Sunday, April 28, 2013

Tuesday Tales – Yellow


                                  

Pia took a deep breath.  This was due or die.  Depending on how she answered the questions he was going to ask her, would depend if he walked out her door and out of her life forever.

There was another knock on the door.  This time Pia slowly opened it.  Lorenzo stood there with a bouquet of yellow roses.  Pia stood motionless.  The last thing she expected was for Lorenzo to bring her roses.

He held the roses out and Pia took them.  “Thank you,” she whispered, stepping aside.

Lorenzo walked in, not kissing her like he usually did.  He stood in her living room with his arms crossed.  “I don’t know what to think or what to say.”

“I’m so sorry.  I wanted to tell you.  I was going to tell you tonight at dinner.  I’m just as shocked as you.”

“Shocked?  You’re trying to tell me you’re shocked that you are married?”

Pia looked him in the eyes.  “Yes.”

“Come on Pia.  Do you take me as a fool?”

“No I don’t.  It was all a big mistake.  Larry tricked me.”

Lorenzo rocked back and forth on the heels of his boots, shaking his head back and forth.  Madison felt her heart racing.  He would never believe her.  Who was she kidding?  She wouldn’t believe the story either.

“Explain.” 

Lorenzo’s tone was harsh.  He had never spoken to her in that tone.  Usually his voice was sweet and carrying.  She needed to explain what happened without him hating her.  The thought of losing him, ripped her apart inside.  She loved him.  And just the fact he was standing here in her living room, she hope meant that he had feeling for her too.

“I had gone on a business trip with Larry.  We had two separate rooms.  I swear to you I had no idea.  I tried so hard to remember that night, but I can’t.  I drank too much.  I would stake my life on it Larry slipped something into my drink. I can’t remember a single thing about that night.”

Lorenzo sat down on the couch and crossed his arms.  There was no expression on his face.  Pia didn’t know if he believed her or not.  She wished he said something, anything.  She’d rather him yell at her, and then just sit there with no emotion on his face at all.

Silence filled the room.  Pia didn’t know if she should say something, go sit next to him or offer him something to drink. 

“When did you find out about this assumed marriage?”  he asked.

“Right after you left.  My friend Lisa went to Vegas.  I’m married, but I’m not.  The seal on the certificate is an outdate one.  Lisa thinks he knew someone who rigged the whole thing.”

Lorenzo waved her off.  “This sounds so farfetched.  Yet, I can see in your eyes, that you are distraught over this.  I just don’t know what to make of this.  It all came as a shock.”

“I’m sorry Lorenzo.  I never expected this to happen.”  Tears rolled down her cheeks.  “I love you Lorenzo.  I feel in love with you the night we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge.  I don’t want to lose you.”

“I love you too.”  Lorenzo stood.  “But I need to process all of this.”

“I understand.”  Pia took a step closer to him.  “Where does this leave us?”

“I’m not sure.  I need to think.  Figure things out.”  Lorenzo walked toward the front door.  “Good night Pia.”

Lorenzo closed the door behind him.  Pia ran to the door but stopped herself from opening it.  Leaning her back against the door, she slid to the floor with her tears flowing.  She covered her face. The love of her life had just walked out of her life.




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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Tuesday Tales – Travel


           

Pia paced back and forth across the room.  She didn’t have a clue what she was going to say to Lorenzo.  The best way to handle the situation would be to tell him the truth, which would definitely be hard to believe.  How do you explain to someone that you were married and don’t remember saying I do.

Pia could imagine Lorenzo traveling down Hylan Boulevard to her house not knowing what to expect.  Confused, and totally disgusted with her.  What she couldn’t understand was why he was giving her a chance to explain.  If the situation had been reversed, she would have dismissed him on the spot.

Glancing at her watch, she had less than a half hour before he arrived, providing he didn’t hit any traffic.  Picking up her landline, she dialed Lisa, hoping she had found something out.

“Hey, feel like grabbing a drink?” Lisa asked.

“No thanks.  Lorenzo is on his way over. For some strange reason he’s giving me a chance to explain.”

“Oh.”

Pia heard surprise in Lisa’s voice.  Strange.  “Do you think that’s a bad sign?” she asked rubbing her forehead.

“No.  I’m just surprised, that’s all.  But happy,” her voice picked up, “that he’s giving you a second chance.”

“Are you busy?”  Pia asked.  I the background it sounded like someone was breathing in the phone while she spoke.

“Would I have asked you if you wanted to get a drink if I were?”

“You’re right.”  Pia sat on the couch and immediately her right leg started shaking uncontrollably.

“If it’s not too late, call me when he leaves.  I’ll treat you to a margarita.”

“I will.  Hey before we hang up, did you find out anything else on the marriage certificate?”

 “No.  I’m waiting for my source to get back to me.  Hopefully I’ll have some answers for you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Lisa.”

“Catch you later.”

Pia hung up the phone.  She crossed her legs to stop herself from shaking. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her.  Falling in love with Lorenzo was the last thing she expected to do.  Now she would have to fight for her life, her relationship with him.  Somehow she had to make him understand that this marriage was a complete farce, a set up with Larry having an ulterior motive.

Lifting her bright pink shirt off the couch, she stood and put the shirt on over her white tank top, tying it at the waist.  Checking herself in the mirror above her couch, she frowned.  Her hair was in disarray and her make up faded.  Maybe she had a few minutes to tidy up.

Just as she was about to walk into the bathroom, the doorbell rang.  Pia took a deep breath on the opposite side of the front door.  Slowly she opened the door.




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Monday, April 15, 2013

Tuesday Tales – Chocolate

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“Wife?”  That was Lorenzo’s last word to her.  And the look on his face was one she’d never forget either.

Lorenzo didn’t give her a chance to explain.   He looked at her as the smile on his face faded.  Pia tried her best to avoid eye contact, but when their eyes met, Lorenzo shook his head in disgust.  Pia knew he had read right through her.   “Bastard,” had turned out to be her only word to Larry.

Pia sat in the middle of her bed hugging the scrapbook she had made for Lorenzo.  This had turned into a complete disaster.  She had called Lorenzo at least a dozen times on his cell phone, and used her blocked landline to call him the other times.  When she called cell to cell, she knew he purposely rejected the phone call.  Why wouldn’t he give her a chance to explain? 

“Damn you, Larry.”  Pia rocked back and forth on the bed.  She was going to tell
Lorenzo during dinner what had transpired while he was away.  Lorenzo would never forgive her, let her believe she had just found out what had happened in the past. 

Pia had called Lisa, begging her to come over.  Lisa had promised to come later on after court.  Slamming the scrapbook down on the bed, she stumbled off, walking into the kitchen.  Comfort food.  That is exactly what she needed.

After opening and losing the refrigerator, freezer and kitchen cabinets, she went with the seven layer dark chocolate layer cake in the freezer.  At least the dark chocolate was good for you.

Opening the box, she took the butcher knife and cut a piece of frozen cake.  What the hell.  When you buy an ice-cream cake, the cake part is always frozen.  Sliding the oversized piece onto a navy blue dessert plate, she returned to her bed and plopped down in the middle with the plate of her lap.

Earlier she had called Nevada asking them questions about the seals and they told her a seal is a seal, new or old.  This put her right over the edge.  Digging her fork into the cake she struggled to cut a piece off.  She got a forkful, stuffed it into her mouth and immediately got the brain freeze sensation. 

A half a cake and two hours later, she picked up her cell phone and called Lorenzo’s landline.  When it went into voicemail, she made the decision to leave him a detailed message of what had happened.  At least then, she would feel at peace that he knew the truth of what had happened.

“Hi Lorenzo.  I’m sorry about earlier.  I just wish you would have given me a chance to explain.”  Pia sighed.  “I just found out I was married too.  I know this all sounds ridiculous, somewhere out there, but…”
“I’ll be there in an hour…” With that the phone went dead in her hand.




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Monday, April 08, 2013

Tuesday Tales – Noisy


         
                                      


Lorenzo’s flight was landing in a couple of hours, and she still didn’t have any answers.  Now Pia had to decide what to do.  She didn’t want to lie to Lorenzo, by not tell him what was going on.  Either way she would be putting their relationship to the test.

When she spoke to Lisa earlier, she told her she was waiting for to hear from her contact in Vegas.  She was going into court, with a full day of cases and would call her if she heard anything.

Pia opened the two doors of her closet, staring into it with her arms folded tightly against her chest.  Lorenzo had texted her earlier asking her to meet him in Queens at Ducato’s Restaurant.  He wanted to celebrate his one hitter and no hitter.

Since they started dating, Pia started making a scrapbook of the games he pitched, wins as well as loses.  Wanting the book to be complete, she researched online and at local newspapers, going back a couple of years to start the book from the very first pitch he threw.  She couldn’t wait to get the book up-to-date to share it with him.

Three hours later, Pia walked into the noisy restaurant.  Pia looked around for Lorenzo, but he found her.  She felt two strong hands on her waist and she twirled around in his arms.

“Welcome back,” Pia said, meeting his lips.

“I couldn’t wait to get back to you.  Talking to you every night is what got me through the road trip.”

Pia leaned back in his arms. “Oh come on.  You’ve been on these trips hundreds of times.”

“Yes I have, but this is the first time I had someone to return to.”  Lorenzo kissed her, and then dropped his hand to hers.  “I want to introduce you to a few of my friends.”

“I’d like that.”

They weeded in and out of the crowd as he introduced her to some of his teammates.  Most of them she recognized from watching the ballgames.  What surprised her was that a lot of the players looked so different out of their uniform.

“Gary,” Lorenzo yelled above the music, waving his hand until he got his attention.

Gary walked over to them and rested his hand of Lorenzo’s shoulder. “So this is Pia.”
Lorenzo turned red, lowering his head.  “Yes.”

Gary extended his hand out.  “I’m Gary Steward.”

“I know who you are.”  Pia smiled.  “You’re Lorenzo’s catcher.”

“Catcher, roommate and best friend.”  Gary leaned toward her.  “All he has done is talk about you the whole road trip.”

“Is this true?”  she asked Lorenzo.

“Maybe.”

 Pia caught Lorenzo throwing Gary a look, as if to say, shut the hell up. “How about we dance?”  she asked Lorenzo, breaking up the awkward conversation.

While dancing in his arms, she looked over his shoulder and spotted Larry standing by the bar, arms crossed, watching her every move.

It was time to tell Lorenzo the truth of what had transpired.  “Can we get out of here and go where we can be alone?  There’s something I need to tell you.”

Lorenzo dropped his hands from her waist and bit his bottom lip.  “I don’t like the sound of this,” he said.

“It has nothing to do with you and me.  But something I need to tell you about me.”

“Not a problem.  We can slip out.  We’ll go back to my place.  Okay?”

“Perfect.”

Lorenzo took her hand and they walked toward the exit door.  Pia looked around.  Where the hell did that bastard Larry disappear too?  Hopefully he just went home. 

Outside, Lorenzo handed the valet his ticket.  Within minutes the car pulled up.  Lorenzo opened the door.  Just as Pia was about to get into the car, Larry stood in front of the door.  He turned to face Lorenzo and said, “Where do you think you’re going with my wife?”





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