Corpse Suzette

movements matched the tempo, shaking, swaying, and shimmying,
until her body glistened with the sweat of extreme exertion. Just when it
seemed she surely couldn’t continue, the music paused, then switched back to
the original playful, happy song.
    But this time, as the woman
danced off the stage and through the crowd, interacting once again, there was a
distinct difference in her movements. She was stronger, more confident, more
decisive in her motions.
    “See,” Savannah said,
“she’s still happy, still joyful, but with all the authority of a grown woman
who’s been through the fire and emerged whole.”
    Abigail nodded as they
watched the dancer bow to her audience —who responded with wild applause—then
disappear out the door.
    “She’s beautiful!” Abby
said, her eyes sparkling, her face flushed. “She’s so, so, so...”
    “I know.”
    Abby shook her head in
disbelief. “And she’s not even skinny.”
    “Or especially young.”
    “I’d say she’s downright
plump. But she’s so graceful, and look at them... they love her!”
    “Of course they do,”
Savannah replied. “She’s courageous enough to let her spirit shine through, to
express her joy and pride in herself through movement and music right here in
front of everyone. And she allows the rest of us to feel it too when we watch
her. That’s quite a gift.”
    Abigail nodded
thoughtfully. “It is. For her and {ox us.” She turned to Savannah
and smiled, then gave her a hearty hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget
her... or you, for bringing me here.”
    Savannah returned the
embrace. “Miss Abigail, you’re pretty darned unforgettable yourself.”
    “Now,” Abby jumped up from
her chair and glanced at her watch, “if you don’t mind, I have a date. He
should be arriving here any minute now.” She glanced toward the door. “Hey,
there he is now.”
    Savannah turned toward the
entrance and was surprised to see a smiling Jeremy Lawrence standing there,
looking as gorgeous as ever in a pale blue silk shirt and navy slacks. He was
holding a red rose in one hand. He spotted them right away and headed in their
direction.
    “Oh...” Savannah gulped.
“Oh, I didn’t... I mean... wow! You go, girl!”
    Abby laughed. “He’s taking
me to Santa Tesla Island to look at the lighthouse.”
    Savannah glanced at her own
watch. “But it’s almost nine o’clock. You’ll barely even make it out there
before you have to turn around and come back. The last ferry leaves there
around eleven, you know.”
    “I know.” Abby smiled,
reached for the grinning Jeremy and gave him a lusty kiss on the lips. “And
with any luck, we’ll miss it... just like you and Dirk.”
    The two of them hurried
away, leaving Savannah standing there with a sappy grin on her face and a warm
feeling in her heart. “Well, hopefully not exactly like me and Dirk,”
she said.
    “ Bon voyage .”
     
    The next day, Savannah and
Tammy sat next to each other on Savannah’s sofa, looking through the latest
Victoria’s Secret catalogue, which had just arrived in the morning’s mail.
    “I loaned Abby my cell
phone,” Tammy said with a slight pout. “I’ve called her four times. You’d think
she’d at least pick up and tell me she’s okay over there on that island.”
    Savannah smiled. “She’s
fine. She’ll come up for air eventually.”
    Someone knocked on the
front door and Savannah yelled, “Who is it?”
    “The big bad wolf.”
    “Come in, Dirk,” she yelled
back. “Use your key.”
    He entered, wearing a
contented, peaceful smile.
    “You must have just busted
somebody,” Savannah said, looking up from her catalogue. “You have that
all’s-right-with-the-world look on your face.”
    “I just heard that Loco
Roco’s back in for at least another three years.”
    “I knew it was something
like that.”
    He glanced over to see what
they were looking at. “What’re you two doing there?”
    “Ordering new undies,”
Savannah said with a chuckle. “Wanna help?”
    "No.”
    “You sure?”
    He grinned. “I’ll take the
catalogue home with me when you’re done with it though.”
    Tammy snatched it up and
held it to her chest. “No way, you perv. We’re going to be ordering for weeks.
We’ve got money to spend. Lots and lots of money.”
    “Yeah,” Savannah said.
“Clare Du Bois came by earlier and dropped off a really nice check for us. The
money that Myrna embezzled, it goes back to Suzette’s estate, and Clare’s