“The guy was trying to hide money so he didn’t have to pay his wife anything and he was ducking out on child support. He got what he deserved. You did the right thing,” Anna reassured him.
“I know. I’ll feel better in the morning. Sorry I woke you two up.”
“Don’t sweat it, Mad, that’s what family is for. “There’s clean linen on the bed and fresh towels in the linen closet,” Cathy said as she stood up.
“Thanks.”
“I was going to go to bed unless you still want to talk,” she said.
“No, that’s okay.”
“I’ll stay up with you, Mad.” Anna sat down next to him. “Besides I can give you the 411 on your other cousin there who went out with star baseball player Marcus Fox.” “See, I told you he was interested, Cathy.”
She kissed him on the forehead. “Yes, you did, and you were right. Get some rest after the story hour. Good night.”
“Good night,” Madison said quietly.
She went upstairs to the linen closet, took out some clean towels and placed them on one of the beds in Alex and Andrew’s room. Even though she was very concerned about Madison, there was still lightheartedness in her spirit tonight. She had a date Friday night and it was the first time she’d looked forward to Friday in a long time.
CHAPTER 10
Marcus got up early the next morning and showered. He was looking forward to a day with Cathy. Still clad in a towel, he made a phone call.
”Hello?”
“Hi, Louis.”
“Mr. Fox. What can I do for you?”
“Nothing really. I just called to tell you that I think I’ll
pick Ms. Chambers up myself.”
“Are you sure?” He sounded puzzled.
“Oh, yeah. I’ll still need you for the game tonight.” “Okay.”
“See you later, Louis. I’ve got to run.”
“All right.”
Marcus knew he had to get a move on if he wanted to
get Cathy in good time. He looked forward to the chance to get to know her better on the drive in.
v
Cathy woke up and wondered for a moment if she had dreamt the whole date thing with Marcus Fox. She pinched herself. Ouch! So the answer was a resounding yes! Cathy felt so good she even read her horoscope, something she never did. According to the stars, there were good vibrations in her future and for once Cathy believed it.
She took a warm bath and got dressed. Although her mother ran a strict religious household, she was big on the idea of taking good care of yourself whether you were single or married. Cathy got regular weekly manicures and pedicures in addition to Brazilian bikini waxes. The Boy Scouts weren’t the only ones who believe in preparedness. As usual she had The Weather Channel on while she got dressed. It looked as if the day was going to be another warm one but she decided to wear jeans anyway. Thankfully Cathy didn’t have a pair of “mom” jeans in her closet. She was an all skirts girl before Anna took her out and made her buy jeans in every cut and style available. Anna didn’t know that Beyonce had been a key in Cathy’s conversion. Before Beyonce, Cathy was so used to seeing celebrities with field goal thighs wearing jeans that she didn’t think she looked good in jeans. She smiled, remembering the first time she’d heard thighs that don’t rub together described as field goal thighs. Beyonce wore jeans and she had real thighs and a motor in the back of her Honda. Jennifer Lopez had a booty but Beyonce had BOOTY. Cathy decided she could work a pair of jeans, too. Cathy turned around in the mirror to check out the rear view and gave a little shake, humming the “Milk Shake.”
She was saved from embarrassment by the sound of a lawnmower. Mr. Little, their gardener, had obviously decided to beat the heat. Any other day the noise would have driven her crazy but today he saved her from singing out loud and letting others find out that she knew the words to a Kelis song. After all, she was a 40-year-old mother of two. What did she know about milk shakes?
Once she had the last bobby pin in place for her cool updo, she turned her attention to her makeup. Unlike yesterday, today she could manage to apply her mascara without putting an eye out with the mascara wand. The only thing she didn’t apply was lipstick. The last thing Cathy wanted to worry about was lipstick on her teeth. She was good to go except for one thing. She absolutely had to straighten up her room.
As she made her bed with perfect hospital corners, Cathy suddenly realized how alone she’d been for the past two years. She’d been sleeping alone in a king size bed for so long that its size was lost on her. She wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen between her and Marcus, but she hoped she remembered how to share, if the situation arose. She caught herself smiling. “Cut that out, Catherine!” she scolded herself.
v
Marcus was on his way to Amityville when his cell rang. “Hello?”
“Hey, Marcus.”
“Hey, Ben. How are you?” He felt good.
“Good. But the question should be, how are you?” He smiled. “I’m fine.”
Ben groaned. “I take it you haven’t seen the paper
today.”
“I grabbed it on the way to my car but I haven’t looked
at it yet. Why?”
“There’s an item on the gossip page about you and
Cathy.”
Marcus smacked the dashboard. “You’ve got to be
kidding me. What does it say?”
“It’s just a photo with the caption ‘Is Marcus Fox Livin
Large with New Larger Lady Love?’ They can’t just leave
well enough alone.”
“Like it or not, it’s a part of their job.”
“I wonder if Cathy’s seen it.”
“I think it’s a safe bet to assume she has seen it. If she
didn’t see it herself someone else has told her about it by
now.”
“You know, I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to deal
with this stuff so soon.”
“I’m sorry buddy, the honeymoon with the press is over.
Don’t worry, I’m sure she understands.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, she’s Jim Weil’s agent and they’ve had some real
fun with him over the years.”
“How do you know he’s one of her clients?” “I did my homework.”
“I guess she and I are going to have to talk about it.” “Good. It’s one thing to have your client get a lot of
publicity; it’s another thing entirely when you’re the
subject.”
Marcus let out a loud sigh. “Okay, man. I’ll see you
later.”
“Okay. I’m sure every thing will be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Marcus looked up for a moment. He’d so wanted to
make sure he had time to talk to Cathy about the gossip circus that surrounded his life, but the press had beat him to it. He hoped her agent’s skin extended to her own life.
v
Just as Cathy finished fluffing the pillows she heard her sister yelling. She rushed out to the hall where she heard her cousin and sister talking excitedly.
She went down the stairs as quickly as she could. When she walked in the kitchen she saw that Madison had borrowed one of the boys’ sweat suits, which was about six inches too long. Nevertheless, she was a good cousin and didn’t point it out.
“What’s all the noise for?” she asked.
Madison smiled. “You made the papers.”
“Glad to see you’re feeling better, Madison,” Cathy
said.
“Thanks.”
“Now what’s all this noise about me making the
papers?” she asked. Anna handed her the paper. “It’s right here.” She pointed to an item in the paper.
Cathy couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a picture of Marcus and her walking to his car with the caption, ‘Is Marcus Fox Livin Large with New Larger Lady Love?’
She put the paper down. All that energy and confidence she’d had earlier suddenly fell down around her ankles. Her countenance changed in slow motion as she read the words ‘larger lady love.’
“They’re not used to seeing him with anyone with a little meat on her bones. It’s nothing to fret about. Marcus decided he wants some meat with his gravy,” Madison offered.
In spite of herself, Cathy laughed.
“I couldn’t have said it better, Madison. Every now and again you say something smart,” Anna teased. She couldn’t resist getting one crack in; she’d cut back. Cold turkey would have been too much to ask.
“Thanks a lot.”
“He is a famous ball player and bachelor who usually dates actresses, models and singers. Though seeing me with him was way out of left field, it still doesn’t make it any easier to see it in print.”
“Don’t let it bring you down.” Anna rubbed her back.
“Shake it off, honey,” Madison chimed in.
Cathy picked the paper up again and studied it for a moment. “It’s not a bad picture of me, though.”
“I would call that the money shot,” Madison agreed.
“The money shot?” Anna asked.
“Yeah, didn’t you see the close-up of the cleavage?” Madison asked, surprised his cousins hadn’t noticed.
Both Anna and Cathy took a closer look.
“Oh my God, they did zoom in on it!”
“Don’t you mean on them?” Anna kidded.
They broke up with laughter again.
“I guess I should have something to eat or at least some juice this morning.”
Cathy went over to the refrigerator.
“You’re not having any coffee?” Madison asked.
“Maybe later. I don’t want two cups of coffee working on my bladder on the way into the city.”
“Enough said. I get where you’re coming from.” The doorbell rang. It was only a little after nine o’clock.
“Who in the world could it be? I’ll get it.” Anna went to answer the door.
“It’s probably a Jehovah’s Witness.” Madison shrugged.
“Not at this house. We’re practically considered the anti-Christ.” Cathy snickered as she poured a small glass of orange juice. “So you’re sure you feel better, Mad?”
“So far, so good.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.” Mad and Cathy raised the juice glasses for a morning toast of solidarity.
Anna slowly walked into the kitchen.
“Was it the Watchtower people?” Cathy asked.
Before she could get a word out Marcus appeared.
“I don’t know anything about the Watchtower, but I hope I bring good news,” he said.
Cathy was completely taken by surprise. “I thought you were sending Louis.”
He walked over and planted a kiss on her. “Good morning Cathy.” He planted another kiss on her. “I decided to pick you up myself.”
“Good morning to you,” she returned.
Madison cleared his throat.
Marcus turned around with his hand out. “Hi. I’m Marcus Fox.”
Madison shook his hand. “I’m Madison Parker. I’m Cathy and Anna’s first cousin.”
“Nice to meet you,” Marcus said.
She stood up. “Marcus, this is my sister, Anna Chambers.”
They shook hands.
“I guess we sort of met at the door.”
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Anna.” He looked at her and Cathy. “You two really have some resemblance.”
“We hear that a lot.” Anna grinned.
Cathy’s eyes widened when she spotted the paper on the counter just behind Marcus. Guessing what was in her thoughts, Madison engaged Marcus in conversation. “I see the Yankees are doing pretty well. You’re on a winning streak, right?”
“Yeah. We’ve won the last four games.”
Madison’s sports interruption allowed Anna to get the paper closed and out of the way. Cathy told herself she had to remember to give Madison his props for thinking on his feet. Especially since the only sports he watched were tennis and women’s mud wrestling.
“It’s been a tough season,” Anna interjected.
“But I think we’ve seen the worst of it,” Cathy said.
“I’m sure you know my sister and nephews are big time Yankee fans. In the summer we get a play by play every morning,” Anna said.
Marcus laughed. “Works for me.” He kissed Cathy’s hand and the butterflies in her stomach went to work.
The television was tuned into the traffic report. Anna was a traffic report person. Cathy thought if she hadn’t become an accountant she would be up in a helicopter reporting on traffic patterns.
“The traffic to the city should be lighter now since it’s technically after rush hour,” Anna reported.
“Are you ready to go?” Marcus asked.
“Sure.”
“Do you have an overnight bag?”
If this were a sitcom the sound effect would have been that of a car screeching to a halt.
“An overnight bag? I didn’t realize I would need one.” Cathy felt panicked.
A light slowly dawned on Marcus. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just realized how you must have heard that. What I was saying is it gets a little chilly at night this time of year and since you’re going to be in the stands, I thought you might bring something a little warmer for the game.”
A feeling of relief came over the room and over Cathy in particular.
“I’ll throw a few things in a bag for you. It will only take me a few minutes,” Anna said before vanishing upstairs.
“I’ve got to take a deposition on the north shore,” Madison announced. He picked up his briefcase. I also need to get home and change.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Marcus.” Madison and Marcus shook hands.
“Same here.”
“I’ll check you later, Cousin.”
“Okay. See ya later.”
Madison tried to make a smooth exit but he apparently forgot the pants were extra long and he nearly fell on his face. Cathy quickly bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
“Are you all right, man?” Marcus asked.
Madison recovered quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
He rolled up the pants and made a quick exit. “I’m not going to ask about the pants.”
“Good. You don’t want to know,” Cathy said. “Enough said.”
Anna returned carrying an extra large duffle bag. It looked as if she’d packed Cathy for a week.
“Here you go.” She placed the bag near the door.
“Thanks.” Judging from the look on her face there were likely a few surprise choices in the bag.
Marcus hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and kissed Anna on the cheek.
“It was a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other in the future.”
Anna grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
Cathy grabbed her large Coach bag. “I’ll call you.”
“Okay.” She paused until Marcus was out of earshot. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She smiled mischievously as she closed the door behind Cathy.
Like a real gentleman, Marcus held the car door open for her and put her things in the backseat. A second later they were off.
CHAPTER 11
Both Cathy and Marcus knew about the newspaper item. No matter how you sliced it, the car wasn’t the place to have the conversation, so the elephant stayed between them. Marcus didn’t want anything to spoil the good feelings the two of them had shared the night before so he kept the conversation light and breezy.
“By the way, if I didn’t say it last night, thanks for the late night tour of Amityville.”
“It was my pleasure. Not only did you get to see the infamous house it, came complete with a fawning fan.”
He laughed. “He was nice.”
“It never gets tiresome does it?” Cathy asked.
“Not really.” He turned the radio down. “So is your whole family from Long Island?”
“No. My dad lived in Harlem before the family moved to Amityville in the late forties. My mom is from South Carolina. Where are your parents from?”
“My dad was raised in Chicago and my mother grew up in Cleveland.”
“How did they meet?”
“They met at Michigan State and became college sweethearts. Did your parents meet in college?”
“They met when my father was at Morgan State in Baltimore. My mother was living with some cousins and they met at a party. How long have your parents been married?”
“It will be 36 years in November.”
“That’s great. It must be nice to have parents who still like each other.”
“Still like each other?”
“Mm hmm, as far as I can tell, love is the easy part. You can love someone deeply but if you don’t like them it’s hard to stay together.”
“I never thought about it that way.”
“Liking someone is a big thing in a relationship. Trust me, I know.”
Marcus chuckled softly. “My parents still kid around and play with each other. My mom is ticklish and my father still loves to take advantage of it.”
“Oh, that’s so cute.” Cathy giggled at the thought.
“My sisters and I never thought so; he always did it whenever our friends were over. It was so embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing your kids is one of the little benefits of parenthood. What’s worse is there’s no age limit.”
“So what do I have to look forward to?”
“Embarrassing your own kids, of course.”
“I’m sure you don’t do that to your kids.”
“If I do it’s purely unintentional, which probably makes it ten times worse. I’m the single parent of boys, excuse me, young men, so there are areas I plain don’t understand.”
“So it’s just you and your sister? No brothers?”
“It was just Anna and me. The closest thing we have to a brother is Madison. Other than him, all the guys in my neighborhood were a lot older.”
“Your ex didn’t help out?”
“My ex fell off the face of the planet just a few months before they turned two.”
Not His Type Page 13
