by Unknown
“She’s African American.”
“Okay…”
“I just wanted to get that out of the way,” Shane said, ready for any possible argument that may come on the matter.
“Did you think I’d have a problem with that?” His father asked, slightly offended. “You’ve dated women of other races before including African American women, so what’s the difference?”
“True, but I was never serious about any of them like I am about this one.”
“Son you should know by now that your mother and I could care less if she was purple with yellow polka dots. As long as she treats you right and makes you happy, that’s all we care about. Now is there more to her other than the color of her skin?”
Smiling Shane said, “She’s great. She’s extremely smart, funny, thoughtful, down to earth, kind, sexy, beautiful…there isn’t a bad thing a person could say about her.”
Stopping to sit on his favorite bench in the middle of the garden Sean Evans looked his son in his eyes with a very serious look on his face.
“How serious are you about her?”
“I like her a lot, and we’re definitely very attracted to each other but neither of us have spoken about it or acted on it. I don’t want to push anything right now either, but I’m pretty confident in saying the feeling is mutual.”
“Does she know about our family?”
“I believe she does. We really haven’t talked about it, but I believe she knows.”
“She hasn’t asked you any questions about us?” His father asked surprised.
“No. I think she’s waiting for me to bring it up, but honestly dad I really don’t think she cares. I’ve been with women who only cared about my bank account or family name, and they’ve always made it obvious up front where their interest was. Satra isn’t like that.”
“So that’s her name…Satra? It’s pretty…different. I like it.”
“I agree,” Shane said smiling.
“Son, I still think you need to make sure that her interest is truly in you and not your bank account. I know you said she’s not that way, but just be sure.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and I will,” Shane said that for his father’s benefit. Nothing about Satra made him think for a second that she was a gold digger or only interested in him for his money. But he would be cautious nonetheless.
“So what’s her family like? What do they do? Where are they from?”
“Her dad’s a retired police officer and her mom is a retired teacher. Her parents are from Arkansas but raised their kids in Milwaukee. She has three older brothers, and they’re a pretty tight knit family. Her father had a stroke recently. Satra and I were in South Carolina on business when she got the call. I made sure she got on the next flight home and let her use my jet to go see her father again after he had surgery.”
“That was very nice of you son. She sounds like she comes from a nice family.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty normal. I like that.”
“Let me share this with you son. From the moment, I met your mother I wanted to move heaven and earth for her. Whatever problems she had I wanted to fix them or find a way to make them better. Whatever made her happy I wanted to do it over and over just to see that beautiful smile of hers. To see your mom’s beautiful green eyes light up when she’s happy – there’s nothing in the world that makes me happier.”
Shane was stunned. He felt the exact same way about Satra.
“I think that’s great dad but the timing is all wrong right now. The attraction I feel for her was instant, and it gets stronger every time I’m around her. With that being said, I can’t cross that line with her right now. We both have a lot going on in our lives, and I don’t want to mess anything up by moving too fast. Hell, we’ve only known each other for about two months now.”
“Well, son I only knew your mom for two weeks and I knew I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. When you know, you know. If Satra makes, you feel that way then you better not let her get away from you. Don’t wait too long to let her know how you feel. Women like her and your mom don’t come around often. I can’t wait to meet her….whenever that’ll be.”
Shame smiled at his father’s sarcasm. “Thanks, dad. Someone else gave me that same advice not too long ago. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Slapping his son’s knee Mr. Evans said, “Well maybe it’s time for you to listen to our advice. It’s good to see you so happy son. You really do look good, and it looks like it’s because of Satra. You never looked like this when you were with that other one you dated. God I despised that woman!”
Shane chuckled and tapped his father’s back. “No, I was never happy with Kate. We fought all the time. When I’m with Satra, we laugh a lot, and we talk about any and everything. It’s nice.”
“Come on son, let’s head back to the house before your mother sends out the search team.”
They stood up and headed back to the house laughing and talking.
“You know mom is going to grill you about what we talked about,” Shane warned before they reached the patio door.
“Don’t worry about your mother. I’ve been handling her for forty years. She’s not getting anything out of me. I’ll leave that to you to fill her in on the details of you and Satra.”
“Thanks, dad,” Shane said as he gave him a one armed hug around his father’s shoulder and walked back inside his parent’s home.
It was eleven o’clock at night before Shane left his parent’s house. He had such a good time with his family, and he didn’t realize just how much he missed everyone. Abbey, Dave, and the kids left at 10pm. Both of the kids were asleep when they left. Shane’s father updated him on the family businesses and how much they were growing despite the economic downturn. His father sounded like he could use more help in the front offices. Shane mulled over how he could help him in that area and still run his new business. He’d figure out something soon. He knew it would make his father ridiculously happy to have him take an active role in the family business.
Shane thought about all of these things on his drive home. As usual his thoughts trailed to Satra. If his plans continued to fall into place, it wouldn’t be long before he let his feelings be known to Satra.
****
As much as Shane tried not to he found himself looking forward to the ball. For the first time since knowing Mr. Di Amato he looked forward to rubbing elbows and laughing at corny jokes all because of one person that will be attending: Satra Sinclair. He wasn’t going to bother bringing a date because the only person he wanted to bring on his arm was Satra. Now he can’t shake the nagging question of whether or not Satra will bring a date. The thought made him feel uneasy and jealous even though he knew he had no right to feel jealous. After all, he didn’t ask her to the ball, and she doesn’t know how he feels about her.
‘But what if she does bring a date? What if he’s tall, dark and handsome, and they look great together and she’s having a great time with him the entire night? They never leave each other’s side and make goo-goo eyes at each other. What will you do? ‘I’ll be pissed; that’s what!’ Shane thought angrily to himself. ‘Ok, if she brings a date I would try my best to remain on my best behavior. That’s all I can try to do, but I’m not making any promises. I better call my tailor. I’m about due for a new tux.’
Shane picked up his office phone and dialed his favorite tailor, Nunzio Farelli.
He made an appointment to come in after work. Granted he’s worn the same tux two years in a row and it’s still in wonderful condition, he wanted to look his absolute best at this ball. He wanted Satra to be as aware of him as he knew he would be painfully aware of her. As much as he tried he couldn’t tame the jealous lion inside of him when it came to her. What frustrated him even more is he was never the jealous type…until now.
“What is it about this woman that she has such power me?” He wondered to himself.
Shaking his head he picked up a file fro
m his desk and tried to immerse himself in his work. As hard as he tried he couldn’t concentrate. He picked up his phone and called his best friend from high school, Derrick Bell. Derrick befriended Shane when no one else would. They nicknamed him Silver Spoon and Ricky Schroeder because of his rich family. Shane tried his best to keep his family a secret, but the minute he told Derrick that he went to Charlemagne High, Derrick knew his family had money. Only the filthy rich could afford to send their kids to that private school. But Derrick never held it against Shane nor did he ever ask him for money. Derrick wasn’t like that and he was too proud.
Shane used to sneak to the inner city to play basketball with the best of the best. He played basketball for Charlemagne High and was the star player, but he never felt the competition was challenging enough. The competition was average at best. One day his driver had to take a detour and go through the inner city to get home due to construction. At a stop light Shane saw a playground full of kids his age, all of them black, playing hard and trash talking. While they competed hard against each other they were clearly having a lot of fun ribbing each other and talking trash. They were flying through the air doing spectacular dunks, crossover dribbles, and Magic Johnson like passes. He knew right away those were the kind of basketball players he wanted to play with and against. He knew he could learn from them. He tried to get his driver to pull over but he refused, afraid of being fired if his parents ever found out where he took their son. The very next day Shane ditched his driver and rode his bike to the playground. They wouldn’t let him play so for days he just watched and shot around on the other court. Finally, one day, someone twisted their ankle and they needed a sub. Derrick looked at Shane for a long time. He had seen Shane coming there every day watching, shooting around and working on his game. Shane didn’t think anyone noticed him but Derrick did. Derrick could tell Shane had some game.
“Hey, you. You wanna play?” Shane thought Derrick was talking to someone behind him only there wasn’t anyone behind him. Looking around Shane said, “Who, me?”
Rolling his eyes, Derrick said, “Naw, your grandma Betty! Yeah you man! Do you wanna play or what? You’ve been coming here every day for the past two weeks so you must have something to show us.”
Trying to hide his joy Shane said as cool as he could “Yeah, I’ll play.”
Not only did Shane play well and impress everyone on the playground, but also he made a best friend for life in Derrick. Derrick went on to college, then dropped out his junior year to go to culinary school. No one knew his real passion was cooking but Shane. Shane encouraged him to follow his dream, and he finally did despite his parent’s disappointment. Now Derrick is a world-renowned chef who studied in France and Italy. Shane paid for Derrick to study abroad at the finest culinary arts school despite Derrick’s constant refusal of the offer. Derrick finally caved in and insisted on paying back every penny back to Shane when he was able to. Shane didn’t want Derrick to do that, he wanted his offer to be a gift and never spoken of again, but he knew his friend would be too proud to accept that. Derrick never wanted to give the impression that he only befriended Shane because of his wealth. He’s heard that accusation a few times over the years and it made him want to piss fire. Shane knew the only way he was going to get his friend to accept the money was to agree to let Derrick pay him back. When Derrick finished his schooling and opened his own restaurant, he paid Shane back every penny.
“What’s up stranger?” Came Derrick’s jovial voice.
“What’s up man, how are you?” Shane asked smiling. It had been a while since he last talked to his friend. They had a lot to catch up on.
“I’m good man. Busy as usual. Business is good. The wife is doing well. I can’t complain. How are things with you?” Derrick asked, turning serious for a moment.
He knew Shane very well and he knew when something was heavy on his mind.
“Man…where do I even begin?”
Shane said as he swiveled in his chair to look out his huge office window. Running his fingers through his hair he took a deep breath and began telling Derrick all about Satra, from the first time they met until now. Derrick listened attentively to his friend. He knew after two minutes of listening to his closest friend that Shane was in love with this woman, but he wouldn’t tell Shane that, at least not yet.
When Shane finished, Derrick said, “Whoa…that’s a lot to take in and a lot that I’ve missed out on. But it sounds like the attraction is mutual. I can tell you now that this cat and mouse game you two are playing isn’t going to last long at all. It’s just a matter of time before you act on the attraction.”
“That’s just it. I’m trying my hardest to keep things professional but the more I’m around her the more I want her, and not just sexually. I just want to be around her…all the time. She’s the total package of everything I want in a wife and it blows my mind that she’s still single!”
“You’re probably just the first decent guy who had sense enough to look past the physical stuff and really get to know her instead of trying to jump her bones.” Derrick said simply.
“So what do I do? How do I handle this from here on out? I know she’s going to look amazing at this ball, and I know me. I’m going to want to punch out every man that looks at her the wrong way and put my claim on her for myself. I’ve never been like this about a woman before Derrick.”
“You never met the right one to make you feel jealous for all the right reasons.”
“And she hasn’t even done anything to make me jealous, it’s just the thought of her being with someone else………it drives me crazy! If she comes to this ball with a date I don’t know how I’ll react.”
Derrick chuckled. “Two things: 1. You should’ve asked her to the ball. To hell with working together. That’s a load of bull and you know it. You want something you go after it. It’s as simple as that. 2. I hate to break it to you bro, but you’ve got it bad for this one. I’d love to meet her and congratulate her on doing what I thought was impossible, make you fall in love!”
‘There’s that L word again,’ Shane thought.
“Ok I admit it was very dumb on my part not to ask her to the ball but please don’t use the “L” word on me! I can’t be…it’s too soon…isn’t it?” Shane asked nervously.
“It’s not the same for everybody. But it sounds like to me that you are. Everything you’ve told me, how you gush over her and sing her every praise…she’s got you. She’s all up under your skin man. So my advice to you is to see how things go at the ball. Try your best not to sweat her. Men are going to flirt with her, stare at her and lust for her, but I guarantee you this: If she’s into you the way you’re into her she’s going to find you because she’s going to want to be with you and not those other dudes. And you’re gonna have women all over you, flirting with you and she’s not going to like that one bit either. Just play it as cool as you can and go with the flow.”
Shane was quiet for a moment before he responded to his friends’ advice. He knew Derrick was right. “Ok…yeah, you’re right. That’s what I’m gonna do. Just go with the flow and see what happens.”
“Trust me on this. If she’s digging you as much as you’re digging her she’ll make it a point to spend as much time with you as she can at that ball. It’ll work out.”
Smiling, Shane asked, “How do you know?”
Laughing Derrick said, “Because I know you. You’re a go-getter. You’re not gonna let her get away from you.”
Smiling Shane said, “You’ve got that right. I’m not letting her get away from. Not by a long shot.”
Chapter Thirteen
Satra was amazed at how quickly the weeks rolled by. Grayson informed her that he wouldn’t be attending the ball this year because he had family obligations to attend to, mostly his parents. He and his wife planned on visiting his parents again to check on them and to go with them to a few of their doctor’s appointments. He had already called Di Amato to give his regrets. That was another blow to
Satra because she thought if anyone she’d have Grayson and Maggie to be around since she wouldn’t know anyone else besides Shane and Mr. Di Amato.
A big part of her couldn’t wait for Shane to see her. She wanted him to drool like a St. Bernard. She managed to find the perfect shoes to go with her dress. They were gold and strappy and wrapped around her ankle with beautiful fuchsia feathers down the front of the shoe to her toes. She also got a surprise phone call from Anna at the boutique recommending a hairdresser named Amber to her who was very good. Satra couldn’t thank Anna enough for her kindness.
It was hard to concentrate on work. The ball was just two days away. Satra hadn’t talked to or seen Shane since their last conversation almost two weeks ago. In a way she liked it that way because she wanted there to be a measure of surprise when they did finally see each other. She knew he’d look ridiculously handsome in his tux and she wanted to look equally good. She made her hair appointment with Amber for Saturday at three in the afternoon. Everything was in place. Since she last visited her family she made it a point to call them every day, sometimes several times a day. She kept them in the loop of what was going on in her life, something she had promised she would get better at doing. Her mother was just as excited as Satra was about the ball but not happy with the idea of her going to the ball alone.
“Leave the girl alone. If she wants to go alone let her go alone.” Her father said in the background in her defense.
“Just have fun sweetie. I’m sure there will be plenty of men approaching you if Shane doesn’t stake his claim first.”
“Mom….” Satra moaned.
“I’m just sayin…be prepared. That man is going to mark you the moment he lays his eyes on you. If there is one thing I do know its men. Your father was the same way. When a man is truly interested in a woman he won’t waste any time letting it be known to other men.”
“Your mama is right baby girl.” Her father chimed in after picking up the other phone so he could be part of the conversation too.