Chapter 10
“Wait a minute,” Mariah said the next morning, “are we talking about the same Montana Hayes here? The one I know has never accepted a date from any man in this company–granted, she isn‘t any competition for the divas, but that is beside the point, and all of the sudden, she is going with you for coffee?”
“Charm of the Londonator gets them every time,” Paul grinned.
“Okay, either you gave her puppy eyes or fed her a line of bullshit. Which was it?”
“Uhhh…neither?”
“Yeah, and the Pope is Presbyterian too. Try again, PL.”
“No, honest, Mimi; I just asked straight out. I said I knew she didn’t ordinarily date co workers and shit like that, that it was only coffee, and she cut me off by saying yes before I could finish.”
“Geez, that is a first.”
“Yeah. Something about returning the favor for letting her stay with the girls.”
“You know, word has it around these parts that she’s really loving those kids. Then there is also the factor that though you can be eccentric at times, you don’t fall into the categories of being completely insane, gay, married, involved, engaged, hung up on your mother or you’re so fucked up, women in nursing homes or a one-legged blind chick wouldn’t even take you.”
“I may beg to differ on the completely insane part,” Paul joked.
“Yeah, but I would like to think of that in a good way,” Mariah countered. “So when’s the big coffee date?”
“Probably Friday. She’s got a light schedule that day and said she could sneak some time in. Shaun said she could stay with the girls since it’s her day off.”
“Let’s hope they don’t wear her out like they did yesterday afternoon.”
“Mimi, Mon and I are only planning to be gone for an hour or two. Jesus. How can the girls wear Shaun out in a short period of time?”
“We’re discussing a six year old and a three year old. Do the math, Paul. Kids that age would wear Satan out in half an hour.”
“Actually, that would be Brian, and he’d wear Satan out in fifteen minutes or less. Seriously, it should be a short date between Mon and me.”
And it’s Mon now?”
He shrugged. “Sabes que; we’ve gotten friendly.”
“In other words, you’re crushing. Yep, I knew it. And don’t deny it either, big boy; Ray Charles could see how you look at Montana, and he’s not only blind, he’s dead.”
“Jesus, Mimi, you’re acting like this is some big romance or something. She’s been good to and with the girls, she actually took the time to get to know me, and it’s pretty refreshing to have an intellectual conversation with someone besides a bunch of bimbos who don’t say much outside of “Do you have a rubber?” or chatter with a six and three year old that probably have no idea what I’m talking about.”
“Oh, you’re definitely far gone on this lady,” Mariah nodded and grinned.
“Will you knock it off? Oquela.”
Mariah squeezed his hand. “Honey, it’s perfectly all right. As a lot of us have said before, those girls need a mother. They’re going to be going back to school soon; at least send them home with some hope of that coming true after all this time. Reggie would have wanted it that way.”
“Sure,” Paul nodded, “but also remember it’s going to take one hell of a woman to put up with the three of us at once. Right now, let me get past this coffee date and I’ll get back with you, provided I don’t get a bunch of shit from Spanky first.”
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