Absolution (Mr. Black Series) (3 page)

My tears had begun to puddle around my cheek as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

My lids fluttered open to the buzzing of my alarm clock. The sun was shining through the window, and the birds were chirping outside. I had fallen asleep on the floor, still wrapped in my towel. My fingers curled in, and my eyes darted about the room to get my wits about me. The clock said it was time for work, but I wanted nothing more than to hide in my room for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, losing my job wasn’t an option.

What if I’m next to be kicked out?

I pushed myself off the ground and opened the door to head to the bathroom, where I caught a glimpse of Cole’s half-naked body, getting ready for work. I was caught off guard by his olive-toned, muscle-clad arms and rock hard eight-pack. Hugging his lean waist was a thick black elastic band from his boxer briefs, peeking over his navy blue camouflage pants.

His brown hair, freshly shaven, still littered the floor around his feet. My eyes locked with his baby blues the minute he caught me staring. Embarrassed, I walked back to my room and got ready for work. After all, I did technically have a shower last night. I left the house without seeing him again, his car was still parked behind mine as I drove off.

The hours seemed to tick away more slowly now that all I could do was think about the situation with Catherine and Cole. How could all of that have gone so horribly wrong? I pondered that question as I poured coffee and served bacon to a woman who was on her fourth
“endless”
promotional plate.

I walked behind the counter, where Rob leaned in and asked, “Do you think she’s almost done?”

I looked at him and grimaced, shaking my head. His head fell forward, his chin touched his chest as he sulked.

I stood overlooking the whole main dining area, scanning for a raised hand, or a look that might indicate I was needed. But no one looked up from their steaming plates of bacon and pancakes, so my mind once again drifted to the funeral and the fight. I definitely had to figure out where I wanted to go from here. With Catherine out of the house, the tension between Cole and I would surely escalate.

“Instead of standing there, why don’t you take out the trash?” Rob suggested, startling me out of my daydream.

I scrambled to pull the bag out of the trashcan and hurried to the dumpsters out back. I found a discarded newspaper in the bag and pulled it out, skimming through the classifieds, searching for any rooms for rent…just in case.

“Adeline, get back in here!” Rob yelled, peeking his head out of the back door.

“I’ll be right there!”

Gimmie a break, why don’cha.

After about two more uneventful hours of serving customers and wiping counters, the most exciting thing happened; I caught a woman trying to pass a counterfeit $100 bill.

Rob was so pleased with my apprehension of the counterfeiter, he said, “Hey Adeline, why don’t you go ahead and take off early. You deserve it!”

“But Rob, I only have seven minutes left in my shift,” I said sarcastically as I held up seven fingers as a visual aide.

I felt like the sarcasm was lost on the funny old man, who smiled and said, “And you deserve every minute of it. Great job today! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He waved goodbye, disappearing into his office to write up the incident report.

He must really think he’s doing me a favor by letting me leave seven minutes early.

Untying the knot of my apron, I headed to the break room to pick up my purse, where I dropped $36.27 in tips, along with a phone number from an 80-year-old man who kept calling me sweet cakes…hardly my idea of Prince Charming.

I walked out to the curb, where I found Cole walking toward the entrance.

I stopped as a feeling of anxiety overtook me.

Is he going to kick me out?

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I actually came to see you.”

“Me?” I asked nervously.

“Well, after last night, and then this morning…I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” I said, turning to walk toward the crosswalk.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back toward him. Feeling the electricity between us, I looked at his hand and then into his eyes. “What are you doing?”

He let go. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know that you’re welcome to stay at the house as long as you want. I know Ezra would have wanted me to take care of you.”

“What do you know about what Ezra wanted?” I asked quietly.

“I know he loved you and wanted to give you the world.”

I looked down at my purse. “The world is an expensive place, you know.”

“I know. I don’t want you to worry about rent or anything. I have enough to take care of all of it. I know Ezra was the bread winner, and his SGLI hadn’t transferred over to you yet. So I know…believe me…I know.”

“I don’t want your pity, Cole.”

He moved in front of me and lifted my chin with his crooked finger, staring straight into my eyes. “Is that what you think this is…pity?”

I pulled my face away. “What else could it be?”

“Honoring my brother.”

I pored over the solemn look on his face, and I knew his words were true. I nodded as I turned toward my car.

“May I walk you to your car?” he asked.

I paused for a brief moment. “You may.”

He smiled, which in turn made me smile. We crossed the dreaded crosswalk together, and walked the few steps to where I was parked.

“Listen, I have to get back to work, but can I make you dinner tonight?” he asked.

“Dinner?”

“So we can get everything out in the open. If we’re going to live together, I don’t want any secrets.”

“Should I invite Catherine?” I asked.

“Only if you want your dinner thrown in your face.” He smiled.

I let out my first chuckle in weeks as he closed my door and waved goodbye. I drove off, watching him in the rearview mirror.

COLE

I watched her drive away, and I felt better about where things were with us. I knew I couldn’t let things fester, especially without Catherine in the house to act as a buffer. I wanted to tell her everything, and let the chips fall where they may. Withholding information from her wasn’t fair, and she deserved to know anything she wanted to.

My phone rang as I jogged back to my car.

I pulled it out of my pocket mid-step. “Hello?”

“Listen here, you son of a bitch―”

“Catherine?” I asked between breaths.

“Yes. I’ll give you one chance to take me back or you’ll be fuckin’ sorry,” she threatened.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“You’re fuckin’ crazy,” I said as I clicked off the call.

I hopped into my car and headed back over the Coronado Bridge to North Island.

What was I thinking ever being with that bitch? What kind of crazy threat was that?

I flashed my ID to the sentry, who saluted. “Lieutenant.”

I nodded and drove on base. The more I thought about Catherine, the more I realized that kicking her out had been the best choice. Too bad I had wasted so many years on her. I parked in front of the commissary and went about buying a chicken and nice bottle of Moscato for dinner.

“Lieutenant,” a voice yelled from behind me.

I turned. “Black. What are you doing here?”

His face was solemn. “I’m sorry to hear about Ezra.”

“Yeah, well, we signed up for this shit, right?”

“He was a good man, sir.”

“He was a damn good man. That muthafucker was the best of the best. Damn fuckin’ shame.”

He looked down at my cart full of items. “Making dinner for Catherine?”

“No. I, uh…let’s just say that Catherine won’t be coming around anymore.”

“No need to explain further, sir. I’ve had a few of those.”

“That bitch is crazy,” I said, putting a bag of potatoes in the cart.

He nodded. “They usually are, sir.”

I smiled. “All right, Elijah, I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“Don’t you think you should take some time off, sir?”

“Fuck no. Time off. That shit just gives you time to stew,” I said, pushing my cart down the aisle.

“Ain’t that the truth, sir,” he said, stretching out his hand to shake mine.

“You have a good rest of the day, Elijah, and make sure you shave that five o’clock shadow before I see you at work,” I said, shaking his hand as I went on my way.

ADELINE

Tired from my day, I decided to lay my head on the pillow just for a little while. The events of the last few days had taken its toll on me, and I certainly couldn’t commit to such a serious conversation over dinner without a little rejuvenation. The moment my eyes closed, he came to me.

Let me take you somewhere, I promise it’ll be fast.
Ezra said.

“Okay,” I replied as he grabbed my wrist and whisked me to a skating rink.

It was the skating rink I used to frequent as a little girl. I loved it there and it brought back so many good memories. We grabbed some hot cocoa and sat in the bleachers, people watching.

“I love this,” I said, watching the couples and the families skating and spending time together.

I sat and watched the single couples, then the families, and I even saw one man, who resembled Ezra, playing with his daughter. I imagined having a daughter with him and what a great father he would make. The sadness from the funeral crept back in, gnawing at my stomach.

The waitress came around to take our order. “Would you like a refill of hot chocolate?”

“No thank you, we’re not staying long,” I said, looking over to Ezra.

Do you see the families?

“Yes.” I smiled.

I wanted to bring you here so that you could understand that you will never have this if you don’t move on.

Appalled, I replied, “Move on? It’s been less than a month.”

Love presents itself when it presents itself. It has no timetable to which it adheres. Just be open…

“Adeline!” Cole’s voice woke me from my sleep.

I sat up in bed, still wearing my work uniform, which was drenched in sweat. “I’ll be right out.”

“Okay, I’m going to get dinner going. Take your time,” he said, walking past my door.

I rested my palm on my forehead, feeling the heat emanating from it.

“Maybe I’m catching a fever,” I murmured to myself as I kicked my legs out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

I showered, then threw on a pair of jeans and black tank. No makeup. No sense in getting all dolled up for a conversation that was probably going to turn me into a bowl full of jelly. I hurried back to my room to clean up, and jot down questions I wanted to ask. The smell of baked chicken sprinkled with rosemary started to waft through the bedroom door, and my stomach began to sing a tune I hadn’t heard in a while. Dare I say I was hungry? The sounds of pots clanging together and simmering oil reminded me of a finely tuned orchestra, much like my mother’s kitchen back home.

I was wondering how much longer until the food would be done when I heard a knock at my door.

“It’s ready,” Cole’s voice filtered through the door.

I opened the door to him standing there dressed in a clean white tee and well-fitting jeans. His cologne smelled like a manly aftershave, which made my eyelids flutter at the scent.

He stepped back and motioned for me to go ahead into the kitchen. “Ma’am.”

I smiled and grazed by him as I went. The table was finely set, and the food had already been plated. He had lit a few candles and poured us each a glass two-thirds full of wine.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. “Why, Mr. Almen. Who knew?”

He smiled. “I certainly didn’t, but that’s what the internet is for.”

“I hope you aren’t trying to seduce me?” I joked.

He shook his head. “I would never. I just wanted to set a calmer mood than yesterday for the conversation we need to have.”

He rushed past me and pulled out my chair. I smiled and sat down as he pushed my chair back in. “Thank you,” I said.

“Well, I think it best that we get started right away,” he said, taking a large gulp from his glass.

“All right then.”

“So I figure this would work best if you just ask me things and I answer,” he said, taking another anxious gulp.

“I only have one question.”

He paused and put his glass down. “One?”

“One.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Did he say anything about me before he died?”