A Wife for Stephen (8 page)

“I’ll call Jenny,” says Celeste to
no one but herself,
“before making up my mind.” Picking up the telephone
receiver and punching out the number to Jenny’s salon,
Celeste then waits while the phone rings.

“Jen’s beauty salon. This is Jenny speaking. How may I
help you?”
“Hey Jenny! How’s your day going?”
“Great. Are you ready for the weekend?” asks Jenny.
“Not as ready as I’m sure you are. What are your plans
for this weekend?”
“I’m meeting up with Mario. They’re doing a show in
Vegas tomorrow night, and he has invited me to come
along. He’s going to put me up in a hotel room so that we
can spend the day together on Sunday.”
“A hotel room, but you hardly know him,” exclaims a
shocked Celeste, “What are you thinking?”
“Relax, Celeste. It’s not what you’re thinking. I’ll have
my own room.”
“But how can you trust someone you barely know?
“Well, who said I barely know him?” whispers Jenny.
“After you left last night,” she continues, “I spent quite a
bit of time with him. We
talked
Celeste. I mean, really
talked. For the first time in my life I felt like a man could
actually understand what I was saying, could understand
what makes me tick. It was nice. I can’t wait to see him
again,” Jenny finishes on a sigh.
“You sound like you really like him.”
“I do Celeste. I think we could have something special.”
“Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“Speaking of
something special
. Have you talked to
Stephen yet?
“Well, not exactly,” Celeste says quietly.
“What do you mean not exactly?” presses Jenny.
“Well he’s only been able to leave me messages, and I
haven’t had the opportunity to call him back yet. I’ve got
this brilliant new idea for an ad campaign,” and Celeste
proceeds to briefly fill Jenny in on her idea.
“Wow, that sounds great, Celeste. But you know what
they say. ‘All
work
and no
play
makes
Celeste
a
exceedingly dull girl’. You should call him. He’s really
interested in you.”
Celeste responds sarcastically, “Yeah, I bet he is.”
“There you go again, always thinking the worst of men.
And you’re pushing twenty-nine none the less!
Hello!
It’s
time to wake up and smell the coffee.”
“Jenny, I don’t always think the worst of men. I just
haven’t met any worth thinking good of.”
“Celeste, I’m your girl right?”
“Yeah,” Celeste responds cautiously, knowing that she
might not like what she is about to hear.
“So listen to me for a second. I’ve stood by and never
once passed or pronounced judgment on the decisions you
make about your personal life. But this time I feel pressed
to tell you...” Jenny says before pausing, not sure if she
should continue.
“Tell me what?”
Having gone
too
far
to
turn
back now,
and not
seriously wanting to, Jenny continues, “You need to get
over your father and what he did to your mother. Not every
man cheats on his wife.
My father was faithful to my mother for the entire
length of their marriage, right up ‘til he died when I was
thirteen. Although some might consider that a young age to
understand the value of marriage, I don’t. I know my father
loved and adored my mother. He thought she made the sun
rise and set.
It is because of him that I believe in true, unselfish love.
And one day I’m going to find my Mr. Right and settle
down with a few youngins. If I haven’t found him already,”
Jenny adds to lighten the tone.
Continuing, Jenny adds, “I suggest that before you give
Stephen the brush off, you sit down and take inventory of
yourself and make sure that you’re making the right
decision. Now, that’s all I have to say about that. You’re
not mad are you?”
“Mad? Of course not. How could I be mad at you over
something like this? It takes a true friend to sit you down
and tell you when you might be making a terribly big
mistake. And I promise that I will think about everything
you said.”
“Man, if I would have known that you would take it so
well, I would have had this talk with you years ago. Not
the
whole
conversation
as
it
refers
to
Stephen,
but
definitely the part about getting over your father.”
Both ladies laugh.
“So, when are you leaving for Vegas?” asks Celeste,
trying to change the subject.
“I’m leaving tomorrow on the 11 am flight from LAX.
Why do you want to come with me?”
“Sure.
Not
!”
“I didn’t think you would, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt
to ask.”
Celeste asks, “How can you get away tomorrow? I
thought Friday and Saturday’s are your busiest days of the
week.”
“Well, they are.
But
I
figure I
have enough ladies
working here that I can take time off now and again.
Between my regular three ladies and the new girl I hired a
few weeks ago, I think they can handle it.”
“Do you need a ride to the airport?”
“No, Mario is taking care of everything. Thanks for
asking though.”
“Well, have a fun. Call me when you get back and let me
know if you had a good time.”
“Will do.”
As Celeste hangs up the receiver, she begins to replay in
her head what Jenny said to her over the phone. Speaking
out loud to herself, Celeste says, “For someone who
thought she had it all together, I guess I really don’t.” Now
what?
Rising from her chair with frustration, Celeste growls, “I
hate feeling this way.” Celeste
much
prefers
to
have
everything neat and tidy in a little box.
Knowing firsthand that life is rarely so predictable and
neat, Celeste decides to do something that she has never
once done in all her twentyeight years of existence. She’s
going to take a chance. Besides, what can a telephone call
hurt? Situating herself back comfortably in her chair, she
says, “I can always hang up.”
Picking up the
piece
of
paper
which
Jayla
wrote
Stephen’s phone message on, Celeste picks up the receiver
with a trembling hand and quickly punches in the number
before she loses her nerve and doesn’t call. Celeste comes
within a hairs breath away from removing the phone from
her ear to hang it up just as the number she has dialed
begins to ring. She stops short as she hears a masculine
voice say, “Stephen.”
“Hello. This is Celeste.”
“Hi there! I’m glad you called. How are you?”
“I’m doing well. Were you busy?” Rambling on, she
continues before Stephen has a chance to answer, “If you
were I can always call you back at another time when it
would be more convenient, or you can call me back.”
“No, I’m not busy at all,” Stephen says as he waives
people hurriedly from his dressing room. With the soft click
of the door closing as the last person exits his dressing
room, he again turns his full attention to the telephone. And
Celeste.
“So, where are you? I know you’re on tour, but I don’t
know what city you’re in.”
“We’re in Vegas.”
“I thought that you guys were performing in Vegas
tomorrow night.”
“We always do two shows in Vegas because of the
impressive turnout we get. We have one tonight and the
other is tomorrow night.”
“I see. I talked to Jenny earlier, that’s how I knew about
tomorrow night’s performance.” Trying to make herself
more comfortable at her desk, Celeste hopes that will ease
the shakiness that she feels. Celeste tries hard to control her
breathing as she wonders what is coming over her. She
sounds like she’s been running a 20-mile marathon.
“Yeah, she’s coming up to spend some time with
Mario,” Stephen comments while all the more wishing that
Celeste were coming to visit him. Yet he wouldn’t dare
ask. The risk of losing what little hope he has found in this
one effort on Celeste’s part to make contact with him is too
great.
“So I heard,” Celeste says while trying to keep the
sarcasm out of her voice.
Stephen notices the none-too-happy tone of Celeste’s
voice but doesn’t comment on it, preferring to keep the
conversation
focused on
themselves
instead of
other
people.
“What are you doing this weekend? Any special plans?”
he asks with dread, praying silently that they don’t involve
any
man.
“I’m going to spend a quiet weekend working on a new
project for work.”
Letting out a breath that Stephen was not aware that he
had been holding, Stephen smiles a smile of pure relief, “Is
that what you do with your spare time, work?”
“Well, yeah, actually.”
Wanting desperately to know that she doesn’t have any
serious involvement with someone of the opposite sex,
Stephen gingerly and cleverly guides the discussion in that
direction. “Well now, I wonder why that is. I know it can’t
be for a lack of invitations from male pursuers.”
“I like working. I love my job,” Celeste finds herself
suddenly defensive.
“Whoa. I didn’t say that you didn’t like your job,”
Stephen defends.
“Well then what exactly are you trying to say then? That
I can’t get a date?”
“Celeste, I’m not trying to say anything of the sort.”
“’Cause I’ll have you to know that I get plenty of
invitations. I just choose not to accept, is all.”
“Celeste, honey. Why are you upset with me? What
have I done?”
Realizing that she is acting like a woman who has just
gone
off
the
deep end,
Celeste
humbles
herself
and
apologizes. “I’m sorry, Stephen. You didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s okay,” says Stephen, relieved that the
uncomfortable moment has passed. “I forgive you.”
“
Were
you trying to imply anything with that question?”
“No, I wasn’t. I promise. To tell the whole truth, I was
just trying to determine if you were seeing anyone, or if
you had someone special in your life. I just should have
asked you straight up.”
“Oh!” Is that all?” Smiling shyly she says, “No, Stephen.
I’m not seeing anyone, neither special nor ordinary.” Biting
her knuckle she wishes that she hadn’t been so quick to
answer. She must sound a little desperate, thinks Celeste to
herself.
Shocked by what he has just heard, Stephen frowns
down at the phone before continuing, “Now please don’t
take this the wrong way, but you’ve got to be joking!
Either all the men in your town are complete idiots or are
blind. Which is it?”
“Well, I would like to say that they’re all idiots, but the
truth is I’m not really interested in men.” Realizing the
mistake she has just made in her choice of words, she
hurries to correct herself, “or women.”
Sighing with relief at hearing her last two words spoken,
Stephen confesses, “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never
heard a woman say anything like that before.”
“One of these days, when I get to know you better, I’ll
tell you my life story.”
Happy to be hearing Celeste talk in terms of the future
brings a smile to his face. Stephen says, “I’d like that very
much.”
Celeste feels a warmth start near her heart and spread all
the way up to her hair line and down to her toes at the
thought of getting to know Stephen, or even still, letting
him get to know her.
Catching her
up short,
she clamors to
say quickly,
“Well, I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you must be
getting ready for your performance tonight. I’m sure you’ll
do go great. Talk to you later.”
“Good bye, Celeste,” says Stephen, feeling a little sad
about their conversation coming to an end.
Pressing the ‘end call’ button on his cellular phone,
Stephen clips it onto the loop of his cargo jeans where it
had rested prior to Celeste’s call. He folds his arms across
his chest as he leans against the wardrobe of his dressing
room.
There is a brief knock on his dressing room door, which
is followed by the entrance of Mario. “Hey man, what’s
up?” asks Mario as he enters the room and gives Stephen a
pound in greeting.
“Man, you wouldn’t believe who I just got off the phone
with.”
“By the look on your face, I can tell it was pleasant.”
“More than pleasant, dog. It was Celeste,” Stephen says
as Mario takes a seat in the director’s chair facing Stephen.
“You were finally able to reach her, huh?”
“No. She called me.”
“Cool, I guess persistence certainly does pay off. I’ve
never seen you chase a honey before.”
With conviction, Stephen proclaims, “Man, you just
don’t know. I’d chase Celeste to the ends of the earth if it
meant claiming the prize.”
Knowing that Steph is quite serious, Mario asks, “Did
you ask her to come out? Jenny’s coming in tomorrow.”
“I thought about it, but I don’t want to scare her off. I
have to play it real straight with Celeste. Dude, I’ve never
felt like I was walking on eggshells with a female before,”
Stephen confesses.
“Well, you know what they say, ‘Nothing ventured,
nothing gained,’ I mean, it’s a good sign that she called you
back. Does she know that Jenny’s coming out here?”
“Yeah. Although she didn’t sound too happy about it.”
Frowning at Stephen’s comment, Mario asks, “Why do
you think that is?”
“I don’t know, but my gut feeling tells me that I need to
approach this very cautiously or she’ll run.”
“
Run! Which
woman has ever run from you? Man,
love distorts everything.”
“No, it doesn’t. Well, maybe it does temporarily. But I
have a feeling when all the smoke clears I’ll get the girl.
Something she said struck a chord with me, though.”
“What was that?” asks Mario while picking up
Stephen’s snow globe from the makeup counter and tipping
it upside down watching the snow swirl around the family
in the globe.
“It’s not really
what
she said but rather
why
she said
it.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll find out soon enough,” says Stephen determinedly.
“Back to asking her to come out,” says Mario, bringing
Stephen back to the conversation. “Maybe she didn’t mind
so much that Jenny was coming out but that she wasn’t.
You know how females can be. They expect you to be
mind readers, and you’re in the dog house if you get the
message screwed up.”
Stephen
ponders
briefly
on
what
Mario
is
saying.
Changing the
subject, Stephen asks Mario, “When is
Jeffrey getting here?”
“He should be right behind me. We came from the hotel
together, but he stopped at the curtain to chat up some
female security guard.”
“That’s Jeffrey.” Stephen then agrees, “You might be
right, Mario.”