It was a misty Wednesday afternoon. I was sitting on the couch watching talk show after talk show, eating grilled hot dogs, and drinking iced tea. I hadn’t spoken to anyone all day and wanted it to stay that way. I was spending nothing time with myself and I actually enjoyed it, lounging around the house in nothing but a T-shirt and a terry-cloth robe. I was comfortable.
From my window I saw the mailman leave mail in my box. I got up from my warm and cozy spot on my couch and went outside to see what bills I had. Lately, I’d been seeing more and more bills, something I wasn’t used to. To pay my mortgage and utilities, I had been digging into the stash that I had been able to accumulate when O started doubling the money he gave me. For groceries and personal items like hormones, I depended on the rent money I collected from the tenants who lived in the duplex that Tariq bought me for my birthday. Tina helped out too, sending me money every two weeks. At times she even sent me new clothes and shoes, but that was because L.A. got styles before Philly did, so she said she was just keeping me ahead of the girls out here.
I skimmed past the junk mail and circulars and came across a cute decorative envelope with no return address. I went back inside, found my place on the couch, and opened the envelope.
Dear Friend,
You are a blessing from the Man up above. I remember when we first met. I was sitting in a classroom in Franklin waiting for the teacher to start the class and you came in and sat next to me. You smiled at me like you was going to holla at me. And I thought to myself, either he sees through me and knows I’m a guy or he thinks I’m really a girl and is trying to play the straight role. Either way, I knew you were gay. From that day on I took you under my wing and I taught you so well that later down the road you were better at the game than me.
Now, after seven years, you are all I have. You have been the only one by my side since. You have kept me level-headed and out of trouble and I appreciate you for that. I don’t remember what it was like to have a family because it’s been so long since I’ve had one, and when I did have one it was dysfunctional. It was hard finding unconditional love from a father who spent most of his life in prison, a mother who put crack before her own children, and an older brother who was too busy trying to follow in my father’s footsteps, trying to be a drug dealer. Anyway, it wasn’t until I met you that I found that love-that kind of love you get from a family. I probably would have been lost without it.
I have changed a lot since I’ve been in L.A. with Derrek. I am a different person. I forgive my family and I forgive the pervert rapist who introduced me to homosexuality. I forgive my grandmother who let me live in her house but who didn’t give a shit about me. And most importantly, I forgive myself for hurting so many people and playing with people’s sexuality. And that’s why I’m writing you. I want you as my friend to get out of the game. I want you to stop faking dudes out for your own sake and theirs. You know like I know that it is not fun being gay. Nobody wants to be gay. And to force that lifestyle on a straight man is wrong. I finally see that. There is a man out there who is gay by choice and would love to give you the world, so please wait for him to come along.
Plus, I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to you. You mean a lot to me. Also, Celess, please contact your mom. Be in touch with her, because you only get one. I know she couldn’t handle your being gay and cross-dressing, but at least do your part and keep in touch with her. You are her only child and you two only have each other. With all that said, I love you dearly.
Love ya, girl,
Tina
P.S. I know you are wondering what the hell Derrek did to me. The answer-he showed me what love really was.
Tina was right, I was wondering what the hell Derrek did to her. I closed up the letter and then read the invitation that was placed inside it. Tina and Derrek were getting married at the end of the month in Albany, New York. There were two round-trip train tickets stapled to the invitation. I sat back and reread the letter. I was trying to imagine Tina writing it. I couldn’t see her sitting down and writing a letter, period, much less those words. I took it all in, though, and started to feel mushy. I mean, I was happy that she was truly my friend and that she felt the way she did about me. Just like she didn’t have anybody else, I didn’t either, even though my family was alive. But on the flip side I was upset that she would come out of the blue and ask me to stop doing what I was doing. I mean, back when I was feeling bad about it she was the one telling me to get over it. Now that she found somebody and she was out the game, suddenly she cared about people’s feelings. So what did she expect me to do, get a job and start paying my own bills? Start frequenting gay bars looking for Mr. Right? Please. She had some nerve, I thought.
I put the mail to the side and finished watching my shows. I laughed at parts that weren’t even funny, trying to keep my mind off of Tina’s letter. I tried pushing it to the back of my mind. But it was impossible.
Who was she to tell me to reconcile with my mom when she lived with her grandmom for I don’t know how many years without even saying hi and good-bye? She was the one who told me to hell with my mom when I cried for three days straight after she told me she didn’t have a son anymore. And she said she forgave her grandmom. For what? Her grandmom didn’t do anything except let her do anything she wanted to.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Tina’s letter off my mind. It was tripping me out and I wanted bad to call her, but I knew I wouldn’t have had the heart to say to her any of what I was thinking. So fuck it, I thought. Fuck the letter and fuck how she felt. Fuck her being a new person. I wasn’t about to have food taken out of my mouth because she found her conscience. And when did the wizard start giving out consciences, anyway? Shit, she should have gotten a brain, because she must be real stupid if she thought I was getting out the game.
It took about a week for me to completely get over the message I got from Tina, and I had to take yoga classes to do it. I just took the letter for what it was worth. In the meantime, I developed a love for yoga. It not only took my mind off of things, but it also occupied my time, which I had a lot of since I was without a man.
“Now breathe,” Debbie, the yoga instructor, said softly.
I was stretched across the floor surrounded by about seven women and two men. We were all in tights and T-shirts. I wore my T-shirt to the middle of my thighs, unlike the other women, who wore baby Ts or sports bras.
“Now pull…Now release.”
The room was completely silent except for the deep breaths. Everyone was concentrating and in their own worlds. It was calming.
“Okay, class, that’s our time,” Debbie said as she slid from her lying position to her knees.
“I’ll see some of you Friday and the rest of you next week.”
After class we all gathered our belongings and scattered. As I left, one of the women, someone new to the class, approached me.
“Great class, I can always go for yoga.”
“Yeah, it definitely does your body good,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“Yeah, forget about milk, right?” the pale-skinned lady said, winking a big green eye. “I’m Sue Ellen.” She freed her hand from her gym bag to give me a shake.
“Celess,” I said. “Nice to meet you.”
“So how long have you been taking this class? Is the instructor any good?” Sue Ellen asked with a smile. She seemed happier than any average person on any average day.
“For about two weeks now, and yeah, she’s pretty good.”
“Well, uh, listen, I’m headed to Reading Terminal for lunch, you wanna join me?”
I was hungry, so even though Sue Ellen struck me as one of those types who could get on your nerves with all of her talking, I accepted the invitation. I figured a little lunch couldn’t hurt.
Sue Ellen and I walked a few short blocks to Reading Terminal. Center City’s streets were crowded and busy, since it was lunch hour. Inside Reading Terminal, which looked like a mall food court, we got our orders, then grabbed seats at one of the few tables available.
I was happily putting a dent into my cheeseburger and paused when I realized Sue Ellen was looking at me the entire time.
“Here I am eating a cucumber salad and looking like a house and you’re chomping down on a cheeseburger with the works looking like a model. How is that?”
I smiled and said, “Genetics,” and continued chewing.
Sue Ellen kept her eye on me throughout lunch. I thought maybe that’s what white people do and overlooked it. Occasionally I would look up at her and smile. Then I decided to stir up a conversation about class.
“So what gave you the urge to try yoga?” I asked, sipping my root beer.
“I was in a bad car accident a little while back and my doctor recommended it, you know, for therapeutic reasons,” Sue Ellen explained between chewing a fork-full of cucumbers.
“Oh, well, I hope it helps,” I said.
“Yeah, me too. God knows I need to get rid of my back spasms. What about you? Why did you decide to take the class?”
“Honestly, it was a mix of being bored and needing to get my mind off of things,” I responded.
I kept the conversation going to avoid the awkward silences and stares by Sue Ellen. Then, as we were parting ways that afternoon, I found out what her stares were all about.
“It was a pleasure, Sue Ellen,” I said, ending our lunch.
“Oh, believe me, the pleasure was all mine,” she said.
I was taken aback by her enthusiasm.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you again in class,” I said as I stood up from the table.
“Or maybe we can see each other tonight for dinner. I’m great in the kitchen and”-Sue Ellen giggled-“in bed.”
First I was speechless. Then I was motionless.
“Excuse me?” I asked as if I hadn’t heard her.
She wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up. “You know,” she said as she licked her tongue out at me in a seductive manner.
“Oh, my, um, Sue Ellen, I’m sorry, but you have me mistaken. I don’t date women at all,” I said firmly.
“No kidding? Well, I am sorry. It’s just that you’re so masculine, I thought…”
I’d like to have slapped the hell out of Sue Ellen, but I just laughed it off. It must have been the overgrown T-shirt and the clunky track sneakers I was wearing. Whatever, the incident with Sue Ellen reminded me that I needed a man.
“Hi, I’m responding to an ad in the paper, SBM looking for SBF-” I said reluctantly.
“Yeah, it’s me,” the deep voice cut me off.
“Hi, how are you? My name is Celess,” I said, trying not to laugh.
I was all giggly inside, like a girl being introduced to her first crush.
“Hey, Celess, I’m Michael. I’m surprised someone responded,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m surprised I was that someone.”
There was a pause.
“So, Michael…what do you do for a living?” I asked. Apparently I was going to have to initiate the conversation.
“I’m an architect. I get contracts for universities, hospitals, and things like that. What about yourself?” he asked, sounding professional.
“I’m a…yoga instructor,” came sliding off my tongue.
He caught me off guard. No man had ever asked me that who I was interested in enough to lie to.
“Um, that sounds interesting,” Michael said.
“But my ultimate goal is to open my own hair salon,” I quickly added to throw him off.
“Hmm, a yoga instructor and a hairstylist? Sounds like you’re pretty well rounded,” Michael said.
“I guess you can say that,” I said before changing the subject. “What part of the city are you from?” I asked.
I was trying to gather some background information on Michael. It was easy and probably very likely to be deceived when hooking up with people who placed ads in search of companionship.
“Well, actually I’m from Boston. But I live in South Philly on Columbus Boulevard. I’ve been here for two years now,” he answered.
“How is it living on that strip? It must get loud on the weekends with all those nightclubs.”
“Actually, it doesn’t. For starters, I’m on the twenty-fourth floor, so-”
I cut him off and said, “Oh, you’re in those lofts down there on the water. You must have an amazing view.”
“I do, yes. I see the Delaware River from my living room and the skyline from my bedroom. It’s something to see at night.
“What about you? Where do you stay?” Michael turned the interrogation on me.
“I live in a town house myself, right off of the main line,” I told him proudly.
“Do you have any children?” he asked.
It was funny how men first wanted to know if a woman had children and women first wanted to know what a man did for a living.
“No. Do you?”
“I have a seven-year-old son,” Michael said.
Although I was disappointed, I said, “Well, I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Well, he lives in Boston with his mother. My job requires me to do a lot of traveling, so we agreed it was better and more stable for him to stay with her,” Michael told me.
I was relieved. I mean, it wasn’t that I had a problem with children. It was just that I wanted no parts of a man’s baby’s momma drama.
“So, I’m curious…Celess, right?”
“Right,” I answered.
“What made you respond to my ad? I mean, I’m pleased that you did, don’t get me wrong. But it sounds like you have things in order. You shouldn’t have a problem getting a man.”
“If that is your way of asking if I’m ugly, then no, I am not. In fact, I’m very attractive. I would even bet that I look better than any woman you’ve ever dated, including your son’s mother,” I said with sass.
“Ohhh,” Michael said. “We’ll just have to see.”
“What about you, mister?” I teased. “Why did you even place the ad? I think that’s a more desperate move than me responding to it.”
“To be quite honest, I’ve been in Philadelphia for every bit of two years and I have not found one woman that I could see myself in a relationship with. I guess I do sound kind of desperate, then, huh?” Michael chuckled. “No, but really, I’ve been on a few dates, and the women either didn’t click with me or weren’t my type, or one time it turned out that a woman was with me for my money,” he continued. “So I placed the ad. Now tell me, why did you respond?”
“I responded to your ad because I’m tired of picking up men at clubs. Well, that and because another woman offered me sex today as if I had the words lonely and horny tattooed on my forehead,” I answered honestly.
Michael and I shared a laugh at our seemingly desperate selves. We ended up talking for about two hours, getting to know each other better. We ultimately made plans to have dinner the following day. I was anxious to see what he looked like and prayed it was every bit of the six-foot, brown, muscular description he placed in the ad.
It was a beautiful evening. The air was thin. It wasn’t as humid as it had been for the past couple days. Delaware Avenue was lit up and busy. I was dressed in a chic black BCBG shirt and skirt, with black leather BCBG open-toe stilettos and a black Gucci clutch. My hair was pulled back in a bun, and I went modest on the jewelry: some platinum and diamond studs in my ears and a platinum and diamond bangle. I wore a black flower on my neck, so a necklace was unnecessary. I was going for the sophisticated, sexy look. From the parking garage I took the elevator up to Hibachi.
“Hello, reservations for Michael LaBlanc,” I said to the hostess with a polite smile.
The short Asian girl scanned the reservation list. “Yes, right this way,” she said as she led me to a two-person booth in a secluded spot in the restaurant.
Hibachi was casual but classy. It had nice Asian-influenced decor. That night all of the attendees were dressed up and looked wealthy.
“You must be Celess,” Michael said as he stood up to greet me. He kissed me on the hand gently. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I said, smiling.
“I have to say, when you described yourself over the phone, I thought to myself there’s no way she can be this beautiful, but wow, you’re even more beautiful than you described,” Michael commented.
I blushed something terrible. “Thank you,” I said.
Michael was good-looking too, but in a different way than what I was used to. He didn’t have the cute-as-a-motherfucker sexy-ass thug look like O, James, and Darrell, and he didn’t have the mature, handsome look like Tariq. He had an actor’s look. His body was very well maintained and athletic. He had a perfectly shaved head and face. He was just all right in the face, even a little on the unattractive side, but there was something about him, his demeanor, his poise, that captivated me.
“Hello, can I start you two with something to drink?” the waitress asked.
Michael motioned for me to order first. He was a perfect gentleman.
“I’ll have a water for now,” I said, skimming through the menu.
“And you can bring me a flaming volcano,” Michael said.
The waitress punched our requests into a handheld computer and took off.
“You look very nice,” Michael said, looking me in the eye.
“Thank you,” I said redundantly. “You look nice yourself.”
“Thanks. Are you hungry? Because I’m starved,” he said, opening his menu.
We ordered our appetizers and entrées, and before we knew it we were ordering dessert.
“This has been a wonderful evening,” Michael said as we walked hand in hand out of the restaurant.
At that point I was a little tipsy off of the volcano Michael convinced me to order. I was full of laughter and corny jokes.
“An evening full of wonder, yes,” I agreed.
Michael laughed. “I haven’t had a date like this in a long while.”
“You and me both,” I said, stumbling out of the door.
“Where did you park?” Michael asked, holding me up by my waist.
“Valet, the only way,” I said. “Ooh, that rhymed. I should be a rapper,” I added.
I started searching through my purse for my ticket. “I think you had too much of my volcano,” Michael finally realized.
“No, that volcano had too much of me,” I said with sass.
I pulled my ticket from my purse and gave it to the parking valet.
“Are you going to be able to drive home?”
“Better than I’d be able to walk,” I said.
“I think you should let me drive you to my house until the morning. You’re pretty messed up,” Michael suggested.
“Are you planning on taking advantage of me?” I sang flirtatiously as I played with the button on his Polo shirt.
“Not at all. I mean, I’ll drive you home and take a cab back if you want,” Michael said.
“You don’t drive?” I asked, confused.
“Well, I do own a car, but I drive very little. Only when I’m going to Boston or somewhere far from my house,” he answered.
“Oh, ’cause I was about to say, you have to have a C-A-R if you want to be with me.”
“Isn’t it J-O-B?” Michael asked, referring to the song.
“Isn’t what J-O-B?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think I will drive,” Michael said.
I woke up with a pounding headache. I looked around the room and thought I was lost. I looked down at the bed I was lying in and panicked. There was no one beside me, but I wasn’t in my bed. Then it hit me. I was in Michael’s house and oh, my God, I was not wearing my clothes. I started touching my private parts to make sure they were still intact. I was in a pair of oversized shorts and a T-shirt. Who put these clothes on me? I wondered. I jumped up, still scared. Michael couldn’t have helped but discover my secret if he had undressed me. I tried hard to remember what went on, but the last recollection I had was in the restaurant. I decided to hurry up and get out of there, but just as I attempted to get out the bed, Michael came into the bedroom. He was carrying a tray with a large knife sitting on the edge of it. I didn’t look at his face to catch his expression because I was too busy keeping my eyes on the knife. I was nervous as all hell. And all I could think about was him chopping my penis off with that knife. I had to get out of there.
“Michael, please don’t, I’m sorry, but…” I pleaded as I eased out of the bed.
Michael looked at me, baffled.
“Celess, what’s wrong with you? I’m not going to hurt you. I made you some breakfast,” he said as he sat the tray of food down on the nightstand. “Here, let me take that. I was chopping onions,” he said as he removed the knife from the tray.
I paused. I was really trippin’.
“Promise me you will not drink another flaming volcano ever in your life. You’re bugged out,” Michael said with a smile. “Get back in bed, eat some of this toast. It should help soak up some of that alcohol.”
I did as I was told. I couldn’t bear to stand up, anyway. Michael laughed at my paranoia and fed me the eggs and sausage he’d cooked.
“Tina, I was so embarrassed,” I explained over the phone.
“What kind of drink was that?” Tina asked.
“The damn thing had fire floating on top of it. I should have known better,” I said.
“Well, thank God he didn’t try anything. He probably would have killed your ass,” Tina said.
“No bullshit,” I agreed. “I still can’t figure out how I managed to put on those clothes. He said I went into the bathroom and everything.”
“Shit, ya ass wasn’t that drunk. You was sober enough to know you still had a dick,” Tina said, laughing.
“I guess I was.”
“So, is he your new dude?” Tina asked.
“He proved himself thus far. I just have to see what his bank account looks like,” I said.
“Well, make sure you take precautions,” Tina slid in.
“Please, Tina, not today. I don’t feel like the get-out-of-the-game speech,” I said.
“Just probe him a little. Shit, he might be gay his damn self. Then you would have a winner,” she said.
Truth be told, I’d only been talking to Michael for a week and I was starting to catch feelings for him. I even invited him to Albany for Tina’s wedding. We made plans to go to the King of Prussia Mall and buy something to wear together. This was the test, I figured. I was on my way to the mall to meet Michael with not a dime in my pocket. I would really be able to tell if he was right for me if he splurged on me even though we hadn’t had sex yet.
“Hey, baby,” I said as I kissed Michael on his cheek.
He was standing outside of Neiman Marcus as planned. He was dressed in a pair of jeans with the faded look and a black collar shirt. He had on some black Prada sneakers. He looked regular.
“Were you waiting long?” I asked as we entered the department store.
“About ten minutes,” he said.
“The traffic on 76 was jammed,” I offered as explanation.
“It’s cool,” he said as he kissed me on the top of my head.
We walked through Neiman’s trying to figure out what we wanted to wear to the wedding. We were trying to coordinate since he was going to be my date. Once we agreed on a color we went our separate ways. We decided to meet in the accessories area in an hour.
I tried on so many dresses and skirts and nothing appealed to me. Finally I found the perfect linen dress, a sexy number by Diesel. It was pastel blue and fit to my body just right. It tied behind my neck and flared from the waist down, reminding me of the famous white dress Marilyn Monroe was wearing in a popular photograph of her holding it down.
“Is that what you want?” Michael asked as we were approaching the cash register.
“Yes, it’s the only dress in here that fits me perfect,” I affirmed.
Michael pulled out his credit card. He didn’t have anything to buy for himself, so I could only assume he was planning on paying for my items. I watched him in silence. The cashier placed the dress in a garment bag and the silver Manolo Blahnik stilettos I’d also chosen in a shopping bag. When she gave him the total he handed the woman his platinum Visa. He’s the one, I thought to myself.
Michael didn’t find anything in the tons of stores we went in, so he wound up buying an off-white linen shirt and pants set from Vizuri on South Street.
We packed up our bags and were headed to New York on a Thursday evening. It was cloudy and drizzling when Michael picked me up from my house. We drove to Thirtieth Street train station to get the seven forty-five departure to Penn Station.
It was a comfortable train ride. I spent most of it cuddled up with Michael. We arrived in Manhattan at nine fifty-two. We were both starving, so immediately after checking into our hotel we ordered room service. Michael came out of his work clothes and lounged around in his boxers, a wife beater, and some sweat socks. I changed into some pajamas from the Victoria’s Secret sporty collection. We ate so much and were so tired that we went right to sleep without having sex. I knew that it would only be a matter of time before Michael would ask for some. I was just waiting for that time to come.
“Celess, I am so nervous. I don’t believe I’m about to give somebody the rest of my life,” Tina said in my cell phone.
Michael and I were on the road, driving to Albany. We had rented a car on Friday. Tina had called me and asked that I talk to her for the entire ride. She was in her own suite alone getting ready for her wedding ceremony.
“Celess, what if I trip down the aisle or what if the minister says my real name because I had to give up my real name for the paperwork, but I did tell him that I wanted to be called Tina, so…”
“Tina, Tina, Tina, calm down. You’re just excited. Everything is going to go just right.” I tried to settle her.
“How far away are yall?” she asked for the fiftieth time.
“We just passed a sign that said we are seven miles away,” I said.
“As soon as yall get here, come straight to my suite. I need you, girl,” Tina said.
Michael waited in the lobby while I went to Tina’s rescue. Tina was sitting in a chair looking out the window when I entered her suite.
“Celess!” she squealed, holding her arms out to hug me. Tina sounded like a little girl.
“Hey, girl,” I said, hugging her tight.
Tina stood up and walked over to the dresser. “I’m so glad you could be here for this, Celess,” she said, glancing up at me as she rummaged through the top drawer.
She retrieved a small box from the drawer and handed it to me. “Celess, I want you to have this. Even though you are not in the wedding, I want you to wear this today so we’ll both have one on.”
I took the diamond choker from the box. There was a big heart-shaped diamond dangling from it that had to be at least five carats alone. On the back of the heart it read, “Forever My Friend.” It was beautiful. I had never owned so many diamonds on one item before in my life.
“This is beautiful,” I gasped. Tears were forming in my eyes.
“Don’t start crying, ’cause you gonna make me cry and it took too long to put on this makeup,” Tina said.
It was five-thirty. The wedding was scheduled for six. I helped Tina get into her gown. She looked amazing. It was a straight, form-fitting gown that brushed her ankles. It was white, of course, with diamonds embroidered on and around the bustline and on the spaghetti straps. It was very simple but very pretty. She wore a simple slide with a diamond-covered strap across the toes and a small stiletto heel. She carried a single white rose. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and she wore a Chinese bang that was cut neatly and even just over her eyebrows. Her veil was lined with jewels that matched the ones in her dress and shoes. Everything was custom-made with real diamonds. I took plenty of pictures, touched her up, and left her alone so that I could be on my way to the ceremony.
It was a little after six. Michael and I were at the park where the wedding was to take place. Derrek was already there, patiently waiting for his bride to arrive. Terry was there with a new woman on his arm. No wonder Tina had sent me two train tickets, I thought.
“Hello, Celess,” Terry said as he took his seat beside me. “Beautiful day out, hahn?”
“Yeah, very nice,” I said. “Oh, Terry, this is Michael. Michael, this is Terry, my brother-in-law-to-be.”
The two men reached over me and shook hands.
Terry finally decided to introduce his date. “And guys, this is my lovely girlfriend, Princess. Princess, Celess and Michael.”
She looked really nice and she had a pretty face, but I knew she was a man. It was just one of those things you could sense. Plus, her name was Princess. Only pets, drag queens, and strippers had names like that.
“Nice to meet you, Princess,” I said with a fake smile.
For some reason, I was jealous. I didn’t know why, considering I really didn’t like Terry and I had somebody who looked three times better than him anyway.
It was a total of fifteen people present for Tina and Derrek’s wedding-small and private just like they wanted it. There was no bridal party. There wasn’t even a best man or a bridesmaid. But that’s how Tina wanted it to be. Her exact words were, “No offense, but I want the emphasis to be on me and my husband and nobody else.” I respected that.
The ceremony lasted about a half hour and it went smoothly. Tina was so happy. I could see it all in her face. Derrek was her dream come true and she was his. The two of them were like little lovebirds. Everybody danced and mingled at the reception-all fifteen of us. Michael and I had fun.
“He’s nice,” Tina said, commenting on Michael. “He’s not who I’d expect to see you with, but he’s all right.”
“I know. I said the same thing,” I agreed.
“Well, have fun with him and be careful,” Tina said.
“I will, I will. You don’t worry about me, you go and enjoy your honeymoon,” I said.
“Oh, I sure will. Hawaii, Brazil, and Italy? I’m not going to know what to do with myself for these next thirty days!” Tina exclaimed.
I gave her a big hug and saw her onto the helicopter that had come to whisk the newlyweds off to the airport. I slid Tina an envelope with her wedding gift in it. Inside was $3,000 in cashier’s checks. It was the last little bit of my diminishing stash. I knew she didn’t need the money. She had just married a multi-millionaire. But I figured she could put it up. Rainy days do come up, even for wives of rich men.