by Ju Ephraime
“Do you have your phone on you?” he asked Foxx.
“Why, you mean you don’t have a phone? Hmm. What happened to the cute pink one you were just playing with?” Foxx asked, with a grin.
“You know, Foxx, I would've thought being a married man would change you, but you’re still just as daft as ever.”
“Why would being married change me? My wife is happy with me just as I am.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to hear it. Since you are all up-to-date with my business, you must know I wasn’t able to access the phone. Just lend me yours.”
“Okay, since you asked so nicely, here,” he said, handing Raymond his cell.
After taking the phone from Foxx, he dialed his own number and prayed the woman would answer it. He had to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she’d picked up his coat in error.
The phone rang six times. He had ten rings on his phone before it went into voice mail. If it went into voice mail, he wouldn’t leave a message because she wouldn’t be able to retrieve it anyway, without his passcode.
Just as he was about to hang up, the phone was answered. “Hello.” The voice was sultry, suggesting things to him that had his body tightening. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat before answering.
“Parlez-vous anglais?”
“Oui. Yes, yes,” she said, with a soft laugh in that voice. “Raymond, oui?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s Ray. We have a problem. We’ve somehow ended up with each other’s phones.”
“I know. I realized that when I went to use mine, but I had no way of contacting you because I was on a flight to St. Barth. I only landed ten minutes ago. Where are you? I need my phone desperately; all my contacts are in there.”
“I too just landed. I’m at home in Martinique. I have a lot of personal items in my coat that I need very urgently,” he told her.
“My, what a fine kettle of fish. I have a meeting scheduled in the morning, but I’ll try to be on the first available flight to Martinique.”
“You don’t have to interrupt your work. I’ll come to you,” he told her. “After all, I’m on vacation.”
“Not a problem, it’s the least I can do.”
They went back and forth with this until she finally confessed she had always wanted to visit Martinique. Who was he to argue with that?
They left off with her promising to call him when she’d finalized her plans for flying in, the next day.
Raymond rubbed his hands together. He always got a tingling in the middle of his hands any time he was excited, and, boy, was he excited. He didn’t know what to do with himself. No woman should be allowed to sound like that. It was a weapon against unsuspecting men, such as himself. His problem was further compounded by the fact that he knew she looked even better than she sounded. That, and the dream he had about her during the flight, had him fighting to regain control so he could return his brother’s phone to him. Foxx had better not say one silly thing to him. He was not in the mood.
How could this woman have such an effect on him? It’s not as if he hadn’t had sex in a while, far from it. He had spent the night before in bed with Ame. He’d not left her bed until he was forced to leave if he wanted to make his flight; hence the reason he was rushing as he had been. But after talking to this woman, whose name he realized he’d forgotten to ask, he felt like a horny toad, with the blood pooling in his groin.
When he thought about it, he’d acted like a besotted fool with her. The fact that she’d called him by name had thrown him off and prevented him from asking her name. What a moron he’d been.
“You okay, Ray?” Foxx asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“So, what’s the verdict about your stuff from this woman?” Wolfe asked.
“She promised to return my things tomorrow. So I’ll be meeting her when she calls back. She said she’ll call her phone. You know, I forgot to tell her I will not be able to answer her phone because it’s locked.”
“You forgot to tell her a lot of things,” Wolfe told him, sounding annoyed.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s look at the facts, Ray. A strange woman shared a cab with you. Somehow, she ended switching coats with you, without your knowledge. A coat that had all your money, credit cards, as well as your wallet, which contained your address. This same strange woman answers your phone and offers to return your stuff. She knows your name and everything about you because she has your wallet. You, on the other hand, know nothing about her, not even her name.”
Leave it to Wolfe to cut to the heart of the matter.
“When you put it like that, it does sound fishy,” he admitted.
“Sounds fishy? It reeks!” Foxx said, adding his two pennyworth.
“Have you searched her coat? For all you know, she could have been using you to smuggle drugs into the country,” Wolfe commented.
“Stop it, guys! Stop the car so I can get the coat out of the trunk,” he demanded. He was beginning to see red.
He was upset with himself for not thinking the way Wolfe was thinking, because he could be right. He’d punch himself if he found anything incriminating in the coat.
“Why can’t you wait until you get to Maman’s?” Wolfe asked.
“I’m not waiting 'til then. Please pull over now. I’m not taking the coat to Maman’s until I’m certain it’s safe. Now that you've got me questioning my judgment, I need to ensure the coat is safe. It’s either that, or I leave it in your car for you and Daphne to deal with it.”
“Now that you've brought my wife into this, I’ll pull over at the next rest stop, d'accord.”
Chapter Four
Raymond was pissed. So far as he was concerned, Wolfe couldn’t get to the rest stop fast enough, but under his breath, he was sending up a silent prayer that he found nothing incriminating in the woman’s coat.
True to his word, Wolfe pulled over at the rest stop, and all three of them got out. As soon as the trunk was opened, the woman’s scent had filled the trunk of the car. She must wear an awful lot of that scent for it to be so strong in her coat. He found himself drawing a mental picture of her, the way he remembered her in the cab. He didn’t look at either of his brothers but took the coat and placed it on the top of the closed trunk.
He felt ridiculous, his two brothers, one on either side like detectives, observing his every move.
“Ce parfum est puissant. This fragrance is powerful, Ray.”
“Who’re you telling?” he responded, trying to appear busy going through the pockets. He’d his own personal experience with that scent. After he’d gone through all three pockets, two outside and one on the inside, he turned to Wolfe with a wide grin on his face. He was surprised to see Wolfe wasn’t laughing, and neither was Foxx.
“What’s up, you guys?”
“Do you want to tell him, Foxx, or should I?”
“Tell me what?” he all but shouted.
“Haven't you seen CSI: Miami?You've got to go through the lining,” Foxx told him.
“There’s no way I’m ripping the woman’s coat apart just to satisfy whatever devil you two have got riding your backs.”
“If you don’t want to, I’ll do it for you,” Wolfe offered. One glance at his face told Ray his brother was dead serious. Knowing the kind of temper Wolfe had, he quickly acquiesced.
Between the three of them, they went through every square inch of the coat and, in the end, they found nothing. After it was all done, both Wolfe and Foxx had sheepish looks about them. He, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get away from them, for a while at least. He’d forgotten how mischievous and manipulating they were. As twins, they communicated with each other without words, and somehow they knew what the other one was thinking without any visible sign to anyone else. He’d been sitting in the front seat next to Wolfe, yet somehow he and Foxx had been thinking the same thing about the woman all along, and nothing had been said before they’d both attacked him. This was ridiculous.
&nb
sp; *****
After they got back on the road, the drive was completed in less time than he expected. This told him that Wolfe had been driving at a certain speed to delay getting to their parents’ home. Now that they’d established nothing was amiss with the coat, he drove at the speed Ray was accustomed to: eighty to ninety miles per hour. He was never so glad to see the familiar grounds of his parents’ home, which was a large, sprawling number that had a spacious open-plan living area and a large well-equipped kitchen. The five bedrooms were served by four bathrooms. The lower-level rooms consisted of a large pavilion, a ballroom without walls, its huge domed ceiling held up by Roman columns and fine netting to keep out the flying insects. All this opened onto the large swimming pool that took up most of the backyard. This was indeed too much house for his parents, although his maman used any and every excuse to throw a party, like she was doing now to welcome him home.
The house was ablaze with light. Trust his maman to broadcast his arrival to the entire neighborhood. He knew he was not going to get a wink of sleep unless he went back to Wolfe’s house. He wasn’t going to deprive her of her excuse to party, but he would make his escape as soon as he could.
He felt like the prodigal son walking into his parents’ home. They had definitely pulled out the fatted calf. There were people everywhere. Some he had not seen since he was a kid. His maman knew how to throw a party.
Taking a deep breath, he walked into the home, and was immediately set upon by his mother, who was hugging and kissing, introducing him to everyone within shouting distance of her voice.
“Bonjour maman. It’s good to be home.
“Je vous ai manqué mon fils. I missed you my son.”
“I missed you too, my son. How was your flight?”
“It was fine, long, but fine. I’m tired and won’t be staying for the party. I hope you don’t mind.”
“You must go say hello to your family, they're here to see you.”
“I will maman. Où est papa. Where’s papa?”
“Your dad is somewhere about. Are you going to have some dinner?”
“I’ll fix a plate to take with me to Wolfe’s. I’ll be back tomorrow, tell dad.”
He was really too tired after the long flight for a party, but he couldn’t tell his maman this, so he had to suck it up and pretend to be having a great time, which, for the most part, he would be. Most of the people were old friends, so it was a pleasure to see them, especially some of his old girlfriends. His maman had made a point to invite them. She was also, at heart, a matchmaker, even if she’d had no luck with either Wolfe or Foxx. With his eldest brother, Brian, there was too wide an age gap. He had nothing in common with him. He didn’t know what his maman had done back then, but if Wolfe and Foxx were to be believed, Brian’s marriage had been a fix-up by his maman. They didn’t have a great relationship, not that he was blaming his maman. He believed Brian was a control freak who controlled his wife and kid. Sometimes, he wondered about Brian, but the three of them—he, Wolfe, and Foxx—didn’t interact much with Brian and his family, which was unfortunate because he believed his wife could use their support. She was mostly ignored by her husband. But since Brian was eleven years older than Wolfe and Foxx, and fifteen years older than him, no way was Ray getting involved in his eldest brother’s relationship with his family. A certain degree of respect for his elders had been ingrained in him from as far back as he could remember.
Meeting Brian and his wife was no different than any of the other times he’d been in the company of his brother. It was “Yes, Brian. No, Brian”, not the love and camaraderie he got and received from Wolfe, Foxx, and his sister, Franchesca.
Franchesca was the only member of his immediate family not present at the party. She was still in Paris working and going to school. He, on the other hand, was done with school. He was very satisfied with his Master’s. He was not cut out to be in school for one minute longer. The confinement of the classroom had been his undoing. He didn’t mind the schoolwork, but sitting for hours in a classroom would’ve driven him insane had he remained in school one more semester. He was so happy to be home among his people and everything familiar that he would enjoy the party for a little while.
He was pleased to see Wolfe’s Daphne and their new baby. Foxx’s wife, Thérèse, was there, also in the family way, as they were expecting their first child in a couple months, and everyone was excited about it. After seeing the way Foxx was with his wife, even Ray was excited. It was obvious both Wolfe and Foxx had met and married the loves of their lives. Wolfe had met and married Daphne before Foxx had married Thérèse, even though Foxx had met Thérèse a couple of years before. She had left and returned to her home in England. Foxx had suffered a terrible broken heart when she’d left, so when she’d returned, he’d wasted no time in marrying her.
*****
About two hours into the party, Wolfe came up to inform him that he was taking Daphne home, and if he wanted to make good on his escape plan, now was as good a time as any. How could he resist such temptation? He’d no willpower when it came to going against authority. He knew his maman et papa would be disappointed in him, but they’d get over it.
He walked outside ahead of Wolfe to the end of the drive. For all his bravado, he preferred to avoid his parents seeing him leave with Wolfe.
He was standing in the dark, trying to be as inconspicuous as he could possibly make himself, when he saw two people caught up in a passionate embrace. He couldn’t be certain, but he could have sworn the man had on a shirt similar to the one Brian was wearing. He tried to look, but he didn’t want them to think he was spying on them. However, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that it was Brian making out with some woman, who was not his wife.
He had seen her sitting in a corner by the pool when he walked out of the party. The only reason he’d seen her was because he was trying to sneak out. No one was supposed to be in the pool area. Although she wasn’t in the pool, being alone out there when everyone was inside having a good time would not sit well with his maman. His parents frowned on drinking and getting into the pool. His maman was convinced people could drown if they were intoxicated, but he didn’t believe that was her only reason. She was more petrified someone would have an accident in her precious pool.
Anyway, he could not worry about who was or wasn’t necking in the bushes. He could hear the engine purr of Wolfe’s Benz. That was the other thing he needed, a vehicle. He knew there was an extra vehicle in his parents’ garage, but he wanted his own ride. That was the first thing on his agenda, the minute he got his belongings back from his cab companion.
He hoped she called him soon with her flight plans. He would use Wolfe’s phone to call her when he got to the house. He didn’t want to talk with her while Daphne was in the vehicle with them. He just didn’t want to have to repeat the story to her.
Making as little noise as he could, he walked to Wolfe’s vehicle and got into the back. He must have been more tired than he knew because, no sooner had he leaned his head back, he was asleep. He had no idea how long Wolfe and Daphne continued talking about the nanny who was working with them. Daphne runs her business from home so that she could be there with the baby, but she needed help sometimes, especially now that she was once again in the family way. Wolfe had remodeled their home to include an office for her import/export business.
He liked what Wolfe and Daphne had done to their house. They were working on it when he was here for their wedding. Now it was much different from what it had been when Wolfe was residing there as a single bachelor. He’d liked Wolfe’s house at the time. It was like no other house he’d ever been in, with an elevator that opened directly into the living room. The décor was cool and relaxing. Daphne had put her personal touch on the place, but she’d kept a lot of the pieces that Wolfe had bought for the place before. The state-of-the-art kitchen was a chef’s dream. Wolfe was a master chef. As a matter of fact, both Foxx and Wolfe were master chefs, but Wolfe was the
better of the two. Wolfe’s restaurant drew a larger crowd than Foxx’s, not only because of the location but because he changed his menu every week. This was a dream come true for the frequent customer.
The smooth noise the vehicle made against the asphalt on the highway lured him into sleep, and he wasn’t aware for how long he’d dozed off. When he heard the phone in his pocket ringing, he retrieved the phone but then realized he couldn’t answer it. So he put it back into his pocket and settled back down to enjoy the ride.
Chapter Five
Walking into the home, he went into the family room, as Wolfe put some coffee on. Daphne checked up on the baby and came in to spend some time getting up to speed on how things were going with her business.
He enjoyed talking with Daphne. She was a highly intelligent woman and could figure most problems out without going to Wolfe with them. When she’d first met Wolfe, her French had been very limited and her Créole non-existent, but now, he was impressed by the way she switched from Créole to French and back to English without missing a beat. However, he could tell she was much more comfortable speaking English because that was her native language. He had to concede that Daphne was good for his brother. They appeared to be just as hot for each other as when he’d first met her at their wedding. They were giving each other the eye as she sat on his lap. He would be retiring early tonight.
“Bonsoir, mes amis. I’ll be going to bed now, and, Wolfe, schedule me for a meeting tomorrow.”
“You’ve got it, bro,” he said, giving him a wink.
“Now, wait a minute, bro? You are too much, Wolfe, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I am, aren’t I? Daphne is forever telling me how much I’m too much. Isn’t this true, ma chérie?”
“Ô oui, cher,” she answered him and then gave him a kiss on the lips.