Sweet Silver Bells

by Rochelle Alers

  Leaving her bags in the entryway, Crystal picked up the receiver to the house phone and dialed Joseph’s room. He answered on the first ring, her stomach muscles tightening slightly when she heard his voice. “Honey, I’m home,” she said into the mouthpiece.

  “Bienvenido a casa, mi amor!”

  Crystal understood bienvenido because of the signs in the Florida airport welcoming passengers to the various cities. And she needed no translation for home and my love. “Thank you.”

  “What are you up to?” he asked her.

  “I have to shower before I make some appetizers for the party.”

  “What are you making?”

  “Wonton crescents with gingered meats and a chili-soy dipping sauce.”

  “That sounds a lot more exciting than what I plan to make.”

  “What are you making?” she asked.

  “Guacamole and salsa.”

  “I’m completely clueless when it comes to making salsa. Mine always comes out much too watery.”

  “Do you want me to show you how to make it?” Joseph asked.

  “Yes. Why don’t you come over and we’ll cook together?”

  He chuckled. “That sounds like a plan.”

  “Give me half an hour, and then come on over. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

  * * *

  Crystal’s head popped up when Joseph walked into the kitchen. He placed a wicker basket on the countertop. Seeing him again made her aware of how much she had missed him. Time away from Joseph had also forced her to acknowledge that she was falling in love with him.

  If he’d thought her perfect, then she thought him spectacular—in and out of bed. She’d watched his interaction with his friends and they appeared as fond of him as he was of them. He was three G’s: gorgeous, generous and gracious.

  Wiping her hands on a terry cloth towel, she picked up the gaily wrapped box from the shelf under the cooking island. Rounding the granite-topped island and going on tiptoe, she pressed her mouth to his ear. “Happy birthday to you,” she sang softly.

  Smiling, Joseph set the basket on the countertop. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “I know, but I wanted to get you a little something.” Crystal held her breath as she watched Joseph unwrap the box. The expression on his face was something she should’ve captured with her camera phone when he gently removed the engraved monogramed Waterford crystal basketball paperweight from its packaging.

  Joseph felt the solid weight of the multifaceted glass on his palm while staring at the block-lettered monogram. His gaze shifted from the paperweight to Crystal’s charming expression. “You think you know me that well?” he teased.

  Picking up a knife, she chopped scallions, adding them to the crushed garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil in a food processor. “Don’t play yourself, Joseph. You know you’re a basketball fanatic. I’m willing to bet that the plans for your new house will include a basketball court.”

  A sheepish expression crossed Joseph’s features. “I’m sure it will.”

  “I could walk around butt-naked while a Heat game is on and you wouldn’t even bat an eye.”

  He returned paperweight to its box, then held out his arms. “Come here, baby.”

  Crystal walked into his embrace, burying her face against his warm throat. She anchored her arms under his shoulders and closed her eyes. Everything about the man with whom she’d found herself captivated seeped into her. He was so indelibly imprinted on her heart and mind that she would be able to pick him out in a darkened room with hundreds of other men.

  Resting his chin on her head, Joseph dropped a kiss on the short, damp strands clinging to her scalp. His right hand moved up and down her sweatshirt-covered back as if he were comforting her. “Nothing in this world could make me ignore you with or without your clothes.” He kissed her hair again. “Thank you so much for the gift. I’ll treasure it forever.”

  Crystal wanted to tell him it wasn’t easy buying a gift for a man who had everything and could buy whatever he wanted given his net worth. The wives and girlfriends of his frat brothers were forthcoming when they talked among themselves about Joseph’s ex-girlfriend bragging about dating a very wealthy man. Lucretia, the most vocal in the group, admitted she had accused Kiara of being a wannabe gold digger who’d probably end up marrying a freeloader.

  “You’re very welcome.” Crystal delighted in his strong embrace, his familiar scent, the way the contours of his body complemented her curves. She didn’t want to think of the time when they would exchange goodbyes.

  Pulling back slightly, Joseph angled his head, his nose nuzzling her ear, trailing kisses along her neck. She gasped softly when his teeth closed on the tender flesh as he suckled her. “Did I tell you how much I missed and love you?” he asked between clenched teeth.

  Crystal closed her eyes, willing the tears pricking the backs of her lids not to fall. He loved her, while she couldn’t tell him how much she’d come to love him. “You don’t have to say anything. I don’t know how, but there are times when I know what you’re thinking.”

  A chuckle rumbled in Joseph’s chest. “What am I thinking now?”

  “Something X-rated.”

  He laughed again. “Wrong, sweetie. It’s triple-X-rated.”

  “Should I be scared?”

  “Not today.”

  Crystal opened her eyes, meeting his. “When?”

  “That’s up to you. You have to let me know when we can make love again.”

  She glanced up, mentally counting when she would be finished with her menses. “Wednesday.”

  Joseph counted on his fingers. “Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I hope I can hold off—”

  “Don’t you dare say it,” she interrupted, placing her fingers over his mouth. “If you need some release, I believe I can help you out.”

  “No, no and no!” he protested through her fingertips.

  She dropped her arms and pushed out her lips. “Well, I did offer.”

  “There’s no need to pout.”

  “I’m not pouting!”

  “Yes, you are, baby.”

  Leaning into Joseph, Crystal ran the tip of her tongue over his lower lip, then suckled it. “To be continued.”

  Joseph released her. “To be continued,” he repeated, as he emptied the basket with avocados, tomatoes, red and yellow onions, limes, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro.

  They spent the next ninety minutes listening to the radio while preparing a concoction of spicy guacamole and salsa. Joseph assisted Crystal filling, folding and crimping wonton wrappers with pork, beef and chicken. She would wait until they got to her cousins’ house to fry them in a wok.

  Crystal experienced a comfortable peace while cooking alongside Joseph. Was this, she mused, how it would be if they married? That he would serve her breakfast in bed, then linger long enough to make love before they left for their respective offices?

  And would they eventually have a child or maybe children raised by two loving parents? She was certain they would be gracious hosts when opening their home to friends and family.

  Crystal beckoned to the man who had stolen her heart. “May I have this dance?”

  Joseph took her in his arms, twirling her around and around. “So you like old-school music?”

  Tilting her chin, she stared into a pair of eyes the color of rich, dark coffee. “Not really, but I like this song.”

  He smiled. It was Bobby Caldwell’s classic blockbuster hit, “What You Won’t Do for Love.” Pulling her closer, Joseph pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  The song ended but they continued to hold on to each other. “What do you use on your hair that makes it smell so good?” Joseph asked after a comfortable silence.

  Crystal smiled against his shoulder. “Argan
oil.”

  “I love the smell and I love you.” It was the second time he’d uttered the simple declaration.

  And for the second time that morning Crystal felt like crying. Falling in love should’ve filled her with joy, not regret, and she knew the closer the time came when she would have to leave Charleston, the more difficult it would be to keep her fragile emotions in check.

  * * *

  Joseph maneuvered into the driveway and around the rear to Xavier and Selena’s home, parking between a minivan and a late-model SUV. Unbuckling his seat belt, he got and came around to assist Crystal. “Go on in, baby. I’ll bring the food.”

  She grasped the handles of the tote with the ingredients she needed to cook the dumplings. “Are you sure?”

  Cradling her face between his hands, he kissed her forehead. “Very sure.”

  Crystal climbed three steps and opened the door leading into the kitchen. Mouthwatering aromas filled the space as Xavier stood at the stove top grilling baby lamp chops.

  “Hey, cuz,” she called out.

  “Hey, yourself. Where’s your boyfriend?”

  Her cousin referring to Joseph as her boyfriend didn’t bother her as it did the first time they’d come to his home. “He’s coming.” She glanced around the gourmet kitchen. “Are we late?”

  “No. Everyone got here about ten minutes ago.”

  “Where’s Selena?”

  “She’s upstairs putting Lily to bed. It’s a little early, but baby girl didn’t take a nap this afternoon because the doorbell was constantly ringing. This year we decided to cater most of the meat dishes.”

  “What did you...” Her words trailed off when Joseph entered the kitchen carrying two oversize shopping bags. Moving quickly, she approached him, taking the bag with the pan of wontons. She took them out of the bag, setting them on the countertop.

  Xavier lowered the flame on the grill. “Let me take that,” he said to Joseph. Reaching into the bag, he removed two large glass bowls filled with guacamole and salsa. Lifting the top on the bowl with the salsa, he blew out an audible breath. “Damn! This stuff is guaranteed to singe a few eyebrows.”

  Joseph laughed. “Nothing a few ice-cold beers can’t cure.”

  “No lie,” Xavier drawled, grinning.

  “He shouldn’t have brought anything.” Everyone turned to find Selena standing at the entrance to the kitchen, hands folded at her waist. She walked in and hugged and kissed Crystal. “I specifically told you not to bring anything,” she said. She turned and hugged Joseph. “Thank you for coming, partner.”

  Joseph gave her a warm smile. “Back at you, partner.”

  Waving her hand at Xavier in a gesture of dismissal, Selena picked up a pair of tongs, testing the lamp chops for doneness. “Darling, I’ll take over here. Why don’t you and Joseph take the salsa and guacamole upstairs? Criss and I will finish up, and then we’ll join you.”

  “Are you certain you don’t need us?” Xavier asked.

  Selena nodded. “We’re very certain.” Waiting until the two men were out of earshot, she turned to Crystal. “You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”

  Crystal recoiled as if she’d taken a punch in the nose. However, she recovered quickly. “Why would you ask me that?”

  Pulling out the collar on the man-tailored shirt, Selena traced the slight bruise on the area above Crystal’s collarbone. “You have a love bite right here.”

  Crystal’s blood warmed, her cheeks burning as she recalled Joseph biting her neck. However, she hadn’t noticed the mark when getting dressed. Her hands were shaking noticeably when she fastened a button. “I guess he got a little carried away,” she mumbled. Walking out of the kitchen, she washed her hands in the sink in the half bath.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re embarrassed,” Selena said when she returned.

  “I’m not embarrassed that we slept together. What I don’t want to do is to advertise it. Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked when the other woman shot her an incredulous look.

  “What’s the big secret? It’s only a matter of time before your families find out you’re involved with each other.”

  Crystal shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. Whatever we have now will end once I leave Charleston.” She told Selena about returning to Florida for a brief stay before traveling on to New York City and another commission. “Joseph will be here at least until late April or early May.”

  Selena removed the meat from the grill, placing it in a warming drawer. “So, you won’t see him for a while. What’s wrong with that?”

  “I’m just beginning to grow my business and I can’t commit to an ongoing relationship at this time.”

  “Is Joseph asking for a commitment?”‘

  “No.” Crystal told Selena about the terms she and Joseph agreed to with regard to their temporary liaison. “Joseph isn’t ready for marriage and neither am I. We enjoy each other’s company, so what happens in Charleston stays in Charleston.”

  “So.” Selena snapped her fingers. “You’re going to walk away from someone who appears so suited to you.”

  Opening a drawer under the countertop, Crystal took out an apron, slipping it on over her blouse and jeans. “I’m not walking away, Selena. I just can’t afford to get sidetracked when it comes to my career.”

  “Look at me, Criss. I’m married and a mother, yet I still have a successful career.”

  Reaching up, Crystal took down a wok and its cover from an overhead rack. “How much do you know about my parents?”

  Selena lowered her eyes. “I know your father has been married four times.”

  “And he’s about to embark on a fifth.”

  “No!”

  Crystal couldn’t help laughing at Selena’s shocked expression. “My mother and father met in college. They dated, broke up and reconciled so many times they had to have lost count. During their last separation, Daddy heard she was seeing someone in New York and he managed to woo her back. She’d stopped taking the pill, so she relied on him to protect her from an unplanned pregnancy. Within a month of earning her MFA she was scheduled to move to New York to work as an appraiser with a Manhattan auction house, but she had to decline the position once she discovered she was pregnant. She blamed Daddy for deliberately getting her pregnant to keep her from moving to New York to advance her career, while Daddy blamed her for tricking him into marriage, because he’d always said he didn’t want to father a child out of wedlock.”

  Selena watched as Crystal poured a small amount of sunflower oil into the wok, waiting for it to heat before she placed the crescents in the hot oil. “If your father was so against marriage, then why has he married so many times?”

  “I don’t know. The only thing I can figure is that my father is a control freak. In other words, he wants everything to be his decision, and he believes to this day that my mother forced him into marriage. I grew up with them constantly trading insults and blame, and that’s something I never want my children to experience.”

  Selena gave Crystal a sidelong glance. “Do you think you’ll ever marry?”

  “I don’t know.” Crystal lifted a crescent to see if the underside was crispy; she added enough water to come about halfway up the sides of each wonton and then covered the wok and waited for the water to evaporate. “Do you have a chip-and dip bowl?”

  “Yes.” Selena retreated to the pantry, where she stored dishes she used for entertaining. She returned to the kitchen with the large bowl. “Are you marriage-phobic?”

  Selena was asking questions Crystal wasn’t ready to answer, or to which she didn’t have an answer. Not at that moment. She’d always believed she would eventually marry. But it wasn’t something that topped her wish list. Her career had become her priority.

  When she actually thought about it, Cryst
al realized she was more like her parents than she would openly admit. She had become a control freak like Raleigh with regard to marriage, and as fixated on interior decorating as Jasmine was with appraising, buying and selling pieces of art.

  “I don’t believe I am. Right now I don’t feel any pressure to marry, because I’m only thirty. I know I’ll probably think differently four or five years from now if I want to start a family.”

  Crystal raised the lid on the wok, smiling. All of the water had evaporated. Pouring the chili-soy dipping sauce into a microwave-safe bowl, she heated it. She plated the warm wontons, arranging them neatly. “I’m not going to fill the dip cup until we’re upstairs.”

  The two women carried platters of herb-infused lamp chops and meat-infused gingered wontons with a chili-soy sauce up the staircase to the expansive theater room. Many of the invited guests had claimed leather reclining seats with cup holders, eating and drinking while watching pregame programming, while the others were serving themselves from the buffet with hot and cold dishes.

  Her cousins had spared no expense when it came to renovating the space for entertaining. The contractor had installed a built-in bar with high stools, an efficiency kitchen, a bathroom, four rows of seats, with six in each row, set up theater-style, a crystal-clear mounted flat-screen taking up almost an entire wall. The opposite end of the space contained a game room with skee ball, pool and Ping-Pong tables and several vintage pinball machines. The crisp sound coming from the audio components made Crystal feel as if she were in a modern movie theater.

  Crystal reacquainted herself to the guests she’d met when they attended Selena and Xavier’s wedding in West Virginia. Most of the men were ex-military, some who’d attended the Citadel with Xavier and a few who taught at the same military school where her cousin now taught military history.

  Within the span of a week she’d interacted with Joseph and Xavier’s friends. It was a blatant reminder of how sterile her social life had become. She still kept in touch with some of her friends in New York and the sorority sisters with whom she shared a closer bond, but it had been a while since she saw them in person. Crystal made a mental note to call her former grad school classmates to let them know she planned to spend several months in the Big Apple and looked forward to reconnecting with them.