"Yeah, sure. Anything," Donnie said. He was sitting on a tall stool by the work island in the middle of the kitchen, leaning on his elbows and looking pretty much like Warren's description. When Warren pushed a pilsner glass at him with some sort of red concoction in it, Donnie raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly.
"Drink it, it won't kill you," Warren said with amusement.
Donnie took a sip, and, sure enough, it was pleasant to the palate, slightly fizzy and tart with an underlying sweetness. "This is good, what is it?"
Warren looked a little sheepish. "It's pomegranate juice with lime-flavored Perrier," he admitted. Before Donnie could revile him for serving a sissy drink, Warren added that it was Lisette's favorite, which reminded Donnie of why he was so glum. Watching Warren prepare a perfect salad, he unburdened himself.
"Warren, I think I'm losing my mind," he told him. "I work too hard, I play too little, I'm tired and I'm in love with somebody I can't stand." He gave a short laugh. "Okay, I'm exaggerating. Of course I'm not in love with Angel, and I don't mean that I can't stand her but for some reason she's on my mind a lot, a whole lot. And today I almost went ballistic because she was hugged up with this guy she says is her best friend."
He shook his head and told Warren the whole sorry tale, starting with his good-bye to Angelique and how he'd swept into her office bearing gifts, only to find her entwined with a tall, dark and handsome stranger. "Man, it was not my finest moment, believe me. I have no idea what made me so crazy but it was like I could feel all the molecules in my body rearranging themselves. I was ... I was ..." He groped around vainly for the right word while Warren poured red-wine vinegar into a mixing jar.
"The word you're looking for is ‘jealous.' You were jealous, pure and simple, Cochran, and it's because you like Angelique more than you're willing to admit," he said wisely.
Donnie drank the rest of the pomegranate cocktail as he considered Warren's words. Jealous? Me, jealous, of Angel and her little friend? He tried to remember an occasion when he'd been jealous over a woman, especially one he hadn't actually dated. No, it couldn't be jealousy. "No, Warren, I don't think that's it. I think I was just caught off guard, that's all. I just wasn't expecting to see her with a guy."
Warren finished adding finely minced rosemary and freshly ground pepper to the jar with the vinegar and wiped his fingers on a damp towel. Picking up a bottle of olive oil, he looked at Donnie with a pitying smile. "Cochran, give it a rest. You like Angel; you like her a lot and you don't want to give it up to her. So go ahead, keep fighting it and make yourself miserable. But remember this: as long as you don't deal with your feelings, you're going to be miserable. Serves you right, too."
"Listen to Dr. Phil! When did you become an expert on relationships?" Donnie said in amusement.
Warren looked completely serious when he replied. "When I found Lisette. I'm not claiming to be an expert or anything, but I recognize the symptoms. It's all those years of medical training. I'm an excellent observer of human nature," he said, raising his glass cheerfully.
"So tell me this, Warren. What made you all of a sudden decide to ask Lisette out? I thought you weren't going to try to get close to her. I thought you had all these reservations and stuff. What changed your mind?"
Warren smiled, more to himself than to Donnie as he shook the salad dressing vigorously. Putting the jar into the refrigerator, he took out a bunch of asparagus and put it on the work island. "We were all spending a lot of time together, me and my little harem. If I went over to Angel's house, she'd have Lisette and Paris there. If we went to a movie, it was usually the whole group. Lisette was just so sweet and pretty, it wasn't like I could ignore her. You know what she looks like Cochran, she's a doll. And she has a wonderful personality besides. Well, the weekend of the auto show was what did it," he said as he picked up the asparagus and washed it thoroughly.
"We all piled in the SUV and went off to Cobo Hall and the girls kind of disappeared. After we got in there they scattered and it was just Lisette and me. She and I walked around looking at the cars and talking, and then it happened." He stopped speaking for a moment while he broke the tough ends off the asparagus.
Donnie tapped on the oak countertop to remind Warren that he was still in the room. "Then what happened? Don't leave me hanging, man. You got any more of this?" he asked holding up his empty glass.
"It's in the refrigerator. The juice is on the door and so is the Perrier. What happened was this: we were looking at a beautiful Bentley and the representative turns to Lisette and asks if she'd like to try the car out with her husband. She just smiled up at me and said yes and we got in the car," Warren said simply.
Donnie looked confused. "That's it? I don't get it," he said frowning at the cute POM bottle that held the pomegranate juice. It looked like a glass snowman.
"It was the way she did it, Donnie. She didn't hesitate, she didn't say I wasn't her husband she didn't say we were just friends, she just looked up at me like she was totally proud to be with me and we got in the car. She acted like being with me was the most natural thing in the world. That's when I knew that no matter what happened I had to get to know her better. I had to take the chance. And when Angel and Paris decided to have their little matchmaking soiree, everything just fell into place and I've been a very happy man ever since."
The doorbell rang and Warren smiled broadly. "There's my honey now," he said with evident pleasure and he went to open the door for her. They entered the kitchen holding hands and cooing at each other like newlyweds. Lisette looked pleased to see Donnie and went over to give him a quick sisterly kiss on the cheek.
"It's nice to see you again, Donnie. How are you doing?" she asked.
Warren came up behind Lisette and wrapped his arms around her, bending down to give her a most unbrotherly kiss on the neck. "He's miserable because he doesn't have what we have, honey."
Lisette's tender heart melted at Warren's words. She turned around in his arms and put her hand on his face. "Don't make fun of him, sweetheart. You should be helping him like our friends helped us," she said with a gentle smile.
Donnie looked from Warren to Lisette in amazement. "So you set out to shanghai him and you admit it?" he said to Lisette. Staring at Warren, he went on, "And you knew they were matchmaking and you went along with it? This was okay with you?" he asked incredulously.
Warren and Lisette both laughed at Donnie's expression. "Cochran, man, I would have paid Angel to come up with this idea. Are you crazy? I was going to beg Lisette to go out with me anyway; they just made it easier, that's all."
Lisette looked up at Warren adoringly and said, "You never have to beg me for anything, Warren. I wanted to be with you, too. I always have."
Donnie correctly surmised that now would be a good time to leave. Refusing their repeated invitations to join them for dinner, he insisted on departing. Warren walked him to the door while Lisette set the table for two.
"Listen, buddy, I do have one piece of advice for you. Whatever you do, don't mess over Angelique. I'm not saying that you and she are going to end up in love like me and Lisette, but don't play with her, man. She's a very special person and she deserves better," he said meaningfully. Donnie put on his suit jacket. "Warren, first of all, I'm not going to mess over anybody and I'm a little insulted that you'd suggest I would. And second of all, do you realize that you just said you were in love with Lisette?"
Warren held up his hands in supplication. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to impugn your honor or anything, and I know you wouldn't deliberately hurt her or anyone else. But I've gotten very fond of her; she's like a little sister to me. And, yes, I did use the word ‘love' in the same sentence as Lisette's name. She's also very special to me. Very, very special," he said with quiet assurance.
As he shrugged into his topcoat, Donnie gave Warren a look of grudging admiration and envy. "Well, I guess you have it all together, man. If you're happy, I'm happy." Warren took pity on his friend. "You will be if you don't fight it," he advised. Donnie looked perplexed and Warren was happy to enlighten him. "I noticed that you've stopped called her Evilene and now you refer to her as Angel. When did that happen?"