“How long ago was that?” I asked with a mouth full of ricotta filling sticking to the roof of my mouth like wallpaper paste.
“He left right around the time Morgan graduated from high school, but the marriage was over long before that.” She mindlessly traced the chocolate on the tip of the cannoli tube, and my mind went into overdrive.
It was like something out of a wet dream. Fran’s tongue moved slowly across the dried chocolate, the pink beautifully contrasting with the darkness of the treat. Her eyes closed, savoring the taste, and for a brief moment, I pictured my cock in her hand with her making the same motion. When she let out a tiny moan, I almost fell off my chair.
“Anyway,” she said before biting off the end and ending my fantasy. “Ray was a piece of shit. He’s never had any contact with Morgan since that day. He served me with papers, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh.” She waved her hand. “It was years ago and the best thing that ever could’ve happened. He was an asshole, straight up. Murray, what about your wife?”
“My wife, Jackie,” I said and felt a pang of sadness. I rarely said her name anymore because it was still an open wound that hadn’t fully healed. “She died during childbirth.”
Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry.” When she dropped her arm, her hand found the same spot on my forearm, stroking me gently. “I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been.”
“Even though it’s been almost three decades, the pain is still like yesterday.”
“It’s different when someone is taken from you. I can’t imagine what you went through with a newborn baby and dealing with the loss of your wife.”
“I didn’t deal well. I was a shitty father, Fran.”
She gripped my arm tighter, the bite of her fingernails grounding me. “Men aren’t meant to raise babies alone.”
“Maybe,” I whispered, pushing the cannoli around my dish. “I could’ve been a better father. Instead, I got involved with the wrong crowd, drank too much, and left Ret in the care of my sisters. I couldn’t look at his cute little face every day. He was a constant reminder of what I’d lost.”
“You can’t correct the past, but you can try to make amends for the future.” She patted my arm softly. “Do you talk to him now?”
“We talk, but I wish he were closer.” I shrugged.
She smiled sweetly at me with the softest brown eyes. “Well, why don’t you convince him to come here? Who doesn’t love Florida?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled before shoving the rest of the half-eaten cannoli in my mouth.
“Time is something you can never get back. At our age, it’s the most precious thing we have, Murray.”
“Fran.” Pieces of the cannoli fell from my lips, and I scooped them into my hand and dropped them on the plate. “I love when you say my name, but when we’re not alone, can you call me Bear?”
She winked playfully. “Sure. I know you have an image to maintain.”
I couldn’t hide my smile. “Something like that.”
“So…” She dragged her drink in front of her and settled back into her chair. “That makes you about how old? Fifty?”
“Somewhere around there.” I winked. “How about you?”
“About the same.”
I dabbed at the powdered sugar that I was sure had fallen into my beard with each bite. “I didn’t think I’d ever live to see the big five-oh.”
Fran licked her finger and scooted forward. “Let me get that.” She raised her hand, and I nodded.
My body froze the closer she came with her arm outstretched, running her fingers through my beard. Each hair that moved sent tiny prickles through my system. “There,” she said and stroked my face before pulling her hand away.
“Thanks.” No one had cleaned my face since Jackie. The small gesture made my heart ache with sadness. “It’s getting late. Let’s finish up about Johnny so you can get some rest.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, and I could tell my response wasn’t what she expected.
I didn’t veer off course for the rest of my visit. We only talked about Johnny and the track. After an hour of jotting down notes, I thanked her for the dinner and made my way to the door.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer?”
I let out a fake yawn. “I need to get to bed. Thank you for a lovely meal and even better company, Fran.” I leaned forward and kissed her soft, round cheek. “I had a good time tonight.”
She placed her palm flat against my chest, and I could feel her warmth through my T-shirt. “It was nice to cook for someone who actually likes to eat what I make.”
“Whenever you need company, just call.” The words just came out of my mouth without a filter. If Morgan were here, he’d punch me right in the back of the head for coming on to his mom.
“I may just take you up on that offer.” She smiled and backed away through the door. “Have a safe trip home, Murray.”
I had started to jog down the driveway, but I stopped when I heard my name. I turned, smiled at her, and waved. “Sweet dreams, Franny.”
I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off my face as I pushed my bike down her driveway to avoid pissing off her neighbors. I kept my eyes on her in the side mirror, watching her watch me from the doorway.
Don’t look back.
I was in so much trouble at this point, I’d let Morgan get in a free shot or two without even defending myself. I broke the guy code. He was my buddy and coworker, but Fran… She was a real woman who made me feel something for the first time in as long as I could remember.
4
Fran
The phone rang before the sun even shone through my sheers. “Hello,” I said in a groggy voice, still half asleep even though the call had startled me.
“Late night?” Maria, my sister-in-law, asked with a small giggle.
I rolled onto my side and squinted to see the numbers on the alarm clock. “What the hell are you doing awake at this ungodly hour?”
“It’s almost eight, sleepyhead. We have tennis this morning, but it’s raining.”
“Ugh,” I groaned because I fucking hated tennis, but I played it with Maria weekly to make her happy. The only bright side was that my body had never looked better since I started chasing that stupid neon ball around the court.
“Let’s meet for coffee and breakfast instead.”
Resting the phone against my shoulder, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Fine. That sounds better than tennis any day. I’m too tired today to actually do much else.”
“I heard Bear came over last night.”
“From whom?”
“I talked to Tommy last night.”
I grabbed the pillow from the other side of the bed and placed it over my face, muffling my voice. “You’re already gossiping about me?”
“No.”
“Hmph,” I mumbled. “Sounds like you were.”
“Stop being a baby. Get your ass up and meet me at the diner in an hour.”
“Fine,” I told her before kicking off the covers. “Bye.”
“Don’t keep me wait—”
I hung up the phone before she could keep talking. I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was Maria and her questions.
After I rolled out of bed and made my way to the kitchen, I dialed Morgan while I waited for the coffee to brew. “Hey, baby,” I said when he answered.
“Morning, Ma. How are you today?”
“It’s too early to form an opinion. I’m just waiting for the coffee and thought I’d call to check in with you.”
“How did it go?”
“Fine,” I said, keeping my answer short.
“That’s all you have to say?”
I heard the annoyance in his tone. “We had a little dinner, talked, and then he left.”
“You made him dinner?” His voice cracked on the last word.
“It helped keep my mind occupied.”
“But, Ma,” he replied with a deeper tone.
“No buts, Morgan. It was a nice evening.”
“It was work.”
“I know, son. Trust me, Bear was a complete gentleman.”
“Doubtful,” Morgan mumbled into the phone.
“He even complimented my cooking.”
Morgan was silent for a moment. “Now I really don’t trust him.”
“You trusted Johnny and so did I, and where did that get us? Bear is a good man. He was kind to me last night.”
“I’m sure he was,” he grumbled.
“Stop with the shitty attitude, mister.”
“Just be careful.”
I laughed as I grabbed the half-filled pot and poured myself a cup. “You have nothing to worry about. I just hope I gave him enough information about Johnny to help.”
“I’m sure you did, Ma.”
“I feel responsible, Morgan. I mean, Johnny and I didn’t go steady, but I spent enough time with him that I should’ve seen the signs. I should’ve known he wasn’t a good guy.” I took a sip, savoring the warmth and caffeine.
“Don’t be ridiculous. He manipulated everyone. But that’s what I’m saying about Bear. You never really know someone until it’s too late. Don’t think he’s a good guy, Ma. He’s not.”