Coffee in Common (22 page)

"I can't do that, sir. I can't stop in a lane of traffic."

Patrick appeared to have been drinking and was not happy to hear his command refused. He started banging on the side of the carriage.

"Hey pal, what the hell's your problem?" Paul started from his seat.

Jillian grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Patrick, stop it!"

The unhappy drunk glared viciously at Paul, then turned his attention back to Jillian. "I want to talk to you," he bellowed, "You lied to me."

"Back off, buddy," Paul ordered. Again he moved to get up but again Jillian grabbed his arm. This time, Paul glanced over and saw the pleading in her eyes. Unhappily, he settled back in his seat as Jillian again asked Patrick to stop banging on the carriage, then asked the driver when they would be able to pull over. He told her there would be space once they turned onto Arlington Street, just ahead.

"Go wait on Arlington," she told Patrick. "The driver will pull over there and we can talk."

He was still furious but he did stop banging and trotted the fifty yards to the corner, looking back several times to make sure they were really following.

"Paul, I'm so sorry." Her face was a mask of worry. "I shouldn't have lied to him, I should have just told him I don't want to see him any more. Damn!"

"Are you sure you want to talk to him? He's obviously had a few and he's a big guy. Guys like that in his condition don't usually respond to reason. Really. Maybe I should talk to him."

"No, I have to do it. I'm sorry. If I don't deal with this now, he'll probably keep following us…or worse."

The carriage reached the corner. When the light changed to green, it turned left and pulled to the curb.

Patrick was at the side of the carriage waiting. "You lied to me," he hissed with real venom in his voice as he sneered at Paul. "He don't look like any girlfriend."

Paul stood and moved to the side of the carriage. He unlatched and opened the door quickly, making Patrick jump back to avoid being struck.

Warily, he stepped down, then looked back at Jillian. "Are you sure?" When she nodded and rose, he helped her down.

As soon as she stepped onto the sidewalk, Patrick grabbed her arm, causing her to wince in pain. "Come over here," he growled, almost dragging her away from the carriage to the middle of the sidewalk.

Paul saw the wince and moved quickly in front of the large man. Evenly, without raising his voice he said, "Take your hand off her now."

Patrick was in no mood to take orders from some shrimpy guy. He squeezed harder, causing Jillian to cry out, and yelled at her, "This is what you want to go out with instead of me?" Then he turned to Paul and said, "Get the fuck away from me before I hurt you." His free arm swung out to push Paul away.

In what seemed like an instant, Paul had grabbed the attacking arm and forced it behind Patrick's back, pushing it high enough to cause maximum discomfort without really damaging anything. Patrick yelped at the sharp pain. Paul's other hand firmly gripped the man's collar.

"Move one inch and I'll break this arm," Paul told him in a low, even, menacing voice. "Now let go of her." He applied a little pressure to reinforce he command.

Patrick's fingers sprang open and Paul asked Jillian if she was all right. She rubbed her arm, but nodded.

"Then please wait by that bench for a minute." He smiled at her. "Patrick and I need to have a little chat about manners."

"Paul…"

"It's okay. Really. We're only going to talk for a minute."

As Jillian moved away, Paul felt his captive tense. "Don't even think about it. Your arm will be broken before your head turns five degrees." He felt the man relax. "Now, here's what's about to happen. I'll let you go in a few seconds. When I do, you
will
apologize to Jillian."

"I'm not…"

Paul cut him off with pressure on the arm. "I didn't tell you to talk yet.

"I've studied martial arts since I was a sophomore in high school. You need to understand that because when I let you go, if you try anything, I'll put you down fast and hard. I don't want to do that. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Do we understand each other?"

"Yah."

"Good. Now you
will
go and apologize to Jillian for hurting her and for acting like an asshole. Then you'll talk nicely to her and listen to whatever she has to say. If I hear you raise your voice once, or move your hands within a foot of her, you'll wish I was only a gang of bikers beating you with chains. Understand?"

Patrick nodded and Paul released his arm. He stood by the carriage and watched as Patrick walked slowly over to Jillian, rubbing his arm and shoulder. He glanced at Paul as he stopped three feet away from her.

I guess I made my point.

They spoke for three or four minutes, then Jillian moved closer to Patrick, kissed him on the cheek and walked back to the carriage. Patrick watched her for a few seconds, then, shaking his head, turned and walked away. Tomorrow at the gym, he would tell his friends how he caught the frigid bitch he'd been dating with another guy and dumped her right in the middle of Arlington Street. He'd also praise himself for his restraint in not beating the pansy she was with.

As Jillian approached, Paul realized she was shaking. He took her in his arms to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Paul. I'm so sorry. I've ruined the whole evening now, all because I was afraid to tell him the truth."

"Nonsense! How is the evening ruined?" His voice took on a deep timbre. "I just rescued my woman from a mean, giant ogre. I'm feeling great. What more can a guy ask for on a date?"

She heard the pride in his voice and looked up. He was grinning like a fool. "Well, I guess you
did
save me."

After he helped her back into the carriage, she asked, "Where did you learn to do that?"

He told her about studying Karate, Judo, and other martial arts in high school and college.

"I still work out regularly, both to stay in shape and to keep the skills sharp. I never thought I'd actually have occasion to use it, but this one time made all the effort worth it. He could have really hurt you. But now it's over. I say we pretend it never happened and enjoy the rest of the evening. Okay?"

Jillian smiled and caressed his cheek with her hand. "Okay." She was overwhelmed by the whole experience.

First he treats me like a princess and then he actually fights for me! It's just too good to be true, like a fairy tale or a dream I'm going to wake up from any minute.

"So, you were about to tell me about your siblings," he reminded her. "Are any of them married?"

If it
is
a dream, it's the best one I've ever had.

"Julia and Joanne are both married. Julia has three boys, four, three and two years old. Joanne just had her first, a girl, in February.

"James is a sophomore at my alma mater and Jessica graduates from high school in three or four weeks."

"Are you all close?"

"We are. We all talk on the phone and see each other whenever we can. Actually, I'm meeting my sisters tomorrow for a shopping and girl's day. But holidays are the best. We all get together at my parent's house…" She started chuckling. "…and it's like we're kids again, laughing and squabbling and sharing secrets."

Paul saw her eyes get misty as a wistful smile curled the corner of her lips.

"I really love my family. I forget sometimes, you know. I'm always so busy, and, well, it's good to be reminded." She brushed at one eye, where the mist had threatened to become a tear. Then her voice brightened. "What about you? Any siblings?"

"Three, all boys, all older than me. John is 32, married four years to Elaine, and has two boys, Jacob and Lawrence. He's a software engineer. They live in Winchester. Marcus is 30 and still single. He's a Marine. Right now, he's stationed in Japan."

"Japan!"

"Uh-huh. He's been all over the world. England, Germany, Korea, Thailand, and all over the US, too."

"That's amazing."

"That's the military! After Marcus is Steven. He's a year older than me. Well, actually, he's only 11 months older than me. We were born in the same year."

"Really! How did that happen?"

A gleam appeared in Paul's eyes. "Well, about two months after Steve was born, my mom and dad evidently started feeling…"

"Paul!" Jillian smacked his arm as her face contorted. "That's
soooo gross
."

 Paul's mirth at her horrified expression rang out over the sounds of hooves and passing cars. It took him more than a few seconds to compose himself, by which time it was he who was wiping away tears.

"If only you could have seen your face. I wish I'd had a camera." He did his best to suppress his laughter, but it took a few more seconds before he was able to continue.

"Steve was born on January 5
^th.
I came along December 12
^th
. When we were kids, we used to tell people we were twins. Got away with it, too, for a long time, until puberty hit him and he grew five inches in a year."

"Steve lives in Medford, two streets over from my parents. He's a Math teacher, has been married about six years now, and has a boy and a girl. And his wife Vikki is the second nicest person I've ever met."

Jillian grinned. She wasn't about to fall for it again. "I suppose everyone else is first."

"No," he said softly, seriously, his eyes meeting hers. "You are."

There are moments and there are
moments
. Jillian knew this was the second kind.

All night, from his brain freeze when he first saw her in her new dress to the absentminded reference to meeting her parents, Paul had said and done little things that told her he thought she was special.

But she knew this was different. This was something more. His eyes, his voice, his manner, his body language, everything told her his simple declaration meant much, much more.

Neither of them said a word. The attraction between them grew stronger and stronger until Jillian could no longer resist its pull. She slid over, encircled him with her arms, and hugged him. Eyes closed, her head rested on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding as he returned the embrace. She felt his cheek rub against her hair and the close contact sent thrills of excitement through her.

Jillian had been in the arms of other men in her life, but never before had she felt so safe, so much at peace as she did here, now, with Paul. The urge to tilt her head up for a kiss came and went quickly. Their first kiss had to be special and as much as she wanted to feel his lips on hers, something told her the right moment had not yet arrived.

10:10 PM

Rob's feet hung lazily over one arm of the sofa. At the other end, his head was nestled in Lisa's lap. Her fingers played aimlessly with his hair. Occasionally, they'd scratch his scalp, each time drawing a low ‘Mmmmmm.' In the background, a song ended and the voices of Peter Cetera and Cher filled the room as they began to sing
After All.

Earlier in the evening, they cooked a simple pasta dinner for themselves. After cleaning up, Rob suggested trading backrubs, which soon became full-body massages.

During the second month of their relationship, Lisa had signed them up for a four-class course in massage. Both so thoroughly enjoyed the experience, after the third week, Rob bought a portable massage table, which now stood open in the middle of the living room.

Before the backrubs began, Lisa had popped into the player the special "I'm Sorry" disk Rob had burned for her. Lisa treasured the CD. It was the effort he put into making it even more than the letter he wrote that convinced her he really had changed and really did love her. She could tell he spent hours choosing the songs, some old, some new. The lyrics of the songs and the order in which he arranged them had been carefully selected to tell her all the things he'd not been able to express in the letter.

He began his apologies on the CD with Frank Sinatra's version of
I'm Sorry I Made You Cry
, then followed it with
Please Forgive Me
by Bryan Adams,
Baby I Was Wrong
by Jennifer Hanson, and Brenda Lee's
I'm Sorry.

He chose the next four,
When I Am With You
by Johnny Mathis,
Baby I Need Your Loving
, by Johnnie Rivers, John Lennon's
Woman
, and Mathis'
All The Time
to tell her how much she meant to him.

John Denver's
I'm Sorry
expressed his despair at having to live without her, and
After All
told her how much he needed her, and that he really wanted a future with her. Then he ended with their special song.

"I wonder where they are?" Lisa was so into the music she wasn't really aware she'd said it out loud.

Rob turned his head so he could see the time display on the DVD player across the room. "Probably on the carriage ride, unless dinner made so much of an impression that she's doing him in the back of the limo as we speak.

"Owwww!"

Lisa had grabbed a handful of hair and given it a playful yank. "You're terrible. Jillian's a nice girl. Priya said so, remember?"

"Maybe so, but nice girls do it in limos, too. Remember the ride back from your cousin's wedding in March?"

"We were both drunk. And that wasn't our first date." She wrapped her arms around his head. "But it
was
fun, wasn't it?"

The memory of that night brought wistful smiles to both their faces.

"So what's the deal with Priya?"

"What do you mean?" Rob had been expecting this question.

"Why did you never tell me how beautiful she is?"

"I don't know. It never occurred to me. I mean, her looks were never really an issue after her first day." He told her about Priya's stunt and how she was now just one of the guys.

"How could you not tell me that before?" Her tone made it more of a demand than a question.

"Because I didn't want you to get all worked up over it, like you are now."