My Last

by Stefania Gil

  “Yes, it’s okay.”

  ***

  The next morning, I woke up at 5:00 to do my yoga routine although I didn’t even know my own name at that time of the morning. My brain was still asleep and thank God I knew the yoga routine by heart. I could put my body on automatic and exercise.

  When you reach a certain age and your hormones begin to change, it is better to exercise. It keeps the extra pounds away. Especially if you like to eat, as was my case. Besides, not only did I do it out of vanity, I also wanted to stay healthy.

  By 6:30 a.m. I was leaving home.

  I arrived at the florist shop at 6:45 a.m. and James was waiting at the door with two cups of coffee.

  Yep, that man didn’t sleep.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” I said courteously while opening the florist's door.

  He handed me a cup of coffee.

  “I suppose you didn’t want it too hot, so I asked for it on ice,” he said, winking at me.

  “That was nice, thank you.”

  I went to the office and turned on the extra A / C unit.

  James entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and when he opened it again, he wore a navy blue heavy-duty jumpsuit with the name of his father's company across his back.

  “I'm going to start work,” he winked at me. “I'm very sorry for the noise I'll make from now on.”

  He began striking the wall to expose the pipe.

  Twenty minutes later, I felt like killing someone due to the noise James was making. It pierced my brain to the verge of insanity. After a series of sneezes thanks to all the dust, I understood in the next few days, my office would be out of order.

  I left and began arranging bouquets with Rick.

  “That man looks good enough to eat, very slow.” He said with a mischievous smile on his face.

  I laughed.

  “Tell me he don’t,” he protested.

  “Yes,” I sighed. “He's really very handsome.”

  “Oh Jen, sometimes your demure way of talking drives me crazy. That man is not handsome, he’s edible.”

  “Very sloooowww,” I said, smiling and dragging the word out. “You're right. He brought me coffee this morning, and he winked at me twice.”

  Rick drew in a sharp breath.

  “I'd like to see him without a shirt. He must be chiseled all over.”

  I let out another laugh.

  “You thought about it too, didn’t you?” Rick asked me with a smile.

  I nodded my head.

  “He would be a good sex partner for you.”

  “Take it easy. First let him finish his job. Then I could go to bed with him.”

  “Yes, love, is real. Music paid, doesn’t sound right. First the repairs and then give him your bonus.”

  We were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

  As we turned, we saw James standing in the doorway. In fact, he was clinging to the door, a trickle of blood running down his forehead.

  “My God! Run, Jen! Call 911, we have an emergency,” Rick screamed at the top of his lungs much like a hysterical woman. So much, he ran from one side to the other doing nothing.

  James started laughing non-stop and I caught his humor.

  He was pale but laughing out loud.

  As best as I could, between laughter, I helped him to sit down.

  “He’s worse than my mother when she's scared for something,” James said, his breath choked with laughter.

  “What happened to you?”

  Rick stopped looking at us as if we were extraterrestrials.

  “Is it funny to you that I’m worried?”

  “Not at all, sweetie,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Bring me the first aid kit.”

  Rick glared at me furiously.

  “The first ten minutes in any accident are of vital importance,” he replied, offended, arms folded across his chest and lightly tapping his foot on the ground.

  “Take it easy, Rick,” James said. “I won’t die. It's just a ceramic sliver jumped out of the wrong place. It didn’t hurt. It’s just when I ran my hand over my forehead and saw my own blood —he showed us his stained hand— I almost fainted.”

  “Says who,” Rick questioned with his hand on his hip. He handed me the first aid kit from the cabinet. “So strong, so built.” He took the opportunity to squeeze James’ bicep and James didn’t run away in terror because a gay man wanted to touch him, “and so chicken with looking at blood.”

  “You looked like a chicken, running around.” We laughed again.

  “Yes, I am a bit theatrical.”

  I removed the splinter from his forehead with the tweezers, disinfected the area and put a gauze on it.

  “Shouldn’t you wear a helmet to avoid this?” I asked.

  “Yes, I only use it when my father is around. The helmet annoys me more than the splinter.”

  He winked at me again.

  “You have to stop doing that.”

  “It's a nervous tic.”

  “Of course,” said Rick. “If she does not like your tic, try me, I might like it.”

  James turned to Rick and winked at him a few times.

  “I like you, James,” Rick said, walking away.

  James's amused gaze turned on an alarm in my head. I knew this man but I didn’t know from where.

  “Now that you’re better, have we met before?” I asked.

  He smiled.

  “Maybe you do not remember me, but I don’t think you can forget my hammer you used to destroy Carl Bennett's desk.”

  ***

  Could life really play such a prank?

  Was this the man I “borrowed” the hammer from in Carl's office?

  Damn universal coincidence. It didn’t do me any favors.

  After James’ comment, I left Rick in charge of overseeing James’ work and I practically fled.

  What a shame! James had met me at the worst moment of my life. He had seen Mr. Hyde who I had carried hidden inside of me and thanks to Rose, I had managed to completely control it.

  So I made appointments with potential new clients, visited new flower suppliers, spent a lot of time with Holly helping her plan her 20th Wedding Anniversary and just visited the florist a couple of times that week when I had no alternative, and also I knew James wouldn’t be there when I got there.

  “How are things at the flower shop?” Holly asked me the morning of her wedding anniversary. I had come to bring the tulip arrangements she had asked me for to decorate the house with on her special day.

  “Good, good,” I sighed. With the bathroom leak repairs.

  “The sigh, what's that about?” Holly asked curiously.

  “It’s that I haven’t been there for a while because about a week ago, I found out the man who is doing the repair is the same one I borrowed the hammer from on that day...”

  Holly burst out laughing.

  I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

  “I'm not happy, Holly. What a shame to have met that man the last day Mr. Hyde took over me.”

  Holly laughed until tears streamed down her face.

  “Why do you care so much that this man is the same man who saw Mr. Hyde?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Yes, of course, he's a good-looking man.”

  I sighed.

  “Very handsome and he spends his time winking at me. I was so embarrassed, now I don’t want to step into my business if he's there.”

  “How did you get the flowers I ordered?”

  “I called Rick yesterday, told him to have them ready and send them home with Oliver.”

  Oliver was the dealer on probation.

  “What is the man’s name who met Mr. Hyde?”

  “James,” I said, and then told her how he'd informed me that he was the same one who was in Carl’s office on the day of the episode with the famous hammer.

  “The positive side to this,” Holly said with a little huff after her secon
d eruption of laughter, “is that if James has any intention with you, he knows he must be careful because you are a woman who knows how to make a commotion.”

  “Idiot!” I protested. “I'm leaving; I'll leave you to have fun decorating your house for tonight.”

  I kissed her and left before she said anything else.

  I had to stop fooling myself and go to the shop. I couldn’t continue evading James, and besides, Rick had informed me the bathroom job was almost ready. So I had to go to see the final result and organize the reconstruction of the area where the flower arrangements were set up with James.

  It was not yet time to open to the public when I had reached the florist, so I closed the door again leaving the lights off.

  I went straight to my office to make a thorough evaluation of James’ repairs.

  Through the slot in the door, I could see the office light had been left on.

  “You'll see, Rick, if you keep on like this, you’ll pay the light bill...” My protest was interrupted after opening my office door to James's ass in front of me.

  I think this was one of the few times in my life where my face lit up like a Christmas tree and actually changed color with every second that passed.

  I had never seen such a perfect backside, and his legs. When he turned around due to my surprise entrance, he was still naked. I also got a view of his abdomen and his cock, of course. The man was chiseled. He was like one of those Greek sculptures you find in museums.

  I put a hand over my eyes.

  “Good morning,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to arrive so early.”

  “It's my shop,” I said sharply. “Have you put on any clothes?”

  “Yes, you can open your eyes.”

  He smiled mockingly.

  His eyes shone.

  A towel had been placed around his waist.

  His shoulders and chest gleamed with water droplets that were not yet absorbed by his golden skin.

  Drool. I remembered the scene in the Madagascar movie in which Alex the Lion suffered from hallucinations due to hunger. He began to view his zebra friend as a succulent piece of walking meat.

  That's how I felt. I was Alex and James was a succulent piece of meat.

  To eat slooooowly. Rick was right.

  James looked at me in jest. It was obvious the appropriate amount of time had passed and I was supposed to say something. The moron was enjoying the way I was staring at him.

  I blinked a couple of times to snap myself out of my hallucination and came back to reality.

  “Can you tell what your indecent exposure is about?”

  “This morning I went for a run and came directly here to try out the bathroom. All the work has to be tested and you don’t look like a woman who needs to shower in her office bathroom.”

  That was true.

  “But couldn’t you let me know?”

  “I did.” He put his hands on his hips lifting one eyebrow. “Rick told me he wanted to come in early. We agreed to meet here. He opened the door and went to get coffee with his friend who accompanied him.”

  I wanted to kill Rick.

  “Why didn’t anyone bother to inform me?”

  “Was what you saw that bad?” He asked sarcastically. “Rick would have paid good money to have the privilege you had.”

  He laughed and I couldn’t help but smile. I was beginning to notice, when James laughed-mostly out of laughter-my stomach flipped upside down.

  “My toolbox is over there, in case you need to borrow the hammer,” James said, winking at me before closing the bathroom door.

  “Moron,” I mumbled.

  “I heard that,” he shouted from the bathroom.

  I rolled my eyes and left the office.

  A few minutes later, James surprised me in the florist work area.

  “I thought you were already gone,” he whispered in my ear. My entire body shuddered from his husky voice.

  “Oh!” Rick exclaimed as he suddenly appeared. “I did not know you were here. Sorry to interrupt.”

  “There's nothing to interrupt, Rick. You missed the show already.”

  He placed the back of his hand on his forehead.

  “Don’t tell me you found him naked?”

  “And she didn’t seem to like it,” James protested sarcastically.

  “God is very unfair, really,” Rick lamented.

  James laughed and I shuddered again.

  “Enough already with the jokes. You —I pointed to Rick— “to work. And you,” —I pointed to James— “come with me. I'll check your work.”

  “Looks like somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Rick said suspiciously.

  “Shut up, Rick, and get to work,” I said, before crossing to the door.

  ***

  I checked almost all of James’ work. He had done a wonderful job.

  The bathroom was completely different. The way James had redistributed the space helped make it appear more spacious even though the room was not very large. Between him and Rick they had changed everything. Even the light fixture. The truth was it was beautiful.

  I instructed Rick to take care of what was needed. I only set a spending limit for him so I had nothing to worry about. Rick's taste for the color scheme was exquisite. I knew whatever he chose was going to be perfect.

  Just like what I was looking at now.

  “We spent less than the spending limit you gave Rick,” James said, looking at me with satisfaction. “He handed me the bills for the supplies.”

  I went into the office and sat down at my desk.

  “It is great. Good job,” I declared to James.

  “Thank you,” he said, smiling. He took a USB device out of his pocket and handed it to me. Connect it to your computer and I will show you what we will can do in the flower work area.

  I connected it to the computer and double-clicked on the icon he indicated.

  Before I could figure it out, James circled behind me with the intention of taking the computer’s mouse and showing me, more closely, the remodels he had made.

  At any another time I would have been delirious with the 3D demonstration I was receiving about how the redesign could be. It was perfect. However, with the heat emanating from his body, invading mine with every touch of skin there was ... His husky voice speaking seductively in my ear ... Who the hell could watch a 3D show?

  “This would be the refrigerator area to cool the flowers. What do you think?” He asked when he finished, placing a hand on my shoulder. His face was inches from mine.

  When I turned to face him, I looked shameless at his mouth while I tried to figure out what I was going to say. First, my cheeks heated.

  Second, fire spread through my body at an uncontrollable speed.

  He smiled and my stomach dropped.

  “It's hot,” I whispered.

  What was happening to me? This man made me lose control and I let him.

  He looked at me mischievously and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

  “I'll be here early tomorrow to start work,” he winked at me. “I’ll bring breakfast.”

  He turned with his charming smile and left the florist shop for the day.

  It took me a few seconds to realize, he had invited me on a “date” with him. My body temperature increased. I peered at the air conditioner, took the remote control and lowered the temperature to the lowest setting. I needed my office to resemble a refrigerator and very quickly.

  The hot flash was violent. I thought I was going to self-combust.

  I knew that particular hot flash had nothing to do with my pre menopause.

  That sensation was called: James Bracco.

  ***

  That day I couldn’t escape the heat. I continuously thought about James.

  Of course, every time I thought about the exact moment his lips brushed me gently, I needed to go inside the flower cooler.

  For a moment I wanted a butcher shop instead of a florist shop, so the refrigerator wo
uld be big enough to fit me, my computer, the fan and just in case, the mobile air conditioning unit I had in my office.

  How could one person be so hot?

  As if the same universe took pity on me, that day, a flood was unleashed on the city. It was not funny, I hated not being properly dressed for the rain, especially when I wore my fabulous red Jimmy Choo.

  I wanted to go home, take off my clothes, sink into two quarts of chocolate ice cream and watch my favorite Gray's Anatomy series. Mcsteamy, was my platonic lover at the moment and my appointment with him every week, was mandatory.

  So I decided to close the shop a little early and gave Rick a ride home. I got on the freeway and there I sat for a couple of hours, due to the rain lashing the city. There had been a terrible traffic accident.

  Several cars collided when a truck’s tire burst and unfortunately, it was in that accident, Sam, Holly's husband, lost his life.

  I was talking to her on the phone considering I was stuck where I was at. I decided to call her and ask how her house decoration had turned out and what she had prepared for Sam to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary.

  At that moment, two police officers arrived at her house giving her the terrible news.

  That day I learned life really sucked.

  The officers talked to me due to Holly being in shock even though they had not informed her Sam had died. She had only been told he had been in a serious accident and had been taken to the hospital.

  My hands began to shake violently. My internal volcano turned into an iceberg as my body temperature dropped with the terrible feeling of dread.

  Life couldn’t be so unfair, but it was. Holly was going to be shattered when she heard the real news.

  Tears began to escape uncontrollably. As soon as I could start the car, I took the first exit I found, looking for an alternative route to take me to the hospital as quickly as possible. My friend needed me.

  Claire and Jason —Holly and Sam’s children— were considered my niece and nephew. I had watched them grow since they were in their mother's womb. I shared every important moment in their lives with them. I was the fabulous Aunt Jen to them because I was always the one to allow them —within reason— to do anything they wanted and for them my house was a fun place. Nobody enforced anything. They were going to need me during this trying time; I would be there for them.