Waiting and Watching (6 page)

“Oh, please, don't remind me. That was so awkward last night when he asked me to dance. We're old friends, but we've certainly never been romantic. I got this creepy feeling that he was watching me all night.”

“That's because he was. I think he's a weirdo, like his mother. They're both whack-jobs and I think we've spent enough time with both of them.”

Connie directed Julio to the old Columbia Parkway, the only way she knew to get downtown. A new freeway had been built that was probably faster and more convenient, but she was going down memory lane and the old Parkway just seemed like the right start to an evening of reminiscing. Within a few short minutes, Julio maneuvered the flashy red sports car into the lot behind the Buckeye Club. Once inside the hallowed old club, they followed signs to the Tilden Park Reunion.

Now that she'd finally arrived, she felt that same jittery anticipation again. Thank heaven for her brother. In spite of the miles separating them in childhood, Connie had tried to watch over him and protect him as much as possible. However, this trip had reversed their roles. He was now the mature and protective brother, and she the protected one. Someday he would be a loving, caring husband and a wonderful father. Now, he was certainly enjoying the opportunity to play the field and date every good-looking girl that took his fancy. With all his attributes, why not?

Suddenly, Connie was shocked to realize how much Julio was like her father. Even though he wasn't his biological son, they were very similar in their charismatic personas and exceptional good looks.

As soon as they walked into the reunion party, they saw familiar faces from the night before, and Connie relaxed. One of her high school girlfriends, Paulette, grabbed her and pushed her out onto the dance floor. Everyone was doing “The Madison,” an old line-dance from the sixties. Connie had no trouble remembering all the steps. It brought back fond memories of the Friday night dances held after each football game. When the line dance was over, Paulette encouraged several of the women to go up on stage and sing along with the songs the disc jockey was playing.

“Well,” Connie said, “let me get my drink first, then I'll be up.” She went back to grab her drink and check to see if Julio was holding his own, which of course he was. She joined the girls onstage to do back-up for a non-existent singer near the DJ.

When the DJ took his break and put some slow background music on, Connie went back to find Julio at the bar. He was in an animated conversation with some men she hadn't seen last night. They turned out to be two of the football players who had been friends with Andrew. They all talked about what a great guy he was and how no one had seen or heard from him.

Connie felt a tap on her shoulder and it was Martin asking her to dance again. She couldn't think of a nice way to turn him down, but thankfully, the song was a fast one. Besides feeling sorry for him, she always felt she owed him a big favor. When Andrew asked her to the prom, she was afraid to tell her parents, because he was black. Martin offered to take her so she could secretly meet Andrew there. As it turned out, her parents loved Andrew and had no problem with them dating.

Connie's memory of the prom was that it started out to be the perfect evening. After the dance was over, a group of ten drove to an Italian restaurant that bragged about having the best pizza in the city. When the hostess refused to seat them because Andrew was black, the evening fell apart and the whole group walked out. The humiliation for Andrew dispelled the romantic aura they had enjoyed at the prom. The mood was ruined and it was downhill from there. Connie and Andrew got in a fight and ended up not speaking for the longest time.

Connie saw Martin walking in her direction and decided to duck into the ladies' room. After spending time with her friends, gossiping and laughing, she left the restroom to find Julio. As she walked back into the main room, her heart almost stopped. She couldn't believe her eyes. Andrew strolled into the cocktail party.

Could it really be him? She knew it had to be. Andrew's walk and his habit of swinging his hands in front of him and snapping his fingers while clapping the opposite hand whenever he was nervous was ingrained into her brain. She held back for a minute to catch her breath before she finally walked toward him as Julio gave him a hug. Both had huge smiles on their faces.

When Connie approached them, Andrew stepped back and just stared at her. He smiled his big sexy smile that still produced a wonderful tingling throughout her body.

“You're as beautiful as I remember. I can't believe you're here.”

Breathless, Connie said, “I was secretly hoping you'd come, but I really never thought you would.”

“Come on, you two. Let's sit down and have a drink,” Julio said diplomatically. “Fill us in on what you've been up to since Cincinnati.”

“You mean everything since I was accused of murder?”

They didn't know what to say, but after a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Andrew shrugged and broke into a smile.

“Well, yes, as a matter of fact,” Connie said. “Where did you move to?”

“Tennessee. My parents got research jobs at Vanderbilt. My dad never really recuperated from the stigma of my arrest. He was humiliated and angry. My folks loved yours and grieved their deaths with everyone else in Tilden Park. However, they felt they couldn't live here anymore when the cops seemed determined to pin the murders on me. The black and white thing just didn't fly in those days. There were rumors that neighbors watched me going in and out of your house at odd hours. I either had easy access to the house or locked doors were no obstacle to a kid of my color.”

Connie gave Andrew a guilty look. “Well, we did often rendezvous in my basement after my parents went to bed.”

“That, coupled with my being black, was all it took.”

“On a happier note, where are you hanging your hat these days and what pays the rent?” Julio asked.

“I'm an attorney in New York. I'm actually a Defense Attorney and I love it.”

Julio chuckled. “Sounds like we're both officers of the court.”

“I do defense work and specialize in appeals for people wrongfully convicted. I guess my experience in Cincinnati gave me the motivation to move in that direction.”

“That makes sense. I'm a District Attorney for Dade County, Florida, and mighty glad I won't ever have to duke it out with you New York hot shots.” They all laughed and when a waitress came over to take their drink order, Julio ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate their reunion.

“Are you married?” Connie asked a little too eagerly.

“No, I'm not. What about you?”

“Well, I'm single and Julio will never settle down since he's dating just about everyone in Miami.”

Andrew smiled, gazing at Connie. “Why haven't you married? Just never found the right guy?”

“I don't really know. When I left Cincinnati I was numb. It took me several years to accept what happened to my parents. I grieved their loss and missed you and Julio so much. I think I was afraid to love anyone again; afraid I'd lose them, too. I graduated from high school in an emotionless haze. Then I went to the University of Arizona. In college, I was a nerd. I kept to myself and studied all the time. After I graduated, I found a job as a Meeting Planner and that kept me busy. Looking back on it, I worked twenty-four/seven so I wouldn't have time for a relationship. I moved up to General Manager and now I work longer and harder and travel more than ever, so there really isn't room in my life for anyone else.”

“So in other words,” Julio said, “my sister is wasting her life away.”

“I'm so sorry for what happened to both of you, and I can't believe I haven't had the opportunity to say this to you for so many years. You're the only reason I came back here, Connie. Getting to see Julio is a great bonus and I feel like a proud big brother, seeing how well you've turned out.”

“Thanks, Andrew. I'll never forget how good you were to me when I was an irritating, obnoxious brat.”

Both Connie and Andrew laughed. “Tell us more about your mom and dad,” Connie asked.

“Dad died several years ago, but not before I passed the bar. It meant a lot to him. The suspicion that surrounded me after the incident really put him over the edge. Up until then, he was carefree and refused to let the impact of racial injustice affect him or his family. For the most part, he was able to do that because he was educated and successful. His black friends and family used to tease him about living in a white neighborhood. He would always say why shouldn't he enjoy the same benefits that the white people have? He grew up with discrimination, but didn't let it change his goals and ambitions. I think Dad just worked around it. However, when the police suspected his son of murder because of race; that was too much for him. He died with a lot of bitterness over it.

“That's a damn shame and an injustice of the worst kind. What about your mother; how is she?” Julio asked.

“Mom's doing well. She lives in a senior condominium complex in Tennessee with her sister. They both have lots of friends and say they are quite happy. I've gotten her to visit New York, but she doesn't stay long because she misses her friends.”

“Andrew, we never thought for a minute that you were guilty,” Connie said, placing her hand on the table, atop his. We were horrified that they even suspected you.”

“Your parents were the last people I would ever hurt and why in the world would I? Your mother was nicer to my family than anyone else in town. She took Mom to the Garden Club and introduced her to all her friends. Shoot, yours was the only family that ever invited us into their home and by doing so, I think your mom ruffled a lot of feathers, but she didn't seem to mind.”

“I'll never get over losing them, but from what I hear and remember of this town, I was better off growing up in Miami than staying here,” Julio said somberly.

“Definitely,” Andrew said. “It was Jim Crow segregation back then. It may not have been a written law, but it prevailed. Everyone thought segregation only existed in the south, but prejudice and ignorance were alive and well here too.”

“I guess I was so wrapped up in myself I never really noticed until the incident at the prom. I'm so sorry, Andrew.” Connie said, squeezing his hand. He had turned it over to hold hers.

The evening went well with the three of them catching up on twenty-two missing years. Julio noticed Andrew hadn't let go of Connie's hand, nor did she seem like she wanted him to let go. So when the DJ announced he was going to slow things down, he said to Andrew, “Why don't you get my sister out on the dance floor before the music stops? I remember how well you two danced together.”

Connie enthusiastically followed Andrew onto the dance floor. He pulled her close and held her firmly. His strong arms felt familiar and safe. She just let herself melt into his body as he led her slowly around the dance floor. The music could not have been more perfect. They were playing Moon River which they had danced to many times. It was the song from Connie's favorite movie,
Breakfast at Tiffany's
, with Audrey Hepburn, and it was the song they used to call their own.

She felt her former classmates watching them, but she didn't care. The champagne and the welcome feel of Andrew's arms around her had left her feeling carefree and happy. Even Martin's dark piercing stare wasn't going to ruin this special moment.

Andrew pulled away to look in her face. “Could we go sit outside somewhere and talk without feeling like everyone is talking about us?”

“I'd love that; let's go.”

Connie and Andrew walked outside, but there was no place to sit. He suggested they use his car so they could talk privately. She would probably have gone to the moon with him if he'd asked, Andrew knew just what to say.

“Do you remember the time Chet Nichols put that block of dry ice in one of the urinals in the boys' bathroom and then pressed the fire alarm?”

Connie burst out laughing so hard she had to hug her stomach. When she finally got enough breath back, she said, “I've never to this day seen anything as funny as the sight of Principle Schick trying to herd us all back inside while shouting that he was going to find out who did it and break his paddle over the culprit's miscreant ass.”

“Yeah, I'd never seen Stick so mad,” he said, using the nickname the kids had for him because he was so skinny he looked like you could knock him over with a stick.

They ended up reminiscing a bit longer, until Andrew reached for her hand again. His touch sent electric shocks through her body and woke up feelings she thought were gone forever.

“This sounds corny,” he said, “but I've thought about this moment for a very long time. When I boarded the flight to come here, I felt it was a lost cause, but I had to come. You can't know how happy it makes me just looking at you and seeing how beautiful you still are, inside and out.”

“Andrew, stop talking and kiss me.”

“Oh, babe, you don't have to ask me twice.” He leaned over and gently, slowly kissed her. One hand slid up the outside of her right thigh to pull her closer, the other cupped her chin to deepen the kiss. The years since the last time they'd seen each other fell away in an instant. Connie surrendered to his caresses as naturally as she had twenty years ago.

One kiss led to another until they were so absorbed in each other neither of them heard John Hazelton, the class clown, and a couple of his fellow football buddies creep up to the car. One of them pounded on the hood, and Andrew and Connie jerked apart to see the three peeping toms through the windshield. All three had big smiles slashed across their stupid, half-snockered faces.

“Hey, what do you think this is? High school? Get a room!” Hazelton crowed with a hearty laugh.