Panzina's Passion
Page 2
Now, Panzina sat beside her aunt and read Love by Toni Morrison. She knew that her aunt had enjoyed reading books by that author that’s why she’d chosen it. Before she knew it, the time had passed and she had to go. She kissed Aunt Gertie on the cheek and whispered in her ear.
“I love you.” She knew that the words had been heard because the old, withered face took on a serene expression. Aunt Gertie gave her hand a weak squeeze and smiled from within.
Panzina drove toward home with a heavy heart. She wasn’t ready for her aunt to leave her. She didn’t want to be alone in the world. She parked the car in the driveway and sat for a while as she’d done earlier at the nursing home. She knew that she couldn’t sit there feeling sorry for herself for too long. Her aunt wouldn’t approve of that at all. Besides, she’d never been one to mope. She considered calling Telvin, but dismissed it. She wasn’t sure that Telvin would understand how she felt. He was always so obsessed with his own problems. She didn’t need to feel any worse. Instead, she decided to call TJ and offer to take him swimming that evening instead of the next day.
* * *
“Panzi, look!” TJ yelled excitedly as he jumped into the pool with a big splash. Panzina smiled at his childish enthusiasm. Gina was one of the swim coaches at the health spa where she took him swimming. It was such an elite place that you had to have a membership pass in order get in. Of course, TJ got to swim for free because of Gina.
Gina finished up with a group of four and five year old girls that she’d been training, and then walked toward Panzina.
“Hello, Panzina,” she greeted as she sat in the lounge chair next to her.
“Hi,” Panzina replied. She genuinely liked the other woman. Under different circumstances, they might have become good friends. Neither harbored resentment towards the other. Both felt that the past should remain in the past. Gina and Telvin had something in the past. Now Telvin and Panzina had a relationship, and they left things at that.
“I had a talk with Telvin today, and we’re going through with the proceedings. He’s agreed to give me full custody of TJ,” she said and smiled happily.
For a moment, Panzina felt a crushing sensation around her heart. She had been like a mother to TJ, and Telvin hadn’t called her to let her in on the decision.
Maybe it just slipped his mind, she told herself.
“That’s great,” she said, recovering quickly. “I’m sure it’s the best thing. You’re a wonderful mother, Gina,” she told the other woman with all sincerity.
“Thank you.” Gina smiled shyly. “Panzina, I really appreciate all that you’ve done for TJ. He loves you. I would like it if you kept in touch with him. Just because I’ll have custody doesn’t mean that you can’t see him. I can admit the fact that I like you. You’re a nice person.”
Panzina felt tears sting the back of her eyes. Gina reached out impulsively and gave her a quick hug.
“Thank you,” Panzina told her. “I think that you’re a nice person too, and a wonderful mother.”
“Panzi! Gina! Look at me!” TJ’s happy squeal interrupted the moment and made both women look in his direction. As she stared at TJ’s efforts to stand on his hands underwater, Panzina caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. It was none other than Trevor Grant!
She couldn’t help staring. The man had a magnificent body, and she watched as he glided smoothly through the water. She felt her heartbeat quicken as he climbed, dripping wet, from the pool. Small droplets of water glistened on his copper toned skin. His muscles rippled in the revealing swimming trunks that he wore. Or were those shorts wearing him?
Trevor seemed oblivious to her admiring glances from the women as he grabbed his towel. He patted himself dry and wrapped the towel around his waist, securing it in front with a twist and a tuck. Panzina felt herself envying that towel, for she would love to be wrapped around him securely. She felt disappointment when Trevor spotted a pretty, brown skinned woman and went over to her. Not long afterwards, Panzina noticed the two leave together. Maybe that was his new bride. She fleeting wondered if she’d been the one to complain about the flowers. Were they visiting the health spa one last time before flying away somewhere exotic for a romantic honeymoon?
* * *
Back at home Panzina passed the time by writing to her friends that had gone off to college. At times like these, she wondered if she’d made the wrong decision about rejecting those scholarships to different universities. If she had accepted, she could have been at the same school as Telvin, and they’d be together. Instead, she had chosen the business route in an effort to help her family through hard times. She had a lot of people who depended on her, the least of which was Telvin and his irresponsible ways.
She thought about the relationship she had with Telvin Coney. She’d been ten years old when they’d met. Her parents had died in a plane crash and she’d moved to Tampa to live with her Aunt Gertie.
Telvin was the kid that nobody liked, and she was the new kid. Neither had many friends. At school, they’d been drawn toward each other. Through the years, she had made other friends, but Telvin had managed to stay number one. It was only natural for them to become a couple during high school. It didn’t surprise either of their families when the two announced their engagement shortly after graduation. Now, Panzina felt uncertainty. Telvin had always been a rather selfish person. That’s how he’d ended up being a father at age eighteen.
Her aunt had raised her strictly, instilling values and morals that she deemed important. Chastity ranked high on the list. Even though she and Telvin had been allowed to date, Telvin got no further than the living room. They’d never been left alone much and had only managed to do some light petting and heavy kisses. Consequently, Telvin had grown impatient waiting for Panzina to give in to his sexual overtures. That’s when he’d dated Gina on the side, never thinking that he’d get caught. Innocent in more ways than one, Panzina had never suspected a thing. If Gina hadn’t gotten pregnant, Telvin would probably still be playing them both. However, he’d felt guilty enough to tell her about the baby. That’s how the truth had come out.
Even now, she didn’t know why she had taken him back. She couldn’t trust him. She wasn’t even sure if she loved Telvin. She was even less sure that he loved her. She’d read the storybook romances and had dreamed about having one herself. She had fantasies about a man who’d kiss her until her toes curled. Telvin didn’t even cause a spark.
She finished her letters and turned on the television. She paid no attention to what happened on the screen until she heard the name Trevor Grant. Her eyes leapt to the TV. Trevor Grant would be sponsoring a fashion show at the pier. The news anchor detailed how his latest designs would be on display and relished in the fact that he would make a personal appearance. Well, she had been on the receiving end of one his personal appearances that very day, and she wanted none of it.
“Trevor Grant’s name and face seem to pop up all over the place lately,” Panzina mumbled. She remembered the anger she’d felt after being told off by him. He was high society, much too classy for her. She doubted if her earnings for a whole week would be enough to buy one of his designs. She’d be better off sticking to the mall.
CHAPTER TWO
Panzina returned from lunch to find a letter slipped under the door of L’ Fragrance. She unfolded it awkwardly with one hand and shook it open as she turned the closed sign around with the other hand to read open. It shocked her when she realized it was an apology note from Mr. Trevor Grant! It actually blew her away. Never in a million years would she have expected him to be the type to openly admit when he’d made a mistake and receiving the letter of apology made her reevaluate her opinion of him. She always had been the type to forgive and forget without a moment’s hesitation. He still wouldn’t make the top of her favorite list, but at least now there was hope for all those naughty thoughts she had about him at the spa. Assuming it hadn’t been his wedding order that he had complained about, that is. Maybe it had been h
is brother’s wedding? And the woman at the spa? Well, she could have been a good friend and nothing more. These thoughts kept the pace of the day moving at an alarming speed. Before she knew it, she was right back to the front door and turning the sign around to read closed.
After checking the lock for a second time Panzina stopped by her favorite restaurant to pick up some Chinese food that she’d ordered. She, Gina, and TJ were going to an amusement park and she had volunteered to provide dinner before they left. Leaving the restaurant with her order, she carried a variety of containers to her car. She didn’t see Trevor watching her as she balanced the food precariously on her hip in order to open her door.
The group had a good time riding every ride that TJ was tall enough to ride, and Panzina even managed to win a cute, stuffed bear for him. Gina took TJ to purchase some cotton candy as Panzina tried to throw a ball into a basket to win a gigantic Daffy duck. It seemed to be impossible. After losing five dollars, she stood back to watch someone else try and to scan the crowd for Gina and TJ. She saw a familiar face among the throngs of weaving people. Who else but Trevor Grant? If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought the sexy designer was following her. She stared as he strolled past with yet another, gorgeous female draped on his arm like a fur. Panzina couldn’t stop staring at the couple for the life of her. What was it about that man that made her act so out of character? She never had a habit of staring at people before, and she hoped her infatuation would wear off eventually. If only fate would stop bringing them together in random public places.
As she continued to look, he threw back his head and roared with laughter. His companion had apparently said something that he found humorous. It must have been hilarious because he hadn’t even looked her way. Either he hadn’t seen her, or he was purposefully ignoring her. After his letter of apology, she was certain the latter could not be true.
“Was that Trevor Grant?” Gina asked guiding TJ along as he hungrily devoured his blue cotton candy without watching where he was going.
“I think so,” she murmured, knowing damn well that it had been Trevor.
“I wonder who that lady with him was. It wasn’t the same girl from the pool, but I hear he has a new one every day. He’s a regular Casanova, that one, from what I hear,” Gina remarked.
He’s single? Panzina almost blurted out but caught herself. Instead, she commented, “That figures. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
As they walked on, Panzina kept telling herself that what Gina had said about Trevor was not news. But a part of her didn’t want to believe the rumors. She wanted to get to know the real Trevor Grant and find a loophole that explained his reputation away like a feather on the wind. For some reason she felt the need to justify him to Gina and the world. She started by telling Gina about the flower shop incident as they walked. She was careful not to leave out the part about his sincere letter of apology. Somehow, Gina managed not to hear that portion of the conversation, though.
“I thought that he’d been so angry because it was his wedding order that I was supposed to have screwed up.”
“What?” Gina exclaimed in disbelief. “I would have lost my temper and told that man about himself,” she said. “You have the patience of a saint, Panzi.”
“I must admit that I felt like telling him off,” she said. “Until that day, I’ve never really noticed the man around town. Now he seems to turn up everywhere,” a tinge of annoyance mixed with a dash of secret satisfaction creeping into her tone.
“Call it luck, I guess,” Gina said and they laughed.
“What’s so funny?” TJ asked looking from one to the other, which made them laugh even harder. He quickly swiped at his face, as though he might have cotton candy stuck to his nose. When he finished, he moved right on to another subject like young children are known to do. “Let’s get on the bumper cars!” he yelled and tugged the still giggling women towards the line.
Panzina searched for Trevor but she didn’t see him again before the evening ended. So, Trevor Grant wasn’t married as she’d assumed. She didn’t know whether the news of his bachelorhood was good or bad. Her mind drifted back to the apology letter he’d left her. What if she’d been at L’Fragrance when he’d shown up? Would they have been at each other’s throats again or would sparks have ignited? She remembered how handsome he’d looked despite his anger. What she couldn’t forget was the way her body had responded to his when she’d accidentally brushed into him.
* * *
Trevor honestly didn’t know why he’d been so furious with the flower shop’s manager. Owner, he reminded himself again and mentally scolded himself for being such a chauvinist pig about the situation. To be truthful, there had been nothing wrong with the order. Only one person had turned up their nose at the floral decorations, and Trevor had expected that from her anyway. Nothing satisfied Marshayla Forbes. She operated on a different level from others, by choice.
A feeling deep inside made him want to go by the flower boutique in person and apologize to the lady for yelling at her. He drove around contemplating the idea. He wasn’t usually so belligerent and obnoxious. When he’d finally made up his mind to stop he found the closed sign on the door of the shop. Maybe the woman wouldn’t think so badly of him if he at least left a note, he thought. So he hurriedly scribbled a brief message and slid it under the door.
The next time he’d laid eyes on the girl, she’d been at the health spa’s pool with a small child. He’d briefly wondered if it was her son, and dismissed the thought quickly. She seemed no more than a child herself. When the kid had called to her and another woman, the second woman had pulled him from the pool. Trevor assumed that the other woman was the child’s mother. After that, he had left with his sister-in-law who’d been in a hurry to get off to her honeymoon with his brother. Tyler had finally tied the knot and it made Trevor proud. He’d paid for the entire wedding, had designed the bride’s wedding gown as well as the bridesmaids dresses. He’d wanted the affair to be elaborate and elegant. He’d chosen flowers for the occasion from L’Fragrance flower boutique because they’d been highly recommended from more than one of his clients.
Maybe he’d been hasty in judging the young manager. That’s another reason that he’d felt the need to apologize. Could that really be the reason or did he just want another chance to see her? He could admit that he’d experienced a slight disappointment when he’d seen the closed sign. He didn’t think that he had developed a foot fetish but for some reason he couldn’t forget a pair of midnight blue colored toes.
Trevor had briefly laid eyes on the flower lady at the Chinese restaurant and took it as a sign. If he saw her one more time, he would chalk it up to divine intervention.
At the amusement park, it startled him to see her again! The woman seemed to be everywhere since that unfortunate day that he’d lost his temper. Once again, she had turned away before he could catch her eye. It was just as well, since Geneva would have most likely gotten an attitude if he’d spoken to another woman. She always had been the jealous type. And very much a metropolitan girl. She hated fairs and didn’t believe in dressing casual. He wasn’t having fun with Geneva at all. In addition to finding fault with the entire evening, she’d come dressed in high heels and had complained about her feet aching the entire time. She didn’t enjoy the rides and thought that stuff animals and cotton candy was strictly for children. He’d long since tuned Geneva out and found himself thinking about the flower shop woman. He’d gazed around to see if he’d catch another glimpse of her. He didn’t see her again and left the park wearing a fake smile to hide his disappointment.
Another day, found him sitting in his office thinking about the woman. He’d tried to convince himself that he didn’t know why his thoughts turned to her again and again. Glancing at the clock to his left, he stood up and prepared to leave for the day.
“Mr. Grant,” his secretary’s voice came over the phone, loud and precise.
“Yes, Grace?”
“P
alm Shores Nursing Home is on line three, Sir. Do you want me to put the call through?”
“I’ll take it, Grace. Thank you.” He picked up the extension. After listening for a while his face tightened in distress. “I’ll be there immediately!” He hung up the phone and rushed from his office.
* * *
Throughout the day, Panzina’s mind had returned to her Aunt Gertie. She’d closed L’Fragrance early and had gone to see her. As she drove towards Palm Shores Nursing Home, she felt a sense of urgency. Thinking of the woman that she’d been named after, Gertrude Panzina Crumity, brought quick, stinging tears to her eyes. The last time she had seen her aunt in such a weak state had left her worried.
Aunt Gertie was the kindest soul in the world and the only kin that Panzi had left. Now that she was terminally ill….
“No,” Panzina said aloud. “I won’t think about it. She’s going to hold on for a while longer.” As she said those words, for some unknown reason she felt a need to hurry. Aunt Gertie needed her!
Panzina broke all speed limits as she raced towards her destination. An icy grip of fear had closed its fist around her heart. Something was dreadfully wrong. She felt it through the deep connection she had for her aunt. There was no explaining it. It just was what it was. And when it came to Aunt Gertie, she was usually right.
Panzina had never wanted to be so wrong in her life.
She haphazardly parked between the yellow lines of an available parking space and leapt from the car, ignoring the handicapped parking sign and the fact that she was a bit too close to the car next to her. She rushed through the double doors, concerned only for her aunt.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Mrs. Sterns said. “Gertrude is asking for you. I was just going to call.”
“Is she alright?” Panzina questioned, fearing the answer, but needing to know.
“Please, hurry! Go,” the nurse urged. Panzina needed no further prompting. She ran on autopilot to the room occupied by her aunt.