Curly Q

by Jamallah Bergman

  The soothing mellow voice caused her body to awaken immediately. “Austin, is that you?”

  “Yes, it is my dear. Can you hear me?”

  “Well, it’s a little crackle on my end but I can hear you just fine. Isn’t it late there right now, where you are? Are you still in Ibiza?”

  “Yes, it’s very late and right now, I’m in Milan. I had to stop off to do a quick shoot for a friend whose niece wanted some pictures done. But I’ll be leaving for France in two days, I think I’ll stay here a while longer to take some photos. I was calling because I had to hear your voice and also you should be getting something sent to you right about now.”

  “What did you send me?”

  “Madison!” Mildred shouted as she came into the room. “You have something here for you and you won’t believe it.” Signaling someone to come in, a delivery man came in with a huge bouquet of roses of every single color from red to pink to peach to yellow and white.

  It was the biggest bunches of flowers she’d ever seen in her entire life. “Oh, my God Austin,” she exclaimed in shock.

  He chuckled over the phone. “I see you got it. I hope you enjoy it and think of me when you look at it. I’ve got to go, talk with you soon.” with that, he hung up.

  Madison went to get a closer look to smell the flowers.

  “Who sent them to you?” Mildred asked as she took some out of the vase and handed them to her.

  “A friend I met while I was away.”

  “He must be something special to give you such beautiful flowers.” Mildred smiled while walking out of the office.

  The next three weeks were like clockwork for Madison. It seemed as if cases were falling into her lap before she could even finish the one she was on. But Austin made those weeks even better when he would call her to check up on her. He would call her a total of four times while he was in France. It was a comfort to hear about all the things he’d been doing on his shoot.

  “It looks like my stay here in France will be longer than I thought. I’ve been in Provence for another week. Oh, I wish you were here with me, the sun is so beautiful here, and the people are so friendly.

  Madison was lying in her bed, even though it was very late, she didn’t want to go to sleep on him while he talked. She always looked forward to his calls. “I wish I was there too. I bet its beautiful, are you in a hotel?”

  “No, I am staying at a friend’s home. Whenever I come to France, I usually stay with them. It’s really nice and the sights here are amazing. I’ve taken so many pictures that I don’t remember how many there are. But I’ll send some to you along with the others.”

  Yawning a little, she smiled. “That sounds great.”

  “I better let you go sweetheart. I know that it’s late there and you need your rest. I will try and call in a couple of days alright?”

  “Mmm-hmm, you take care and be safe.” She continued to yawn.

  He snickered. “You sound like a little bird when you yawn. Sweet dreams.”

  Clicking the button, she smiled while putting the phone on the mount and pressed the button to turn the light off.

  After that call, Madison didn’t hear from Austin for another two weeks. It was kind of nerve racking because she’d gotten spoiled by his calls.

  “Madison, you have something here for you,” Mildred said bringing a huge rectangular box into the room. “Where should I put it at?”

  “Over there on the coffee table.” She made her way to the couch as she sat down in front of it and began to take off the brown paper to reveal a red box. When she opened the box, there was a brown leather bound book and when she pulled it out, Madison realized it was a photo album. Flipping through the album each photo had a little something written at the bottom about the picture. She couldn’t believe how wonderful they looked. When she saw the fields of rows of luxurious lavender, so brilliantly purple in color, Madison could actually smell the flowers. When she got towards the end, she saw a picture of him wearing a white shirt and pants. He was sitting on what looked like a terrace, his leg resting up along it while that handsome smile spread across his face. At the bottom of the picture it said, “Turn the page…”

  When she did, he held a sign in his hand, ‘Wish You Were Here Madison, I Miss You!’

  Madison couldn’t help but smile as he tried to make with the puppy dog eyes.

  “So that’s the mystery man huh?” Mildred smiled looking over her shoulder.

  “Uh huh, that’s him. He’s my brother in law’s mysterious brother. I met him at a party that Candace was giving. He travels all over the world doing photography and such. He told me he would send me some photos but I never thought he would send them to me in such a beautiful book. This had to be handmade. You can’t find anything this exquisite as this. Someone had to have made it.”

  “Whoever did, really took their time, it’s lovely. What are you going to do with it?”

  “For now, I plan on leaving it here on my coffee table but I do plan on taking it home with me.” Soon, her phone rang and Madison knew that it was back to work once more.

  “You know that he has been writing me when he sends the kids things from other countries,” Candace told Madison later on that night while she was making some popcorn.

  “Oh, he does huh? He’s been sending me a lot of things. He sent me a photo album of all of the pictures he’s taken so far. I thought it was really lovely. I’m still looking through them now. God, to go to these places he’s been to and see the things he’s seen.” But when she heard her sister giggling then laughing out loud, Madison sighed. “Alright, what is it?”

  “Madison’s in love,” Candace sing-songed.

  “I am not. Will you hush woman.”

  “Well, he is…Let me read you a little of what he wrote to me last. ‘Sometimes, when I am in the market place, for some reason I feel like she’s mixed somewhere in the crowd. I turn to see if maybe I can see her but often she disappears. I feel and think of that kiss we had that night. I know I was a fool Candace, but whenever I think of her face and how innocently she looked at me, who wouldn’t want to kiss an angel?’ ” Candace chuckled. “I swear he doesn’t know you from the man in the moon.”

  She couldn’t believe what he’d written about her. It sparked some happiness within her heart to know someone cared like this and thought about her that way. It’d been a long time since anyone said such things about her. Actually, now that she thought about it, it was really the first time anyone had said such things.

  The following morning when she got into work, Madison was in a daze. Her thoughts of what Candace told her the other night had been reeling through her head.

  “Are you alright?” Mildred asked when she brought in her cup of coffee.

  Taking a sip from her cup, she put it down on her desk. “I’ve just been thinking Mildred, that’s all. Let me ask you something, if you thought you had found ‘the’ right guy, what would you do?”

  “Well…” Mildred went and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “…When I met Neil, I honestly thought he was obnoxious as hell. But then once we really got the chance to know each other, I realized he was the one and that was twenty years ago. So if you think you have found the right one, then I would go for it and don’t let it get away. Is it that guy who’s been sending you all those lovely things?”

  Nodding her head, Madison let out a sigh.

  Mildred smiled even more. “He is very handsome alright and those photos he took were fantastic. If he ever does come back, I would tell him how you really feel.” She got up and went back to the front office.

  Madison turned her head to gaze out the window. She knew Mildred and Candace were right. But how do you just know? Could she trust herself to know? Look what happened with Paul. She shook her head and tried to focus on work.

  Madison had a mountain of files to go through on a case. Mildred ushered the client into the meeting room. They said their hellos then Madison looked through the file. It just happened to b
e a divorce between a couple who’d been together for fifteen years. She had the task of representing the husband, who was having a very hard time giving away some of the things he had, especially the cars. “Mr. McDowell, you’re going to have to at least give up two of the cars to your wife. What are you doing to do with four cars?”

  He paced the floor of the meeting room. “She just wants me to rack my brain with worry about those cars because she knows they are my pride and joy. This is going to take me a while to think about.”

  “I’ve given you enough time to think about all of this. I’ve given you at least two weeks now and that’s plenty of time. The only hold up with going through with the divorce is the decision on the cars.” Madison felt frustrated with this man’s incompetence. He started to remind her of Paul and how stupid he acted sometimes about never wanting to give up certain things. “Mr. McDowell, if you do not figure out which car you want to give to your wife, I will do the figuring out for you. I am leaning towards giving her the ™750 BMW and the ™Tahoe since you both have children and she’s going to need a big enough car to take them here and there. SO that’s what I plan on doing within the next ten minutes until you decide for yourself.”

  She had to get out of that room and began to walk out and towards her office but instead ended up in front of Mildred’s desk.

  “Is he still trying to figure out the car thing?”

  Rolling her eyes and running her fingers through her hair, Madison breathed a heavy sigh. “I swear I do not know what is up with men and their cars. Bob, oh Bob,” she shouted to get his attention in which he came over to the desk. “What is it with men and cars?”

  Smiling a bit, he chuckled. “A man and his car are like chocolate to women. They’re our lifeline to freedom and it’s just the simple fact that all that power is in our hands when we’re behind that wheel.”

  “Well, I can understand that a little but that man in there is just stubborn and greedy. Can you go in there for me and get him to be reasonable?”

  “Alright, for you I’ll do it.” Bob smiled and walked on by the two as

  Mildred was looking behind her but quickly glanced at Madison with a smile on her face.

  “You look awfully chipper. You must have heard some juicy gossip. What did you hear?” Madison smiled as some of the other women crowded around the desk. Most were looking behind her with their mouths agape.

  Mildred grinned and said, “Well, this time the juicy bit…might be about you.” She motioned her head at some spot behind Madison.

  When she did turn around, she realized exactly why they were all gawking.

  He stood at the entrance of the office, wearing a pair of khaki pants and a crisp white shirt that complimented his tan skin. When their eyes locked, Austin smiled, immediately making his way towards her and the others who’d been watching around her.

  Madison swore to herself that he could be a model on the cover of GQ as his curly brown hair hung down along his shoulders. When he did come closer to her, she could really see those gorgeous green eyes of his sparkling down at her.

  “Hi Madison,” he said taking her by the hand to kiss it.

  “I thought you were still in Provence.”

  “Well, it seemed that after my shoot, they didn’t need me anymore. I don’t have any more shoots. Plus, I came back home because I wanted to spend time with you.” He kissed her hand again.

  The women around could do nothing more than swoon and sigh which made Madison smile and shake her head.

  “Who are all these lovely ladies?” He looked around as they continued to giggle and smile when he told them this.

  “Well, this is my secretary, Mildred. This is Peggy, Mindy, Alison and Lindsey. Ladies, this is Austin Collins, photographer and artist. Why don’t we go into my office? Mildred, hold my calls unless Bob is done with Mr. McDowell.”

  “Nice to have met you ladies,” Letting her take his arm, the two walked away from the awestruck women.

  When they went inside, Madison wasn’t expecting to be pulled into his arms and be hugged but man those arms of his around her felt amazing. She let him hold her as she took in his scent and warmth. “I can’t believe that you came back so soon.”

  “Even though I was far away, I couldn’t stop thinking about you and I couldn’t wait to get back to be with you. I’ve missed you so much Madison, you have no idea,” he whispered in her hair.

  She smiled as she walked him over to the loveseat. “I got your album and loved all the pictures. They were amazing Austin, I swear it felt like I was right there every time I looked at them.”

  “You were Madison. You were right there with me the whole time whenever I took a picture.” Holding her hand some more he played with her fingers. “So what are your plans for this evening?”

  “Well, after I deal with this client I have in the meeting room, I will be through for the evening. What about you?”

  “Why don’t I cook dinner for you tonight? You probably had a pretty hectic day today and deserve a good meal.”

  “Sounds good to me, let me see how far Bob has gotten with my client and then we can go afterwards. Do you want something to drink?” she asked as she got up.

  “I could use some water.”

  “I’ll have Mildred bring you in some.” Getting up, she headed out and called out for Mildred before closing the door.

  Chapter Eight

  “So what are we going to have for dinner?” she asked while they walked along the produce aisle.

  “Oh, it’s a surprise. I got another awesome dish I learned from my friends in France. It’s very good and you will love it. I promise.” He smiled while picking up some fresh herbs.

  When they got home, Madison took him to the kitchen as she gathered the pots and pans he needed to cook. “Do you need me to help you?”

  “No but I do want you to do something for me though.”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “I want you to go to your room, take yourself a shower if you want, change into some comfortable clothes and when you come back down, I’ll have a glass of wine waiting for you.” Giving her a kiss on her forehead, he turned her around and shooed her away from the kitchen.

  All Madison could do was smile. This was the second time she had a man cook for her but the first time she really didn’t have to help out, much less do any cooking. Before she could get to her room, the phone started to ring and as she ran to grab it. “Hello.”

  “Surprise!” the voice shouted along with a giggle.

  She laughed…it was Candace. “So you knew he was coming right?”

  “Uh huh, he made me promise not to say a word but I had to call and see what was going on and to find out how surprised you were to see him.”

  Madison laid back onto the bed, smiling up at the ceiling while a tendril of hair curled around her finger as she watched it spring back to its natural form. “You should have seen the looks on Mildred along with the other girl’s faces when they saw him coming into the office. I was just as shocked as they were because I was totally not expecting him to come. But I have to admit, it was wonderful seeing him again after all the crap I’ve had to deal with as far as these clients and all. Right now, he’s downstairs making us dinner and he told me to come on up, take a shower and after I come back down, he will have a glass of wine ready for me.” The squeals of delight on the other end only made Madison laugh even more as she sat up. “Listen. I’ve got to take myself a shower here, so I will check you later sis.”

  “I want details, plenty of details.”

  “You might as well forget about it because it’s like when you go to Vegas, what goes on in here stays in here. Goodbye.” Hanging up with a grin on her face, she went on to the bathroom to start up her shower.

  The shower felt so good, Madison honestly hated to get out. Then after she dried off, she realized she had to put something pretty on. She couldn’t just walk down there wearing a pair of baggy pajama pants and a shirt. Looking into her closet, she loo
ked through the many dresses she had and found a cute floral peasant dress she knew she could slip into. Looking herself over in the mirror, she fluffed her hair on either side and spritzed on some perfume before making her way down.

  Even before she could make it halfway down the stairs, the smell of whatever he’d been cooking seemed to drift into the dining and living room. It smelled so good. She noticed the glass of red wine on the counter as he looked over to give her a wink and a smile while he continued stirring and tossing whatever he had in the pan. “Smells really good in here,”

  “Oh, I know it does. How was your shower?”

  “Invigorating thank you, how much longer on the food?”

  “About five more minutes, why don’t you put on some good dinner music?”

  “Okay.” Going over to her stereo, she knew what to put on, something she often listened to when she came home to unwind. It was a CD of random songs played by different artist from smooth jazz to R&B.

  “You can go to the table. I’ll bring out the salad,” he called out.

  Madison noticed that he’d already set up the table with some of her plates.

  When he brought over the bowls with their salad, he brought along some dressing. “I also made the dressing myself, I hope you enjoy it. Sit and have some. Oh, and shake it up some more.” He gave her another wink as he handed her the dressing.

  Grabbing hold of the bottle, she shook it up a bit while the herbs and oil mixed together. Once she put some on her salad, Madison took a bite and couldn’t help but take a few more while she was at it. But before she could take another bite, she stopped herself when she saw him bring in a sizzling pan of fish drenched in what looked like brown butter and capers. “Oh, my…”

  He put the pan down on a small table next to the dining room table. “This is how you truly prepare this dish.”

  Madison watched as he began to slowly and skillfully debone the fish before her eyes. It took him only a few seconds before the entire bone was out and he checked for other bones then began to plate hers with the fish as the sizzling brown button was spooned over the fish. She watched him plate himself and sat down next to her. She took a long whiff of the plate before getting a forkful of fish. Never in her life did she think she tasted fish so buttery and light. “What do you call this?”