Medium in Paradise: A Humorous Paradise Romance (8 page)

“Eh, Boss lady, I’m havin’ a barbeque at my house tomorrow and I wanted to invite you.” It was early Friday evening just after her last session of the day. Everyone but the misplaced Bostonian with the whiney disposition and Detective Barney had cleared out for the night.

“Is that right?” Dina wasn’t sure how she felt about him calling her boss lady, but Nick was turning out to be a pretty nice guy and one of her favorite students so she figured she’d just have to let it slide.

Nick was standing just to Dina’s side. His shirt and body was drenched in sweat, the hair creeping like thick moss across his shoulders and the backs of his hands, spikey with perspiration. To his credit, the whininess had halted, but that’s still the nickname Dina had penned to the big guy. “Not to toot my own horn, but I’m’a grill master.”

“He is.” Detective Barney was standing just behind him, the usual indecipherable look slapped across his handsome face. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it seemed that Detective Barney Nichols was becoming more handsome by the day, evidence of his hard work already showing in his hardened pecs and biceps after only a week’s work. Clearly he’d had some regular form of exercise he used to adhere to because his muscle memory was working overtime. “If you get invited to a BBQ at Nick’s house, you should jump at the opportunity. His food’s amazing.”

“Dat ain’t true,” he denied, vigorously shaking his head. “I invite plenty of other people but the only ones dat ever show up is you guys. Dere’ll be plenty of great food. I can’t say all of it’ll be healthy, but I’ve added some things to the menu I know you’ll approve of.”

“Then I obviously can’t turn it down,” she said, grinning. It would be nice to have something to do on Saturday night besides stare at the television. If the conversation between she and Anthony went well, maybe she’d bring him along…

“Good, den it’s…badda
boom
. Who is dat?” Nick breathed, raptly. Quickly wiping himself down with the towel thrown across his shoulder, he ran a finger through his hair, gave himself the sniff-test, grimaced and stood up straighter, sucking his prominent belly in until it looked like a dented barrel.

Dina turned to see what had gotten him all worked up and was dismayed to see not only Molly Laurence and Paula Ingleson, but also her mother, sweeping in her direction. With their pastels, florals and chunky costume jewelry, they looked as if they were initiating a fashion war council with Dina as the poor, unsuspecting target. Her mother got to her first.

After a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, her mother didn’t bother waiting to launch the first nuke.

“Why is it that I had to learn from Paula and Molly that you were hosting a party?” Paula and Eileen hovered back a respectable distance. But they were still close enough to overhear anything juicy. “Why is your mother always the last to know?”

“Hey, Dina,” Paula and Molly said, their soft southern twang chiming in unison, each with innocent looks on their faces.

“We just
naturally
assumed your mother was already in on the plans,” Molly said, her heavily mascaraed eyes unapologetic.

“As you should’ve.”

“Mom, now is not the time or the place to talk about this,” she whispered, mildly uncomfortable that Detective Barney was witnessing her mother treating her like she was an impudent teenager.

“I can’t catch you any other way because you haven’t been calling.” She finally took notice of the two men in the room, both watching the two of them with the sort of wary fascination a man wears when a beautiful woman that’s isn’t his own wife or mother is around. She frowned at Detective Barney Nichols, then smiled delightedly, saying out loud, “He
is
very interesting looking, Dina and his
aura
…calm, decisive, patient…I think I like this one. I’m Dina’s mother, Edith Ruiz. So nice to finally meet you. You must be
the
detective.”

Dina cringed inwardly. Now the man probably thought they sat around having cozy chats about him while sipping from glasses of wine and nibbling expensive chocolates.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Detective Barney Nichols shook her mother’s hand, all the while wearing a quizzical expression.

“And while we’re makin’ introductions--,” Nick piped up, making his way over to Molly and Paula, but his eyes were trained only on Paula. Paula fluttered, smiling hugely. “I’m Nickolas Albani. But friends call me Nick.”

“Nice to meet you Nick,” Paula said, extending a hand and smiling.

Dina glanced quickly between both of their faces. Could the cool, sophisticated Paula actually be interested in a man as unrefined (and hairy) as Nick?

“Same here,” Molly said, but with less enthusiasm. The hand that shook Nick’s was quickly snatched away.

“I’ve gotta get outta here, but before I go, I’m having a BBQ tomorrow startin’ around six if all of you ladies and a few of your friends would like to stop by. I’m a great cook,” he threw out for the second time that evening. “And I’ll be makin’ my famous rum punch.”

“Why thank you, Nick, but I already have plans. But, if you have another BBQ I may just take you up on that offer,” her mother declined, gracefully.

“I have to say I’ve never met a rum punch I didn’t like,” Paula said, smiling flirtatiously.

“If you give me your number I can text you the address.”

Dina smirked at his obvious attempt to get Paula’s number. To be such a big, hairy brute of a man Nick sure had a lot of game.

“Alright, that sounds like a plan to me.”

“So,
detective
, how has Dina been treating you,” her mother asked while Paula and Nick exchanged numbers, continuing to flirt unabashedly.

“I don’t think your daughter cares for me much, Ms. Ruiz,” he responded, rocking back on his heels and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“It’s ‘Mrs’ and I’m sure that’s not true, is it Dina?”

“Of course not,” Dina protested. “I mean—I don’t even know you well enough to dislike you.”

“People dislike one another in a glance so you’ve had plenty of time to form an opinion.”

“My daughter likes you, she just has a strange way of showing it,” her traitorous mother said, smiling.

“Ok, Mom, why are you here?” Dina said, rounding on her.

“I think that’s my cue,” Detective Barney said, making his way to the door. “It was nice meeting you Mrs. Ruiz. Dina, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hey, Dina? I’ll just talk to you tomorrow,” Paula called out as she and Molly prepared to follow Nick and Detective Barney out the door.

“That Paula will go after anything with a crotch, I swear!” her mother said as soon as they were out of earshot. “My God, the man was practically a bear! If that wasn’t enough to turn the woman off nothing is.”

“Wow, Mom,” she said, shaking her head and grinning. “There’s nothing wrong with Nick. He’s a nice guy.”

Her mother harrumphed, shook her head and turned back to the matter at hand. “I still can’t believe I had to learn from Paula and Molly that my own daughter was having a party. You know how much I hate when anyone from the Southern Ladies Club gets the bead on me,” her mother complained, tapping one foot much as Dina did when she was agitated.

“Gets the ‘bead’ on you?” Dina asked with a little frown.

“During a cleansing I performed a couple days ago the spirit kept saying ‘You’re not gonna get the bead on me’ and it just stuck like a bad record.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “So, am I even invited?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mom,” Dina said dryly, walking to the door and turning all the lights off save the strip of lighting in the rear. “I had every intention of inviting you as soon as I knew I was throwing this party. Jaine was the one that came up with this terrible idea.”

“It’s a great idea, sweetie. Show off a little, for God’s sake. Get a little more social. You’re way too career focused. When’s the last time you even saw any of your friends?”

“None of them live here, Mom,” she said as she locked the front door.

“I know. But most of them live within a two hour drive.” She followed her down the hallway and out the back door. They walked out into a velvety evening. High above, the night sky twinkled with lights, the air warm and redolent with the sweet, heady scent of the omnipresent honeysuckle growing on the fence bordering the rear parking lot.

“Mom, I know you didn’t come all the way across town to berate me about my lack of a social life.” Dina tossed her purse in the passenger seat of her car, then turned back to her mother.

“I have a favor to ask you--,”

“Oh, God,” Dina groaned.

“Taavi won’t be available for a cleansing we scheduled tomorrow,” she plowed forward. “So I’m going to need your help--,”

“Mom—we’ve already been through this. You know I don’t do that stuff--,”

“That stuff, Dina?” her mother said, slowly, eyes narrowing. “That stuff as you so eloquently put it is what put you through four years of college and put a roof over your head. No matter how much you hate what the women in our family do, you’re as much a part of it as we are. This woman is desperate and we’re her last hope.”

“I don’t want to,” she retorted, becoming irritated.

“I know that,” her mother replied quietly, gently touching her arm, her eyes warm and penetrating. “But don’t let your fear control you, Dina. God will protect you.”

“I’m not letting fear control me, Mom,” she lied.

“You are. I can feel it. You’re long past the time when you should be allowing fear to make choices for you. Sometimes you have to do things for people other than yourself.”

“I’m doing that right now. For Sam.”

“Then we understand one another. Believe me, if there was someone else I could’ve called, I would’ve. But I really need your help and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“But--,” Dina protested, realizing with a sinking feeling that she was losing ground, fast.

“No more buts,” her mother said firmly. Her mother slid into the passenger seat of Dina’s car and with gritted teeth and clenched jaw, she drove her around the building to the front parking lot. They stopped beside her mother’s racy yellow sports car. “I’ll text you the address. See you tomorrow, dear.”

With a quick peck on her cheek, she got into her car and sped away with a cheerful wave, leaving Dina feeling as if she’d never truly been out from under her mother’s thumb.

**

“You’re late.”

Anthony had the tall, dark and handsome thing down packed. He’d asked her out when she’d looked her worst. It had been after a particularly grueling workout at the gym. He’d walked over to her in all his dark brown, highly muscled perfection and asked if she’d like to have dinner with him. The women standing within earshot had been nearly as shocked as she’d been, all having at one point or another thrown themselves at him. His perfectly trimmed hair, high cheekbones and perfect teeth had dazzled her. When he smiled, his teeth a white flash against his dark-brown skin, Dina usually melted. But not today. After more than seven years of seeing that super hero smile, its effect on her had faded. Today, he was just irritating.

“You could’ve taken a cab,” Dina snapped, popping the trunk and wondering why she’d agreed to pick him up. She was tired and grumpy and had driven more than an hour in traffic to get there. Now on top of that she had to deal with Anthony’s crappy, jet-lagged attitude. She had half a mind to leave him there.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he said, immediately contrite. Walking around the car, he opened her door, pulling her out into his cologned embrace. “I’m just in a shitty mood because of the long flight, is all. Do you forgive me?”

“Just get in the car, okay?” She pulled away from him, unwilling to forgive him so easily.

“What’s up with you?” Anthony asked, his dark brown eyes clouding with irritation.

“It’s late, I’m tired and you’re complaining.” After waiting for a double parked minivan to pull off, she pulled into traffic, smoothly guiding the car towards the interstate. They drove for the first thirty minutes or so with music from the radio playing third wheel.

“You know I hate it when you give me the silent treatment,” Anthony finally groaned, breaking the taut silence and turning the radio down. He turned imploring eyes to her, his puppy dog look barely thawing the ice around her heart. “I said I’m sorry. Why won’t you talk to me, Dina? I missed you.”

“I’m just not in the mood to talk.”

“Why not? You normally couldn’t stay mad if I begged you to.”

“Yeah, well, things have changed,” she said, still not quite sure what that change was but knowing it was there.

“What’s changed?” he asked, the look in his eyes becoming wary. “You didn’t go and find someone else while I was gone, did you?” he asked, teasingly.

“Don’t be foolish.” But the face of Detective Barney Nichols flashed in her head. And stayed. “I just…more and more often I don’t know where this is going.”

“Dina—not now,” he said, leaning his head against the headrest and closing his eyes. “I don’t have the energy for this.”

“You never have the energy for talking about our relationship.”