by Liza Brown
I nodded. “Where are you from?” I asked her.
“Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ma’am. Miss Mae.” She was learning.
“Cheese,” that’s all I could come up with when someone said ‘Wisconsin’.
She smiled at me. “My parents are big Green Bay fans. We have all worn cheese hats at least once in our lives.”
I could see a few more cracks forming in her shell.
“Do you have siblings?” I asked.
“Yes, three older brothers.” She seemed to be mentally reminiscing.
“I have two brothers and a sister. The younger two are twins. Like I said, they’re a piece of work.”
She nodded and smiled. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“So I guess you’ll be my plus one for the games?” I asked.
“No ma’am, Mr. Benjamin said I could take the fourth seat when available, otherwise, I will be nearby. He made it clear that those two seats are yours to fill as you wish.”
“Do you like basketball?” I asked. This was like pulling teeth.
“I’m more of a football fan, Miss Mae.”
“I wasn’t a basketball fan before last week. I guess I’m not really as much a basketball fan as I am an Elsu fan. I wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t playing, that’s for sure. Too many people.”
Our meals arrived and we ate. April ate every morsel from her plate like she hadn’t eaten in months. The place was known for its huge portions and I liked to use that to my advantage. I boxed up half of mine to take home for dinner. I’d probably be watching the game at home since Colette would be at church.
I paid for our meals and we headed towards home. “Miss Mae, I need to apologize.” I nearly veered off the road at the sudden statement.
“For what?” I asked.
“Yesterday. I honestly thought this assignment was just some snooty, high-maintenance woman thinking she needed a bodyguard because her boyfriend was famous. That’s why I didn’t take your dossier seriously. After I read it and spoke with Mr. Benjamin, I realized it was not like that at all. You are a very lucky woman, Miss Mae. To find someone who cares for you so much that he’s willing to do all of this for you when you’ve only known each other for such a short period of time is something most people dream about.”
“It’s all very new to me, April. I’ve only ever dated one other person and that’s Bart. He was an abusive asshole who should still be in prison but somehow he convinced them to let him go. I went through counseling just to get me to a point where I was a functioning member of society again and no sooner was I done with that, he’s out. Seeing him brings back memories I have been trying so hard to suppress and I honestly don’t know what him being around like this is going to do to me if I continue to see him. Everyone wants to count him out of being the one we’re looking for but I find it really hard to accept the fact that it couldn’t be him. I don’t have enemies, at least I don’t think I do.”
“I promise to try much harder to make sure you’re safe, Miss Mae. There is no excuse for my behavior yesterday,” she seemed sincere.
“Thank you,” I said as I pulled into the shop’s lot and saw a cute Prius sitting near the door. “Aaron is here,” I smiled.
“He was the blond from last night?” she asked.
“Yep. He built that,” I said as I pointed to the metal Little José that decorated the front of the property.
“Wow! That’s impressive.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty awesome,” I smiled. Maybe April wasn’t so bad.
Once we were in the shop I found Aaron with a cartful of our scrap parts standing at the counter talking to Bonnie and Steve. “Mae!” he shouted as he gave me a hug. “I needed more supplies but I’m paying for these. Plus I have a surprise. It’s kind of a good surprise and a bad surprise all in one.”
He turned around and pulled a piece of sculpted metal from a bag beside him and showed me a sign that made me pause. “In loving memory of a friend gone too soon. RIP Little José.” I read the sign and tears filled my eyes.
“How did you know, Aaron? I was going to ask you if you’d make him a memorial but I thought you’d think I was being silly.”
“I knew as soon as I saw the pictures of the damage that the piece needed this. I hope you like it.”
“I love it!” I touched the cool metal and smiled.
“I also brought the sign with my name on it. I’ll put that up with this.” He pulled a simple sign from the bag with his name and the date the piece was installed etched into it. “I’m going to go put these in and you can figure out how much I owe for this stuff.” He pointed to his cart.
He slipped out of the shop and headed toward his piece. “He’s a good guy, Mae,” said Steve.
“Yeah, who was calling him Peter Pan?” I asked.
“Ok, I stand corrected. He’s more like a gay superhero.”
“Steve, you’re so weird. Why can’t he just be a good guy?”
“What’s the fun in that? Speaking of good guys, how did your visit with your dad go?” he asked. The thought of the changed subject dropped my mood straight to the floor.
“Steve, dad’s shop is a complete and utter mess! He hasn’t kept it up at all. He’s wanting to transfer management to one of his employees, Cameron. Seeing that place in such a horrible condition makes me so depressed.”
“Why would he let it go? He always kept it up.”
“I think there’s something wrong that he won’t tell me. I called Margaret but either she doesn’t know or she’s keeping it from me too. Have you talked to him recently?” I asked.
“Other than when he was here on Monday, not for a few weeks. He seemed fine then.”
“Speaking of Margaret, what do you know about her, Steve?”
“You’re asking me what I know about your dad’s wife? Wouldn’t you know more than I?”
“She always seemed nice enough, but Monday she accused me of breaking Elsu and Saraya up, and today she told me I’m a disappointment for dating ‘someone like Elsu.’”
“Someone like Elsu? What does that even mean?” asked Steve.
“I don’t know. She doesn’t seem to think I should date a celebrity.”
“A celebrity? On the levels of celebrity status I don’t think a basketball player for the new team would be that high on the list. Besides, why would she care?”
“I don’t know, but she said dad has been worried sick over it.”
“Because you’re dating Elsu? That seems really odd, Mae. I’d think Bob would be happy for you. Especially after…” He knew better than to finish that sentence.
“Ask April, she heard the conversation.”
“Ma’am…Miss Mae. I don’t think she was saying what she actually meant.”
“Then what did she mean?”
April seemed uneasy about speaking. “I just think there was some ‘other’ meaning to her comment about him being a celebrity. Perhaps she’s not a fan of the umm color of his skin.”
“Are you calling my stepmom a racist? My dad would never marry a racist.”
“People’s true colors don’t always come out until the actual situation arises.”
“But Elsu is such a sweet man.”
“I just know I’ve seen bigotry before. That’s what I heard.”
I shook my head and looked at Aaron’s scrap pile. “I’m going to go weigh this. My stepmother is not a racist,” I said as I guided the cart toward the warehouse where we had a large scale.
When I got to the warehouse I found Jim and Bill restocking a bay. “Hey Mae, everything is back to normal here. Except now we have all these gaps that are too small for a whole bay and Millard is going nuts over that.” He pointed to one of the holes.
“Well, hopefully he can figure something out. Even if he puts up some fake walls or whatever to cover the hole. Maybe that might work.”
The rest of my day was spent putting out little fires between the warehouse, garage, and front customer area. A customer asked to purchase a shirt
and that’s when I noticed Elsu had signed a few and put the price up by ten dollars. “Did you know he did this?” I asked Bonnie.
I held up a shirt with his signature across it. “No, Mae. He was signing the ones he sold but I didn’t know he signed the ones that were in there.”
“Not all of them, just a few.” The customer gladly paid the extra ten bucks for an autographed shirt. “I’m dating a nut!” I said as I checked the customer out. It was then that I realized I hadn’t heard from him all day.
I grabbed my phone from my purse and realized I had missed his call twice and a number of text messages. I had turned the sound off while I was talking to my dad and now I missed hearing Elsu’s voice. “Damn,” I said as I walked to my office and closed the door behind me. I was glad the blinds were open again.
WE’RE IN BOSTON, I’M MISSING YOU.
I CALLED, NO ANSWER, HOPE YOU’RE SAFE. I MISS YOU.
WOW, THESE TEXTS ARE PATHETIC. I FEEL LIKE THE HIGH SCHOOL BOY HOPING HIS CRUSH GETS HIS MESSAGES. BUT THAT’S WHAT YOU DO TO ME, MAE. STILL MISSING YOU.
HAD OUR SHOOTAROUND. NOT SURE IF THERE WILL BE PRESS TO DEAL WITH, IF NOT, I’M FREE UNTIL GAME TIME. WHERE DID YOU GO?
He was pathetic, but I loved it. His voice messages were very similar in content to his texts. I texted him back.
SORRY I DIDN’T GET YOUR MESSAGES SOONER, TURNED MY PHONE DOWN WHILE I WAS TALKING TO MY DAD AND FORGOT TO TURN THE SOUND BACK ON. TALKED TO APRIL, WE SEEM TO BE TAKING A TURN FOR THE BETTER NOW. I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR QUIZ QUESTIONS WERE. I’M BACK AT THE HOME SHOP NOW, CALL ME WHEN YOU ARE ABLE. HOPE YOUR ANGEL IS HOLDING ON TIGHT. GOING TO CHANGE INTO PAJAMAS AND CURL UP ON MY RECLINER TO WATCH YOU WHEN I GET HOME TONIGHT. THINKING OF YOU ALWAYS. MAKE ALL THE POINTS!
I sent the message off with a smile and quickly set to working in my office. I was going to be working late to make up for my trip. After some time, all that remained in the shop were Millard, April, and I. They sat out in the customer waiting area as I worked. I felt rushed knowing they were waiting on me, but I didn’t want to mess anything up. I always made a point to be thorough and diligent. By the time we left it was after 6:30.
CHAPTER 12
Once at the apartment, Millard told me to stop in Elsu’s unit first to see something, so we walked to the fourth floor. I prayed the elevator would be fixed soon with every step. Once inside the apartment I froze. It was like a brand new place. “What did you do?” I asked.
“Not me, Magdalena and Richard. She found someone willing to bring everything up. Walls were painted yesterday, new carpet is down. If there’s anything here you think Elsu or your brother won’t like, please tell us and we can send it back.”
Knowing what the place looked like before, anything would be better. But this was greater than I could have imagined. Magdalena emerged from her room with Uncle Richard close behind. I gave them both a hug and thanked them for such an amazing job with the apartment. It was absolutely perfect. “I don’t know what his tastes are in furniture, but I know I’d be pleased with this!” I gave myself a tour around the living area and kitchen. The cabinets had been replaced, and new appliances had been installed. I could only imagine the stress of hauling the heavy appliances up the stairwell. “I sure hope you tipped those guys well,” I said as I ran my hand across the cool new refrigerator.
“Yes ma’am,” said Magdalena.
“We used a pulley system outside and brought stuff up through the windows,” said Uncle Richard.
“Are you serious?” I asked, covering my mouth at the thought.
“Sure did. Anything that we could secure and would fit came through Millard’s window since it’s a little wider than the others.” He pointed toward Millard’s door.
“Come here, one more thing to see,” said Uncle Richard as he guided me toward Elsu’s bedroom. I stopped at the doorway, knowing Elsu’s no-girls-allowed rule.
“I can’t come in, Richard. It wouldn’t be right,” I said.
He eyed me curiously as if I was crazy but seemed to understand. The room, like the main living area, had been painted and carpeted. A beautiful four-poster bed with white linen and hunter green accent pillows sat between the two windows in the room. From my vantage point, I could see Richard walk to the hardwood dresser that sat against the wall and he opened the drawers. “See? All stocked with what you bought yesterday. The closet is full, too. He’s going to be very surprised.”
“Do you think he’ll like what I bought? I’m not sure he’ll be ok with what we chose.” I was really nervous about his reaction to everything we’d done for him.
“I didn’t see anything you bought that I didn’t think he’d wear. Plus the fact that you picked them out will make him even more thrilled.”
“By the way,” said Millard from the living room. “Mr. Benjamin called me while you were gone and I told him where you were when you were visiting your dad. He was worried since you weren’t replying.”
I frowned as I walked back into the living room. “I know, I feel horrible for missing his calls and texts. I’m not very good at being a girlfriend. But I did send him a response.” A clock on a nearby shelf started dinging and I realized it was seven. “I have to go watch the game!” I said as I started toward the door.
“You can watch with us, we have plenty of room now,” said Uncle Richard.
“Thanks, but I’m going to go eat my leftovers and curl up in my recliner in my PJs. I’ll see you all tomorrow!” I gave Uncle Richard a kiss on the cheek then left with April.
We went down to my apartment where I saw Arnold standing at the window at the end of the hallway.
“Arnold, what are you doing?”
“Mae-Belle, this plant Colette put here was all knocked over. I was trying to clean it up before she saw it or she’d freak out.”
By the time I got to him, I saw he had nearly cleaned it up. “That thing’s been there for years now. How would it have gotten upset?”
“Those guys who were here today may have done it.”
“What guys?”
“The guys who finished the installation of the monitors.”
“Oh, they finished?” I went to my door and unlocked it.
April went in before we did to make sure the place was safe. After she gave us the OK, we stepped in and I looked at the newly-installed monitor and intercom system.
“Yep. They finished this afternoon. Watching the front door is just about as exciting as daytime TV.”
“Arnold! You’re not supposed to watch the monitor for entertainment!”
“Well Mae-Belle that would be fine and dandy, but my TV isn’t working. I didn’t have anything else to do. Besides, I want to watch the game.”
I sighed. There went my quiet evening alone. Ok, alone with April, but I had hoped she’d get the hint and retire to her bedroom for the night. She had a TV in there. “Ok,” I said as I threw my leftovers in the fridge. I couldn’t eat them with Arnold watching me. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I asked.
“Whatever you’re having,” he said as he sat down in my recliner. The recliner where I had planned to curl up. I eyed April, hoping she could read my face.
“What’s wrong with your TV?” she asked Arnold.
“Not sure, it’s all static. It was working for Maury Povich earlier today but now it’s not. I tried smacking it, but that didn’t work.”
“Arnold, I’ve told you before, you can’t smack electronics into submission like you used to be able to do.”
“Eh, they don’t make shit like they used to.”
“I’m glad I didn’t live in the world where the quality of something was based on how much abuse it could take before it died.”
“Can I take a look at it?” asked April.
“Sure,” he said as he handed her his springy keychain. “But it’s not going to work, pretty sure that thing is dead.”
April left the apartment and I prayed that she could get it back up and running.
“Besides,
I like watching TV with someone from time to time. It gets kind of lonely,” he said.
And there was my sign that I wasn’t going to lose him. I couldn’t send him back to his apartment alone after that.
I popped some popcorn, divvied it up between three bowls, and grabbed Arnold a bottled water and myself a beer. I sat down on the couch and turned on my TV. The game was still in pregame so we hadn’t missed anything.
April came back shortly after I had settled in and looked at the third bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. “Can’t seem to get it to work either, Arnold. You may need a new one.”
“Shit, that mother-fu…”
“Arnold! Stop the swearing!” I warned.
Arnold took a bite of popcorn and grumbled. When we first met he swore like a sailor with a sore tooth who had just slammed his foot into a bed post. I didn’t like him doing so in front of my nephews so I was always trying to stop him. “Good thing I have nice neighbors.” He raised his bottled water to an air toast and took a drink.
“Help yourself to whatever you want that’s in the fridge. The beer is on the door,” I said to April.
“I can’t drink on the job,” she said as she went to the fridge and pulled out a water.
She sat down next to me on the couch and I wrapped myself in a throw as we watched the game. I got a text message and saw it was from Colette.
HOME FROM CHURCH, ARE YOU WATCHING THE GAME?
At that point I had to laugh.
COME ON OVER.
I replied and got up to open the door. I noticed I had gotten a text from an unknown number with an attached photo. I opened it and saw the picture of my Elsu pillow with a message.
YOU TWO ARE TOO CUTE.
I wasn’t sure who it was from but I was kind of disheartened that Elsu had shared it with one of his friends. I liked it being our own little secret. No one needed to know I slept with a stuffed Elsu at night.
The game started and Colette joined us, bringing with her a cherry pie she had saved from being tossed at church. She dished us each a piece and sat down between April and I.
In the second quarter, Elsu was up for a foul shot, he tapped his shoulder, and I smiled. “What the hell is that?” asked Arnold. “He started doing that shi…crap last night.”
