Madison checked her watch. It was one minute later from the last time she looked. It was six thirty-two; Jaymz was forty minutes late. I’ll give him five more minutes, she thought. Jaymz had called and begged her to meet him at Edwards. He said he had something really important to talk to her about. The fact that Edwards was her favorite restaurant sweetened his invitation. It was only five minutes away from her office in downtown Rochester, near the Landmark Society. She couldn’t help, but wonder what he was going to ask.
Edging forward she picked up a glass of water and took a sip. Her waiter dropped off two menus. Thumbing through its pages, she stared at the egg shell colored walls with their flecks of gold among the plaster swirled roses. The Roman columns made the restaurant airy. The mauve carpeting served as a nice trail for the waiters to bring their clients their main meals.
In the distance, she saw a group of well-dressed, black men seated at several tables having some sort of celebration. She noticed someone staring back at her. As she sipped more water, Madison realized that someone was Sterling Jones.
What’s he doing back in town?
Checking her watch, Madison figured if she went to the ladies room and snuck out the back door, she could avoid him completely. As she clutched her purse, she saw Jaymz waving to her.
“Sorry I’m late, s*xy,” said Jaymz. He stooped down and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Did you get something to eat?”
“No, I was about to leave.”
She saw Jaymz motion the waiter to their table. Sweat beads lined his forehead, as he dropped his briefcase into the empty seat. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief and was able to put some of the blondish gray strands back into place.
“Leave? I know how much you love the food. It’s why I invited you.”
The waiter approached their table. “May, I take your order?”
“Ladies, first.”
“I’ll have the salmon and a small garden salad with blue cheese dressing.”
The waiter turned to Jaymz.
“I’ll have the porterhouse steak well done with a baked potato and sour cream.”
“Change that to no sour cream.”
“Maddie…”
“Didn’t you see the low carb chicken on the menu? Remember what the doctor said about your diet. Jaymz, you’ve got to change your eating habits.”
“I’m treating myself tonight and so should you.”
She watched Jaymz exchange looks with the waiter. He noticed Madison giving him a stone-cold stare.
“No sour cream,” he grumbled.
“Very good, sir.” The waiter collected their menus and walked away.
Reaching into his briefcase, Jaymz pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Madison. “This is for you.”
Opening the envelope, she pulled out a certificate for a weekend getaway at the Woodcliff, a swanky, hidden resort hotel.
“You really shouldn’t have,” she smiled.
“It’s my way of saying thanks for hosting the Academy Awards party. I get lots of compliments about you and inquiries about what gown you’ll wear this year. I hope you’re still planning on being my hostess?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said grabbing his hand. “You know that I do it just for you.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. One of the reasons that I was late was I just got done meeting with the Mayor and he’s putting together a women’s film festival committee. He asked me to recommend someone, and I choose you.”
“Me?”
“Maddie, you’re a natural and have great film taste. Your curation of the Ethnogenre Film Festival was incredible. You got wonderful films despite your paltry budget. The Mayor’s Office could use someone like you instead of that wanna-be-critic who raved about the film, Scent of a Woman and thought that Jodie Foster deserved her two Oscars. She has no taste and Jodie Foster should give back those Oscars. I don’t know why you ever stopped doing that.”
“That’s when Harrison got sick.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Jaymz. “I need to get you to come with me to the Toronto Film Festival. It’s only three hours away from here. It’s just a few weeks away.”
“I know. We’ll go one day. I promise.”
“You’ve been telling me that for the last eight years.”
Madison playfully patted him on the arm; she saw Sterling and two other men approaching their table. Jaymz turned around to see who she was looking at.
“He’s delicious,” said Jaymz.
“He’s OK.”
“Forgive me, Maddie. I’m a black woman trapped in a white man’s body.”
Sterling, decked out in a double-breasted black suit and matching tie, walked directly towards Madison. She stood up to greet him.
“Hey stranger,” she said. Madison extended her hand to shake his dark chocolate-colored hand.
Sterling grabbed her hand, but kissed her cheek. “Still as beautiful as ever,” he said. “You remember my brother, Hunter, and A.C.”
“It’s been a long time, Madison,” said A.C. He hugged her. His wry frame and washboard stomach peeked out a bit from his tan suit. His diamond stud earring caught the sun’s light. “I loved your last film, The Flower Lady.”
“Thanks,” she smiled. “Where are my manners? This is my friend, Jaymz Williams.”
Jaymz nodded his head.
“You’re that TV dude who reviews movies, right?” said A.C., who wore a white shirt and dark tie with jeans.
“That would be me.”
Madison saw AC sit down next to Jaymz. “Tell me something. What’s Danny Devito like?”
“How you doing, baby?” said Hunter. He kissed her and kept holding her hands. “The last time we talked was at Harrison’s funeral.”
“I have my good and bad days,” she said. Madison twitched her nose. The aroma of liver and fried onions tickled it. She glanced down at Hunter’s shiny patent-leathered, black shoes that were so clean; she could see her reflection.
“My work keeps me busy and helps me take my mind off of things. Don’t you all look nice? What’s the occasion?”
“One of our boys got a head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles? We’re sending him off in style,” said Sterling.
“So you’re here for the day?”
“No, it looks like my brother will be here for a while,” said Hunter. “He injured his knee and I’m trying to get him to coach our semi-pro team. I also could use your help. We’re looking for a game videographer. It doesn’t pay much, but we could really use someone like you.”
Madison saw Hunter reach into his suit’s breast pocket and pull out a card. “If you’re available, call me.”
“Thanks.”
Madison’s phone chimed. “Hold on a second.” She took it out of her purse and answered it.
“I hope that’s not your mom,” said Sterling. He rubbed his diamond stud earring.
Madison bristled and smirked. “I’ll call you right back.” She closed the phone and placed it into her purse. Cutting her eyes at Sterling, she sighed. “Bitterness is very unattractive on you, Sterling, and you need to let it go,” she said.
Madison and Sterling stared at each other, while a waiter approached their table with food.Another waiter walked over and informed Hunter their table was ready.
“Madison, nice seeing you, again,” said Hunter. He kissed her cheek. “Call me.” Shaking hands with Jaymz, A.C got up from the table. Sterling walked over and grabbed her hands.
“Good seeing you.”
“Yeah.”
She watched Sterling walk away. He swayed from side to side and reminded her of a weeble. His suit hugged his six-foot, seven-inch frame. His muscular body filled it out in all the right places. Sterling always dressed exquisitely.
As the waiter, put their meals in front of them, Madison stopped and asked him for a doggy bag. She was overcome by the smells of fish and onions. Madison looked at the rest of the ball players. She saw waiters scurrying to bring plates to their tables. She noticed a few of them looking for seats and heard a huge eruption of laughter.
“Is everything alright?” asked Jaymz.
Madison just sighed. “All of a sudden, I just lost my appetite.”
Posted By: Marsha Jones
Saturday, June 26th 2010 at 9:31AM
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