Stupid Cupid

by Liz Hunter, Aka Mennen, Phyllis Campbell

  Suddenly the lighting changed and an eerie atmosphere transformed the shop to twilight background. Tara heard raucous laughter and loud voices. “What’s happening?”

  “It sounds like a drunken brawl,” Harrison Howard said.

  “I’m not drunk! I’ll prove it to ya, jus watch.”

  “It’s okay, really.”

  “Watch Bunny.”

  “Ouch!” Tara said.

  “Ouch!” Harry-for-short said.

  “Dang Crooked Arrow!”

  Tara rubbed her left shoulder.

  Harry rubbed his right arm.

  Their glances met and held. Plump little red hearts floated before Tara’s eyes. Was this love?

  Two

  “Mommy, Mommy,” little Tiffany cried, running across the flower shop. “Did you see them? Did you see them?”

  “Did I see whom?”

  “Easter Bunny and Cupid!” Kevin interjected.

  Tara gave a doubtful glance at him, then knelt down to be on the two-year-old child’s level. “Oh, honey, remember we talked about this, about not making things up?” She couldn’t come right out and tell the children that the Easter Bunny and Cupid didn’t exist. It was like walking a tightrope with no net.

  “But we did see them! They were right over there on the wall.”

  “We did, we did!” the three other children confirmed.

  Tara looked at the wall, thinking they might have seen posters on the wall, but there weren’t any.

  It surprised her that Kevin participated in the protest. He was old enough and smart enough to know better.

  Tara had no answer for the children. Something had happened. She recalled that eerie light and the raucous laughter, and her arm still stung. She looked over her shoulder to Harry, and her heart quickened at the soft look in his eyes.

  “Something weird happened,” he confirmed, offering a hand to help her up off her knees. His touch was warm and strong, gentle and kind.

  She thought she’d die if he ever let go of her hand.

  Tiffany started crying.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” Tara said, gently wrestling her hand from Harry’s grasp. “It’s nothing to cry about.”

  “Yes it is. I couldn’t help it. I peed my pants.”

  Tara couldn’t resist laughing. Just what she needed, getting hot over a self-professed Lothario, a total stranger, temporarily responsible for the well-being of four children aged two to six … and cleaning up their messes. She pictured herself riding into the sunset with him, not necessarily on a mustang, rather ‘in’ a Mustang. She shook off the image, knowing that she’d flipped out.

  She was too realistic a person to believe in love at first sight, too independent to follow any man into the sunset. Love didn’t strike unannounced, unprepared. Love took it’s time finding the perfect mate.

  “Kevin, would you please get the carry-all out of the van?” She didn’t dare call it a diaper bag, Tiffany would go into hysterics. “Can you do that safely, Kevin?”

  “Would you like me to help him?” Harry offered.

  “No!” Kevin protested. “I can do it myself.”

  “Thanks, Mr.—” Tara couldn’t call the ‘Man of her Wildest Fantasies’ Mr. Howard. “Thanks, Harry. It’s kind of you to offer, but Kevin is very responsible for his age. I know he can handle it or I wouldn’t have asked.”

  The boy accepted the keys Tara handed over and left.

  All this time the shop owner, Glenna, had waited patiently. She took advantage of the short lull to catch Harry’s eye. “Do you have that list of women?”

  To Tara, the message came across as a pointed reminder of Harry’s fickle love life. She knew darn well that Glenna intended it as such. Tara could have kicked herself for her whimsical thoughts.

  He dug his wallet out of his back pants’ pocket and retrieved a folded sheet of paper. He seemed to hesitate before handing it over to the shop owner. “I have the list on CD, but I wasn’t sure you could import the addresses to your shop’s program.”

  “I should check into that, though it’s rare to get a dozen orders at once.”

  “Do I get a discount for volume?”

  “Sorry, but no.” She smiled to take away the sting.

  Kevin returned in short order. “Don’t even ask”

  Tara read his mind. “You remembered to lock the van.”

  He gave her a proud smile. When she looked at Harry, he was smiling, too.

  “I’ll be right back,” she announced in general, but with Harry in mind. She didn’t want to miss him if he finished his order before she changed Tiffany.

  “I’ll show you where the bathroom is,” the clerk offered.

  “Thanks, Lindsey. Erica, Kimmy, please pick up the mess in the hothouse. Kevin, you can help, too. Maybe Lindsey will lend you a dustpan and broom.”

  “Sure thing,” Lindsey said.

  “But I want to check out this computer,” Kevin protested.

  “You have one at home,” Erica said. “They’re all the same.”

  Kimmy the peacemaker spoke up. “Actually, they’re not.”

  Tara hurried away before the fur started to fly between the threesome.

  Her biggest fear was that Harry would be finished with his order and long gone by the time she changed Tiffany. Naturally they’d missed their after-school-snack. Only Kevin and Kim were in school, both one grade ahead of their age level. Erica was in preschool mornings only, and Tiffany home all day, Tara had planned to have their snack after the stop at the florist. Unfortunately, they’d been much longer than she’d anticipated, and the kids simply got grumpy, even sometimes unruly, when they missed their snack. Now Tiffany was whiny and uncooperative while Tara attempted to change her niece’s panties.

  “Honey, the sooner we finish, the sooner you get a snack. Remember the juicy oranges we got at the grocery store this morning?”

  “Want candy.”

  “Candy isn’t good for you. Maybe I have raisins in my purse.”

  “Don’t want raisins.”

  “Okay, I’ll give them to Kevin. He’s always hungry.”

  “No! Tiffy raisins!”

  “Tiffany, stop jiggling so I can get you changed.” Tara dug through her purse, finally locating the little red box, and ripped the top off. “Here.”

  “Don’t want raisins.” Tiffany threw the box. The treat scattered across the tile floor. “I want my daddy.”

  Tara wanted to swat the kid for her bratty behavior, but she realized the child was overtired and overly hungry. She might also be coming down with the virus Kimmy had a few days ago. Tara gathered the raisins up and threw the box in the trash. She hoped she got them all so the next customer wouldn’t mistake a raisin for a bug.

  Finally finished with the chore of changing the two-year-old, Tara scooped her up in her arms and carried her out of the bathroom. Tiffany cuddled her head into the crook of Tara’s neck. She’d be asleep in minutes. Tara peered around the corner, afraid Harry would have left already, and her heart jumped when she saw him still at the register. She ducked her head so he wouldn’t know she cared.

  Harry spotted them the instant Tara came through the hallway. A big grin lit his gorgeous face. For Tara, the sun came out on this cloudy day.

  Glenna noticed, and she shot mental darts at Tara.

  Shaking her head and wondering if she could offer an apology, Tara called the children to her side. “Ready to go?”

  “I’ll help you out,” Lindsey offered.

  “No need,” Harry said. “I’ll help.”

  “But we’re not finished,” Glenna protested.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  So he plans to string both of us along, Tara thought.

  He looked directly at Tara. “I need to wait around to finish the orders so I can pay for them.”

  Sun broke out of the clouds, lightening her mood, providing hope that this connection with the stranger was not only real, but mutual.

  Harry offered to help Ke
vin load the four sizable plants in the back of the van while Tara belted the girls into their seats. Money apparently wasn’t an issue, Harry decided, since she drove a new and very expensive model. Once they were finished and Kevin climbed into the vehicle, Harry shut the door and cornered Tara between the side of the van and his body. Her eyes widened in reaction to his touch.

  “How come you’re not in the Caribbean with your husband?”

  “How’d you know about the Caribbean?”

  “You don’t wear a wedding ring, so I asked Glenna. All she knew was that you sent flowers to the kids’ fathers in the Caribbean.”

  “You cared enough to ask about my marital status?” A pleased little smile touched her lips briefly. “I’m not married.”

  “Have dinner with me.”

  “I’ll never find a sitter on such short notice.”

  “Won’t you even try?”

  “I know for sure that there’s a play at the high school and everyone in the neighborhood will be there, either as a cast member or to see the performance. It’s sold-out.”

  He leaned closer making sure she could feel his heat. She wore a subtle come-hither scent that intoxicated his senses. “I’m supposed to go back to Indianapolis for the weekend.”

  “Tomorrow already?”

  “Tonight. That’s my home base,” he told her. “I always go home for the weekend.”

  “Oh, yeah. I remember you mentioning that to Glenna. Are you married? I mean, I know you have all these girls on the string, but do you also have a wife and kids back home?”

  He shook his head emphatically. “Never been married. I doubt I ever will.”

  “But it’ll be three months before you come back to this area…”

  “I could make an exception in your case.” He leaned down and caught her earlobe between his teeth, touching his warm tongue to her cold skin. Her eyelids slipped closed and he knew he was getting to her.

  She jumped away. “Don’t, Harry. The kids might see you. Go back to your harem. I’m not interested.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you.”

  “Yes, you shouldn’t have. If I found out you lied, I’d be even madder. I might have been tempted otherwise, but I could never live like that, seeing someone for a week four times a year. I’d never share a man with even one other woman, let along eleven.”

  “You’ve never tried it.”

  Briefly, she looked at him as if he tempted her. “Oh, but you don’t have any vacancies, based on the Valentine’s Day orders.”

  “Give me some time. I can juggle things around. Just come to dinner with me right now. We need to get to know each other first, to see if we even fit.” She shook her head, and he leaned against her. “Feel what you do to me.” He captured her hand and showed her exactly how much he wanted her. “How can you doubt my feelings?”

  She removed her hand the instant he let her and he gave an inward sigh. So she was playing coy. One thing about a woman with four children, she must know her way around a bed. She’d surely thaw for him in good time.

  None of his dozen regulars had kids. He shouldn’t even consider involving himself with someone like her. He was used to his women’s total attention during whatever week they were together. Hell, other couples with kids dated. That’s what baby-sitters were for. Yet he played devil’s advocate. “What if we just walk away and forget we ever met? I think I’ll feel lost if I never see you again.”

  She pushed him away. “You can’t have it both ways with me.” Inside the van the kids were getting impatient, stamping their feet on the floor and whining for her to hurry up. Much longer and Kevin would surely come to her rescue. “I have to go.”

  “You can’t just walk away now that we’ve found each other. Just have dinner with me.”

  “We’ve been through this. I don’t have a sitter.”

  “Then bring the kids.” He watched her pretty green eyes widen in surprise.

  “You’re not serious.” She stared at him, her mouth open in obvious shock.

  He was in shock himself for making the offer. What had taken possession of his faculties? “I am. Totally. I think there must be something wrong with me.”

  That brought a smile to her face.

  She wasn’t beautiful, not in the Hollywood sense, but pretty in a wholesome way. Blonde highlights lightened her dark, chin-length hair. Even though she wore a coat, it was of fine leather and he could tell that she was slender but not curvy. She had the body of a gymnast, fit and muscular … athletic. The thought triggered a smile. He’d like to see the athletics they would do together in bed.

  “I’ll go sign for the credit card charges and be right back. Give me the keys so I know you won’t sneak away.”

  “I won’t sneak away.”

  He was halfway to the shop’s door when she called out to him. “Harry? We can’t go to dinner.”

  His heart sank. “Why not?”

  “It’s only three-thirty.”

  “Well, shit,” he said under his breath. Out loud, he told her, “We’ll go to a movie instead.”

  By the time he returned, she came up with another excuse. “I’m afraid the plants will freeze. They’re so healthy and gorgeous; I’d hate to chance it.”

  “How far away do you live?”

  “Five minutes, maybe.”

  “I’ll follow you.”

  She hesitated and briefly he thought she might refuse to allow him to know her home address. He could be another Ted Bundy for all she knew, but he put on his most winning smile to convince her he meant no harm.

  She led him to a high-priced subdivision just east of the shopping plaza, and when she first pulled into the driveway of a huge brick two story, he was sure she must be just turning around. To his surprise, the double garage door opened and she pulled the van inside. He parked his Audi A8 n the middle of the drive and turned the ignition off. A separate garage door gave access to a third stall. He stepped inside before the door slid shut. Once inside the garage, he saw a new BMW parked in the next stall. A sleek power boat occupied the third space. As comfortable as she seemed with the finer things in life, he marveled that she wasn’t impressed with his $100,000 car.

  He helped her wrestle the plants into the laundry room. A young St. Bernard greeted them with lots of tail wagging.

  “What’s your name, Buddy?”

  “Baraboo,” Tara said in a deep voice, as if the dog were answering.

  “That’s different.”

  “Yeah, it’s a town in Wisconsin,” Tara said. “We were all up in the Dells a couple summers ago, and the kids spotted that name and teased each other nonstop. Bar-a-BOO! So when the pup came along last summer, they all had the perfect name.”

  Harry looked around, glancing into the huge kitchen. “Nice place,” he commented, hoping she’d offer to show him around.

  She didn’t. “Thanks. The plants will be fine here for now until I decide where to put them. Probably the sun porch.”

  “You sure you can lift them?” His question gave him the excuse to study her figure, though she still wore the leather coat. His perusal made her aware of him, though, and that had been his intent.

  She stiffened. “We better go if we want to catch the four o’clock show. I already told the kids on the way home, so we can’t back out … just in case you changed your mind.”

  “I haven’t changed my mind. Should I just leave my car here and ride with you in the van?”

  She stared at him for an instant and then shook her head. “You can follow me.”

  She didn’t trust him totally, he figured, or she would have handed over the keys, but trust would come in time. All the way to the movie theater, he obsessed about her, or more accurately, about her sexual delights. He couldn’t wait to get her into bed. With that gymnast’s figure, she’d surely be … active in certain sports.

  Why did she appeal to him so forcefully? She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous like Phyllis. She wasn’t outgoing like Bobbie, or outrageous like Sybil. He never c
omplicated his affairs with children or conscience or scruples. He lived from day to day, taking one thing at a time. No complications. No rules.

  She must live with somebody already in that big house. Otherwise why the BMW and the boat? She couldn’t afford that size place with the kids all on her own. All the clues warned him to stay away, that she was sure to ruin his lifestyle. His present life was perfect. Keeping a dozen women happy enabled his need for diversity. She must be getting hoards of alimony and child support.

  Three

  Harry surprised Tara by adjusting to a family outing, even though he wasn’t a family man. He bought popcorn and soda for all six of them and let the children choose the movie, a rollicking adventure with lots of laughs. Instead of having the two adults at opposite ends with the four children in between, as she suggested, Harry maneuvered the two adults into the middle with two children on opposite ends. He had the two older kids, Kevin and Kim, while Tiffany and Erica sat on the far side of Tara.

  Not that Tara could concentrate on the children or the movie, even thought she tried to watch the movie. Her whole attention was centered on the hunk of man next to her. Every time she snuck a look at him, he was watching her. He couldn’t have seen enough of the action to know the basic plot. If the kids weren’t around, he probably would have tried something, but he seemed content with holding her hand.

  Before long, Tiffany crawled into Tara’s lap and fell asleep. Tara worried again that she might be coming down with something. Guilt crept up on her. She should have refused Harry’s offer of a movie, but she couldn’t say no. She had an irresistible compulsion to be with him, despite the fact that she didn’t respect his lifestyle or values.

  With Tiffany in her lap, she couldn’t handle her container of popcorn. Erica had moved over next to Tara once Tiffany fell asleep in Tara’s lap. Her popcorn sat on the floor under her seat, but when she tried to grab it, the container tipped over, spilling the contents. The tsk of her tongue caught Harry’s attention.

  Instead of offering his container, he picked out a few fat kernels and fed her, the tips of his fingers lingering on her lips. She touched her tongue to her lips, knowing he watched her every move. Her mouth was so dry with thirst for him, she could barely swallow. He offered more popcorn, but the next time she swallowed, he slipped his buttery finger in her mouth and stroked her tongue to clean the butter off. She automatically sucked his finger.