“Sounds pretty special to me,” Jade muses. “How does the story end?”
I lift my eyebrows, daring Malynda to answer. Darkness creeps into her eyes and she looks away, lifting her wine glass to her lips.
“To be decided,” I finally answer Jade.
“Curiouser and curiouser!”
Kaine ignores my glare and turns to his wife, giving her a soft kiss on her cheek and she beams at him, lifting a hand to stroke his scarred cheek, everything else in the world forgotten.
“So, um, Jade, I had an idea for the center,” Malynda finally speaks up.
“Oh! I’d love to hear it.”
“The gym that we’re building in the back, do you think we could maybe add a wall of mirrors and a barre?
“Oh… like, for ballet or dance classes?
“Um, yeah, I know you guys think that sports are really important to teenagers, so the gym will cover basketball and indoor soccer and all that, but, maybe some of the kids would like to try something different. It wouldn’t cost much, we could probably get one of the local stores to donate the mirrors or even use scraps. That’s what my parents did when I was little.
“You dance?” Jade asks, her eyes lighting up.
I hold my breath, waiting for her answer.
“Oh. Um. I did. When I was a kid. Well, up until just after high school.”
“Were you any good?”
I want to jump up and yell, “Yes! She was amazing, she could make you feel with a simple arabesque, tell a story with just the life of her arm.”
But I don’t. I don’t know how I stop myself, but I do.
“I was okay. I loved it, I guess that’s the important thing.”
“Why did you stop?”
Now it’s my turn to turn and stare at her.
“I… er,” she shrugs, keeping her focus on Jade. “I just wanted to try something different. I liked art too. So I went into interior design.”
No new information for me.
“Well, you’re very good at the interior design,” Kaine says. “And we are very grateful to you for donating your services to the center. But more importantly, to Xavier’s apartment. I’d like to have a place to sit when I go over there.”
Malynda laughs, the sound echoing around the apartment. It makes me smile.
“Yeah, sometimes the hardest thing is getting a client to let go of some of their old furniture. Not a problem with Xavier.”
No. In my case, it’s my emotional baggage that’s holding me back.
Her
The evening at Jade and Kaine’s place is one of the best I’ve had in a long time. Barring my birthday dinner on the roof, of course.
Kaine doesn’t talk much, but he’s always there, listening, present.
Jade is a complete and utter delight, spending half her time gushing about her husband and the other half relentlessly roasting him. I wonder how they found each other, and I remind myself to ask Xavier what’s so wild about Kaine’s story. The scars on his face tell me that life hasn’t been kind to him, but it seems it’s done nothing but imbue him with a generous heart.
It’s hard to keep my hands off Xavier all night.
I take the lead from him, to see just how much he wants his friends to know about us. But it seems he doesn’t really know either. After the few tense moments at the dinner table, the wine did its job and we spent the rest of the evening laughing and sharing ideas about the center. He gave me a few looks that told me I wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight and it was hard not to just stand up and ask for us to be excused for a few minutes.
But by ten o’clock the day has caught up with me, and after catching me yawning for the third time, Xavier takes over.
“Well, guys, since I’m expected back in the office in…” Xavier stands up and glances at his watch, “seven hours, I think it’s time for me to say good night.” He gives me a quick wink while Kaine helps Jade to her feet.
“Oh my gosh, is that the time, I’m so sorry we’ve kept you up!” I jump to my feet, pulling on my jacket.
“No, no! It was great! You’ve been such good company for me these last few days. It’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t looking at me like I’m breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Jade says, reaching over to give me a hug.
“Hey. What about me?” Kaine says.
“I was talking about you,” Jade quips, poking her tongue out at him.
“Well, my hours are pretty flexible, call me anytime you need adult conversation,” I say smiling at her and meaning every word.
“Xavier, can you make sure Isabella gets home okay?” Jade asks, offering her cheek to him for a kiss.
“Oh, do I have to?” he whines, and I can see him biting his tongue trying not to laugh.
“Honey, I don’t think we have to worry about her with Xavier,” Kaine says. “Though I’m not sure if the opposite is true,” I think I hear under his breath, but I’m not sure.
Xavier’s smile freezes on his face for a moment before he recovers. “Goodnight, boss and boss wife.”
I give them another wave and follow him to leave.
He doesn’t say anything and I wait until we get into elevator before I speak.
“What… what does Kaine know… about us?”
He still doesn’t say anything even when the doors open and we walk through the expansive foyer and out into the chilly New York night.
I turn to look for a cab, but his hand is suddenly hot on the small of my back and he leads me to a car waiting at the curb.
A man jumps out from the driver’s seat and opens the back seat door. “Good evening, Mr. Kent.”
“Sorry to have you out this late, Henry,” Xavier says, as he helps me into the car. The car door closes behind him and the city’s noise is completely filtered out.
“How..?”