“What do you want, Rodger?”
“I must talk with Delia, if you don’t mind, Jaslyn. Where is she?”
“She’s gone on an errand and you are not welcome here anymore after the bullshit you put her through. Why would she want to talk with you, anyways?”
“Because I have something to get squared away with her and I need to talk with her about it all.”
“What is it you want to get squared away with me, Rodger?”
She came from the office and stood next to Jaslyn who said, “You don’t have to talk with him.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to hear what bullshit line he’s going to try and cough up.” She could tell he had gotten frustrated by her comment but Delia didn’t really give a flying fuck how he felt. It was nothing compared to how she had felt.
“Can we talk somewhere in private?”
“No, we can’t, and you have,” looking over at the grandfather clock, “just five minutes to tell me what the hell you want.”
“I want you back with me, Delia. I had a long talk with both my parents, especially my father. He really liked you a lot more than my mom did and he hated that this had gone down like it did. He told me that he didn’t even know that my mom was going to tell you all of that.”
“But you went along with it, you could have stopped her before you guys even got into the car and told her that you weren’t going to do what you all did to me.” Delia reminded him.
“I didn’t know she was going to do all that, Delia. You’ve got to at least believe me on that.”
“Well, I don’t, and you have three minutes left.”
“Well, I didn’t know. I had talked with her about you going to lunch together and she said that she had something to talk with you about. When I decided to go with her, she never told me a thing about what she had planned on doing.”
“Why am I having such a hard time believing him, Jaslyn?”
“Everything that he has basically said so far has proven to me that he’s still a little boy despite the fact that he left his home and got out on his own. You still were a momma’s boy all along.” Jaslyn told him shaking her head.
“Listen bitch, I’m here to talk with Delia and not to hear you mouthing off at me.”
“Rodger, get the fuck out of our shop now! How dare you talk to my friend that way?” Delia couldn’t believe him, for he had never raised his voice like that to Jaslyn before. But of course, that had been when they were still together. There was no telling what secrets he had been hiding from her all this time, for now what she was seeing before her was the true side of his personality.
“Listen, all I wanted to do was talk to you in private and not in front of your friend so she could put her two cents in. Why can’t we talk alone, for Christ’s sake?” he pleaded with her.
But what came through the door made both women smile, for there stood Simone along with Renzo and Federico. “I think the ladies told you to leave,” Simone demanded as the three men walked closer toward a now shocked Rodger.
“Wait a minute. Aren’t you that lawyer who came to the jail?”
“Yeah, I am, and I think the ladies asked you to leave. Actually, you have no reason to be here, you don’t work here any longer and I know that Delia hasn’t anything else to say to you, do you, Delia?”
“Not anymore. His five minutes are up and he had the nerve to yell at Jaslyn.” Delia told him as she saw Renzo move in a bit closer but being held back by Federico.
“I think for your safety, it’s best for you to go right now and not come back, much less call this shop or Delia, ever again.” Simone told him with the enraged look of a madman.
Delia had never seen such anger being projected from the brothers as there was at that moment. She knew that if Rodger was to do something stupid he wouldn’t have a chance. “Rodger, do what they say. Go and live your life and let me live mine now. It’s over between us. Anything that you do from now on is only going to get me more upset and you more aggravated. It’s time for us to both move on to better things with other people.” She looked over at Simone who nodded in agreement.
“Are you sure about that Delia? Because once I’m gone, that’s it,” Rodger told her. That was when Federico went to the door to open it, and like some kind of greeter motioned his arm toward the entrance. She heard him chuckle a bit.
“I guess you didn’t have to answer it for me, then.” Rodger looked over at her for the last time. In a way her heart kind of tugged a bit for this was the man who she had loved and who she had thought loved her just as much. He gave her a small wave and said, “Goodbye, Delia, and I’m sorry.” And with that he walked out of the door that Federico closed behind him. After that it seemed like all eyes were on her, waiting to see what she was going to do or say next. But all Delia could do was sigh, running her hand on the back of her neck while her other arm wrapped around waist.
“Sweetheart, are you all right?” asked Jaslyn.
She nodded as Simone immediately came over to her, holding her in his arms. Immediately she felt comfort and ease.
“How did you guys know that he was over here?” Jaslyn asked Renzo and Federico.
“Actually, I did. I was talking with one of my friends across the street and saw him pull up in a brand new black Aston Martin Vanquish. I’ve never seen one so brand new and I went over to tell Ren and Simone about it. We all came out and looked it over and that’s when we heard the shouting from the shop. Naturally, we came in and saw what was going on.”
* * * *
That son of a bitch decided to come back, Simone thought, he had some nerve. He was holding Delia close and rubbing her back to comfort her. “I can’t believe he brought his ass back over here.”
“Neither can I, and I was shocked he called me a bitch like that. Honestly, we saw the true Rodger today, I’m just glad he’s gone for good.” Jaslyn declared.
“Same here,” he heard Delia mumble. “Thanks so much you guys, for coming over.”
Simone looked at her, moving a strand of hair from her face until he could see that smile. “Now, that’s better. I don’t want to see you down like that again. I only want to see a smile. Listen, I’m glad I came over because I’ve got to head back to the office to handle some paperwork that needs my signature and all. I’ll call you tonight, all right?” And with a kiss on her forehead and a hug, he left the group and headed out toward his car which was parked in the parking lot of Filomena’s. He wasn’t going back home, at least not yet, he thought while clicking the unlock button of his key fob to his car. Once he got inside and started it up, he drove out of the parking lot and headed to his mother’s house. He had called to ask her for a favor that he had been cooking up in his head for a long time, now.
It didn’t take him long to get to his mother’s house. He was surprised that he hadn’t gotten pulled over by the cops because he had been going so fast. But he had been excited about all he had been thinking about for the past day or so. It had been a dream of his, really for years, as far as Delia was concerned. Now that he had her in his life once more, he wanted to do something that was so special that it would be with them forever in their memories. His mother had told him that she would be in the garden waiting for him. She had also told him that she had made some of her famous cheesecake so of course he was going to take the opportunity to be the first to grab a slice before his brothers did.
Walking along the stone path that would lead him toward the garden, he called out, “Mom, I’m here!” Soon he came upon the small table and two chairs, already set up for tea.
“Hello darling,” He looked over, seeing his mother bringing over two saucers with slices of cheesecake. “Sit on down and pour the tea.”
He watched her come over, pulling out her chair for her as she sat down. As he began to pour her a cup of tea, she asked him, “Now, my son, why did you want to talk with me today?”
“I’ve been thinking about recreating something here in the garden for a date with De
lia.” He noticed the surprised look on his mother’s face as she spooned some sugar into her cup.
“Like on your first date together?”
“I want to try and do it tonight. I just need to know where I can get those lanterns we had up all over the garden that time.”
“Tonight? My goodness, my dear, that doesn’t give me much time. Well, I can make a few calls but I know we can get things fixed up here before tonight so you don’t have to worry about that, sweetheart. I can handle the decorations as well as the food since you would like to recreate that night.”
“Great, I also am planning on buying her this dress that I saw in a shop here in town. It looks somewhat like the dress she wore that night. But I don’t know what her dress size is, though.”
“Well, I can remedy that problem, go and get the phone from inside.” He watched her take another sip of tea. “Go on now, go and get the phone.”
He walked inside toward the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone from the dock. Simone wondered what his mother was planning to do when he brought it back to her. Sitting back down he watched her dial and wait for someone to answer. “Hello, Delia, how are you doing, my dear? Oh good, that’s wonderful. Listen, a friend of mine brought me this beautiful cream-colored jacket and skirt outfit. It’s a size twelve, do you think you’d be able to wear it?” There was a long pause and a couple of uh-huh’s and then laughter. “Well I’m glad that you told me because I was going to bring it to the shop. But I think I know someone who could wear it. I’ll talk with you later dear, I’m going to call you back after I call up Doris.” He heard his mom say goodbye while clicking the button. “She wears a size eighteen.”
Simone laughed while leaning over to kiss his mother’s cheek. “Thanks, Momma.”
“I think she’s going to be in for a wonderful surprise.”
“I need to call up the boutique and get them to box the dress for me.” He grabbed the phone and called to make the arrangements for the shop to send the dress to her job with a note. “Yes, make sure that the letter states ‘I’ll be picking you up at seven for dinner and make sure to wear the dress along with that beautiful smile.’” He looked over at his mother who patted his hand with approval. “And make sure you have it sent to the address I gave you, Darlene. Thanks so much, goodbye.” He hung up the phone and with a raised cup he exclaimed, “Salute!”
“Salute!” They both smiled while drinking their tea and he enjoyed the moment with his mother while they continued talking about the plan for his special dinner.
Chapter Fourteen
“Excuse me ma’am, is there a Delia Whitney here?” asked the young woman wearing a beautiful floral dress and holding a large white box with a nicely made silver bow on top.
“Yes, I’m Delia Whitney.”
“This is for you ma’am, enjoy.” The woman handed her the box and left Delia standing there completely confused.
“Wow where did that come from?” Jaslyn asked as Delia put the box down on one of the tables.
She looked all over the box but didn’t see anything stating where it came from. “I haven’t a clue where it’s from.” Carefully removing the ribbon that was wrapping the box she took the top off and there underneath the silver tissue paper was a letter along with a beautiful lavender dress. Taking it out from the box to marvel at it, Delia had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Putting it up against herself, she smiled at Jaslyn, asking her, “Can you believe this? I’ve never gotten anything so beautiful like this before in my life. I wonder who gave it to me.” She grabbed the note, quickly opening it and began reading it. All she could do was feel the tears start to well up in her eyes. “I swear, when I see him I’m going to get him good for this.”
“Well, who is it from?”
“Simone. He’s supposed to pick me up for dinner at seven.” That’s when it hit her and she looked at the dress again. Putting it back into box, she went to the calendar and saw what the date was. “Oh, my dear God.”
“What?”
“Do you know what today is?” Delia smiled.
“No, I don’t. What is today?”
“Today is the date of my and Simone’s first date. Actually it’s our anniversary of that night we first went out. He got me the same kind of dress too, well it’s not the actual dress but it’s the same color I wore that night. I can’t believe he remembered the color of the dress. I’m going to try it on right now.” She ran toward the bathroom in the back to put it on. Honestly, it was something that she’d never expected to get, especially on such a special day. How could she have been so forgetful, not to remember such an important day as this?
Once she got it on and tied the back of the neck that held up the front of her dress, she walked back up front for Jaslyn to see. “So...” she twirled around, letting the dress billow underneath a bit as she found herself a bit giddy. “How does it look?”
“Oh, Delia, you’ve got to look at yourself in the full-length mirror. You look absolutely breathtaking in that dress. He sure does know how to pick out something beautiful,” Jaslyn told her, pulling her over toward a full-length mahogany mirror they had on display. Once she stood in front of it, Delia literally felt herself catching her breath.
“Wow, I do look breathtaking, don’t I?” The maxi dress was amazing, especially with the low-cut V-neck, open-back but with a corset design. The material and design felt comfortable against her body. “All I have to do is find the right pair of shoes, I’ll wear my hair up the same way I wore it that night. Hell, I’m already excited and it’s not even seven o’clock yet. What time is it, anyway?”
“It’s only noon, you might want to take off that dress so we can go and grab something to eat. You don’t want to get it dirty.”
“Oh, right, I’ll be back.”
After putting her clothes back on, she walked to the front, carefully putting the dress back into the box once more, she put it behind the counter on the shelf while grabbing her purse. “Where are we headed off to for lunch?”
“There is this place that I’m dying to try. Renzo told me that he went to meet the owner the other day, really nice family.”
“What do they serve to eat?”
“Mainly French cuisine, from what Renzo told me. She gave him this yummy dessert that of course he didn’t share with me. Told me by the time he got home with it, it was gone.” They both walked out of the shop as Jaslyn locked up. “All I know is that I plan to find out what she gave him that was so good. And thankfully, it’s not too far so it’s within walking distance.” Jaslyn told her while pointing the way, past the piano shop.
I wonder what kind of French food they serve and whether it will be authentic or not, Delia thought.
“Well, from what Renzo said, they are from France. They were living in Florida but didn’t like it there and wanted to find someplace where it was more comfortable for them. So they visited a friend who lives here and just like me, they fell in love with Kellington.” They came upon a chalkboard sign stating LUNCH SPECIALS FROM $4.99 written in both French and English. Three sets of small tables and chairs lined the front of the large window, which was etched with white lettering that said, “Le Jardin Des Cygnes”. The stone walls were painted gold while the awning above was burgundy.
“Le Jardin Des Cygnes? I wonder what that means.”
“The Garden of Swans.” Delia smiled as they walked inside and saw that the décor of the restaurant was even more beautiful than it was on the outside. A young man on top of a ladder was painting a mural along one of the walls as they looked down at the tiled floor which was also in gold and red. “Bonjour, Mademoiselles. Would you like to sit outside today? Or, if you like, I can seat you at one of our tables inside?” asked the young lady wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, black pants and a black apron wrapped around her waist. Her long dark brown hair with hints of blonde was braided and tossed to the side while she held onto her tray.
“Why don’t we sit outside, it’s a lovely day.” Jaslyn sug
gested as they went back outside, grabbing the first table that was near the entrance. The young lady handed them their menus said, “I’ll be back with your waters.”
Delia looked over the menu, noticing it was written not only in English but in French as well when she heard Jaslyn ask her, “How did you know the meaning of the name of the place?”
“Well, I learned French in school, plus we had a foreign exchange student who came to our school who was from France. Penelope Corte was her name, we became fast friends too. She taught me the parts of French that most of the teachers didn’t know much of. We still are good friends after all these years, I write her sometimes and she does the same to me but of course, in French.”
“That’s wonderful and everything on this menu sounds so good. Want to share something and then have a dessert?”
“We can do that but I’ll have to have my own dessert. I sure don’t plan on sharing a dessert with you.” Delia chuckled while Jaslyn shook her head. “Why don’t we try the Quiche Florentine?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a quiche with spinach in it and it’s something light so it won’t fill me up too much for later on.”
“What do you think Simone has in store for you tonight?” The waitress came back out with their glasses of water with lemon and asked, “Have you decided on what you would like?”
“We will have the Quiche Florentine, just one slice because we plan on sharing it and I’ll have the strawberry tart.” Delia told her while handing the menu back.
“And I’ll have the, um...” Jaslyn pointed to the item on the menu as the woman smiled. “That is the Religieuse and they are delicious. Would you like something else to drink besides water?”
“How about some tea, if you don’t mind.”
With a nod, the young lady left the two alone once more. “Simone is full of surprises so more than likely it will end up being just like it was for our first date. Basically that consisted of us having an intimate dinner, dessert and then dancing by candlelight. I honestly can’t wait to relive that moment again.”
Simone (The Ciprianos of Kellington Book 2) Page 11
