Authors: Chamein Canton
After Marcus went to the stadium, Louis took Cathy
shopping for a robe and a dress to wear for an evening of
dining and dancing. He dropped her off in front of Lane
Bryant. She went straight to the lingerie section. Even
though Cathy had been bold enough to drop her robe and
be completely naked in the daytime with Marcus, she
wasn’t sure if she’d have the nerve again. So she picked up
two robes, one sexy silk and the other functional
terrycloth. As Cathy was locating her size, she noticed a
couple of salespeople looking at her. She couldn’t understand the fascination and didn’t have time to figure it out.
Robes in hand, she went to the sales counter
A very pretty young woman was at the cash register.
“Good morning.” She smiled.
“Good morning.”
“Will you be using your Lane Bryant card?”
“No. I don’t have one.”
“If you open one you can get 10% off your purchase.”
“Thanks, maybe next time.”
“No problem.”
One of the two sales girls tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bother you, but aren’t you
Catherine Chambers?”
Cathy was surprised she knew her name. “Yes, I am.”
One girl turned to the other. “See, I told you it was
her.”
Cathy was flabbergasted. “Have I met you before?”
The salesgirl smiled. “No, I saw your picture in the
paper today. You’re the big girl dating Marcus Fox.”
The girl at the cash register dropped the hanger. “Get
outta here.” She had a strong Brooklyn accent. “You’re
dating
the
Marcus Fox?”
The other salesgirl came over. “We were just talking
about it this morning. I think it’s great.”
Cathy was overwhelmed. “Thanks.”
“No, really thank you. It’s nice to see a big girl get the
dream guy.”
Cathy smiled. “I think so, too.”
“He is fine,” the cashier cooed.
“You won’t get any argument from me.” Cathy
grinned.
The clerk rang up her purchases and bagged them.
“Thanks for shopping at Lane Bryant. I hope the black
one is for Mr. Fox,” she whispered.
Taking the shopping bag, Cathy whispered back, “It is
a good day ladies!”
They waved as she walked out. She couldn’t believe
how her dating Marcus was the plus-size community’s
cosmic version of “Run, Forest, run.”
Cathy went from Lane Bryant to Ashley Stewart to
pick up the halter dress she’d admired earlier last week.
She’d tried the dress on before so she knew what size fit
her.
Once in the store, Cathy went straight over to the rack,
searched for her size in the black print and headed for the
register. The saleswoman behind the register had the paper
open on the counter.
“Good morning. Will this be all?”
“Yes.”
“Is that cash or credit?”
“Cash.”
As she pulled the security tags off she glanced at the
paper and then looked at Cathy.
“I’m sorry, but this picture looks just like you.”
“What paper is it?”
“
The Journal
.”
“Then it’s me.”
She dropped the dress on the counter. “Girl, you’ve got
it going on.”
She laughed. “Thanks.”
“It’s about time he stopped with those skinny witches.”
Cathy laughed because the clerk had said what she
couldn’t say.
“And from the looks of things I’d say he’s been hungry
for someone to fill his arms.”
Cathy was completely confused.
When she pointed to the hickey on Cathy’s neck, she
blushed. She was so embarrassed.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. Wear it like an
accessory, because this dress is hot.”
“I know. I saw it a few days back but I couldn’t think
of where I would wear it.”
“And now you’ve got someplace to wear it. You go,
girl!”
Cathy paid for the dress and the saleswoman put it on
a hanger to bag it.
“Here you go.” She handed the dress to Cathy.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for shopping at Ashley Stewart. Enjoy the
dress and the man. Not necessarily in that order.”
“Bet on it.” Cathy got a good laugh.
She called Louis on the cell phone and he brought the
car around. He took her bags and put them in the trunk
while she got in.
Louis looked in the rearview mirror. “Ms. Chambers?”
“Yes?”
“I like the way you shop.”
Cathy chuckled. “Hey, I like a bargain as much as the
next person. I just don’t want to bring a shovel to dig
through each and every layer. It drives me crazy.”
“You’re a woman after my own heart,” he said.
Cathy winked and sat back in the seat.
Her cell phone rang. It was E.D.
“What’s shaking E.D.?”
“The question is, what’s shaking with you? I see you
made the papers again today.”
“Isn’t that wild?”
“It’s certainly raised our profile. We’ve gotten so many
calls we’ve run out of room on the machine and it’s
Saturday.”
“Wow. That is something then.”
“You do sound relaxed and happy. It’s nice to call you
and not have you fire off a list of clients, editors and
publishers. It isn’t all about work.”
“You’re right.”
“Is this really Cathy?”
“Very funny.”
“I’m just kidding. You deserve some happiness.”
“I’d better go before the music from
Beaches
starts
playing.”
“Okay, I’ll go. Have a good weekend.”
“Thanks, I will. Marcus is taking me out for dinner
and dancing tonight. It should be fun.”
“Nice. Have a good time.”
“Thanks. Later, E.D.”
Up until a few days ago Cathy had no idea how to stop
and smell the roses. E.D. always said she’d find the man
who was truly right for her, and when she did she’d finally
be able to exhale and enjoy life. He’d also told her she
would not find that man in publishing. He was right.
Melvin was waiting to greet her for the afternoon
game.
“Thanks for driving me, Louis.” She started to get out
of the car. “Oh, Louis, I have these bags. Should I take
them with me?”
“I’ll take them back to the apartment. I have a key and
it will only take a minute.”
“Thanks, Louis.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Chambers. I hope you enjoy the
game.”
“I’m sure I will.” She got out of the car and turned to
Melvin. “Hello, Melvin. How are you?”
“I’m good, Ms. Chambers. How are you?”
“Good. So where are we headed today?”
“You’re going back to the suite this afternoon so you
don’t have to worry about the sun.”
“I have to tell Marcus I don’t mind sitting in the Loge
section. It’s in the shade too.”
Melvin smiled. He knew not to say too much. She
followed him to the suites section again.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks, Melvin. You’re a doll.”
“Don’t forget that if you want or need anything, there
is someone here to get it for you.”
“I won’t.”
Although Cathy looked forward to an evening of
dancing, she didn’t want Marcus to be out too late. She’d
never met his boss in person but she knew hanging out late
dancing wouldn’t sit too well with him.
Her cell phone rang.
“Catherine Chambers.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, Andrew.”
“Are you at the game?”
“As a matter of fact I am. I’m not in the stands. I’m
back in the suite.”
“Cool.”
“So is anything going on? Did you see the paper?”
“Yeah, we saw it this morning. It wasn’t bad like you
said.”
“I told you not to worry. So the pre-game is on now,
right?”
“Yeah.”
Cathy heard a little something in his voice. “Andrew, is
something on your mind? Do you need to tell me something?”
He hesitated. “You know we listen to the radio station
out of Buffalo or Rochester.”
“Yes.”
“Today they did a gossip report and it was about you,
Mr. Fox and Cybil George.”
“Really? What did they say that got you upset?”
“They said after Cybil read about you and Mr. Fox, she
said she didn’t know he was a…” He was reluctant.
“Go ahead, Andrew. You can say it.”
“She said Marcus Fox was a chubby chaser.”
The words pierced Cathy’s skin but she didn’t let on.
“Well, you know, honey, she has to say something. They
were probably pressing her about it.”
“It doesn’t bother you?” He was relieved.
“No, honey, it doesn’t. Unfortunately, it’s just the kind
of thing that sells newspapers and feeds a gossip happy
public.”
“I’m glad you’re okay with it, Mom.”
“You feel better now?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mom.”
“Maybe I’ll give you a call after the game. Okay?”
“Okay, Mom. Talk to you later.”
“All right then.”
Although it wasn’t unexpected, it didn’t make it any
easier for Cathy to hear. She knew the press must have
baited Cybil. Still it didn’t feel good to be right. Her
remark had hit the target.
Tall, blond and willowy thin Cybil George was one of
the most successful and in demand models in fashion. She
was high fashion, high priced and high strung. No
shrinking violet, her tirades were legendary.
Then it hit her. If this sound bite was on the stations
upstate, then it was downstate as well. She had to find
someone who still listened to those stations.
With ten minutes to go before the game started, she
dialed Michelle first, but got no answer. Then she took a
chance that her sister might have her cell on.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Anna, it’s me.”
“It’s about time you called. I read the papers this
morning. You and Marcus are big news. So how’s that
going?”
“It’s going pretty well. But listen, I need to ask you
something.”
“What?”
“Have you heard anything on the radio about Cybil
George?”
“Cybil George? Marcus’s ex-girlfriend? Other than
what I read in the gossip section I haven’t heard anything
else about her.”
“Andrew just called me to tell me about an entertainment report he heard on a station upstate. According to
him, George was quoted as saying in response to the story
that she didn’t realize Marcus was a chubby chaser.”
“Oh no. This was on the radio up there?”
“Yeah, and now I’m thinking if it was on the air way up
there, it has to be down here.”
“It’s Saturday. Most of the stations play rebroadcasts of
shows earlier in the week, but I’ll keep my ears open. I’ll
check a couple of the radio stations’ websites; they usually
have links for entertainment and people in the news.”
“Thanks. The game is about to start. Buzz me if you
find anything out.”
“Okay. Later.”
Though the odds were not in her favor, Cathy hoped it
was nothing. But something told her she’d be on the
wrong side of a sucker bet.
Cathy was grateful for the suspense of a close game. It kept
her from wondering what was going on in the world outside
Yankee Stadium. She was on the edge of her seat. It was the
bottom of the seventh inning and the score was tied 2-2. There
was one out and two men on base. In the distance she saw
Marcus lean against the dugout as intense as ever. She
wondered what was going through his mind. The count was
2-1 on Juan Lopez, who was having a roller coaster of a season.
Yet somehow Juan usually came up with key hits or walks a
younger catcher wouldn’t have the experience to do. Finally
there was a crack of the bat. She got to her feet. The ball was
hit hard to left field for a base hit.
She screamed as the crowd broke into a roar. Marcus
clapped his hands together and she saw his million dollar grin
on the monitor.
A two-run double. Hallelujah!
Just as Cathy grabbed her water bottle her phone rang.
She picked it up quickly.
“Hey. You’re still at the game?” Anna asked.
Cathy was concentrating on the field. “Yes. We just went
ahead 4-2. So what’s the word?”
“There have been a couple of reports on the radio.”
Cathy felt the wind go out of her sails. “I had a feeling.”
“But what do you care? You’re with Marcus and she’s not.
She had to say something when they printed her name in the
blurb. That’s all it was, Cathy, just a sound bite. Who gives a
rat’s behind?”
“I know.”
“It doesn’t make you feel better does it?”
“Not really. I mean, I’ll keep my chin up but it hurts.”
“Are you going to talk to Marcus about it?”
“It’s not his fault. There’s no reason for me to say anything.
I’ll get over it.”
“Cathy, I know it’s going to bother you. I think you should
talk to Marcus. I’m sure he’d want to know how you feel.”
“Hell, Anna, I don’t want to know how I feel. But you may
be right; I need to get this off my chest before we go out
tonight. Maybe I’ll talk to him before dinner.”
“Good.”
“Listen, I’d better go. We’re still in the bottom of the
seventh.”
“Okay. Talk to you later.”
She closed her phone.
Cathy didn’t have a doubt that Cybil’s dig was aimed at
her, even though she’d said it about Marcus. She decided to
put her feelings on the shelf and enjoy the rest of the game in
relative peace.
The seventh inning proved to be the Yankees’ rallying
point and they went up 6-2. The bullpen came in and shut
down Toronto’s offense. The Yankees won and their winning
streak was extended to five.
There was a sense of jubilation in the Yankee clubhouse.
The first part of the season had had even the faithful questioning their team’s chances. Then the Yankees had started to
pull out seemingly from nowhere. A crowd of reporters
surrounded Juan Lopez as he was the man of the hour. Already
changed, Marcus sat down to put his shoes on. Mark sat next
to him.
Marcus turned towards him. “You too. You’re really pulling
off some good defensive plays out there. Don’t be surprised to
see them replayed on ESPN’s top ten.”
Mark laughed. “If they choose it, cool. If they don’t, I
won’t lose any sleep. We’ve got to make the drive for October.”
“I know. How are Pamela and Mark Jr.?”
“They’re good. He keeps the both of us hopping at home.”
Marcus laughed. “He’s a little over two years old, right?”
“Yep. It’s the terrible twos for sure.”
Marcus nodded. “I can’t believe that at one point Cathy
had twin two-year-olds.” He shook his head in awe.
“And she survived.”
“Yes, she did.”
“How’s she making out with all this press stuff?”
“So far she’s seems okay. I’m taking her out for dinner and
just a little dancing tonight. You know, to take her mind off
things.”
“That’s sounds like fun.”
“I hope so.” He stood up. “Listen, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
After the game Melvin brought Cathy to the clubhouse
area where she waited for Marcus. It was busy enough to
keep her distracted. She watched the usual suspects, the
intrepid sports reporters and photographers. Marcus
emerged from the clubhouse looking fresh-faced and
happy. He kissed her.