Twisted Magic (12 page)

“I don’t understand the ambience of this place. We live by the
ocean.
Why
would someone want to come inside and stare at it some more?”
I asked Nona. She
pushed
my cookie
toward
me, shooting me a bothered
stare
.

“People live in Cherry because they enjoy the ocean. They want the ocean up close and personal.” She smacked her hand down on the table with a loud whap. “Clive knows
business. He
knows what sells. And he is going to sell you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“Is what illegal?” Nona looked
around;
the passing waitress
was dressed in
nothing more than
short turquoise
shorts,
and
a
white t-shirt tied at the waist
.
Their bodies were bronze like
goddesses,
and their hair was swept up with seashell
barrettes
. I was
even more
curious about Clive the more I saw his Café.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. Maybe a middle aged balding man with lots of chest hair and cheap gold chains around his neck, one of those smiles that you just wish
ed
he would shut off.

Nona was staring at me as I came back to reality. “I asked you a question.”

“What? Oh, I was just making a joke about Clive selling me.” I shook my head at her slow
humor—more like none at all.

The door chimed behind
us,
and the staff shouted cheers of joy, just like they had done for us and the
many
other
s
who entered.

“Now that’s a looker.” Nona practically shouted to the masses. I twisted in my seat, because Nona was not one to tal
k about other men. To
her Claude was the hottest thing since anything pretty much.

To my
shock,
it was Hutch. He was taking a seat in the booth by the window with the two guys from the beach. Which I now knew were his brothers. He accepted the menu the waitress handed him and smiled at me.

“Do you know
them,”
Nona asked. S
he
didn't take
her eyes away from Hutch
.
“
They’re
all very attractive if I must be honest.”

“I’ve seen him around,” I said, pushing my hair
behind
my ear and looking away from his glorious smirk. I hoped he stayed where he was because I wasn’t in the mood for Nona’s antics. He would probably think she was crazy and seeing we were related it
wouldn’t
look good for me.

I shifted nervously in my seat. “What does this meeting entail?”

“
Clive wanted to meet you,
” Nona said taking a bite of
her
cookie, crumbs dropped on the
table,
and she quickly swatted them away.

“Nothing more?”

“
Nothing less, j
ust answer his questions, do as he
asks,
and you will walk out of here with a new path in life,
sweet pea."”
She turned her head, flying out of her seat as a tall man walked into the room.

“Clive!” Nona squealed
,
throwing her arms out, and in no time Clive was grabbing her and pulling her into his grasp. She was making quite the show, the entire café—including Hutch
,
were watching Nona
yuk
it up with Clive.

Nona guided Clive around the table to me. Now I was nervous because this man with dark hair was looking at me—all of me. And he wasn’t some cheesy salesman or fat grandpa. He was…
hot, t
he same age or around the age of my dad, but attractive like Hollywood actors, with the hair of a
Greek
god,
hair-
like James
Dean.

He extended his hand. “Clive
Jennings,” he said, shaking
mine
with a generous amount of force.

“Hope
Zigler
,” I said back. Clive wasted no time in pulling up a chair. He waved to the passing waitress.

“Get Hope and Gloria anything they want. I’ll have a Carmel macchiato.” He looked at me and pointed a finger, his chin resting on his knuckles as he waited for me to ask for something.

“Iced cappuccino?” I
asked. I
wasn’t a big time coffee drinker, but in the presence of
Clive,
I knew it was good to be. It was his business after all.

“So, Hope. How long have you been singing and
dancing,”
Clive asked, cutting right to the chase.

I licked my lips, my fingers rounding my ear as I nervously fixed my hair. Nona
watched me
cautiously. My heart sputtered in my
chest. I
was
nervous,
and I really wasn’t sure why.

“Hope has been singing her little heart out since she
tore
from her mother’s womb, Clive.” Nona cut in.

Clive smiled. “What’s your favorite song to sing?”

I was starting to sweat. The back of my neck
warmed,
and I could feel my cheeks flush. “Jolene.” Had I just replied?

Nona smiled. “Hope
and my son, her father, have
sung
that
song,
for as long as I can remember.”

I smiled because Nona was right.
It was a
song that never made much sense to me as a child
. I never understood
why my
Dad
liked it, but as I got
older,
it was
a little
eerie because his life panned out the way the song depicted. And even though it was haunting
now
we both enjoyed the song and the
lyrics
. Jolene was my childhood theme song. And as odd as it was it was also comforting.

Clive placed his hand over mine. “Then that’s what you will sing.”

My jaw dropped. Clive stood, smoothing out his dress shirt and waved for me to follow him. Nona nudged me, but my legs were now shaking.

“We have a talented girl among us
today
. And she is going to share this talent with
all of
us. Everyone please welcome Hope
Zigler
to the
stage,”
Clive announced to the café. Hutch and his brothers clapped along with everyone else.

I felt ill. I stood,
smoothing out my black vest and tweed gauchos. At
least,
I had dressed up I thought to myself making my way on
to
the small stage at the front of the café.

The guitarist, who Clive introduced as
Moe
shot me a
welcoming
grin as he tuned his guitar and listened
as
Clive told him what I would be singing.

Clive took me by the elbow. “This is your shot at working for me. I could help you get to where you want to be.”

I nodded nervously and took the microphone from
him
. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to
be,
or if I could do what he was asking of me.
Suddenly,
I felt small and unsure of myself.

Clive squeezed my arm. “Where do you want to be, Hope?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You have to have
a passion
for
everything you do in life. Do you have
a passion?"”
He released my arm. “Show me your passion.”

I watched Clive
head off
stage and take a seat next to Nona. Nona gave me a wink and
thumbs up
. She clapped her hands and cheered me on.

I caught a glimpse of Hutch who held an amused grin as he waited for me to sing.

Moe plucked a chord on his
guitar,
and the world
disappeared. I
slipped
into the song. A few simple chords took me away. I gripped the mic
rophone
,
took a deep breath and began singing. The only th
ing that mattered was the music.
I
went
back to a time when I didn’t care about anything but music.
All I cared about back then was
singing music and how much I loved the way it made me feel.

Music brought me and my dad
together. It
made me love him to the point I couldn’t
bare
to see him
unhappy
. It made us
strong,
and it was
along for the ride as we drove
to Cherry California
to start our new life
.

I stepped to the edge of the stage, dropping my head to the side, swaying to the music, closing my eyes
,
letting myself go. This was what I wanted at one
time
,
I knew
I could want it again.

I needed something to
desire
because my life had turned into a mess.

I exhaled
,
dropping my arm to my side and smooth
ed
my hair. The crowd
cheered. Some
people
rose from their seats
. Clive’
s eyes were filled with enthusiasm. H
e crushed me in a giant hug.

“You were amazing!” he told me, finally letting me
go,
and I could breathe again.

Nona
wrapped an
arm around me. S
he too was
delighted
and proud of me. “I told you, Clive. Hope is something special.”

I smiled, happy to hear Nona
being
genuine about me
,
for once it wasn’t
hot air
coming from her mouth.

“So, now that you have proven yourself to me, what do you say
about
singing in the café a few times a week?” Clive grinned. “I see a bright future for you.”

Nona raised an eyebrow. “Well? It’s up to you,
Sweetpea
. Do you want Clive to help you?”

“Please let me help
you. I
want to help you.” Clive begged. He was begging
me
.

It was all so much to take in and accept. “I’d be glad to. Thank you for giving me the opportunity,” I said politely.

Nona collected her things from the table. “I have to meet Claude for a meeting about some real estate.
You did a great
job,
and I am very proud of you.
” She kissed my cheek and excused herself from the café.

Hutch was standing by the door waiting for
something. I
realized me once he started walking alongside of me down the boardwalk.

“You’re a singer. I had no idea.” He smiled, hands in his pockets as we strolled down the boardwalk.

“I
am,
what
about you?” I asked back. His
hair fluttered in the breeze, t
he sun making it lighter
than
what it was.

“That I’m not.”

I nodded, a smile coming as I looked at him.

“Come have a bite with me. I’d like to hear more about you. You’re proving to be a very fascinating girl,” he said.

The last time I
had
seen him came to the forefront. And suddenly I wasn’t so happy to be walking with him down the boardwalk. “I got to get home.”

“I would love for you to get to know me.” Hutch insisted. “I think you would like me and be surprised what you found out.”

I nodded. “I would love that too.
However,
as
you know,
I have a boyfriend.” There I did what was right for once.

“I know,” Hutch said. “Just a friendly meal, I swear.”

I stopped walking. “You don’t want to know me. I promise you I am not who you think I am. You’re better off making friends with
somebody
else.” I moved around Hutch to go home. I was doing the right thing. He had to know getting to know a girl like me would lead him nowhere good. I had a boyfriend.