Now Wouldn't You Like to Know (10 page)

I immediately grabbed the blanket I had slept under and folded it so we could sit down. My aunt took the massive lump of material in hand and went off with it. My uncle was about to head out the door and off to work. Coming over to me, he gave me his trademark bear hug and to say goodbye. He told me to have a safe drive up to Philly, that is, if I was gone when he returned home. He also told me to tell Diana that he had enjoyed her company, as well. He was out the door after that.

My aunt had already prepared breakfast and was gathering her things before heading off to work. Diana appeared on the stairs during this time. And when she did, my heart began to pound wildly. It was as if a goddess had stepped down from Mt. Olympus. Though I had traveled hundreds of miles with her, it was as if I was seeing her for the first time.

Adorned in a form fitting Mai Tai floral dress that had a lush tropical print of orange and red and black and purple and green and yellow colors; and black pumps, she paused and glanced our way. She was as sensuous and as stunning as I had ever seen her. Ray appeared just as mesmerized as he fixed his gaze on her and held it. We both stood up as she stepped off of the staircase. I introduced the two and stood by as they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“My, you certainly have a lovely looking wife, Sheldon,” he said, his gaze still locked on hers.

“We’re not married,” I said.

“Then I’ll have to say that you have a beautiful looking fiancée,” he came back, gazing at her as if in a trance.

“We’re not engaged either. Diana and I are friends,” I qualified. “Matter of fact, she’s engaged to another.”

“Was engaged,” she corrected me with a trace of a smile, gazing at Ray the whole time. Ray’s eyes appeared to light up once he heard that. I’m sure if I could read his mind it would echo the word
Opportunity
.

“Well,
Ms.
Diana,” he said, emphasizing the
Ms
. part of his statement. “I am honored to meet your acquaintance.”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you as well, Ray,” she said as they shook hands.

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine,” he said in what I perceived was a deep and seductive tone of voice.

By this time, Aunt Sarah reentered the room. She was in hyper mode.

“Okay folks,” she began, holding her purse and a folder. “Breakfast is ready. Plates and utensils are on the table. Milk and juice are in the refrigerator. I have to go now. You all enjoy your day. And have a safe trip up to Philly and New York, Sheldon and Diana. Come see us again.”

We thanked her for the lodging, the food, and the five-star hospitality then traded hugs and kisses with her. After she gave Ray an extra key to the house, she took off.

Less than a minute later we sat down to eat breakfast. Ray sat down to eat breakfast, too, but also to start in on Diana. The man was giving it all he had. I am talking about the prolonged gaze, the smooth and soft spoken tone he had suddenly cultivated, the charming and endearing smile, and the endless compliments. They never stopped coming. First he complimented her on her sparkling brown eyes, then her luscious and succulent red lips, then her soft sexy voice, and then her warm heavenly smile. It went on and on. I mean, it was obvious that he was putting the move on her and big time! Though I wasn’t sure how she felt about any of this, she appeared to enjoy the attention. Only twice did she glance my way; almost as if to say
‘eat your heart out.’
I was not going to give her the satisfaction.

Shortly after we ate breakfast, I collected our cups, plates, and silverware and placed them in the dishwasher. Adding automatic washer dish detergent, I started it up. In the meantime, Diana wiped off the table and spruced the area up, with the help of Ray, of course. By the time I had wrapped things up in the kitchen the two had already retreated to the living room to talk.

“Hey, I hate to break things up,” I politely interrupted, “but if we’re going to visit the Smithsonian and the National Zoo and get on the road by three, we had better get going.”

“Sure thing, cous,” Ray replied. “Look, I have to run upstairs and get something. I’ll be right back down.”

“Take your time,” I said, as Ray took off up the stairs.

“Speaking of time, what time are we heading up to Philadelphia?” Diana asked me.

“Probably around 3:00 this afternoon, at the latest,” I replied, with minimum eye contact.

“Hey, that means we have plenty of time to see the sites,” she beamed.

By now Ray had sprinted back down the stairs smelling like a cologne factory.

“Well, I imagine we had better get the show on the road,” Diana said, rising up from the sofa, of course, with the benevolent assistance of Ray.

T
he Smithsonian Institute, which was situated prominently on the national mall, was known to be the largest museum complex in the world. I had visited it once before on a weekend school trip to Washington. I was in the 7
^th
grade at the time.

After we drove around for the longest time we found a parking space and filed out of the Navigator. Just ahead of us stood the National Air and Space Museum. Inside we saw the Apollo 11 Command Module, the 1903 Wright Flyer, the world's first successful airplane, and the
Spirit of St. Louis.
Not satisfied, and wanting to see more, Diana talked us into going over the National Museum of Natural History where we came face to face with dinosaurs, the infamous Hope diamond, and the Butterfly Pavilion. After that we returned to the Navigator and made our way over to the National Zoo.

As I drove I thought of all the interesting artifacts and relics the museums had on display for the public, and the only thing that really captured my attention and interest was Diana. She had hardly said five words to me since we arrived on the mall. If anything, Ray spoke to me more than Diana; that is whenever he could tear himself away from her. As much as I tried to fit in, after a point, especially after arriving at the zoo, I began to feel like the third man out. You know, two’s company, three’s a crowd. Though I put on a brave front, one of indifference, the attention she was giving to Ray was eating at me inside. Jealousy had been a stranger to me. But today it was a force, an invisible entity, which had overstayed its welcome.

It wasn’t all about my situation with Diana and Ray. As we toured the zoo I got to see some things I had always wanted to see, like Giant pandas, Asian elephants, white-napped cranes, western lowland gorillas, Sumatran tigers, cheetahs, and North Island brown kiwis. At times they walked ahead of me, other times I followed behind them.

When Diana finally decided to acknowledge my existence, she looked back and said, “Sheldon, I am having such a good time. Aren’t you?”

“Quite a wonderful time,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. She looked at me coyly but said nothing. It didn’t matter anyway for Ray had reclaimed her attention. Feeling awkward about the whole situation, I continued to follow a step or two behind them. At one point, we stopped so that he could purchase a stuff Teddy bear for her. If it were any larger she would have had to use two hands to carry it. To top it off, he produced a camera from his pocket and asked me to take a few pictures of him and Diana posing together. In a couple of them he took the liberty of wrapping his arm around her shoulders and her waist. I was finally asked to join him for one photo shot. Diana snapped the photo. Actually, I would have preferred to have stayed out of it.

When we arrived at the elephant habitat I decided to rest on a nearby wooden bench. I could no longer be a willing participant in this romantic charade, that is, on Diana’s part. As for Ray, I had no doubt that he was smitten by her and was going to pull out all of the stops to get to her, one way or another. Or by
hook or crook
, as they say back in Ohio. But Diana, I was certain she was playing a game, a game meant to make me jealous. Whether she knew it or not, it was working. But to own up to it, no, I wasn’t going down like that.

“Look, you two go ahead,” I said. “I’m going to rest here for a while, perhaps even buy a snack to eat and something to drink. Just meet me here when you circle back, okay.”

“Sure thing cous,” Ray said, as though the two of us were old chums from way back in the day. No, we didn’t have that kind of past relationship and if he continued to put a full court press on Diana, we were not going to have a future relationship either.

“Are you sure, Sheldon?” Diana asked me, looking at me for the first time with sympathetic eyes.

“Yes, I am sure,” I answered with a prolonged stare of my own. “I just want to enjoy the space and open air before we head on up to Philly.”

“Hey, that sounds like a good idea,” Ray added with a smirk. He acted as though he had one up on me.

“Well, since you’re going to be here a while, would you hold onto this for me,” she said, handing me the Teddy bear Ray had purchased for her.

Diana did not give me a chance to respond for she had already turned around and headed off with Ray.

Almost immediately, I sat the stuffed animal on the bench next to me. I was not having the best of days or the best of times, not at all.

Less than an hour later, the two reappeared a short distance away. They appeared to be walking a lot closer now than when they had taken off. Not to my surprise, Diana was carrying another stuffed doll, this time a lion cub. The two were all smiles as they parked themselves on the bench beside me. I put on a cheerful face and greeted their return.

“Well, what did you two get to see?” I asked.

Diana took the lead. “Gosh, we saw so much. Let’s see, we visited the primate exhibit and the reptile exhibit and the big cat’s exhibit. We also saw hippopotamuses, giraffes, zebras, and rhinos. We also saw a group of brown bears and Kodiak bears and polar bears.”

“Tell him about the rhinos, Diana,” Ray chuckled. “Go on and tell him.”

“No, I can’t,” she laughed, looking at him, then at me. “You tell him Ray.”

“Okay. Anyway, there was this one rhino we saw who decided that this was the time to get busy with his better half. I don’t remember how he raised up and mounted her but when he did, he and pounded the hell out that other rhino,” he said, as though he was busting stitches left and right inside.

“Sheldon, you should have seen the children who were a witness to this marvel of nature,” Diana chimed in. “They were all pointing and giggling, and some even busted out in laughter. But soon after that, their teachers quickly ushered them away.”

“Hell no, we didn’t come here for sex education, I could imagine those teachers saying to themselves,” Ray said laughing hard and holding his stomach with his hand.

By now both of them were laughing and carrying on like young adolescents themselves.

I produced a half-hearted laugh in response. That was the best that I could do. I just didn’t see the humor in it.

“Anyway, we also saw a couple of bald eagles and seals and camels and gazelles,” Ray added, calming down somewhat. It was amazing, the two were actually acting like school children on a school outing themselves, shoving one another playfully, and trading stares and playful smiles. It was obvious they were having the time of their lives with each other. Frankly, I couldn’t stand it.

Happy to be the party pooper, I faced Diana and announced, “Well, it’s about time we start heading out. It’s already going on four o’clock. I have no doubt we’re going to have to contend with rush hour traffic.”

“You’re right,” she said, sounding mildly disappointed.

“Hey, you two can always stay over another night,” Ray tossed in with a hope and prayer. “I’m game for an extended visit.”

I wasn’t in the frame of mind to grant any prayers as I delighted in saying, “I wished I could cous. But I have a job interview the day after tomorrow and I need to get situated and well rested before I have to deal with that.”

“I understand,” he said, disappointment registering in his eyes.

Diana gave me no clue of what she was thinking other than I was right.

Walking on, we headed for the exit, I slightly ahead of them.

Chapter 9

R
ay made it a point to sit in the rear with Diana on the way back. But I wasn’t surprised. Having eliminated me as a competitor, he knew that this was his last opportunity to be with her, at least during this visit. Like any man in his position, he wanted to give it all he had to gain her favor, and to win her heart. By now, I wasn’t so sure she was putting on an act for me. They were sitting really close to one another and she had paid scant attention to me.

After a while, I turned the radio volume up to the point that I wasn’t privy to their conversation. Whatever the subject matter, no matter how innocent or how personal in content, I did not want to hear it. I was ready to head up to the
City of Brotherly Love
and drop Diana off at the nearest bus station. I know that I had no reason to be, but I felt diss.

Pulling up to the corner of my uncle’s house, we dropped Ray off. The two took a few minutes to exchange farewells after Diana stepped out of the Navigator to sit up front with me, I assumed. Through the passenger outside mirror, I watched as he kissed her on the cheek and looked at her with a prolonged gaze. Rounding the rear of the SUV, he came up on my side and shook my hand and we exchanged goodbyes. For me it was more like
‘good riddens’
. After Diana climbed in next to me I pulled off.

It had been a while since she was seated this close in proximity to me. I didn’t have to inhale much to relish her sweet fragrance. Though she had sprayed some on lightly, it still packed a potent punch. As much as I had fought what I was feeling for her inside, I found her aromatically irresistible and her stunning beauty remained undeniable. No, I had not declared any feelings for her but I still felt I had been shunned by her. Distant cousin or not, Ray should not have been so brash in his effort to woo her away from me.

Again, I had made no claims on Diana, but who said I wasn’t about to before he showed up on the scene looking all debonair and like he just received the leading role in a major Hollywood film. No, I wasn’t jealous, I was furious. Furious at myself, that is. Ever since I met her, I had been denying what I was feeling for her and for allowing another to move in on her without me putting up much of a fight, figuratively, that is. If there was any debauchery, perceived or not, I was the blame for it.