Lost and Found (7 page)

"Cash, how have you been? I think of you quite often. Did
you get my card and flowers when Vanessa, well,
passed away? How are the kids? How old are they now?" I
wonder who Vanessa is, because he got a really sad look on
his face.

"Whoa there. One thing at a time." He put Claudia down
softly, like she weighed as little as a feather and was smiling,
but this time it was a really sad smile.

Mr. POS clasped Cash on the shoulder and then shook
his hand. "Cash, long time no see my man. I see you know my lawyer. Too bad she's not into guys, huh? What a shame
for such a beautiful girl. It's a waste, if you ask me." POS shakes his head and has a chagrined look on his face.
I look at Cash and he has a confused look on his face and
was silently asking Claudia what was going on.

"Cash and I go all the way back to college, Paul. He knows
everything about me, no need to get all dramatic. How do
you two know each other?” She was looking between the
both of them, trying to figure out what exactly they have in
common.

"Paul and I tend to do business together occasionally."
Cash kept looking behind Claudia at me and it
was starting to make me nervous, the way he was staring.
His eyes! I just can't get over how beautiful they are.

"Speaking of business, are you ready for dinner? Ladies,
you ought to join us for dinner. It would give me something
pretty to look at, instead of this ugly mug." He started
chuckling and I was inwardly thinking that there's nothing
ugly about Mr. Cash. Paul's cell phone started ringing and
he looked at the caller ID. "Excuse me, this is Marissa, I
better take this." He walked off, so he could have some
privacy.

"I guess I should introduce you to my sister-in-law, Cash.
This is Olivia Porter. Olivia, Cash Kingston."
Cash looked at me and smiled and extended his hand out
and introduced himself. I shook his hand and certainly didn't feel the same sickness in my belly I felt when I shook
POS's hand. He had a firm handshake and his eyes never left mine and I felt a magnetic pull in that one handshake. Oh my goodness. The thoughts that were going through
my mind had me wishing that I could stare
at him forever. I should be ashamed of myself. What
would Derek think about the way I'm looking at him? I
instantly look down in shame. I felt like I have done
something wrong and all I did was shake his hand and look
into his, his absolutely gorgeous eyes.

"It’s very nice to meet you, Olivia. So, you're Claud's sister-
in-law? So that would mean that you're..." He
immediately looked at my left hand and I know he noticed my
wedding ring that I still wear and will never take off.

"Cash, she was married to my brother. He died a year and a
half ago and she moved out here to live with me."  Thanks
Claudia. Way to make me feel even more uncomfortable.
This had me looking down at my feet. The last thing I
wanted was him looking at me in a sympathetic way, like he
knows how I feel.

"Very nice to meet you and I'm sorry for your loss, you too Claudia. If I had known, I would have sent my respects." He
looks at Claudia and then back to me. I see in his eyes that he is genuine with his words. "I lost my wife 5 years ago
and there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her very
much." So that's where the sad look came from, when
Claudia mentioned Vanessa. Vanessa must have been his
wife.
Uh oh, Paul is, I mean POS is back!!

"Cash, it looks like we are going to have to take a rain
check on that meeting and dinner. Marissa just called and
her Maltese has gotten out of the yard and disappeared and
she needs me to go home and look for it. Honestly, I hope I can't find it. I think she loves that dog more than she loves
me." Thank God! I sure didn't want to have dinner with
him. My hope is to NEVER have to see him again.
Claudia doesn't have that luxury.

"That is quite alright. I think I might take advantage of inviting these two exquisite ladies to dinner. Ladies, what
do you think?"

What do we think? Oh, this sounds like a
bad idea. I don't know that I would be able to have one
decent thought, if I have to sit across the table from him.
His eyes! What is going on with me? I've never had a
reaction like this to anyone. Oh God! Can he tell that I
keep staring at him? I still haven't said one word to him.

"Oh, of course Cash! That's a great idea. We need to catch
up for sure. Do you mind if we stay here in the bar?
Something quieter sounds good to me, instead of going out
to the main dining area. Does that sound alright to you,
Olivia?" I just nod, because she's right. I would rather
stay in here where the lighting is dimmer.

"Ok, we are
going to run to the ladies room, so we will be right back."
She winked
at him and grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom.

*****************

"So, what'd you think about Cash?" I take it we didn't
come in here to use the bathroom, but to talk.

"Well, he's cute." I wasn't about to say that I thought he
looked like he just walked out of a movie screen.

"Cute? Cute? Are you kidding me? Babies are cute. Puppies are cute. Penguins are cute, but Cash is not cute!
He's more like Greek God, totally HOT!  And
don't think for a minute I didn't see how you were looking
at him either, Miss Speechless!" I know she is probably
mad. Derek was her brother and I know it's too soon for me to even glance at another man. She was smiling at me, so maybe she wasn't mad at me.

"Look, Claud. Ok. He's, well, he's hot, but how come
you've never mentioned him to me before? It sounds like
you guys hung out in school. I don't ever remember you
calling and telling me about a Mr. Greek God, Cash! I
would have remembered it. Did you two date?
Because you sure never told me about him, if you did."
Why it mattered to me, I don't know.
Did I just refer to him as a Greek God too? Oh my lord! I've never referred to any man in that way. She must be
rubbing off on me.

"NO! We never dated! Ewww, that would have been like
going out with Derek. And I did mention Cash AND
Vanessa to you. Remember my best friend from college?
Cash was Vanessa's husband."
I thought back to her college days and I did remember
some friends of hers that she had told me were so madly in
love that it gave her hope that one day she could find true
love, but then she changed how she had felt about love a
few years ago.

"Yes, I remember now and I can't believe that's him. Now I
feel bad, he must feel like he's in hell. There's no way he will ever find a love like that again! Theirs was like a once
in a lifetime love, Claud, the way you described them."
Wow. I remembered that she had mentioned kids. I
remember her telling me that they had a son, but I didn't
know they had more than that.

"How did she die again? I hate to ask, but I can't
remember." I looked at her and she seemed truly upset.

"She died in childbirth, giving birth to their daughter. That
poor baby never knew her mother and it was such a sad deal. They went to the hospital, because she was having
contractions a month early and when she gave birth, they couldn't stop the bleeding and she died a few minutes after the baby
was born. The baby was in ICU for a month. I heard
they had to get security to remove him from Vanessa's
room after she died. He wouldn't have anything to do with
the baby, until she went home from the hospital."

My heart is breaking for the baby. I can understand him not
wanting to leave Vanessa, but to not meet your newborn
daughter until a month later? Surely he doesn't blame his
daughter for her death. That would be horrible.

"That is absolutely horrible, Claud!" She nodded her head
and reached up to get a tissue to blot her eyes. I'm sure this
has brought up all of the memories from that time in her
life.

"It was horrible. Vanessa and I would try to go eat lunch together
once a month to catch up with what all was going on in our
busy lives. When I got the call, I was devastated and I kind
of shut down for a while. I just couldn't believe that that
could happen to them. If anyone was going to make it, it was them, ya know?"

I remembered years ago her calling me crying and telling
me that her friend from college had died, but she never went
into details and I didn't push her, because I could tell that she was having problems dealing with it. A couple of months later, she was back to being herself, so I never
brought it up again.

"Ok, we need to get back out there. Throw some water on
your face. You look like your best friend just died, and I
haven't. So chop chop!" I was amazed at how good Claudia was at hiding her feelings. One minute she was
teary eyed and the next she was smiling.
She clapped her hands at me to hurry up. The last place I
wanted to go now was to that table to have a meal with
Cash, now that I knew so much about his life. I just want to
crawl in bed and cry for him and Vanessa, and his babies,
and for Derek and my own babies.

*****************

We return back to the table and Cash had already ordered
us new drinks. He rose up, and sat down when we did.
Claudia sat down to the right of him and then I sat down to
the right of her, which I was doing to avoid having to sit
closest to him, but now I'm directly in front of him. I am
still blown away at how beautifully intense his eyes are.

"So Claud, I have a question for you that I hope you can
answer freely, because I'm a little confused about
something. Oh, and absolutely no judgments here." He was
smirking and winked at her. The sound of his familiarity at
calling her by her nickname makes me realize how close
they once were.

"Cash, I already know what you're going to ask and the
answer is no, I'm not into women. You don't miss anything,
do you?" She smirked and winked back.

"Hahahaha. You still know me well, I see." He was
laughing his head off and he has such a great laugh. Wait, what is my deal with this guy?

"When Paul mentioned that you weren't into guys, it took
me back, I must say, but then I wondered why he would
think that and all I could come up with was that the piece of
shit must have hit on you. Don't get me wrong," he
reached for his glass and took a drink, "we do business
together from time to time, but spending time with him
longer than a dinner, definitely isn't in my favorite list of
things to do."
I was inwardly laughing, because it was nice to know that
one of POS's peers felt the same way that Claudia and I did.

"And what might be IN that list of favorite things to do, Cash?" She was flirting with him. Maybe she’s not the
man hater that she pretends to be. Very interesting.

"Having dinner with two beautiful women happens to be on
the list." He grinned and winked at ME this time!

"Oh please! You know you're not interested in either of us.
So come on Cash," she leaned over and wrapped her hands
around one of his hands, “tell me how you've been. How are the kids?"

"They're doing alright, I guess. Gideon is growing like a
weed. He's seven now and asks so many questions and Eden,
well, she will be five in a few weeks."
He pulled his hand back and looked pained and I knew at
once why. I can only imagine how his little girl’s birthday
would make him aware that it was also the anniversary of
his late wife's death. I knew exactly what was going
through his mind at that moment, and he's been dealing with
her loss for five years. It's something you truly never get over.