Carl allowed me all the time I needed, which was more than I thought I would need, because I used every big word I could think of to basically say I wanted him to invest my money for me. He had some concerns about my father that I needed to reassure him about, because they were essentially partners in some investments in Memphis. But in the end, he agreed to help me. As I was about to leave, pumping his hand in gratitude, he thanked me for all I had done for Chris. It said again how very proud he was of his daughter and how much he loved her. I was so in awe of his love for Chris and how he was man enough to show it.
After I left his office, I went to the less sterile part of town, where the stripper clubs were. Chris and I had come up with a great surprise for Norma, on Valentine’s Day, and because of my own plans, we would need to do it at lunch. After renting what I needed at the strip club, I went home to talk with Charlotte. I needed to make sure that she would be able to work this weekend, in case Norma needed anything. Thankfully, she said she would be happy to. After that horrible scare with pneumonia over Christmas, Chris and I both were very over protective of Norma. I also asked Konani if she would mind working Saturday, preparing a special Valentine’s meal for Norma. She was more than happy to help and had just the meal in mind. Everything was coming together perfectly for this Valentine’s Day.
On Wednesday, Chris invited Meg and Frankie over for lunch. Chris’s idea of sending them on a honeymoon to top all honeymoons was a fantastic one. I personally love spontaneity, but when Meg saw that they would have to leave on Friday, she said that she didn’t think she could make it because of her work. Non-spontaneous people always find an excuse to slow things down. I told Meg that if she couldn’t make it, I’d be more than happy to go for her. I guess she was still in shock, because she said okay. Norma, who was sitting beside me, whispered that I should let Chris handle the honeymoon arrangements when she and I get married. I whispered back to Norma that she should wait and hear what I had planned for Saturday.
On Thursday, Chris and I took our new secretary, Kate Stana, the young mother from the apartment building, shopping. If she was going to be our first contact for the scholarship program, we wanted her to look the part. She had moved back in with her parents, so at least she had a built in babysitter, much to my relief, but she needed clothes and of course, Chris insisted that we had to buy for the baby also. I have to admit, that was fun playing with those cute baby toys. Kate’s baby was a boy, so I bought him a bunch of sports toys, along with tricycles, and big trucks, and although the baby was only eight months old, I figured he would grow into them eventually.
Kate was reluctant at first, her pride preventing her from accepting our gifts. But Chris assured her it was an early bonus for a job we knew she would excel at, and no one turns down a bonus. Like I was with her father, I was in awe of Chris. That is until Chris told Kate that it was good practice for me, because I would be having a baby soon. The evil look in my lover’s eyes made me want to take her right there in the store. I have never had to restrain myself as much sexually as I have with Chris. It was very stimulating.
While we were out shopping, Chris wanted to look at some shelving for Norma’s Oscar to be displayed in. We ended up having to go find a carpenter to have a case specially made just for it. I even went back the next day and gave him a print out of the lobby card of the movie Norma won the Oscar for, so he could put it in with the statuette. Unfortunately, it will take him a week or so to get it done, so I won’t be able to give it to her as a Valentine’s present. But that’s okay, I have something even better in mind for dear Norma.
On Friday, I went back downtown to make the final arrangements on my surprise for Chris. Flowers, Godiva chocolates, non-alcoholic wine, love songs to dance to, the whole nine yards. I had to go to quite a few stores looking for something in particular, but I finally found everything I was looking for.
Valentine’s Day — Norma Shelby, Melinda Blackstone, Chris Livingston, and George Kirk
One would think that after eighty-eight years, I would be past caring about Valentine’s Day, and up until I moved in with the girls, I had been. But that wonderful Valentine’s honeymoon Chris sent Meg and Frankie on had me remembering some of my own magnificent romantic rendezvous with virile young men, some of which I was married to. It’s been years since a handsome young man gave me a box of chocolates. I admit, I miss that.
And today, the lover’s day, when the mixture of love and lust is at its most potent, I have hopes that enchanted things will happen for my two girls. After lunch, which they insisted on having with me, Melinda will whisk Chris away for a secret tryst, which I’m sure, knowing Melinda, will be extravagantly and romantically over the top. But I have hopes that it is everything they ever dared dream of, full of more passion and love and rapture, than either one of them are prepared for.
“Oh, dear, I’m late.” A look at the clock told me that I needed to hurry downstairs for lunch. Eighty-eight-year-old women do not hurry. We can’t bound down the stairs any more like a twenty-eight-year-old could. We can shuffle our feet as fast as possible, unless, like me, we’re using a cane and then we have to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves. I cuff my hair from my eyes, told my kitten, Pluto, to behave while I was gone, and walk out to the elevator.
Something caught my eye, and I stopped, startled by a beefy young man wearing black leather pants and a bow-tie, waiting by the elevator. One look at his tight, muscled, flexing chest, and I forget to be afraid.
He extended his arm, and I wrapped my arm around it, fascinated by the hardness of his muscles against my sagging skin. I smiled. I knew this had to be the girls’ doing.
He escorted me into the dining room, where Melinda, Chris, and George sat waiting for me. My escort held my chair for me as I sat down, and again I smiled. It had been a very long time since a gentleman had done that for me, especially a half-dressed, incredibly good looking gentleman.
“I’m sorry I’m late, girls, but if he was my punishment, I will never be on time for anything ever again.”
Melinda grinned. “Well prepare to be punished some more.” She nodded to the bare-chested young man and he disappeared into the kitchen.
I looked around to see that no one had started their lunch yet, and in fact, there was no food on the table at all. As if hearing my thoughts, three young men, one of them my escort, emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of food. The other two were also scantily dressed, and it was a marvel to watch their muscles dance as they placed food in front of me. I learned at that moment, that I am never too old to appreciate the sight of a tight, perfectly round butt on a young man. And besides, at that moment, I was feeling eighteen again anyway.
As we ate our lunch, which I can’t for the life of me remember what we had, because the waiters twirled and danced around as they delivered our drinks, napkins and condiments. I couldn’t help myself, I asked for condiments I didn’t want, just so I could watch them come and go. Oh my, how much more can my old heart take?
As soon as I had finished eating, my escort held out his hand and led me away from the table, into the living room. I was surprised to see the furniture had been moved leaving an empty square in the middle. Soft, romantic music filled the air, and I realized we were going to dance. Never letting go of my hand, he pulled me close to his chest, and we danced the tango right there in the living room. They couldn’t know this, but the tango was one of the first dances I learned for a movie, and it was my favorite dance to watch as well. Of course, I couldn’t do the dips and splits like I could in my twenties, but I could put a rose between my teeth, and let him take it from me. As George said repeatedly during lunch, it was divine.
After the dance, my escort led me over to the others, and I sat down in a chair beside Chris, whose grin was so large, I wondered if she had just swallowed the canary. But she had every right to grin, because those two girls had made this old lady extremely happy with their Valentine’s Day gift.
Melinda leaned close and laid several
one dollar bills on the coffee table in front of me.
“What’s that for, dear?”
Even before she told me, I blushed at the realization that it was for strippers. Suddenly a song began to blare that had something to do with cherry pie, a reference that was not lost on me, and the waiters filed out of the kitchen and to the center of the room. Before my delighted eyes, they began to strip to the music, ripping their pants away to reveal their barely covered manhood.
“How perfectly marvelous!” I shouted to be heard above the music.
George nodded and shouted, “Divine!”
I glanced over at Melinda and Chris, and they were laughing and dancing in their seats.
The strippers took turns gyrating over to me, and at Melinda’s urging, I tucked dollar bills into their G-strings. In all my years, I had never tipped a stripper before. Well, not with money anyway.
When the dance was finished, the young men picked up their pants and walked back into the kitchen. I clapped and laughed and thanked the girls for the best Valentine’s Day I had ever had.
“Oh, it’s not over with yet, Norma,” said Chris with a wry grin.
The strippers, now dressed in shirtless tuxes, filed out of the kitchen again, each carrying a bouquet of roses. One by one, they handed me their spray of roses, and then knelt on one knee, and held up a large box of chocolates, asking me to be their Valentine. Of course I said yes to all three, and I’m glad I did because they fought over who would kiss me first. Suffice it to say that one of them was a very skilled kisser, because I had not felt that kind of spark in over forty years.
After Melinda insisted on group pictures, to which I transformed into my actress persona again, the gentlemen bid me goodbye. I told the young men that if they ever thought in terms of a May to December romance, to look me up. Of course, I could be so bold because I knew that would never happen. Still, it was fun to be able to make the offer.
Valentine’s Day — Melinda Blackstone and Chris Livingston
“Melinda, where are we going?” Chris asked, trying to peek out the limo’s windows.
“I told you, it’s a surprise.” I knew she wouldn’t want to travel through town with a blindfold on, so I rented a limousine and asked them to cover the windows so that we couldn’t see out, including the sliding window between the driver and us. It didn’t take long, and soon the driver parked the car and got out. Opening our door, I stepped out first and held out my hand to my beautiful lover, who I had instructed to dress up for a party. She looked dazzling with her hair gathered at her bare shoulders, her eyes glistening from just the right amount of eye shadow, her lips shimmering red, her neck made more subtle by the dangling ear rings she wore, and her breasts puckering to escape the low-cut neckline of her white cocktail dress. I inhaled sharply as her silky legs stretched across the seat to the pavement, and she stepped out in white pumps with diamonds sparkling on the heels.
And to add to my lady’s pleasure, I had bought a black leather jacket and a white silk shirt, with leather pants that hugged my butt. I looked damn hot, if I do say so myself.
She smoothed down her skirt and looked up. “We’re at the riverfront?” she said, a surprised look on her face.
“Yes, we are. And we’re about to board that riverboat right over there,” I said, pointing at the boat docked at the landing. “And if you’ll look closer…”
“Oh my God, Melinda! It has my name on it.”
“Yes, ma’am. The Lady Christine awaits your arrival.”
Chris’s shocked look made her eyes shimmer. “Oh Melinda, you didn’t?”
“I sure did. My gift to you, for when you need to run away again.”
“That is the sweetest… oh, Melinda, I love you so much for thinking of me, but seriously, what am I going to do with it the other ninety-nine percent of the time?”
“Aha. You can rent it out for gay and lesbian couples to have a romantic place to run away to. You see, I was being shrewd with my money.”
“How absolutely perfect. What a wonderful idea.”
“Thanks, I was pleased with it myself.”
“Now, try not to be so humble, honey.” Chris laughed.
“No promises on that one, babe.” I winked at her.
We walked up the red carpet and were greeted by the captain, who removed his hat and tucked it under his arm.
“Welcome to the Lady Christine, ladies. I am Captain Charles Stanley, and I will be your captain for this voyage.”
“Very good to meet you, Captain. This is the namesake for the riverboat, Christine Livingston, and I am Melinda Blackstone.”
“I am pleased to meet you both. We will be departing in approximately fifteen minutes.”
“Captain, where are we going?” Chris asked.
He smiled, and replied, “Wherever the river takes us, Miss.”
Chris looked at me, a dreamy smile on her face, and I could tell that she was happy. I promised myself that I would keep that smile on her face for as long as I lived.
“Would you care for a tour of the vessel?” the captain asked, and although I had already seen it, I wanted to accompany Chris so that I could be sure everything was to her liking.
“I love it!” Chris exclaimed, from the top deck, where the calliope blared out a welcoming melody of tunes that I didn’t recognize.
The top deck had lounging chairs, a jogging path along the promenade, even a small café. The captain explained that there were rooms on all three decks, with the staterooms on the second floor.
The riverboat, which could hold one-hundred and fifty people, including the crew, was commissioned in 1886, and completely overhauled in 1986 and 2009. The latter renovation was to convert the boat into a vacation cruiser, adding rooms and staterooms for weeklong excursions. It was also modernized with Wi-Fi and cable TV. All the amenities of the twenty-first century, cleverly disguised on a nineteenth century riverboat. Mark Twain would probably find it fascinating. I know I did.
The captain led us from the top deck down two floors to the grand dining room, which was set up for the main meal, with candles, wine glasses, crystal tea glasses and fine china. Even though the only passengers for the maiden voyage of the Lady Christine, were Chris and me, I asked them to have everything set up so that Chris would get the full effect and be impressed. She was definitely impressed.
Down the hall from the dining room was the grand lounge, with plush felt chairs and settees, where the passengers could have a mint julep, or dance or just sit and look out the wall-to-wall windows. I couldn’t wait to take Chris dancing later.
One floor up was the paddle wheel lounge, with wicker chairs and tables arranged so that the big red paddle wheel on the stern could be seen from every corner of the lounge.
When our tour was over, and the captain left to get the boat underway, I took Chris back up to the top deck so we could watch as we left port. It was twilight when we heard the engines turn over, and with a jolt and a thud, we were on our way. Pulling her coat collar up to block the cold breeze, Chris waved to the people on the dock, and they waved back at her, as the steam whistle blew a very loud goodbye. Once the boat pulled away from the dock, the engines cut off and the big red stern wheel jumped to life, splashing the water in a backward spin, and then easing into its forward rotation. The boat runs on steam, which rotates the wheel, which propels the boat, but in this century, it also had a state-of-the-art engine that could pull its weight in a hurricane, or so I’ve been told.
As slow as the Southern charm of days gone by, we finally left the city skyline behind and walked back in to the grand dining room, where the waiter showed us to our table. Even though I strive to be Melinda, the less obnoxious, more caring person, I still enjoy calling on Blackie when I want to get my point across, so as the waiter held the chair out for Chris, I let him know that she was his boss. Chris swatted me on the arm and laughed, and the waiter promised he’d do the best job ever. After he left, Chris leaned my way and informed me that I would be leaving a very
large tip for the young man, after embarrassing her like that. Totally worth it.
After dinner, which was a delicious blend of Southern foods reminiscent of Mark Twain’s era, I took Chris to the lounge for some dancing and non-alcoholic beverages. I decided against hiring a live band, because I didn’t want people hanging around during the day. The fewer people for our Valentine’s adventure, the better. So a disc jockey provided us with some lively dance tunes, and we twirled and swayed the night away.
It was almost midnight, and Chris was ready to call it a night, but I asked for one more dance, promising it would be slow and soothing. I nodded to the DJ, and she played All of Me by John Legend. Chris laid her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, and we just stood there, swaying to the music.
When the song ended, which was way too soon for me in that her closeness overfilled my soul, I looked at Chris and told her it was still Valentine’s Day, and very important things happened on this day. Then I knelt down on one knee and held up a diamond engagement ring up to her. I held my breath as I told her that if she’d have me, I would give her all of me.
With tears in her eyes, she walked back to the table and picked up her purse, and my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. How could I have been so wrong? After an agonizingly long moment, she walked back over to where I was still kneeling on the floor, and knelt down on one knee in front of me. She looked into my eyes and smiled, and her beauty pulled the air from my lungs. I hoped that was a yes I saw in her eyes. And then she held up a diamond engagement ring of her own, and through her tears of love, she asked me to marry her. I began to cry also, first from relief, and then from the sheer joy of it all.
We looked at the two rings, and then back at each other, and laughed away our tears. I slipped her 5.3-carat oval-shaped diamond ring onto her finger, and she slid my black diamond band onto my finger.
Combining Riches (Riches to Rags Book 2) Page 21