"I know what you mean," she said, then paused, looking thoughtful. "I have never known anyone as unselfish as you before. You certainly have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. You're definitely one of a kind."
"Thank you!" Kurt chuckled. "You give me too much credit. But I’ll gladly help anyone who wants to help him or herself. That's the way grandma brought me up. You know, I really wished you could have met her, Yvette. She would have loved you."
“I’m sure I would have loved her, too,” Yvette said thoughtfully, as she stood in awe of this wonderful human being, this unique and wonderful man. The thought moved her to the point of tears.
Seeing this, Kurt drew her into his embrace and comforted her. And when he kissed her, streams of her salty tears mingled joyously with his wet kisses.
“Listen, just because I helped a few people along the way doesn’t mean that I’m perfect. Now, why are you crying?”
“I’m just so overwhelmed, I imagine,” she cried, as she buried her face against his warm neck.
“Hey, you’re never going to stop crying if you continue on like this. Come on, let’s go for a swim.”
At that moment Yvette’s cell phone rang. Retrieving the unit from her purse, she placed it to her ear to answer. It was a very loud and excited Juanita. “Yvette, you won’t believe this but I saw this magazine article at the doctor’s office. Kurt! Your Kurt is in there! There’s a whole damn article about him in there! Girlfriend, the man is rich! I’m telling you, the man is filthy rich!”
“Yvette grinned. “I know, I know,” she said. “I just found out.”
“Look girlfriend, remember that I am here for you if you ever need help spending that money at Burdines,” Juanita teased. ”Look, I’ve got to run now. The doctor is ready to see me. Give me a call when you get the chance, okay?”
“Will do, sweetheart.”
“Who was that?” Kurt asked. “Juanita?”
“Yes. She just read an old magazine article at the doctor’s office about you winning the lottery.”
“I’m surprise that particular issue is still in circulation,” said Kurt, embracing Yvette one more time.
The two kissed, both feeling blissfully happy, fully alive. Deep down inside, they knew they shared the biggest jackpot of all and that was love.
At the entrance of his manor, he had her sit down on a padded patio chair as he got down on one knee and took her hand into his.
Looking up, he swept his eyes appreciatively over her face.
"Kurt, is this a proposal?" she asked, her lips parting into a smile.
"I imagine it is," he smiled, his heart racing wildly. "How about it? Will you marry me? Will you spend a lifetime with me?"
Yvette senses swam. The limo ride, the flowers, the romantic music, his tantalizing fragrance, the unexpected proposal, and the warm emotional vibes that engulfed her, everything was happening so fast. A woman needed a little time to digest all of this. But here he was in the flesh, her Knight in Shiny Armor. A man who carried himself with a commanding air of self-confidence. A man who had just proposed to her and was awaiting her answer.
He had expected a yes or no, but never silence.
“Well, Yvette?” he murmured, his voice less confident than before.
“My answer is yes, Kurt. Until death do we part,” she breathed, her eyes belying her longing for him.
“Are you sure?” he probed with a lump in his throat, his heart throbbing wildly. “Perhaps you better see my place first to be sure. You can never tell about us city boys and how we live. You know, I just may have to take up your offer to move in with you."
Yvette brought her hand up to stifle a giggle, then cupped his chin with her other hand. His handsome dark gaze and magnetism and humor captivated her as always. “Honey, I am sure beyond expressed words. I just don’t want you to think I want to be with you because of your wealth.”
“So that was your concern,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. This had explained her long pause. “Look, I have only one question to ask of you.”
“Yes,” she murmured, drinking up his gaze.
“Are you in love with me?”
“Deeply, Kurt.Far beyond two hearts beating as one.”
Now that’s as deep as love’s gonna get, he thought. “And if I had asked you to marry me before you ever found out that I was wealthy, what would have been your response?”
“Yes.”
“That settles it then,” he said, reaching out to bring her into his embrace and almost out of the patio chair. They kissed long and hungrily with closed eyes.
When she came up for air, she said. "I was just thinking. Who is going to marry us? I am not a church regular, as much as I should be, and it's hard for me to envision a Justice of the Peace, a complete total stranger administering our wedding vows. And I’m not sure what religious affiliations you have. Do you have someone in mind?"
"My brother up in Washington, DC would love to marry us," he answered.
"You mean the Senator?"
"Yes, Arthur," he replied mildly.
“Is he really your brother?" she asked, wide-eyed. "Or is he just a friend who is like a brother to you?”
“He’s my half-brother, Yvette. We have the same father.”
“I see."
"Anyway, I imagine a Senator should have the authority to wed people. After all, most of them are lawyers and if they’re not out doing fundraisers, they’re writing laws day in and day out. You know, I should have asked him that a couple of months ago when he came down for a visit."
"You mean he was here, in Tampa? Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Arthur's visit was during the period we had very little contact with each other. Before that, I just never gave it any thought. Anyway, I knew you'd find out sooner or later by virtue of being around me.
“Look, I'll give him a call first thing tomorrow morning, introduce you to him, and let you two talk, okay? That is, if I can catch up with him. My brother stays on the go. Sometimes he's in D.C and other times he's in the Philadelphia area."
"I would love to meet Arthur."
"Oh, by the way, I'm Methodist, my religion, that is." he added straightforwardly.
"And I'm Baptist," she replied.
In the morning Kurt rose up early to treat his special, and still surprised, guest to a hearty country cooked breakfast. A breakfast he prepared. Once their meal settled, he phoned Washington, DC. After several attempts, he caught up with the Senator, and introduced him to Yvette. The two chatted briefly. Before hanging up Arthur confided to him, "My brother, it sounds like you’ve got yourself a winner. My best wishes to the both of you. Talk to you soon."
An hour later, Kurt was seated in his captain’s chair going over a map of Florida’s state parks. Turning the ignition switch, he revved up the RV. Reaching up, he turned on the 19” inch television and activated the satellite system. He tuned into the Weather Channel. As he plotted his course, he munched on a chicken salad sandwich she had made for him. He felt good having a woman who saw herself as his lover, comforter, and road companion when they traveled. He saw himself as her personal travel agent and personal chauffeur. His task was to take her to places she had only dreamed of traveling to before.
Yvette had gone back into the house to collect a box of tissues. When she returned she boarded Moonbeam and the two drove off to enjoy another weekend of outdoor fun and adventure. That night, under a moonlit sky and sitting before a crackling bonfire, a bonfire they had built with three other RV couples, they shared roasted marshmallows and chilled wine.
Kneeling on one knee, he presented Yvette with her engagement ring. With tears of joy glossing her eyes, she lit up brighter than the bonfire before them. This was one proposal she was not about to refuse.
Chapter 27
Weeks later, Kurt lifted an eyebrow as he took one last look around his office. It was a poignant moment for him. But it was a different direction he was heading in now. With the moment burned into his memo
ry, he flipped the lights off and closed the door. True to his word, he had resigned from his position at the job service center. He would be going into business with his soon-to-be wife and do some of the things they had wanted to do all of their lives apart, but now together as one. But before he could truly move on, he knew he had to distance himself from Roxanne, as well.
After months of intensive training at the school of performing arts, Roxanne had managed to pick up a minor acting role in a low budget movie, as she had shared with Kurt over the phone.
“Oh, you’ll never guess where I am going to make my acting debut at, Kurt,” she blurted out loudly over the phone. “Café Le Soir, I believe it is. They’re using the restaurant for a few scenes in a major movie and they need some extras, two or three with speaking roles. And-I-have-one-of-them!” she sang.
“That’s great!” Kurt exclaimed. “You know, there was some talk about making a movie there, some time ago. But I never heard anything more about it after that. Strange, Yvette didn’t mention it to me, this time around.”
“Well, they’re going to start shooting within the next two weeks. Wish me luck!”
“I certainly will,” Kurt promised.
“By the way, thanks for those bodyguards. Don approached me about a week ago and threatened me with bodily harm but within minutes of pressing that panic button you gave me, three or four cars pulled up out of nowhere and out came the biggest and meanest looking men I’ve ever seen, though a few of them were rather handsome looking. I think Don nearly crapped in his pants when he saw them pull up. I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Well, that’s good,” Kurt chuckled. “I’m glad I could be of help to you. And good luck with your acting debut at the restaurant. I’m sure I’ll see you there. If I do, I’ll make sure I introduce you to Yvette, okay?”
“Sure, Kurt,” Roxanne replied, nodding into the phone. “I guess I will finally get my chance to meet your other love – “
“Roxanne, Yvette’s my only love.”
“Of course. But I’ll leave that one alone.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t love you Roxanne, I do love you. But I am in love with Yvette.”
“Look handsome, just be sweet! And take care! I love you too, Kurt. Bye!”
Kurt and Yvette married that spring. His brother, the honorable Senator, officiated. To their delight Juanita served as Maid Of Honor and Earl was the Best Man. Terrence, Yvette’s son, gave her away. It was a modest wedding, though one attended by both dignitaries and commoners, who were more than prominent in his eyes. People Magazine was on hand to do another article on Pennsylvania's $50 million dollar man - a man who would go on to craftily parlayed Yvette’s impressive five-star restaurant franchise into an additional $2 million dollars a year profit-making machine.
For their honeymoon, the two traveled abroad to several Mediterranean coastal port-of-calls. Rhodes, Greece; Venice, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; Alexandria, Egypt; Palma Majorca, Spain and the port city of Toulon, France were all prominently listed on their itinerary as must see.
Upon their return to Florida, Yvette found a buyer for her condo. She had also turned in her four-week notice of resignation at the Café.
Now free of distraction, the two lovers, turned husband and wife, turned business partners, planned ahead for their future. They were not content to rest on their laurels. There was a world out there to conquer, and people to assist.
Keeping along the concept of Café Le Soir, they formed a partnership named Spirit Of Cooperation, Inc. They christened their first restaurant Almond Street Café. Two years later they opened two more Almond Street Café restaurants, one in Orlando and one in West Palm Beach. Wanting to cover all the bases, they invested in gold, stocks and bonds and mutual funds, too. Real estate followed.
After reading an article in a business journal, about a fresh new sensation on the fashion scene, named Maria Lopez, who was taking her company public, Kurt made a few inquiring phone calls to see if it was his former client. And it was! Besides, he could never forget her line of clothing, Hoo-Chi Fashions. He immediately called his broker and bought 4,000 shares of Maria’s stock at $12 per share. It would turn out to be one of his most profitable investments to date.
Six years, and two children later, they took their restaurant business public. By then they had amassed a total of eighteen gourmet restaurants in nearly every major city stretching from Florida up through Virginia, and the mid-south. Each business employed up to thirty-six people.
Wanting to spend more time with each other and their two children, the couple eventually sold the company for a healthy profit, four years later.
Altruistic to a fault, Kurt and Yvette allocated fifteen percent of their profit, from the sale, to local charities. He used some of their funds to open up a fourth tutoring center. The power couple firmly believed that education was the main ingredient to a successful life. With eleven years of raw data to draw upon, their tutoring centers appeared to support this view.
On the eve of their 12th anniversary, they shared a quiet and private moment, at Café Le Soir, the place where they cultivated their love. Under the soft warm glow of candle-lights, the couple enjoyed a delicious gourmet meal. A quartet played soft mellow piano jazz in the background.
Delighting in the moment, Kurt looked over at his lovely wife of twelve years as if he were photographing her with his eyes. His love for her had not wavered any. She was still as beautiful as the day he first laid eyes on her. And she was enthralled by what she saw, too. Kurt, who was dressed smartly in a black tux, was just as handsome as the day he rescued her from her attackers. Twelve years of marriage served only to intensify their love, devotion, and happiness.
The next evening, they attended a more prominent and formal gathering, in their honor, at a luxuriously draped ballroom at the Marriott Hotel. A chamber orchestra performed vibrantly, in addition to the Wynton Marsalis Jazz Quartet. In attendance were several distinguished civic leaders, former business associates, the mayor, Yvette's mother and sister, and her best friend, Juanita and her sister Nola, to name a few.
After the gala event Kurt and Yvette returned to their suburban estate and crawled into bed. It had been a long event-filled day. A magnificent and memorable one, at that.
When the last of the children entered college the two successful retirees embarked upon a cross-country tour in their new luxury motorhome, Moonbeam II, taking in such notable sights as the Grand Canyons, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, Yosemite National Park, and Lookout Mountain, in Tennessee.
In the driver’s seat of their forty-two foot land cruiser was a very reformed Chris, Kurt’s once delinquent second cousin from New Jersey. Discovering that Chris' passion was driving long haul trucks, he helped his once gang-banging cousin in relocating to Florida and assisted him financially when he enrolled in an eighteen-wheeler driving school in Tampa. It was in Tampa that Chris met his wife Porsha, of four years, one year after moving to Florida. Porsha hailed from Tampa. She was along too, for the tour.
Six long weeks after they began their nation-wide tour the foursome returned to the familiar palm trees and sandy beaches of sunny Florida. It had been a wonderful excursion, the four snapping photos of one another, buying gifts for friends and family members, wading in resort swimming pools and hot tubs, going horse-back riding, walking hand in hand, along narrow wilderness trails, and making new RV friends. The couple had prospered well and was living the American dream, a lifestyle many only get to dream about.
The following spring the foursome logged a similar six-week tour in Moonbeam II and Blue Rhapsody, Chris and Porsha's new 38-foot luxury motorhome, a gift from Kurt and Yvette, up to the historical northeastern United States: Washington, DC; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine. As soon as the foursome returned to Florida they went right to work planning their itinerary for the following year. There was a lot to see in America and they wanted to see it all
.
It was winter outside as the two sat around gazing into the warm flames radiating out from their fireplace as they enjoyed a quiet moment together. Red hot ambers glowed, some floated, from beneath the burning pile of hickory wood as they reflected on their life and accomplishments. A slow and mellow jazz tune entitled, It’s Only a Paper Moon, by Bill Charlap, played in the background. It was soft and almost hypnotic. At one point, the two made a toast and sipped on red wine. A small tray of diced cheese sat less than an arm’s length away. Their love was still passionate, intense and very real after all of these years.
“We’ve really have been fortunate,” he said. “To have had the opportunity to be in a position to help others as much as we have been able to and to also travel the world and this great country. It really has made life worth living as a person of endless means.”
“Yes, we’ve been blessed, I must say,” she added. “I sit here and still cannot believe that all we have experienced is anything other than a wonderful dream.”
“Well, believe it, baby. It’s not a dream. Besides, things are only going to get better,” he promised her, as his hand gently stroke the soft lines of her back, neck, and shoulders.
The loud ringing of the phone abruptly broke into their calm and relaxed atmosphere. Who could be phoning them at midnight, they pondered?
Kurt rose and walked over to the coffee table to take the call. It was a sheriff’s deputy calling to let the couple know that there was a break-in at one of their tutoring centers. A few computers had been taken and some printers and probably several laptops, too.
Yes, times had changed over the years, Kurt remembered telling Yvette recently. Crime was on the rise in some of the areas of their tutoring centers. Almost monthly, they had to paint over gang-like symbols and vile and sometimes vulgar graffiti repeatedly placed on the building’s outer walls by neighborhood teens or replace a window broken by a thrown object.
“Who is it?” Yvette asked.
Cafe Romance Page 36