The Sandpiper
Author: Jasmin Eliot
Illustrated By: Dorothy Smart

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 2

"Whether in daylight or the soft electric glow of lamps, the Harrison house glowed with warm golds and reds. The house was earthy and rich in fabrics and textures. The hallway's deep brown carpet cushioned Derek's boots as the music softly played from overhead speakers. Derek walked into the upstairs bathroom which was decorated by gold-flecked wall coverings accented by deep brown towels. A vanilla candle burned by the sink. Derek had nearly closed the door when a woman wrapped her manicured, nails around the edge. Derek stepped back slightly as Cinnamon entered the room and softly closed the door. The warm candlelight lit the room. She smiled and curved close to Derek, her hands smoothly moving up his lapels. She looked directly into his eyes even when she kissed him. He kissed her in return, moving his hands from her shoulders, sliding his fingers against each side of her spine down to cup her curvaceous buttocks with both hands.

"This is crazy, Cin, you've got to get out of here. This is a small party, someone will miss us, probably my wife. She watches my every move."

"Check the hall, cutie." Cin stepped back slightly. Derek looked outside the door, "Coast is clear, Cinnamon." She ran her hand down the front of his pants and whispered close to Derek's face, "I'll call you soon."

Derek was turned on by Cinnamon's brashness. He enjoyed the excitement of being on the edge of discovery. He kissed Cinnamon lightly on the lips and she slipped out with a smile and a coquettish kiss on her lips as the door closed.

A few minutes later, when Derek came down the stairs into the lower hallway, his wife, Savannah, greeted him at the bottom of the stairs with an unhappy look. She squinted her eyes at Derek, "Where've you been? I thought it was your job to tend the bar. I went to get a drink and you were nowhere in sight. Apparently you had time to take care of everyone but me." Derek hadn't seen his wife since she went directly into the kitchen, after their arrival, to supervise the preparation of Manzo Brasato a la Lombarda, a dish of beef braised in stock and red wine. Lindy, Savannah and Bob Harrison had taken gourmet cooking classes together for the past two years. They all agreed that Savannah was the best chef among them.

Savannah wore an original gown that she had chosen in Paris last February when she and her sister, Doris, spent a month with their children in Europe. Her dark, shiny hair complemented the strapless pale green Saint Laurent dress with arrow-shaped copper clips down her right side from the waist to the above-the-knee hemline. The organza fabric was gathered across the front and held by the clips to enhance her slim figure. She wore a three strand copper bead necklace and copper colored heels. Except for the look of displeasure on her face, Derek thought she looked ravishing. Savannah was an expert tennis player and swimmer so her shoulders were broad and her arms well formed.

"Sorry, Savvy, I just slipped upstairs for a moment to the bathroom." Derek kissed his wife on the cheek and smiled. Her face softened slightly. "I'll go fix you a Wild Turkey on the rocks. Come to the bar with me, sweet lady."

"Don't think you're out of trouble yet."

Derek and his wife walked into the living room with his arm lightly draped around her shoulders. Savannah gracefully sat on a bar stool and Derek went behind the bar. In front of the guests, Savannah wore a smile and flirted with her husband. Her voice was heavily laden with her Southern accent. Savannah loved to play the southern belle displaying elaborate charm. Everyone was familiar with her background because she loved to talk about herself.

Savannah had started her nursing career ten years earlier in Florida as Bob Harrison's scrub nurse. Derek finished medical school at that time. Bob and Mona Harrison became mentors to the attractive young couple. When Bob Harrison was appointed chairman of the plastic surgery department at St. Agnes Hospital in San Francisco in 1990, he recruited Derek Yeates for his clinical staff. Derek had opened his private practice in the medical office building adjacent to St. Agnes and taught plastic surgery medicine at the hospital twenty hours a week.

"How's my favorite nurse?" Bob Harrison approached the bar and put his arm around Savannah's bare shoulders, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Just great now that I have both my husband and you by my side." Derek squeezed his wife's hand on the bar and smiled at her and his mentor.

"How are those beautiful godchildren of mine?"

Savannah's face glowed when she spoke of her children, "Keeping me very busy, Bob. Annie will be in a diving competition next weekend at the country club. Mona assured me you two will be there."

"On the front row, Savvy. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Bet you're really proud, Derek. You two are to be commended for ensuring your children get healthy exercise."

"I get the fun part of enjoying their achievements. Savvy has the everyday duty of getting Annie and Tony to schools and events. She does a great job of being a mother."

"Indeed she does. And, she's beautiful at the same time. I miss having your help in the OR, Savvy. Wish I could talk you into coming back at least part-time." Bob Harrison genuinely wished Savannah would return as his operating room nurse. She knew how to compliment him and soothe his nerves. The newer breed of career woman irritated Bob Harrison. The nurses and technicians at St. Agnes didn't know how to treat a genius surgeon like him. It had taken Dr. Harrison a long time and many interviews before he found Nurse Blackman. She was good, but no comparison to Savannah.

Mona Harrison appeared in the arch leading from the hallway into the warm glow of her living room. Mona's hair had turned prematurely white at age sixteen and gave her an elegant aura which she enhanced with designer clothes. Tonight her hair was pulled straight back and held with a black clip. Her evening dress was a Martine Sitbon black silk with cap sleeves, a round, scoop neckline which enhanced her long neck, and an asymmetrical hemline draped lower on her left leg. The only jewelry she wore was her pearls and diamond earrings which had been handed down by her wealthy grandmother. Mona was fashionably thin; her face bore classic features with a long straight nose and large green eyes.

Bob Harrison left the bar at the far end of the living room and joined his wife in the archway. He put his arm around her shoulders, "Welcome to our home. We're privileged to have you join us this evening. Dinner is about to be served. We have planned magnificent native to Northern Italy. We are honored to have a leading fashion model from that area with us tonight." He bowed slightly in the direction of Dr. Ely's wife. "I hope we have done justice to the fine foods of your country. Ladies and gentlemen, Mona will direct you to your seats."

Dr. Harrison elegantly stood in the archway as his wife led their guests into the dining room. He was dressed in an Armani suit and white band-collar shirt with silver buttons. He greeted each guest and added an affectionate touch to Derek's shoulder as he and Savannah passed. Lindy and Cinnamon followed the Yeateses. The guest of honor, Dr. Ely, and his wife, Roma, were the last to be ushered into the dining room by Bob Harrison. Dr. Ely was chairman of plastic surgery at Duke University and was at St. Agnes to conduct a teaching course in ultrasonic liposuction.

In the large dining room, Mona was personally seating her guests at her round dinner table. There were three layers of table coverings in varying shades of ivory and gold. The lowest layer was soft velvet, the middle ivory lace and the top layer was the finest Irish linen. The table was set with gold-rimmed ivory china and gold plated goblets. Mona seated her guests around the table with her husband nearest the doorway where the servers would bring in each course. Dr. Ely sat on his right with Cinnamon, Lindy, Savannah, Mona Harrison, Roma, Jim Owens and Derek completing the dinner party. The round table satisfied Mona's need for symmetry and gave the guests a feeling of intimacy. The poinsettia centerpiece was the only accent to introduce the festive Christmas holidays which were just a few weeks away. It was tradition for the Harrison family to decorate the house and tree on Christmas Eve. Mona found it distasteful to have Christmas decorations in her home for weeks. She insisted on having fresh flowers and a live tree. Silk and plastic decorations were loathsome to her. All decorations were removed two days following Christmas Day.

To honor his distinguished guest this evening, Dr. Harrison had carefully planned a Northern Italian dinner. He began the meal with a small glass of sweet, red vermouth as was appreciated by the Italians to stimulate the appetite before meals. Dr. Harrison stood with his raised crystal glass glistening with rich red vermouth, "I'd like to propose a toast to Dr. Ely in thanks for coming such a long way to teach us the intricacies of ultrasonic liposuction. Thank you for taking time to be here during this busy season of the year. We are indeed grateful." Dr. Harrison drank from his glass as his guests saluted Dr. Ely with their glasses.

The host sat down and nodded to the servers to bring in the first course, bagna cauda with vegetables and bread sticks. One server filled the wine glasses with Lambrusco wine and a second server placed the dishes of cold vegetables, bread sticks and rich bagna cauda served in individual earthenware casseroles over a candle warmer before each guest. Dr. Harrison had supervised the preparation of the menu and engaged a chef to manage the serving of the food from the kitchen.

While the dinner guests were dipping their bread sticks and vegetables, individual conversations were taking places. Savannah was talking to her hostess, Mona, "The children are doing so well in their swimming classes. Derek has influenced them strongly. They constantly tell the other kids that there father is the best swimmer in the world. It looks like Annie is going to have a real talent for diving. She's fearless."

Mona smiled at her friend, "It's so important for the children to become comfortable in the water, especially since sailing and boating are a big part of your life. I'm sure you feel they're much safer on a boat with such skills."

Cinnamon jealously looked at Savannah as she talked excitedly about her children. Cinnamon spoke to Savannah, "You do have beautiful children, Savvy. I hope I'll be that lucky one of these days soon."

"It's about your turn, Cin. Do you have children, Roma?" Savannah smiled at Dr. Ely's wife.

"Yes, our daughter is six months old. My mother is taking care of her for me."

Cinnamon turned her attention back to her end of the table. Dr. Ely was speaking, "It was so kind of you to plan this exquisite food in my wife's honor, Bob."

"My pleasure, Don. She's a beautiful woman."

Roma was Dr. Ely's second wife and twenty years younger. Dr. Ely had left his wife of twenty-five years to marry Roma. He had three grown children and now had started a young family with his new wife. At six feet, Roma was taller than her husband. She had been a model in Italy. Dr. Ely smiled in his wife's direction and took great pleasure in seeing the admiring glances from the men at the table cast in his wife's direction. Roma was a woman that the older wives referred to as an "aging plastic surgeon's trophy wife." All of the wives at the table tonight, with the exception of Mona Harrison were only a few years older than Roma.

Cinnamon wished that she was closer to Derek so she could rub his leg or something but she had to be satisfied with smiles and chit chat at the table. Her smiles at Derek did not go unnoticed by Savannah. Cinnamon ate her breadsticks slowly and chewed her food seductively. Her eyes occasionally met Derek's.

While the servers brought in the melon and prosciutto, Derek turned to Bob Harrison, "Bob, have you been following the story in the papers about Pearl Atkinson? She was my patient you know."

"I was astounded to read that she hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband," Bob said. "He's a gastroenterologist isn't he?"

"Yes. Pearl came into my office a couple of times to discuss having an augmentation. About two years ago, she finally decided to go ahead. When she was in the recovery room, doing fine, I called her husband, Berl, to tell him the surgery hand gone well. He was shocked. He got very angry. She apparently hadn't told him."

Bob Harrison shook his head, "Berl's a real right winger - extremely patriotic and a purist. He probably didn't like the idea of his wife having anything synthetic."

Derek spoke again, "I guess so. About a week after the surgery, he sent me a letter in the mail railing me for doing plastic surgery and making women whores. He semi-threatened to bomb my office. He called my practice a 'chrome plated tin and tinsel tit palace'."

Everyone laughed, and Dr. Ely asked Derek, "What does this woman look like?"

"She's good looking, something like Cinnamon, athletic and blonde." Derek gestured across the table. The sterling silver button cover on his shirtsleeve caught the light.

"I can guarantee you, Derek, when I have my aug, Lindy won't object."

"No, I'll just want to feel her body even more." Lindy rubbed his shoulder against his wife and kissed her cheek.

Cinnamon affectionately nuzzled her husband. "Why did Pearl want to have her husband killed, Derek?"

"Even though she and Berl divorced, Pearl was still the beneficiary on his life insurance. She went to Las Vegas to hire a killer, but the one she approached turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. She offered him $100,000 of the $300,000 to hit Berl with a car while he was running in the early morning hours. He's in excellent shape - a marathon runner - runs every day in isolated areas."

Lindy leaned forward on his elbows and spoke to the guests, "Pearl Atkinson divorced Berl a year ago and married an old man, an internist. The old guy was devastated by his wife's arrest and lost his mind. I hear he attempted suicide twice."

Bob Harrison spoke, "Well at least plastic surgeons aren't the most notorious specialists. Internal medicine even has its skeletons." All the guests understood the humor in Harrison's comment. There has always been legendary competition between surgeons and internists trying to prove which method of treatment has the most valued in health care. Surgeons are often considered by those who work with them to be the most flamboyant doctors.

After dinner, the guests gathered in the living room for liqueur. Derek again served everyone. Savannah helped Mona supervise cleanup in the kitchen and as soon as all was in order they made their way through the dining room toward the living room. Just before they walked through the dining room doors, Savannah touched Mona's arm and leaned close in confidence.

"You know, Mona, Derek is such a wonderful, loving father and husband, but I do worry about him sometimes."

"Whatever do you mean, Savvy? I hear Derek is doing very well in his private practice. Isn't that true?" Mona had a worried look on her face. She and her husband were very fond of Derek and Savvy. They were part of the Harrison family.

"No, Mona, it doesn't have to do with his practice, I'm concerned about his drinking. I'm afraid he drinks too much. I suspect he may be drinking during the day. I feel it may be more than just social. I'm sure I smell alcohol on his breath when he comes home in the evening. I could be wrong, but I'm worried. Keeping up with his surgery and his teaching schedule is a heavy burden for him."

"Do you want me to talk to Bob about this? If it's true, we should get to the bottom of his problems right now, before they become serious", she said. "Did you hear that Jim Owens is suspected of using drugs illegally? Some of the doctors have found his behavior to be unusual during daytime duties. I'm quite worried about him."

"Oh, Mona, Jim Owens has always been weak in character. His sexual involvement with women is legendary. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if all the stories were true. One of these days, we'll be hearing about his being hospitalized for addiction. Jim has never been a positive influence for Derek. I've discouraged Derek's friendship with him. Please don't say anything to Bob about Derek's drinking. I want to talk to Derek first."

"Okay, dear, but be sure to talk to me again if you need to."