Chasing Circumstance

by Redmon, Dina

  “You are too damned cute.” Chace did as I asked him to and then put his arm around my waist as we walked out to his car.

  “Thanks, you’re not too bad yourself. By the way, where are we going?” I stood next to the car and waited for him to open the door.

  “You told me to surprise you, so that’s what I’m doing.” He closed the door once I got in and sat down.

  He walked around the front of the car and looked at me through the windshield as he did. His smile was genuine and happy. “Want to listen to music?” He got in, sat down and looked at me before starting the engine.

  “Sure, what do you have?” I fastened my seatbelt and rolled down the window a little. I started feeling a bit flush and hoped that the fresh air would help.

  “My CDs are in the glove box, help yourself. You’ll find that I listen to mostly alternative rock though.” He leaned over and opened the glove box. His arm rested on my thigh for just a moment.

  “That’s another thing we have in common then.” I reached for the CDs and went through them. “Here, put this one in.” I handed him a disc from one of my favorite bands.

  “I love this band. I’ve seen them in concert three times. Every see them live?” He slid the CD into the player and pushed play.

  “Yeah, I caught there concert in Jersey last summer.” I continued to look through the CDs as he put on his seatbelt and pulled away from the curb.

  “The one in Princeton? At the college?” He stopped at the stop sign at the end of the block before turning left.

  “Yeah, how did you know?” I looked to the right to make sure there wasn’t any traffic coming.

  “I was at the same concert. It was fabulous!” He made his turn and continued down the street.

  “Yes they were! The way the lead singer interacted with the crowd was outstanding. I loved how he didn’t leave anyone out and came out into the crowd to sing to the people in the back.” I prattled on like a schoolgirl.

  “I was about five people back from him when he did that. I could almost reach out and touch him.” He matched my enthusiasm with his chatter.

  “Me too! How were we so close but didn’t see each other?” I reached over and playfully pushed his shoulder.

  “Because we weren’t meant to meet until now.” He took my hand and kissed it before letting it go.

  “Be careful Mr. Cavanah, you may make me swoon.” I put my hand to my forehead and pretended to faint.

  “Don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you.” His smile was so charming that I actually felt myself swoon a bit.

  We continued to chat about music and the concerts we had been to until he pulled into a parking garage. “What are we doing here?” I looked around to see what we were close to in order to try to get a clue of what we were about to do.

  “We’re parking, Silly. We’re going to walk from here.” He took the ticket from the automated machine and pulled through to park.

  “I can see that, but why here?” I giggled at his answer.

  “Because this is where people park when they’re in this part of the city and need to park.” He wasn’t giving up any information. He pulled into a spot and shut off the engine. Getting out of the car, he pointed at me to instruct me not to move while he came around to the passenger side door and opened it. “I am nothing if not a gentleman.” He took my hand as I stepped out and then closed the door behind me. Walking around to the back of the car, he hit the unlock button and the trunk popped open. After reaching in and retrieving a backpack, he shut the trunk and hit the button on his remote to lock the car. “Alrighty then, let’s proceed, shall we?” He took me by the hand and we walked out of the garage.

  “So, where are you taking me?” I was very familiar with this part of the city but still could not figure out where we were going.

  “I told you, you asked me to surprise you and that’s what I’m doing. You’ll learn to trust me eventually.” He squeezed my hand tighter and pulled me to the other side of him.

  “What are you doing?” I laughed as I stepped to the inside of the sidewalk.

  “A lady is always supposed to walk on the inside, so her gentleman escort can protect her should anything happen.” He looked down at me and smiled as he adjusted the strap from his backpack on his shoulder.

  “I see, and as you said, you are nothing if not a gentleman.” I looked at the ground and watched my feet as we walked.

  We crossed the street and walked into the entrance of Central Park. Strolling down the path, we stopped in front of the zoo. “Well, here we are.”

  “Oh, how fun! I love the zoo!” I clapped my hands together like a little girl, draped my arms over his shoulders and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you so much!”

  “Wow, if that’s the thanks I get for taking you on a picnic to the zoo, I can’t wait to see what happens when I take you out to a real restaurant.” He put his arms around my waist and kissed me back.

  “A picnic? Did you get some advice from Jo or something?” I looked up into his eyes as he held me.

  “Nope, I did this all on my own. I thought it would be a nice change from the usual stuff.” He let go of my waist, took my hand, and after purchasing our tickets, escorted me through the entrance.

  Our first stop was to watch the sea lions get fed. We had barely made it in time for their two o’clock feeding. We stood there hand in hand, in the middle of a large crowd, watching them enjoy their meal. The odd thing was I didn’t notice the crowd of people until we turned to continue on our tour.

  After walking around the majority of the zoo, we stopped to eat in front of the penguin display. “Are we getting something to eat here? I think I saw a hotdog stand back by that way.” I turned and pointed over my left shoulder.

  “Nope, I brought our lunch with me.” He opened his backpack and took out two silver containers and a thermos. “Here you go.” He handed me one of the containers as he pulled out a small blanket and spread it between us on the bench we were sitting on.

  “What’s this? You cooked again?” I opened the small lunch box to reveal what was inside. There was some kind of sandwich wrap, a fresh fruit salad, and chocolate chip cookies. “This looks yummy! Where did you buy them?” I picked up the wrap and took a bite.

  “I made them. The chicken wraps are made with homemade fried chicken from my aunt’s recipe. All I had to do with the fruit is wash it and cut it up, so that part was easy enough. I even baked the cookies from scratch.” Chace looked proud of himself.

  “You bake too? You’re going to spoil me.” I sat the wrap down and began to enjoy the fresh fruit.

  “You’re worth spoiling.” He picked up his chicken wrap and started eating it. My heart leapt into my throat as he spoke those words. I had said those same words to Stuart every time he teased me about being spoiled but it never stopped him. I pushed the thoughts from my head and focused on the man in front of me.

  “Be careful, I could get used to this. I don’t do a whole lot of cooking unless you consider heating things up as cooking. What’s in the thermos?” I sat my food down and wiped my mouth.

  “Oh, it’s hot cocoa.” He reached into his backpack, took out two coffee cups and filled them before handing me one. “I even made this from scratch.”

  I sipped at the hot chocolate and sat it down. “That has to be the best cocoa I’ve ever had. There’s something different about it though. What is that?” I picked it up and tasted it again. “The flavor sits right on the tip of my tongue.”

  “Does it? Here, let me see.” He put his hand behind my neck, pulled me close and kissed me. As his tongue touched the tip of mine, he slowly pulled back and lightly tugged at my lower lip with his teeth before letting go. I opened my eyes to see him looking at me. “Yes, I do believe that is a hint of cayenne pepper.” His words whispered across my lips before he moved away from me.

  Catching myself before I actually fainted, I smiled at him. “Is that what it is? Well, it’s delicious.” I felt the butterflies in my stomach
begin to float around. Though I was nervous about the potential of starting a new relationship, I pushed the feeling to the back of my head and enjoyed the moment for what it was. “You know, I just love penguins, they’re adorable.” I quickly changed the subject to avoid making a fool of myself.

  “Did you know that during mating season, penguins gather on the beaches with a pebble in their possession? Each penguin presents their perfect pebble to the mate they most desire, and if the pebble is accepted, they are mates for life.” He picked up his wrap and continued to eat.

  “I had seen that in a movie but I didn’t know it was true. That is so sweet!” Again, I giggled like a schoolgirl.

  We chatted the entire time we ate our lunch. There were no awkward silences and it felt as though we had always known each other. We had so much in common that I was shocked by it.

  “Well, I suppose we should head back. The zoo will be closing in about an hour.” Chace began to pack up the empty containers.

  “Oh, okay. Um, would you like to come back to my place and maybe watch a movie or listen to some music?” I wasn’t ready for our date to end.

  “That sounds nice. I have a few hours before I have to be back to the bar. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about anyway.” He stood up, threw the backpack over his shoulder and took me by the hand.

  “Should I be scared?” I didn’t move but instead looked up at him.

  “No, I don’t think so.” We started to walk back to his car in silence. I couldn’t help but wonder what he had to talk to me about. The last time I had heard those words was when Stuart tried to tell me he was still married.

  After he put everything in the trunk, we got into the car and after paying the parking fee, we exited the garage. We listened to music as we drove back to my place and that made me even more nervous. I didn’t know what to say because I was terrified of what he wanted to talk to me about. I was even more scared because he wasn’t saying anything either.

  We pulled up in front of my house and once again, he opened my door and escorted me to the front door. I took out my keys, unlocked it and stepped inside with him directly behind me. “Coffee? Iced tea? Water?” I set my purse down and headed toward the kitchen.

  “Water, thank you.” He went into the living room and began looking through mine and Jo’s combined music collection. “You have a lot of great music here. Mind if I play something?”

  “Thanks and no, go right ahead.” I poured us each a glass of water from the filtered pitcher in the refrigerator and joined him on the couch.

  “Oh, I love this band too!” I handed him his glass.

  “I figured that since you own the CD.” He laughed a little as he sat down.

  “Well, I’m almost afraid to ask this, but spill it, what did you want to talk to me about?” I couldn’t wait any longer. If it were bad news, I wanted to hear it right here and now.

  “I’ve always felt that a couple should not hold things back from one another, and though we’re not a couple, I hope that the potential is at least there.” He sat his glass on the table and turned to face me.

  “I believe it is, if we take things slowly and really get to know each other.” I held my glass in my hands to keep them from shaking.

  “That’s the thing, Amia. I know you better than you think I do. I’ve been reading your blog. Please, try not to be angry with me.” He folded his hands in front of him and looked down at them.

  “I knew it! Who told you about it?” I laughed as I answered him.

  “You’re laughing? You’re not angry?” He looked up at me and half smiled. “No one told me. I heard you talking about it at the bar, and let’s face it; your name is not a common name. It didn’t take me much to search it out and find it.”

  “No, I’m not mad. I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me before, but it’s alright.” I actually felt relieved that he had been reading it. It meant that he already knew about my past heartbreaks and what I had been through. There was no longer a need for me to tell him about it.

  “I really thought you were going to be upset with me. I know what you’ve been through and I didn’t want to be that guy.” He scooted closer to me and held my hand.

  “Just tell me one thing. Is this really who you are, or have you been using my blog for information to be the man you think I’m looking for?” I set my glass on the table and looked directly into his eyes.

  “What you see is what you get with me. I’m not fake in any way. I promise.” He didn’t break eye contact with me. I had to believe him.

  “Alright, but if I find out later that you’re lying to me, I’m going to sick Jo on you!” I laughed.

  He leaned over and pulled me into his arms. My head rested against his chest as he stroked my hair. “Please, don’t do that, she scares me.” His laughter joined mine as we sat there cuddled up together just listening to the music.

  Jo was walking through the door as Chace was standing up to leave. “Well, hello there, Chace. It’s nice to see you again.” She sat her work things on the bar and walked over to us near the couch.

  “And it’s nice to see you as well, Jo, but unfortunately, I have to get going. It’s my night to work the front of the bar. Will the two of you be joining me later?” He held my hand as he stepped toward the front door.

  “I’m afraid I’m too tired to go anywhere tonight. This old lady needs her beauty sleep. I’ll see you soon though.” She turned and walked down the hallway to her room.

  “Goodnight then, Jo.” Chace yelled after her as she walked away.

  “Goodnight, Chace.” Her voice echoed down the hall.

  “How about you, Gorgeous?” He pulled me close to him and rested his chin on the top of my head.

  “Honestly, I think I should stay here and make dinner for her. But call me later?” I stood there just enjoying the moment.

  “Sure thing. I’ll talk to you later.” He put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to kiss me. “Goodnight, Gorgeous. I had a lot of fun today.”

  “Goodnight, Chace. I did too. Thanks again.” I kissed him back and watched as he turned and walked out the door to his car and left before closing and locking the door.

  I did exactly what I said I would and made dinner for Jo. After I talked to Chace on the phone, I washed some laundry and got some basic cleaning completed as well before finally taking a hot shower and crawling into bed to write. I knew that Chace would be reading this entry but I didn’t let it stop me from saying what was in my heart.

  “Dear You,

  Potential… What a glorious word. We all have the potential to do better, to be more than we are at this moment… To reach our full potential. But, how do we know what that is until we are faced with a challenge?

  Who determines our potential? Our family? Society? I believe the only person in charge of that determination is the one that has to face and fulfill it… Ourselves.

  So tonight, dear readers, I leave you with this question…

  What do you feel is your full potential?

  ~ Amia”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Yeah, it’s going amazing so far. Granted, we’ve only been dating for a month, but he’s just the sweetest guy and is the same way every time we see each other. He hasn’t changed whatsoever.” I tapped my pen on the desk as I talked to Isabella on the phone.

  “You’ve known him longer than that through the bar, right?” Isabella was talking to me while she was out shopping.

  “Yes, but that’s not the same thing.” I heard my email notification go off, so I opened it to check it. It was a message from Rick saying he was going to stop by that afternoon with the proofs for the campaign for the online, vintage clothing store.

  “No, it’s not the same as dating, but at least it’s not like he’s a complete stranger. Hey, did you want all black balloons or should we throw in some color?” She was picking up some last minute things for Jo’s surprise birthday party at the bar that night.

  “Get fifty b
lack balloons and a couple dozen colorful, fun ones. I want the black ones tied in bouquets around her favorite seat at the bar.” I quickly typed a message back to Rick to let him know that was fine as long as it was before two that afternoon because I was leaving early.

  “Alright, I think I have everything covered then. I’ll see you later.” She hung up without saying goodbye.

  I took care of some of the copy for the campaign and shot it in an email over to Jo. I was really hoping that the interview she was conducting that afternoon for a new copy person would be fruitful and give us even more to celebrate that night.

  An hour later, Rick knocked on my office door. “Hi, Amia, how’s it going? I’m sorry it took me so long to get these to you. I’ve had a lot going on.” Rick walked in and sat the proofs on my desk. “Here you go; I think you’ll be pleased with the outcome.”

  I thumbed through the photos and pulled one out. “What the fuck is this?” I tossed it across my desk at him.

  “What? I thought it was sexy and you said sex sells.” He picked up the picture and looked at it before putting it back on my desk.

  “Absolutely not, Rick! I asked you if you took any nonessential pictures and you promised me that you didn’t. I want these negatives and any copies you made destroyed immediately!” I picked up the photo and ripped it into shreds.

  “Okay, okay, it’s no big deal. She’s just pushing up your skirt and has her tongue on your thigh.” He sat down in the chair across from my desk.

  “It is a big deal! I’m a goddamned executive. I don’t need shit like this floating around and fucking up my reputation! And stand the fuck up! No one told you to get comfortable.” I slammed my fist onto my desk to make a point.

  “Fucking reputation is right.” He sneered at me.

  “Don’t you know who the hell I am? I work for the third highest rated ad agency in the world. I can fucking destroy you. Now, be a good boy and go do what you were told to do before I have to get really mean.” I leaned across my desk and spoke to him calmly. I wanted him to fear me and what I would do to him if he didn’t abide by my wishes.