Michael: Corpus Christie, Texas

Breakfast with the new crew had been about as fun as having a root canal performed by a dentist with bad breath that permeated through his facial mask. Throughout the meal, the business owner of the new project he was overseeing, eyed every detail of Michael Fitzsimmons, commenting on each observation from his watch down to his shoes as the large, wide-set, blue eyes raked over his body. Ramona Delaney wore an old-fashioned bra which made her breast sit up like torpedoes along with far too much caked on make-up to hide her sun-dried skin.  The watch, he carefully explained, was a gift from his sister. She then asked about his other watches, the ones she instinctively surmised that she knew he owned based on her professed powers of observation on the nature of men, which he too cautiously explained that one belonged to his father, the other was for working out. The mother of pearl, not actual pearl, cufflinks he shared with her curious stares, too belonged to his father, and the shoes were several years old.

The idea of working closely with her made his ass itch. As much as he hated eating out, he found himself hungry an hour after the meal because he hadn’t eaten much under her scrutiny-filled stare down. He happily dropped Ramona off at the pretty little cottage which was surrounded by vibrantly colored flowers, a quaint front porch and the bright red door of her spa. The contract which brought him to Corpus Christie was to expand the property without interfering or impeding her business. A business which he could easily see being a front to a brothel and she was the madam. It reminded him of a little house in the fairy tales where Prince Charming rode up on a white horse to fetch his bride-to-be. Only in his head, this version of the story, the Prince would ride up to the whorehouse to fetch ‘Pretty Woman’.

“Aren’t you coming in, Michael?” Ramona asked, touching his arm.

“No.  I am sorry, but I am on a tight schedule, plus the rest of the team is waiting for me back at our Corpus Christie offices,” he lied to get away from her. He knew her next suggestion would be to give him a free massage. One with a not so happy ending as far as he was concerned.

“I was hoping to get you on the massage table and treat you to our services so you would understand why I have chosen to proceed the way I have with this project?” Ramona said, eyeing his crotch.

“We will get around to it before I leave,” he said softly. “I will come back later with the team as we do our walkthrough, take a look at some of the drawings, sketches and marry those up with your ideas.”

“Will you at least come inside to see the place, you know, allow me to give you an up close and personal tour?” She licked her lips, leaning into the driver side of the car and he thought he would throw up.  Women often came on to him, but until he’d spent some time with Pip, he didn’t know how much he enjoyed being able to ignore it since he was no longer on the market.

“I appreciate the offer for the personal touch, but again, my schedule today is tight and I have some phone calls to make,” he said with a smile.  With two toots of the horn, he drove off, arriving at the local offices of his engineering firm, seeking a private space to call his Persephone. He hadn’t had a chance to speak with her for several days and he was missing her terribly.

The moment he called her, three people stepped into the office to ask him about lunch.  It was barely 11 am and they were placing lunch orders. The audible sigh into the line gave Pip the wrong impression about his call.

“You are dumping me, aren’t you?” She said with wide eyes.

Michael wanted to touch her. Everything in his being wanted to pull his little red-headed love-muffin into his arms and hold her close, but she was almost halfway across the country and he was stuck in an office with cowboy hat wearing men who wanted to take him out for bar-b-que. The movement of the big hats outside the large glass window indicated that eyes were upon him, urging him to make a decision.

“Of course not, a dude in a ten gallon Stetson is licking his fingers urging me to come on,” he said. “Good Lord I hope he is saying the bar-b-que is finger licking yummy and not something else.  That would be weird.”

“You’re changing the subject.  I thought you were coming here to meet my Mom,” Pip said.

“I did too, but a few things changed at work.  My new promotion came with new responsibilities and now I have to travel a bit more for work than I had anticipated, but I will make it to Vegas,” Michael said softly turning his back to the men, trying to get some privacy.

“It’s okay if you are not ready to take that step,” she said. “We went pretty fast with that three weeks.”

“No, I am looking forward to meeting her and seeing your home.  When I come I will find a hotel close by to stay in with loads of amenities like a hot tub that we can slip into late at night,” he said.

“You don’t plan to stay in my house, Michael?” Pip asked with some concern.

He sighed into the phone, wanting to end the call which was going awry really fast. His co-workers were getting antsy and his temper was starting to flare a bit. “Pip, I don’t think it’s proper to stay in the house with you and your Mom.  I wouldn’t feel comfortable...you know.  I wasn’t really comfortable with how we started out, but I wouldn’t change that time with you for anything.  It changed my life.  You changed my life,” he said softly.

One of the men in a black Stetson started making kissy faces at the window, mocking Michael on the call.  This office was a great deal more laid back than the Houston office with locker room type tactics and loads of fraternity boy antics. He didn’t approve of the behavior.

Pip, brought him back into the conversation, “This is my home. My mother is allowed to live in it, and she is not going to dictate my life, and sure as hell, not my love-life.  I’ve given enough of my freedom to her!”

He moved the phone closer to his mouth, turning his back completely to the bullpen of bullheaded men. “Persephone, we have time.  I also need a moment to think.  I need a minute to figure out the best way to proceed on both of our behalves so you can be free to move to Texas without feeling guilty,” he said.

“Okay, where is this magical ball of insight that you are hiding?  I don’t know whether to be impressed or creeped out by such a direct observation.”

“The fear in your voice says everything, but in a nutshell, quickly fill me in on how you purchased your house so I will know the best team to call to help you sell it,” he said.

“Scott helped me buy it after me and Mama got kicked out of the Sunny Winds Trailer Park,” she said, leaning back in the office chair.

“Stop right there. Are you telling me that Scott, as in Zelda’s Scott, helped you buy the house you currently live in?”  He said with tension in his voice. His hackles were up.  “Was there something between you and Scott?”

“Michael, your ability to go from zero to hell no in a matter of seconds is a concern for me, but to answer your question, no there wasn’t and has never been anything between me and Scott. I have worked for the Bergers at the museum for about four years and help out with the annual convention each year,” she said, omitting the part about how she wanted there to be something between her and Scott.

It wasn’t good enough for him.  He raised an eyebrow, then folded his arms across his chest, also leaning back against the chair. The men in the bullpen were getting more restless.  Their behavior was unacceptable and getting on his last nerve.

“Guys, I need to finish this call, please go on without me,” he said to the ten-gallon hat wearing ringleader. Besides, he hated eating out, especially bar-b-que.  One could never tell how many times the pork had been reheated and re-sauced in those places.  He preferred not to take any chances.

Pip, exhaling loudly, catching her own breath to explain.

“Persephone?” He said her name as if he were quietly encouraging her to provide an answer to why she was playing ball in the house and broke the vase. She knew what he wanted to know.

Sighing loudly herself, Pip ran her fingers through her red hair and said, “Mama got us kicked out of the trailer park by bringing home a biker gang to initiate her into the group. Yes, by initiate, you are assuming correctly. I came home from work to find her stumbling, drunk as some guy with three teeth was trying to truss her up on the kitchen table like a Thanksgiving turkey.  I called the cops. However, it didn’t do much good as those ruffians vandalized the trailer park, and we ended up living in some motel under the interstate which was infested with bedbugs.”

“Oh, wow,” he said, shifting the phone to his other hand.

“’Wow’ is the least of it.  The money I stashed in the house, she’d found and given to the biker gang to pay her supposed membership dues,” Pip said sadly.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Michael told her.

“Oh, it gets better. I had just given her half of my income tax on that Thursday to buy us food and things she needed. We are talking about my mother, whom I may add, by Saturday night, spent, blew, threw into a hidey-hole the money and all of that was gone too,” she said.  “We were screwed, barely eating, and soon-to-be homeless.”

“Okay, but how does Scott play into this?”

“I was working on a grant at the museum. He was so nice to me and he noticed I was scratching my arms and legs when he spotted the bites.  Scott offered to help me get settled if I would agree to head up the new grant I currently work on at the Vent Museum,” she said. “We got the house I live in now, but I had to buy furniture piece by piece each paycheck,” she said.

“Your Mom doesn’t work?”

“No, she gets a check for being...oh hell, I don’t know what is actually wrong with her versus what she claims.  Evidently, none of her disabilities are impacted by her ability to swizzle beer and suck on Winston Reds,” she said with a frown. “She can’t handle any sort of money.”

“Okay, I got it,” he told her.  “I am heading out to see this second project we are supposed to bid on here in Corpus Christie, then I will see if I can get out of here early and get a cheap flight your way.”

“Michael, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this thing between us, my Mama, all of this,” she said.

“Persephone, since you walked into my shower, I have awakened every morning with a new zest for life.  I feel I have a purpose again versus working and coming home. I want to come home to you, and if that means I have to slay some dragons to get to the princess, I will do just that,” he told her.

“Princess.  Ha, that’s rich,” she said.

“The biggest problem I can see is that you don’t understand what a man sees in you.  Of course, there is the obvious, but lady, my nose is wide open and all I can smell is the fragrant bouquet of your love,” he said softly.

“What the hell does that mean? Are you saying you can smell my cooch?”

Michael burst into laughter.  He threw his head back and roared. “No, that is not what I meant...dear Lord where do you come up with this stuff?’

“I read too many romance novels....bouquet...you know. Anyhoo, again, I am scared of all of this.  I truly want to take off running,” she said.

“Don’t be scared Persephone. Please don’t run from me but with me.  We will go at a pace in which you are comfortable, but I wanted to make my intentions clear.  I don’t see a reason to have you wear a ring for three years while I reap all the benefits,” he said.

“Oh you won’t be reaping all the benefits,” she said with a toothy grin.

“Tell me what you want, Persephone,” he whispered to her.

Her nipples throbbed, her pulse raced, and she wanted more than anything to be alone with him for just a few hours. She’d only known one other man and he was clumsy in his ministrations of lovemaking, versus a skilled man like Michael, who knew how to make her body respond in ways she never knew existed. Loving him would be easy.  Dealing with her Mama, the dragon was not.

“I want the fairy tale. I know it sounds stupid, but I want to be wowed by a man who loves me.  Don’t get me wrong Michael, sex with you is amazing, but what about the romance?” she said.

“Hmmpf. Romance,” he said. “I will call you up later. I need to head to this site and meet these chuckleheads for a beer or something later.”

“Michael, you have me all up in my feelings and I don’t know what to say or how to handle all of this,” Pip said.

“Handle this as you handled me,” he said smiling.

“I handled you?” She asked incredulously.

“Lady, you had me eating out of your hand and going up against my boss with my chest puffed out in less than 24 hours of meeting you.  If anybody should be scared it should be me,” he said looking around the almost empty office.

“You are making me blush,” she said.

“I bet that looks so cute.  I will call you soon,” he told her, hanging up the phone.  Truthfully, he was sitting in his feelings as well.

He walked to the door, nodded his head to a cute young lady, with black curly hair, pretty brown eyes, and a 1,000-watt smile.  At another point in his life, she would have been his dinner date and a little something to snack on later, but his mind was on Pip. He left the office, headed to the second potential site with high hopes which dropped like a bouffant in humidity.  The building was a train wreck which would require demolishing in order to bring it up to code. The assessment took the better part of the afternoon and by the time the evening rolled around, the only plane he wanted to be on was the one home.

Michael never made it to his hotel. Over the radio came a broadcast which brought real fear into his heart. Hurricane Harvey was headed for Houston. He drove directly to the airport, turned his car in to the rental office and took his luggage from the trunk.  His head hurt. A swirl of emotion hit him about being the big savior for not only his sister but also Persephone.

Pip’s mother sounds like bad news. I barely survived my own mother, do I really want to deal with hers?

Maybe my life is fine as is...single is okay.

Before he boarded the plane, he made two calls, the first to Pip. “Hey, I was checking in and there is a Hurricane headed towards Texas. I need to get home to make sure my Grandma and Wilke are prepared and safe,” he told her.

“Okay,” she mumbled in the line. “I understand.”

“I will call you soon and see you in Las Vegas,” he told her.

“Michael, I get it. If you come to Vegas, fine. If you don’t, I understand,” she said.

“Persephone?” he said, but all he heard was dead air. Only three hours.  Three hours had passed and insecurity snuck up on Pip making her doubt his true intentions. She’d hung up on him. Instead of calling her back, he called his sister.

“Hey, Sis. I’m headed back. I heard about the hurricane. Are you somewhere safe?” he asked.

“No, I am in the air headed to Vegas,” she said. “Are you headed to Pip’s?”

“No. That may not work out, but it’s too soon to tell.  When you get a chance, call me later. I am headed back because of the hurricane.”

“Okay.  Make sure you check on Poppa Bear,” she pleaded.

“Will do.”

“I love you Michael and thank you for giving me time,” she confessed.  “You are a great brother.”

“Love you too, sis, and you are still a pain in my ass,” he said.

The life-changing moment he had planned for with Pip was altered by a storm which nearly tore apart his world.