“But that would look weird,” he told her.
“Well, I don’t want to look funny,” Lucy said, her eyes rolling in her wooden head. They rolled left and right stopping on Michael. Lucy leaned over as if she were whispering in Scott’s ear. Her little hand going up to the side of her mouth. “Who is that, Mr. Scott?”
Michael, entranced by the whole scene, answered the doll. “My name is Michael Autry Fitzsimmons, Lucy.”
“That is a long name,” she said to Michael.
Scott reached for his coffee mug, picking it up, drinking from it, as Lucy continued her conversation with Michael.
“Do you like mac-ka-da-roni and chok-late puddin’?” she asked Michael.
“I am not a fan of pudding,” he responded.
“Me either. It looks like you’re eating chok-late poop!” Lucy said, her wooden mouth open wide as Scott sat down the coffee mug.
He also laid Lucy on the table.
The expression on Michael’s face was priceless.
“I showed you that because this is my life. My family and I are skilled ventriloquists and craftsmen. It is a skill which will be taught to my children and handed down to them as well. My son will be trained to take over the company. My daughters will be trained to run the factory, the museum, the annual conference. My life is in Kentucky,” he told him.
“I understand,” Michael said.
“When the time comes, please know the door of my home will always be opened for you and your Grandmother to come and visit,” he said to Micheal.
“Is there anything else you want or need me to know?”
Right on time, Scott’s phone buzzed. Chandler had arrived.
“Yes,” the accent was still thick. “I have a black English manservant named Chandler. He has been with me since he was 16. My son will have a manservant as well. I don’t know if his butler will be black or not, but he will have one. Traditionally, they have always been black. My father’s butler is also black.”
“Who are you?” Michael said.
“The man who is going to be your brother-in-law,” Scott replied, moving to the front door to let Chandler in.
“Good morning, Sir. We are all ready for departure,” Chandler said, the British accent still strong as his hands were reaching for Lucy.
“Thank you, Chandler. This is Michael Fitzsimmons, Zelda’s brother,” he said.
Chandler gave a brief nod of his head, his eyes shifting as Zelda came around the corner to the living room. “Good Morning, Ms. Fitzsimmons,” Chandler said to her with a genuine smile. “Pleasure to see you again.”
“Likewise Chandler. You get my man home safely, okay?”
“Certainly,” Chandler said, nodding again to Michael as he turned to leave. “I will wait for you at the car, Sir. Come on, Lucy Girl, it is time to head home.”
Michael’s voice still hadn’t returned as Scott walked over to Zelda, lifting her in his arms. His strong arms holding her up under her butt cheeks. “I will call you when I land and get settled. I have an insane day, but I didn’t want to leave last night. Hell, I don’t want to leave today, but I have to go and adult.”
“Come to me next,” he told her.
“I have to be in Cincinnati in three weeks at some author’s conference thing,” she told him.
“Stay at the house with me,” he told her.
“Okay, but what is the drive...,” she was silenced by his kiss. A deep passionate, all-consuming kiss that would have to sustain her until she saw him again.
He set her down, her bare feet sinking into the carpet.
“I will call you,” he said. He turned to Michael, shaking his hand. “Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and willingness to see me as I am. I appreciate that. You made me feel welcomed and at home. I look forward to reciprocating the hospitality.”
He nodded his head and was out the door.
Zelda and Michael stood in the window, watching the wide back as he moved with grace to the waiting town car. Chandler held open the back door, waiting for his boss to get in the back seat, then closed the door, moving around to the driver’s side. He gave a mock salute as he opened the driver’s door, sliding in behind the wheel. The car eased down the road, barely making a sound as Scott Berger left her life.
An empty feeling sat in her chest at his absence.
“Shit, I feel like he just broke up with me or something,” Michael said. “I don’t like this feeling. Fuck am I in love with him, too?”
“You are so silly, Mike and what do you mean, too?”
“Because, little Sis, you are head over heels in love with that man,” Michael said to her.
“You think so?”
“Yes, I know so. Have you told him?”
“No, it’s too soon,” she said. “There are things I need to know first that I will need clarified before I give my heart over to him completely.”
“Good, I want to see how this all plays out,” Michael said. He gave her a brief hug and went for his lunchbox. “I have to get to work and so do you.”
Zelda’s mind was far from work. She was still trying to work it all out in her head. “Michael, if I make a life with him, I will have to move to Kentucky.”
“Yeah, but for right now, just focus on the happiness you are long overdue to have,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she said. “For accepting him.”
“It’s easy to accept a good man, Zelda. That is all I have ever wanted for you, but again, and I say this with all honesty, you are going to have to get some laser hair removal appointments set up for your babies. They are going to be hairy as hell!”
“You get on my damned nerves, Michael Fitzsimmons,” she said laughing as she gave him a big hug. She released him and made her way to the shower to get ready to start her day.
Friday, Hebron, Kentucky
Wednesday and Thursday sped by in a blur of meetings, collectors, and replacement parts on broken machines. Several times people had encouraged him to expand the production facility to mass produce dolls and he had not given in to it. Berger dolls were crafted by hand and only 200 per year were made. That equated to only sixteen dolls per month being created. No, it did not equate to a large sum of money, but it was more than enough to sustain the company, along with other enterprises.
The thing he enjoyed more than anything was his Vent Club, which met once a month at his house. They were meeting tonight but he was distracted. In his head, he was still in bed with Zelda. Waking up next to her for those two days wasn’t enough. He wanted to wake up to her everyday, but there was so much she needed to learn about his life plus he still had to work his way through the barrier she had up around hers. All that would come in time.
He only prayed what his mother said wasn’t true.
Seeing the big ass box of sex toys made him wonder. The nipple clips hurt like hell but he came like a Russian race horse in a stud shed. The butt plug though. Did she use the butt-plug on herself? Hell, what did she do with the double headed dildo?
“Earth to Scott,” Dwayne said.
“Sorry, what?” Scott asked as all eyes in the room were on him.
“Man, you are zoned out,” Ralphie said, looking at the open-collared shirt, spotting the passion marks on his neck. “Are those hickeys?”
Scott’s hands went to his throat, trying to close his shirt collar. It was too late. His five closest friends on the planet had seen the marks. Once the meeting was over, these five always stayed over a little afterward to chat, catch up, and have a few beers. Dwayne, Ralphie, Jo-Jo, Mark, and Chris had been his friends all of his life. They had seen his ups, his downs, and some of the lowest points in his life.
Jo-Jo spoke up. “Forget the hickeys! Did anyone notice this blind bastard is not wearing glasses? I know they don’t make contacts thick enough to compensate for his vision. What is up with the eyes, Scott?”
“I got them fixed,” he said with a crooked grin.
“You did something to your skin, too,” Mark said.
&nb
sp; “I’m working on that, too,” he said with a wink.
“I guess next you are getting some Invisalign for your teeth?” Chris asked.
Scott smiled, showing the barely there plastic covering on his teeth. The room erupted into laughter. He knew what was coming next. In this room, everyone sounded the same. In this room, he could be himself. Thick accent and all.
“Her name is Zelda,” he said.
“That’s the one who kissed you on stage, right?”
“One and the same,” he said grinning.
Chris slapped his knee, “Don’t tell me the great and powerful wizard has succumbed to love.”
Scott was grinning as he recapped his two days in Texas.
“Succumbed? She domesticated this old feral cat. Dude, I went grocery shopping!” He said this with wide eyes.
The men all burst into laughter.
“That is nothing; Hell I even bought $300 worth of food I’m not even going to be there to eat! This,” he said. “...This was after I tiled her backsplash in the kitchen. Her brother had me out on the grill, so now I know how to bar-b-que,” he said, laughing.
“We ended that Monday on her front porch, me with a beer in one hand, her fingers in the other as we watched the sun set and her neighbors end their days. Then, she had me drying the dishes that I helped her wash,” he said with a grin.
“No way,” Dwayne said. “You?”
“Yeah me! Man, I even got to put on a pair of jeans fresh out the dryer; they were all warm and shit,” he said laughing hard. “Why didn’t you guys tell me about that simple little pleasure in life?”
“Oh God,” Mark said. “You sound like a married man.”
“Hopefully,” Scott said. “It is still early, but I do plan to marry that woman.”
“When is she coming here to see all of this...,” Jo-Jo asked, waving his hands around in the air.
“Next month. She will be here next month,” he told them. “I can’t wait for you guys to spend some time with my Baby. She is a spectacular woman.”
“Your Baby, huh?” Dwayne said. “Hold up! You said Monday. You were supposed to be back Tuesday night, so what happened on Tuesday?”
“Tuesday was too...,” he said grinning. “I can’t tell you. It was such a tantalizing Tuesday that I still have yet to recover from. I missed my flight time because I was asleep. I needed the sleep man.”
His hands absently ran across his chest, as his finger touched the sore nipples, and massaging the sore pectorals. Zelda Fitzsimmons had left her mark on him and not just on his neck. He couldn’t wait until she came to Kentucky to spend some time in his world.
Scott only hoped that once she saw it, she would still want the man he hoped she’d fallen for instead of the man who lived in this house. Love was a gamble and thus far, all of his chips were on the table. His home was the wild card which could possibly change the outcome of the game.
He was willing to take the chance on Zelda.
“I know you will never let me down,” he said softly.
He would find out for certain in a month.
-Fin -
Book Club Questions
Thank you for reading this entry in Zelda’s Diary as she chronicles her journey to love with an unusual man. Zelda has a great number of demons coming to the surface that she too has to deal with before she can consider a longer term life and relationship with Scott.
I alluded to a few of those instances in this entry.
Did you pick up on any demons in Zelda’s past which may come forward to a hunt her?
What was the significance of Scott ending the evening on the front porch?
It seems as if Michael has spent much of his life protecting his little sister. Do you think there is a family secret that he is keeping hidden?
Why do you think Scott doesn’t know how to do so many little common things?
Scott changed his voice. His voice also changed in front of her friends. Do you see layers with Scott, like he is hiding something?
Share your comments here on line. Or join the live discussion on June 15th via phone.
Next: Zelda heads to Kentucky.
Zelda is all set to stay the week with Scott. However, she soon learns that his world is a whole lot different from hers and it may be the deal breaker for the budding relationship.
Everything is pulled back on track with the help of Chandler, who privately alters the course of the week to end in one frickin' fantastic Friday evening.
About the Author
As an award-winning, best-selling author, Oliva loves a good laugh coupled with some steam, mixed in with a man and woman finding their way past the words of “I love you.” An author of contemporary romances, she writes heartwarming stories of blossoming relationships about couples not only falling in love but building a life after the hot sex scene.
When Olivia is not writing, she enjoys quilting, playing Scrabble online against other word lovers and spending time with her family. She is an avid world traveler who writes many of the locations into her stories. Most of the time she can be found sitting quietly with pen and paper plotting more adventures in love.
Olivia lives in Hephzibah, Georgia with her husband, son, grandson and snotty evil cat, Katness Evermean.
Learn more about her books, upcoming releases and join her bibliophile nation at www.ogaines.com
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A Tantalizing Tuesday (The Zelda Diaries Book 2) Page 8