memories of the divorce and everything that came with it and after it.
The afternoon ended with Momma and Daddy both in tears. For a change, I was the only one who was acting strong. I comforted both of them; one in one arm and one in the other.
There was a shocker, though. Momma asked if she could take Daddy back to his hotel to check in instead of me. He had left his car at my place and she said that she would bring him to get it after he’d gotten his key and was settled in. The next morning, Daddy’s car was still out in front of my apartment building, which made me wonder. When I came back from the eight o’clock church service, it was gone.
“Now make sure you don’t peek,” Mason whispered in my ear as he led me down the landing of our apartment building. “You’ll ruin the surprise.”
“I’m not going to peek.” I was so tempted to mess with the makeshift blindfold that he had made from a necktie, but I just took baby steps so I wouldn’t fall on my behind on the way down.
“Won’t you give me a little hint though?”
“No, no hints. You women are so strange. You get excited about surprises but then always want to know what they are before they are given to you.”
I giggled. “Human nature, and I don’t think that reaction is limited to women.”
“You may have a point.” Mason stopped at the bottom of the steps and I could hear him fumbling around with a set of keys as he unlocked his apartment door. “I guess, in retrospect, I could have just blindfolded you once we got in front of my door since there was no surprise on the steps.”
We both laughed.
“I was thinking that but I wasn’t about to say anything. It’s cool. It just adds to the experience, almost falling down a flight of stairs to my death.”
Mason kissed me on the cheek. “You’re too funny.”
I heard his door creak open and he led me inside his place.
“You realize this is my first time in your place? It’s not like I’m going to recognize if something has changed,” I informed him.
“I know this is your first time here and that’s a shame. But all of that is about to change because I plan to invite you over more often.”
“I might be late from time to time because I often lose my car keys.”
Mason was silent for a minute and then started laughing. “Like I said, you’re too funny.”
He removed the blindfold and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lighting. When they did, I was floored. “Mason, I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” he replied, taking my hand and walking farther into his place.
His apartment was awesome. He had it laid out in all dark leather tones complemented by animal patterns. But that’s not why I was so shocked. Mason had the entire place decorated like it was Valentine’s Day. He had several vases containing red and yellow roses placed around his apartment with a handmade banner hanging over the dining-room entry that said, Happy Valentine’s Day, Jonquinette!
He chuckled and said, “I’m not the best at making banners and my letters are crooked, but it’s the thought that counts.”
“I can’t believe you did all this. It’s nowhere near February.”
He kissed my hand gently. “I wanted you to know that come what may, I plan to spend Valentine’s Day with you next year. I’m committed to making this work and I will stand by you, through thick and thin.”
“That’s so sweet!”
“Ah-ha, speaking of sweet, I have a lot of sweets for you.”
I blushed. “You do?”
“Yes, and I also have dinner prepared for you, but we’re going to do things a little differently.”
“How so?” I asked, overwhelmed by the total experience.
“We’re going to eat backwards.”
“Eat backwards?” I laughed. “Never heard of that. You mean we sit at the table backwards and try to eat? As clumsy and uncoordinated as I am, I’ll make a mess.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” He chuckled and kissed my hand again. “We’re going to start with dessert and work our way back. First, we will have dessert, then the main course, the salad, and finally the appetizer.”
“Now that sounds very interesting.” I took a good whiff of the air. “Something smells yummy.”
“Hopefully, it will be.”
“Did you cook?”
“Um, no, I cannot tell a lie. I did not cook one single thing.” Mason snapped his fingers and three people came flooding out of the kitchen carrying trays—two men and one woman who were all dressed in black suits with white shirts and black ties.
“You are too much!” I exclaimed.
For the next hour, Mason treated me like royalty. The “staff” as he continuously referred to them, served the food on fine china and crystal. What was missing were utensils. Mason informed me that it was a commonly known fact that food eaten by hand is sexy. I wasn’t going to argue with him and we ended up feeding each other.
We started out with Chocolate Heart Layer Cake with Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse along with Heart-Shaped Dried Cherry and Chocolate Chip Scones and strawberries sprinkled with sugar and marinated in wine. Then we had Chicken in Red Wine Sauce with Root Vegetables and Wilted Greens followed by Red Leaf Lettuce, Watercress and Cucumber Salad with Buttermilk Dressing. Lastly, we had Skewered Scallops with Orange-Sesame Dipping Sauce as an appetizer.
To say the least, I was stuffed after dinner. The “staff” cleaned up everything and departed. At some point, I must have fallen asleep and I was terrified when I woke up. I hoped that Jude hadn’t taken over for a period of time, said or done something crazy, and ruined my perfect date with Mason.
I was relieved when I saw Mason coming down the hallway grinning at me. “Hey, you! The food did you in, huh?”
I giggled. “That’s an understatement.” I decided to be honest. “I’m glad to see that nothing went wrong.”
“What could possibly go wrong?” he asked, sitting down beside me on the sofa.
“I thought you-know-who might have reared her ugly head.”
Mason ran his fingers through my hair. “No, there’s no one here but you and me.”
“How can you tell?”
“Come again?”
“Realistically, how can you tell that I’m really Jonquinette and not Jude?”
He shrugged. “When I met Jude, and to my knowledge I’ve only come across her once, it was obvious that something was wrong.”
“How so? I mean, besides the obvious with her declaring herself a major whore and all of that.”
“She had a different air about her, a different way of carrying herself.”
“What do you mean?”
“She had this attitude like she ruled the world and you’re more, more…”
I decided to help him out with an appropriate word that wouldn’t sound too demeaning. “I’m shyer.”
“Yes, that’s one way of putting it. I knew the things she was saying and the way she was acting just wasn’t you.”
I changed the topic. “So what’s next or is our date over?”
“No, our date is not over. In fact, we’re headed out.”
“We are? Do I need to go change?” I asked, looking down at the pair of jeans and simple sweater I had on with a pair of penny loafers. “All I need is about fifteen minutes.”
“No, you look great and there’s no need to get dressed.” He stood up and twirled around. “Check me out. It’s
