by Mary Monroe
“Tell me what’s funny, so I can laugh too,” he said with a chuckle.
“Oh! Nothing. I just thought of a joke my friend told me earlier today.” I cleared my throat. “Um, I know we had planned to get together on Sunday, but something’s come up.” I eased the words in, pronouncing each syllable like I was reading cue cards. I hoped he wouldn’t detect the disappointment in my voice.
“Oh? I’m so sorry to hear that. I was really looking forward to spending some time with you this weekend.”
“How about next week?” I said quickly.
“I have several hauls the next couple of weeks, so I won’t be available again for a while.”
“Oh,” I said meekly. Silence followed for several seconds.
“May I ask why you can’t see me on Sunday?” he asked, sounding almost harsh.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not say. It’s kind of personal.” One thing that I would never tell a potential sex partner was that I had to cancel our date because I was bleeding like a stuck pig between my legs. Just thinking about it disgusted me. There was no telling how it would make this man feel if I told him.
“I see.” It was obvious he was disappointed. Hopefully, not enough to put me on a back burner or forget about me completely. “Well, when you are ready, you can let me know. When I finish my hauls next week, I’m going to spend a few days down in San Luis Obispo visiting a couple of former marines I served with. I won’t be back up here until the middle of February, and I have hauls lined up from then until March.”
Now that I had decided to meet my mysterious truck driver, I didn’t want to wait almost another whole month to see him in person. “I know we had planned to spend some serious time together in a hotel room this Sunday, and I hope we will eventually, but I could meet you for coffee tomorrow.” I held my breath, hoping he’d still want to see me.
“Are you sure?”
“Well, yeah. I was planning to do some shopping in a mall close to San Jose, so I’ll be in your neck of the woods, anyway. There’s a coffee shop across the street from a Bank of America. It has a huge coffee cup painted on the front window. It’s not as trendy as the Starbucks a few blocks away, but the coffee is just as good and it’s a lot more intimate.”
“I know the place, the Koffee Kupp. I go there quite often when I’m in town.” Calvin’s voice had really perked up.
“But that’s all we can do . . . ,” I said firmly.
“Just chatting with you over a cup of coffee will be enough for now, Lola. If you change your mind about sleeping with me in the future, I’ll understand. I mean, we are two mature adults in a sex club.” Calvin laughed. “If we’re sophisticated enough to be into something like that, we’re sophisticated enough to respect one another’s decisions. But since we’ve communicated by telephone and social media and whatnot, it would be nice to meet up at least once—even if it’s just for coffee.” He had such an engaging laugh; I couldn’t wait to see if he sounded and looked the same way in person.
“Is ten A.M. too early for you?”
“Ten is fine. I look forward to meeting you, Lola. Have a nice night.”
I went to bed, but I didn’t get much sleep. All I could think about was Calvin. I finally dozed off, but I woke up again before dawn; so I got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed.
After I dropped Bertha off at church a few hours later, I sped onto the freeway and headed toward San Jose, humming Chris Brown tunes all the way. I arrived at the coffee shop before Calvin, but since it was such a small place and there were only four other patrons, I knew he would have no trouble spotting me. When he strolled in less than five minutes later, I gasped. He was even better-looking in person. I stood up from the tiny table near the entrance and waved to him.
As soon as he saw me, he stopped in his tracks and the strangest look appeared on his face. His eyes got big and his lips quivered. You would have thought he was looking at a ghost. When I realized he had on a yellow sweater, I felt like I was looking at a ghost too. I immediately thought about the two pictures that “depicted” me lying in a coffin dressed in yellow. I was not about to let such silly paranormal riffraff ruin my day. I held my breath as he approached me.
“That’s a nice shirt you’re wearing,” I said, swallowing hard. “Yellow looks good on you.”
“Thank you. And you’re as lovely as your pictures on the club’s Web site and the one on Facebook.” What he said next made my heart jump: “I’m sure you’d look good in yellow too.”
“Thank . . . you,” I stammered. I would never wear or buy anything yellow again. Not even a banana. I knew that my peculiar fear made no sense, and that was why I’d never tell anyone about it.
Calvin gave me a big hug and then he reared back and looked me up and down. With a glazed look on his face, he stared at my neck so long—it made me uncomfortable. He didn’t bat an eye until I coughed to clear my throat.
“Earth to Calvin,” I teased, waving my hand in front of his face.
He blinked hard and shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I was admiring your necklace,” he told me. “My late mother had one just like it.”
“Well,” I said, caressing the inexpensive silver chain I rarely wore, “if I gain another pound, I won’t be able to fit it around my neck anymore! I almost didn’t wear it today. When I put it on and finally got it snapped, it felt like I was being strangled. Maybe it’s time to buy a new one.”
“Well, you have such a dainty neck. I’m sure you’ll find another one you like just as much, if not better.”
We sat down at the same time. I couldn’t take my eyes off Calvin’s handsome face, especially his piercing eyes. And he was staring at my “dainty neck” again. This time, he gazed at it even longer....
“Calvin, I hope that when you get back from your run, we can get together,” I said. “Even if it’s only for one time.”
A strange smile crossed his face. “I’ll make sure that happens,” he said.
We ordered our coffees and spent a very pleasant hour and a half together. We chatted mostly about mundane things and a little about our backgrounds, but we didn’t broach the real reason we were together. Since that reason was to have sex, there was no need to bring it up again—until when, and if, we made a date to “consummate” our “relationship.”
He gazed at my neck more than my face the whole time, but that didn’t bother me. He was the first man who ever told me that I had a dainty neck.
TO BE CONTINUED
READING GROUP GUIDE
EVERY WOMAN’S DREAM
Mary Monroe
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions that follow are included to enhance
your group’s reading of this book.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Lola’s dying father put a very heavy burden on her shoulders by making her promise to “take care of Bertha” for the rest of her life. Do you think he meant it literally? Do you think he would have made such a request if he had known how Bertha was going to interpret it?
2. Bertha sabotaged Lola’s relationships with men, so Lola felt that the only way she could live a normal life was to lie to Bertha about a lot things. Did you have any sympathy for Lola? If so, would you overlook the fact that she was so deceitful, or was she just as conniving as Bertha?
3. Thieves robbed Lola and Joan’s storage unit and then they lost some of the other items that they had purchased with the money they scammed from their elderly pen pals. Do you think it was just bad luck or karma?
4. Lola and Joan felt that some people set themselves up to be victims of crimes by advertising for mates in magazines and bragging about their wealth. Do you feel that when people reveal too much personal information that they are asking for trouble and are partially responsible for what happens to them?
5. Scamming elderly people the way Lola and Joan did is despicable. Did they make up for their crime by doing volunteer work for that nursing home? Do you believe they were truly remorseful?
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br /> 6. Joan regretted marrying Reed before she got to know him better. When he thought he was going to lose her, he attempted suicide and then made it clear to her that he would end his life if she left him. As miserable and trapped as she felt, was she justified in having affairs?
7. Even though some people have a lot of success when it comes to Internet dating, it can also be very dangerous. If nothing else had been working out for you, would you still try it?
8. Libby and Marshall used Bertha for money and abused her in various other ways. Do you think Bertha was also “abusing” Lola and using her by making her feel guilty every time she threatened to move out?
9. Libby and Marshall were very mean to Lola. When Libby accused her of sleeping with her husband and attacked her, Lola finally fought back. Should that have been the perfect reason for her to move out of Bertha’s house?
10. Calvin Ramsey was a quiet, easygoing man and a good husband to Glinda. But she was still unfaithful and treated him like dirt. He had killed men during the war in the Middle East; but before that, he had always been a nonviolent person. Were you surprised when he snapped and strangled Glinda? Do you think the war had anything to do with him being able to kill so easily?
11. Did you expect Calvin to turn himself in to the police, or did you think his plan was to get away with murder by hiding Glinda’s body in a freezer?
12. Were you surprised when Calvin decided to target other women—especially ones who looked like Glinda—and take their lives too?
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2016 by Mary Monroe
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2015958949
Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN-13: 978-1-61773-798-5
ISBN-10: 1-61773-798-4
First Kensington Hardcover Edition: June 2016
ISBN: 978-1-6177-3798-5
First Kensington Electronic Edition: June 2016