by Rich Amooi
Ellie smacked Cedric on the arm. “You know what I mean.”
“I like you.” Cedric stopped in front of the first cherry tree and turned to Ellie. “A lot. And I’m enjoying our time together. Every moment gets better and better, and I hope you feel the same way about me. There. So take that! Balls!”
Ellie got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “I feel the same way, and I’m having so much fun.” She looked over toward the giant tree standing in the middle of the cherry orchard. “I love that they left that giant tree in the middle of the orchard.”
“Me too.”
“Is that an oak?”
Cedric nodded.
“I guess it’s time to have fun, then.” She ran toward the oak tree, grabbed on to the first limb, and pulled herself up. Within seconds, she had disappeared.
“Don’t tell me you like to climb trees?”
Ellie didn’t answer.
“God.” Cedric laughed. “You’re amazing.” He climbed the tree and joined her in the middle, kissing her. “This is crazy. I was known as Monkey Boy and now look at you. Monkey Girl.”
Ellie pinched Cedric’s arm. “You seriously did not just call me that.”
“Monkey Girl,” he said, laughing. “We both love to climb trees. How many adults can say that?”
“One billion, six hundred thousand?”
“This is not another round of drill the librarian. This is us. You and me.”
“Arf!”
“Right, right,” continued Cedric. “Tofu too. And if I’m not careful, I’m going to fall in love with you.”
Cedric couldn’t believe that just flew out of his mouth. It was so quick he had no time to stop it.
Crap.
He held his breath and hoped that wasn’t going to scare her off.
Ellie was quiet for a moment and then finally broke the silence. “Why should you be careful about falling for me? You chicken?”
Good answer. Cedric kissed her again, enjoying how incredible her lips felt against his and how she felt in his arms. She was right. Why should he be careful? He was all-in. No turning back now.
“Not chicken. Monkey.”
He kissed Ellie again and they jumped down from the oak tree. They held hands as they walked around the property, chatting, enjoying every minute. When it started to get dark, they went back to the house with Tofu to say goodbye to Antonio and Ana.
Ana hugged Ellie. “We want to see you again soon, Ellie.”
Ellie smiled. “I’d like that.”
Antonio hugged her too. “We have many stories of Cedric’s past to share with you.”
Cedric waved his finger. “We don’t want to bore her with those.”
Ellie smiled. “I have a feeling I won’t be bored.”
“Not a chance,” said Antonio. “Remind me to tell you about the time he wore a girl’s blouse and—”
“Okay!” Cedric hugged Ana and Antonio. “That’s our cue to leave.”
A few minutes later, they were back on Highway 101, heading back to San Jose.
Cedric glanced over to Ellie and then got his eyes back on the road. “So, I have two questions for you.”
“Okay. Let me hear them.”
“Number one, will you meet me tomorrow night for dinner? And, number two, do you do falafels?”
“Yes and no.”
Cedric quickly glanced over to Ellie again. “Okay, how about—”
“Maybe I should clarify. Yes, I do like falafels, but I have a better idea.”
“Okay.”
“You come over to my house tomorrow for dinner instead.”
Cedric smiled. “Even better. What did you have in mind?”
“That is a surprise. Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”
No way in hell he was going to be late this time.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cedric arrived at Ellie’s place ten minutes before seven. She greeted him with a big smile and a kiss after she opened the door. Tofu ran right by her, sniffing and exploring his new playground.
“Very impressive. Mr. Tardy Pants is early.”
“Thank you for noticing, Miss Smarty Pants.”
Ellie giggled as they walked to the kitchen. “Already at the nickname stage, are we?”
Cedric nodded. “But Mr. Tardy Pants isn’t gonna fly with me. I need something more masculine … like Hulk or Rocky.”
“Men and their egos. Okay, we may have to negotiate.”
“I’m okay with that, Princess Leia.” Cedric grinned and set a canvas bag on the kitchen counter. Ellie tried to peek inside the bag, but he pulled the bag back so she couldn’t see inside. “Have patience. I brought three things for us humans and something for the hairy beast.” First, he took out a basket of cherries and handed it to her.
“Oh, very nice.” She placed them on the counter. “Thank you, Superman.”
He laughed. “You’re welcome, Wonder Woman.” Next from the bag came a bottle of cabernet. “I hope you like red.”
“It’s my favorite, Hercules.”
Cedric placed the bag on the counter and brushed off his hands. “Good to know, Elektra.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow. “We may need to work on this nickname thing. We’re going in the wrong direction. I take that back. You are going in the wrong direction.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Black Widow.”
“Oh!” Ellie hit Cedric on the arm. “You’re going to get it.”
“I hope so.”
They laughed and Ellie held up her hand. “You said you had three things for the humans and I only counted two.”
Cedric pulled Ellie closer and grinned. “You are so wise. Miss Smarty Pants may be the right name for you after all.”
Cedric was already enjoying himself. He knew something special was happening here and all he could think about was kissing Ellie.
She smiled. “It looks like you want to kiss me, is that the third thing? I wouldn’t wait too long because—”
Cedric’s mouth was on hers.
A few seconds later, Ellie interrupted the kiss and smiled.
“What?”
She pointed to the floor below them. “You weren’t the only one kissing me. That tickles.”
Cedric looked down and watched as Tofu licked Ellie’s ankle. “Hey, find your own girl.”
They moved to the kitchen table, where everything was already set. In the middle of the table was a large platter of—
Cedric jumped back. “No way.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“If those are ravioli from LaVilla, I’m going to kiss you again.”
“Nothing but the best for Iron Man.” Ellie closed her eyes and puckered up.
Cedric grinned and leaned in for a kiss. “Can I open the wine?”
“Please.”
Cedric opened the bottle and poured two glasses. After they sat, Cedric raised his glass. “To the new library Branch Manager.”
Ellie clinked his glass and smiled. “Thank you.”
“And to new beginnings.”
“Oh, I like that one.” She clinked his glass again, took a sip, and served the food. After a few bites, she said, “What does Tofu like?”
“He already ate, thanks.”
“Does he like any special treats?”
“This is where you find out I have a weird dog.”
“Why?”
“He loves carrots.”
Ellie jumped up and grabbed a carrot from the bottom drawer of the fridge and snapped it into a few pieces. Tofu heard the carrot-snapping sound and scurried to the kitchen, his paws searching for traction on the floor. Ellie laughed and placed the carrots in a bowl. “Here you go.”
Cedric laughed, as they listened to a symphony of crunches.
“Did you know the carrot originated in Afghanistan over a thousand years ago?” asked Ellie.
“Had no clue, but I think that’s pretty cool. The Middle East gets such a bad rap. I think some people don’t real
ize the history there and the wonderful cultures.”
“People see only what they want to see.”
Cedric nodded. “Speaking of which … I want to see you.”
“You are seeing me.”
“No, I mean, a lot. Regularly. Hourly, if possible.”
“Sure you won’t get bored with me?”
“Not a chance.”
“Good.” She was silent for a few moments. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Go for it.”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“I’ll answer.”
“Okay.” Ellie took a sip of her wine. “When we were in Starbucks, you said your dad hadn’t been in the picture for a while. Do you mind sharing what happened?”
Cedric let out a big breath. “There’s not much to tell, actually. I never knew him.”
“Never never?
Cedric shrugged. “I was conceived on closing night of the Venice International Film Festival.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. My mom spent a summer in Italy. She met a man at the festival. He swept her off her feet. I am the little bambino who came from that romance. She tried to track him down, but all she had was the man’s first name. Gino.”
“Wow. We have so much in common. Two moms who died and two missing dads.”
Cedric sat up and studied Ellie. “Really?”
Ellie nodded. “My dad disappeared when I was two. I don’t even remember him.” She rubbed the hummingbird pendant on her neck. “My mom said he had to leave, to keep us out of danger. I never understood why and she never elaborated.”
Cedric stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “Sorry you had to go through that.”
Ellie cracked a smile. “Thanks.”
“How about changing the subject to something more exciting?”
“Like what?”
“Drill the librarian!”
“Ha! Give it up, you’re never going to stump me.”
Cedric grinned. “We shall see.”
After three hours of talking and laughing, they fell asleep on the couch, Ellie wrapped up in Cedric’s arms.
Ellie awoke the next morning with a stiff neck. She couldn’t believe they fell asleep on the couch. She yawned and stretched and looked over to the kitchen. Cedric was cooking and, God, it smelled good.
Waffles? French toast? Her stomach growled, craving some of whatever it was.
“Make yourself at home,” she said.
Cedric turned around and smiled. “Good morning, sunshine. I was just getting ready to wake you up. I hope you don’t mind me fixing a little something.”
Ellie stood and noticed the table set with plates and silverware, orange juice, toast, butter, jam, eggs, and coffee. “A little something? This is a buffet.”
Cedric pulled her close, kissed her, and then turned back to manage the pancakes. “I was so impressed with how well stocked your fridge was, I got a little excited.”
“You need to be careful, this sets certain expectations for the future.”
“I’m up for the challenge.”
She sat back in her chair and sighed as Cedric stacked the last pancakes on the platter. “I don’t understand how you did all of this without waking me up. This is so wonderful.”
“My pleasure.”
Tofu entered the kitchen and wagged his tail.
Cedric looked at him with his hands on his hips. “You think you can just waltz in here and ask for food? Not on my watch.”
Ellie smacked Cedric on the arm. “That’s not very nice.”
Cedric laughed. “Watch this. Tofu…spin for food.” Tofu just stared at Cedric, wagging his tail. “Spin for food. Come on, you’re making me look bad. Okay, let’s try this one. Roll over for a treat.”
Tofu dropped to the floor, rolled over, and then popped back up on all fours.
Ellie was impressed and clapped. “Yes! You taught him that?”
Cedric nodded. “Obviously the treat was more important to him than the food.” Cedric reached into his canvas bag for a piece of rawhide and dropped it on the floor. “Spoiled doggie.”
Ellie laughed. “How long have you had him?”
Cedric held his hands about ten inches apart. “Since he was about this big. I found him tied to a tree when I was on a hike in Quicksilver Park. I thought I’d heard a baby crying and went off of the trail. I ended up finding a scrawny little puppy. Don’t know how long he’d been there, but it must have been a day or two, because he was pretty hungry and had fleas and ticks.”
Ellie covered her mouth with her hand. “Who would do such a thing?”
Cedric shrugged.
She scratched Tofu on his head as he chewed. “Glad you found him.”
“Me too. I called my veterinary friend in Texas and sent her a couple of pictures. She said he didn’t look that bad and told me exactly what to do.” Cedric smiled, proudly. “The rest is history. Isn’t that right, buddy?”
“Arf.”
Ellie laughed. “Guess it was meant to be.”
“Definitely.”
“How did he get the name Tofu?”
“A friend of mine owns a restaurant where I always eat tofu scrambles. He suggested the name and Tofu seemed to like it.”
She gave Cedric a kiss and eyed the pancakes. “That’s sweet.”
“The pancakes, the story, or my mouth?”
“All three. Yummy.”
After they stuffed themselves, Cedric cleared the table and stuck everything in the dishwasher. “I need to run and take care of some work, something I haven’t been doing much of lately. I’ll call you this afternoon to schedule our next rendezvous.”
“I’d like that.”
“Good!”
He kissed Ellie goodbye, tucked Tofu under his arm, and headed downstairs to his car.
Happy.
Yeah, that was an understatement.
Cedric had no more fears. He was one hundred percent sure about Ellie and it felt so exhilarating, he wanted to scream.
Unfortunately, his high was cut short by the siren behind him as he left Ellie’s place. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw the motorcycle cop behind him. He pulled his car to the shoulder as he waited for Vlad to approach the car. Now, he had to be more careful. Vlad was in uniform and had the power. That just about made Cedric sick to his stomach.
“You were doing forty-five in a thirty-five,” lied Vlad.
“I was actually going five miles under the speed limit so if you want to write me a ticket for going too slow, have at it. We both know the truth.”
“You calling me a liar?”
“I’m not saying anything. Obviously, I can’t do anything about this, so just write the ticket and I’ll be on my way.”
“Arf. Arf, arf, arf.”
Tofu was obviously a good judge of character and didn’t like Vlad either.
“Number one, watch your language. Number two, you’re not getting off that easy. And number three, tell your dog to shut the hell up.”
“Arf.”
“I’m okay with numbers one and three, but you’ll need to elaborate on number two.”
Vlad took off his sunglasses and leaned into Cedric. “Leave Ellie alone. Don’t even go near her again or you’ll have no chance of getting your old Papa George’s property.”
Cedric’s body tensed up and his eyes widened. He was hoping Vlad’s brother wouldn’t have a reason to mention Cedric. Obviously not.
Vlad crossed his arms. “I see I have your attention now.”
“You can’t do that.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. My brother is in charge of the sale of that farm, but I control my brother, giving me the power to approve who buys it. So back off or you lose the place.”
“You’re pathetic.”
Vlad grinned. “And don’t go getting any bright ideas. I have you under surveillance and if you are anywhere near Ellie, your deal will fall through.”
Cedr
ic looked around and saw a man with sunglasses in a car across the street, staring at him. “Seriously? You’re having me followed? You’re a lunatic. She doesn’t want to be with you. Can’t you get that through your head?”
“Maybe she doesn’t. But if I can’t have her, neither can you. Stay away from her. You better not go to the library either.”
“I’m a volunteer at the library, I have to go.”
“Cancel it or Papa George’s place will be torn down and I’ll piss on the debris before they clear it away to build a strip mall.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cedric was in need of a serious kick in the pants—must be that hole in his heart that was sucking his energy dry. He knew Vlad was serious with his threat and there was nothing he could do about it. Ellie was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time and now he was just going to give that up? Ellie had left him a couple of messages, but he didn’t return her phone calls and he felt like crap.
And Tony’s cheeriness at the farmers’ market wasn’t helping matters any. “Maria fucking rocks my world. I told you when I met her in the restaurant that she was the one!”
Cedric placed a few more baskets of cherries on the table and turned to Tony. “Wipe that look off your face. How many times have you gone out with her?”
“Twice.”
“And just like that, she’s the one?”
“I told you. I knew it before we went out. I’m a changed man.”
Cedric shook his head in disbelief. “This is very hard to believe.” Cedric watched as a woman approached. He leaned in to Tony, looking to test him. “What about her? What if she said she wanted to sleep with you right now? Would you do it?”
Tony didn’t even look up at the woman. “Not interested.” He turned to grab another crate of garlic from the bed of the truck.
Cedric was impressed that Tony didn’t even look at the woman. But maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise. Whenever Cedric saw another woman, he thought of Ellie.
The woman smiled and picked up a basket of garlic and stuck her nose in it.
“It’s the best,” said Cedric, confidently. “I guarantee it.”
“I believe you.” She squinted her eyes at him. “You look familiar. What’s your name?
“Cedric Johnson.”
