by Liza Brown
I grinned. “I will, thank you.”
By the time we were done it was 6:45. “Ok troops, we need to find a roomy bar with a big TV,” I said as Colette and Millard loaded my purchases into the trunk.
“B Dubs?” asked Colette. “They’re not usually packed on Tuesday nights.”
“Sounds like a plan!” I said as we got in the car and headed to our favorite after-work bar.
When the hostess saw who I was, she placed us front and center to a humongous TV located in the main dining area. I had an unobstructed view and I was as happy as a clam. We watched the reporters discuss the game that was about to be played as they showed clips from the two previous games. I was in heaven watching Elsu.
“So Mark, how do you think the Whoopsters will play when they’re on the road? They’ve done well at home, do you think being away will be a problem?” asked one reporter of the other.
“Most of these Owls aren’t new to away game pressures. But there’s only one thing we’re a little concerned about, Bill. One of those Owls is lacking his lucky charm this week.”
My face appeared on the screen. Have you ever seen your face on a screen the size of a small house? I do not recommend it at all.
“I’m not his lucky charm,” I said as I covered my face and the people sitting near us hooted knowing I was right there.
“They counted him looking at this lovely face forty-five times at the last game. Who is he going to be looking to this time? She’s at home.” Said Bill.
“There is always this beauty,” said Mark and an image of Saraya appeared on the screen.
I nearly dropped my beer. “What is she doing there?” I asked Millard.
“No idea, Miss Mae,” he said with his beer mug resting on his lower lip. He was frozen in disbelief as well.
Colette leaned over to me and didn’t say anything. It was as if the words were still forming in her mind. “She’s in their VIP section,” she finally spat out.
“Home or away?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but she wasn’t in the stands,” said Colette.
Seeds of jealousy grow very quickly when they’re watered with self-doubt and low self-esteem. I had buckets of both.
By now the commentators had returned their discussion to actually talking about basketball. I wished changing mental topics was as easy to do.
Colette looked at me and knew what was going through my brain. “Stop it right now, she’s just there. So what? I can guarantee you she’s not there because he invited her.” I wanted to believe her but it was hard. I wanted so badly to pick up my phone and call him and get confirmation, but it was impossible.
I pulled my phone out of my purse anyway and looked to see I had missed a call from Elsu from earlier in the day. “Damn,” I said but noticed he left a voice mail. “I’m going to go to the bathroom and listen to this. It’s too loud in here.”
April stood and I didn’t question it when she started following me. Once in a stall I listened to his message.
Dang, let me guess, your phone is in your purse. I was hoping to hear your voice once more before the game. You should change your voice mail recording, so I can at least hear you instead of the robot chick. Anyway, I miss you and I’ll call you after the game. Make sure you have your phone where you can hear it. I don’t want to miss your voice any more than I have to. I’ve been thinking about you a lot. Your guardian angel and I have had a few talks, she promises to hold on tight. Be safe Mae.
I teared a little at his message and the sound of his voice and the fact that all I wanted was one of his hugs. I dialed his number. “Hey, I’m sorry I missed you. I was busy working on a surprise for you. I guess you’ll have to wait until Friday to see what it is. I’m sure your angel is keeping you on track. I hope you kick butt out there! I’m at B Dubs with Millard, April, and Colette watching the game. Can’t wait to see your big shoulders on the big screen! I will surgically attach the phone to my head if it means I get to talk to you later. I miss you. Be safe.”
I used the facilities and returned to my seat with April. The brands I saw around us were names I had only heard about in fancy magazines at the doctor’s office. Polo Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Lacoste. All for tall men and all had matching price tags. My phone buzzed in my hand and I saw a message from Aaron.
WHERE ARE YOU? JASON AND I WANT TO WATCH THE GAME WITH YOU.
I smiled knowing he was thinking of me.
WE’RE AT B DUBS, COME JOIN US!
“Aaron and Jason are coming,” I smiled at the others.
The other team’s players were introduced and the game started shortly after. Our food was served, and just as I was about to take a bite I heard my name being yelled behind me.
April shot up and turned but I leisurely spun around in my seat knowing it was Aaron. He gave me a hug and introduced himself and Jason to everyone. They sat down and ordered and we started watching the game together.
Elsu was fouled and went to take his free throw. Before he lined up the shot, he tapped his shoulder. Something I hadn’t seen before. He made the first point and before he took (and made) his second shot, he touched his shoulder again. “What is that?” asked Aaron.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen that before,” I said. For some strange reason I found myself blushing.
Millard got up to use the restroom, leaving a chair between myself and April. “April, tomorrow we’ll be going to my dad’s shop in Mansfield,” I informed her.
“Ok,” she said without question. Maybe she was figuring things out.
I started talking to Colette when her face froze, looking next to me as Millard returned to his seat. I couldn’t figure out why she seemed so shocked, but when I turned to look I knew immediately why. Jeremy and Bart.
“Hey there pretty thing,” said Jeremy as he put his arm on the back of my chair.
“Dude!” Bart seemed uncomfortable for some reason.
I looked at April who just watched. “What do you want, Jeremy?” I said, making sure April heard his name, but she did not move.
“Just stopping by to say hello to my favorite junkyard bitch. I see you’ve got yourself a nice little party going on here,” said Jeremy as he reached over and helped himself to a fry from my plate. My appetite was gone.
“Come on! Leave her alone,” said Bart.
“Please leave, Jeremy…and Bart” I said as I looked at April again. She still seemed unaffected by the recent turn of events.
Jeremy pushed my plate out of his way and leaned on the table in front of me. “Here’s the thing, doll face.” I shivered at the reminder that his brother used to call me that. “You put my brother away, he got out for good behavior and an overfull prison system. We’ve both proven ourselves innocent in everything we’ve been accused of and now we’re free to do whatever the hell we want.”
“You ruined my truck!” I yelled at him.
“Unfortunately, there isn’t any proof of that. I also don’t know who rigged the elevator, but if I did, I’d give them an A for effort. They need to work on their presentation. Maybe next time they’ll get the job done.”
“Jeremy!” Bart yelled as he tried to guide his brother away from me. “Leave her alone. Let’s go back to our table. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
Colette leaned over to him. “Get the hell out of here, you two!” she said quietly.
“Oh Colette, I forgot about you! Still living alone and bringing home the leftovers from the bars at the end of the night? How many men did I see you with while Bart was with Mae? Too many to count.”
“Shut up! If you’re going to insult me, fine, but leave my friends alone, Jeremy.” I kept hoping April would get the message.
There was a brief scuffle and before Jeremy could reply to me, he fell to the ground. The chair he had been leaning on was pulled out from under him. Millard was standing behind him. “What is your purpose?” Millard growled to April.
“Excuse me?” she asked, incensed at the implication in the
question.
“Do you know who these asses are?” he asked her.
“She should, I said their names a few times!” I said as I scowled at her.
Jeremy finally stood up as he looked between the three of us.
“This is Jeremy, and that was Bart!” said Millard as he pointed across the room to where Bart had retreated to a booth with Jeremy’s friend, Scott who I had met the week before.
“Bart?” she asked.
“You’re fired!” I yelled.
Heads around us turned and I blushed. But what good was a bodyguard if she wasn’t going to do her job?
“You can’t fire me! I work for Mr. Benjamin!”
Millard leaned over, their faces inches apart. “You were hired to keep those two assholes away from Miss Rogers. Not only did I come back here to find Jeremy nearly on top of her, but you don’t even know who they are! You received their pictures in her dossier! You should have had that thing read and committed to memory before you even touched down! Now, tell me how this situation is going to look to your boss!”
“Wow, Mae. Your loser boyfriend can’t even get you a quality bodyguard.” Jeremy chuckled loudly then pushed his way out of the confines of the wall Millard had created while he was talking to April, and went back to his table.
“That’s Bart?” asked Aaron as I tried to concentrate on the game. I wasn’t even sure how much time I had lost because of the two asses.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I said as I noticed we were way down on points and halftime was three minutes away.
“I don’t know what I was picturing but that’s not it,” said Aaron.
“Were you picturing red skin, spiked tail, horns, and forked tongue?”
“That and a pitchfork with flames.”
I couldn’t help but smile at him. Even when things around me were serious, he seemed to know how to lighten my mood.
I looked to my left and saw both Millard and April frantically typing on their phones. “If you two are doing what I think you’re doing, it’s like watching two kids rushing to be the first to tell on the other to the teacher.”
“Then you’re right,” said Millard. He laid his phone on the table in front of him and looked at April. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable tonight.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said April. She was clueless.
“Millard, I’d like you to be able to go to the games,” I told him during a commercial break.
“I don’t have to. There will be other games. I’d like to go but even if I was planning on it, I think I’d feel better staying here right now. It seems as though I have to do two jobs.” He not-so-discretely looked to April.
“I’m sorry, Millard. Really I am. I’ve been nothing but a nuisance.”
“This isn’t your fault, don’t blame yourself. And you haven’t been a nuisance at all. That man is so head over heels for you. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He nodded to the TV indicating Elsu.
“I don’t know about all that,” I blushed.
“Miss Mae, don’t doubt yourself. I already told you earlier today, he’s totally into you. So, just watch the game and have fun.” To anyone who didn’t know him, he came across as a tough man but deep down I could tell Millard really was a good person. Why couldn’t Elsu have hired me the female version of him?
After halftime, we enjoyed each other’s company as we watched the game. April and Millard talked a bit but I couldn’t make out their conversation. Jason had to get up early in the morning so he and Aaron left to finish watching the game at home. They were so sweet together I couldn’t help but smile at them as they walked away.
“Ma’am,” said our waitress. “A gentleman at the bar asked me to give you this.” She held an enormous bouquet of red roses.
I looked toward the bar and every seat was taken. “Which gentleman?” I was nervous.
The waitress turned to look and she seemed confused. “Ok, he was right there on the corner a minute ago.”
“Well, thank you.” I took the flowers and held them to my nose and inhaled deeply.
“That is the biggest bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen, Mae.” Millard pulled a card from his side of the bouquet and handed it to me.
Colette held them while I opened the small envelope.
Thought these would be prettier to look at than me. I’m certain they’re not as beautiful as you. Can’t wait until we can be together again. Xoxo–Elsu
I clutched the card to my chest and looked to the TV. Another pat on the shoulder and I smiled knowing he was thinking of me.
“How did he know we were here?” asked Colette.
Millard smiled and looked to the TV. “Milllllard?”
“Yesssss Miss Mae?”
I squinted my eyes at him and stared but he refused to look back to me. “You’re sneaky.”
“All I did was text him when we knew where we were watching the game.”
“Who did you text?” I asked him.
“Mr. Benjamin. He asked me to let him know.”
“You’re both sneaky.”
“Indeed.”
Unfortunately, the Whoopsters lost and we left before the crowd decided it was my fault. I had a feeling the blame game was coming.
“What’s that?” asked Colette when we got to her car. On her windshield sat a red envelope.
April pulled it from beneath the wiper and turned it over in her hand a few times.
“Wow,” said Millard. “Do they train people anymore down there?”
“I went through six months of training before I got my first job. Miss Rogers is my fourth.”
“Hmm, I’m almost afraid to ask what happened to them,” I said.
“It’s confidential,” she said.
“Mmm hmm,” said Millard as he looked closer at the envelope.
“So your training told you to just grab stuff without any regards to contaminating the surface with your own fingerprints?” he asked.
April dropped the envelope on the hood of the car quickly and sighed. Maybe she was just having a rough day?
“You two are one-ring short of a circus over here. Give me the friggin’ envelope!” I said. I grabbed it from in front of April and opened it. Inside I found a picture of Elsu’s shoulder with a small image of an angel perched on top. “She’s not going anywhere.” I read aloud.
“Seriously?” asked April.
I clutched the picture in my hands and held it close to my heart. How could one man be so perfect? He couldn’t be perfect, he had chosen me.
CHAPTER 10
We went straight home and I showed April to her bedroom. “This is your room,” I said as I looked at the bed and could tell Magdalena had cleaned the linen before leaving. “It’s all clean. I get up at 7, as long as people are quiet they’re more than welcome to come in before I get up.”
“Which people, ma’am?” she asked as she took out her phone to take a note.
“Well, it used to be just Arnold and Colette who would come over. But now I guess that includes Millard, Magdalena, Elsu’s Uncle Richard, and the team members who live here when they’re in town. It drives me a little nuts having all those people in my apartment, but it helps me wake up. For someone who hates crowds that sure sounds like I love them, doesn’t it?”
“Mmm hmm,” she said and turned to her room.
“Goodnight, April,” I said and went into my room and closed the door. I turned on the light and screamed. Not even five seconds later my door slammed open and April rushed in. My shirt-wearing pillow was propped on my bed with the signed basketball I had won perched atop it with an image of Elsu’s face stuck on.
“I am so sorry, April. I thought it was a person for a second. I’m also a little tipsy and tired.” I laughed at my mistake. April failed to see the humor in the situation. “Come on, this is funny. Magdalena must have done this. I don’t know why I didn’t notice this when we were here earlier.”
April just sighed and turned to leave my room. “If you say so, ma
’am.”
I closed my door again and stuck my tongue out at April through it. People without a funny bone are no fun at all. I turned back to my bed and took a picture of my Elsu. I debated posting it to Facebook, but instead sent it to Elsu.
LOOK WHAT MAGDALENA LEFT FOR ME. IT’S ALMOST LIKE THE REAL THING.
I carefully removed the ‘head’ and placed it face forward on the nightstand. The pillow body would be staying.
I feared missing Elsu’s call so I took my phone with me to the bathroom and took the world’s quickest shower. I had forgotten to take my pajamas with me so I wrapped myself in my towel and stood in front of the mirror plucking errant hairs and making funny faces at myself in front of the mirror when my phone finally rang.
“Elsu!” I smiled.
“Sweet Mae!” I heard his voice and my body warmed.
“Good game,” I said as I cringed. I didn’t know what kind of personality he’d have after a loss.
“We didn’t win, Mae.”
“I know. But I got to watch you play so it was a good game.”
“Let me go tell the officials to make an adjustment to the score. You’re a nut.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” I smiled.
“So what are you doing?” he asked.
“I just finished a shower. Now I’m looking at my mug in the mirror.”
“It’s a beautiful mug, Mae.” There was silence on the line and I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Elsu, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Why was Saraya at the game?” I needed to hear him tell me.
“She lives in New York, Mae. She has contacts here that could have probably got her in. It’s weird because she never came to but two games when we were dating and now she’s shown up at two in one week.”
“Are we sure she’s not involved in what’s going on here?” I asked.
“I’m only sure of one thing, Mae. That’s how I feel about you. Everything else is up in the air. How is your new bodyguard doing?”
“Did you get their messages?”
“I saw they sent them but I didn’t read them yet.”
