Tap Dance (13 page)

"Lastly, we submitted our report to your insurance company and you should be able to talk with them on Monday to schedule an appointment with their Claims Adjuster."

"I just wish someone had told me, Ram.  I had no idea how bad the damage was until I saw it with you.  Before that, I thought you…you were…"

He waited for her to complete her sentence but her skin took on a rosier hue and her eyes were trained on her plate.

"I thought you were exaggerating so I would use your guest room," she said very fast.

He thought about what she said, or rather, the meaning behind the words that she said.

Interesting.

"So you thought that I used a ruse to get you in my…ah, guest room."

"Well.  Kind of."

"And you were willing to use my…guest room even though you thought I exaggerated the damage to your home."

"Uhm…"

"
Mera Pyari
, I've wanted you since we first met.  I don't play games or manipulate situations to get my way.  And I especially wouldn't involve my detectives in a ruse to get you into my…guest room."

"I know, Ram," she said softly, looking up into his eyes.

"You know the best thing about Sundays?" he asked completely changing the subject.

"No."

"It is the one day of the week, the single solitary day of the week, where you can stay in bed all day and not feel guilty."

He savored the beautiful smile that eased its way across her lips.

"Can't stay in bed with you all day as much as I'd like to, Sailor.  I've got a date to go shopping with the girls.  But that's not until ten."

He can feel the smile on his own face but glanced at the clock on the microwave. 

Plenty of time before she had to leave.

"What are you thinking?" Marianne said trying hard not to giggle.

"I'm trying to decide if I like the blue nightie more than your lace panties with your tiny t-shirt without a bra." Ram reached across and dragged his hand over her beautiful breasts that were stunningly showcased.  "Tell you what, last one to make it to the bedroom gets to be on top."

"I'm not falling for that again.  Besides, you have a kitchen to clean."

"I've got a kitchen to clean?"

"I cooked, so you clean up.  It's a fair division of labor and I'm not a messy cook."

Yep, this just keeps getting better and better, he thought as he smiled with her.

*.*.*.*.*

Ram was absolutely right about Sundays being the best day of the week.  He didn't get a single call out for the couple of hours we were ensconced in his big bed.  We were able spend some time getting to know each other and to explore his…guest rooms.

He finally told me the reason he had bought such a large house was so his family in Denver could stay with him when they came to visit.  He explained that, in his father's culture, family does not go to a hotel when they visit.  It was
expected
you would stay with family, when you visited, even if you made pallets on the floor sleeping like sardines, shoulder to shoulder next to other family members.

It was an amazing Sunday. 

A postcard kind of Sunday morning. 

Whenever I have a memory I want to keep, I take a mental picture and call it a 'postcard'.   Something I treasure and can keep forever. 

And I had several postcards for this particular Sunday morning.

Ram finally, reluctantly took me back to Auntie's house again parking two blocks away for a good bye kiss.

He walked me to the door, holding my hand.

"I have something for you, MG," he said softly as we stood on the porch.

He handed me a grocery bag.

"I want you to wear it and think of me."

"Okay.  Thank you."

He raised his hand to my face and rubbed his thumb over my cheekbone, his fingers gliding along my jaw before his thumb rubbed my bottom lip.

"See you soon, Ram?"

"Yes,
Pyari
.  See you soon."

I glanced in the bag as soon as the door closed behind me. 

In it was the blue long shirt I wore when I first spent the night in his…guest room.  When I wore the long shirt and he wore the bottoms. 

I brought the fabric to my face and inhaled the fragrant spice I identified simply as 'Ram'.

Auntie came down the hall on her way to the living room.

"Hi, Mari!  He said he'd have you back, I guess next time I'll just have to ask him what
day
he'll have you back."  She winked at me before turning into the living room.

I shook my head, not saying anything.

Knowing she was right.

I went upstairs to get ready for shopping.

*.*.*.*.*

I had a
blast
shopping with Caitlin, Leila and Crystal. 

Leila and I really clicked but I think part of it was because we're both in our early thirties, whereas Crys and Caitlin are in their early twenties. 

Plus, I could feel Leila really reaching out, discovering a side to herself she'd never really uncovered.

And funny? 

Leila had a wicked sense of humor which was, more often than not, aimed at herself. 

She was on a binge to reinvent herself, something I could really respect. 

When we decided our first stop was Victoria's Secret, Cait, Crys and I about fell out of our chairs laughing at Leila's, "Who is Victoria and does she really have a secret?".

Then when Leila showed us her new tattoo that the swoon-worthy Dex had inked on her the night before…ohmigod.

It was gorgeous. 

Crys said Dex wasn't even supposed to be in the shop but when he saw what Leila wanted, he immediately got on board. 

I caught a look between Leila and Crys, where Leila frowned and Crys stuck her tongue out before they both started laughing. 

And Crys, holy shit. 

What a girl! 

She was an original with her short, white blond hair tipped in hot pink and tattoos on both arms she called sleeves. 

From shoulder to wrist her skin had deep red flowers and black twining stems with black leaves. The ink was done so well and done with a crispness to it which, at first glance, you thought she was wearing a patterned shirt. 

But it was her personality, her big, bold personality, making her something special. 

Teaching us the correct way to do a 'Boo-yah' with the appropriate chopping motion to add emphasis.

Telling a story about a customer at the shop who was a walk-in and got a little too upset when she couldn't get him in that day.  So she told him to 'eat shit and die' and when he
still
persisted, she told him 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on'. 

Oh my
God
. 

I hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time.

And with the stuff going on in my life, I needed to laugh.

Then there was Cait. 

Beautiful, graceful Caitlin. 

Who had captured the heart of the most gorgeous man in Grantham if not Colorado, Jake Stanton. 

I'd already seen it but Crys is the one who pointed out the humongous chocolate diamond solitaire on Cait's hand. 

Now when you and I blush, we get splotchy. 

When Cait blushes, it’s a beautiful dusty pink that flows up her décolleté up over her face to her hairline. 

Which she did at the mention of her engagement ring.

The kind of girl you would love to hate, but she's just such a
great
friend. 

We were at the Mall for six hours. 

Six
hours.

I was tired and my feet were just starting to hurt when we called it a day. 

But what I'll remember most about
that
day, a day of girl time, of making new friends and bonding with them, will be of my stomach muscles and cheek muscles which were sore from laughing for so long and hard.

I'm calling it a sign of friendship.

*.*.*.*.*

On Monday, I made a point of taking those stupid CDs that Steve had sent me to the bank putting them in the safe deposit box on Monday's lunch hour. 

Just to make an uncomfortable day worse, the icky Mr. Jamison, Bank President and certifiable horn-dog managed to creep up next to me for a little chit-chat.  I don't think the man has ever, not even once, looked at my face. 

His eyes liked to roam and if the stories were to be believed, you never, ever wanted to be in a room alone with him, especially outside the bank.

Like I said, icky.

I called the Insurance company on my way back to the office and set up an appointment to meet with the insurance adjustor.  But, I didn't want to meet with a stranger and have another meltdown like I did when I was with Ram.  He said not to go alone, so I made a quick call to Caitlin to see if she could go with me for a second visit.  She said she could get away tomorrow night. 

Perfect.

*.*.*.*.*

I decided to grab a cup of iced coffee from Buxby's, which is right underneath our new offices, when I ran into Leila.  She had her notebook out and was writing fast and furious.  I tried calling to her and she was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't even hear me until I was standing next to her.

"Hey, you!" I yelled with a laugh.

"Marianne, how nice to see you," Leila said with a smile.  She was very pretty, with her big brown eyes.  But when Leila smiled, watch out!

We ran down our day of shopping with Cait and Crys yesterday.  We both decided that they really added to the fun. 

As we talked, I was looking to see what was different about Leila.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it but there was something…

"Uh, Leila?  Are you winking at me?" I asked.  Because if she was, it was a weird wink, very long and drawn out and then a fast switch of the wink between the right eye and the left eye.

Leila explained about her new mono-vision contacts, how one contact in a certain eye helps her see distance and the other one helps her see close up.

Then, she stopped and got very, very still.

"You really thought I was winking at you?

"Well, yeah.  Kind of," I said trying to loosen the damn beaded necklace I was wearing.  I don't think my neck got fatter, so how could a necklace shrink?

"Shit.  That explains all the attention I've been receiving for the last hour."

"Attention?"

"Yeah.  As I walked here from Dr Eastland's office, I was trying to get the hang of it.  You know, closing the left eye to see far away and closing my right eye to see close up.  But I was receiving winks, a couple of  'hey, baby's', and one woman actually blew me a kiss."

I tried not to laugh.  I really did.  But, just like always, my laughter was pouring out of me, so strong that my head tipped back.

We talked for a few more minutes about her wardrobe and our shopping day.  I finally had the opportunity to say to her what I had been thinking about since we all went our separate ways.

How Leila needed to get to know who she is and once she does that then the whole clothing choices become automatic.  I liked how she took it on board and I could tell she would definitely be thinking about it.

She was so sweet.  As I was leaving she told me thanks, then reached her hand across the small table to touch mine.

"Anytime, Leila," I said feeling a lump start in my throat as I turned my hand palm up and squeezed her fingers.

Chapter Fourteen

When I was leaving for work the next morning, I happen to notice a couple of bills sitting on top of the small table Auntie has tucked up against the staircase. 

Actually it was more like a stack of bills and over half of them had the big red stamp reading, 'Past Due' on the envelope.

I'm an accountant. 

Money is kind of my thing. 

Especially cash flow, balancing your income with your debts.  So to see any kind of past due notice from a creditor is a
huge
red flag to me. 

And seeing it on an envelope, lying on a table in my loving auntie's home, made it doubly important.

I shoved those bills into my tote and thought about it all the way to work.

I had noticed little things around her house that had made me go 'hmm' at the time and were easily forgotten. But when added to bills, the picture I was seeing was one I just didn't like.

I didn't like it
at all
.

Later on, I took a break from the spreadsheets I was working on and opened each of the pieces of mail. 

Every single one was a notice indicating the account was going to go out for collection if immediate payment wasn't received.