Five Minutes Late: A Romantic Comedy

by Rich Amooi

  “Now I know where I’ve seen that name,” said a male voice behind Cedric.

  Cedric turned to find an older man with a kind face and full head of white hair. He looked rather elegant in his gray wool tweed blazer. Cedric noticed his wing-tipped shoes and they made him smile.

  The man pointed to the photo and continued. “This photographer shot photos of some of the biggest celebrities in the world for Rolling Stone Magazine back in the seventies. Her most famous shot, which made the cover of the magazine, was of John Lennon naked, hugging his fully clothed wife, Yoko Ono. Sadly, John Lennon was shot and killed hours after that photo shoot.”

  “That’s sad,” said Cedric.

  The man nodded in agreement. “Looks like she wanted to go in a completely different direction with these photos.”

  The photos featured personal possessions of notable historical figures that Miss Leibovitz photographed on a journey through the United States and Great Britain between 2009 and 2011. Cedric took a sip of his wine as he stared at a picture of Sigmund Freud’s couch.

  “Yup,” said Cedric. “That’s a couch alright.”

  “I must be missing something here.” The man analyzed the picture of the couch. “They call this art.” He took a sip of his fruity-looking drink and nodded.

  “But did you see who the couch belonged to?” asked Cedric.

  “No.” The man leaned in and tried to read the information underneath the photo, but the words were too small. He pulled out his reading glasses, put them on, read the placard, nodded, and then removed his glasses and slipped them back in his jacket pocket.

  “Does that change your opinion of the photo?” asked Cedric. “Now is it art?”

  “Hmm.” The man scratched his chin. “Maybe.” He stared at the photo longer. “Yes, yes. I think I get it now. When you know who owns the couch, your imagination takes over. Very clever. Your mind starts to wander, imagining what the rest of the room looked like, how many people sat on that couch, and if the couch is still in existence today. And … maybe what life was like during those times. I guess you could even imagine yourself on the couch, if you wanted to. That would be more fun, now wouldn’t it?”

  “Funny you mention it. That’s exactly what I did.”

  “Good for you, a wise man.” The man took another sip of his drink. “And when you imagined yourself on the couch, were you alone?”

  “No.”

  “Very good. Present or the past?”

  “Neither.”

  “The future?”

  Cedric smiled.

  “Ahh,” said the man. “Albert Einstein said, ‘Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.’ I agree.”

  “I like that.” Cedric stared back at the couch in the photo and again, pictured Ellie sitting right next to him. They both had gray hair and were holding hands and smiling. It seemed so real. He wanted it to be real. “If only …”

  “Of course, there’s only one thing that could get in your way, though. One thing that would kill your imagination.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Fear.”

  “You’re not the first person to tell me this.”

  “Fear paralyzes you. You can’t dream or even make small changes with fear in the way. Fear will kill your heart and your mind.”

  Cedric turned to the man and stared at him as if he’d just discovered one of life’s greatest mysteries. “That’s deep.” That’s exactly what had been paralyzing Cedric for the last two years.

  Fear.

  Something shifted in Cedric’s mind. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and relief. He smiled and held out his hand. “I’m Cedric Johnson.”

  “Frank Fontaine, pleased to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too.” Cedric thought the man’s name sounded familiar, but he was certain he had never met him before. They moved down to the next photo in the display. It was a shot of Emily Dickinson’s only surviving dress.

  Cedric frowned. “I’m going to pass on trying to imagine myself in that.”

  “You have to draw the line somewhere.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  If Ellie’s jaw were a broom, she could sweep the floor with it. That was how far it just dropped. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing … Grandpa Frank talking with Cedric.

  How did that happen? And what were they talking about? Just look at the two of them. Laughing like they’re best friends!

  Cedric looked mighty handsome in his charcoal gray suit, even from across the room.

  Dang.

  Once again, she thought of that kiss they shared before she slapped him, and the long hug after the hospital. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy them.

  Peggy stepped up to the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen …”

  Ellie turned and watched Peggy, who smiled and waved to a few of the guests as they moved closer to the stage. It was a much-needed distraction.

  “Thank you so much for being here!” Peggy continued. “It means the world to us. I wish we didn’t need to have a fundraiser like this, but I guess life is unpredictable and throws us a curve ball every now and then. The money we raise this evening will go toward replacing the books that were vandalized recently as well as the stolen computers. We were also hoping to have extra to use in other areas of our library.”

  Ellie glanced behind her to sneak a peek at Cedric. He was still with Grandpa Frank, watching Peggy speak on stage.

  Cedric’s eyes drifted to Ellie and she froze, not knowing what to do. Should she smile? Wave? Give him some type of acknowledgment? Before she could come to a decision, he winked at her and smiled.

  She swallowed hard and spun back around, now feeling incredible heat in her face and ears.

  Her timing was perfect. He caught her checking him out. Great. She tried to focus on Peggy’s words, but they seemed to be garbled.

  “I’m sappy to pronounce,” said Peggy, “that thanks to your viscosity, we’ve more than secreted our fun blazing holes.”

  Okay. There was no way Peggy just said that. Ellie was obviously hallucinating and it was Cedric’s fault. Him and that damn wink.

  Ellie was pretty sure Peggy was talking about fundraising. She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to focus, since there was a good possibility Peggy was going to announce the new Branch manager.

  “In fact,” continued Peggy, “we had a very special anonymous donor who pretty much made damn sure we would be okay for the next five years. Yahoooo! Please enjoy yourselves and I’ll be back with another special announcement later. Thank you very much.”

  The guests cheered and clapped and whistled as the band started another set of music. Now recovered from Cedric paralysis, Ellie worked her way over to Peggy.

  “We did it!” said Peggy, hugging Ellie.

  “Yes. What a wonderful evening.”

  Ellie lost her smile, along with the ability to move her muscles as she watched Grandpa Frank approach.

  With Cedric.

  “Ellie, sweetie, there you are. I wanted to introduce you to a nice gentleman I met in one of the exhibitions. Cedric Johnson, meet my granddaughter, Ellie Fontaine.”

  Ellie slowly held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Cedric accepted her hand and kissed it. Her knees wobbled just enough to scare her.

  “Nice to meet you too … for possibly the tenth time.” He grinned as she tried to pull her hand free. Of course, he didn’t let go.

  Peggy laughed. “You kids are so funny, of course they know each other. Cedric is a volunteer at the library.” Peggy mouthed to Cedric the words “thank you.”

  “Is that right?” Grandpa Frank looked back and forth between Ellie and Cedric.

  “Yes, sir,” Cedric answered, still holding Ellie’s hand.

  “Ah. Ellie, is this the young man you told me so much about?”

  Ellie felt heat rise up her neck to her face as Cedric raised an eyebrow and gri
nned. She tried to use her free hand to pull the other hand loose from his vise-like grip, but it was no use. If she was being honest, she couldn’t remember the last time she held a man’s hand and it felt wonderful.

  “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” said Grandpa Frank. “Well, then I guess the only one who hasn’t had an official introduction is me. I’m Frank Fontaine, Ellie’s grandfather.”

  Peggy extended her hand and Grandpa Frank kissed it.

  Peggy blushed. “Wonderful. What a pleasure to finally meet you! I’m—”

  “Peggy Fleming.” Smiling, Grandpa Frank said, “The pleasure is mine.”

  Oh. My. God.

  It was clear to Ellie that there was something going on between Grandpa Frank and Peggy. Did she miss something? It was like an instant attraction. Could it happen that quickly? She thought back to the encounter on the street with Cedric and the UPS truck. She thought they had some sort of an instant connection, but then she was pretty sure it disappeared before the light turned green.

  “Peggy, have you seen Sigmund Freud’s couch?” asked Grandpa Frank.

  Peggy giggled. “Why? Did he lose it?”

  They both laughed as Ellie and Cedric stood there watching.

  “Would you be so kind as to accompany me to the exhibition by the front lobby? There’s something I would like to share with you that I think you will find very fascinating.”

  “I would love to.”

  And just like that, Grandpa Frank and Peggy were gone, leaving Cedric and Ellie together.

  Alone.

  Ellie glanced down at their hands, still locked together. “Can I have my hand back now?”

  “Oh. Sure. I didn’t realize I was still holding it.” He grinned. “How awkward.”

  Right.

  A waiter walked by with a tray of wine. As if Cedric and Ellie were both on a synchronized wine-drinking team, they simultaneously grabbed a glass of wine from the tray and took a sip.

  They were silent for a few moments until Cedric decided to jump in.

  “So.”

  “So.”

  Cedric grinned. “You drive me crazy.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “All you have to do is be yourself, that’s it. That would drive any man crazy.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Have you seen yourself? God, can we start with that hair of yours? Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to run my fingers through it?”

  “Uh. No.”

  “Well, about a thousand times or so, okay?”

  “Huh.” Where did that come from? Ellie stared at his hands for a few seconds imagining them running through her hair.

  “Did you know your eyes are closed right now?” asked Cedric.

  Pickles!

  “Of course I do,” she lied, as she opened them.

  “Right.” Cedric laughed.

  “You seem different this evening.”

  “I do?”

  She nodded. “Something’s changed.”

  “And do you like the change?”

  Ellie shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  More silence.

  Ellie eyed him from head to toe. “What is it?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I finally know what I want.”

  Ellie blinked. It sounded like he was talking about her.

  “Stop looking at me that way,” said Cedric.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re licking your lips.”

  Ellie retracted her tongue. She had no idea she was doing that.

  Cedric continued, “It makes me want to kiss you and break that world record we discussed.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yeah, but first we need to talk. Seriously.”

  Way to be a buzz kill, mister.

  “Do we?” she answered, taking another big gulp of wine.

  “Yes.” He raised her two gulps of wine. “I’m tired of not knowing what is going on between us and jumping to conclusions. Let’s just get this out in the open right now.”

  “Uh … okay.” She took another sip of wine. And another.

  “We have some sort of a chemistry. A connection. Do you agree?”

  “Uh …”

  “A simple yes or no would be fine.”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. But whatever this is, isn’t going to happen unless we clear up a few things. Let me just spit it out. Number one … Are you seeing your ex again?”

  “No.”

  “Do you plan to?”

  “No.”

  “Do you still love him?”

  “No. And wait! Hang on there. Why do you get to ask all of the questions?”

  “God, you’re so sexy when you pout.”

  “I don’t pout!”

  “If you say so. By all means, fire away.” He stood there with a smirk on his face.

  Such a cute smirk.

  “You told me you didn’t believe in online dating …”

  “That wasn’t a question.”

  “I wasn’t finished. Haven’t you ever heard of dramatic pauses?”

  “Is that what that was?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Very nicely done.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But, back to the online dating thing … I misspoke. What I should have said was … online dating probably works for a lot of people, but I am not one of those people.”

  “Right. So … I saw your dating profile online. Explain that.”

  “Piece of cake,” he said, smiling.

  “Trying to think of a good lie?”

  “Not at all. I know that question is related to why you were in such a stinky mood that day at the library.”

  “Stinky mood? You mean the day you turned into Austin Powers on crack?”

  “Okay, I admit, that was horrific, but let’s focus on one issue at a time. Back to the online dating thing. My friend, Tony, signed me up for an account and put my info on the website. He called it an “intervention.” I called it stupidity and told him to remove the profile from the website. He did. Next question.”

  “So, just to clarify, it wasn’t you, but Tony?”

  “Correct. Never even logged in, not once. I did however threaten bodily injury to my best friend if he didn’t remove it, sort of stupid considering he has a black belt in karate.”

  “The owner of Vela Veggie, I heard she was married. Are you having an affair with her?”

  Cedric first stood there with his mouth open. Then he tilted his head to the side before laughter rumbled from his chest. “Victoria? Not. Even. Close. She’s the wife of one of my best friends, Michael. I was there that night to say happy birthday, that’s all.”

  Cedric pulled the wine glass out of Ellie’s hand and set it down on the cocktail table, along with his wine glass, and then turned back to her, moving closer.

  Ellie gazed over at her wine on the table and then back over to Cedric. “What are you doing? I wasn’t finished with that.”

  “We’ll get back to it in a moment. It looks like we are getting this cleared up faster than I thought, and I was just preparing things for our first official kiss, which should be happening momentarily.”

  Ellie tapped her fingers on the side of her leg and bit her lip. “First kiss?”

  “Of course. And I wouldn’t want to spill any wine on that beautiful dress of yours. This particular kiss won’t be fifty-eight hours, though. I hope that’s okay.”

  “I …”

  “But it’s going to be a damn good one.”

  Cedric moved closer.

  Ellie blinked. “Okay, first of all … not gonna happen. And number two, you already kissed me once.”

  She had no idea why she said that; all she’d been thinking about was another kiss from him.

  “The other kiss didn’t count since I prefer not to be assaulted directly afterward.”

  Ellie laughed. “Oh … that. I’m sorry, but—”

  “No need to g
et into it. I think we’re good. Are we good?”

  “Well …”

  “Good.”

  Cedric took another step closer and she licked her lips. He put his hands on her waist and let his fingers slowly glide to her lower back. He pulled her forward and now they were completely touching, body to body.

  Every nerve in Ellie’s body tingled in anticipation. Why was she so nervous? It was like it was her first time. There was nothing to prevent this from happening now. They had crazy chemistry and the misunderstandings had been cleared up. She was ready now, she was sure of it. He was staring at her lips and she was certain it was going to happen any second. But why was he taking so long?

  She let out a deep breath. “Are you going to kiss me or what?”

  Cedric laughed. “You have to have patience.”

  “Forget patience.” Ellie grabbed his neck and yanked him downward until their mouths met.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cedric closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment as the woman he’d been thinking about practically twenty-four hours a day latched on to his body like a straitjacket and kissed the hell out of him. He pulled her closer and took control of the kiss—he liked to be in the driver’s seat.

  Based on what now poked Ellie in her abdomen, he was pretty sure there was no hiding how he felt.

  Cedric had a major breakthrough and had let another woman back into his heart. He was past the point of no return. He wasn’t shutting her down and he wasn’t running.

  He withdrew from the most amazing, sensual kiss of his life, smiled, and waited.

  Ellie smiled. “What?”

  “No slap this time. Things are looking up.”

  Ellie poked him in the chest. “I have a feeling you’ll never let me forget that tiny slap.”

  It sounded like Ellie was going to keep him around for a long time, and he was definitely okay with that.

  Cedric smiled. “Tiny? Just the sight of your hand gives me anxiety. You may have to start wearing gloves.”

  “You big baby.” Ellie gave Cedric another kiss on the lips. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  Did Julio tell her about the check? That was supposed to be anonymous.