Chapter 29

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Tony Kramer came into the studio followed closely by Paul Christian. The two girls rose when the guys entered and just stood there.

“Hi, Tony,” Little Bit said softly. Only then did she realize that this was only the third time she had seen him ... and she was already carrying his child (although he didn’t know it).

Instead of replying, Tony came to her and took her in his arms. When they kissed, Little Bit realized that it had been the perfect response. It was only as they kissed that she realized how nervous she had become about the meeting. And their kiss was perfect.

Finally easing away, Tony turned to Paul and said, “Ann Harris, may I introduce Paul Christian to you? I can give him my unqualified recommendation. After all, we’ve been together practically every minute since we were about three months old and rolling around in the playpen together.”

Ann just looked at Paul. He lived up to Little Bit’s billing. He was so handsome! Ignoring his outstretched hand, she just moved close and did what Little Bit had done with Tony. She tipped his head down and kissed him ... and kissed him ... and kissed him. At the very first instant she could feel the electricity and began to hear the wonderful bells.

Although initially taken aback, Paul quickly recovered. Wrapping his arm around Ann’s waist he pulled her to him closely and then crushed her body to his. All that did was to cause her to writhe against him trying to maximize their points of contact. And the kiss he was receiving was far beyond anything he could have imagined. Although it was exactly like Tony’s description of kissing Little Bit, he realized that English vocabulary was inadequate for this purpose. Finally breathless, they eased apart.

“I love you, Ann,” Paul murmured.

“I adore you, Paul,” she whispered in response.

Then both of them giggled as they realized that those were the first words they had ever spoken to their mates. And both realized that it was a foregone conclusion that they would be married. In fact, it was a foregone conclusion that they would be sharing a bed later that night.

“Finished yet?” Little Bit asked caustically. “There are some of us who are getting hungry. Do we have to stand here watching you neck all night?”

“No,” Ann sighed. “Paul and I wouldn’t mind a bit if you and Tony neck, too.” Then she kissed him again using her tongue to chase his and then dueling with it in his mouth. When the tongues engaged, it was more of the same.

But finally they were off. Waiting outside was Tony’s mother’s car, a BMW 745Li. The girls smiled warmly at the guys who were standing there holding the doors for them. Both girls were wearing medium-length mink coats their mother, Marty, had given them.

When they were on their way, Tony took the opportunity to tease. “Golly, Little Bit, since you already have your mink, I guess there’s nothing left for me to get for you...”

Little Bit instantly picked up on his teasing. “Tony, darling, do you think I would do a thing like that to you? Of course there are things for you to buy me: something nice in chinchilla, perhaps ... and then there’s Russian sable ... And that’s before we even start on the jewels. No, sweetie,” she continued with her brightest smile, “there are lots of things left for you to buy me.”

Tony just shook his head as again he was reminded how brilliant and quick Little Bit’s mind really was. He concentrated on his driving.

But Little Bit wasn’t finished. “Darling, if you and Paul have never been separated, what was he doing while you were fucking every cunt in Southern California? At least,” she added blithely, “that’s what Mother says you did.”

“What was Paul doing?” Tony repeated. “Mostly he was telling me what an utter idiot I was being. And you know what? He was right, too.”

“Why didn’t Paul... ?” Little Bit asked, with her voice tailing off.

“Because he’s waiting — was waiting — for the girl of his dreams.” Tony paused to gather his thoughts, then continued, “The very first day we met, you said that you’re a one-man woman, and you decided that I’m the one man. Well, Paul feels the same way. He’s certain that he’s a one-woman man ... and clearly, Ann is that woman.” Again he paused and then added, “Good grief, are they ever in love!”

“Mmm...” Little Bit sighed. “Just like us.”

When they pulled up at Maxim’s, Little Bit and Ann were astonished to be greeted by the doorman by name. “Good evening, Misses Harris,” he said graciously, “and welcome to Maxim’s.” When Tony came around to give him his keys, the man said, “And good evening to you, Mr. Kramer, and welcome.” Then he added that the car would be taken care of and delivered back to the Kramer home.

“How’s that going to happen, and why?” Paul asked.

“It’s a service of the house, sir,” the man replied. “We’ll have a limo waiting for you and your party, as well as a professional driver for your car. The driver will follow the limo to your home, deliver the car, and ride back in the limo. It’s quite simple, really.”

Tony wondered how the doorman knew their names but then realized there weren’t that many BMW 745Lis, even in Hollywood. And getting its license number from his mother would have been no big deal. “But why do it?” Tony asked. “After all, we live to hell and gone in Orange County.”

“Maxim’s is very proud of its wine list,” the man replied, “and we don’t want to present a client with the choice of watching his friends drink without him or driving after more wine than is good for him.”

A sensible answer, Tony thought. But then he realized, That means wine will be served to us tonight. How neat!

Entering the restaurant, Little Bit’s heart dropped. The entrance lobby was jammed with customers waiting for tables. Only then did she realize that they were dining at the most popular dinner hour. We’re going to be waiting for hours! she thought with dismay.

But that was not the way it worked out. Seeing them enter, the maître d’ came rushing over. “Misses Harris, Mr. Kramer and Mr. Christian! Welcome to Maxim’s! Your table is waiting.” Then he looked more closely at Little Bit and Ann and slowly shook his head. “Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it! Such fabulous beauty!”

Little Bit acknowledged the compliment in perfect Parisian French. At that point the maître d’ extended his hand and said, “André Malraux at your service, mademoiselle.” Then he slowly shook his head and added, “I am a native of Paris, but your French is better than mine.” Then he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you two also play golf? I’ve already heard about your prowess in the kitchen.”

The two girls just nodded their heads a single time.

“And your handicaps?” Malraux persisted.

Little Bit held up a single finger while Ann put up two. When André raised an eyebrow in Ann’s direction she grimaced and said, “Can I help it if I’m always getting the yips when I’m putting? Particularly on short putts?”

André chuckled. “The yips? I can hardly believe it,” he said with his eyes dancing. “Why I think scarcely 95 percent of all golfers get the yips when they’re putting. I’m shocked ... shocked, I say ... that you should be included in such a small number.”

Ann just giggled. Then, using her mental filing system, she brought up information on André Malraux. “How did Molly do today?” she asked.

Malraux was amazed, but he had been warned about the girls’ astonishing minds. “She did okay,” he replied.

His response was received with a raised eyebrow from Ann.

“She’s leading by two strokes,” he admitted. “But it’s only after one round, though.”

“Is Molly doing her calendar again this year?” Little Bit asked.

To that question André laughed. “She is,” he admitted, “but with a couple of differences. First of all, she is announcing that it’s the last Molly Adams calendar. From now on they’ll be Molly Malraux calendars. Although,” he said, “we’re still talking about that. Molly insists on Malraux, but wants it to be Madeleine. But I think she should stick with Molly. After all, she’s been known for years — and has won the Women’s U.S. Open twice — as Molly Adams. No one has ever heard of Madeleine Malraux. And then there’s the second reason...” he added, and then stopped.

“Which is... ?” Ann prompted.

“In this year’s calendar — all she wears is a thong — she’s displaying a lovely abdominal bulge ... and her breasts are noticeably larger.”

“How utterly wonderful!” Little Bit exclaimed. Then she added, “I’ve seen a tape of your wedding in Paris.” Slowly she shook her head and continued, “Absolutely unreal! The sunlight shining through Notre Dame’s Rose Window ... even though it was a cloudy day.”

This time when she shook her head, it was in disgust. “What a bunch of hopeless idiots the folks in the mainstream media are! It never occurred to any of them to wonder how there could be sunlight streaming through a window on an overcast day. And beyond that, the colors were so utterly perfect. It was as if the window had just been installed that day rather than hundreds of years before.”

The entire conversation was taking place in machine-gun French. The patrons waiting for tables were becoming restive — to say the least — but André couldn’t care less. Rather, he continued the conversation with the two girls. “Do your fiancés play golf, too?” he asked.

The girls quickly confirmed what they already suspected: The guys played at about the same skill level as the girls. When they reported this, Malraux grinned and said, “I’ll make a deal with you: You four will be Molly and my guests for golf ... But...”