The Next Phase of Life by Charmaine R. Parker

Author:Charmaine R. Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster

23

Ex-capade

Marco leaned back in his recliner and flicked on the remote, then searched for a show or movie to catch his interest. He had prepared dinner for Tai and was eager to discover how she would rate him in the kitchen. After all, he would be graded by an accomplished chef. Tai had mad cooking skills.

He had decided he would give it a try as he was used to living alone and if not dining out, he would attack his fridge for cold cuts or leftovers; or his freezer for microwave meals. Since dating Tai, he’d become spoiled with homemade dishes. He had bought a cookbook touting easy recipes and now the aroma of honey-baked chicken, and a broccoli and cheese casserole wafted throughout the kitchen. He’d picked up a cake from his favorite bakery.

The dining room table was set and he had lit two candles to create the ideal atmosphere to impress Tai. It was only his second attempt to offer her a romantic evening with dinner at his modest Silver Spring home, just beyond the D.C. line in Maryland.

Marco lived simply with basic furnishings. A long black sofa with earth-tone pillows captured his gardening lifestyle. A glass coffee table displayed home and garden magazines. Plants took more ownership than furniture throughout his home.

After years of a bachelor lifestyle, once changing women like he did his laundry, he finally was convinced that he had found his soul mate. He adored Tai: her gorgeous face and body, her amusing personality, her devotion to family and friends, her lifestyle and her brains. It was almost too perfect, he thought. But he never believed that any human should be put on a pedestal. While he never had expressed all of his admiration to Tai, he showed her with his actions. He refused to give her a big ego.

Marco had surprised his own self when Crystal had popped over last weekend. He had sworn to Tai during their mountain getaway that Crystal was history; the ties were severed. He’d assured Tai that their spat due to Crystal blowing up his phone was meaningless. However, Crystal was not an easy one to dismiss from his life. She had arrived about midnight, awakening him after he’d drifted to sleep in his den. Marco had been alarmed when he heard the constant banging on the front door. He figured it must have been an emergency as it was rare to have late uninvited visitors. When he looked into the peephole, he was stunned to see Crystal.

He politely asked her to leave; however, she continued to pound on the door. Respecting his quiet neighborhood, he reluctantly allowed Crystal inside. She was the epitome of a rag doll with her frazzled hair and disheveled clothes; she looked as if she’d crept from an alley. She confided that she’d had sleepless nights and couldn’t survive without him in her life. She reeked of alcohol and Marco was concerned that she had driven to his home under the influence. When they had dated, she never appeared “drunk,” and could hold her own when it came to drinking.

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