“That’s one way to approach it,” Dwayne said. “Not exactly what I’d do but the concept is noble.”
“Look, I don’t want to spend it all in one year, you know. Besides, I want to make sure that you and Jacqui and the kids have a great Christmas this year.”
“Hey, cous. You have a point there,” Dwayne smiled. “Anyway, you don’t know how much I appreciate the sentiment. As they say, every little bit helps.”
“Look, you’ve been there for me throughout the years.”
“Come to think of it, I have.” Dwayne chuckled. “You know, you owe me big time.”
The two laughed.
In a more serious tone, Dwayne said, “Kurt. I’m curious. How much time are you giving Leslie to come around?”
“It’s been close to six months already since she left so I’ll give her another six months just to make it a full year.”
“What if she doesn’t find her way back by then?” Dwayne said, draining the last of his cola.
“After that, she’s on her own. Of course, she’ll be entitled to some of my winnings, and I have no problem with that. But with that said, I remain optimistic. I believe in love and the power of love. I honestly feel that my wife is still in love with me. She’s just confused right now. But I’ll wait. What’s another six months? It’s not like we are going to fall for anyone else in that short of a time frame.”
“But what if you should find someone else during that time who’s taken a liking to you? How will you deal with that?”
“No other woman could captivate my heart like Leslie has. Besides, I doubt if I could ever love another woman the way I love her.”
“I respect the sentimental notion, but I’m talk’n what if, cous?”
“If there is someone else out there, another Leslie type. I haven’t met her yet. But I think I would recognize her if I saw her.”
“And how?”
“She will be a mature, intelligent, classy and attractive woman. My hope is that she is a conservative outside of the bedroom and very liberal inside it. She’d also have to have a business mind and an entrepreneurial spirit about her. And it would help if she was a Capricorn.”
“Why Capricorn?”
“Because that’s what Leslie is and what I am.”
“That’s right! You’re a New Year’s Day baby.”
“That’s right, Mr. Virgo. And don’t forget it,” he smiled. “Now, while we’re on the subject, let’s make that phone call to see if I really am a millionaire.”
Yvette left her office and ventured into the restaurant area. It had been a long day on top of a long month. She had put in several fifty-hour workweeks to make sure that her financial records were in order. And the time and effort were well worth it. She had received word earlier that she had passed their recent audit with flying colors. And she was amply praised for her efforts. Dinner was on the house tonight. Juanita was on hand to celebrate, along with her latest catch.
“Well, congratulations!” Juanita exclaimed. “Have a sit down, gal. You earned it.”
“Thank you,” Yvette replied, taking a seat.
“This is my friend, Mitch,” Juanita said, as she introduced her handsome beau. “Mitch, this is my best friend, Yvette.”
“Glad to meet you, Yvette,” he said in a deep husky voice.
The two extended their hands and shook.
A waitress whirled by and asked for their drink and food orders.
“I’ll have the Seasoned Butter Grilled Salmon, Fresh Fruit Chutney and Spinach Mashed Potatoes,” Yvette said. “And ask Stew at the bar to give me the best red wine in the house. Thank you, Lillian.”
“Will do,” the waitress smiled as she jotted down the order on her pad.
“I’ll have the New Orleans Shrimp with Cajun Beans and Rice,” Juanita said. “I would like a Martini to go with that order, please.”
“I would like the Crispy Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing and Dripping Sauce,” Mitch said. “I’ll have a Red Wine to go along with my order. Thank you.”
The waitress took off.
“So my entrepreneurial friend, how’s the small business loan coming along?” Juanita asked, after taking a bite of her house salad.
“I have a ways to go. But I’m getting there.”
“You don’t mind if I share your fantastic dream and goal with Mitch?”
“No, not at all.”
Turning to her beau, Juanita said, “Yvette wants to go into the restaurant business. She’s trying to get a small business loan. It hasn’t been easy for her, though.”
“It is never as easy as they make it seem on the advertisements,” Mitch said, as he lifted the glass of water to his lips to drink.
“Mitch is a former vice-president of a bank but now runs several successful car dealerships,” Juanita said.
“Which bank?” Yvette asked.
“Tropical Island Trust Bank,” Mitch chimed in. “Look, I’ll give you a name and number. Just tell them that Mitch sent you.”
“Thank you, thank you very much,” Yvette replied, her eyes beaming.
“Y’all excuse me, please. I’m going to the men’s room.” With that, he stood up and faded from view.
“So where did you meet him?”
“I met him at the car dealership last week. I was there to get an oil change. I decided to look at some of the new cars on display and he found his way over to me. Handsome creature and single too. And might I add, financially well off. Need I say anything more?”
“No. I know how you operate.”
“Efficiently, dear. Very efficiently.”
“So what happened to the guy that was hung like a mule? The one with the brother.”
“I had to break that off.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want him to find out what I found out…that his younger brother was hung better than he was.”
“Nooo! You didn’t?”
“Did I ever say that there was any shame in my game?”
“No,” Yvette said through laughter.
“Okay. Just remember, I’m not married or committed to anyone. But I do love variety.”
“I just hope you’re being careful, Juanita. Besides, I don’t want you to end up in hell.”
“Don’t you worry, my dear. I gets my checkups and my shots on a regular basis. As for the man upstairs, I pray for forgiveness every day for whatever sins I commit, knowingly or unknowingly.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I really am. Look, do you think Mitch can really help me?”
“I don’t know. You know how quick men are to try to impress us women.”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’m going to look into it anyway.”
“I would,” Juanita replied. “He just may still have some pull over at the bank.”
“I hope you’re both right.”
“Hey, what are friends for?”
Chapter 6
Less than a week had passed since Kurt swung his new motorhome off of the sunbaked roads and into the RV resort where it was now parked. It had taken him four leisurely days to make the drive from scorching Phoenix, Arizona to sunny Tampa Bay, Florida. For him, the cool Gulf breeze made Tampa the more tolerable climate of the two cities.
Fresh off an afternoon of sleep, he stepped outside his luxury RV and gazed about the park. It felt damn good to be off the road, he thought. Being here sure beat being on the perilous and nerve-wrenching US Interstate highway system, hands down. No traffic jams, no fatigue to fight, no fast moving eighteen wheelers to avoid, no grisly road kill to look at, no hardnosed state troopers in marked and unmarked cars to look out for, no crazy drivers to avoid hitting, no rough looking hitchhikers to ignore, and no rest stop leisure gals. Just plain old RV camping life, now. So far, Kurt was pleased with what he had seen of Tampa the past week.
He could not deny that he was still in love with Leslie. His hope was for them to get back together again. He sensed there was something she wasn’t telling him, though. There was a dist
ance between them, but he hoped he could get her to be more specific and more forthcoming about it. Not vague, as she had tended to be. Still, if things did not work out between them, Tampa was as good a place to put his past behind him, he thought. There was one thing he took notice of, looking about. There was no shortage on wholesome and beautiful looking women. The place was crawling with sumptuous women, just as Dwayne said it would be. Was it possible the limits of his love and commitment to Leslie would be tested here, he pondered?
Taking another moment to absorb his surroundings, Kurt raised his chin and inhaled. He gazed skyward and pondered the weather. Only a slight chance of rain, he had heard on the radio. Good! He’d go cycling to tone up his lower body and along the way, he’d familiarize himself with the neighborhood. Then he’d grab a sandwich along the way and return home…home being his custom-made forty-two foot long Gulf Stream Tour Master Motorhome. As most people do with boats or their cars, Kurt fondly christened his motorhome Moonbeam. The brand was known as luxury on wheels throughout the RV industry. Home sweet home, Kurt called it. Walking over to the mildly aromatic cedar closet he retrieved his cycling outfit, inspected it, and put it on.
An hour later, amidst an ever increasing cloudy sky and the threat of possible showers, Kurt stored his bike in the bottom storage cavity of the motorhome, stepped up into his palace on wheels and headed for the rear bedroom where he untied and kicked his cycling shoes off, tossing them into a nearby corner. Bending down, he stepped out of his athletic trousers, which he tossed into the dirty clothes hamper, and took off his top. He then peeled himself out of his briefs and tossed them into the hamper for an additional two points. Naked as a newborn Asian piglet in the wild, he headed straight for the bathroom area for a well-deserved shower.
Being a new arrival to the Tampa Bay area, Kurt looked over a map of the area on his computer, the same computer he used to find his new job here in Tampa. Only two months earlier he was browsing the expanse of Cyberspace when he came across the classified and section. The full time position advertised online was a county position. Career Service Facilitator. Salary- $29,800 a year.
After an initial inquiry, Kurt received a faxed application, filled it out, and three weeks later was asked to come to the Tampa Bay area for an interview. Though he had not worked for nearly five months, it bothered him little, thanks to the phenomenal $100 million dollar power-ball jackpot, for which he had won half of. It certainly helped him get a good night’s sleep. Talk about beginners luck! It was unbelievable to him at first and such that he could barely eat or sleep for three days at the onset of his windfall. If it weren’t for his cousin Dwayne, who bought the ticket for him, and reminded him about the drawing, he might have still been unemployed and broke.
Dicey was the best way Kurt could describe it in the beginning months of his windfall, and before he moved to Florida. A month had not passed when Leslie called to let him know that she had just arrived at Philadelphia International Airport. She had a seven-hour layover due to an air-conditioning problem on the plane. She told him she was on her way to Boston for a conference when the plane’s temperature became elevated. They were not originally scheduled to land in Philadelphia but it was the nearest airport to land at. She wanted to know if they could get together for lunch before her flight resumed.
Only slightly concerned that she might have caught wind of his lotto winnings, he agreed to meet with his wife at a restaurant less than two miles from the air terminal. Knowing that her stay was going to be brief and restricted to the Philadelphia area and not in New Jersey comforted him some. There was only a slim chance she might pick up an old magazine with an article about him in it, as he remembers it.
“So, have you been taking good care of yourself?” Leslie asked, her eyes shaded by the dark sunglasses she wore.
“I’ve no complaints, Leslie,” he replied, as he held the door of the deli open. Leslie stepped inside. Kurt followed. The two took seats at a nearby booth.
After the waitress took their beverage order, Leslie scolded herself silently, told herself how foolish she was for suggesting this get together in the first place. She knew his memory was long. But she wanted to find a way to get back into his good grace. Though their last outing was less than cordial, she had convinced herself that things weren’t all that bad between them. Certainly nothing that a little TLC wouldn’t cure.
“So, how’s life in Oklahoma these days?” he asked her, after a sip from his water glass. “Are you still living with your sister or are you in your own place now?”
“I’m still with my sister, for now,” she said vaguely, hoping that she had gotten the best of his curiosity. “As for business. I expect it to pick up soon.”
Kurt nodded, then said, “I’m sure things will work out for you. I just wished that things would work themselves out between us.”
Leslie stirred. Her brow furrowed slightly. “Look, before you say anything else, I just want to apologize for being stand-offish the last time we were together.”
“You mean the night you weren’t in the mood, I presume.”
“If that’s the way you want to remember it, yes.”
“Please, let’s not take the low ground,” he said, his mouth thinned with displeasure.
“You were pretty good at traveling down that road.”
“And please let’s not exaggerate either,” he insisted.
“Look, the last time we met, I was feeling all cramped up,” she reminded him. “I didn’t want to tell you then but it was that time of the month. Besides, on the visit before that, you stormed out of the house and sat in the car. Still, I got you to come back in the house and from what I remember; I made it worth your time. So it wasn’t as though you were constantly being deprived.”
“You’re right, Leslie,” he said, almost apologetically. “It’s just hard being spontaneous with you, at times.”
“I know, I admit.”
“Anyway, I’m a different person now,” he replied. “I am through with trying to persuade you to do what you’re not feeling up to doing, okay.”
Hearing that, Leslie’s expression softened and so did her tone.
“But Leslie, I just need to know one thing, are you still in love with me?”
Kurt gazed solemnly at Leslie as she seemed to collect her thoughts. When he thought she had enough time collecting, he added, “I’m still waiting, Leslie.”
Brushing a strand of hair aside, she leaned forward and touched his hand with her gloved hand. “Kurt, I will always love you. But I’m just not in love with you anymore.”
“So what you are saying is that you’re through with me.”
“No, not exactly. I do want you in my life in some way and in some capacity. That I know. But not on a daily basis as I know you want.”
“Leslie, I really cannot see us being anything less than what we were once,” Kurt replied, as he leaned forward, his heart swelling with pain.
“Meaning it’s all or nothing with you?”
“You can say that,” he answered, as his eyes met hers disparagingly.
“Kurt, there are times I think of you and times I wished you were near.”
“So you do miss me,” he murmured.
“Sometimes,” she answered softly.
He appeared reluctant to say anything more, but when he did he lost his restraint. “For someone who proclaims to miss me sometimes, you sure haven’t been tearing up the phone lines trying to get in touch with me. And another thing, I know that your flight originated out of Norfolk, Virginia and not Oklahoma. I also know that you’ve been keeping company with that young attorney friend of yours since you’ve been over this side of the coast. And yes, I have my sources. What’s his name, again? Q?”
Leslie’s eyes widened. Slightly on the defensive, she responded. “You’ve been checking up on me I see. Qwamie is his name, if that’s who you’re referring to. Anyway, he’s just a good friend, Kurt. That’s all.”
“Good enough to spend an entire week wit
h in Virginia Beach. Look, a friend of mine just happened to be there last weekend on business when she ran into you two lovebirds. Both you and your friend were spotted lying on the beach carrying on like you were the hottest couple of the year. And that was just the public side of things. I dare to wonder what you two were like in private. So please, let’s cut through the chase and spare me the pleasantries. Besides, aren’t you around eight years his senior?”
Her face was still frozen from the sting of his words and his revelation, but she managed to compose herself and reply. “Okay, I’ll admit I was in Virginia Beach and that I am on my way back to Oklahoma, not Boston. And yes, Qwamie was there. Still, it’s not what you think it was. And by the way, I am five years, not eight years, his senior.”
“Whatever.”
“I’d like for you to tell me who this friend is, the one who told you all of this.”
“It doesn’t matter who told me,” he said forcefully. “The fact remains, you lied to me.”
“Look, we were there for a legal conference. That’s all.”
“Sure. I thought you’d come up with something like that.”
“Let me finish, please.”
Kurt clammed up, taking time to think for a moment before speaking again.
“Look, we were on the beach to go swimming that afternoon, you know, relaxing and just having fun. That’s what people do on the beach. And for your information, it wasn’t just the two of us. There were several others with us. Anyway, he began to get playful and before I realized it he rolled me over on top of him and kissed me. Dammit Kurt, he caught me off guard. Sure, I probably responded to his kiss in a way that I shouldn’t have. You know, it’s been a while since any man, other than yourself, kissed me. But nothing happened after that. I swear! We stayed in separate rooms.”
Kurt grew thoughtful but said nothing.
“Hell, I don’t even know why I’m trying to explain any of this to you,” she said with exasperation in her voice. “We are no longer together, remember.”
Cafe Romance Page 8
