Chapter 5 – Theo
I was at lunch with Miles and Franklin and when I say lunch, we were about three martinis deep. The whole set-up was kind of my idea; the flowers, the arrangement, the limo--- If this blew up in our face, I would get the blame.
“Relax, bro,” said Miles. “It’s all gonna work out. And if not, I’m sure we can find some other amazing woman that can satisfy three men.”
“Not funny, Miles,” I said a little anxious.
“We’re good,” assured Franklin. “I’ve known Belinda a while. At the very least, we’ll get an answer, and I’m pretty sure the answer will be positive.”
Almost on cue, Franklin’s phone rang. It was the driver.
“Yeah, okay,” he said into the phone. “Thanks.”
“Well?” I asked.
“We’re good. She’s on her way to the spa,” assured Franklin. “We’ll meet her after she gets out.”
We toasted to our success in this endeavor, but anxiety suddenly gripped me. This part of the relationship was usually easy for me. It was the rest I had trouble with. Organizing the money, listening to them talk, pillow talk—I don’t know, intimacy was a problem for me. Miles immediately saw my distress.
“Damn, bro,” he said. “What’s wrong now?”
“Honesty time,” I confessed. “This romance stuff is easy for me, right? Big gestures, romantic dinners—This stuff I know. It’s the rest of the stuff—I just…”
“Franklin and I got money, Theo,” said Miles. “We got you covered.”
“Yeah, and the sex is fantastic. What more do we need?” asked Franklin.
“I-I-I just would feel better if we were a little more organized,” I admitted. “I have a plan.”
“Okay,” agreed Miles.
“Tell us what to do, boss,” smiled Franklin.
“Okay,” I began, more relieved. “Miles, I think we need to arrange a romantic dinner in the room. Champagne, oysters, caviar—All top notch food. Franklin, I know a personal shopper. You call her and get Belinda some outfits for the weekend. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“I’m on it,” agreed Miles.
“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Franklin. “Better get started now.”
Franklin got on his phone with the shopper and walked away. Miles slugged down the rest of his drink and headed for the front desk to make arrangements for dinner. I was left with everything else.
“Oh, man, what have I done?!” I said, panicking in my head. “Everything else is too much. I need help. I have to call Arianna.”
I walked outside the hotel. I didn’t want Miles or Franklin seeing me call for help. Arianna answered on the third ring. My sister has never been one for punctuality.
“Theo, what’s wrong?” she greeted.
“Nothing,” I lied. “Why would you ask that without even saying hello?”
“I can tell. It’s the way you call. Middle of the day, probably pacing outside in a panic.”
I stopped in the middle of the parking lot. I had been pacing in a panic.
“Well, it just so happens, I do need your help,” I admitted. “But I’m not in a panic.”
“Oh, okay, well I’ve got stuff to do, so…”
“No-no-no-no! Wait!” I said, giving the game away. “I need your help! I’m in a panic!”
“Ah, there it is.”
“Okay, honestly, I need your help. There’s this woman that I’m very fond of.”
“Very fond of? Who are you? Hugh Grant? How long have you been dating?”
“Well, we haven’t exactly dated much,” I confessed. “We had this fling back at Christmas at this office party.”
“Wait a minute. You told me that was a work thing. You missed the family hot cocoa night!”
Since we were kids, my family would stage a hot cocoa night leading up to Christmas. I had missed it to go to the office party.
“It was for work, sort of,” I stammered. “My work friends were with me.”
“Uh-huh,” said Arianna skeptically.
“Anyway, we ended up with this woman and it was the most amazing night.”
“Wait, back up. Did you say “we” ended up with this woman?” she asked.
“Well, it’s complicated,” I said.
“Oh, Theo,” said Arianna. “She’s not separated or something is she? If she’s still married, she can always go back to her husband and probably will.”
“It’s nothing like that, I assure you,” I said. “Just listen. I need your help.”
“Okay, fine,” she said. “You want to do flowers and candies?”
“Well, I actually did the flowers and an edible arrangement,” I said. “That’s why I need your help impressing her.”
“Theo, you always go overboard with women. Take it easy. No one likes those stupid edible arrangements.”
“She seemed to like it plenty.”
“Really? Weird.”
“Arianna, I need every advantage I can get,” I insisted. “Please, you have to help me make this night perfect. It’s really important to me. I’m really into this woman.”
“Are you playing a joke on me?” asked Arianna. “Or is this another Peggy situation?”
“It is absolutely not a Peggy situation. No one is claiming to be pregnant with my child,” I insisted. “Belinda could be the one for me.”
“All right, all right, I was just kidding,” she laughed. “Of course I’ll help. I’m actually kind of impressed. This seems like a step up for you.”
“Thanks, sis,” I said relieved. “This is too important to screw up.”
“Okay, tell me about this dream girl of yours,” said Arianna. “Don’t leave out any details.”