Lulu's Cafe: A Novel

by T. I. Lowe

  “I better go,” Crowley whispered as he placed a kiss on Leah’s forehead. He went to stand, but she grabbed hold of his arm, not wanting to be apart. “I have to hold on to my gentlemanly reputation, Miss Leah.” He leaned in and placed a delicate kiss on her lips. “I might not be able to if I stay much longer.” He kissed her once more before slipping out of her apartment.

  The music was long over by the time Crowley emerged from the café. He walked briskly around the corner and found Lulu sitting at one of the outdoor tables. The rest of the crowd had gathered down by the water’s edge for the midnight firework display that was about to get underway.

  Lulu caught sight of Crowley strutting quickly in the direction of his townhouse. “Where you off to in such a hurry, boy?” She asked.

  “I need a cold shower!” He raised a hand in a passing wave.

  Lulu laughed. “TMI!” She settled into her chair as the first of the fireworks split through the sky and whispered, “Thank you sweet Heavenly Father for the miracle of love.” She enjoyed watching the young couple’s relationship bloom. It made her feel hopeful that whatever Leah was holding on to would soon be let go.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Leah awoke Sunday morning with a renewed sense of life. She lay under the chenille blanket and watched the warm sunshine filter in as she thought back over last night’s events. It felt like a dream. She may have even concluded it was, if her lips weren’t pleasantly swollen and Crowley hadn’t left a rash she could feel around her mouth from his beard stubble.

  Leah ran her finger over her lips and smiled. He finally kissed her. She felt as giddy as a teenage girl receiving her first kiss. First kiss…that was exactly what she had received from Crowley last night, she thought as she eased her attention to the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. It read eight, which meant Leah had two hours before meeting Lulu at church.

  Stretching her arms over her head, Leah reviewed the day’s busy schedule and frowned. It would not be allowing her any alone time with Crowley. The church was hosting a community-wide picnic after services in hopes of luring the over-danced town’s folks to get out of bed. After that, Crowley and Jake were scheduled to play in a charity baseball game to benefit the new children’s hospital in the next town over. Lulu had also asked Leah to accompany her on a visit to check on Jessup in the rehabilitation center, which was in the town opposite of the ballgame. Yep. It was going to be a busy day.

  After lazing in the bed for another thirty minutes, Leah reluctantly swung her legs over the side of the bed to start her day. The moment she stood, a cramp clamped down on her right calf. Leah fell back on the bed and rubbed it away. The ache made her smile at the memory of swaying with Crowley. She had never danced so much. Shaking her head, she slowly stood and headed to grab a few Tylenols and a long bath.

  She took special care to cover the pink rash around her mouth when she did her makeup. She left her curls casually down since Crowley liked her hair best that way.

  Leah made it to church wearing the black sundress. She thought it was appropriate since the picnic immediately followed the service. Crowley greeted her at the door and escorted her to their normal pew. He sat closely beside her and draped his arm around her shoulders.

  He leaned in and whispered, “You’re making my mouth water.”

  Leah met his gaze. Her face grew hot as she glimpsed his lips. With as much willpower as she could muster, she turned her attention to the preacher. Focusing was difficult with Crowley lightly rubbing his thumb in a meticulously slow circle on her bare shoulder.

  The picnic tables filled quickly around the church courtyard, which was sheltered by ancient, moss-draped oak trees. By the time Leah helped set up the food tables and gather her plate, she had to settle for sitting across from Crowley. Two teenage boys had claimed the places beside him and were discussing strategies for the highly-anticipated baseball game.

  Ana and Jake sat on Crowley’s side of the bench as well. Leah’s side was filled with a few more boys and a couple of southern belles. Crowley, with his legs intertwined with Leah’s under the table, kept his eyes on her as he coolly kept his conversation going with the boys.

  Leah could barely eat. All she wanted to do was grab her flip-flop-clad gentleman up and run off with him. She saw Crowley lift his fork towards her to remind her to eat.

  To Leah’s horror, Ana honed in on her. “Leah, what in the world happened to your face?” she asked, causing Leah to blush deeply. “It looks like a rash around your mouth…Oh…” She grinned.

  The group erupted in laughter. The boys playfully punched Crowley in his arms in congratulations, and the teenage girls giggled. Leah placed her hand up to her mouth and looked over at Crowley, who didn’t help matters. His eyes were smoldering from the memory, so she was on her own. She could see the prideful smugness in his expression. Leah guessed he was happy to let everyone know about them.

  “It’s probably… all of the strawberries… I ate yesterday…”

  “I warned her they stain.” Lulu came up behind Leah and defended the young woman. “Leah, are you about ready to head out?”

  Thankful to have an excuse to flee, Leah nodded and quickly gathered her still full plate.

  Before she could stand, Crowley held her captive with his legs under the table. “Will we see you two ladies at the game later?”

  “We should be able to make it to the last half,” Lulu said.

  The visit with Jessup went much smoother than Leah had thought. She had expected to find a filthy, drunken man; instead she found a humbled, clean man who was quite remorseful. She was glad to see he had put on a little weight. She brought him the strawberry cream pie that she had bought for Crowley. She wasn’t much in the mood to give it to Crowley, not after he didn’t rescue her in front of the group at the picnic earlier.

  Jessup seemed tickled over the pie and insisted the two ladies share a slice with him. Leah had finally regained her appetite, so she gladly accepted. Lulu took the remaining pie to the nurses’ station, leaving Leah alone with Jessup.

  “That pie was delicious, Miss Leah,” Jessup said.

  “Yes it was. It won second place in the pie category yesterday.” She gathered their paper plates and tossed them. “I have to be very careful with sweets though,” Leah said. She was remorseful for how she had treated him, and she needed to let him know. She sat down and fiddled with one of the turquoise rhinestones on her dress. “It’s how I cope with pain.”

  “How’s that?” Jessup asked.

  “I...um…Before I came to Rivertown, I suffered…a terrible loss…” Tears filled her eyes, and she had to look away from his hollow ones. “I tried to make the pain go away with junk food binges,” she admitted hoarsely. Leah swept the tears off her cheeks and looked back at him. “Lulu made me realize it wasn’t working for me.”

  Jessup nodded as her words sunk in. “You went to Lulu rehab, huh?”

  Leah smiled at him understanding. “Yeah. I guess I’m in an extended program. I don’t know if I will ever be cured, though.”

  Jessup placed his weathered hand on top of Leah’s. “I guess we just have to keep on trying till we figure it out.”

  Leah nodded.

  After promising Jessup another visit soon, Leah and Lulu headed to the ball field. Leah was surprised to find the stands packed with onlookers. People also lined up along the fence with folding chairs. She had not realized the grandness of the charity baseball game.

  Crowley’s team was mostly made up of lawyers. To participate in the game, each player donated three hundred dollars to the charity. Crowley secretly paid for two teenage boys, Jacob and Brandon, to play. They were the star players of the high school baseball team, and Crowley was bettering the chance to win the game with the two older boys’ help. Leah smiled as she realized all of the fraternity friends were scattered between the dugout and field.

  The opposing team consisted of a few judges and nearly the entire local police force. At stake was mainly bragging
rights for the winning team and a steak dinner, bought by the losing team. Everyone was in good spirits and showed great sportsmanlike conduct.

  Crowley looked up from the outfield and spotted Leah making her way over to the dugout. He jogged over to speak to her while the other players got into position for the fifth inning. He was wearing a dark-blue baseball jersey declaring Lawyers Know Everything.

  “I might as well just go sit down with you,” Crowley said to Leah as he neared.

  “Why’s that?” She rested against the fence.

  He tucked his glove in the back of his ball pants and placed his hands over hers. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to concentrate with you flaunting your lovely self in that pretty dress,” Crowley said playfully into her ear, sending delightful tingles along her neck.

  Crowley leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek and started backtracking to the field, causing the entire dugout to come alive with whistles and cat calls. Crowley’s buddies were having a heyday over him finally laying some claim to Leah publically.

  To egg his friends on even more, Crowley jogged back to the fence and used his tattered ball cap to block his and Leah’s faces from the dugout as he kissed her thoroughly. With her looking so amazing, he didn’t want his friends to have any doubt about his claim.

  Leah was pretty impressed when Crowley hit a homerun in the fourth inning, scoring a triple. It was a lively game, with the lead changing in each inning. The game concluded with Crowley’s team winning by two runs. Everyone rushed to the field to congratulate the winning team and to rag the losers in good spirit. In the excitement of the win, Crowley made a beeline to Leah and swept her up in his arms. She pulled his cap off and so she could give him a celebratory kiss.

  “The teams are heading to the steakhouse in a few,” he said.

  She smiled. “Have fun.” Leah was disappointed at the small amount of time they could spend together in the long day, but she wanted him to enjoy his friends.

  Before Crowley could reply, a group of players rushed him with a water cooler, and a free-for-all broke out. Leah and Lulu attempted a quick getaway to dodge the shenanigans. On their way out, one of Lulu’s friends mentioned that by the end of the game, with the player donations, concessions, and ticket sales, over ten thousand dollars had been raised to help fund an indoor playground for the patients at the children’s hospital.

  Several long hours later, Leah snuggled up on her sofa, trying to concentrate on the new mystery Nick had dropped off several days ago. At midnight, a faint knock on the door sent a thrill of anticipation through her. She had longed for Crowley to pop in and was about to give up hope and go to bed.

  She opened the door and smiled. He had both hands hidden behind his back and a grin on his face.

  “I want to go swimming,” he said.

  “Well, you’re dressed in a T-shirt and swim trunks. You’ve got a pool. Go for it.”

  He pulled his right hand from behind his back and handed a small gift bag over to her. “I want you to go with me, Miss Smarty Pants.”

  Leah peeked into the bag and pulled out a skimpy black bikini. “No!”

  Crowley placed his free hand on his hip. “Well, why not?”

  “First off, it’s a bikini. Secondly, it’s a size Small.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah…a small bikini seems ‘bout right to me.”

  “No.”

  “Fine,” he said as he pulled another small gift bag from behind his back and handed it over to her.

  This time, Leah pulled out a baby-blue tankini halter top and bottoms. “Why didn’t you just give me this one to begin with?”

  “Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying.” Crowley stepped into the apartment and closed the door. Before she could go change, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her lightly on the lips. He then moved to delicately place kisses along her earlobe. “You didn’t seem to have any qualms swimming in your unmentionables while I was gone,” he murmured in her ear.

  Leah backed away from him, shocked. “How do you know about that?”

  Crowley pulled her back to him. “I had an attempted break-in a couple of years ago. After that, I had the alarm system installed along with some surveillance cameras around the property. The cameras are linked to my laptop.”

  Leah reared back the two gift bags gathered in her right hand and whacked him with them. “You jerk; you’ve been spying on me.”

  “Hey now…I just got lucky on that one. In between meetings that first day of the conference, I pulled my laptop out to check on the plantation. Low and behold, a gift was laying right there by my pool in the cutest purple bra and panties.” He laughed. “I promise I looked away.”

  “If I would have known—”

  “I should have warned you. I would have if I thought you were going to be so bold.” He nuzzled into her neck and took in the soft floral scent of her. “It helped me to see you while I was gone. To know you were okay. It gave me the restraint not to call you up each day.”

  “What about me? I was miserable with you calling everyone else but me.” She pouted as she laced her hands through the back of his hair.

  “I hoped it would make you miss me more.” He grinned.

  Leah extracted herself from his embrace and headed to the bathroom to change. “You succeeded, Crow.”

  Soon after, they hopped onto their bikes parked behind the café and pedaled off to the pool. The humid air blanketed them as they frolicked in the pool for the next few hours. The clear night sparkled with the glowing moonlight and stars so bright that Crowley didn’t have to turn the pool lights on. Leah felt as though the two of them were in their own private world.

  As they tired of swimming, Crowley wrapped Leah’s long legs around his waist and stood in the six-foot-deep water about midway of the pool. He kissed her behind her right ear then traced his finger down the thin scar that was tucked there. It resembled the same texture as her palm, so he figured it was from some type of burn. “I want to know about this,” he whispered as he skimmed his lips over the scar.

  Saying nothing, she shook her head slightly.

  He surprised her then by tapping the jagged scar she thought was hidden on her hip. “I want to know about this,” he murmured into her ear.

  She had no idea how he could know about that. He looked up and gazed at her intensely. She detected a deep sadness in his ocean-blue eyes. She didn’t want him to carry any burden of her pain, but he had obviously taken it on anyway.

  He pressed his lips to the faint scar tucked in her left eyebrow and kissed it. “I want to know about this.” He worked his way a scar, no longer visible on her chin, that she had arrived with. “I want to know about this,” he murmured against her skin.

  Leah was amazed and deeply touched. He had not forgotten about any of it.

  Crowley looked into Leah’s eyes as they swayed in the water. He pulled her palm to his mouth and brushed kisses over it. “I want to know about this.” He pressed her palm to his pounding heart. “I need to know about this.” The deep timbre of his voice was strained with emotion. Lastly, he traced the long scar across her bottom lip with his thumb. Then he repeated the gesture with his tongue. “I need to know about this.” His words were but a breath against her lips.

  Leah trembled at his touch and the emotion in his voice. Her breath hitched in her throat as tears pricked her eyes. He was too observant and too persuasive. She rested her head on his shoulder to hide the tears. “Why do you need to know about some old ugly scars?” she mumbled.

  He dipped into slightly deeper water so that Leah would have to raise her head and meet his gaze. “I need to know so maybe I can help them heal,” he said as he ran his hand over her cheek to wipe away her tears.

  “Some scars don’t ever heal, Crowley. No matter how awfully bad you want them to. They’re just too deep,” she said in anguish.

  She let him dance her to a gentle rhythm in the water for a while longer while she buried her face into the comforting crook of his neck. As
she held tightly to him, his words began to resonate. It was time to take care of the past, even if it meant losing the future she longed to have.

  She pulled away from him and swam to the steps to exit the pool. “Fine. I’ll meet you at your office after work tomorrow. I’ll tell you everything then.” She grabbed her towel and stomped over to her bike, trying to be mad at him but unable.

  Crowley hopped out the side of the pool and reached out to stop her. “Please don’t leave like this.”

  “It’s late. I’ve got to be to work in only a few hours.” She climbed on her bike and tucked the towel around her.

  “Don’t you want to do this so we can make a good go of this relationship?” he asked in a pleading voice. It pained him that this woman always seemed just out of his grasp.

  “After I tell you, there won’t be any more relationship to worry about.” She took off, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

  Crowley didn’t say another word. He hopped on his bike and escorted her to the back entrance of the café.

  “I’ll meet you after work tomorrow.” She closed and locked the back door.

  Crowley sat on top of his bike until the apartment lights came on. He unwillingly left her and made his way across the street to his townhouse and sat on the porch until the sun began to awaken. Realizing he had a hard afternoon ahead, Crowley numbly headed to his bed for a few hours of sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  A quiet knock on the door sounded a little after three that afternoon, just as Crowley had expected. He opened the door and found a freshly-showered Leah nervously looking at her flip-flops. He opened the door wider and motioned her in.

  Leah stepped in and looked around. There were three thick wooden doors adorned with brass name plates. She moved to the left and read the name plate that stated, Crowley J. Mason III, Attorney at Law. Then she moved over the right and read the name plate on the door opposite of Crowley’s dad’s office. It stated as she expected it would, Crowley J. Mason IV, Attorney at Law. Leah took the few steps to the last office and was surprised to find the name plate inscribed, Lydia C. Mason, Attorney at Law.