“Gosh, you’re amazing. How do you do that? I thought I was good but… man, how did you do that?” Janet said, awestruck.
“You match love birds and I know computers. We all have our talents,” he replied, grinning.
He got up, took her by the hand and went to the front of the florist shop looking for the owner. He found her making a tall arrangement.
“Okay, Mrs. Gideon, this should do it for you. If you have any problems let me know right away. Don’t want you falling behind again. The town can’t live without your beautiful flowers.”
“Oh, you’re sweet, Wes,” Mrs. Gideon replied, sticking a final painted daisy in place before turning to him and smiling.
“Um, Mrs. Gideon, I was hoping you could make a really nice bouquet for my girlfriend. Isn’t Janet pretty?” he said happily, putting his arm around her and drawing her near.
Again, he took the opportunity to kiss her. He really liked this little game, but what he didn't know was the effect it was having on Janet, who stared up at him dazed.
“Ah, young love! The best kind. I’ll make you something pretty,” Mrs. Gideon said.
Swiftly walking into a cooler, she picked several flowers, a bunch of Baby’s breath and some greenery. Within minutes she made a wonderful bouquet and handed it to Janet.
“You have such a wonderful boyfriend here. Don’t let him get away! There’s none better than Wes,” Mrs. Gideon said brightly.
“I think you’re right, Mrs. Gideon,” Janet said, smiling at him. She then held the flowers to her nose. “Oh, that smells so good!”
“Thanks, Mrs. Gideon. How much do I own you for the flowers?” Wes asked, taking his wallet out of his pocket.
“You know your money’s no good here,” she replied with an impatient shake of her head.
“Then here’s my credit card,” Wes said holding it out to her.
“Don't be a wise guy. With all the help you’ve given me with that website? Please! I owe you enough flowers for a wedding at this rate. Hey, that’s not a bad idea! See you in a couple of years, Janet,” she said with a sly wink.
“Wes, I’m starting to think we’re a bit too convincing,” Janet said after they got into his car and headed to the next place on the agenda.
“No such thing,” he said.
“I’m not so sure. Mrs. Gideon thinks we’re in love and that we’re gonna get married,” she said anxiously.
“It’s fine,” he told her casually. He reached out and grabbed her hand squeezing it. “Next is The Picadillo cafe. Mr. Frank is the owner and he really likes me because of my mom. She once put a character in a novel that bore a striking resemblance to him and he loved it,” Wes explained laughing. “The things that thrill people, huh?”
“Yeah, I say that all the time,” she said staring at his profile. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you. You have a really good vocabulary.”
“That wasn’t a question,” he said smirking.
“You didn’t let me finish. I was just wondering why, how’d you get it?” she asked.
“Why? because clients take you more seriously when they think you know what you're talking about and when you speak correctly. How would be my mother who used to read the dictionary and I kinda got into the habit, too,” he said, shrugging.
“You mean looking up words? Everybody does that.”
“No, I mean she really read the dictionary. She would pick a few words every day, learned the definitions, used them in normal conversation and use them in the chapter she was writing. She really knew how to have fun, don’t you think?” he said wistfully.
"And you do that too?"
“No, but I get the word of the day emailed to me. I’m prodigiously smart now. Prodigious was the word yesterday,” he told her smirking.
She laughed. “You’re so cute, especially when you talk about your mom. I just don’t understand why you didn’t have a girlfriend before…”
“Before you? Cuz I didn’t want one before. Now I’ve got you,” he said, happily.
She stared at him with a furrowed brow. “But I’m not real. You should have a real girlfriend. I think you deserve someone real special.”
“You think so, huh?” he said, grinning at her.
‘Yeah, I do," she said smelling her flowers again. "I’ll find you the perfect girl, Wes. I will! She’s gotta be out there somewhere. She’s just…. hiding.”
“You’re real enough for me,” Wes said gruffly. “Have you been to this place? Mr. Frank is one strange dude. You’ll see in a minute.”
He parked in front of the restaurant, but he grabbed Janet’s hand before getting out.
“What is it?” she asked, her big brown eyes wide in surprise.
“Try not to laugh at him, okay?” he said seriously. “He is what he is and not at all pretending or acting or whatever. He’s a nice guy just…a bit… odd.”
“Maybe I should stay here,” she said anxiously, when he came around to her side and opened the door for her.
He held his hand out to her and smiled reassuringly. “Come in. He’ll love you.”
“I don’t want to cause you trouble,” she said even as she took his hand and followed him to the door.
“You won’t.”
“Oh, Wes! I have been frantic!” Alec shouted as soon as he saw him come in.
Alec Frank was a thin, tall man with short, spiky hair slightly receding at the hairline. He had pale blue eyes and a pale complexion. This day he had donned a relatively conservative outfit, at least by his usual standard. He wore a gleaming gold lame shirt complete with puffy sleeves and frill at the collar and tight figure-hugging black leggings tucked into gold high heeled boots.
He lay on a chaise lounge by the huge bay windows overlooking the sea port in an ever-suffering pose.
“Well, I can get to work on your computer right away and you’ll be back in business soon enough,” Wes told him gently.
“What care I for the bloody computer?” Alec exclaimed pathetically, his British accent more pronounced than ever.
“But isn’t that what I’m here for? You did call me, said your computer’s hung,” Wes said, confused.
“Wes, oh, Wes! That is the least of my troubles. What am I to do? Vladimar has left me for another,” Alec shrieked, his head tossed back against the brocade-covered cushions and his eyes closed as if in mortal pain.
“Uh…your chef?” Wes asked, now decidedly bewildered.
“Well, yes, he was my chef, but he was also the love of my life. I am beside myself in grief!” he bellowed miserably until he caught sight of Janet lurking behind Wes. “Who is that?” he shouted, excited, and completely forgetting his misery of a mere second before.
“This is Janet Fummel, my girlfriend, isn’t she pretty?” Wes said happily. He bent down and kissed her.
This time she expected the kiss, but it still left her breathless. She couldn’t understand it, but she didn’t have time to ponder this for long. At that moment, she was pulled away from Wes and became encased in gold lame with a strong cologne assailing her olfactory nerves until she almost gagged.
“You’ve come to ease my pain. How lovely of you, dear, sweet child,” he said hugging her right off her feet. He put her down and looked critically at her for a long moment. “You are pretty, but we can make you gorgeous with just a little rouge and some eyeliner and the hair needs some curl to frame the face and…”
“No, Mr. Frank. I like her just the way she is….all-natural, my all-American beauty,” Wes interjected, quickly.
Alec looked stunned, but reluctantly released the strand of hair he held in his hand, pursed his lips for a second and with a careless flip of the hand he rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
“Oh, to each his own, I suppose,” he drawled. He returned to his chaise and threw himself down. “Where have I gone wrong? My Café is ruined without my chef and my life destroyed without my confidant, my love,” he cried.
Wes glanced at Janet silently asking her for advice. “Um, should I come back some other time? When you feel better?” he asked.
“I will never again feel anything but misery. All is for naught,” Alec declared.
“Wes, go fix the computer. I’ll stay with Mr. Frank,” Janet whispered.
Wes gaped at her. “It’ll be fine. Trust me,” she said and for good measure she reached up on tiptoe and kissed him.
He stared at her, his heart jumping around madly. Then he grinned and kissed her again. “I'll try to be quick,” he mumbled then went into the office.
