Cafe Romance (11 page)

“If that’s the way you want to remember it, yes.”

“Please, let’s not take the low ground,” he said, his mouth thinned with displeasure.

“You were pretty good at traveling down that road.”

“And please let’s not exaggerate either,” he insisted.

“Look, the last time we met, I was feeling all cramped up,” she reminded him. “I didn’t want to tell you then but it was that time of the month. Besides, on the visit before that, you stormed out of the house and sat in the car. Still, I got you to come back in the house and from what I remember; I made it worth your time. So it wasn’t as though you were constantly being deprived.”

“You’re right, Leslie,” he said, almost apologetically. “It’s just hard being spontaneous with you, at times.”

“I know, I admit.”

“Anyway, I’m a different person now,” he replied. “I am through with trying to persuade you to do what you’re not feeling up to doing, okay.”

Hearing that, Leslie’s expression softened and so did her tone.

“But Leslie, I just need to know one thing, are you still in love with me?”

Kurt gazed solemnly at Leslie as she seemed to collect her thoughts. When he thought she had enough time collecting, he added, “I’m still waiting, Leslie.”

Brushing a strand of hair aside, she leaned forward and touched his hand with her gloved hand. “Kurt, I will always love you. But I’m just not in love with you anymore.”

“So what you are saying is that you’re through with me.”

“No, not exactly. I do want you in my life in some way and in some capacity. That I know. But not on a daily basis as I know you want.”

“Leslie, I really cannot see us being anything less than what we were once,” Kurt replied, as he leaned forward, his heart swelling with pain. 

“Meaning it’s all or nothing with you?”

“You can say that,” he answered, as his eyes met hers disparagingly.

“Kurt, there are times I think of you and times I wished you were near.”

“So you do miss me,” he murmured.

“Sometimes,” she answered softly.

He appeared reluctant to say anything more, but when he did he lost his restraint. “For someone who proclaims to miss me sometimes, you sure haven’t been tearing up the phone lines trying to get in touch with me. And another thing, I know that your flight originated out of Norfolk, Virginia and not Oklahoma. I also know that you’ve been keeping company with that young attorney friend of yours since you’ve been over this side of the coast. And yes, I have my sources. What’s his name, again?  Q?”

Leslie’s eyes widened. Slightly on the defensive, she responded. “You’ve been checking up on me I see. Qwamie is his name, if that’s who you’re referring to. Anyway, he’s just a good friend, Kurt. That’s all.”

“Good enough to spend an entire week with in Virginia Beach. Look, a friend of mine just happened to be there last weekend on business when she ran into you two lovebirds. Both you and your friend were spotted lying on the beach carrying on like you were the hottest couple of the year. And that was just the public side of things. I dare to wonder what you two were like in private. So please, let’s cut through the chase and spare me the pleasantries. Besides, aren’t you around eight years his senior?”

Her face was still frozen from the sting of his words and his revelation, but she managed to compose herself and reply. “Okay, I’ll admit I was in Virginia Beach and that I am on my way back to Oklahoma, not Boston. And yes, Qwamie was there. Still, it’s not what you think it was. And by the way, I am five years, not eight years, his senior.”

“Whatever.”

“I’d like for you to tell me who this friend is, the one who told you all of this.”

“It doesn’t matter who told me,” he said forcefully. “The fact remains, you lied to me.”

“Look, we were there for a legal conference. That’s all.”

“Sure. I thought you’d come up with something like that.”

“Let me finish, please.”

Kurt clammed up, taking time to think for a moment before speaking again.

“Look, we were on the beach to go swimming that afternoon, you know, relaxing and just having fun. That’s what people do on the beach. And for your information, it wasn’t just the two of us. There were several others with us. Anyway, he began to get playful and before I realized it he rolled me over on top of him and kissed me. Dammit Kurt, he caught me off guard. Sure, I probably responded to his kiss in a way that I shouldn’t have. You know, it’s been a while since any man, other than yourself, kissed me. But nothing happened after that. I swear! We stayed in separate rooms.”

Kurt grew thoughtful but said nothing.

“Hell, I don’t even know why I’m trying to explain any of this to you,” she said with exasperation in her voice. “We are no longer together, remember.”

            Kurt decided to chime in. “You know, you could have been kissed every day and every night of the week if you had not left me. I practically begged you to give me a second chance. Still, my pleads fell upon deaf ears. You said my efforts were
‘far too little, far too late.’

“Just the mere fact that you walked out on me broke not only my heart but nearly my wallet. Believe me, it wasn’t easy living a two-salaried lifestyle on a one-salary income, Leslie.”

Her eyes searched his face, as if they were begging for his forgiveness and understanding.

“If you knew you were going to be on the East Coast, why didn’t you call and let me know so we could have hooked up? I mean, I know we’re not officially together. But I would have taken time out to see you.”

Leslie sat up straight and licked her dry lips. She decided to come clean. “Kurt, after our last get together at my sister’s house, I thought that I was the last person you would want to see again. You know, this is very painful for me too. Still, at least we can be friends.”

Kurt leaned back in his chair and looked at her probingly. What if she was telling the truth? What if nothing really happened between her and this Qwamie guy? And what was all of this ‘
at least be friends stuff?
’

Inside he felt confused and as conflicted as ever.

Leslie seemed to sense the direction of his thoughts and it saddened her.

“Please say something, Kurt.”

In a hushed tone, he said, “Look, what you do is your business Leslie. So just forget it. I’m sorry I even brought the subject up.”

“Like I said, nothing happened, Kurt. You can believe me or choose not to. That’s on you.”

Rising up, he reached down into his pants pocket and pulled out a thick wad of one hundred-dollar bills, he remembered. He quickly siphoned off three of the crisp bills and handed them to her. She bit her lips but said nothing. He continued, “Look, this should take care of the lunch tab, pay for your cab and get you back to the air terminal.”

“I was hoping that you’d take me back to the terminal.”

“I would love to but I have to attend to other matters. Have a nice day, Leslie.”

“Please don’t go away like this!” she softly pleaded. “I still love you. I’m just not in love with you anymore.”

Hearing this, he paused, turned, and faced her again. In a steady voice he said, “You know something, Leslie? I once thought the sun rose and set with you. But somewhere along the way you changed. You became independent and self-centered. Like I said, have a nice day.”

And that’s the way Kurt remembered his last meeting with his wife months earlier. After selling the house and collecting the first installment of his lotto windfall he dropped out of the workforce and nearly out of sight. He wanted to travel the country, reflect on his good fortune and plan ahead for the future. Since he did not relish flying and detested the thought of motel hopping along the Interstate highway system by car, he decided to see the world from a different viewpoint.

Passing by a RV dealership one afternoon, he thought he’d check the place out and see what the world of recreational vehicles had to offer these days. It did not take him long to decide that,
baby
, this was definitely the way to go. He would trade in his small camper for the big time. 

Two weeks later, he found himself embarked upon a six-week cross-country tour in both the United States and Canada in his newly purchased luxury motorhome. There were times he wished Leslie had been there with him to share in his travels and adventures. Traveling was one thing. Traveling alone was another. But as far as he knew, she had other things on her mind. As for him, she had no clue that he had become a millionaire. And that’s the way he wanted it for now.

After a month on the road, Kurt began to long for a more structured life and a more socially active one at that. By week four on the road, he seriously considered returning to the workforce. Once his mind was made up, he began to surf the Internet and came across a job in Tampa, Florida. After his arrival and initial interview, he was hired.

The job could not have come at a better time for him. He knew he had to get away from New Jersey and all the publicity and all the notoriety of being a millionaire and now he had his chance. But he was beginning to learn that being wealthy wasn’t all
sun
and
fun
. As a humbled and caring citizen he gave generously to numerous charities, a hundred grand total to date, but there seemed to be no end to the procession of organizations, both public and private, which constantly approached him for a grant or financial assistance. To keep charities and persistent news organizations at bay, he bought a beeper, opting to forego a cell phone. At least, for now. 

As for the world he decided to leave behind, only his lawyer, stockbroker, accountant, and beloved grandma knew where to find him. And though he walked out on Leslie at the airport, they did speak a few weeks later, for business purposes, at which time he gave her his new cell phone number and told her he’d be traveling across country. It was during this brief conversation the word divorce was brought up.

W
here did the time go?
Yvette thought, having taken the day off from work. It was her plan to get as much cleaning done around her new condo as possible. Later she would shower and style her recently cut hair. For once, she had a night to look forward to.

A childhood friend, Antwan Morrison, had invited her out to dinner that evening. The two met while working part-time at a retail store during their college years. At five-nine, Antwan was a well-dressed African-American with a laid back, easygoing country style. He hailed from rural Valdosta, Georgia but just before he entered high school, his father transplanted their family to Florida for better job opportunities. Though well versed in life in the fast lane, Antwan was a country boy at heart. He had a warm country smile and an abundance of country charm. And was country cute, Yvette always thought.

With a few hours to kill she sat down in her favorite Lay-Z-boy recliner and grew thoughtful…thoughtful of past boyfriends, past hurt and pain and the reason why she wasn’t anxious to get involved romantically.

Sporting a twenty-six inch waistline, and looking every bit a youthful twenty-six, Yvette had come to know the effect she had on older men, whom she preferred dating, but also the advantages of dating much younger men. Juanita once told her that younger men often sort out attractive older women for enlightenment and the challenge, and to prop up their sensitive egos. On the flip side, older men preferred younger women whom they could pamper and spoil and be seen with. It was also rumored that younger women revitalized older men in a way that reaffirmed their sexuality and self-worth. Also, older men were usually more financially established and more willing to share their time and their money with their trophy women. But it never bothered her that Antwan was younger than her usual pursuers. That’s because he was not the youngest she had went out with. This distinction belonged to Clarence Collins, a local barber and heartbreaker from her old neighborhood.

She was twenty-seven years old at the time, and he, twenty-one and as confident and as cocky as they come. The relationship was a mix-match from the onset. Yvette was into jazz and the cultural scene. Clarence was into tattoos, hip-hop, gangsta rap, and club hopping. Realizing that the relationship was one of convenience, she eventually gave him the boot, the union having lasted less than three months. So at odds the two were Yvette vaguely remembered kissing him once.

Things were different with Antwan, though. Antwan was mature and seemed settled. He was thirty, divorced, manly and as charming as they come. But she considered him just a good friend, a friend she enjoyed being around and occasionally going out with.  But no, he was not her Mr. Right.

As for Mr. Right, she once thought it was Frank ‘Silky’ Goodman. An import from the northeast, Silky was an older outgoing man, a great conversationalist, and popular in the neighborhood. But he was also a man of worldly experience and worldly vice. Warmhearted and affable, Silky was a natural charmer and fulltime womanizer, in every sense of the word. If Silky had a weakness it was women. A real dapper kind of guy, beautiful women worked on Silky like a potent drug. In return, he made love as though it was his only mission in life. And boy could he turn a woman on. Like most good things in life, his seduction and lovemaking skills became well known, mostly by word of mouth. With his handsome looks, charming smile, and deep pockets, women of all educational, cultural and social backgrounds flocked to him knowing that within his deep penetrating eyes there was an appreciation, a proclivity for beauty and excitement, along with the promise of a good roll in the hay. Still, no woman ever touched Silky on an emotional level. He would not allow that. Yvette was the one exception.

In many ways, she turned his world inside out. Silky had rarely sustained a relationship beyond a few months. Being a player, he never allowed himself to get emotionally attached to his paramours. It ran contrary to his self-serving belief system. Then Yvette came along and changed all of that.

In time, Silky began to feel something he had sworn he would never feel for a woman - love. And for a short while, he straightened up his act.  He ceased his womanizing, cut down on his partying, and cleaned up his French. No, it wasn't love at first sight for Yvette but over the ensuing months she took the plunge.