Warning
This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. Ocean’s Mist Press’ e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.
Copyright (c) 2007 by Dana Littlejohn
ISBN: 0-9773043-8-8
Cover art and design (c) 2007 by Rosa Rivera
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www.oceansmistpress.com
Dedication
First, I’d like to thank God for this gift and the courage to share it.
To my mother, Beverly Hill… for reading everything I shoved your way.
To my husband, Johnny, and our children, Lattie, Tajawa, Lee and Dejai… for putting up with the late night writing, the late dinners, no dinners and the blatant displays of schizophrenia I showed, while trying to get this book from my head to paper.
Finally, to my dad, the late Henry Hill…who isn’t here to share this with me. RIP
A big hug, a kiss and my thanks to you all.
Chapter 1
On a clear and cool Sunday evening in late spring, Cairo Ivory and her friends dressed to the nines and were on their way to Javek General Hospital.
“Now remember, Lavita, you promised not to hound me about going on any more dates if I came out with you guys tonight. You do remember that conversation, don’t you?” Cairo asked her friend.
Lavita chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I remember,” she said as she turned the corner. “I’m just hoping you get caught up in the evening’s festivities and loosen up enough to have a good time. Maybe you’ll even meet someone that will knock your socks off and I won’t have to hound you ever again. You’ll be hounding him!” she said laughing.
“Won’t that be something,” a woman’s voice said behind Cairo.
“Yeah, right. We’re here to have a nice evening out with the girls. We’re not on a man hunt,” Cairo said.
“What? Speak for yourself, girl,” the voice spoke up again.
Cairo turned to face her friend Frieda.
“I’m looking for a man. This is a black tie affair at a hospital. I’m sure gonna try and nab me a doctor, or a nurse. Hell, I’ll take a damn orderly. They all make good money and have good insurance, too.” She laughed and her friends laughed with her.
“That’s right, Cairo, me, too. I’m looking for someone to take Rodney’s place and you should be on the look out as well.”
“Whatever. My life doesn’t revolve around the presence of a man, Pumpkin.”
“Well neither does mine, but it’s nice to talk to a live person and not the furniture every once in a while. I fired Rodney 4 months ago, that’s long enough to start dating again. You haven’t had a date in three years; you should be on the hunt, too. You ain’t getting any younger. You act like your trying to be an old spinster woman. You wait any longer and those coochie cobwebs are going to be a brick wall,” Pumpkin added and the laughter roared up again.
Cairo spun around and glared back at her friends. “I’m not a spinster woman. I go out with you guys all the time,” she snapped and sat back down.
“That’s not the same, Cairo and you know it. Lack of sex makes women crabby…and you’ve been crabby for a long time...and snappy, too,” Lavita added.
She turned back to her. “What? That’s crap. I’m not crabby or snappy.”
Pumpkin twisted her lips. “Lavita, she’s in denial. Help her out.”
“You’re crabby, Cairo, and snappy,” Lavita confirmed.
“And uptight...” Frieda added.
“And sometimes bitchy, too” Pumpkin added.
Everyone laughed as Lavita turned another corner and Cairo sat back down rolling her eyes. “Whatever, I’m not that bad.”
“You didn’t used to be, but after back to back fools, you put dating on the back burner and plunged into your career,” Pumpkin explained. “That’s when the tides turned.”
“Yup. They all aren’t bad, Cairo, but you have to weed out the bad ones to get to good husband material,” Frieda said.
“I’m sure they’re not, but I don’t have time to weed out and I’m not looking for a husband.”
“Why not?” Lavita asked as she stopped at the light.
“Marriages don’t last anymore. We live in throw away society. If it’s not working throw it out and get a new one.”
“Oh, whatever, that’s your job talking.”
“That’s right, Cairo. Marriages last when you marry your true love,” Pumpkin said. “The one that’s your soul mate.”
“Pumpkin, take off those rose colored glasses. You’ve been reading too many romance novels. True love is a myth.”
“It’s not myth, it’s real,” she said all but stomping her foot.
Cairo rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, ok, and you know this because you’re happily married, right?”
“Ha, ha, very funny. No, but like you I’ll know it instantly. When it hits you, it’ll be like, bang!” She made a loud clap to emphasize the word, making her friends jump.
“Uh-huh, well, the only bang I know is the bang of the judge’s gavel when they end up in court with me fighting over who gets what after the divorce.”
“I don’t care you what you say. I know it’s true. Soul meets soul, when eyes meet eyes,” Pumpkin said dreamily.
“Where’d you pick up that mumbo jumbo, Pumpkin?” Lavita asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I read it in a book once, but I think it’s true. You‘ll know your soul mate, your true love, the moment your eyes meet. That kind of love lasts forever.”
Lavita shook her head chuckling as she pulled in to the parking lot of the hospital. “I don’t know about all that, but I do believe that there’s someone for everyone.”
“That’s right, and how will you know Mr. Right when he comes along if you haven’t already checked off Mr. Maybe, Mr. I Don’t Know and Mr. Oh Hell No?” Frieda chimed in, laughing and they laughed with her.
“That’s right. Now let’s go in and add some Mr. Maybes to our list,” Pumpkin said as she opened the door.
Once inside they followed Lavita into the cafeteria where the band was set up and people were standing around talking and dancing. The four friends handed over their coats to the coat check girl and moved straight to the bar. With drinks in hand they found a spot on the wall to scope out the crowd.
“So who’s the cutie the older man?” Pumpkin asked.
Lavita chuckled. “Which older man? They’re too many old ones in here for you to say that and have me figure out who you’re talking about.”
“The old one with the monopoly guy mustache and silver bow tie, who‘s that with him?”
“That guy’s a counselor or social worker something like that. Rumor has it that he makes you feel like he’s got you on the couch analyzing you or something when you talk to him. He’s single, I think his name is Pete,” Lavita explained.
“Hmm, that might be contributing to his singleness.”
“What about him?” Frieda asked. “The one with the old man with the bald head.”
“That’s Raymond, he works on my floor. He’s new, only been here just over a month, so I don’t know anything about him yet. He seems nice. The old man with him is the chairman of the board of director here.”
“Chairman, huh? Now that’s who I need to be talking to. Forget Raymond,” Frieda laughed and sipped her drink.
“Girl, that man is married. He’s super married. Married way before you were even born. He’s been married so long he probably doesn’t remember not being married.”
“See, there you go, Cairo. Proof that marriages do still last,” Pumpkin said smugly.
“Pumpkin, they don
’t count. They have “old marriage”, that’s different from what we have today. Its old marriage that doesn’t hardly exist anymore.”
“What’s the difference?”
She sighed and explained. “Old marriage is done like it’s supposed to be done. Forever, ‘til death do you part and all that. Something goes wrong in your marriage you fix it, you work it out.”
“Ok and today’s marriages are…”
“Today’s marriages are crappy. Like I said before, people who get married today then treat marriage like they treat everything else.”
Her friends looked around to each other and shrugged. Cairo let out an exasperated breath and sipped her drink before continuing.
“Everything is disposable today. People treat marriage like it’s disposable, too. They don’t even bother to fix it. Why fix something when you can throw it away and get a brand new one? She gained too much weight and is starting to look older after 10 years of marriage. What does her husband do? He throws her away and gets a new younger wife. He’s not making love to her fifteen times a day like he used to when they first were together. What does she do? She throws him out and gets her a young stud muffin to do it. It’s crazy and they all end up right in my office fighting over everything they brought together whether it‘s two years or twenty.”
Her friends look around to each other again then back to her.
“Yup, we definitely have to get you laid. You really are uptight. You’ve had way too much time to think that out,” Lavita said.
Her friends laughed and Cairo joined in.
“Somebody get that girl another drink.”
“I’m on it,” Pumpkin said.
Cairo sipped the remainder of her drink and scanned the crowd. “Whoa,” she said under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
“Uh-uh, don’t tell me nothing. I know that whoa. Who are you looking at?”
“No one, I was just--”
“Uh-uh, don’t try to push me off. I know you’re looking at someone.”
“Ooo, Lavita, I bet she was looking at that fine one right there,” Frieda said.
Their eyes follow her finger to handsome a Spanish man with dark curly hair wearing a white tux.
“The one in the white tux? I know him. That’s Jose, he’s so cool. He came from Winona Hospital when they closed a little while ago. I don’t know what department he works in, but he’s all over the hospital when I see him. When Pumpkin comes back I’ll introduce you guys.”
“Yes, do that. He’s going to be the first on my list,” Frieda said nodding and sipping her drink.
“Here you go, Cairo. This one’s got a little more kick to it. This will fix your mood right up,” Pumpkin said with a giggle. “Ok, what now? Are we getting a table?”
“We were waiting on you to come back so we could meet Lavita’s friend,” Frieda said.
“Who’s her friend?”
“That cute Spanish guy in the white tux over there.”
Pumpkin followed her nod. “Damn, Lavita, we should all have friends that look like that,” she said with a chuckle.
“Well, Lavita, Pumpkin’s back. Make with the introductions.”
“Ok, let’s go.” Lavita grabbed Cairo by the hand and pulled her along.
“Wait, wait, wait…”
“Hi, Jose.”
“Lavita, hi,” he said cheerfully and gave her a friendly hug. “How are you?”
“I’m great.”
“Bob, Helen, this is Lavita Reyes. She’s a nurse on 2C. Lavita, this is Bob and Helen Chambers.”
“Hello.”
“How are you dear?” Helen said and Bob nodded a greeting to her.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Chambers. It’s nice to meet you.”
“So, Lavita, who are your friends?” Jose asked.
“Well, this is my friend Pumpkin--”
“Pumpkin?” Helen asked as if she heard wrong.
Lavita nodded. “Yes, ma’am, Pumpkin. She doesn‘t really care for her first name that much so we‘ve always called her by her nickname, Pumpkin.”
Bob and Helen looked at each other then nodded a greeting to her.
Pumpkin waved at them. “Hi.”
Jose chuckled and shrugged. “Then Pumpkin it is. Hi,” he said offering his hand.
Lavita continued. “This is my friend Frieda.”
Frieda barely nodded at the old couple and pushed Lavita out the way to shake Jose’s hand. “How are you, Jose?”
“I’m fine, Frieda. How are you?”
“I’m doing much better now,” she said flashing her best smile.
Lavita bumped her out the way and pulled Cairo in front of her, breaking their hand shaking. “And this is my friend, Cairo.”
“Cairo? Like the city in Egypt?” Jose asked.
“Yes. My mother was a history major when she was pregnant with me. The more she learned about Egypt with all the pharaohs and everything the more she loved it.” She shook his extended hand and shrugged. “I know, it’s weird for a name, but--”
“No, I like it. I think it’s beautiful. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cairo.”
His smile was warm and inviting as she let her own smile ease across her face while he continued shaking her hand.
“What an absolutely charming name. Don’t you think so, dear?” Helen asked her husband.
“Yes, dear, charming.”
Hearing the old couple’s voices broke the apparent trance he was in and he dropped Cairo’s hand and returned his attention back to them.
“Bob, Helen, would you excuse me?”
“Of course, Jose. You attend to your friends, we’ll just be off,” Bob shook his hand then took his wife by the hand. “Come along, dear.”
“So, Lavita, how are you and your friends enjoying our little shin-dig so far?”
“We haven’t been here that long, but so far it’s cool. I haven’t even pointed out all the eligible bachelors yet.”
He laughed. “Well, I can help with that. I may have more of an inside scoop than you. I can help steer you away from the dogs, if you‘d like?”
“Hey, that works for me. Ladies, you guys ok with that?”
“Let’s go, I’d love to get a jumpstart and bypass the dogs for once,” Pumpkin said excitedly.
“Are you single, too, Jose?” Frieda asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“Then, yes, let’s go.”
“Cairo, are you ok, with it, too?” he asked.
“Sure, I guess. I’m not exactly on the hunt.”
“Ok. Let’s get those drinks freshened up and grab a table before I start pointing people out.”
Jose offered both his arms and Pumpkin and Frieda grabbed them, but just before Frieda could link onto him Lavita pulled her back and pushed Cairo in her place.
“What are you doing?” she whispered urgently. “I want him for Cairo, back off and find you another one.”
She huffed and whispered back. “Jeez, don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
They spent the rest of the social hour getting background information on several men they were interested in from Jose. After the dedication and presentation of the new Javek Cardiac Wing, Pumpkin and Frieda spent the rest of the evening putting their new information to use and set off to meet the men. Lavita and Cairo stayed at the table with Jose.
“So how come you know so much about so many people here, Jose? Aren’t you pretty new yourself?”
“Yes, but most of those people I told them about worked with me at Winona. When it closed we all went to other places for a while. I wanted to work at a bigger hospital with more patients so I came here. We just seemed to all meet up here in January. We’ve worked together for years, they’re not bad guys.”
“Oh. So what department do you work in, Jose?”
“Excuse me?”
They looked up at a beautifully dressed older woman.
“I apologize for interrupting--”
Jo
se stood up taking her hands. “No, no it‘s perfectly alright, Mrs. Benjamin.”
“That’s the chairman of the board’s wife,” Lavita whispered to her friend.
“Let me introduce my friends. This is Lavita Reyes and Cairo…” He paused then he smiled. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t know Cairo’s last name.”
“It’s Ivory, Cairo Ivory.”
Mrs. Benjamin shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, dears.”
“Now, what can I do for you, Mrs. Benjamin?”
“Jose, I’m so sorry to take you away from your friends, but my husband is looking all over for you. May I borrow you for just a moment?”
His smile widened. “Of course, Mrs. B, anything for you.” He turned and winked at Cairo and Lavita before walking with Mrs. B.
She patted his hand and smiled at them over her shoulder. “Excuse us ladies.”
They watched Mrs. Benjamin pull Jose through the crowd and Lavita turned to Cairo.
Cairo picked up her glass. “What are you grinning about?”
“Oh, don’t play stupid with me. You know what. What do you think of Jose?”
“He seems nice. A very nice guy and all.”
“Uh-huh, I thought so.”
“What? He seems ok, that’s all I’m saying.”
“So he’s not cute?”
“Oh no, he’s cute. He‘s real cute.”
“Just cute?”
“Well, maybe closer to fine.”
“And funny?”
“I may have laughed at a joke or two of his.”
She chuckled. “So, he’s fine, funny and nice. It sounds to me like you might even like him.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t know him.”
“Yet,” Lavita added. “He seems like a good prospect for you, if you ask me.”
“I’ll have to remember not to ask you.”
Lavita laughed as Pumpkin and Frieda returned to the table.
“What’s so funny?” Pumpkin asked.
“I was trying to push Cairo at Jose, but that impregnable wall she has sprung into place real quick this time.”
Cairo chuckled. “Whatever, Lavita. How‘d you do on your hunt, Pumpkin? Did you bag any nurses or doctors, maybe an orderly or two?”
She chuckled. “I don’t know what they do here and I didn’t ask. When you inquire too much about a man’s job it makes you look like a gold digger. Once I did established that they were employed here somewhere and they weren’t just some party crashers, I set up a few dates for next week. Wednesday I’m going to have a drink after work with Charles, Thursday I’m going to lunch with Kevin and Friday I’m having an early dinner with Andre. I’m sure I’ll be able to date one of them,” she said with a giggle.
The Sun Rose over Cairo Page 1
