“Hola, mi amigo. I’ll have a top shelf margarita on the rocks without salt on the rim. Can you also bring me a menu? I’d like to order dinner.” The bartender nodded and began to make her drink.
The freshly made warm tortilla chips were delicious with the chunky salsa. She munched on one after another, watching the bartender artfully make her drink. After shaking the stainless-steel shaker in one hand above his head, he placed a beautiful, painted margarita glass on the bar in front of her and filled it to the rim. She smiled in approval and carefully raised the glass to her lips for a refreshing sip. Ahh. Just what I need to forget about Ross for now.
Her eyes focused on a guy sitting at a table with a woman, a kid, and a baby. Olivia did a double take and stared after realizing he had long red hair like Ross. He also had the same body build, which was too much of a coincidence. She squinted, trying to see his face, yet could only see the back of his head.
Wondering if this man was Ross made her stomach queasy. The way he shook his head when he laughed even reminded her of him. The boy at the table had red hair like Ross. The dim lighting in the room kept Olivia from being able to make out the face of the woman.
“Of course, it can’t be Ross. He’s on his way to Corpus Christi. Quit letting your mind play games on you,” Olivia mumbled and slowly placed her drink on the bar. The person next to her gave her a strange look. “Oh, sorry. I’m talking to myself,” she apologized.
The guy with the family reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and pay for their meal. Olivia held her breath in anticipation of when he stood up. Turn around so I can see your face. The woman gathered their leftover containers and held the boy by the hand. The man put the baby in a stroller. Olivia stared at them until they left the restaurant.
She exhaled, realizing she stopped breathing and became dizzy.
“It can’t be Ross. He definitely doesn’t have kids. I’m sure of it,” she said aloud before noticing the stare from the person next to her again. “What? You know you talk to yourself, too.”
The knots in her stomach eased and Olivia laughed at herself. How can I possibly think Ross could’ve been sitting with a family in a restaurant when he’s on the road to Corpus Christi? That’s crazy. I have to learn to trust my man better than this.
Olivia realized she’d never ordered her dinner and no longer had an appetite to eat anymore. She paid for her drink, tipped the bartender, and started walking back to her house.
She flipped open her cell phone to see if she’d missed any calls from Ross. It had been about three hours since they had spoken and he should be in Corpus Christi by now.
When Olivia got home, she checked the volume on her phone to ensure it was at the highest level possible. She walked upstairs to her bedroom, disappointed.
“I’m being silly,” she mumbled and removed her orange nightgown out of the dresser drawer. She grabbed the remote from the nightstand to turn on the TV and found a marathon of old episodes of “Good Times” to watch. The soft sheets and comforter welcomed her when she slid in and pulled them to her chin. Before she knew it, she woke to sunlight streaming through her window.
“Ugh. I can’t believe it's morning already,” she moaned and rolled out of bed, smoothing her tousled hair from her face. She checked her cell phone to see what time Ross called last night.
No call.
She checked her landline answering machine.
No messages.
Olivia punched in Ross’s number and got his voicemail. She ended the call and carefully punched in the number a second time.
“Hey. This is Ross. After the beep, you know what to do. Chao.” Olivia frowned upon hearing his message. “Ross, this is Olivia. Baby, where are you? You have me worried. I thought I would hear from you when you got to Corpus Christi last night. Call me right away please.”
What if he’s been in a car accident? She turned on the TV and watched the news with dread waiting to see if anything was reported.
“Maybe I need to call a few police stations. No. I’m being silly,” she reassured herself and paced the room. “I’m sure he’s fine and probably forgot to plug in his cell phone last night. I will hear from him. Okay, pull yourself together Olivia, and get to cycling class.”
Olivia dug through her dresser drawer to find her black cycling shorts, lime green sports bra, and socks to wear. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, slipped on her shoes, and put on her baseball cap. She grabbed her gym bag before leaving the house.
Her stomach growled, reminding her she never ate dinner last night. Thankfully, she had a granola bar in her bag to munch on during her drive to the gym.
There were two bikes left in the packed cycling class. Another woman entered in at the same time and they rushed to the bikes to make sure no one else beat them. Olivia pulled her hand towel and water bottle from her bag and placed them on the handles to secure it.
“Whew. I’m relieved I made it here in time,” the lady said to her.
“Me too. I didn’t think there would be any bikes left,” Olivia responded and raised the seat for her height.
“I don’t know why my kids had to pick this morning to act out. My husband had already left for work, and I had to get the kids together to bring them to the gym. I need this workout to get my nerves back in order,” the lady laughed and adjusted her bike.
“Well, this class will definitely do it. I love this instructor,” Olivia said. “By the way, my name is Olivia.”
The woman stuck her hand out to shake her hand. “I’m Dahlia. Nice to meet you.”
Olivia noticed how attractive and fit Dahlia appeared to be. She had smooth ginger brown skin, long black hair, and expressive ebony eyes. Why does she look vaguely familiar? Probably because she looks exotic like the singer from Prince’s group, Vanity 6.
“I haven’t tried this class out yet. I got off maternity leave a few weeks ago and am recently getting back into the gym.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You had a baby? I can’t believe that. You don’t have an ounce of fat on you,” Olivia exclaimed and switched into her biking shoes.
“All I can say is I have good genes,” Dahlia laughed. “I exercised often during my pregnancy until time to deliver the baby. I even ran a half marathon in my fifth month.”
“No way. Well, I sure hope when I get married and start having children that my body bounces back like yours,” Olivia said, watching the instructor come in and turn on C+C Music Factory’s song, “Gonna Make You Sweat,” to get the class ready for the strenuous workout.
“Are you planning to have a baby anytime soon?” Dahlia asked.
“Girl, no. I have a new boyfriend I started dating a few months ago. We’ve been thinking about getting married. I doubt it will be anytime soon,” Olivia said.
“Well, you never know. He may ask you sooner than you think. My husband and I celebrated our fifth-anniversary last month. I became pregnant on our honeymoon. We met here at the gym when I traveled to town for a conference and decided to sneak in a quick workout. The chemistry felt strong right from the beginning. He proposed within six months after we met.”
“What a great love story. I met my boyfriend here at the gym, too. Maybe that’s a telltale sign.”
“I hope it happens for you. You’ll have to keep me posted. The kids and I come here every other week to visit my husband. We have a beach home in Port Aransas, which is about three hours south of here. We have another house in San Antonio so he has a place to live for his job. We rotate weekends for him to come home and for me to bring the kids to visit.”
“It sounds like you two have a good system in place. It’s important to spend time together.” Olivia’s mind drifted to Ross. Umm. It would be nice if Ross and I had time with each other again.
“I agree. We arrived in town yesterday and had a nice night out on the Riverwalk. Unfortunately, I have to leave tomorrow with the kids since my son has karate lessons in Port Aransas. It’s not convenient, however, we make
it work,” Dahlia said.
The instructor got on her bike and started speaking into a head mic to start the class. “Well, here we go with this monster workout. It’s nice to meet you. We should exchange numbers to keep in touch and get together sometime,” Dahlia suggested.
“Good idea. Let’s do that after class,” Olivia said and tilted forward on her bike to begin to ride. At least the class would get her mind off Ross for an hour. Surely, there would be a missed call from him when the class ended.
CHAPTER 26
“I wonder what my girl is up to tonight?” Savvy asked herself and grabbed the phone to dial Olivia’s number.
Olivia answered on the first ring sounding anxious. “Hello?”
“Hey, girl. Why do you sound stressed?” Savvy asked.
“Oh, hey, Savvy,” Olivia sighed.
“Well, that’s no way to greet your best friend,” Savvy teased.
“I’m sorry. I thought I would get a call from Ross,” Olivia apologized. “I haven’t heard from him since he got on the road going to Corpus Christi. I’m worried about him.”
“When did he leave? Didn’t the two of you get together last night after we met for Happy Hour?” Savvy asked.
“No, girl,” Olivia brooded. “He called and said he had to go to Corpus instead to help some guy who he’s been training. Evidently, he needed his help to get ready for this big competition today. He does this all the time. Not to mention he won’t be back until Tuesday or Wednesday. I bought tickets for us to attend a show at the Carver Cultural Theater tomorrow.”
“Oh no, Olivia,” Savvy exclaimed. “I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this craziness. I’m sure he has a good excuse for not calling. Maybe he got super busy with helping the bodybuilder. Perhaps he had to focus on the competition today. You’ll probably hear from him soon.”
“I sure hope so. You know the crazy thing is, I walked on the Riverwalk last night to clear my head, and I spotted a guy who resembled Ross with a woman and two kids. Now you know my mind is playing tricks on me,” Olivia snickered.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Savvy laughed. “Too many Swampy Canes from Happy Hour had your brain swimming.”
“Right. I said the same thing. I’ve got to stop worrying about him like this. He makes it hard not to when he doesn’t call me or changes plans at the last minute.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying he’s done this before?” Savvy questioned.
“Yeah, he has. It’s weird with the timing. It always seems to happen on the weekends. He spends several days with me during the week and poof, he disappears,” Olivia responded.
“Oooh, Olivia, this doesn’t sound too good. Have you gone to his house to check out if his car is there? In case he didn’t get on the road, he might be home.”
“No, I didn’t want to turn into a stalker girlfriend. Plus, I’m embarrassed to admit, I’ve never been to his house. I don’t even know where he lives,” Olivia said reluctantly.
“What? How could you not know where he lives after dating him for this long?” Savvy scolded.
“I know, it sounds strange. He told me he’s ashamed of his bachelor pad. Evidently, it’s tiny, and he’s the worst when it comes to cleaning. Ross claims he has this massive collection of comic books, workout stuff, and dirty laundry everywhere and it’s no place for us to hang out. I even offered to help him clean up. I guess he’s afraid I might accidentally trample his treasured comic book collection or something,” Olivia explained.
“That has to be the biggest crock of lies I’ve ever heard,” Savvy exclaimed. “He doesn’t want you to come over? So, he always has to go to your place? Olivia, it sounds like he has something to hide.”
“You think so?” Olivia asked, trying not to sound pissed off. “I don’t know why he would need to lie to me. We have such a great relationship, other than his disappearing acts. I mean, when we’re together, the chemistry is strong. It’s like we can’t keep our hands off each other. He treats me like a queen and we have a lot of fun together.”
Savvy breathed in deeply and tried to find a delicate way to say what she had to without pushing her friend away. “Olivia, a queen would never have to worry about where her man is. I don’t know Ross yet, however, from what you told me, I don’t think he’s being on the up and up with you. I used to date a guy who pulled disappearing acts on me. I found out he lived with another woman. I want you to do some investigation to find out if there’s something going on.”
Olivia’s voice cracked with emotion. “I hear what you’re saying. For my own sanity, I have to believe he wouldn’t do anything crazy. But, I’ll check it out if I don’t hear from him tonight.”
Savvy sighed. “Okay, my friend. You know I only want the best for you. Keep me posted on what you find out. In the meantime, speaking of tonight, are we getting together with Da Crew?”
“I’m sorry, Savvy. I’ve been worried about Ross and totally forgot to reach out to them to find out whassup for tonight. After dealing with this stuff, I don’t want to go out.”
“No problem. Do you want me to come by and keep you company? I have a great bottle of wine I can bring over. We can chat some more or watch a movie,” Savvy offered.
“Naw. I wouldn’t be much fun right now.”
“Well, how about we meet at your church tomorrow and have brunch afterward? I’ll even go to Sunday school with you. We can have a girly day out with mimosas. If you haven’t heard from Ross, I’ll be your date for the show at the Carver Cultural Theater,” Savvy suggested.
“That sounds like a good idea. I’m glad you’re coming to visit my church this Sunday. Don’t forget, Sunday School starts at 8 am and church at 9:30. We’ll have plenty of time to eat.” Olivia sounded back to normal. “There’s a fabulous brunch at this hotel called La Castle on the Riverwalk. I’ll call and make reservations for us there.”
“All right. Well, let me know if you have a change of heart and want to get together. Don’t sit and sulk all night by yourself waiting on Ross to call you. Promise?”
“Promise. I love you for being such a good friend to me Savvy. You always know exactly what to say.”
“I love you too, Olivia. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, my friend. Please get some rest,” Savvy said and ended the call.
Savvy shook her head. Ross is definitely hiding something from Olivia.
CHAPTER 27
Olivia sighed and looked at the time on the clock. 7:13 pm and she still hadn’t heard from Ross. She filled his voice mailbox until it wouldn’t receive any new messages.
She decided to go get a smoothie at his shop to find out if his employees heard from him.
The setting sun turned the sky violet and orange as she drove into the parking lot. Her headlights shined on someone who looked like Dahlia leaving out of the gym and heading toward the smoothie shop. She carried a baby in one arm and held another child by the hand.
Olivia honked her horn and stuck her hand out the window to wave. Dahlia didn’t notice so Olivia decided she’d just go talk to her inside the shop.
Olivia found a spot to park a few cars down from the shop. She opened her door and stopped in her tracks when she noticed a red Corvette like Ross’s in the back of the lot. It sat in his usual spot.
She tip-toed to the window and peered in. “Why in the world am I acting like a detective?” She mumbled.
The shop’s bright lights illuminated Dahlia standing at the counter. She chatted with one of the employees. He began making smoothies for her and her son. The little boy’s curly, red hair, flopped around on his head as he jumped up and down in anticipation of his drink. Dahlia laughed over his excitement and hugged him while balancing the baby on her hip.
Oh, how sweet. She looks like a wonderful mom. I know I’m crazy standing out here staring in this window. Let me take my butt inside and stop trippin’. Right before she stepped toward the door to go inside, someone else came from the back of the shop and headed to the counter.
&nb
sp; He walked to Dahlia, who smiled and closed her eyes before he planted a big kiss on her lips. He took the baby from her arms and rubbed the red-haired boy on his head.
Olivia squinted to see better. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized it was Ross.
If Olivia didn’t know better, she would think she had an out of body experience. She clutched her chest, thinking her rapidly beating heart would jump out. Oh my, God. This can’t be happening. She breathed in deep gulps of air to keep from passing out.
The palms of her hands became sweaty and shook uncontrollably to the point where her keys almost slipped from her fingers. She stumbled away from the store window and ran frantically to her car. Her body trembled excessively. She almost could not open the door to get in and weakly fall into the seat.
Choppy thoughts flooded Olivia’s mind when she put everything together. Ross. And Dahlia. Dahlia said she’s married. She’s visiting her husband from Port Aransas. Her husband has a house in San Antonio. Dahlia met her husband at the gym. They have kids. A new baby. This is the family I saw at the restaurant. Dahlia said she went to the Riverwalk last night with her family. He’s the guy with red hair along with his red-haired kid. It’s Ross. It’s definitely Ross. He’s not in Corpus Christi. He’s right here. In San Antonio. With his wife and kids.
The air didn’t fill her lungs fast enough with each breath Olivia tried to breathe. Her head spun wildly. She didn’t want to believe what her eyes witnessed.
She gripped the steering wheel until her hands hurt. Nothing could erase the vision of his family. She closed her eyes to fervently pray it is all a dream. This has got to be a dreadfully bad nightmare. Wake me up now, God. I know this isn’t real.
She opened her eyes in hopes she was imagining everything. She immediately noticed Ross standing in the entryway, bouncing the baby up and down in his massive arms. He used his body to hold the smoothie shop door open for Dahlia and their son to exit. He escorted them to her vehicle and placed the baby in the car seat. After he helped the boy buckle up in the booster seat, he hugged and kissed Dahlia in what seemed like an endless embrace.
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