What's going on? I wondered.
Raymond's dad stood to make an announcement. "Everyone sit down for a moment. This deal is not complete yet, but we need to tie up the loose ends before you all leave."
Raymond said, "What's up, Dad?"
"You know your mother and I have wanted to retire for some time now."
"Yeah. We talked about that, and you said you wanted to wait until I was ready to take over." Raymond looked uncomfortable, like this was personal family business.
"Son, you've worked in this restaurant all your life." Waving his arm around to illustrate the empty seats, he said, "We're at a point where we need to make some big changes or close the doors. Your mom and I want to leave you something. I don't want to leave you a business you will have to close. Don't get me wrong, I know you could run the place, but not without help. The place is too big to run short staffed."
We all sat around the table wondering where we fit into this. It seemed to me that we were listening to personal family business that Raymond might not want us to hear. Everyone remained silent, however, wondering where this was all going, while Raymond's dad continued: "Our friend Finch here is looking for an opportunity. He's already working with a restaurant and has doubled their patronage. Did you see the chili rellenos he was cranking out? That boy's got real talent. We, on the other hand, aren't able to make payroll. My proposal to Finch is to allow him to run the restaurant for 50% ownership."
Logan threw his arms around Finch. For a minute, I thought he was going to kiss him right here in the restaurant. Mr. Torres continued, "I'll hand you the other 50% right now. Together, you can make a go of this place. Alone, all I see are closed doors ahead."
Raymond jumped up from his seat. His eyes were wide with excitement. "You're going to do this right now? This place is half mine?"
"That's the plan," his dad said.
"How's this going to work? Is Finch buying his way in?"
Mr. Torres patted him on the back. "No, he is working his way in."
"Is he that good?" Raymond asked.
Walking over to Finch and leaning on his shoulders, Mr. Torres said, "You should see that boy in the kitchen. I never saw someone work with such speed and organization. He'll be treated as an equal partner, and if he sticks with it for three years, I'll title half the business over. In the meantime, he'll split the profits with you, if there are any.
"Did he follow the family recipes?"
"No, I didn't," Finch said. "I had a restaurant of patrons who were waiting patiently. I did the best I could."
Robin spoke up. "I got a lot of very positive comments. The people who waited were thrilled at their food."
Finch turned to Logan, "This would mean you and I would be living with very little income for a while, until I get everything caught up."
"That's nothing new to me," Logan said. "I've lived with very little income all my life. This could be an opportunity for you."
Finch rose and addressed the table. "This'll be a great opportunity for all of us." He corrected. My brother was smiling from ear to ear, and everyone was looking around, gauging everyone else's reaction.
"Is everyone agreed then?" Mr. Torres asked the room.
"All we have to lose is time," Finch added. "If we fail, it'll be a great learning experience. If we succeed, this is our start."
Chapter Twenty
A week later, Logan called. "Do you want to go with us for the signing?"
"Logan, we're right in the middle of unpacking. Everything I own is sitting in boxes in the living room." Though it wasn't a lot of boxes, and they weren't big boxes, I could feel myself searching for an excuse to do anything other than unpack. Another side of me wanted to go and support my brother in his new venture. "Sure, we'll be there. What time?"
"We're meeting at the restaurant at two thirty. The lunch rush will be over and everyone will be able to take a break."
"Logan, if he's working the lunch shift and the dinner shift, when do you guys get to be together?"
"He has everything organized. The prep cooks have everything ready to go when he arrives, and he works through the lunch rush. He cooks a lot, but he's training most of the time. Then he works through the dinner rush and he's out of there by seven or eight. It means a ten-hour day right now, but I'm trying to talk him into eventually only working through the dinner rush, but he just laughs at me and tells me I'm dreaming."
"Well, when somebody hands you a gift of half a restaurant, you have to do what you can to make it work."
"Jay, he's already got a lot of really good comments. He hopes to build it up someday to a point where we can't handle the business and then expand to a second location. He and Raymond work well together. Raymond is spending just as much time in the kitchen as Finch. Finch told him 'You can't run a restaurant until you can run the kitchen.'"
Hearing that Finch was making a success of the restaurant was reassuring. Both Logan and Robin might one day rely on the income they brought home. Knowing the restaurant was a success made me feel like both of them would be more secure.
Returning to the purpose of his call, Logan changed the subject. "Now, before I forget about it, I need to borrow Scratch this afternoon. I'll bring him back tonight."
"Is this about…?"
"Yes, I'll tell you about it later. Just let me handle this okay?"
I was concerned about letting Scratch leave the house right now. "It's only been a week. He'll be in that cast a while yet. I don't want him running around."
It was apparent that Logan expected my objection. He'd prepared to argue the point. "Don't worry, I love Scratch. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. I just want him to meet somebody. I promise, I'll take good care of him."
"Alright, can I drop him off on the way to the signing?"
"Perfect. We can put him in the kitchen until we get back."
We drove Scratch over to Logan's. I would usually have walked him over, but he didn't need to be walking too much on that cast. We all arrived at the restaurant at 2:30 that afternoon. The papers were signed and we all had a special meal, which was a sampling of items from the proposed new menu.
Afterwards, as I got into the car to drive us back home, Richard took my hand. "I have a surprise for you."
I'd become sensitive to Richard's surprises. Most things didn't affect me too much, but when he was making a suggestion or hinting to anything that might end up with us in each other's arms, my heart would jump. Then, as if drugged, I'd begin to sink into submission. Richard had shown me things this week I didn't know people did, each and every one of them better than the last. I'd never known such pleasures existed. Now he had a surprise.
"I can't imagine what it could be."
"It isn't something different we're going to do," he said, which helped to calm me down, "but it is very special. It's special to me."
I could barely sit still as I pulled into the driveway and stopped. We were silent as we headed to the front door. Once inside, he turned to me and said, "Are you prepared to go to our special room?"
"Yes."
"Go, and I will meet you there."
I headed through the house, into the kitchen, and through the door in the pantry. Heading down the stairs, I peeled off my clothing and folded it neatly, leaving it on what had become the clothing bench. I walked to my pre-appointed place, kneeled, and waited with my hands behind my back. I always made a point of making my image the best it could be for Richard's eyes as he came into the room. I'd peer up at him wanting him to see the desire in my face.
I waited a minute or two, and as I kneeled there, I began to wonder what was holding him up. If we aren't going to do anything, why am I here, naked and kneeling? Finally, I heard him coming down the stairs. He'd already removed his shirt and shoes. He stood before me in jeans and he was holding a box.
He set the box down in front of me and kneeled on the other side of it. Sliding off the top, he lifted up a leather studded collar. He picked it up and fastened it around my neck.
"Later, you'll wear your ring on your left hand, but now and whenever we are alone together, you will wear this collar. It will be our symbol that you belong to me."
The smell of the leather around my neck and the closeness of the moment left me helpless to respond. All I could say was, "Now please."
He slapped the box that was still sitting between us across the floor with his foot and pushed me back. I rearranged my legs as I rolled back. In a smooth, single movement, he dropped his pants. He was wearing nothing underneath. A second later, he lifted my feet over his shoulders. I felt him reach to one side, then felt his slick fingers open me for a moment. Then lunging forward and rolling me back, he took me on the floor.
When he finished, he stayed inside as he always did. Kissing my chest, he said, "This is only half of the surprise."
Richard and I had spent so much time down here this week that I didn't think he'd be repeating this performance soon. I wondered what the second half could be. He continued to kiss and slide his tongue over one side of my chest. "I'm going to mark you."
"What?"
"Marking is another way of staking ownership."
I'd heard of marking, but didn't know much about it. I knew it was different for everyone.
"I am going to make a mark on your body that will remain there always. Of course, you can refuse. It's your body. But realize that once you agree, you will have no input as to the mark or its location. I will not mark you anywhere that can be seen when you are dressed.
"How will you…?"
"Tattoo. I will have a tattoo of my choice placed on your body. You are not to see it until it's completed."
I could see by the look on his face that this was something he really wanted. "I trust you, Richard."
"Then get dressed. It's going to happen right now. As I dressed, it occurred to me that this was something that probably would require my having the collar on, at least I hoped so. Though its thickness around my neck was a foreign feeling, I was in no hurry to take it off. I threw on my jeans and tennis shoes. Heading upstairs to our closet I flipped through the shirts until I found just the right shirt. It was an old cotton work shirt. It was long sleeve, but somehow had the burly masculine feel to it I was looking for. On top of that, it had a higher collar that covered the leather. I took a minute to iron it. Cotton wrinkles so badly.
Finishing the ironing, I folded up the sleeves prior to putting it on. As I tucked the tail it into my jeans, Richard came into the bedroom and peering into the closet he looked me over. Nodding his approval he said, "Wow. You look almost perfect."
Almost? I thought. Raising my eyebrows and tilting my head, I gave him my 'what the hell do you mean by that?' look.
"Follow me." Heading into the closet, he started to move things around obviously looking for something. "Here, put these on."
In his hands, he held what looked like a brand new black leather pair of work boots.
"Where were you hiding these?"
"I found them in your size, and I was going to give them to you after the wedding. I just couldn't wait. Now you're perfect."
*~*~*
I felt a bit self-conscious sitting in the waiting room at the tattoo parlor. The guy at the desk would occasionally look at me. I didn't know what he was thinking until we were led back into the shop. Off both sides of the hall were little rooms where the tattoos were done.
"Lucky bastard," he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. My embarrassment morphed into great pride in seconds.
Once inside the room, I met the artist. "So this is our victim?" he teased.
Richard said, "Yes, this is Jay. Jay, this is Leon. I've been working with him to come up with something appropriate." Then, pulling a scarf out of his back pocket he said, "Jay, I'm going to blindfold you." Seconds later, I was in a world of darkness. Richard unbuttoned my shirt and slid it off. I'd long ago internalized my trust in Richard. If he wanted to do this, then it was a good thing in my mind.
I was laid on a padded table and my right upper chest was bathed with what smelled like alcohol. I could feel something being applied there. "Like that?" Leon said.
"That's exactly right," Richard said. He took my hand, holding it firmly and whispered to me, "Are you sure you want this? This is forever. This binds us always. You are only to be mine. Are you absolutely sure?"
"'Only yours,' you said? Then do it."
"Okay then let's go."
The pain was not as bad as I'd expected. Pain had become a thing I could process really well if I knew it had meaning. This had tons of meaning. I wanted this mark. Richard stayed there, whispering to me like a hypnotist, explaining over and over that this mark was not only my message that I belonged to him, but a sign to the world that he was mine. There were little breaks while Leon changed colors. I assumed that he was familiar with this sort of thing. Richard certainly wasn't keeping it a secret. I had no idea what this would look like. Just knowing I was allowing Richard to place a symbol on me brought out the same feelings that being tied up did. I was curious, but I knew it was going to be alright.
When Leon was finished, he explained how the area would look for a few days and assured me it had come out exactly as Richard wanted it. Richard sat me up and put my shirt on again. Then he turned me to the mirror and removed my blindfold. Peeling back the collar of my shirt and the temporary bandage, he revealed a small picture of a bird sitting on a branch. The color inside the branch had been left out and 'Richard's' was lettered inside.
"It's the image of a Long Crested Jay," Richard said. "Keep that bandage on today. Tomorrow we'll take it off so it can dry while it heals.
I examined the picture carefully. The head of the bird was black with a black crest. The body was a brilliant blue.
When we arrived home Richard looked around the house a moment. "Where's Scratch?"
"Logan has him. He's apparently trying to work his magic on someone. He promised he'd take good care of him."
Shaking his head in disbelief Richard leaned down and gave me a kiss.
*~*~*
The tattoo healed over the next few weeks, and by this time Scratch was getting around on the casted leg pretty well. At first, he wore a plastic cone around his head, but he soon realized we didn't approve of him messing with the cast. His demeanor had improved and he was acting like the little dog we had all come to love. He was no longer on medication, which meant he wasn't getting the cream cheese treats I'd hid his pills in that he'd come to expect. Nevertheless, he was his old cheerful self.
I was curious about what Logan was up to. He would come over and borrow Scratch from time to time. Even though I'd seen him work apparent miracles, I was still skeptical.
I settled into Richards's house and finally came to know where everything was. It was early fall, but in this part of Arizona, that meant it was still good and hot.
The special family meeting we planned kept getting postponed because Finch and Raymond had been working so hard. They just weren't available to be away from the restaurant at the same time. Robin was in charge of making it happen, and eventually, he worked something out. Finch and Raymond's restaurant had been gradually changing, but today was to be the grand re-opening. Robin had reserved a table to hold Johnny and Devron, him and Raymond, Finch and Logan, and Richard and me. The party wasn't scheduled to occur until 10:00 that night. Raymond and Finch were going to be tied up for the grand opening, and nobody expected them to even get out of the kitchen until 10:00. It seemed logical to do it this way. We all thought that today was a good day, since we all wanted to celebrate the grand re-opening anyway.
As Richard and I headed to the restaurant, I was reflecting on my experience with all of the couples who would be there. "You know, I feel a little cheated."
"Why's that?"
"There won't be any surprises or new people to meet. I know everybody already."
"Yeah, but tonight is going to be different. Tonight, it won't be your landlord and Johnny just being in the same room. Sure, you've met ev
eryone, but tonight we're getting to know the special people who are going to be in our lives."
"How do you always know the right thing to say?"
"It's a skill."
When Richard and I arrived, Robin was already there. Gradually, the rest of the gang arrived. Johnny showed us all the ring Devron had given him.
We'd prepared a long table, and once everyone finally sat down, Logan blurted out, "We got engaged last night." Finch stood up and bowed to the audience. He had a smile on his face that I wasn't really familiar with. He appeared to be so incredibly happy.
Robin stood up, saying, "Well, I was going to wait and tell you all one at a time, but Raymond asked me to marry him on Thursday."
Raymond looked to Robin, rolling his hand to signal him that he needed to continue. "Tell them what you said, honey,"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I said yes. So I guess we're all engaged? How weird is that?"
Johnny stood at the end of the table, tapping his water glass with a spoon. At first, I thought he was going to make a toast, but then he said, "Does anyone have any plans for their wedding yet?" We all looked at one another, wondering if anyone else was planning anything yet. Everyone was shaking their heads.
"Well, how would you all feel about having the weddings together? We could have a single person do the ceremonies all at once." Everyone looked around the table at everyone else looking for signs of approval.
Logan was first to respond. "We were thinking of just going to city hall. I wouldn't put the cost of something like a full-blown wedding on my new family, and Finch and Raymond are just getting this place going."
Robin responded next. "Big weddings are way too expensive for us right now. We're just hoping this restaurant gets off the ground. I'm definitely okay with doing it all together."
Johnny suggested that just in case anyone felt pressured, it might be better for each couple to discuss it privately and get back to him. "Just call me with your answer," Johnny said. "As far as I'm concerned, the sooner the better."
When we got home from the restaurant Richard slipped the collar around my neck. Richard had already developed a collaring procedure. When I needed to leave the house, he would remove my collar and kiss me. He put it in a drawer in a little cabinet that was next to the door. When I returned, if Richard was home, I'd call, "I'm home," and he'd come to the door and collar me. If he wasn't home when I got there he'd call my name from the front door when he arrived. I'd drop what I was doing and meet him in the entry where he'd collar me. I know it sounds like a symbol of dominance, but to us it was a symbol of our love.
Scratch the Matchmaker Page 16