Charley (16 page)

“Ronnie, I think I screwed up big time.”

“You think?”

“It’s just hard to see her as an adult. Helen and I had her in the Sunday school toddler’s class when she was five. I’ve watched her grow up. When she went to Tennessee, I gave Kate a no interest loan. My Teresa was in her wedding. Dammit Ronnie, she is like my own daughter, I call Teresa, honey, for goodness sake.”

“It’s sheer hell getting old isn’t it Shelby?” Ronnie joked back to his friend. “But you gotta see her as she is now not as she was, okay? Trust me she has come a long way.”

“You Charley’s guardian angel now?” Shelby replied, laughing.

“Yeah, I guess I am, someone needs to guard her from crafty old men like you.”

“Speaking of dirty old men how are you and Wilma doing?”

“I’ve told you a thousand times, we’re just friends.”

“Ronnie, I thought being around a sexy lady like Wilma would change you; make you a switch hitter maybe?”

“Got to admit, I have been tempted, but … nah, not going to happen. Ronnie waved over to the counter. “Marge come here a minute, please.”

“What do you guys want? More coffee?”

“Marge, Shelby just asked me if I were still gay. Thought maybe you had converted me. Do you think I’m gay?”

Marge laughed so hard some of the other customers turned around. “Shelby, I can tell you, Ronnie is most definitely gay. I tried; Lord knows I tried, but ….” She winked at Ronnie and laughed her way back to the kitchen.

Shelby returned to the discussion in hand. “Seriously Ronnie, I do have a question. Why don’t you buy Jimmy’s place from Charley? You’ve been there a long time and you practically run the place now.”

“Get straight to the point, why don’t you? I’ve thought about it, but, frankly, I don’t have the capital to pay her what the business is worth. And it is worth a lot more now than it was under Jimmy. She’s done a hell of a good job.”

“Is that the only reason? I suspect there is something else.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m staying there because Charley needs me and she needs Wilma. We kind of feel responsible for her. She’s like a daughter to me; her guardian angel, remember? If she ever got settled personally, I might consider it.”

“You old softy, Hey Marge, bring us some more coffee, the old guy here needs some.
I’ve got another question old man. Charley wants to borrow money to expand the Bar, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me, why doesn’t she use the insurance money she got when Randle was killed? It has been setting in the Bank and she hasn’t touched any of it. If she really wants to expand, the interest alone would pay for it.  What gives?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know for sure, but I have a few thoughts based on some comments she’s made.  I’m not sure I should be speculating about her affairs.”

“Go on Ronnie, I’m her guardian angel as much as you, maybe more. I need to know.”

“Well, okay.  I think it’s one of three reasons, all of which I have heard her hint at. One, the money is her security blanket.  Her family had nothing and I suspect she’s afraid of putting herself in that situation. She thinks if the Bar failed, she could fall back on the insurance money. The second thing is Charley’s pride. She is very competitive, has always been aggressive in going after what she wants. That’s what made her a star at Tennessee. I think she wants to make Jimmy’s work because everyone thinks she can’t. She wants to prove something, so she is not going to use the money because it would be a sign of weakness.”

“I understand those reasons, but I suspect there are the apparent reasons and then there is the real reason. Am I right?”

“Probably. I believe the real reason is a bit more complex. Shelby, Randle’s memory has hung over her head like a blanket that she desperately wants to get out from under. Using that money would just reinforce how dependent she is on Randle. If she could ever make a clean break with his memory, she would feel better about the money.”

“Do you really think that’s the reason?”

“I told you it was complex, but, yeah, I suspect that is eighty-five percent of the reason she doesn’t use the money. Besides, she has you, why should she use her own money?”

“Right! I’ll call her this week.  Maybe we can work something out.”

Ronnie smiled. “Margie, more coffee please.”

I took a sip of coffee, and glanced at my two table companions before happily saying. “Isn’t this a beautiful Thursday morning gentlemen? Makes you feel alive.”

“Charley, you’re unusually cheerful this morning. What’s going on?”

“Terry … today might be the beginning of a new era for Jimmy’s.”

“And for Jimmy’s owner, I assume, as well?”

Terry Weldon was our attorney, just as his father had been before … and my frequent date. We weren’t serious about each other, at least I wasn’t. Terry might have a little more feeling for me than I did for him. Nevertheless, he handled all our legal work, so I needed him this morning. “Ronnie, why don’t you fill in Terry while I go back and get us some breakfast started?” I excused myself as Ronnie began briefing Terry on our meeting on Monday with the Player’s Investor Group.

Terry was a good man, and a good friend. We had known each other for at least five, maybe six years. We started dating off and on three years ago; nothing exclusive. But sometimes we got a little too serious. I had slept with him on two occasions over the last few years. Not awesome, but not bad. With the event of this last weekend fresh on my mind, I was beginning to think some time with Terry might be good.

Stop it girl! Why? Can’t I have some fun too? Terry’s not bad.

Ronnie, Terry and I spent the better part of an hour and a half going over the proposal, and developing questions for the group. It became fairly obvious that I wanted to plunge right into the potential partnership. Ronnie however was more reluctant, and Terry didn’t express an opinion.

By 10:30 we had talked enough so I suggested a break. “I need to go get ready for this meeting, and Ronnie needs to get ready for the lunch crowd. Terry, do you want to come upstairs with me while I change clothes and put on my business face?”

I noticed Terry glance at Ronnie and Ronnie give him a raised eyebrow look. “Sure, maybe we can go over these questions again.”

“We’ll be down for lunch before going on to the bank.” As I opened the apartment door and went in, I turned to Terry. “Come on in.”

“Are you sure, Charley? You’ve never invited me into the apartment before.”

I understood his reluctance. I had been noticeably vocal about this apartment being my sanctuary. “Come on in, I need some company before this meeting.  Take your coat off and fix yourself a drink. I’ll be out in a minute.

I undressed down to my bra and thong and walked to the closet. I could hear Terry rustling around the unfamiliar kitchen, opening cabinets and pulling out drawers. I shouted down the hall. “Glasses in the top left cabinet. Beer is in the fridge. Fix me one.”

I heard him find the glasses and beer and open the bottle. While I put up my hair, I questioned him about the meeting. “What do you think I should do?”

He answered, a little too quickly I thought. “It’s what you always wanted Charley. I’d go for it, assuming we get all the legal stuff worked out of course.”

“How long do you think that will take?”

“Depends on the deal. Two maybe three weeks, assuming we can get an understanding today.”

“That soon?”

Terry didn’t have time to answer. There was a knock on the door. Wouldn’t be Ronnie or Wilma, so who would get past the kitchen and get up here? “Terry, see who’s at the door please.”

I quickly slipped on my robe and stood to see who our guest was. I heard Terry ask through the door. “Who is it?”

I was visibly startled at the voice that answered back. “This is PJ McCoy. Is Charley there?”

Terry just stood there; his hands raised in a ‘what now’ gesture. Finally, he regained his composure and said to the door. “Just a minute, I'll get her.” But to me, he whispered. “Is there a problem?”

I wanted to tell him the only problem was that he was there. But obviously I couldn't. I held the robe tightly around me and walked to the door. “I'm coming PJ.”

At the same time, I motioned Terry back into the living room. I took a deep breath, and opened the door to a somewhat anxious man. He reached for me and pulled me to him. Before he could kiss me, he looked down at my robe which had fallen open when I greeted him, and he instantly looked beyond me to Terry in the living room, with his coat off, his tie undone and a beer in his hand.

Instead of the kiss I expected, I was met with a surprised look that quickly changed to a painful scowl. Almost immediately a low guttural ‘Damn’ issued from those tightly gripped lips. A more forceful ‘God Damn it!’ followed and burst forth. “I hoped you were different. Stupid me!”

PJ just stood there, his head shaking for what seemed like an eternity, before he turned and slowly walked down the short hall to the stairway.

“Wait PJ, you don’t understand!” I rushed out the door to follow him. He stopped and turned to face me. His distorted face frightened me. I stopped short of him by three feet. I could see his puffed up eyes and his pouted lips. He had his fists knotted, and raised to his face like a prize fighter. After a full minute, when he did speak, his voice was low, intense and deliberate.

 “Understand what? I don’t understand that you said you could love me, and three days later you have a man in your apartment. Oh yes, the apartment that you’ve never invited anyone to. And you come to the door half naked? Is that what I don’t understand? I’ll tell you what I don’t understand. Why I got on a plane to fly back to this hell hole. I don’t understand why I was so gullible. I don’t understand why I’m so stupid. I fall for the sex trap once and got kicked in the balls, and now I’m here again, falling for the same damn thing. I need a drink!”

He didn’t turn to go. He just stared at me with his eyebrows pulled down low, his lips gripped tightly together and his body quivering. To tell the truth, I didn’t know what to do. I could walk away and have fewer headaches, or I could confront him and try to salvage whatever was left of any relationship we had, or could have.

I made up my mind. “Phillip Jefferson McCoy, you’re an ass. A big ass. You leave me at the airport with a quick kiss, after the weekend we had together? What the hell do you think I thought? Or did you even care? I virtually begged you to agree to our seeing each other again. What did you say? ‘I’ll think about it.’ You’ll think about it and I’m supposed to wait around while you think about it? And now you’ve thought about it, and you walk back into my life, without a phone call, or a text message, or anything, and you expect me to fall into your arms again and pick up where we left off? And
you’re
mad at
me
? Let me tell you, I am
totally pissed
at you!”

I was on a roll. Suddenly, it didn’t matter what he thought. I was going to get things off my chest. In a calmer voice, I followed up. “Now if you’ll come back to the apartment, I will introduce you to Terry Weldon, our attorney, and I’ll tell you what is actually going on? If you don’t really care about hearing my side of the story and you want to stay mad and feeling sorry for yourself forever more, keep on walking. It’s up to you.”

I turned and took a few steps toward the apartment, praying he would follow. I took a couple of steps and turned.  PJ was still standing there. “Well?”

And I turned and walked to the door.

I waited at the door and PJ came in, but the scowl was still on his face. He is a big man, and right now he didn’t look happy, not one little bit.

I walked into the living room and turned to PJ.

“PJ McCoy, I would like you to meet Terry Weldon. Terry is our attorney for the Bar and a good friend. Terry, this is PJ McCoy, former Memphis Grizzles player and now basketball coach at Curtis University, and a good friend too, I hope.”

The temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees. The two men exchanged cool, polite and correct greetings.

“Good to meet you, Coach.”

“Good to meet you Mr. Weldon.”

To Terry’s credit, he recognized the tension between PJ and me and guessed we needed to talk. “Charley, why don’t I wait for you downstairs?”

“Okay, Terry, Thanks.”

I walked Terry to the open door, and went back to an uncertain conversation.

When I returned, PJ was standing at the window, pretending to be interested in something outside. I immediately began to talk. “Want something to drink, PJ?  I have beer, or a soft drink, or water?”

“No thanks.”

It was time for me to get to the bottom of it. “Okay, what’s going on?  Do you want to start over again, and tell me why you’re here?”

I was amazed at my calm voice. I was like a swan gliding on a lake above the water, the picture of grace and self-control. But under the water the swan’s feet, just like my feelings, were furiously churning.

PJ turned from the window. His face was relaxed, his hands unclenched, with an embarrassed and pleading smile slowly engulfing his face. Once again, he became the man of my dreams.

He spoke barely above a whisper. “Charley, my emotions have a short fuse. My temper has gotten me in trouble before. I hope you understand and can forgive me. I was on top of the world when I came up the steps. All I could think of was taking you in my arms again and showering you with kisses. And next thing a male voice answered the door, and you opened it almost naked, and I saw the man in the background. My emotions sank, and my temper rose. I just lost it. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me? Can we start again?”

“Of course, I forgive you this once. But why did you show up on my doorstep to begin with? You didn’t even call me.”

“Charley, I didn’t call you because I wanted to see you, and I didn’t want to take a chance that you might hang up on me.”

“PJ,
I’m
the one who said I wanted us to see each other again.
You
were the one who threw cold water on that idea, not me.”