Yes, Dear Ch. 01

As I waited for him to pick me up, I wondered if he had a car. It was going to be definitely hard to appear ladylike crawling up into that monster truck of his.

The doorman called to inform her he had arrived. He had always liked her because she treated him like a person instead of an object. She would sometimes bring him a cool drink or a cup of coffee, depending on the season, on her way in or out.

"How does he look, Harold?"

Harold chuckled. "I believe he will pass your inspection, ma'am."

It took me ten minutes to gather up my courage to go downstairs.

I was stunned. He had on a black dinner jacket, a shirt so white it would probably blind you in full sunlight, gleaming black shoes, black pants and bow tie. He looked like a young American version of the old James Bond characters in the sixties.

We both stood for a moment taking each other in.

"Come" he said, holding out his hand.

He led me to a black Lincoln town car, shining like a new penny.

"Nice car" I said as I settled into the leather seats.

"It belongs to Aunt Rita. They stopped making them almost two years ago. It hurt her feelings so bad she bought two, with every bell and whistle they had to offer. This one has four thousand miles on it. The other has six. Not six thousand, six miles. She's fifty one and says she'll never have to buy another car for the rest of her life."

He stopped and laughed.

"She said to tell you that if we scratch it, it would be in our best interests to never eat anything she prepares for the rest of our lives."

The opera was Italian, a minor piece that wasn't preformed often. Brian surprised her by translating once in a while. He saw her look.

"What? Aunt Rita is first generation American, her mother came over after the second world war. I was speaking Italian before I learned English."

I was impressed with the number of people who knew him as we mingled before and after the performance. One city councilman, a deputy mayor, various shakers and movers in the city. Many knew me, and were surprised to see me on a date.

One slightly buzzed socialite put her hands[way to familiarly] on his arm.

"Looks like our Brian melted the Ice Queen. Kudos, Brian."

He frowned slightly.

"Ice Queen? Where did you get that? I had the run the air conditioner on the highest setting on the way over here, and I think the passenger seat smells a little schorched."

Both the socialite and Andi glowed, one from embarrassment, and one from pride.

"Does he really think I'm that hot?" I thought as we exited the venue.

We went back to the restaurant for a late dinner. Courses kept getting cold when family, friends, and steady patrons came by to comment on how attractive they were. They must have posed for fifty pictures with family.

Aunt Rita finally put a stop to it.

"Enough! The next person who bothers my nephew and his beautiful date will be dining at McDonalds for the next week."

Apparently it was no idle threat, it was like they became invisible. We could finally relax.

"Is your family always like this?"

He patted my hand.

"No honey, we're calm compared to the other side of the family. Uncle Sean is Irish. Wait 'til I take you down to the pub. Think Italians with a lot of beer instead of wine. They're even a bit louder, can you believe it? Last time we had a wedding, you couldn't even hear the priest."

Great. Irish and Italian. Catholics, no doubt. I waited to be struck by lightning.

Just before we left Aunt Rita came out and handed me some photos. One of us standing as we waited for our table. Several more of us from both our times there.

She smiled.

"Gina is majoring in graphic art and photography in college. She always has a camera around somewhere, if you want privacy, you might want to go somewhere else."

She pointed at a wall covered in photos.

"Our wall of fame. Family, friends, favored customers. You're already on it."

I was indeed. A candid shot of both of us laughing.

He took me home as I sat in a fog of emotions. Once he escorted me to the door, I hesitated. Did I want him to come up? Did I want to face what might happen if I did?

He solved my dilemma by gathering me in his arms for a firm good night kiss. Boy, did he taste good! He actually had me off the ground at the end. He sat me back on my feet gently.

"I've got to work overtime this week to stay on schedule, and I have two nights of classes to attend. I'll call you Thursday. You get to pick where we go this weekend. I'm not hard to please. Goodnight, Andi."

I was still trying to form a response before he pulled away. Do I ever get the option of saying no to him?

I turned to the door to see a smiling Harold.

"Pleasant evening, Miss Andi?"

I was so happy I hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"The best, Harold. Absolutely the best it could be and still stay clothed. Good night."

I left him with his mouth hanging open.

................................................

I took the photo of he and I standing in our formal clothes, framed it, and put it on my desk, just to tease Aubrey. I saw her pick it up several times. Finally, as she was about to explode. I asked her.

"Something you need to ask, Aubrey?"

She actually turned red before she blurted it out.

"Is he as good looking naked?"

I got a little satisfaction teasing her. I gave her my most solemn look.

"Better. There isn't an ounce of fat on his whole body. He's got muscles bulging in places I didn't know had muscles. And his equipment? Greek god. He could call a lot of porn stars Junior if he wanted. And stamina? My goodness, I finally passed out while he pounded me and woke up the same way. I'm not really sure he ever stopped that night. I'm exhausted and sore, but very, very, VERY satisfied."

The look on her face was priceless. She didn't know where to start.

"Really?" she finally managed to gasp out.

"No, not really. All he got was a goodnight kiss. A really good kiss, but that was it. If he ever does bed me, I'll never tell."

She recovered and smirked at me.

"If he does, I'll know. So will everyone else with eyes. I'll bet you a day at the spa you have that look before three months go by."

I grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Deal. Now do you need a minute alone to finish your fantasy, or can we actually work this morning?"

He didn't call me for three days. It took me that long to remember I didn't give him my cell number. I didn't have a land line, it seemed unnecessary. Well, he knew where I lived, he could give a note to Harold, I hoped.

I was getting pretty despondent by Thursday afternoon, when Aubrey buzzed me.

"Some guy named Brian just called. I told him we didn't take personal calls on a company line. He seemed disappointed, and hung up."

"WHAT!!"

Then I heard that wicked chuckle.

"Got ya! He's on line two."

Making a mental note to look into getting an assistant that wasn't such a bitch, I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

His voice sounded like music to my ears.

"Hi, sweetie. Made a decision about what we're doing this weekend?"

I couldn't resist.

"How do you know I didn't already have plans this weekend?"

There was about thirty seconds of silence. I feared I had just made a big mistake, when his confident voice came on the line.

"If you had plans, cancel them. We're more important."

The nerve of him! To think I would just break plans because he said so was just too insul...."Yes, dear." Shit, did I really just say that?

The warmth in his voice rose about fifteen degrees.

"That's my sweetie. If you haven't made plans, there's a new exhibit at the art museum I've been dying to see. They're holding a small reception Friday. Interested?"

Damn right I was. I had read about the new exhibit, it wouldn't be until next weekend before it would be available for public viewing, but there was a reception for patrons preceding it. First opera, now art. I was going to have to change my opinion of construction workers.

"Well, I had made plans to fly you to Paris and make out at the top of the Eiffel Tower, but art works too, I guess. What time should I be ready? Dress?"

I think I threw him there for a minute with the Paris crack, but he recovered nicely.

"Seven, casual. See you then, sweetie."

I hung up smiling. Looking up, I saw Aubrey in the door, smirking.

"If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed it. Yes dear? Next thing you know, you'll be in the office barefoot talking about color schemes for the nursery. I hear that new spa over on Grant is really nice. Anything I can get you before I go back to my desk?"

"Yes. You can get me some resumes for a new assistant, one that keeps her head out of her panties and doesn't listen in on private phone calls. Could you do that for me?"

Damn her, I wish she'd stop smirking.

"I'll get right on that, boss, as soon as I'm done with my break and hell freezes over."

"MOM!"

She was still laughing when she closed the door.

................................................

He picked me up in a vintage Corvette. It was a 1971 model that belonged to his dad. It had been pretty run down, but he had it restored to show room condition.

"It was nice of you dad to give you his car" I said, as I settled back and listened to the rumble of the big engine."

I saw a look of pain cross his face.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

He reached out and patted my hand.

"No sweetie, you didn't. Just had a bad memory come up. Did I tell you how great you look tonight?"

I could tell he was trying to change the subject, so I let him. I smoothed my dress.

"This old thing? Why, I've had this thing forever, if you count this morning as forever."

It was a little black dress, indeed a new one, higher hem, hey, I've always thought I had great legs, lower neckline, time to let the girls breathe a little, and it fit me as close to perfect as humanly possible. A nice little pushup bra, matching panties, and a garter belt holding up patterned and seamed hose. Even I thought I looked hot.

Apparently so did every man in the room. As long as I was close to Brian I was fine, but when some of the executive committee pulled him to the side for a little impromtu discussion about the new exhibit, they swarmed me. It was making me uncomfortable, and the look in his eye was almost murderous before he regained his bland smile.

A thrill went through me.

"He's jealous!"

I caught his eye and gave him a big wink and blew him a kiss. He instantly relaxed and started smiling a real smile again. Still, he cut it short and rejoined me almost immediately.

I turned to the most persistent of my admirers.

"Here's my man now! Brian, this is Jon, if you're not acquainted. Brian's in construction, probably where he gets these delicious muscles from."

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure" said Brian, as he held out his hand.

Jon made a stupid mistake and tried to out macho Brian, trying to crush his hand with his grip. Brian's eyes widened a bit in surprise, before squeezing back, hard. It almost put Jon to his knees. He made his excuses and left, trying desperately not to rub his hand before he got out of sight.

"I'm glad he's gone. I thought there for a minute you were going to fight over me."

He surprised me by squeezing my hand, hard.

"I need you to understand something. If I'm with you, I'd fight for you until my dying breath, but I'll never fight over you. That would imply you did something of your own volition to cause the fight. I'm not built that way. If we're in a relationship, we're in all the way. And by the way, I mean exclusively and faithfully. You'll never have to worry about me. You agree?"

I looked into those intense green eyes. I wanted to say a lot, but all I could manage was "yes, dear." His smile told me all I needed to know.

We discussed art as we looked around. He didn't care for modern art.

"Ever see Red Square? It's Russian. It isn't even a square, it's a rectangle. Just a canvass filled with red paint, and it's worth millions. Pollack? Don't even go there. A monkey could do the same thing."

He like the more realistic paintings, the Wyeths, every generation, and some surrealists, especially Dali. He also had a soft spot for Van Gogh, I learned later he had a reproduction of Starry Night and Sunflowers hanging in his house.

I leaned towards sculpture. I think I shocked him when I told him I owned a Remington, a small group of horses.

Of course, we had to do the mandatory mingling, and it was a lot of people from the opera.

A man I knew casually through work and I were chatting while one of the patrons just had to talk to Brian.

"So, you and Brian."

"Excuse me?"

"You and Brian. I know you've had at least two dates, something of a record lately for Brian. After his last girlfriend, he didn't even date for almost a year, and then you never saw him with the same woman twice. She sure messed him up, good to see him doing better."

Curiousity got the better of me.

"Just to avoid any mistakes, what broke them up, if you don't mind talking about it."

He stood there a second, trying to decide if telling me was the right thing to do.

"All right, just don't let him know I told you. Do you know who Karen Eckles is?"

Of course I did. She practically lived in the society section of the local papers. Daughter of Martin Eckles, a man worth billions.

"Well, she and Brian met at one of these functions, and she decided she just had to have him. He never had a chance. Oh, he was cautious at first, but she wore him down. They were an item for almost a year, before he broke it off."

"Why? She was rich, beautiful, sexy. She was the dream girl of most of the men in this city."

He nodded.

"That's just it. She was the dream girl. It spoiled her. She hid it from Brian, but she was too shallow and self absorbed to commit to anything serious. Brian was on the edge of proposing, when he found out her true nature."

"How did he find out?"

"She told him. Not purposely, but he found out at a function just like this. I know, because I was with him at the time."

"We walked up behind her and some friends."

"When are you going to dump Brian?" one of her girlfriends asked. I'm a lot taller than Brian, and they didn't see him.

"Oh, I'm not going to dump Brian. I'm going to marry him. He's perfect, loyal, desperately in love with me, and daddy loves him. Says it's about time I found a real man."

"What about Freddie? Does Brian know about him?"

"No, and he's not going to. He trusts me too much to believe I'd ever have an affair. I'm going to keep on with Freddie until he starts boring me, then cut him loose and find someone else. Brian has that boring old job, And I'll only play then. I'll have the perfect life, a man who loves me, and all the toys I want to play with."

"I expected Brian to be shocked, I was, But I didn't expect what happened."

"He came round me and stood behind Karen. Her girl friends eyes went wide. She knew something was wrong and turned to see him. She went a little pale and started talking, but he had his own speech to give."

"How about we do it this way. I get out of your life. Permanently. Look how much more play time you could get in. It's a great plan. I get to keep my self respect and you get to continue your whoring lifestyle without complications. Goodbye, Karen."

"He never said another word to her. In her own way, she did love him, and was accustomed to getting whatever she wanted. She called his house, his company, his cell. She got banned from his aunt's cafe, and he finally had to go talk to her dad, telling him he was going to file stalking charges and a restraining order if she didn't stop. Her dad finally got the full story, and shipped her off to Europe for three months."

I wanted to know badly.

"Did that stop her?"

He shook his head.

"No, she just toned it down. Tell me, do you ever get the feeling you're watched? You have been, all night. She's here, and been watching you both like a hawk. Turn around."

I did, making it appear casual. He was right, she was across the gallery staring daggers into me. It was creepy. I shivered.

At that time David came back, so the conversation stopped. I made a point to hang on his arm and smile at Karen every chance I got. She left rather early, quite a surprise.

I broached the subject gingerly as he drove me home.

"Do you know Karen Eckles?"

He tensed before shrugging.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well she was there tonight, and every time I looked up she was staring at us. It kind of creeped me out.

He actually laughed.

"Karen and I were close once, but our lifestyles were just too different to make it work. She wasn't used to the word no, and it irritated her. Don't worry about it."

He surprised me by pulling into a nice neighborhood, stopping in front of a modest house.

"Where are we?"

He grinned.

"At my house. Come in, I'll make some coffee. I want a little time with you when there aren't fifty people standing around. I'd like to say I'll be a perfect gentleman, but why lie. Come on."

I felt myself freezing up. This could make everything unravel. Still, I offered no resistance as he ushered me in. He left me on the couch while he went to make coffee.

"Look around if you like" he said over his shoulder as he went into the kitchen.

I did. I noticed the art work, how neat it was, too neat for a batchelor. There were pictures everywhere of his family. His aunt, cousins, lots of people I didn't recognize. There was a large family portrait of Brian when he was about eight with what had to be his mom and dad. They looked happy.

He came back with the coffee, sat it down and walked over, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"My mom and dad. Can you see the resemblance to Uncle Sean? And Aunt Rita? They were brothers who married sisters. This was taken four years before the accident. They were coming back from celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary."

"The small charter plane went down with twelve couples aboard. There were no survivors. They were lost at sea, we didn't even get to bury them."

I could literally feel his pain.

"I only had them six years, they got me when I was seven. I never talked about it to anyone, just sort of closed down. Aunt Rita and Uncle Sean added me to their brood. It's probably what brought me back. It was like being adopted all over again."

"They set everything aside for me. The insurance policies, the settlement from the charter company. My mom even bought two of those insurance policies you used to could buy at the airport just to cover the flight. They said if they had to take money it wasn't love, and they wanted me to feel loved.

He gestured around.

"My dad was a builder. He and Mom literally built this place by themselves. Even if I live somewhere else, I'll never sell it."

I was crying openly now, sharing his pain. He was the one clinging to me now. Finally he roused himself and broke our embrace.

"Second door to the left down the hall."

"Huh?"

"The bathroom, second door on the left. In case you want to fix your makeup."

I knew he was trying to get a few minutes alone to regain composure, so I did as he asked. My carefully applied makeup was beyond repair, so I took a cloth and washed it all off, not bothering to reapply. He was sitting on the couch pouring the coffee when I returned.

"Now you know. Just for the record, I've only told one other person that story. Karen. Her only statement was it was good I had so much insurance."

I bristled.

"What a bitch. She didn't deserve you. I'm glad you didn't end up together."

He smiled a little.

"Thanks, I think. And thanks for listening. I don't know why, I just felt you should know."

That was it. The moment my fate was sealed. I knew at that exact moment I was in love with this man, and there was nothing I wouldn't do to try and keep him.