hell is going to happen to our clients? What the hell will happen to my job? Jesus, you really took care of it, didn't you? What is it? You want my job all of a sudden, is that it? She jumped up from the table again and stalked away, but he followed her and stood facing her, looking down at her with sorrow in his eyes.

  Your job is a sure thing, Sam. But you've got to do this. You can't push yourself like this anymore. You have to get out of here. Out of this apartment, out of your office, maybe even out of New York. You know what I think? I think you should call that woman you like so much in California and go stay with her. Then come back when it's out of your system, when you're back among the living. It'll do you a hell of a lot of good.

  What woman? Samantha looked blank.

  The one you told me about years ago, the one with the horse ranch, Carol or Karen something, the old woman who was the aunt of your college roommate. You used to talk about her as though she were your dearest friend. She had been. Barbie had been her closest confidante besides John, and they had been college roommates. She had died two weeks after graduation in a plane crash over Detroit.

  There was suddenly a gentle smile in Samantha's eyes. Barbie's aunt' Caroline Lord. She's a wonderful woman. But why on earth would I go there?

  You like to ride, don't you? She nodded. Well, it's a beautiful place and it's about as different and as far from Madison Avenue as you can get. Maybe what you need is to park your fancy business wardrobe and pour that sexy body of yours into some jeans and chase cowboys for a while.

  Very funny, that's all I need. But the idea had struck some kind of chord. She hadn't seen Caroline in years. She and John had stopped to visit her once, it had been a three-hour drive north and east from L.A. and John had hated it. He didn't like the horses, thought the ranch was uncomfortable, and Caroline and her foreman had looked askance at him for his prissy city ways. A horseman he wasn't, but Samantha was an elegant horsewoman. She had been since she was a child. There had been a wild pinto pony on the ranch when they visited and she had ridden it, to Caroline's dismay. But she hadn't gotten hurt in spite of the horse throwing her half a dozen times as she tried to help break him to the saddle, and John had been instantly impressed by her skill. It had been a happy time in Sam's life and seemed a long time in the past as she looked up at Charlie now. I'm not even sure she'd have me. I don't know, Charlie. It's a crazy idea. Why don't you guys just leave me alone to finish my work?

  Because we love you, and you're going to destroy yourself like this.

  No, I'm not. She smiled valiantly at him, and slowly he shook his head.

  It doesn't matter what you say to me now, Sam. It was Harvey's decision.

  What was?

  Your leave of absence.

  It's definite, then? Once again she looked shocked and again he nodded his head.

  As of today. Three and a half months leave, and you can extend it to six if you want. They had called the station to ascertain Liz's due date, and tacked two more weeks on from there.

  And I won't lose my job?

  No. He slowly pulled a letter out of his pocket and gave it to Samantha to read. It was from Harvey and guaranteed her job even if she stayed away for six months. It was unheard of in their business, but as Harvey had put it, Samantha Taylor was a fairly extraordinary girl.

  Sam looked up sadly at Charlie. Does this mean I'm off as of today? Her lower lip trembled.

  That's what it means, lady. You're on vacat
ion as of right now. Hell, I wish I were.

  Oh, my God. She sank into a chair and covered her face with one hand. Now what am I going to do, Charlie?

  He gently touched her shoulder. Do what I told you, baby. Call your old friend on that ranch.

  It was a mad suggestion, but after he left, she began to think about what she was going to do. She went to bed still in a state of shock. For the next three and a half months, she was out of a job. She had nowhere to go, nothing to do, nothing she wanted to see, and no one to see it with. For the first time in her adult life she was totally without plans. All she had to do was have one meeting with Harvey the next morning to explain everything on her desk and after that she was free. As she lay there in the dark, feeling frightened, suddenly she began to giggle. It was crazy really, what the hell was she going to do with herself until April 1? April fool' the joke's on you' Europe? Australia? A visit to her mother in Atlanta? For an instant she felt freer than she ever had before. When she had left Yale, she had had John to think of, and now she had no one at all. And then, on an impulse, she reached for her address book in the darkness and decided to follow Charlie's advice. She flicked on the light and found the number easily under L. It would be nine thirty in California, and she hoped that it wasn't too late to call.