“It just came at a bad time,” Karen replied, sniffling. “I was counting on that job to help pay my tuition for my last semester in night school. Now I’m going to have to postpone school for a while until I can find another job, a job that pays well enough so that I can afford to continue going to school. Sun Realty really messed with my plans, Ma.”
“A little setback isn’t going to do you in, child,” Geraldine prophesied. “You’ve had disappointments before...” She glanced lovingly at Michael. “But look how far you’ve come. When you got pregnant with Michael, you could have gone on welfare like any number of other women, but instead you stayed in school and kept working, knowing that in the long run, fending for yourself was going to help you provide a better future for your child.” She gently squeezed one of Karen’s hands. “I was proud of you then, sugar. And I’m still proud of you. What that man did to you...” She blew air between her full lips in an exasperated gesture. “Well, some women would’ve just up and died from the humiliation, but not you. You survived. You’re strong, baby. That’s how I raised you to be.” Her eyes held a humorous expression in them. “Remember when Michael was born, and you wanted to give him up for adoption, for all of fifteen minutes, and I talked you out of it? Have you ever regretted your decision?”
“Not for a minute,” Karen answered, looking at her son with her love for him glowing in her eyes. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Geraldine said with conviction. “Momma will be here for you. The Lord will provide.”
Karen burst into tears then, but they were not tears of regret at losing her job, or tears of anger at an unfeeling system, but tears of relief at knowing she always had someone whom she could talk to when she was at her lowest.
“Go ahead and let it out,” her mother advised her. “Then I want you to go wash your face and come back out here wearing a smile. We’ve got work to do.”
Karen felt something tugging on her dress’s hem and looked down to see Michael with a worried look in his large, golden-brown eyes. Eyes just like his father’s. “Why are you cryin’, Ma?” he said in his small voice.
Karen knelt and pulled him into her embrace. “Mommy’s a little sad because she lost her job today, sweetie. But it’s nothing for you to be sad about because everything’s going to be all right.”
At two years of age, Karen knew there wasn’t much Michael understood about the grown-up world. He knew a job was the place his mommy went every day except on the weekend. And he knew that on the weekend, he had his mother all to himself. She made pancakes for him Saturday and Sunday mornings. They would sleep late and watch cartoons in bed and when they got up, she took him to fun places like McDonald’s and the zoo where he saw all sorts of wonderful animals. His favorite were the monkeys. They always made him giggle.
“Can I have pancakes in the morning?” he said, looking up at her expectantly.
Karen laughed happily. “Yes, sweetie. I’ll make pancakes for you tomorrow morning.”
* * *
By late afternoon Alana was becoming a bit anxious to hear from Nico. Following Margery and Toni’s brief interrogation, she’d rolled up her sleeves, put on an apron, and pitched in with the food preparation. When it was at all possible, she liked working alongside her staff. More often than not, however, her expertise was needed wooing the clients and in the initial planning of an event.
She was helping Gina, a young single mother who’d been with Vesta for a couple of years, stuff eggrolls. Gina was telling about the latest adventure in her daughter, Laura’s life. “Just before I left her at the day care center, she turned to me and asked, ‘Mommy, do you know why boys like to hit me and pull my hair?’” Gina’s dark brown eyes were animated as she continued. “No, I told her. No, honey, I don’t know why. Then she looked at me with a thoroughly innocent expression on her tiny face and said, ‘Miss Stephens says it’s because I hit them first.’” Gina laughed. “Well, I didn’t know what to say to that. My three-year-old, a bully? I didn’t realize she had an aggressive bone in her body.”
“Maybe it would be a good idea if you visited the day-care center one day, just to observe,” Alana suggested, stifling laughter. “It could be she’s defending herself. Have you had a chance to talk to Miss Stephens about it?”
“No, I’m going to do that this afternoon,” Gina said as she wiped her hand on a dish towel. She picked up the large baking sheet they’d been placing the finished eggrolls on and passed it to Clovis, who covered it with plastic wrap and carried it to the walk-in freezer. The day of the ball, they would be removed from the freezer and deep fried.
“When you’ve got kids, it’s one thing after another,” Gina complained, turning back around to face Alana.
“Still,” Alana said, smiling at her, “I envy you. You have a beautiful child, and you’re engaged to one of the nicest men I know. You’re a fortunate person, Gina.”
“Yeah,” Gina concurred, her full lips curved in a wistful smile. “I guess I am at that. But it sure has taken me a while to get here. You know what a living hell my first marriage was. The one good thing that came out of that was Laura. The experience also taught me to stand on my own two feet. It was a hard lesson but one I needed to learn.” She laughed. “I lucked out with Gary, but still, I’m never going to depend on another person to support me.”
“Girl, you are fierce!” Alana said proudly.
“No, girlfriend,” Gina said seriously. “You are the one. You have been my role model.”
“Get out of here,” Alana said, hands on her hips.
“When you hired me two years ago, I thought I’d be here maybe four, five months. But when I saw you in action, I said to myself: I could learn something here because this woman has her stuff together.” Gina cleared her throat. “Uh-huh. I sure did. And I was right. I’ve learned more about catering from you in two years than I could have working in a restaurant in twice as much time.”
“That’s because you applied yourself,” Alana politely informed her. But she was grateful for the compliment, which she knew to be genuine. Gina Evans was not the kind of person to kiss-up to the boss. She was a straight shooter who would rather incur your wrath than bite her tongue.
Hearing a collective sigh from the four women in the room, Alana looked up and saw Nico coming through the swinging doors.
He had gone home between there and work and had changed into a pair of black jeans, a blue denim shirt and a maroon T-shirt underneath. Alana glanced down and saw he was wearing his favorite black motorcycle boots. I am not riding on the back of his Harley Davidson tonight, she thought briefly.
“Hello, Nico!” said the chorus of feminine voices.
“Hi, ladies,” Nico said. He blushed.
Alana quickly washed her hands and dried them on a towel.
“I’m leaving now. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she told Gina. “Give that little bully of yours a kiss from me.”
Walking toward Nico and taking him by the hand, she led him out of the kitchen. “You know,” she said jokingly, “you really should have someone announce you before you come into a room full of women. Hunk alert, hunk alert!”
Nico grinned at her, showing perfect white teeth in his golden-brown, square-chinned face. His downward sloping, warm brown eyes regarded her with keen interest. “Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice?’
“Who, me?” Alana said noncommittally. She wasn’t about to fall into that trap. “Besides, you’re supposed to be using your detecting skills to locate the person behind that rather cryptic note.”
They were alone in the hallway, and Nico took the opportunity to pull her into his arms. “You smell like ginger,” he said as he caressed her back. Alana felt her body relax in his embrace. There was no use fighting it. She was growing ever fonder of his nearness. She looked up into his eyes.
“How was your day?”
Nico laughed. “I’ve longed to hear you ask me that. Only I wan
ted it to be when I came home to you.”
Alana’s stomach muscles tightened at the sound of the unconcealed longing in his voice. Her heartbeat speeded up. She pressed her face against his muscular chest. He smelled of soap and water and sandalwood.
There was no adequate response to such an intimate comment. She reached up and gently touched his cheek, then she wiggled out of his hold. “Hang on, I forgot my shoulder bag.”
She left him standing there while she went back into the kitchen to get her purse, which she’d left hanging in the pantry.
The clamor immediately ceased when she walked through the twin swinging doors of the kitchen. A sure sign that she was being talked about in her absence. “Forgot my purse,” she said to no one in particular. All eyes were on her as she retrieved the purse and quickly walked back out. The voices resumed as soon as the door closed behind her.
That was strange, she thought, then shrugged it off. A handsome man came by to pick her up. People were always intrigued by romance. There was no harm in their thinking that she and Nico were an item.
Nico, with Margery and Toni keeping him company, was waiting for her in the foyer.
“Oh, there you are, darling,” Margery said, coming to take her by the arm. “Nico was telling us that you and he are in the middle of an investigation. You will tell your aunt all about it tomorrow, won’t you?” She kissed Alana’s cheek. In a lower voice she said, “You can always change your mind about going through with this. Let it go, dear. What good would it do you to find out something you’d rather not know? Haven’t you endured enough heartache?”
Alana returned her kiss. “I need to know, Little Momma. I’m sure you can understand that.”
Margery nodded, keeping any further comments to herself.
“You take good care of our girl,” Toni demanded of Nico after having pulled him aside.
Nico had long admired and respected Toni. He remembered reading about her exploits as a boy in high school. He never imagined he would actually meet her one day. But about three years ago Alana had invited him to Thanksgiving dinner with them. He was amazed when Antoinette Shaw strode into the dining room carrying the turkey. He had been enamored of her ever since.
“Don’t worry, Toni,” he said now. “I’ll guard her with my life.”
“That’s all I expect,” Toni said lightly. But she meant it and he knew it.
Alana came to claim him then, and they left.
“I hope my aunts weren’t putting you through the third degree,” Alana said as they descended the front steps.
Nico placed a protective arm around her. The weather had turned chilly, as San Francisco afternoons do in February. “I brought an extra leather jacket for you,” he told her. Alana’s gaze went to the Harley Davidson waiting in the driveway.
“And why, pray tell, did you bring that machine?”
“It’s good for getting in and out of afternoon traffic,” Nico said, defending his beloved motorcycle. “And it’s small and not as noticeable as your van or my car would be. Afraid your ‘do’ won’t survive the night air?”
He got on the motorcycle and put on his helmet, fastening it under his chin. Ignoring his comment, Alana quickly slipped into the aforementioned jacket and straddled the seat behind him. “The only thing missing is my biker-chick outfit.”
“Complete with the leather chaps?” Nico said, smiling.
“And the removable ‘Mom’ tattoo on my right forearm,” Alana added, her grin infectious.
“I’d like to see that,” Nico returned easily. “But for now, hold on to me.”
“Where are we going?” she asked as she donned the helmet.
“Someplace where we can talk. I have a few confessions to make.”
“Oh goody, confessions,” Alana said in a playful mood. She put her arms around his waist, locking her fingers. “I can’t wait. What, you use foreign coins in the drink machine at work?”
“It’s much more serious than that,” Nico said as he kick-started the huge Harley.
Nico took Van Ness Avenue all the way down to Geary Street, then turned onto Park Presidio Boulevard. At that point Alana had no difficulty discerning that they were headed into Golden Gate Park. The Japanese Tea Garden was one of their favorite destinations. The serenity of the intricately landscaped garden made it one of the most visited points of interest in San Francisco.
The park itself covered one thousand acres that, over the years, had been divided into recreational fields, picnic areas, paths for walking and museums.
After parking, Alana and Nico walked through the beautiful, painstakingly carved gateway and strolled hand in hand past pools filled with giant goldfish.
Deciduous trees grew all around them. Footbridges over pools of water. Paths bordered by dwarf trees and large stone statues that stood like sentinels at Shinto shrines.
Alana always felt at peace in these tranquil surroundings. She wondered, however, why Nico had chosen this particular place to make his confession. Perhaps the quietness of this garden would cushion the blow of his revelation?
They chose a bench near the entrance to one of the shrines and sat down.
“Make it fast,” Alana said. She had the feeling this was not going to be something she wanted to hear, and she wanted to get it over with as swiftly as possible.
Nico bit his bottom lip. He narrowed his eyes as he regarded her, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. Sighing, he reached for one of her hands and held on to it as though he gained strength from her touch.
Alana arched her eyebrows in an impatient gesture. “Come on, tell me, Nico.”
“Oh, God,” he began. “Alana, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.” He took her other hand, and Alana had the feeling that he was holding on to her in order to prevent her from fleeing once she heard what he had to tell her.
“First, let me tell you about the Michael Calloway I knew,” he prefaced. “When we first met, in the police academy here in San Francisco, I liked him right away. He was gregarious, the life of the party. People flocked to him. He became my best friend, and I was proud to call him my partner. But almost immediately after you two were married, he grew frantic. Something was eating him. It was like he’d changed into a whole different person.” He paused and glanced down at their clasped hands. “But I knew that wasn’t true. Michael hadn’t changed. I had. He was still the man who loved women.” Alana flinched and he held on to her more firmly. “You knew that about him before you married him, did you not?” His Spanish accent was surfacing now. Alana gave an almost imperceptible nod. She knew. “As I was saying,” he continued, “Michael hadn’t changed his spots, but I was no longer tolerant of his behavior because I was...” He looked her straight in the eyes. “Because I was in love with his wife.”
Tears sat in Alana’s big brown eyes. “Nico, don’t.”
Nico brought her right hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “Let me finish, please.” He looked down again, unable to see those tears in her eyes without wanting to take her in his arms and kiss them away. “One night, Michael and I were out getting a sandwich and, as it often did, the topic of conversation turned to your marriage. I was uncomfortable talking about your problems. Now, you know why. He was upset because you wanted to postpone having children.”
Alana nodded, remembering. “Yes, he wanted to start a family right away.”
“I sided with you,” Nico told her. “Michael blew up and accused me of being in love with you, and I didn’t deny it. That’s when he shoved me and the fight began. At any rate, he told me that he was cheating on you and that you were too naive to realize it.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” Alana asked, her voice low, controlled. “Maybe I could have salvaged my marriage.”
“Come to you with what?” Nico said. “It would’ve been my word against his, and whom would you have believed? Besides, I had a hidden agenda: I wanted you.”
“Okay,” Alana said. She breathed in deeply and exh
aled. “You’ve confessed. But really, Nico, you have nothing to feel guilty about. Michael told you he had other women but you didn’t have proof, so you really don’t know whether he was telling the truth or just being a blowhard.”
“I do know,” Nico said quietly. “I followed him to her door. I watched as she greeted him, they kissed, and he went inside.”
Alana felt sick to her stomach. She wrenched her hands free of his grasp and got to her feet. Looking down at him, she shouted, “Who is she?”
“I never pursued the matter,” Nico said truthfully. “What was I supposed to do, come to you with an address and you go over there only to have your heart torn to shreds? He’s dead now, Alana. Let it rest.”
Seeing all the curious eyes turned their way, Alana sat back down and lowered her voice considerably. “So why tell me all this now?”
“Because you came to my office and threatened to find her on your own if I didn’t help you,” Nico reminded her.
Alana bowed her head sadly. “True enough.”
Nico moved closer to her and placed his arms around her shoulders. “He loved you in his own way,” he said in his calm manner. “Just not the way a husband should.”
“Well,” she said after a long pause. “We’ve come this far, we’d just as well go all the way.”
Nico’s bedroom eyes bespoke his confusion.
“I want her name and address. I want to talk to her face-to-face,” Alana announced.
Nico stood, picking up his helmet as he did so. Seconds passed as he simply looked down at her, then he turned and calmly walked away from her. Alana gathered up her purse and her helmet and followed him. “You can’t deny me, Nico. You owe me.”
Nico’s expression was thunderous when he faced her. “I owe you?”
“For keeping all of this secret for so long,” Alana explained.
He quickened his pace. He was already through the gate and heading toward the parked motorcycle.
“Nico!” she called.
He was on the motorcycle and turning the key in the ignition when she caught up with him. She quickly got on behind him.
Valentine's Fantasy: When Valentines CollideTo Love Again Page 20
