The bells on the door to the café jingled as Mister Suitable walked in. He was well-built, on the stocky side, and definitely shorter than Will, but in great shape. He was wearing perfectly tailored gray suit pants, a white dress shirt, no tie, top button open and the shirtsleeves rolled up on his thick forearms. He was varsity quarterback handsome. He had pale blue eyes, dark blond hair, and thin lips, with a hint of baby face. He looked like the guys I was used to seeing on the campus at Brown, very upright and all business. I think I was noticeably gawking at him because he had a crooked, cocky grin on his face. If I could have moved, I probably would have looked over to find Jenny in the same condition. A moment later I saw his little mini-me walk in behind him.
Damn! Married with children.
“Hi, welcome to Kell’s. What can I get you?”
He squinted his eyes and quickly glanced down my body and back up, then fixed his gaze on the chalkboard above me. I felt a flush creep up my cheeks at his once-over. “I’ll have a cappuccino and for this guy… Hmm, what is Little Luv’s Cocoa?” he asked while patting his cute four-year-old on the head.
“It’s just hot cocoa,” I said shyly.
Jenny chimed in. “With a giant homemade marshmallow in it… It’s divine and it’s named after her.” She darted her thumb toward me and my face flushed again.
“Your name is Little Luv?”
Cocky Bastard. Handsome, cocky bastard.
“Yes… I mean no. My father used to call me luv.” He nodded and smiled and then looked me up and down again. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes and I found myself starting to enjoy it.
“Okay, he’ll have the cocoa.”
“Little Luv’s Cocoa,” Jenny corrected. I elbowed her.
“Sorry, yes, Little Luv’s Cocoa,” he said without taking his eyes off me.
“You got it. That’ll be six forty.” As I reached to grab the ten-dollar bill out of his hand, he held onto it for a second too long, forcing me to tug at it. I smiled and gave him his change. “Have a seat; I’ll bring your coffee out to you.”
I glanced over at Jenny, whose eyes were as big as quarters. As the man walked away, she stuck her tongue out at his back in a vulgar gesture like she was licking him. I burst into wild laughter and then stopped abruptly when he glanced back at us.
I didn’t want him to think we were laughing at him, so when I took his coffee to him I said, “I’m sorry about that, it’s just my friend thinks you’re really good-looking.” I saw Jenny glaring at me out of the corner of my eye.
“What do you think?”
I must have been beet red; my plan backfired. Shit, shit. “Um, well, I guess I would have to agree.”
“Um, well, I guess I’ll take that as a compliment then.”
I smiled shyly and scurried away. Before the man left, he stopped at the bulletin board and read over my advertisement for kids’ piano lessons.
When he tore off a little phone-number tab, I said, “That’s me,” and pointed my finger right at my boob like an idiot.
“Okay?” He hesitated. “I’ll call you?” It was a question. I shook my head up and down frantically.
He smiled and chuckled and then just like that, he was gone. “He wasn’t wearing a wedding band!” Jenny sighed. I didn’t respond.
Track 3: Ask Me
The following day at exactly 12:01 the buzzer sounded. Punctual, I like it. I skipped over to the speaker. “Yes?”
“Hey, it’s Will.” I buzzed him in. He was up the stairs in a second and rapped a silly little beat on the door.
I opened it wide. “Hey, come on in.”
“Hi, Roomy!”
He stepped in, then stood there transfixed for a minute before looking around. I observed his every move. He walked through the living room and kitchen, which was one big loft-style room. The kitchen had a breakfast bar and two big windows facing out to the street. The other side of the room was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, full of records, CDs, and books. “Ah, Mia, this place is great. Are those your dad’s old records?”
“Yeah.” I felt a twinge of sadness about Pops. Will set his bag down next to the coffee table that sat between two identical beige sofas that faced each other. The upright piano was against a little section of wall just as you entered the hallway.
“I love this piano,” Will said as he ran his fingers over the keys. He was like a kid in a candy shop. My father had black-and-white photos everywhere. Will paused at a picture of my father and me from a few years back. He turned to face me, his eyes narrowed into the listening-to-God look. Then he smiled and said, “You’re beautiful.” I realized how handsome and expressive Will’s face was close up. The way he spoke to me made me believe that he could never tell a lie.
“Thank you,” I said softly and then moved to change the subject. “I’ll show you the room.” He walked behind me down the hall toward his new room. I was unreasonably nervous, like I had just asked him to take me to bed. I showed him the large bathroom that we would be sharing. He seemed happy and said it was literally the size of the storage closet he had just moved from. The two bedrooms at the end of the hall were identical, one on the left and one on the right. I was in my father’s room on the right, which had a window out to a courtyard in the back of the building. The room on the left had windows that faced out to the street. It also had a little platform and fire escape, which I figured Will could smoke on since there would be no smoking inside the apartment. I pointed to the closed door of my room. “That’s my room.” I hoped he got the message that it was off limits. “And here’s yours.”