Right Beside You, page 12
“I know I will,” I replied.
CHAPTER 22
RICHARD
“You two better behave at Mrs. Randolph’s house tonight,” I warned my girls Friday morning. I was driving in to work, so they would get a ride to school this morning. We had just finished washing the breakfast dishes and were preparing to leave. “I’ll be calling over there throughout the night.”
“Why?” Marva asked with her eyes opened so wide she resembled a gecko.
“To make sure everything is going okay,” I answered. Both girls huffed out exasperated sighs as they followed me to the coatrack in the living room.
“Daddy, don’t you have more important things to do with your time on a Friday night?” Marva asked. “Like going on a date!”
“And instead of calling to check up on us, why don’t you just come over there? I know Mrs. Randolph would like that,” Carol teased.
I buttoned my coat before I responded. “I have news for you two, I’m going out to dinner after work today.”
“With who?” they asked at the same time.
“A very special lady.”
Marva and Carol glanced at each other with their mouths hanging open and then they looked at me. “The same one you went to lunch with last Wednesday?” Carol asked with a self-satisfied smirk.
“We didn’t make it to lunch that day. But she’s the same lady. We decided to go have dinner instead.”
“Oh well. I hope she keeps your attention enough so you won’t have to call and check up on us every hour,” Carol said hopefully.
“Bundle up, grab those backpacks, and let’s get up out of here,” I ordered as I ushered them to the garage.
* * *
I dropped the girls off in front of their school and headed toward the freeway. On the way, I saw several compact cars parked on the street that were almost completely covered in snow. The vehicles that were moving were creeping along at such a slow pace, I was tempted to take my SUV back home and catch the bus after all. If I hadn’t told Felicia we could go to the jewelry store after work and that I would drive her home, I would have.
I had spent a lot of time last night wondering what went through her mind when I told her I was going to propose to someone. I was glad she didn’t ask the name of my “fiancée” because I don’t know how I would have wiggled out of that. But I had to ask myself if I had lost my mind. Here I was about to do either the stupidest thing I’d ever done, or the smartest. I believed what Pam had told me: Felicia was in love with me. However, I wondered if she loved me enough to want to be my wife. I’d come too far to turn back, so I was going to ask her to marry me. I just didn’t know when—it had to be before she left the company—and I didn’t know how. I’d proposed to Regina over dinner. And I’d done the same thing with Margaret. I wanted this proposal to be more original. I couldn’t wait to see Felicia’s face when I presented her with the engagement ring that she’d helped me pick out for my fiancée.
On the way to my office, I picked up a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. Pam accosted me when I got off the elevator. “Well now,” she said, looking at her watch. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming in.” She pursed her lips and gave me a suspicious look. “What are you up to these days? Anything new with you?” If that wasn’t a leading question I didn’t know what was. Even though I had asked Felicia to keep the ring-buying business to herself, I suspected she’d told Pam anyway. With Pam knowing she was in love with me, there was just no telling what was going through her mind.
I didn’t stop walking as I replied, “Same old routine.”
When lunchtime rolled around, I asked one of the other technicians to bring me a sandwich. I hadn’t left my office since I’d come in. The reason for that was I didn’t want to see Felicia before evening because I was afraid I’d lose my nerve. However, even if I did buy a ring, I could still back out and she’d never know what I’d been up to.
Throughout the afternoon, Pam walked past my office several times, giving me the same suspicious look she’d given me earlier. Each time I was on the telephone or had someone in my office, which was probably why she didn’t come in and start up again.
I finally called up Felicia at three fifteen. She answered on the first ring. “Hello, Richard. Are we still on for this evening?”
“I hope so. Do you want to go eat dinner before we go to the jewelry store?”
“If you don’t mind, let’s skip that. I had a super burrito for lunch, so I don’t think I’ll be hungry again for a while. Besides that, my grandmother is spending a few days with me and she just called and told me she’s cooking dinner this evening. When my granny cooks for me, I never leave the table until I’ve eaten everything on my plate. Otherwise, she’d be offended and would pout like a two-year-old.” We laughed.
“I see. Well, I hope you’ll still let me give you a ride home. I’d hate for you to be out there waiting on a bus. And, if it’s okay with you, I sure would like to come in and say hello to Sister Lucy. I haven’t seen her since last spring when my girls and I ran into you and her at Macy’s.”
“And that’s a day to remember. She’d been looking for a hat to wear to church on Easter. When you saw us, we’d already been to eight other hat stores.”
“Did she ever find one she liked?”
“In the first store we’d gone to.” We laughed again. “Okay, I’ll be ready to go at five, so why don’t we meet in the lobby then.”
“I’ll see you there.”
* * *
There was only one other customer in the jewelry store when we got there, and he was on his way out.
“The snow must really be coming down now. You two look like snowmen!” the sharp-nosed woman behind the counter remarked.
“I feel like one too,” Felicia said.
“How can I help you folks today?” The clerk scanned our faces with an anxious look I had become so familiar with. It was no wonder, she was the same middle-aged blonde who had waited on me the other two times Felicia helped me pick out jewelry. Her name was Clarice.
“I’d like to look at engagement rings today,” I replied.
“Oh! Well, you’ve come to the right place!” Clarice blinked at Felicia and grinned. “I hope we have something to your liking, my dear.”
“I came to help my friend choose something for his fiancée,” Felicia said quickly as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was good at hiding her emotions, but I noticed a slightly sad look on her face. That made me feel guilty. I had no idea how long she’d been in love with me. For her to hear that I was going to get married must have crushed her. She wouldn’t feel that way much longer.
“What price range do you have in mind?” Clarice asked, looking directly at me.
When I told her, she pointed to a display in the case in front of us. “Do you know your future bride’s ring size?”
I gazed at Felicia’s hand. “About the same as yours, Fel.”
Her jaw dropped. “I wouldn’t know,” she said sharply.
“I’m sure you’re the same size.” I cleared my throat and gave her a thoughtful look. “Ma’am, can we take a look at the second tray to the right?”
“Absolutely!” With an amused look on her face now, Clarice eagerly removed the tray from the case and set it on the counter. It contained six rings; all were stunning. I passed up the first two and removed the third one.
“What do you think, Fel? Is this something you’d select for yourself?”
“No.” She sniffed and pointed to the ring at the end of the tray. “I like that one,” she said with a wistful expression on her face as she admired the ring.
“Great choice!” Clarice was probably so giddy because Felicia had picked the most eye-catching ring in the bunch. “Our two-carat, white gold, oval-cut halo is very popular.”
It was a great choice. “Fel, do you mind trying it on?” I didn’t wait for her answer. I slipped it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. “That’s nice.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Felicia said in a low tone. I held her hand up and stared at it for about eight seconds.
“We have a few more in your price range,” Clarice said. “One moment, please.” She dashed to a back room and returned less than a minute later with another tray, one with twice as many rings. Felicia spent the next twenty minutes inspecting each one. When she finally chose one, it was the first ring she had liked.
I winked at Clarice. “I’ll take this one.”
“Mr. Grimes, are you sure? You don’t want to look at any others, or go home and think about it? You’re spending a lot of money, so I want you to be sure.”
“I’m sure,” I said firmly. “Please charge it to my account.”
Felicia and I didn’t speak again until we left the store. When we got outside, I placed my arm around her shoulder and steered her to our office parking garage. “Thanks for helping me out again. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Thanks. I’m glad I could help you again. But I have to say, I don’t think there are too many men who’d ask another woman to choose a ring for their fiancée.” She chuckled. “This was fun and I’m glad you asked me.”
“Well, I’m not that good at selecting things for anybody other than myself. You wouldn’t believe how many times my girls, and almost everybody else in my family, have made me return something because it was not to their liking.”
“My grandmother is the same way. You could offer her the Hope Diamond and she’d prefer something you’d pick up at a carnival.”
I guffawed and tightened my arm around her shoulder. She felt so good. “Looking at the street, I have a feeling it’s going to be a rough ride home.”
“You’re right. Uh, Richard, I know it’s none of my business, but are you marrying Regina Dobbins? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”
“No, I’m not marrying Regina. You and everybody else will meet her soon. . . .”
CHAPTER 23
FELICIA
Within minutes after Richard pulled out of the garage and turned the first corner, we encountered a three-car accident at the end of the block. Emergency vehicles were all over the place and the snow was coming down so hard, it was frightening. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he commented as he made a U-turn and drove in the opposite direction.
“I hope that accident is not too serious and nobody got hurt,” I said.
“I hope not either. Unfortunately, this is what we’ll have to deal with until the weather breaks. I hope—” Richard stopped talking when he realized the street we were on had been closed at the second intersection. He made another U-turn. “I’m sorry, Fel. Maybe driving in today wasn’t such a great idea after all. I’ll get you home as soon as possible, though.”
“Richard, I’m not in a hurry, so you don’t have to worry about rushing. Just take your time and we’ll get to my place when we get there. Besides, I love looking at all the Christmas decorations.” I was glad to see that most of the businesses along the way had decorated their buildings with extravagant displays of colored lights, and the usual array of decorations. Our Community Help Center had a sleigh with Santa Claus and eight reindeer on their rooftop. The display that really tugged at my heartstrings was one of the nativity scene on the porch of a restaurant, complete with three wise men kneeling over baby Jesus.
For the first few miles, which included two more detours, we discussed work and a few other unrelated things. Whenever there was a lull in the conversation, I purposely brought up other things to talk about. I made sure they were not close to the subject of the ring and Richard’s upcoming nuptials. “I didn’t realize until I looked at my calendar before I left home that today is the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing,” I said.
“My grandfather was in the navy and was stationed there at the time,” he replied. “The military lost a lot of good men that day.”
“Was your grandfather one of the casualties?” A split second after I’d asked that question, I realized how stupid it was.
“No,” Richard said, grinning. “Otherwise, neither I nor my father would have been conceived.”
“That’s for sure. I apologize for asking such a bonehead question.”
“That’s okay. I ask a lot of bonehead questions myself.”
“You know, since the weather is so nasty you can just drop me off in front of my building so you can go home and get out of this mess.”
“I’m in no hurry myself. I’d still like to spend a little time with that colorful grandmother of yours.”
“Okay. Well, I’d better call and let her know I’m bringing company home.” I fished my cellphone out of my purse and dialed. Grandma Lucy didn’t pick up by the sixth ring, so I hung up and dialed again. “Sometimes she’s not close enough to the phone to get to it in time,” I explained as I hit the redial button. This time she answered on the first ring.
My grandmother rarely bothered to say hello anymore. “Where you at?” was how she greeted me.
“I’m on my way home. A lot of the streets are closed, so I’m not sure when I’ll get there.”
“You be careful on that bus. I hope you ain’t sitting too close to the door.”
“I’m with a friend from work. He drove in today and offered to give me a ride home. I’ll bring him in to meet you.”
“All right, baby. I hope he can stay for dinner because I been cooking up a storm all day. Them collard greens and that rump roast on the stove is screaming.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon.” I ended the call and we started talking about mundane things again.
We were less than a mile from my apartment building when he brought up the ring. “You know, the ring you chose resembles the one my mother had.”
“Oh really? That’s interesting.” I cleared my throat and steered the conversation in another direction. “I’d better let you know now that my grandmother is going to badger you to stay for dinner. And if you do, she’s going to talk your ear off and ask you everything there is to know about you since the day you were born. You can leave at any time. I’m sure you’d rather be doing something else.”
Richard glanced at me. “No, I wouldn’t.”
We remained silent the rest of the way. That gave me time to recall the conversation I’d had with Pam on Monday about Richard asking me to help him select an engagement ring. “And you agreed to do it?” she’d hollered, standing in my office looking at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Why not? I helped him choose things for his daughter and his mother-in-law.”
“Not an engagement ring!”
“Pam, the man is in love with a woman he wants to marry. I think it’s wonderful.”
“You’re happy that the man you’re in love with is going to marry another woman?”
“Yes, I am. I want the people I care about to be happy. I’m sure that whenever I do get married, if Richard and I are still in contact, he’ll feel the same way for me.”
“Well, we made it,” Richard said, bringing me back to the present. He parked in front of my building.
The snow had completely covered the sidewalk and the front walkway to my building. As we waded through snow that literally came up to my knees, I noticed Lorena peeping out her front window. When Richard and I reached my front door, she cracked hers open and peeped some more. “Grandma Lucy, I’m home,” I yelled when we got inside. “She moves kind of slow,” I whispered to Richard as I waved him to my living room couch.
Before he even removed his coat, he pulled out his cellphone. “I’d better check in with the girls.”
While he was talking to his daughters, I dashed toward my guest bedroom. Grandma Lucy was stretched out on the bed watching Dr. Phil. “You okay?” I rushed over and gave her a hug and a peck on her cheek.
“I’m fine.” She scrambled off the bed and stretched. “I wonder where Dr. Phil finds so many strange people.”
Richard was still on his phone, but I lowered my voice anyway. “Come out and meet my friend. Don’t get too nosy and don’t go overboard trying to get him to stay for dinner.”
Grandma Lucy rolled her eyes and gave me a dismissive wave. Then she glanced around the room. “You seen where I left my teeth at?”
“They’re in your mouth. Please keep them there until my company leaves,” I pleaded with my hands upward in a prayer position. I whirled around and returned to the living room. Richard had ended his call and hung his coat on the rack by the door. “My grandmother will be right out. Are your girls doing okay?”
“Oh, they’re in their element.” He leaned back on the couch and crossed his legs. “I don’t allow them to sleep over too often and when I do, it’s a major event for them.”
I didn’t want to sit down and get comfortable until Grandma Lucy made her entrance. I stood a few feet from the end of the couch. “Do they know that you’re going to get married?” I asked shyly.
Richard shook his head. “Not yet. But I’m sure they’ll be happy when I tell them.” He stopped talking and uncrossed his legs and a somber look appeared on his face. “The Christmas after my wife passed, the first item on their long wish list was a new mom. That’s the only thing that’s been on their lists every year since. And it’s still the first item.”
“That’s sweet. I hope your fiancée lives up to their expectations,” I commented, hoping I didn’t sound the least bit jealous. That was the last thing I wanted Richard to think. I was thankful that something had finally brought me back to my senses enough to end my years-long fascination with him. This turn of events was a bittersweet ending I would never forget. “Well, I’m glad they’re finally going to get what they want.” Now would have been a good time to ask Richard the identity of his mystery woman. I was surprised he hadn’t told me yet, but I didn’t want to know right now anyway. This was probably the only occasion when I’d spend so much time alone with him and I wanted to savor it. Having fond memories of him after he’d changed his marital status would help me move on with my life and direct my feelings toward someone else. “In the meantime, can I get you something warm to drink? Cocoa, tea?”
