by Ali Vali
“I’m not saying that’s not what I want.”
“Sam…Chili,” Huey said, loud enough from where Carla and Rooster were standing to interrupt them. “Is there a problem?” he asked as he joined them.
“Sam was giving me an update on something I asked her to do and didn’t want to be overheard with all this press around. Is something going on inside?” Chili asked, ready to walk away.
“No.” Huey glanced between them as if not knowing what to say next. “It just looks bad that you’re over here ignoring our clients.”
“We’re done,” she said, and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Her curiosity about Sam was taking her back to her high-school days when she had to skulk around to spend time with her girlfriend. Back then it was the same issue of unaccepting parents. She hadn’t cared for it then, and it was starting to get to her now. “Was there anything else, Sam?”
“There’s a little more, but it can wait until we get back to the office. Come on, Daddy. Let’s make sure our clients find their seats without getting lost or developing a personality disorder from our rudeness.” Sam grabbed Huey’s bicep and dragged him away as she glanced back at Chili.
“I’m not telling you your business, Chili, but be careful how you go about this. There’s nothing worse in this world than an overprotective angry daddy,” Rooster said as Carla lifted their joined hands and kissed his knuckles.
“He should know. The first time I brought him home to meet mine, it made me glad he’s still so spry,” Carla said, and laughed as Rooster joined in. “But he’s right. Don’t do this unless you’re serious about where you’re going. Considering who it is, don’t try for the Sunday drive only to forget how to drive the next day. Understand?”
“For once I’m not sure what I’m doing, so thanks for the advice.”
“That’s actually a step in the right direction when it comes to you. From what I’ve seen since we’ve met, you usually drive at warp speed, and your brakes come on just as fast,” Carla said as they finally reached the sign-in desk.
“Enough of the driving analogies. Let’s get in there.”
Once everyone sat down, Chili almost choked on her iced tea when Billy Fudge walked to the microphone and asked everyone to lower their head in prayer. Granted, the Lord was the definition of forgiveness, but the general public took a few months to forget, much less forgive when you were spending their tax dollars on hookers. The first heckler who screamed, “Are you kidding me” was sitting somewhere in the middle of the large, cavernous room, and it prompted the others who were just as disgusted to yell out their frustration.
“Please, everyone, I’m trying to bless our meal,” Billy said, and Chili couldn’t help but laugh when a shower of salad that was already on the table fell on Fudge as he called for calm. In all her years of attending events like this, it was the first time she’d ever been witness to a one-sided food fight.
All hell broke loose after that, and the bread and dessert followed until the state police present had to escort the senator out. Sophie and her crew, as well as Maria and hers, were in great position to film him covering his head to keep from getting hit with anything else as he ran for the exit. His suit and his head were dripping with a mixture of chocolate cake, butter, and the hot bacon dressing the spinach salad was drenched in.
The president and executive director of the chamber were at the podium waving their hands for quiet and decorum. “What in the hell was that?” Rooster said as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
“A warning to you to not hire any prostitutes when you get elected. I’ll be right back, so don’t do anything to turn the mob against you.” The staff was busy resetting the room, so Chili took the opportunity to step back outside but stopped to talk to Sophie when Sophie called her name. “I’m sure you got all you needed to make the story all you want it to be, so I’ve got nothing to add.”
“You don’t need to comment. I just wanted you to stop,” Sophie said as she glanced over Chili’s shoulder at something. “I’m going to have to skip dinner tonight so try to find something else to occupy yourself with. Maybe later on this week we can reschedule, but my sweetie’s coming in tonight to set up a series on Fudge. It’ll consist of a few segments with the slant on what’s wrong with American politics, with him as the poster boy.”
“Since you were looking forward to good seafood, go ahead and use our reservations at GW Fins tonight. It’s a good place to romance someone, so good luck.” She kept walking and glanced back before stepping into the lobby. From Sam’s expression, Huey had taken the opportunity to tell her exactly what kind of relationship she and Sophie had shared. “Sure he did, since it’ll be one more thing that’ll make this harder than it has to be,” she murmured to herself.
*
“God, I’m an idiot,” Sam said loudly in the comfort of her car. Her father had almost gleefully told her about the hot times Chili had shared with Sophie Grossman and that it had ended only because of Sophie’s promotion. From the way the news slut was eyeing Chili, she had more than an interview in mind, and Chili had stood there like a horn dog nodding like she couldn’t wait.
Sam arrived at her town house in uptown area and hit the steering wheel with her fist after she turned the ignition off. Chili hadn’t come back to the office after the luncheon; Sam had waited until after three, then finally given up and gone home. “What the hell was I thinking?” she asked herself. “Being in any kind of relationship with her isn’t like waiting for the other shoe to drop on a constant basis. It’s like being clubbed half to death with the shoe every day.”
The man tapping on her window scared her enough to scream. “Are you Samantha Pellegrin?” he asked, holding a large bouquet in the crook of his other arm.
“Yes,” she said, not lowering her window or opening her door. He appeared harmless enough, but she didn’t want to be the first gullible person to be mugged by a guy pretending to deliver flowers. It was way before Lent, but she was giving up gullibility this year instead of chocolate, like her grandmother always hinted at.
He held up the card that came with the flowers and pointed out his delivery truck as if to convince her he wasn’t there to rob her blind. “If you lower your window a little I’ll give you this.” He tapped the note on the window this time.
She did and reached for the card that had her name written outside in handwriting she recognized. It was surprising how fast she could lose her anger.
You probably missed it on the national news, but Sophie Grossman is engaged to one of her producers and is blissfully happy. Granted, we were close at one time, but I’m happy for her and wish her the best. These flowers, though, are not to announce Sophie’s good fortune, but just a way to let you know I was thinking about you. If that freaks you out a little, then I’ll send flowers to everyone else in the office to express what a good job I think you’re all doing and you simply got yours first.
Chili
She grabbed a bill from her wallet before opening the door and apologized for keeping the guy waiting. “How many are in that?” she asked, pointing to the arrangement as he followed her upstairs after insisting she keep her money and carrying them for her. Chili had sent the flowers and had given him a healthy tip, he’d told her.
“Three dozen pink roses,” he said, and stood outside her door until she invited him in and patted the spot where he could put them down. “Can I ask a question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Sure,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“Are you in any way related to Chili?” The guy put the arrangement down and made sure every flower was perfect. It was a humorous sight since he resembled a grizzly bear.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“In all the time she’s done business with us, she’s only ordered these, albeit in smaller numbers, for three other women.”
She snorted and stared at the guy, wondering if he had some kind of grudge against Chili. “Aren’t you messi
ng up her game by sharing that with me? If she’s been a longtime customer that’s kind of rude, even if I appreciate the heads-up.”
“I doubt she wants to date her two grandmothers and her mother, ma’am. That’s why I asked. You’re the first person I’ve ever delivered to that’s not related to her.”
“Good to know, and thanks for carrying that up for me.”
As soon as she’d locked the door behind the guy, she kicked her shoes off and stretched her toes. When she removed her hose, she made sure her toes were still as perfect as when she’d left the pedicurist that morning and wondered if the new color would be as interesting to Chili as the other one was. It was still in the red family, but she’d gone a little darker this time.
“Thank you for the lovely surprise today,” she said after Chili’s message had played. “Totally unnecessary, but they’re beautiful.”
She was disappointed Chili hadn’t picked up, but after what had happened at lunch she was probably stuck in meetings with both Virgil and Rooster. From the crowd’s reaction when Rooster stood up to deliver his endorsement of Virgil, the business people of New Orleans were ready for change when it came to their senator. That was great for Rooster, but Chili had left without saying good-bye, so that wasn’t so great for her. But Chili had sent flowers, which had to mean something. “Maybe Sophie wasn’t available so she’s hedging her bets.”
The phone in her hand rang, startling her so much that she dropped it. She took a deep breath before answering, thinking it was Chili returning her call. “Did you get home without food on your clothing?” Maria asked.
“Did you?”
“I’m sending Fudge my dry-cleaning bill for the sprinkling of salad dressing all over my suit. It was worth it, though, to see that pompous ass covered in such a public display of disapproval.” Maria laughed, but Sam still heard people in the background. “Chili should be thrilled with Sophie’s plan to expose Billy for the jerk he is with a series of stories about what happened. She asked me to help out and said she’d include me in the national coverage.”
“That’s great, I’m happy for you. Did you know they were a couple?”
“If you’re talking about Chili and Sophie, yes, but that’s been a while ago, and it ended with them remaining friends.”
“That’s not what my father told me.” She was whining but didn’t mind showing off her insecurities to Maria.
“Remember, Huey’s also the man who planted a big red flag in the center of Chili’s forehead as a warning to stay away from her, which in this day and age is kind of feudal-lord thinking. If you want the real scoop on Chili History 101 you can ask me. I don’t have any vested interest here other than seeing my pal happy.” Maria went on to tell her what had happened, which meant Sophie had stopped Chili earlier just to screw with her. Chili’s expression when she’d turned around and looked at Sam was a sure bet Chili knew she’d fallen for Sophie’s mind games. It showed a total lack of trust on her part when it came to Chili, and Chili hadn’t really done anything to deserve that.
“Guess what I got today?” She ran her finger tip over one of the blossoms and wondered if Chili was sorry she’d sent them.
“A case of rotten fish. From the funk you sound like you’re in, that’s my best guess.”
“Chili sent me flowers.”
“Really,” Maria said, and paused. “How many and what color?”
“Three dozen pink roses. Why, is there some hidden message I should know about?” She walked to her bedroom and started undressing.
“It screams ‘I’m interested,’ from what I can tell, so you’re in a good position if you really do like her. That part hasn’t changed, has it?”
“No, but I keep remembering what you said about her leaving if it doesn’t work out.”
“Don’t blame not wanting to try on me, Sam.” Maria moved to somewhere quieter. “Why not try, and if it doesn’t work out promise to have sex with her every so often if she agrees to still work for you. That should be benefit enough to stay.”
“You’re disgusting,” she said, but still laughed as something hit her bedroom window. She ignored it, thinking it was a falling acorn from the tree outside that had gotten caught in the wind.
“It’s better than giving her a raise, and it’ll relax both of you, so what’s disgusting about that?”
Something else hit the window so she went to investigate. “Oh my God,” she said slowly.
“What?” Maria asked with alarm.
“I’ll have to call you back.” She hung up even though Maria was yelling at her not to. “I’m not in mortal danger,” she said when Maria called back, “but I really do need to go.”
“Hot date?” Maria said, and laughed.
“Not yet, but I’m hoping.”
Chapter Ten
“You’re sure, right?”
“Sí, señora. We practiced since last night so we’ll do our best.”
Chili tried to ignore the slowing cars and pedestrians who’d stopped when they saw the ten-piece mariachi band she’d found to kick-start her social life. It only took a few more hundred-dollar bills to get their boss to take her seriously and learn a Billy Joel song overnight. When she finally wrote her memoirs, this was certainly getting its own chapter.
“She’s still up there, right?” she asked the flower-delivery guy.
“I stayed like you asked, and she hasn’t come down since I took the flowers up. If she’s trying to avoid you I can’t vouch that she didn’t run out the back door when I wasn’t looking.”
“All right, smart-ass,” she said as she scoured the ground for small pebbles.
“Here, since I’m guessing you’re looking for rocks that are outside your head,” the guy said with a smile, and dropped a handful of acorns in her palm. “You need to move farther north if you want to recreate one of those movie scenes. Also start praying she’s not filling up some big pot of water to drench you with. If those guys get those pretty outfits wet they’re going to beat the crap out of you.”
“I’m so glad I invited you along for the moral support.” She took a deep breath and started tossing the acorns toward the window the guy had pointed out was Sam’s. No way could she break the pane with an acorn so she put some heat into her swing. It took only two for the blinds to part a little, but Sam didn’t open the window. “You’re sure she was alone?” If she looked out her window and saw this spectacle there’d have been more action than Sam had showed so far, unless Sam had company.
“Yep, and she loved the flowers. I’m taking off so I don’t make you nervous. My job here is done.”
When the blinds went up a few minutes later and Sam opened the window, Chili saw she was wearing a robe. She’d probably been undressed or in her pajamas. That was a relief. “You guys ready?”
The guitarists went first and were soon joined by the trumpet players, and she was surprised to recognize the melody with a distinctive Spanish flair. But the guy in charge didn’t know the words, so she took a deep breath and started singing. It was definitely not one of her talents, but Sam wanted the whole package and that’s what she was getting, bad vocals and all.
She got through to the end, having memorized the words, and Sam clapped as she bowed. “I suppose you’ll want to come up now,” Sam said as the band started another song a little quieter than the first. There was a crowd around Chili now, their gazes going from her to Sam as if they were at a tennis match where one of the players was on the second floor. Having so many witnesses would add new meaning to the humiliation of being shot down.
“Maybe later,” she said, and a murmur went through the crowd there for that night’s parade. “I want you to come down if you’re free.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I want to get through the first few things on the list so I can find out what the next couple are.”
Sam lost her smile and narrowed her eyes at her. “If you’re checking things off as fast as you can because you think there’s some big p
rize in it for you, pack it up, and thanks for the serenade.”
A few women in the audience clapped at Sam’s indignation, and the men let out an amused “ooh.”
“Do you realize how many mariachi bands in New Orleans know anything by Billy Joel?” she asked, already aggravated. She’d never met a woman who lit the fuse of her temper as fast as Sam did, which made her question her sanity on an hourly basis after hearing about this ridiculous agenda to get a date. “The fact it’s the first thing on your list makes me think you know it’s none, which saves you from having to commit to any invitations.”
“Touchy,” a woman close to her said, and Chili took a breath to relax.
“I’m not rushing, and I’m sorry for being rude. Why not come down before you judge my motives?”
Sam stared at her for a few minutes, as if trying to decide if she was going to give in to her invitation. “I have to get dressed, so you want to come up and wait?”
“No, take your time. I’ll accept suggestions from the mob while you get ready.”
“Just don’t take anyone up on any other invitations before I’m dressed.” Sam’s smile was back, as was her sense of humor. “What should I wear?”
Chili resisted the urge to say earrings and a smile, and from Sam’s expression, she could tell Sam could almost read her thoughts. “Surprise me.”
*
Chili opened the car door for Sam after she’d followed her advice about taking her time. Over thirty minutes had passed since Sam had disappeared from the window, and Chili had gotten some ribbing about it from the people there to stake out their parade spot. They’d all clapped when Sam finally made it downstairs dressed in jeans and a sweater, like she was.
“No hints?” Sam asked when she got in and started the car.
“One of the reasons that made me decide on my career path was my love of Louisiana history,” she said as she decided not to take St. Charles Avenue, choosing instead a route that would take them through the narrow side streets. “Some of our past is good, some bad, but you have to admit that all of it’s interesting.”