THE GIFT (7 page)

“Your father told you all of this when you were only ten? It seems like a harsh reality to share with a child,” Jagger said woefully.

“My father didn’t believe in sheltering me from the evils of the world. He wanted me to understand that not all people had it as good as we did, so he wanted me to know why Carmella was so sad. At the time, they had only been here a couple of weeks and they had nothing. I handed Carmella my doll and she smiled. It was the first time I had ever seen her smile,” Amanda said.

“Juan said you gave her more than just the one,” Jagger encouraged.

“Yes. We went home and Dad told Mom the story over dinner. I had some clothes that were too small for me that Mom hadn’t gotten rid of yet, so we went up to my room to see what we could find for Carmella to wear. I stood there watching Mom pack up some of my favorite things and I felt sad about it. Mom asked me what was wrong and I told her. She reminded me that I could no longer wear these things now that I was getting bigger and that

Carmella needed them much more than I did. I felt bad for having forgotten that so soon and went to bed thinking about how sad Carmella must be without a Mom or any nice things to at least make it a little better,” Amanda told him. It felt like she was there all over again as she remembered Carmella.

“How did she end up with the dolls then? Did your Mom do it?” he asked, thinking that Juan might not have realized it wasn’t Amanda’s decision when he told the story.

“I couldn’t sleep. I got out of bed and began pulling dolls and stuffed animals from my closet. I packed them in the box my mother had left sitting on the floor for my father to take to Juan the next day. I gave her everything and when my Mom objected the next morning, telling me I had nothing left for myself, I told her that I had the one thing Carmella didn’t and that was all I needed,” Amanda said solemnly.

“You had a mother,” Jagger said softly.

“Yes, I had a mother,” Amanda said, breaking the spell and looking down at the fruit mix in her hand, stirring it lightly.

“What became of Carmella?” Jagger asked, causing Amanda to laugh a bit.

“Carmella and I played together all the time after that in the back room of the shop after school. After all, she had all my toys. She just graduated high school recently and has started the police academy. I know it sounds like a bad plot in a low budget movie, but Carmella has a dream to return to Juarez and find the men who killed her mother and bring them to justice while keeping other children from suffering the loss of their mother and father at the hands of the gangs that roam freely where she grew up,” Amanda said with a smile.

“Do you think she will do it?” Jagger asked, strangely curious about the subject.

“I think she will do it or die trying. I just hope it is the former,” Amanda said solemnly.

It barely registered as Jagger covered the distance around the table and kissed her again. This time, she didn’t pull away. She felt emotional from the story about Carmella. It was something she hadn’t thought of in years and it made her realize that Juan was more like her than she had ever considered, having lost his wife in a horrible way, but all of that was pushed aside as she felt a tingling sensation spreading throughout her body.

His kiss was urgent, his tongue twisting lazily with hers. His fingers tangled in her hair as she dug her own into his back, pulling her toward him, aching to feel his body pressing against her flesh. For a while, nothing existed but the two of them as they became lost in a kiss so intense that she wasn’t sure she could stop herself from letting him thrown her across the table full of dough and flour beneath them and have his way. Right now, that would suit her just fine.

Much to her chagrin, he pulled away, releasing her and looking deeply into her eyes. His gaze said everything that she needed to hear, as she could see just how much he wanted her in his steel eyes. Then he was laughing, breaking the bond between them, as Amanda looked at him in bewilderment.

“Your hair is white,” he told her.

“What?” she replied, not grasping what he was saying. In her mind, she was still recovering from the ripples of lust pulsating through her body and here he was, laughing at her for some reason.

“I had flour on my hands and now it is all in your hair. I’m so sorry,” he told her. Amanda looked at him blankly for a moment and then a slow smile crawled across her face.

“It’s okay. It was totally worth it,” she told him.

“Was it?” he smiled, inching back toward her as if to move in for another kiss. As much as Amanda would like that, she knew that she had to get finished here and clean up. Plus, wasn’t it too soon to take this too far? They hadn’t even been out on a real date yet.

“Oh, yeah. It was,” she said, pulling a small handful of flour from the container before her and bringing it above his head to dust it into his own hair. “Now, we’re even.”

“No, I don’t think so,” he replied. A chase ensued as each of them picked up random ingredients and tossed them at one another. They bolted and dodged back and forth in an effort to escape whatever gooey mess the other had in mind to coat them with, finally upsetting a bowl of strawberry syrup on the side of the table. In a freak stroke of bad luck, Jagger slipped in it and felt flat on his back with a thud.

“Oh, God! Are you okay, Jagger?” Amanda said, suddenly containing her laughter and replacing it with concern that he had hurt himself. She knelt on the floor to check on him as he lay there regaining his faculties. Before she realized it, he grabbed her and pulled her down into the sticky mess with him.

“You’re going to have to clean this mess up, Igor!” she said playfully, slapping a handful of blackberries onto his formerly crisp white cotton shirt.

“This was a $600 shirt,” he said without a hint of emotion.

“
Was
being the operative word. I’m sure your cleaner can get out ground-in blackberry stains,” she said, sending them both into a fit of laughter. They lay there laughing for a moment before he reached over and kissed her softly on the lips and then stood, extending his hand to pull her up from the floor.

“Boss, I think we’re going to be here much later than we thought,” he told her with a smile.

“Looks like it. Just so you know, you are officially out of the running for employee of the month,” she told him, watching the dust fly as she shook flour from her hair. They washed up the best as they could in the guest bathrooms and then returned to the kitchen to finish up their work and clean their messes. It was almost midnight by the time he walked her home and kissed her goodnight on the doorstep.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Amanda. I’ll try to dress a bit more casually for the food fight next time,” he said, as she eyed the huge purple stain on the front of his shirt.

“Please do,” she responded with a laugh before turning to go into her apartment. Inside, she ran a bubble bath and washed off the sticky, gooey mess on her skin and in her hair. All the while, she smiled into the quiet of the bathroom, still thinking about the kiss they had shared.

The next few days were incredible. If she had thought just having Jagger in the shop, sitting in his little corner with his drink had been thrilling, it was nothing compared to how it felt to have him working by her side. She imagined that this must be how her mother had felt for years coming to work with her father and she realized that she had no reason not to ask them to fill in from time to time. Each morning, Jagger showed up in a simple t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. It was amazing how much younger he looked when not all cinched up in a business suit.

Their love for doing this was exactly what had made it so popular all these years. She may have installed Wi-Fi, put up flat screen TVs along one side and refurnished part of it with comfy couches and chairs, but they had created an ambiance that she would be hard pressed to duplicate. The next best thing was to bring them in sometimes until maybe one day she found such a love for herself.

Amanda hired a guy from her culinary class named Josh. He was handsome, charming and needed a little extra cash. He would be a great asset for bringing in some of the younger girls around the area. Plus, he would be a great addition for helping her with the pastries and perhaps conjuring up some new ideas. He agreed to start on Monday, so she was grateful to have that off of her plate prior to her big date with Jagger.

Amanda was a bundle of nerves by the time Saturday arrived. She had tried on and rejected at least a dozen outfits the night before, finally settling on a simple floral shift and some strappy sandals. The following morning, she was up early, packing her makeup kit and some hair pins and then hurrying off to the shop to open it up for the morning. It was going to be a long day filled with anticipation.

By the time closing rolled around, Amanda was on pins and needles just waiting for Jagger to walk through the door. His time was impeccable, showing up just as she had sent everyone home and was about to lock the front door. He looked fantastic in a simple pair of khakis and a red polo shirt as he walked in the door of the shop and she closed it behind him, turning the key in the lock.

“You are right on time! Let me get changed and I will be ready to go. Do you want something to drink while you wait?” she asked.

“No, I’m good. I’ll just have a seat in my usual spot while you do what you need to do,” he told her with a smile.

“Great. Don’t go anywhere and stay out of the flour,” she said playfully.

“I can’t. You locked me in,” he laughed.

“Right,” she smiled, heading off to the back bathroom to get changed. Her heart raced in her chest at the thought of spending an evening alone with him. It was like a daydream come true. She hurried, not wanting to make him wait too long or have him think she was one of those prissy women who spent hours getting ready while a man waited for her. Inspecting herself as best as she could in the small mirror of the employee restroom, she determined that she looked pretty good and sighed deeply before exiting back into the hallway that led up to the front of the shop. She found him there in his usual seat, looking out the window at passersby.

“You look stunning,” he told her as he turned to face the sound of her approaching footsteps.

“Why, thank you,” she replied with a smile. He stood and they walked out together, Amanda pausing to lock up the shop before making her way down the sidewalk by his side.

“We’re about to have the best food in town,” he told her. Amanda smiled though she was confused by the direction in which they were going. It seemed as if they were going away from all the trendy restaurants and into the more residential area near where they lived. Amanda was surprised to find herself in front of a large building of private flats. She knew it wasn’t the building that the cab had dropped Jagger off at previously, so what was this place?

Her questions were answered when a small, older woman opened the door and smiled broadly at Jagger, greeting him as “Mr. Remington” in somewhat broken English. Her French accent permeated each word she spoke very heavily as she invited them in and directed them toward the large table of people in the center of the room. Amanda was completely confused by the situation, but went along and took the seat she was offered. A beautiful adolescent girl came by and asked what she would like to drink and Jagger intervened, ordering a glass of white wine for each of them.

“You do drink wine, don’t you?” he asked. Amanda realized that all he had ever seen her drink was coffee so he wouldn’t know. She also realized just how little they knew about one another and she wondered what sort of man took a girl to what appeared to be a large gathering of his friends when it was their first date. Surely, most men would have chosen someplace more intimate and cozy? Perhaps he did not intend for this to be romantic and it was just his way of apologizing for being drunk and disorderly in her shop.

“Yes, wine is great,” she said. She had a feeling she might need a little bit of wine to calm her hurt feelings at this point. The woman who had answered the door said something in French to a man at the end of the table and he nodded toward her, turning to the table and introducing himself. Each person followed suit until they made their way around to Amanda, who still looked unraveled by all of this.

“Introduce yourself, Amanda,” Jagger prompted her quietly and she heard herself saying her name and telling them she owned the Bliss Cafe Coffee Shop by the park, which garnered several nods and smiles of approval from faces that looked somewhat familiar now that she looked at them closer. Jagger made the final introduction and several people emerged from nearby doors with platters, plates and glasses filled with food and wine.

“Who are these people, Jagger?” she whispered quietly, bringing a smile to his face.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you up front, but I wanted to see your reaction to the novelty of this place. The lady who answered the door is Madame Marguerite de Bouchard and this is her home. The servers are members of her family. She opens up her home twice each week to cook an authentic meal for strangers,” he said.

“Oh, wow. How unusual,” Amanda marveled, suddenly impressed by the woman’s initiative. Among the people who routinely came to her coffee shop, she had stumbled across people like Madame Bouchard from time to time. They made do in unusual ways during a bad economy.

“I learned about her through some of my neighbors. She does a lunch during the week and this dinner on Saturdays. Everyone pays a flat fee up front to lock in their seat at the table. If it is not filled, she refunds, as I guess it is not economical to cook for less than a full table. If you don’t show, then you lose your money. I’ve never seen her have an empty seat and the food is out of this world. She is a Paris trained chef who came to live here with her husband. When he lost his job, she began doing this to help with bills and now that he is back on his feet, she continues to do it. She calls it a “rainy day fund” that keeps her from worrying about money,” he said quietly.

Amanda beamed at him as a young man who she assumed was Madame Bouchard’s son poured them each a glass of wine. After that, the dinner commenced with steaming plates of fine French fare like Amanda had never tasted. Of course, she had never spent any time in expensive French restaurants. She was on a strict budget, especially with only recently having moved from her parent’s house into her own small apartment near the shop. In fact, Jagger would be surprised to find that it wasn’t far from his own place, though it was just a coincidence, she thought.

Dinner was great, with incredible food and conversation between her and Jagger, as well as the other people around the table. They were from all sorts of occupations and backgrounds as they chatted like old friends. Amanda wondered if Madame Bouchard and her guests were aware of what a perfect networking platform she had created with her rainy day meals, as she had already met two people who could help her with needs at the shop and several more that indicated they hadn’t been there or hadn’t been there in a while, but they would now stop by because they had met her.

Then, there was Jagger. She now knew that he was a freelance financial consultant for many of the large corporations in the New York area. It explained the suits and the ability to sit in her coffee shop for hours working from his tethered laptop. He told her that he was very good at what he did and in high demand. Amanda smiled at how cocky he seemed when he talked about his work. It wasn’t so much bragging as it was pride in his work. Their conversation drifted toward a discussion of what they wanted for their futures, but was interrupted by service of the very decadent desserts offered by their host.

Once dinner ended, they found themselves back out in front of the flat discussing what to do next. Jagger suggested some music at a nearby Jazz club, but Amanda felt brazen, offering him a night cap at her new apartment instead. He seemed hesitant at first and Amanda was feeling a hint of uncertainty. Was she pushing him? Maybe it was too much, too soon, for them to be in such close quarters with one another.

“I’d love that,” he said finally. “Lead the way.”

They walked arm in arm down the sidewalk toward her place. The weather today was perfect, one of those balmy summer nights that beckoned you to long walks or sitting out in the fresh air enjoying the sounds of the city. She was sure that her place wasn’t nearly as nice as his and almost felt compelled to apologize for her meager accommodations, but decided against it. Her life had changed quite a bit in the past year, all for the better and this was just one more step on her way to getting back all she had lost. She didn’t want to appear uncertain to him.

“Here we are,” she said as they approached the brownstone filled with small one bedroom apartments, one of which she called home.

“Wow, you only live a few blocks away from me. We can hang out all the time!” he said enthusiastically. Amanda smiled, but inside she wondered about his choice of words. He made it sound like they were going to be buddies and she had hoped for so much more than that. Perhaps he was just playing things down, but she found herself trying to put the feelings that had begun to develop for him in check.

“We sure can,” she said lightly, placing a key in the lock of the lower door to gain access. They walked up a flight of stairs to her place and she unlocked the door, waving him inside as she reached around the door frame to flip the light switch inside.

“What a great old place,” he commented, looking around at the pre-war dwelling. The place was old, but quaint and it was all the space she needed. Her parents had been afraid of letting her go, but she was determined to finally live out on her own and they had conceded, helping her rent this small apartment and providing the moving services to relocate her things to her new home. She and her mother had decorated it with overstuffed furniture and rich, cozy colors. It had more of a cabin in the woods feel to it than a New York apartment look.

“Do you want something to drink? I’m afraid I don’t really have any liquor of any sort, but I have some red wine that I got as a housewarming gift,” she told him.

“No, I’m good. Thanks,” he told her, walking toward where she stood at the kitchen counter. Both of them seemed to have abandoned the notion of having come here for a drink in the first place.

“Okay. Well, I guess we can have a seat on the sofa and talk or maybe find an old movie on the television,” she said, but her words were cut off as his arms circled her waist, pulling her toward him. His mouth covered hers in a kiss that sent electricity bolting through her veins. Her body melted against his in unspoken agreement to any offers he was about to extend. She felt the warmth of his kiss spiral in all directions as her body welcomed him. She felt on fire again, as she had when he had kissed her before.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled away.

Then his lips were on hers again, kissing her hungrily as their tongues danced a tango to a tune that only they seemed to hear. The fire that raged through her body was quickly stoked into a five alarm blaze by his kisses. They tugged at one another’s clothes, eager to feel one another’s flesh. She panted breathlessly as his kisses trailed down her neck and along the soft curves of her breasts, his mouth finding its way to one of her nipples and licking at it softly as every nerve ending in her body suddenly came alive with the electricity sparked by his touch. She could feel his words against her skin as she kissed his way across her body.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” he breathed against her skin as they danced toward her bedroom and fell across the bed, their bodies pressed against one another. She could feel his erection pressing into her flesh as her body became consumed by desire. It had never been like this for her before, this aching need for release consumed her.