Mardi Gras Masquerade (22 page)

“May I return the compliment?”

“You may.
 
You can be a very charming man, Steve . . . when you want to be.”

 
“When I’m given reason to be.”

“You shouldn’t need a reason.”

“You don’t make too many concessions; do you?”

“You don’t
know me well, either.”

“Eat your escargot,” the man replied with the merest hint of a smile.
 
“I know you well enough for me to end this discussion now.”

Maria thought about this conversation as she accustomed herself to the strange food.
 
Steve finished his appetizer at the same time she did.
 
They pushed back their plates and looked into each other’s eyes.

“Where do you want to go from here?” asked the man without looking away.

“It’s your home state,” Maria responded. “It’s up to you.”

“Shall I suppose you were still talkin’ about our discussion?”

“If that’s what you want to do.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to get to know you better.”

“All right, then.
 
Let’s go back to what we were talkin’ about.
 
When we first met, was it only a flirtation for you?”

“I know that you expect me to say that it wasn’t.”

“I’m not that vain.
 
Tell me the truth.”

“What is truth?” Maria esoterically replied, taking into consideration a deeper level of their relationship.

“Whatever we want to make of it.
 
You can hold onto your secrets for a while.
 
Tell me what you want.”

“You presume that we’re going to get to know each other far better.”

“I’ll leave it to you to judge what’s best to say.
 
We may not be friends, but I believe we’re becoming close acquaintances; aren’t we?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you’re still thinking about that witch woman’s
warnin
’, you can rest assured that I’m not the one who would use and deceive you.”

“I only have your word on that.”

“I’ve never gone back on my word.”

“Can you give me any references?” Maria asked in the way of a jest.

Steve appeared to be somewhat offended.

“Do I need to?” he asked.

Maria’s face fell into serious lines.

“Not really, Steve.
 
I may not know you well, but I do feel that I can trust you to a certain extent.”

“Thank you for that at least.
 
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, are there any
shockin
’ revelations about yourself that you would care to share with me?”

Maria’s disconcerted surprise was followed by a hasty, “No.”

“Then, you’re
sayin
’ that I know all I need to know to understand you?”

“I believe you’re being emphatic about
understandin
’ someone.
 
How could anyone fully understand someone else?”

Smoothly shifting the emphasis of the subject, Maria added, “What about you?
 
Why don’t you tell me some of those deep, secrets you must be hiding?”

“I believe our original decision was for the best, my dear.
 
Some mystery is healthy in a relationship.
 
I’ll wait for you to open up with me first.
 
Let’s hope it happens soon.”

Maria was curious about his final comment, but before she could put her question into words, the waiter returned with their entrees.
 
She looked down at the plate that was set before her.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“
Coq au
vin
.
 
It’s chicken.”

“I’ve heard of it, but what’s in this dark sauce?”

“Red wine.
 
It’s very tasty.”

Steve waited while Maria cut off a few bite-sized pieces of chicken.
 
European style, she continued to hold her fork in her left hand as she raised a piece to her mouth.
 
Her face was inscrutable as she chewed.

Her eyes foretold her pleasure before she said, “This is much better than it looks.

“Is that the highest praise you could offer?”

“Okay.
 
It’s delicious.
 
And I’m not saying that just to placate you.”

“I should hope not.”

The couple ate the rest of their meal in relative silence.
 
The wine made a heady companion.

When they were done with their meal, Steve asked, “Would you care for some dessert?”

“I’m quite full, thank you.”

“There’s
Mississippi
mud pie,” he offered.

“That sounds attractive,” Maria facetiously replied.

“It’s not what it sounds like.
  
Do you like chocolate ice cream?”

“Yes, but I’d rather delay the pleasure until a time when I have more room left in my stomach.”

“That’s fine with me.”

Steve signaled the waiter for the check, and after he took care of it, they left.

“We never quite finished that conversation we were
havin
’,” Steve commented as he drove along the back road.

“Which one?”

“The one where you were
tellin
’ me how you felt about me before everything changed.
 
I don’t believe you got beyond the word
charmin
’
.”

“You are hungry for compliments; aren’t you?”

“Come on, Maria.
 
I’m curious to know if you liked me or not.”

“I was beginning to.”

“I was, too.
 
Do you think it might have come to anything more than that?”

“It’s hard to say, Steve.
 
When I came to
New Orleans
, I wasn’t looking for romance.”

“Then why did you come?”

“What do you expect me to say?
 
To see Mardi Gras?”

“I guess I asked for that one.
 
Speaking of Mardi Gras, I haven’t given you much opportunity to enjoy it in these last few days.
 
What do you say we go to the Quarter right now?”

“Can we stop off at the house to put on our costumes?”

“We don’t really need the masquerade part.
 
Things will be in full swing.
 
Nobody will notice us in the crowds.”

“Then let’s go.”

They drove on for a while without speaking.

Then Maria said, “Your question really wasn’t fair.”

“Which question was that?”

“The one in which you asked me how I would have felt about you if certain information hadn’t been revealed.”

“Why wasn’t it fair?”

“Because I’ve come to know you so much better since then.”

“Uh-oh,” the man said ominously.
 
“Now, I’m really in for it.”

“Why should you say that?”

“Come on, Maria.
 
You’re goin’ to tell me something like you really would have fallen for me if I hadn’t ruined everything by
bein
’ so angry when I learned the truth.”

Maria smiled and looked out the side window.

“Well?
 
Weren’t you goin’ to say that?” the man persisted.

“You deserve it after what you said.”

“I think you’re being a tease again.”

“Again?” she repeated, turning to him.

“I’m not goin’ to answer as long as you’re
givin
’ me that look that women give to men when they’re ready to tear their hearts out.
 
You already have a bad enough opinion of me.”

Maria could see that Steve was in a light-hearted mood, and it made relax and feel playful.

In an airy voice, she said, “Oh, my opinion of you isn’t as bad as you seem to think.
 
You can be very cute at times.”

“Cute?” the man replied incredulously.

“Absolutely.
 
I like that dimple in your left cheek when you give me one of your rare smiles.”

“Cute, and then dimples?
 
You’re destroying the image I have of myself.”

“I know that you can be nice, so stop trying to pretend you’re only a grouchy, old bear.”

“Would you prefer it if I was a teddy bear instead?”

“Yes, a warm, cuddly teddy bear.”

Steve pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned off the engine.
 
He turned to look at Maria with a gleam in his eyes.

“I think I’m goin’ to take your advice,” he said.

“How’s that?”

“You know what teddy bears were meant for.”

Maria suppressed a grin as the man leaned closer to her.

In a light tone, she replied, “I knocked the stuffing out of mine.”

“Well, this is one old bear that’s only meant for
huggin
’,” Steve said as he pulled her into his arms.

Maria’s face split into a smile as she pressed her hands against his chest.

“You go back to your cave, you old grizzly!” she said with a laugh.

“Nothin’ doing, lady.
 
You woke me up out of my hibernation and now you’re goin’ to have to pay for it.”

Steve’s mouth swooped down to nibble on one of Maria’s ears.
 
She giggled nervously.

“Please, don’t eat me,” she pleaded.

“I’m goin’ to do just that,” Steve breathed against her ear, “a little at a time.”

A car drove past them and Maria pushed harder on chest.

“Someone will see us,” she warned.

“Let them look.
 
I don’t care.”

“But, what if they know you?”

Steve buried his face in the woman’s wavy auburn hair and replied, “They’ll say that Steve DuPont is a lucky man.”

“What about your brother?”

Those words brought on a reaction.
 
Steve leaned back to look at Maria’s face closely.

“Are you afraid I’ll ruin your reputation?” he asked.