Tales of Cedar Point: A Valentine’s Retrospective Part 2

Tallulah

Tallulah stood in her underwear in front of her closet pushing hanger after hanger to the side. How was it possible to have a closet full of all these clothes and nothing she wanted to wear? She had chosen the underwear carefully; just in case, a matching black lace set bra and panty that were see through in all the right places. Her ample breasts and hips gave all that lace something to really hold onto. Tallulah didn’t care that she wasn’t a sweet young thing any more or in a shape that pleased the beauty myth BSers. Years of daily yoga practice kept her strong and flexible. She was a robust confident mature woman and her body told its own tales. She sighed at her closet and then heard the ding of her phone indicating she’d received a text. Padding barefoot to the dresser, she picked it up, swiped and keyed in her code. It was a reply from her cousin Jennifer to her last question in her chat. Tallulah padded back across the room and slid sideways onto her unmade bed, the sheets feeling cool and smooth under her bare legs. She reread the whole conversation.

Tallulah Beal: OK he asked me and I’m really thinking of going. Are you sure you’re fine with this idea?

Jennifer Beal-Callahan: Tally, I gave both you and Nick my blessing. Remember I encouraged him to ask you. He and I are long done. I want him to be happy – and you of course. Nick is a good man. We just couldn’t move past everything after losing Eryn. We broke it and fell out of love. You know this. Quit stalling! And if it furthers the cause, I met someone. His name is Kamal. He’s a widower and an accountant at the firm.

Tallulah Beal: Wow! That’s great news. Alright, I want all the details on Kamal when I see you again. I’m still trying to find something presentable to wear.

Jennifer Beal-Callahan: I have a suggestion and I hope I’m not out of line in making it; wear heels. He likes them. That’s all I’ll say about it. LOL

Tallulah Beal: Eeeek…OK…LOL. I don’t have many of those but I’ll see what I can do. Interesting. Shoot, I’m going to be late. I’ll TTYL.

Jennifer Beal-Callahan: Have funJ

Heels? Tallulah made an irritated face and then scooped at the back of her closet with her foot and kicked out some long banished pairs of shoes.

“Ugly…..busted…..hideous….oh these? Hmmm?”

She sat down on the floor and tugged on one half of a strappy little red number and smiled. “These will do nicely.”

After putting on the other one she stood up and walked around and then made another horrified face. She remembered why they ended up in the back of the closet. They were the most uncomfortable shoes in the entire world.

Tallulah sighed “I’ll wear them to the door for effect and then take them off.” She could wear her regular flat sandals to drive. Nick Callahan had invited her to his cabin home in the woods outside the town limits. It was a bit of a drive.

Looking at the clock again, she whipped through the closet one last time and chose a dress that matched the red shoes. It had a difficult neckline for her choice of bra and she huffed. Why was trying to be sexy and pulled together so annoying? She contemplated just going braless and shoeless and yanking on an old t-shirt and a tie dyed skirt. Rolling her eyes, she changed again into a black silky floral set with a strapless bra this time and then donned the dress. Slipping onto one of the shoes she grinned at herself in the mirror. OK, it was worth it. But he better really like heels dammit!

Ryan

Ryan showed his driver’s licence and paid the cover charge at the entrance to the Black Hole. He was sliding his wallet back into the back pocket of his jeans as he walked when Megan Douglas flagged him down from the bar. Curiously he sauntered over to her with his usual friendly grin “That desperate to be my Valentine Meg?”

Megan smiled back sarcastically “Oh yeah I’m totally fuckin hot for you.” She reached across and turned his shoulder so he was facing the back corner of the bar “Actually, I’d like you to do something about THAT please. He’s drunker than a mother fucker and scaring away the customers.”

Ryan hunched his shoulders forward and shrank a bit, looking suddenly embarrassed.

“Oh shit…” he muttered. He heard Megan and another bar staffer laughing behind him as he walked forward, a look of certain doom on his face.

Garrett was sitting on the booth side of the corner table ranting loudly in a slurred voice at Rory Donovan, the lanky clerk from Chen’s grocery store. As Ryan got closer he noticed Rory looked mildly terrified. Garrett gestured to the couple at the pool table as they laughed, talked and exchanged affectionate moments while playing.

“Look at dat? Ishn’t love grand they shay? Fuck no it fucking sucks!”

The woman from the pool playing pair turned towards Garrett looking mildly confused and Ryan winced and then held up a hand at her, nodding reassuringly.

“RYAN!!!” Garrett screamed “THIS ISH MY BROTHER RYAN!”

Ryan slid in beside Garrett and put his finger to his lips “Shhhh….let’s bring the volume down OK buddy?”

Garrett threw his arm roughly around Ryan and talked right into his face, spitting at him slightly “Shorry wash I too loud?”

With the rapid scraping of chair legs and the scuttling of feet towards the exit, it dawned on Ryan that Rory had most definitely taken the moment of distraction to make his escape.

There was a formidable collection of Rocket Fuel beer bottles in front of Garrett and Ryan sighed at them “Did you drink all these? Dude, I was only half an hour late….”

Garrett grinned and nodded proudly like a kid who’d just robbed a candy store.

“Your friend was shere. Da bald one…Coby…Coby….Coby….” Garrett’s volume decreased but his slurring and confusion increased and he was starting to look a bit green.

Ryan nodded as he carefully detangled himself from Garrett’s arm and leaned back a bit “Cody, yeah. Constable Nault….he said he was coming.”

Garrett let out a wet belch with a bit of a shudder “Ugh….thas nod good…..oh god…..Coby shaid he came for the titties. We mished the titties Ry…I mish the titties….”

“Fuck man, are you gonna puke? Let’s get you to the bathroom…” he reached to take Garrett’s arm and just missed as Garrett dove sideways and threw up under the table. The surrounding tables were immediately vacated and other patrons either stared in horror or shook their heads laughing.

“Ahhh…….oh gaaaad….” Garrett moaned, his head now resting on the side of the table.

Ryan patted his brother’s shoulder but cringed a bit as the smell of beer and bile reached the height of his nose “Oh man….that’s nasty…” He closed his eyes momentarily and opened them to the sound of a mop and pail being wheeled towards them, piloted Megan looking thoroughly irritated.

“This is the shit I hate about this job. Get him the fuck out.”

Garrett started whimpering softly in a drunk sick emotional state “You’re sho mean Megan….why’re you mean?”

Ryan stood up and reached for the mop “I’m sorry. I’ll clean it and then take him home.”

She yanked the handle away from him “No, I’ll do it. But I fucking hate you both right now.” Her eyes flashed with a dangerous intensity.

Ryan hauled his stinking sobbing mess of an older brother out the door without another word to anyone. This was a Valentine ’s Day he could happily forget.

Tamela

Thelma and Louise were in the café and Tamela and Anna were sitting on the couch watching them with a second helping of salted caramel iced cream.

“Brad Pitt’s original claim to fame eh.” Tamela mused and then quoted Louise “You finally got laid properly!”

Anna giggled through a mouthful of ice cream and nodded.

“Sadly Brad wouldn't have worked for me. I just had to find the right girl.”

Tamela looked wistfully away and Anna looked at her sadly “No one will ever be Eryn, but she might not be the only woman you could ever love. Case and point, who was the brownie for?”

Tamela nodded slightly and then rolled her eyes “Brandy Miller…”

“The hair dresser? The one Lee went out with?”

Tamela nodded “I think your brother won this one today. He beat me to it with a bunch of roses and she looked all twitterpated.”

“Awkward. But does she even like girls?”

Tamela blushed “I think she might. That night I went to party with her and those hair dressers from the bar she made out with one of the friends they brought along. I thought I was going to explode. I mean maybe she was just bi-curious but she looked pretty comfortable. That, and I went through her bathroom cupboard and bedside table. She has some interesting toys.”

Anna’s eyes went wide “You went through her stuff? Can you ever NOT be a cop?”

Tamela laughed “Nope. Usually worth it though.”

Anna was clearly amused but pretended to be scandalized “You've peed here. What’s in my bathroom cupboard then?”

Tamela grinned “You have a terrible habit of keeping your empty toothpaste tubes. Your collection of separated Halloween makeup is mind boggling. At some point you caught a wicked sale on Q-tips. Everything must smell like lavender. Personally I think that might be taking the whole Lavender Dreams thing a bit far but whatever makes you happy. You have blade refills for 3 razors you no longer seem to own. Your choices of feminine hygiene products are Always and Tampax and your cough medicines have all expired.”

Anna’s jaw dropped for a full 12 seconds before she said “Creepy but accurate. How do you remember all that?”

Tamela looked a little guilty but then laughed “It’s a sickness.” She looked down at her jeans and then pulled her phone out of her pocket “Steph’s texting.” She read and then frowned.

Anna recovered from the pharmaceutical invasion and then looked desperately curious. She grabbed the remote and paused their film.

“How’s her date going?”

Tamela looked away from her phone like what she just read was glaring at her painfully “Jesus, she’s quoting him.” Tamela glanced back down and began to read aloud

“You've got a big appetite…for a girl.”

“I have to confess, I just love Asian women.”

Anna gasped at the last one and Tamela pretended to shoot the phone as she said “Fuck, he’s a racist and a moron.”

Anna sighed “We could offer to go pick her up.”

Tamela shook her head “She drove herself. Smart, you know, in case of this shit.”

“Let her know she can still come here if and when she bails.”

Tamela texted the invite to Steph and then waited. No reply. She gestured at the TV screen for Anna to un-pause. She did so and both of them quoted aloud with the scene “Drive Louise Drive!”

The film watching continued until Tamela turned over her phone again after that tell-tale buzzing noise indicating a text while set on silent.

“Should I pause?” Anna asked, looking a little worried for their friend now.

Tamela started laughing “Nope, she’s on her way here. She went out the bathroom window.”

Nick

*this section has an optional musical accompaniment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb5vYxnZWEQ

Nick had heard a car pull up while he was still in the bath and panicked. There was no way she could be that early! He scrambled for a towel and then considered maybe a bathrobe would be less forward and dashed to his bedroom, leaving a trail of wet sized 12 footprints across the hallway. He heard something moving outside after closing his closet door and then a vehicle starting and pulling away. Frowning, he jogged down the stairs and looked out the porch door, now in a black terry cloth robe. Had she pulled up and then decided against it and left?  Nick pushed the door open and looked around up and down the gravel road. He walked back into the house a bit deflated and looked at the clock. It was only 5:20 and he had invited Talluah for 6:00. With a sigh he climbed the stairs to finish his bath and then get dressed. He stood at the mirror giving his white beard a quick trim and then stroked it. Maybe he should shave it. Did she like beards? He opened the cupboard and picked up his razor and then put it back down and shut the cupboard with a resounding click. There was no time and he wasn't ready to commit to letting go of his years of being a beardo. He still needed to get dressed and finish making dinner.

Nick walked back across the hall and then noticed his own footprints. He let the thick beige towel wrapped around him drop and used his foot to lightly mop the floor with it. For a man in his late 50s he was still in good shape with a few likeable imperfections. The ongoing physical training of his work helped. He had long wiry muscles and a taught yet broad chest covered in a light layer of freckles to just below the shoulders where they met his downy brown doing grey sparse carpet of chest hair. He had a slight paunch that revealed his love of good food, wine and ale. A treasure trail of light brown fuzz lead to the equally pleasing to look at jewels and a fairly muscular lower body. Scooping up the towel he tossed it at the now drained bathtub behind him and then headed for the clothes he had laid out before his bath.

Nick did the standing on one leg and then the other dance to get into a pair of black boxer briefs. They hugged all the right places all the right ways. His out of work uniform pants were always jeans unless he had to endure a suit for a wedding or a funeral.  This particular pair happened to be black and slightly worn in. He slid a black leather belt through the belt loops and fastened the stainless steel buckle. Nick picked up a soft pale grey button up shirt and slid his arms into it one by one. He buttoned it thoughtfully, leaving the top two undone. Hearing the timer on the rice steamer chime, he quickly yanked on black cotton sports socks and went down to the kitchen.

It was 5:45.

He put the rice aside and pulled out the black enamel casserole full of chicken. It smelled divine, just as it should, bubbling away in the decadent sauce. He cut into it with a knife and fork and furrowed his brow. It was still a tiny bit pink. He stuck the lid on again and put it back in the wood stove. He shifted the logs slightly until he was satisfied the heat was still even.

Nick turned the dial on the vegetable steamer and turned the broccoli on to cook. Then he went to the fridge for an armload of greens, tomatoes, avocado and cucumbers and began to construct a wicked salad.

After tossing it and setting it aside he looked at the clock; 6:00.

He looked out the window and listened hard in the direction of the road. Tallulah wasn’t always known for her punctuality. Nick took a long slow breath and opened a bottle of sweet white wine. He poured himself a glass and walked to the stereo. It was an old school stereo but he had lots of old school music to play on it.

Thumbing through a drawer full of cassettes he deliberated what he might be in the mood to hear. His hand stopped on a single purchase he’d made for a band that was relatively unknown to him. The band was called Texas and the album Mother’s Heaven. Nick had heart it playing in a record store in 1991 when he was in Vancouver and it just had to be. He clicked the eject button and opened one side of the double cassette deck, popping in Mother’s Heaven.

After clicking play he sunk into the couch and closed his eyes after a long sip of wine, letting the music wrap around his entire being.

Before the first song was over, the unmistakable sound of an old VW camper van rolled into the driveway followed by the cutting of the engine and the door shutting.

Nick opened his eyes, resisting the urge to bolt out the door and appear overeager. He was however, pulled outside but Tallulah’s voice loudly exclaiming “That fucking cow!”

“Tally?” he called out as he reached the edge of the porch. She was standing in front of his jeep holding what looked like a pie in one hand. He walked down the steps and around the front of the jeep and his eyes widened.

Tallulah sighed “Someone brought us dessert?”

Across the tinted front window of the jeep was the word SLUT written in cream pie. Nick walked up and leaned his head over the pie and sniffed – banana.

Tallulah raised a brow at him “Ushi Chen knew I was coming here? It’s been her bloody pet name for me for 37 years.”

“Tally I'm so sorry. She rang me through when I bought the groceries. She was trying to invite herself over and I told her I had other plans. She…guessed.”

Tallulah nodded “It’s OK. I'm used to it. But this is a little fatal attraction – even for her.”

Nick looked awkwardly at the pie “Do you still want to come in?”

Tallulah thought about it momentarily and then got a look of determination on her face “Hell yes. And let’s eat it. She wants to call me a slut, I’m going to eat the god damned slut pie.”

Nick started laughing and gestured towards the door, opening it for Tallulah when they got there.

She put the pie on the counter as she stepped in and then reached for the straps on her shoes to undo them “Let me take these off….”

Nick drew in an audible breath and gently pulled her hand away from her task “No. Leave them please…I like them.”

Tallulah met his gaze and bit her lip as she noticed his pupils were dilated. “Alright.” She agreed in a soft smooth tone.

He straightened up and exhaled before asking quickly “Wine?”

“Yes please.” She replied with a smirk as she headed for his couch. The tail end of a song was ebbing away on the stereo. She looked curiously towards the source of the music “Mmm that’s nice.”

He poured her a glass and answered “A band called Texas. Bit of a fluke find.” As he was reaching the glass towards her Tallulah noticed him sneaking another glance at her feet.

“Interesting.” She commented, on both the song and his shoe fetish.

The vegetable steamer dinged, pulling his gaze back to her face and then the kitchen. He left her with her drink and her curiosity and checked the casserole dish in the oven again.

“Hungy?” he called back to her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Quite.” She said honestly.

“OK we’re ready here. Come sit at the table.”

She brought her wine and settled in one the bench under the stairs while he graciously served up two plates and two salad bowls. It all looked and smelled so good she was speechless until the third bite of chicken.

“You’re amazing!” Tallulah blurted out.

Nick chuckled “Thanks. I like you too. Oh you mean the food?”

“That too Nick. Do you cook like this when you’re eating alone? Sorry…not to assume…” She looked like she may have put her foot in her mouth.

Nick dabbed at his face with a blue cloth napkin “No it’s fine. I do live alone now…..but I cook for friends, my brother….Angie and Mike…although mostly at their house. The ground is a bit uneven here.”

“Oh yeah for Mike’s chair…” Tallulah replied as she nodded in understanding.

Nick took a deep breath and then admitted “Of course I miss cooking for Eryn. She never really took to it now matter how hard I tried to teach her….”

Tallulah looked pained “I didn't mean to…” she reached across the table and slid her hand over his.

Nick turned his hand over under hers and intertwined their fingers “It’s always there. Don’t worry about bringing it up. Where’s Anna tonight?”

Tallulah gave his hand a little squeeze “She and Tamela are apparently having and anti Valentine’s Day movie marathon.”

Nick tilted his head curiously “Thought she was dating a Yamada?”

Tallulah cringed “No it didn't stick. I'm glad Tams is there tonight or I might have said no to you…not because I wouldn't want to…”

He smiled and then caressed the top of her hand before letting go to finish eating.

Tallulah followed suit and they were aptly nourished, washing it down with a fair few more glasses of wine.

Nick looked to the pie on the counter “You really want to eat that thing after Ushi’s fingers were in it.”

Tallulah stood up and walked over to it, losing her footing for a second and steadying herself on the counter. Nick jumped up and crossed the space between his bench and the counter in two steps. He slid and arm around her waist and chuckled.

She dipped a finger in the banana cream “There’s a little vindictive voice in my head that says yes so I can tell her we did.”

Nick leaned in and tugged her hand towards his face, sucking the banana cream off her pinky finger. Her laugh was breathy and then she stared at him lustfully.

“Do you want to tell her we had a slice…or the whole pie?” he asked mischievously.

Tallulah was speechless for a moment and then guided his hand that was still on her arm to the pie, dipping his pointer finger in. She brought it to her face and put it in her mouth slowly swirling her tongue around the outside if it before she sucked firmly on the tip. Nick let out a low moan and closed his eyes.

“The whole god damned pie…” she breathed in his ear.