“Still hot? Open your mouth and I’ll blow it.”
“Whaa?”
Henry laughed while licking the same fingers that he’d touched her mouth with. He placed a finger under her chin. “Close your mouth while chewing.”
June felt like she was in a dream. Henry was once again the man she’d spent those three wonderful nights with.
“Who taught you how to cook?”
“My mom. Also, I worked at a Chinese restaurant as a waitress. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“No.”
“Well, I did. I befriended the cook and watched him, asked questions. I picked up a few tricks.”
“Nice. You should have asked for his recipes.”
“Recipes are written in his head.”
“Ah. Maybe you should start a business. Like The Taco Trucks.”
“Sure. And I’ll cook and serve food in my bikini like the baristas for the coffee stands.”
Henry’s smile vanished. He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. “Over my dead body.” He grabbed her from the waist and tickled her.
“No! Stop! I might pee my pants.”
Immediately, Henry released her. “Pee your pants?”
“Yes. I’m ticklish.”
“I know you are. But why pee your pants?”
“Forget it. It’s a pregnant woman thing.”
“Okay.” Henry frowned. “Really. Pregnant women pee their pants?”
“No! Don’t want to talk about it.”
“All right. Should we have wine with dinner? Oh, wait. No alcohol for you.”
“You can have wine. I put it all in the garage.”
“I’ll look. Don’t go anywhere.” Henry nodded then left the kitchen.
June couldn’t believe they were sharing a meal, laughing as if they’d been good friends forever.
Ten minutes later, Henry reappeared in the kitchen holding two bottles of wine. “Good Lord, you weren’t kidding when you said the garage looked like a department store.”
“Told you. I don’t know what wine to put in the fridge.”
“All right. We have dessert wines here. White Tokaji and yellow Sauternes. They should be treated like white wine. You know, like Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.”
“Pardon? Speak English, please.”
“Okay. So you’re not a wine aficionado. I guess taking care of the wine issue would be my job. Now. These should be chilled.” Henry placed the bottles in the refrigerator. “When we’re ready to eat, I’ll take them out. Some fortified dessert wines like port or sweet sherry are best with a cellar temperature.”
“Which we don’t have.”
“No. But we have a garage.”
June laughed. “That we do.”
Together, they worked side by side. Each seemed to know what the other needed. When she stopped stirring the fried rice, Henry would take over so she could work on the stir-fry. It didn’t take long before the food was ready and the table set.
“Wow. We’re having dinner at midnight. How about that?” June giggled.
“A midnight dinner instead of a midnight snack. Really cool. But you should be resting, not working this late.” Henry served June with fried rice and the stir-fry.
“Thank you. You don’t mind having dinner this late?”
“Being an internationally minded person, I don’t mind at all. Right now, it’s actually afternoon in the Philippines.”
“Boy, I’m glad my dad doesn’t think like that. Otherwise Mom would be cooking him fried bananas all day long.”
“How do you like this kitchen?”
“Love it. This is the first time I’ve lived away from home. At first, I was kind of scared. But now I’m actually excited. My mind is filled with what to do around here.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
June watched Henry fill his plate with food. “About the earrings, I have them in the box. Let me know when you want them back.”
“Why would I want the earrings back?”
“I thought maybe you rented them or borrowed from your mom.”
“No. I bought them for you. They are yours too.”
“You didn’t have to buy them for me. They look expensive. I’m still working on your present.”
“You don’t have to give me anything.”
“Oh, but I want to. It might take me another month before I can finish it, but you’ll have it.”
“Building something?”
“Don’t ask. Please.”
“Okay.” Henry forked the fried rice. “Do I get to wear it?”
“No.”
“Will it keep me warm?”
“Stop! I hate you.”
Henry laughed. Unlike the way their guests ate at the wedding—slowly, meticulously and picking around the food—Henry ate like a peon who worked hard all day and was really hungry. She supposed if you had over six-foot frame, you’d eat a lot. And Henry drank his wine without swirling it first. He just tipped the glass to his mouth and took a big gulp.
“You eat like my dad, like a starving prisoner,” she teased.
“You eat like a bird, pecking at your food. Are you going to finish that?” He pointed at her plate.
“No. I’m full.” One of the many symptoms of ovarian cancer was loss of appetite. Lately, she’d been eating less. Not good, because she should eat for two.
Henry took her plate. He didn’t bother transferring the rest of her food onto his plate, he just started eating. “So are you planning on going back to work at Bud’s Bait?”
“Not sure. Did I tell you I sold you your bait?”
“What? Come on. I would have remembered you.”
“You were with…someone. It was the first time I saw you.”
“Really.”
“Yes. You looked like a model who had stepped out of a magazine.” June exaggerated her sigh, rested her chin on her palm and looked up at ceiling. “I thought you to be the most handsome man on Earth. And your swagger…” She formed a heart shape with her hands and placed it on her chest, mimicking a heart beating while she batted her lashes at him.
Henry let out a loud laugh. He picked up a pea from the plate and threw it at her.
“Hey! You butt.”
“What? I’m a butt?”
June grinned. She was having such a great time, it was hard to believe he was the same man who had openly showed his anger and had made out with his girlfriend before their wedding was even over.
Henry raised his glass and stared at her over the rim. “Was there a second time?”
June nodded. “I saw you almost every time you walked on the dock. One benefit of working at Bud’s is I can—unintentionally, mind you—watch people walk by without them noticing me, and I hear people talk about stuff—members, husbands cheating with their friend’s wife, or you.”
“Uh-oh. What did you hear about me?”
“Who you are. But most of the things about you I learned from Vivienne.”
“She Googled me or she used Wikipedia?”
June grinned. “No. She got the info from the staff at the club.”
“Before she found out that I’m a jerk.”
“Like I said, she’s a friend. She’ll take my side whether I’m wrong or right.”
Henry filled his glass with more wine then leaned back on his chair. “You two talked about me, eh?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You’re like a gossip magazine we always devoured at the store—full of entertaining stuff.” June laughed when Henry grimaced. “You are quite popular.”
Henry ran the tip of his index finger along the rim of his glass. “Tell me what Vivienne said she’d learned and I’ll tell you if it’s true or not.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
June rose from her seat and started gathering their plates. “You’ll give me honest answers?”
“Yes.”
“How about I fire up the coffeepot?”
“I thought you don’t drink coffee.”
“Only decaf.”
Henry stood and took the serving plates to the sink.
They both stood at the kitchen sink. Henry turned on the faucet and began rinsing the plates.
“Let me do that.”
“Nope. You cooked. I clean. Fair trade.” He winked.
She really liked this playful side of him. “So, first question. Is it true that you are as rich as Croesus?”
“I have money but not enough to start a business without my parents’ help. So, no. I’m not rich. My parents are.”
“You’re a skirt-chaser.”
“Ouch!” Henry winced.
June laughed. “Is it true?”
“Well, I like women and they like me. Let’s leave it like that.”
“Married or single women?”
A faint glint of humor showed in his eyes. “Both.”
“It’s really awful of you to sleep with married women. What if you got caught and their husbands tried to shoot you or clobber you on the head?”
“The husbands know not to come after me.”
“Why?”
“The same reason why my parents asked me to marry you. Save their reputation. Next question.”
“You like to help little people.”
“True. Especially if I see them at the grocery store and they can’t reach the higher shelves,” Henry explained with a straight face.
“What? Henry, I’m talking about the less fortunate. Not the
little
people. Oh, my God. I wouldn’t call them little people. Is it politically correct to call them little?”
Henry’s shoulders shook. He was laughing at her. “I’m just kidding.” With his eyes on June, he said, “I’m not altruistic, philanthropic, benevolent, charitable, et cetera, but I believe in helping through providing work or means. I’d rather give a man a fishing rod than a fish. With the maritime business that John and I are opening, I will be able to provide jobs, not only here but also abroad. I’ve traveled many times, have seen and met many people around the world. Those who live in the third world countries are the ones who really impressed me. The Filipinos for example. They dream of dreams that we take for granted.”
“Like what?”
“Simple things. They can see the importance in what we considered garbage. They appreciate what little food they have and save the extra. Parents would do anything to give their families comfortable lives and keep them all together. They are the hardest working people I’ve even known. And I want to help them get jobs that can make their dreams come true, like owning a small house. My company will be based here, but I’ll have agencies in the Philippines to hire Filipino contract workers. Just to start.”
“What about the people looking for a job here?”
“If they are qualified, they’ll get a job. Prejudice doesn’t have room in my pocket, hon. Any other information about me that you want me to confirm?”
June stared at Henry. If he was this passionate about helping people, could it be possible that it would be easy to forgive her as well? “Vivienne called you names in anger, but she believed that you are kind. Kind enough to forgive a stranger who lied to you?”
“I never spend my nights with a stranger.”
“You did with me.”
“As far as I recall, we did a good deal of talking, hon. I learned about your dream of living in a white house with a white picket fence, of wanting to know what would happen at least a year from now. Where would you be next Thanksgiving and Christmas. You like to take baths in vanilla-scented water. You’ve tried painting but failed. Pooh Bear is your favorite character and you are a democrat. Honey, before we made love for the first time that night, I already knew you more than some of the people who call me friend. Just so you know, June, I don’t easily forget beautiful things.” Henry’s expression turned serious. “I remember everything—every look, every kiss, every touch. Everything that we talked about. And I remember telling you about my dreams, what I want. Do you remember?”
June’s heartbeat hammered against her chest. She didn’t like where the conversation was going. “To start a business, to create jobs. You didn’t want to get married yet. At least not until you had your foundation built.”
“But you ignored what I said.”
“I didn’t. My decision was made before you told me about your plans, your dreams. I understand everything that you told me. Everything that happened that night is embedded in my being. But I didn’t think a few nights could change the plan or the entire course of someone’s life.”
“Of course it could, June,” Henry answered in an almost snappy tone. “You and your friend changed everything.”
“But this change could produce something good. Have you thought of that?”
Henry just stared at her, but she could see through his eyes that he was thinking.
“Jelly Bean, for example. Without her I would still be thinking about…”
“About what?”
“My life. My future. My parents.”
“And you have to have a baby to think about those things?”
“I do, but differently. Now I know that my parents will have a little bit of me to hold, to make them laugh…” June shook her head. “Something like that.”
She’d had enough of Henry blaming her for what happened. Yes, it was all her doing, but they wouldn’t be married right now if he hadn’t agreed. She turned around with the intention of leaving the kitchen, but changed her mind. She faced Henry. “Is it all that bad, Henry? We both know the little piece of paper that we signed is not enough to stop you from continuing to live the bachelor life. In fact, we both know that you’re still seeing your girlfriend Stacey, so don’t deny it. I’m not that stupid.”
“I don’t deny it.”
“And you’re keen on keeping things the same, that’s why you got rid of your wedding ring right away.”
Henry just stared at her. His admission had hurt, but his silence stabbed her deep in the gut. She nearly bent over from the pain. Her eyes watered, but she kept a brave face. “You have your business going. You can do whatever it is you’ve been doing before you married me,” she continued. “I don’t see why our marriage changed everything for you.”
Henry’s mouth spread into a thin-lipped smile. “Reputation is too important to my parents. When your parents threatened to ruin our name, I agreed to marry you. Because our name, fortune, didn’t just land on my grandparents’ laps. They worked hard for it. My dad did the same thing to keep everything they valued. I wouldn’t let my family’s years of hard work slip out of our hands because I’ve made a mistake.”
“Glad to hear that. So when are you filing for a divorce?”
“Is that what you want?”
“For the past week, I realized my words, my wants, my opinions don’t matter when it comes to you and me.”
“Tell me, June. Why did you marry me?”
“My parents didn’t want my baby to be born a bastard and they wanted to shield me from the arrows that society would have pointed in my direction once I started showing.”