Part 18: A TRUE FRIEND
Elana stood at the conference table and exhaled slowly after Sean left. The first day was over. She did not know how but she had made it through seeing him again. She plopped herself down in the chair and put her fingers on her head leaning forward. How was she going to pull this off? Sean had pretty much told her in no uncertain terms that they needed to talk. He seemed to be willing to give her enough time until she was comfortable with it, but it was still the inevitability of it that plagued her and the fact that she did not know when, if ever, she would be comfortable talking to him about it. What would she say to him? He was going to want to know the truth because even though she put everything she had into the letter, she knew that somehow he wouldn't believe it, not after everything they shared together. At the time, she was counting on him not believing it and coming to find her in Pennsylvania, where she would reveal why she wrote the letter, and then they would get engaged and soon be married immediately after she finished graduate school, but he never came for her and she knew that her letter had accomplished it's intended purpose erasing all hope of them ever being together. Now, when they actually talked about it, should she tell him the truth or concoct some other story that would continue to keep them apart. Maybe she could just tell him that she had no interest in him anymore. She could tell Sean that what they had was all in the past.
But as she pondered over that thought she knew it would be impossible to pull such a lie off, at least not in front of him. She could never tell him that she stopped loving him because she actually never had. Seeing him today had reaffirmed that fact in her heart and mind, and she wondered if he felt the same way. But 'No.' She thought to herself as she got up from the conference table and gathered her things. 'I can't fool myself like that. Sean has been dating Sheridan for over two years and certainly he must have deep feelings for her to have stayed with her so long. They're probably even planning to get married soon.'
As she walked out of the conference room toward the elevators, she remembered that Sean was a dedicated man when it came to relationships. From their first kiss in high school, when Sean had graduated, up to his final visit to Georgia, she never even saw him trying to look at other women. They only had eyes for each other and apparently that had never changed for Elana. Today as she stole quick glances at him, she noticed that all of his handsome features just seemed to be magnified with his age. His hair was cut perfectly to fit his face, his eyes were full of emotion that he did not know how to express when they were younger and his body had become more robust and manly. A woman could not help but admire him as she had noticed many of the female managers doing during the meeting. Charlotte, his secretary, was particularly trying to get his attention as she sat directly in front of the direction Sean's chair faced and constantly crossed her legs, revealing who knows what under that little skirt she had on, Elana thought. Suddenly, as she walked up to the desk clerk, she found herself getting mad at Charlotte and then realized that she had no right to. Actually Sean seemed to not notice Charlotte at all. Now she thought again about what she would tell Sean when the time came.
After obtaining her key and heading for the garage, Elana gave up thinking about it and relented to the fact that she was not any more sure of what she would tell Sean now than she had been when he first indicated that they needed to talk. She decided that she would have to call Gail and discuss things with her. At least her friend would help her sort out some feelings, even though she was biased. She knew that Gail's main premise was that Elana never should not have written the letter in the first place because she had always contended that Elana should have called Phillip's bluff and eloped with Sean and got pregnant anyway just to spite him. Elana always put off Gail's suggestions as nonsense thinking that her girlfriend could not possibly have known how it actually felt to be in that situation. Despite Gail's extreme suggestions Elana knew she could always count on her. After actually mailing the letter, Gail had been there during all of Elana's grief stricken days. She comforted her and readily took to creating innumerable descriptive expletives to characterize the Logan family. Even though it was no consolation for Elana's loosing Sean, Gail made her laugh and she loved her friend for that.
Now as she stepped off of the elevators into the garage parking lot she noticed a 1964 red mustang that reminded her of Sean's old car. Then she saw the reserved sign on the wall indicating "Crealite President". Knowing that it had to be Sean's car, she could not believe that he had kept it in such good condition for so many years. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her as she walked up to the car and looked inside. Gazing into the front seat brought back memories of Sean's first Spring Break from college when they had made out inside of it. It was the first time he had touched her and made her feel utterly desirable to him. At that moment a rush of emotion shot through her as she relived that day in her mind. She felt her heart flutter and put her hand to her chest as she made her way back to her own car.
She hadn't recognized that while she was looking inside Sean had gotten off the elevator. When he noticed her he just stood by the elevator doors, not making a sound, watching her. He could tell when she put her hand on her heart what she was remembering. Then she suddenly went to her own car, got in and drove off. That small act told Sean everything he needed to know. She still had some feelings for him and now he was faced with the task of what he would do about it. Walking methodically to his car he thought about his next step and figured that he would do nothing until after he and Elana had their talk. He could not fathom why she wrote that letter, not after all that they had shared for so many years. He guessed that somehow her father had found out about their secret rendezvous and made her change schools, giving her some sort of ultimatum if she continued seeing him, or maybe since she was in an all black college she was under pressure from her classmates about dating a white man. He could not quite figure it out, but as he got into his car and started up the engine, he decided that he would give her some time to come to him and tell him, but if she did not, he would go to her and demand some answers.
Long Island
Elana's home
Elana came into her townhouse and threw her case on the leather sectional couch and fell down with it. She was finally home and all she wanted to do was to soak in a hot bath and go to bed, but she remembered she had agreed to meet James at a restaurant in Long Island. As she contemplated what she would wear the phone rang. She reached over and picked up the receiver from the end table.
"Hello?"
"Hey, girl, so how did it go?" Gail said excitedly on the other end of the receiver.
"Oh, Gail" she sighed as she laid her head back on the couch ready to talk. "Girl, I didn't meet with Phillip today."
"You didn't? Why not?"
"Because I met with Sean instead."
"WHAAAAAT?? SO DID YOU RUN INTO HIS ARMS AND APOLOGIZE FOR BEING FOOLISH AND BEG HIS FORGIVENESS AND TO TAKE YOU BACK?" She asked laughing.
"Nooo. I didn't do that, but I was on the brink of it." Elana said calmly.
"So what happened? Tell me! Tell me! I want to know everything, girl! You'd better not leave anything out or I'm gonna reach through this phone and strangle you!" Gail was situating herself on her bed as she waited for Elana to tell her what happened.
"Ok. Well, let's see." Elana said trying to make it interesting. "We started out holding hands, I got close enough to feel his heart beating rapidly in the elevator, then he asked me to dinner."
"WHAAAAAAT? OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" Trying to calm herself down Gail continued, "Put this in context, now. Are you saying he held your hand? Explain it to me girl!"
"When we were introduced he took my hand, but he didn't shake it he just held it and stared at me." Elana was enjoying Gail's enjoyment with her story.
"Oh God girl, did you pass out or something with him looking at you like that."
"No fortunately I was sitting. If I was standing I'm sure I would have collapsed."
"Ok now what about the heart beating, NO! NO! Save that for last. What about the dinner date? Tell me about that."
"Well after the meeting with all of his top managers and supervisors, everybody left and he asked me out to dinner with him."
"Oh God, Elana no he didn't girl!" Gail fell back flat on her bed as she said this.
"Yes, he did."
'Scream' "Gurrrrrl. I am telling you... I am telling you that man wants you! He wants you bad! Oh God I can't believe this! Whew, let me cool off from all of this excitement. Now do you know what you're going to wear tonight? I have this sexy diamond-studded number that will blow his mind girl. Whenever I put this dress on to go out with my husband we never make it out the door. You hear what I'm telling you. As a matter of fact I'm just gonna bring it over to you right now. I just got it cleaned so all you have to do is put it on girl and let it work it's own magic. With your body in this dress, I guarantee you will have that man back before 12:00 tonight...."
"Gail, Gail..." Elana said trying to stop her friend's mind from racing into all different directions.
"What?"
"You don't have to bring over the dress because I'm not going out with him tonight."
"Well that's ok I'll just bring it over and it will be ready for tomorrow night or whatever night you all planned. Just let me warn you though. You'd better be ready to give it up when you put this thing on because it is a man-gettin' weapon guaranteed to be off your body in fifteen minutes if you're alone and thirty minutes if you're not. You hear what I say girl..."
"Gail. Gail."
"WHAT! Why do you keep interrupting me Elana? You'd better listen to me girl. I'm trying to tell you how to snag this man you've been saving yourself for all these years..."
"Gail. I didn't agree to go out with him and I HAVE NOT been saving myself for him!" Elana said trying to convince herself moreso than Gail.
There was a short pause, then Elana heard Gail banging the phone on something. "Now run that by me once again because I think something is wrong with this phone I got up to my ears and its mixing up your words. You say what now?" Gail held the phone closer to her ear and listened intently waiting for Elana to reconfirm what she had just said.
"I saaaaid that I told him it wouldn't be a good idea for us to go out to dinner."
"Ok. Now hold on while I go get my phone book." Gail said almost too calmly.
"What do you need a phone book for?" Elana was confused.
"I have to call these two professional gentlemen to come over and fit you for a STRAIGHT JACKET!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU??? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND??? I CAN'T BELIEVE...." Gail ranted on.
"Gail. Calm down now. I just couldn't go out with him because he wanted to talk about why I wrote him that letter and I wasn't up to it."
"WHAT'S THERE TO BE UP TO? You just go to dinner. Tell him about his TRIFLING daddy. Take him back to your place and let him have what he had been begging you for, for years. Then you guys go get married and have lots of babies and live happily ever after. HOW CAN YOU NOT BE UP TO THAT? I don't understand Elana!"
"It's more complicated than that Gail. I just couldn't face him on that issue not right now. And besides I have a date with someone else."
"Someone else? Who?" Now Gail was getting upset with her friend.
"James Payton. He's a Vice President of Marketing at Crealite"
"James Payton. Is he some other white guy Elana?"
"Um Yeah."
"Oh God girl. This story is just going downhill. I need to go take an Excedrin because you are tearing my nerves up and I'm getting a headache right now. You know girl, you MAKE things complicated for yourself and you take everything too seriously. It's obvious from what you told me that Sean is at least still attracted to you and probably still in love with you. Then you go and accept a date with one of his white subordinates after you stayed away from him because you said you couldn't handle an interracial relationship. Girl you are making me too tired. Wait a minute, are you saying you are going out with this guy tonight?"
"Yeah in about an hour or so."
"And you told Sean you couldn't go out with him because you had a date with this James guy?" Gail asked.
"Yes, that's right." As Gail asked her these questions Elana now saw for herself how foolish it made her look and how unbelievable her letter now seemed.
"Umph-Umph-umph. Well I guess it's your life girl and I can't run it for you. I do need to run mine though so I need to get off this phone. Max will be home soon, and I have a nice dinner planned for him, so I want to put the baby to sleep and then I guess I'LL be puttin' that dress on because I sho' ain't gonna give it to you for some James somebody."
"Gail, don't be upset with me I just need some time and besides you have to remember he has a girlfriend, Sheridan Winthrop."
"Elana. I'm not even going there with you again. Listen, I ain't mad 'atcha girl. I just hate to see you wasting time. You know Sean is the only man for you and whatever obstacles you think may be in your way can be overcome if the two of you love each other enough. You'll make a way around them, but you're going backwards over the same hurdles you already jumped trying to avoid the mountain. Girl I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."
"Ok Gail. See ya"
They hung up the phone and Elana got up knowing she had to get herself ready for her date with James even though her heart was not in it. After contemplating what Gail had said she knew her friend was right, but at the same time there was no way that she was going to throw herself at Sean. If he was still in love with her as Gail had claimed he would have to let her really know it before she would go embarrassing herself. Thinking about her pending date, Elana felt that she should have been more excited to be going out on a date because after all it had been over four years. She never had problems getting dates or offers, her problem was staying interested enough to try and pursue the relationship. When it came down to it Elana believed that her coldness toward men had been partly due to Phillip Logan's accusations about her using a man to get somewhere in life. Saying that to her had done more than just shatter her hopes of having happiness with Sean, it had also made her shy away from men. But now she figured she would try and remedy that situation. She thought that James Payton may be just the one to help her lower her guard and allow herself to be loved by a man. As she made her way to her bedroom she shed her clothing to take a quick shower so that she could meet James at 8:00pm. She would put her best foot forward for James and maybe, just maybe she could find what she was looking for in him.
7:50pm
Louis Catrell Restaurant
Elana walked into the receiving area of the posh dimly lit restaurant wearing a long white evening gown that hugged her waist and hips then hung loosely down her legs. On the side of the dress was a split that stopped mid-thigh. The top front of the dress hung loosely revealing a small amount of cleavage and revealed that she wore nothing underneath. The shoulders of the dress were gathered and held together by diamond pins on either side and the back of the dress was exposed down to her mid-back. She had elected, as always to forgo any under clothing other than her silk stockings. And she wore a pair of white heels that had a diamond strip sweeping across the front and up the sides. Her hair was twisted up in the front allowing several stray strands to fall on the sides of her face and in the back, it hung straight down below her shoulders in a blunt cut. She stood there and looked around, but did not see James, so she asked the hostess.
"Hello. I'm here to meet Mr. James Payton."
The hostess scanned her up and down above his glasses. He noticed that she was very classy and knew that she was definitely not the sort that James Payton usually dined with. 'Maybe this is a business meeting.' He thought to himself. "Ah yes, let me show you to your table. Mr. Payton has just arrived and is waiting." He called a waitress to come and direct Elana to James' table.
As he saw her coming, James thought he was not looking at the same person that he had met earlier that day. She looked totally different. She had expertly shed her business demeanor and now was elegantly dressed. He was certainly pleased and hadn't expected her to come looking as well as she did. He stood and smiled as the waitress showed her to his table. "You look so beautiful. You're almost like a different person." He said and continued complimenting her as he helped her with her chair and then returned to his own seat.
"Thank you James, but you've only seen me once." She said smiling at his flattery.
"Now that's where you're wrong."
"Oh really now and how's that?"
"I have admired you from a distance at several different functions over the past few years."
"And where has this been?"
"Well, there's the past two annual AICPA dinners and the businessman's charity event three years ago."
"You were at all of those functions. I never noticed you."
"Yeah I was there and I could not keep my eyes off of you."
"Well why didn't you say anything then?" Elana asked knowing he would give her an honest answer.
"I was not sure if you would date a white man or if you were one of those that is mad at me for the ignorance of my ancestors."
"So what made you think, I was not one of the ladder this time, when you saw me at Crealite."
"I don't know. I guess I just took a chance."
"I guess you did."
"Well after seeing you walk in here tonight I'm glad I did." He said with a demure smile on his face. Elana could only smile back at him while she thought he certainly knows the right things to say to a woman.
As their conversation progressed, they ordered their drinks and continued to talk. Afterwards they ordered dinner and eventually desert while talking and laughing the whole time. Elana noticed that James had a lot of questions about her and that he wasn't so focused on himself, which eased her earlier apprehension about him. After a while, the band played a nice tune and James asked Elana if she wanted to dance and she accepted. It had been so long since she had been in a man's arms that she rather enjoyed herself. James was tall and he seemed to engulf her when he hugged her waist and took the lead in the slow dance. He was an impeccable dancer and seemed to make Elana forget about everything especially her encounter with Sean earlier. The only thing she tried to concentrate on was the music and the good time she was having.
While they danced, James was enjoying the soft, warm feel of her next to him and hoped that it would not be long before she would allow him to get even closer to her. He had never been out with a woman like her and he had never dated outside his own race. Most women had been so captivated by his money and good looks that he never had to put much effort into it. By the end of the first date they would practically be all over him, but Elana was different. She did not seemed to be overly impressed with the daring feats he told her about, and she was definitely not interested in his money, it seemed because she never asked him anything about it; whereas, other women wanted to talk about nothing else. It was obvious that pursuing her was going to be different and he looked forward to it. Soon they noticed that it was getting late and that they both had to be at work in the morning, so they decided to call it a night. While waiting in the valet reception area they talked.
"I enjoyed being with you tonight, Elana, can we do this again? Say tomorrow night?" James asked hoping he would be able to get in a date every night, so that he could reach his ultimate goal of seducing her. He usually would try to move in on the first date, but he sensed that Elana was not that type of girl and decided that it would take him a little longer and much more effort than usual to win her over.
"No, James, not tomorrow night. I can't keep this pace up and try to work too. Maybe over the weekend or something." She said.
"How about Friday evening. Could I pick you up and maybe we could go somewhere in the city. There's a play that will be starting that night and I'd love to take you with me."
"Well that sounds good. I'll look forward to it, but I can meet you. It's a little far for you to travel to Long Island and then to New York and then back to Long Island before you get home."
"Who said anything about me going home Friday?" James asked as he smiled at her. Elana smiled back because she had found out that James was always completely honest and open about what he wanted, and he was not ashamed to let anyone know, as long as he thought the person could handle his honesty. James had found out that Elana could handle whatever he dished out, and he knew she actually admired it because then she would have an opportunity to either accept or refuse it and they both could avoid playing word games.
As they stood there refusing to pursue James' last comment, the valet drivers came with both of their cars and James walked Elana outside and to her car then tipped the valet. Before she got in they stood facing each other, where Elana's back was to her open car and James held the top of her car door open facing her.
"I really would like to kiss you goodnight Elana."
Getting into her car, she looked up at him. "I don't believe in kissing on the first date James."
He closed her car door and said, "Now why did I just know that?"
"I guess you know the same way you know you will be going home on Friday. Good night James. I'll see you tomorrow."
He watched her as she drove off and went to get into his own car to return home.
Elana stood at the conference table and exhaled slowly after Sean left. The first day was over. She did not know how but she had made it through seeing him again. She plopped herself down in the chair and put her fingers on her head leaning forward. How was she going to pull this off? Sean had pretty much told her in no uncertain terms that they needed to talk. He seemed to be willing to give her enough time until she was comfortable with it, but it was still the inevitability of it that plagued her and the fact that she did not know when, if ever, she would be comfortable talking to him about it. What would she say to him? He was going to want to know the truth because even though she put everything she had into the letter, she knew that somehow he wouldn't believe it, not after everything they shared together. At the time, she was counting on him not believing it and coming to find her in Pennsylvania, where she would reveal why she wrote the letter, and then they would get engaged and soon be married immediately after she finished graduate school, but he never came for her and she knew that her letter had accomplished it's intended purpose erasing all hope of them ever being together. Now, when they actually talked about it, should she tell him the truth or concoct some other story that would continue to keep them apart. Maybe she could just tell him that she had no interest in him anymore. She could tell Sean that what they had was all in the past.
But as she pondered over that thought she knew it would be impossible to pull such a lie off, at least not in front of him. She could never tell him that she stopped loving him because she actually never had. Seeing him today had reaffirmed that fact in her heart and mind, and she wondered if he felt the same way. But 'No.' She thought to herself as she got up from the conference table and gathered her things. 'I can't fool myself like that. Sean has been dating Sheridan for over two years and certainly he must have deep feelings for her to have stayed with her so long. They're probably even planning to get married soon.'
As she walked out of the conference room toward the elevators, she remembered that Sean was a dedicated man when it came to relationships. From their first kiss in high school, when Sean had graduated, up to his final visit to Georgia, she never even saw him trying to look at other women. They only had eyes for each other and apparently that had never changed for Elana. Today as she stole quick glances at him, she noticed that all of his handsome features just seemed to be magnified with his age. His hair was cut perfectly to fit his face, his eyes were full of emotion that he did not know how to express when they were younger and his body had become more robust and manly. A woman could not help but admire him as she had noticed many of the female managers doing during the meeting. Charlotte, his secretary, was particularly trying to get his attention as she sat directly in front of the direction Sean's chair faced and constantly crossed her legs, revealing who knows what under that little skirt she had on, Elana thought. Suddenly, as she walked up to the desk clerk, she found herself getting mad at Charlotte and then realized that she had no right to. Actually Sean seemed to not notice Charlotte at all. Now she thought again about what she would tell Sean when the time came.
After obtaining her key and heading for the garage, Elana gave up thinking about it and relented to the fact that she was not any more sure of what she would tell Sean now than she had been when he first indicated that they needed to talk. She decided that she would have to call Gail and discuss things with her. At least her friend would help her sort out some feelings, even though she was biased. She knew that Gail's main premise was that Elana never should not have written the letter in the first place because she had always contended that Elana should have called Phillip's bluff and eloped with Sean and got pregnant anyway just to spite him. Elana always put off Gail's suggestions as nonsense thinking that her girlfriend could not possibly have known how it actually felt to be in that situation. Despite Gail's extreme suggestions Elana knew she could always count on her. After actually mailing the letter, Gail had been there during all of Elana's grief stricken days. She comforted her and readily took to creating innumerable descriptive expletives to characterize the Logan family. Even though it was no consolation for Elana's loosing Sean, Gail made her laugh and she loved her friend for that.
Now as she stepped off of the elevators into the garage parking lot she noticed a 1964 red mustang that reminded her of Sean's old car. Then she saw the reserved sign on the wall indicating "Crealite President". Knowing that it had to be Sean's car, she could not believe that he had kept it in such good condition for so many years. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her as she walked up to the car and looked inside. Gazing into the front seat brought back memories of Sean's first Spring Break from college when they had made out inside of it. It was the first time he had touched her and made her feel utterly desirable to him. At that moment a rush of emotion shot through her as she relived that day in her mind. She felt her heart flutter and put her hand to her chest as she made her way back to her own car.
She hadn't recognized that while she was looking inside Sean had gotten off the elevator. When he noticed her he just stood by the elevator doors, not making a sound, watching her. He could tell when she put her hand on her heart what she was remembering. Then she suddenly went to her own car, got in and drove off. That small act told Sean everything he needed to know. She still had some feelings for him and now he was faced with the task of what he would do about it. Walking methodically to his car he thought about his next step and figured that he would do nothing until after he and Elana had their talk. He could not fathom why she wrote that letter, not after all that they had shared for so many years. He guessed that somehow her father had found out about their secret rendezvous and made her change schools, giving her some sort of ultimatum if she continued seeing him, or maybe since she was in an all black college she was under pressure from her classmates about dating a white man. He could not quite figure it out, but as he got into his car and started up the engine, he decided that he would give her some time to come to him and tell him, but if she did not, he would go to her and demand some answers.
Long Island
Elana's home
Elana came into her townhouse and threw her case on the leather sectional couch and fell down with it. She was finally home and all she wanted to do was to soak in a hot bath and go to bed, but she remembered she had agreed to meet James at a restaurant in Long Island. As she contemplated what she would wear the phone rang. She reached over and picked up the receiver from the end table.
"Hello?"
"Hey, girl, so how did it go?" Gail said excitedly on the other end of the receiver.
"Oh, Gail" she sighed as she laid her head back on the couch ready to talk. "Girl, I didn't meet with Phillip today."
"You didn't? Why not?"
"Because I met with Sean instead."
"WHAAAAAT?? SO DID YOU RUN INTO HIS ARMS AND APOLOGIZE FOR BEING FOOLISH AND BEG HIS FORGIVENESS AND TO TAKE YOU BACK?" She asked laughing.
"Nooo. I didn't do that, but I was on the brink of it." Elana said calmly.
"So what happened? Tell me! Tell me! I want to know everything, girl! You'd better not leave anything out or I'm gonna reach through this phone and strangle you!" Gail was situating herself on her bed as she waited for Elana to tell her what happened.
"Ok. Well, let's see." Elana said trying to make it interesting. "We started out holding hands, I got close enough to feel his heart beating rapidly in the elevator, then he asked me to dinner."
"WHAAAAAAT? OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" Trying to calm herself down Gail continued, "Put this in context, now. Are you saying he held your hand? Explain it to me girl!"
"When we were introduced he took my hand, but he didn't shake it he just held it and stared at me." Elana was enjoying Gail's enjoyment with her story.
"Oh God girl, did you pass out or something with him looking at you like that."
"No fortunately I was sitting. If I was standing I'm sure I would have collapsed."
"Ok now what about the heart beating, NO! NO! Save that for last. What about the dinner date? Tell me about that."
"Well after the meeting with all of his top managers and supervisors, everybody left and he asked me out to dinner with him."
"Oh God, Elana no he didn't girl!" Gail fell back flat on her bed as she said this.
"Yes, he did."
'Scream' "Gurrrrrl. I am telling you... I am telling you that man wants you! He wants you bad! Oh God I can't believe this! Whew, let me cool off from all of this excitement. Now do you know what you're going to wear tonight? I have this sexy diamond-studded number that will blow his mind girl. Whenever I put this dress on to go out with my husband we never make it out the door. You hear what I'm telling you. As a matter of fact I'm just gonna bring it over to you right now. I just got it cleaned so all you have to do is put it on girl and let it work it's own magic. With your body in this dress, I guarantee you will have that man back before 12:00 tonight...."
"Gail, Gail..." Elana said trying to stop her friend's mind from racing into all different directions.
"What?"
"You don't have to bring over the dress because I'm not going out with him tonight."
"Well that's ok I'll just bring it over and it will be ready for tomorrow night or whatever night you all planned. Just let me warn you though. You'd better be ready to give it up when you put this thing on because it is a man-gettin' weapon guaranteed to be off your body in fifteen minutes if you're alone and thirty minutes if you're not. You hear what I say girl..."
"Gail. Gail."
"WHAT! Why do you keep interrupting me Elana? You'd better listen to me girl. I'm trying to tell you how to snag this man you've been saving yourself for all these years..."
"Gail. I didn't agree to go out with him and I HAVE NOT been saving myself for him!" Elana said trying to convince herself moreso than Gail.
There was a short pause, then Elana heard Gail banging the phone on something. "Now run that by me once again because I think something is wrong with this phone I got up to my ears and its mixing up your words. You say what now?" Gail held the phone closer to her ear and listened intently waiting for Elana to reconfirm what she had just said.
"I saaaaid that I told him it wouldn't be a good idea for us to go out to dinner."
"Ok. Now hold on while I go get my phone book." Gail said almost too calmly.
"What do you need a phone book for?" Elana was confused.
"I have to call these two professional gentlemen to come over and fit you for a STRAIGHT JACKET!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU??? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND??? I CAN'T BELIEVE...." Gail ranted on.
"Gail. Calm down now. I just couldn't go out with him because he wanted to talk about why I wrote him that letter and I wasn't up to it."
"WHAT'S THERE TO BE UP TO? You just go to dinner. Tell him about his TRIFLING daddy. Take him back to your place and let him have what he had been begging you for, for years. Then you guys go get married and have lots of babies and live happily ever after. HOW CAN YOU NOT BE UP TO THAT? I don't understand Elana!"
"It's more complicated than that Gail. I just couldn't face him on that issue not right now. And besides I have a date with someone else."
"Someone else? Who?" Now Gail was getting upset with her friend.
"James Payton. He's a Vice President of Marketing at Crealite"
"James Payton. Is he some other white guy Elana?"
"Um Yeah."
"Oh God girl. This story is just going downhill. I need to go take an Excedrin because you are tearing my nerves up and I'm getting a headache right now. You know girl, you MAKE things complicated for yourself and you take everything too seriously. It's obvious from what you told me that Sean is at least still attracted to you and probably still in love with you. Then you go and accept a date with one of his white subordinates after you stayed away from him because you said you couldn't handle an interracial relationship. Girl you are making me too tired. Wait a minute, are you saying you are going out with this guy tonight?"
"Yeah in about an hour or so."
"And you told Sean you couldn't go out with him because you had a date with this James guy?" Gail asked.
"Yes, that's right." As Gail asked her these questions Elana now saw for herself how foolish it made her look and how unbelievable her letter now seemed.
"Umph-Umph-umph. Well I guess it's your life girl and I can't run it for you. I do need to run mine though so I need to get off this phone. Max will be home soon, and I have a nice dinner planned for him, so I want to put the baby to sleep and then I guess I'LL be puttin' that dress on because I sho' ain't gonna give it to you for some James somebody."
"Gail, don't be upset with me I just need some time and besides you have to remember he has a girlfriend, Sheridan Winthrop."
"Elana. I'm not even going there with you again. Listen, I ain't mad 'atcha girl. I just hate to see you wasting time. You know Sean is the only man for you and whatever obstacles you think may be in your way can be overcome if the two of you love each other enough. You'll make a way around them, but you're going backwards over the same hurdles you already jumped trying to avoid the mountain. Girl I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."
"Ok Gail. See ya"
They hung up the phone and Elana got up knowing she had to get herself ready for her date with James even though her heart was not in it. After contemplating what Gail had said she knew her friend was right, but at the same time there was no way that she was going to throw herself at Sean. If he was still in love with her as Gail had claimed he would have to let her really know it before she would go embarrassing herself. Thinking about her pending date, Elana felt that she should have been more excited to be going out on a date because after all it had been over four years. She never had problems getting dates or offers, her problem was staying interested enough to try and pursue the relationship. When it came down to it Elana believed that her coldness toward men had been partly due to Phillip Logan's accusations about her using a man to get somewhere in life. Saying that to her had done more than just shatter her hopes of having happiness with Sean, it had also made her shy away from men. But now she figured she would try and remedy that situation. She thought that James Payton may be just the one to help her lower her guard and allow herself to be loved by a man. As she made her way to her bedroom she shed her clothing to take a quick shower so that she could meet James at 8:00pm. She would put her best foot forward for James and maybe, just maybe she could find what she was looking for in him.
7:50pm
Louis Catrell Restaurant
Elana walked into the receiving area of the posh dimly lit restaurant wearing a long white evening gown that hugged her waist and hips then hung loosely down her legs. On the side of the dress was a split that stopped mid-thigh. The top front of the dress hung loosely revealing a small amount of cleavage and revealed that she wore nothing underneath. The shoulders of the dress were gathered and held together by diamond pins on either side and the back of the dress was exposed down to her mid-back. She had elected, as always to forgo any under clothing other than her silk stockings. And she wore a pair of white heels that had a diamond strip sweeping across the front and up the sides. Her hair was twisted up in the front allowing several stray strands to fall on the sides of her face and in the back, it hung straight down below her shoulders in a blunt cut. She stood there and looked around, but did not see James, so she asked the hostess.
"Hello. I'm here to meet Mr. James Payton."
The hostess scanned her up and down above his glasses. He noticed that she was very classy and knew that she was definitely not the sort that James Payton usually dined with. 'Maybe this is a business meeting.' He thought to himself. "Ah yes, let me show you to your table. Mr. Payton has just arrived and is waiting." He called a waitress to come and direct Elana to James' table.
As he saw her coming, James thought he was not looking at the same person that he had met earlier that day. She looked totally different. She had expertly shed her business demeanor and now was elegantly dressed. He was certainly pleased and hadn't expected her to come looking as well as she did. He stood and smiled as the waitress showed her to his table. "You look so beautiful. You're almost like a different person." He said and continued complimenting her as he helped her with her chair and then returned to his own seat.
"Thank you James, but you've only seen me once." She said smiling at his flattery.
"Now that's where you're wrong."
"Oh really now and how's that?"
"I have admired you from a distance at several different functions over the past few years."
"And where has this been?"
"Well, there's the past two annual AICPA dinners and the businessman's charity event three years ago."
"You were at all of those functions. I never noticed you."
"Yeah I was there and I could not keep my eyes off of you."
"Well why didn't you say anything then?" Elana asked knowing he would give her an honest answer.
"I was not sure if you would date a white man or if you were one of those that is mad at me for the ignorance of my ancestors."
"So what made you think, I was not one of the ladder this time, when you saw me at Crealite."
"I don't know. I guess I just took a chance."
"I guess you did."
"Well after seeing you walk in here tonight I'm glad I did." He said with a demure smile on his face. Elana could only smile back at him while she thought he certainly knows the right things to say to a woman.
As their conversation progressed, they ordered their drinks and continued to talk. Afterwards they ordered dinner and eventually desert while talking and laughing the whole time. Elana noticed that James had a lot of questions about her and that he wasn't so focused on himself, which eased her earlier apprehension about him. After a while, the band played a nice tune and James asked Elana if she wanted to dance and she accepted. It had been so long since she had been in a man's arms that she rather enjoyed herself. James was tall and he seemed to engulf her when he hugged her waist and took the lead in the slow dance. He was an impeccable dancer and seemed to make Elana forget about everything especially her encounter with Sean earlier. The only thing she tried to concentrate on was the music and the good time she was having.
While they danced, James was enjoying the soft, warm feel of her next to him and hoped that it would not be long before she would allow him to get even closer to her. He had never been out with a woman like her and he had never dated outside his own race. Most women had been so captivated by his money and good looks that he never had to put much effort into it. By the end of the first date they would practically be all over him, but Elana was different. She did not seemed to be overly impressed with the daring feats he told her about, and she was definitely not interested in his money, it seemed because she never asked him anything about it; whereas, other women wanted to talk about nothing else. It was obvious that pursuing her was going to be different and he looked forward to it. Soon they noticed that it was getting late and that they both had to be at work in the morning, so they decided to call it a night. While waiting in the valet reception area they talked.
"I enjoyed being with you tonight, Elana, can we do this again? Say tomorrow night?" James asked hoping he would be able to get in a date every night, so that he could reach his ultimate goal of seducing her. He usually would try to move in on the first date, but he sensed that Elana was not that type of girl and decided that it would take him a little longer and much more effort than usual to win her over.
"No, James, not tomorrow night. I can't keep this pace up and try to work too. Maybe over the weekend or something." She said.
"How about Friday evening. Could I pick you up and maybe we could go somewhere in the city. There's a play that will be starting that night and I'd love to take you with me."
"Well that sounds good. I'll look forward to it, but I can meet you. It's a little far for you to travel to Long Island and then to New York and then back to Long Island before you get home."
"Who said anything about me going home Friday?" James asked as he smiled at her. Elana smiled back because she had found out that James was always completely honest and open about what he wanted, and he was not ashamed to let anyone know, as long as he thought the person could handle his honesty. James had found out that Elana could handle whatever he dished out, and he knew she actually admired it because then she would have an opportunity to either accept or refuse it and they both could avoid playing word games.
As they stood there refusing to pursue James' last comment, the valet drivers came with both of their cars and James walked Elana outside and to her car then tipped the valet. Before she got in they stood facing each other, where Elana's back was to her open car and James held the top of her car door open facing her.
"I really would like to kiss you goodnight Elana."
Getting into her car, she looked up at him. "I don't believe in kissing on the first date James."
He closed her car door and said, "Now why did I just know that?"
"I guess you know the same way you know you will be going home on Friday. Good night James. I'll see you tomorrow."
He watched her as she drove off and went to get into his own car to return home.