Irresistible You (34 page)

“Someone who doesn’t like rivals obviously.”

“Ya think?”

“Maybe?”

“Like a love sick fan?” Jasmine asked beginning to look around the empty living and dining rooms.

“No, no,” Kimberly corrected, “like a serious secret admirer who’s broken hearted now that Juliet has a new man in her life.”

“Ohh yeah,” Jasmine added, “so he pines away for her in unrequited love.”

“He probably still lives with his mother.”

“With a two dozen cats.”

“And Juliet’s new man will have to rescue her after the nut case goes to the center and professes his love for her.”

“But then Juliet chooses true love.”

“Would you please do something about your step-daughter and her friend,” Juliet asked turning to her friend, Patricia. Patricia started laughing. “Thanks,” she said to Patricia who was laughing too hard to speak. “Alright, alright ladies,” Juliet finally said, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Patricia continued laughing. “This is all you fault.”

“Me? Patricia said astonished.

“Yes you.”

“How is this my fault? What did I do?”

“It’s all those happily ever after novels and movies you keep giving them and taking them to.”

“Don’t blame me, you dance the stuff.”

Moments later they began a joking argument challenging back and forth just as they had done all their life.

“Hello adults,” Kimberly said getting Juliet’s and Patricia’s attention. “Who sent the flowers?”

“My date from last night.”

Patricia peeked over the girls shoulders and pulled a stem of thyme from the box. “That must have been some kind of interesting date.”

“Don’t you start again?” Juliet said lifted the box to her nose and inhaled the woodsy aromatic scent. She shook her head in disbelief as she reached into the box and pulled out large sprigs of fresh thyme. Apparently J.T.’s gift giving continued to evolve into more than the usual flowers and candy.

Patricia noted Juliet’s odd expression. She pointed to the bags at the base of the stairs. “Okay girls, why don’t you go try some of those outfits on.”

“Instantly dismissing the box and choosing clothes over weeds, Kimberly and Jasmine grabbed their bags and ran up the stairs to try on their new outfits.

While the girls dressed and redressed and listened to music in the spare bedroom, Juliet hung up the clothes she purchased in her bedroom and told Patricia about her even and morning at J.T.’s house. Patricia remained uncharacteristically quiet the whole time.

“I’m waiting,” Juliet finally said prompting her friend.

“This is absolutely beautiful. It must have cost a small fortune, look at all the jewel inlay.” Patricia said as she examined the first gift closer running her fingers over Africa and North America. She looked past the small globe to Juliet, “I promised I wouldn’t say it.”

“Then I’ll say it, you warned me, you told me so.”

“So how did you end it with him this morning?” Patricia asked as she placed the orb back into the box.

Juliet smiled and gave Patricia the card from the bouquet box, “I told him that we both need time.” Patricia smiled and nodded her head understanding the inside joke. “So naturally J.T. sent me a box of thyme, the herb.”

“He’s got your warped sense of humor, you gotta give him that.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Do you love him?” Patricia asked.

“I don’t know, maybe, I guess,” Juliet fudged.

“Do you love him?” Patricia asked again.

Juliet frowned. Admitting that she was in love with J.T. to someone else was a lot harder then admitting it to herself. She wrapped her arms around her body for comfort and sat down on the bed beside her friend. The answer was so simple, but it was the hardest thing to do. “Yes, I do.”

“Does he love you?”

She shrugged. “Yes.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to get swallowed up in his world and loose myself like my Mom did. Cancer or no cancer, she still died of a twenty-year broken heart when Wyatt left.”

“What makes you think that’s gonna happen?”

“It happened to Mom. She stopped her career when she and Wyatt married. When they divorced she had nothing. She never really recovered. She lost everything, herself included.”

“I’m married, I still have a career and my job, and it’s even better with the
Dr. Patricia Burke-Franklin, Child Psychologist,
shingle hanging out front.”

“That’s different. Pierce is one in a million. There aren’t many men out there like him.”

“You’d be surprised Juliet. There are a lot of good men out there. You just have to look. But in your case you already found one, and he cooks.”

“Yeah, can you believe it?” Juliet joked.

“At least you won’t starve.”

“Hey. I beg your pardon,” she said with added indignation. “I’m not that bad in the kitchen.”

“You’re talking to your best friend here. You need a recipe to boil water, and then you burn it. You don’t even know where the kitchen is.”

Juliet opened her mouth in shock. “I do so. It’s where the coffee machine is.” They burst with laughter as each began regaling events in their past where Juliet had tried her hand at cooking. The laughter continued eventually drawing a curious Kimberly to the bedroom doorway. She looked at them rolling on the bed laughing tossing pillows at each other as if they’d lost their minds.

“Hello adults,” she interrupted sarcastically, “impressionable teenager in the room, proper decorum please.” Still giggling like teenagers, Juliet and Patricia stopped tossing the pillows long enough to at least give the appearance of maturity.

“Jasmine’s sister is here to pick us up.”

Still chuckling, Patricia and Juliet followed Kimberly down stairs to the front door. Jasmine was already showing her sister the box of herbs and telling her the story of last night’s movie adventure. Her sister peeked into the box and had the same reaction. Kimberly and Jasmine grabbed their shopping bags and hugged Patricia and Juliet, said goodbye, then hurried out of the door and down the path to the car.

Juliet stood in the door waving as Jasmine’s sister drove by with the girls in the back seat already talking a mile a minute. She turned back to Patricia who was busy smelling the aromatic thyme. “Were we ever that young?” Juliet asked wistfully.

“Younger.”

“Do they ever actually separate and sleep at their own house?”

“Hardly ever. It’s just like when we were their age, I was either here at your house or you were in D.C. at mine.”

Juliet looked at Patricia oddly as she bent over and smelled the herb again. “Why do you keep smelling those herbs,” she asked, her nose crinkled at smelling the strong woodsy scent.

“I don’t know,” Patricia said, “believe it or not so far it’s the only thing that’s settled my stomach. Lately I’ve been so queasy. I think I must have a mild case of food poisoning or something. But I don’t know how, I haven’t eaten your cooking in years.”

“I can cook.” Juliet insisted.

“You can burn,” Patricia topped her, “water.”

“Very funny,” Juliet said and she headed to the kitchen. “I need a cup of coffee if I’m gonna be awake all night. Do you want a cup?”

“No thanks.” Patricia said as she picked up the white box of thyme and followed Juliet to the kitchen. She propped up on the stool at the counter and began pulling the thyme branches out of the box as Juliet poured water into a crystal vase.

Juliet placed the vase in front of her and Patricia began inserting the thyme branches one by one. Juliet leaned her nose near the closest branch. “Umm, they do smell pretty good, kind of woodsy with a hint of mint.”

Patricia continued as she watched Juliet poured cold water in the dispenser then added coffee to the filter.

“How about a cup of tea,” Juliet asked when she finished.

“That sounds good,” Patricia said as she hopped down from the stool and grabbed a cup from the cabinet added water then put it in the microwave. She grabbed the tea canister on the counter and opened it. She found coffee beans. She opened the flour and sugar ones also finding coffee beans. “Where do you keep the tea bags this week?”

“There might be some tea bags in the refrigerator.”

Patricia opened the refrigerator door and scanned its contents. She found three square Styrofoam takeout contained, a plastic covered foil tin and two Chinese cartons. She opened one of the takeout containers and looked inside. “Yuck, what was this?”

Juliet peeked over the refrigerator door and into the container, “I have no idea. Trash it.”

Patricia pulled the trash can over to the open refrigerator and began opening and trashing the contents of the refrigerator. “Found them,” Juliet said holding a box of decaffeinated tea bags she purchased the last time she and Patricia went shopping together. She pulled one out and dipped it into the steaming hot water.

When Patricia finished dumping the contents of the refrigerator, Juliet moved the trash can back then filled a cup of brewed coffee.

Patricia took a sip of her tea, “How’s your protégée?”

“Who, Vanya?” Juliet asked. Patricia nodded wile blowing her hot tea. “Vanya is hardly what I’d consider a protégée.”

“She’s a pretty good dancer.”

“She’s an excellent dancer and given time she will rock the industry but she’d too impatient. She wants everything right now. She doesn’t realize that it takes years to get to the top and hard work to stay there.”

“So tell her.”

“Not the easiest thing in the world to do. She’s out of control, stubborn, arrogant and paranoid. She actually thinks that everyone’s out to get her, it probably has something to do with her Russian father.”

“Isn’t she supposed to take over as principal when you leave?”

“Maybe, they haven’t decided yet. Truthfully I don’t think she’s ready.”

“Will she ever be ready?”

“I hope so, she’s very talented. With a little coaching she could be awesome. The funny thing is, she reminds me of myself when I was that age.”

“I remember, couldn’t tell you anything, still can’t.”

They each chuckled then Juliet pensively stared down into her black coffee. “Mom’s illness helped me to stop focusing so much on myself.”

Patricia reached over and grasped her friend’s hand. Juliet looked up smiled and nodded that she was okay. “I miss her,” Patricia said.

“I do too.”

“Have you decided if you’re going to go to your father’s wedding?”

“Yes, if Randolph can still get away I’m going down to Florida with him.”

“It was good to see him today. He looks tired.”

“He’s been working hard. I was surprised that he even had time to stop by the workshop this morning.”

“It was so sweet of him to invite me to tag along with you two tonight. With Pierce away and Kimberly over at Jasmine’s, I was just going to eat popcorn and watch a movie.”