A Slice of Heaven (Cupid's Cafe Where love is on the menu Book 6) Read online

  She really shouldn’t. She should think of Tommy and spend what was left of the weekend with him. Clarisse opened her mouth to refuse, but out popped, “Sure, I’d like that.”

  Clarisse bit her lips shut, worried that other unintended information might come out. Why did I just agree? Russel’s eyes lit with a merry light, and those butterflies in her stomach reminded her why.

  “How about six o’clock? That will give me a little time to do paperwork at the office, and still get home for a shower and change. Which will be casual, nothing fancy, just a nice dinner.”

  “That’s fine,” she said. “You’ll pick me up?”

  Russel nodded, and with an unsteady hand, Clarisse wrote her address on one of the napkins she was loading into dispensers.

  Russel stood and took his check up to the front register, where Katy met him and rang him up. He gave her a ten, and when she gave him his change, he went back to the counter and offer Clarisse a large tip and a winsome smile. “That’s for you. Thanks for staying late for me. See you tomorrow night.”

  “Bye,” Clarisse said, a little stunned at the suddenness of it all. Twenty minutes ago, she had just wanted to go home. Now, she had a date with someone other than her little man.

  “He seems nice,” Katy said, coming back from letting Russel out. “I’ve waved hello to him at the bank a couple of times.”

  Clarisse shook the cobwebs out of her head and narrowed her eyes at Katy. “You know him?”

  “Not really. I’ve just seen him around.”

  Clarisse knew better than anyone about Katy and her matchmaking ways. She’d seen at least five couples get matched just in the past few months of working here. “Really? And it just so happens that you ask about my lack of heat in front of the very person who could fix it?”

  Katy cleared her face, looking as innocent as possible. She’d been doing this for long enough that her acting skills were top-notch. “I had no idea what he did for a living. I just see him at the bank once or twice a week.”

  Clarisse’s face relaxed, but Katy wasn’t sure if she totally bought her little white lie. She found that couples did better if they didn’t realize she’d set them up.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s just one date, and there probably won’t be another one. He just feels guilty that I’ve been cold at night,” Clarisse said, a note of sadness in her voice.

  That attitude will never do. Clarisse, tall and willowy, with dark hair, a pretty face and a bright smile, attracted lots of men, but she had rebuffed all of them, politely, but firmly. Katy knew in her heart that Russel could be the one for Clarisse, but she needed a bit of a confidence boost.

  “I doubt that’s the only reason. He seemed very interested in you—as well he should be. You’re smart, hard-working, and beautiful. And don’t forget how you go to school while taking care of that sweet boy of yours. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

  “Maybe…” Clarisse began, pausing. “I don’t know what came over me. I was going to say no, but something stopped me.”

  Katy smiled. There was definitely hope for Clarisse and Russel. “I’d imagine that deep down you knew that a date out with Russel would be enjoyable. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, I guess.” Clarisse considered for a moment and then said, “I wonder, though, why he seemed so sad under all that charm.”

  “I don’t know,” Katy said, “but maybe he’ll tell you tomorrow.”

  “Not going to ask,” Clarisse told her. “I learned a long time ago that people will tell you stuff like that when the time comes, or not. Best not to ask.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Katy told her, as she unlocked the door again, and the two went out, still chatting.

  Chapter 3

  Russel got into his pickup down the street and drove to his office. It had been a long night and morning, driving all the way from Salt Lake. The week before he had gotten a phone call from Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. His mother had fallen and been taken there with serious injuries.

  She hadn’t been in his life much since he’d left home, but he’d kept in touch. His mom was a recovered alcoholic, and when he’d been at home, she really hadn’t hit the recovered part yet. Not that she was abusive, or neglectful, but she hadn’t been much of a mother to him since she had succumbed to alcoholism after his father died. He’d only been fourteen at the time. Old enough to fend for himself, but he might have gotten into less trouble with a more attentive hand.

  His mother had fallen away from all society when her husband died. Friends and family tried to help her, but the grief was too great, and she slipped further and further from everyone, neglecting her physical wellbeing and occasionally drying out long enough to try to be a good mother for her tall, gangly son, Russel.

  Russel was smart, got good grades until those last three years in school, but became rootless after his father died and his mother fell into a bottle. After graduation, he went into the Navy, learned the pipe and steam fitting trade aboard ships, and became a heating and air-conditioning contractor’s apprentice when he got out. He had worked his way west, leaving his estranged mother to her own devices in Utah, establishing himself with his work as an HVAC repairman, and finally starting his own successful business.

  He had dropped everything after speaking with the doctor for fifteen minutes on the phone, leaving his best friend and foreman in charge, and it had been a miserable week. Until today.

  Seeing his mother slide from unconsciousness into death had torn him nearly in half. He had always known she would drink herself to death and had steeled himself to the fact that there was no helping an alcoholic who didn’t want to be helped. He had tried, but she just couldn’t find enough will within herself to care or want to be better.

  Some people just can’t, the doctor had counseled him. The hospital shrink had been there for him too, helping him once again to understand that her death was in no way his fault. She had just quit trying.

  After arranging for a simple funeral service, attended by only himself, the minister, the funeral director, and one of the nurses who had cared for her, Russel had gotten into his car and driven all the way to Berkeley, stopping only for gas and a massive breakfast on the way. Finally becoming too tired to drive further, and a little hungry and thirsty, he spotted the sign for Cupid’s Cafe. He had been by it often on the way to and from his business and the bank, and had seen the owner in the bank occasionally, but had never stopped in.

  “Today’s the day,” he had said aloud to himself and pulled his truck to the curb. The tinkling sound of sleigh bells had charmed him as did the woman who greeted him, but when he saw Clarisse, the world paused a beat. Out of the kitchen came a beautiful, tall, chocolate skinned woman with her head held high and a polite smile on her face. She had grabbed a menu from a stand behind the counter and handed it to him, brushing a stray curl of dark hair from her cheek with the back of her hand. He had to remember how to breathe.

  As he sat at a traffic light on the way to his shop, he thought back to that moment. He decided that all he needed was something light, and a cup of coffee to keep him awake for the next couple of hours. But there was something about Clarisse that called to him. She seemed poised, confident, and utterly compelling.

  And when she had brought the pie, sweeping it onto the counter in front of him gracefully, and setting down a mug with delicious smelling black coffee, he had looked her in the eye and smiled, and she’d smiled back at him.

  He’d wanted to ask her out at that very moment, but held back. I don’t date, he’d thought. I don’t have time. Then, Katy had brought up Clarisse’s lack of heat. That made his blood boil. There was no excuse for a pretty woman and her young son to be shivering at night. He didn’t know what the problem was, but he’d get to the bottom of it. He set about to apologize and found himself asking her out. Didn’t see that coming. He wasn’t sorry about it, just surprised.

  He pulled into the long driveway, got out, unlocked the gate, and
drove the rest of the way in. He promised himself that he’d make the most of his unexpected date and treat Clarisse to a nice evening out.

  A single mom had a tough time. His mom sure had, but Clarisse looked like the kind of mom who worked even harder when times got tough. He respected that and wanted to make sure she had heat and a special night out.

  Russel got out of his truck, mentally reviewing his to-do list, making sure that Clarisse’s heat problem was at the top of his list.

  Chapter 4

  Clarisse got up Sunday morning and made breakfast for Tommy and herself. When it was ready, she woke him up and they sat out on the patio of their small ground floor apartment and ate it together. Tommy was an active twelve-year-old, having a hard time adjusting to being in a new school, but not doing badly academically.

  He had just started to get some height and was playing basketball, albeit awkwardly still. He’d improve as he adjusted to his new lengthy limbs. He had some friends, most of whom were good kids. The neighborhood she could afford was mixed in terms of both race and income level. Many of the people there were white, middle-class yuppies with no kids, but there were a few families with kids around Tommy’s age. Most of those stayed out of trouble, got good grades, and had gradually accepted Tommy on the basketball court. He was a natural shot, just a little awkward moving on the court yet.

  Dark, mahogany-skinned, like his father, he stood out on the court with the taller, older boys. It gave her a good feeling to know she had raised a boy who could stand on his own, not needing the approval of gang members or inclined to seek out trouble, like the kids of some of her friends. It was a treat to watch him play ball, knowing, as she often told him, he would get better. And taller, too. His father was tall but absent.

  Doing ten years for armed robbery at San Quentin, a robbery committed with friends after he got out of the Army. He was completely out of the picture, and she hadn’t spoken to him in years. Darnell hadn’t ever really wanted to have any part of Tommy anyway, not since he found out Clarisse was pregnant.

  Clarisse had finished high school and had given birth to Tommy in a Las Vegas hospital, where her upper-middle-class parents had paid for her medical care. They calmly explained that they loved her, would help her get through her first year of parenting, but she would need to become self-sufficient as soon as possible. They did not plan to give her what they referred to as “a free ride.” What that had meant, over the years, was that they helped her financially, getting her set up in a place of her own in Vegas, helped her find a job, and loved her and Tommy without reservation.

  Her parents were stern in their ways, and Clarisse understood their point. She too wanted to be self-sufficient and make something of herself. She’d finished a bachelor’s degree at UNLV while working in a casino on the strip, but the smoky casino floors had soured her to Vegas. She wanted a different life for her and Tommy.

  Her father was a Berkeley grad and suggested she get her Master’s degree. Clarisse had put in a lot of late nights, writing hundreds of essays, but the hard work paid off, and she had won enough scholarships to pay for her full tuition.

  Her father had been so proud that he’d offered to help her with her apartment payments so that she could live in a nicer area. She’d gone to work at Cupid’s soon after and was progressing slowly toward her Master’s degree. It had been hard, at times, but she and Tommy never wanted for anything, if she kept working. When she completed her degree, she planned to do social work, at least for a while. Clarisse wanted to help girls like herself, suddenly pregnant and husbandless.

  She and Tommy walked along the beach yesterday and then went to a go-kart track, to Tommy’s delight. He claimed he wanted to be a race car driver. Or a basketball player. Or maybe a doctor. She encouraged him to dream big.

  Then yesterday, she had met this huge, white man who seemed fascinated with her as a person. They talked easily enough, and he’d made her laugh with his clever comments. Clarisse was a happy person, and her nature was to try to make other people happy when she could. He had looked so sad, and so tired... and somehow, at the end of the conversation, she had a date.

  It wasn’t as if she didn’t date. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t date white men. She just hadn’t found anybody that quite suited her.

  Russel had been calm, kind, and confident, like her Dad. And big, like her Dad, and like Darnell. Darnell, whom she had fallen in like with, but discovered that he had no real feelings for her, or anyone, for that matter.

  Russel was the opposite of that, and because of him, they had slept in a warm apartment. Clarisse smiled, feeling all warm inside.

  And tonight, she was going out with him. To dinner. Oh, no! What am I going to wear? She got up from the table, patted her son on the head, and said “Time for church, little man!”

  “I ain’t little!” he growled

  “I’m not little,” she corrected. It was a ritual they played out every day. He prided himself on his grammar and writing skills, but they went through the same silly ritual every morning.

  “Alright, big guy. I’m going out to dinner tonight. I’ll make you a huge lunch today, and a sandwich for tonight. Mrs. Elsmore from next door will come by and check in on you?”

  “I’m too old for a babysitter.”

  “She’s just coming to check in on you to save your mother’s sanity. Humor me, okay?”

  “Okay,” Tommy groused, looking sullen and a bit put out.

  Clarisse reached a hand out and patted her son’s cheek. Tommy moved away, avoiding his mother’s touch. Clarisse suppressed a sigh. He was growing up too fast. If only she could freeze time.

  “You can watch TV until I get home, but none of those bad movies. Okay?”

  “Ah, I don’t like them anyway. There’s a monster truck show that sounds good. It will be fun to watch trucks squish cars.”

  Boys will always be boys. Before he could protest, she snatched him up in a quick hug, saying, “Sounds fun. Now, you go get ready for church.”

  Chapter 5

  Clarisse checked herself in the full-length mirror on the closet door, turning to be sure her informal dress looked right front and back, patting her hair into place just as the front doorbell rang.

  “Tommy, will you get that? I don’t have my shoes on yet,” she said, slipping into a pair of high-heeled sandals.

  “Hello, young man, is your mother home?” she heard Russel’s booming voice ask Tommy as she walked down the hall to the living room. Turning the corner, she saw him standing in the door and gasped.

  Russel stood framed in the doorway in jeans and a clean white T-shirt, a black leather vest, black engineer boots, and carrying a motorcycle helmet. It was a short-sleeved shirt and showed both his beefy arms covered in tattoos. It wasn’t the tattoos that made her gasp, nor the outfit. It was the big, bright red Harley in the driveway behind him.

  Seeing her outfit, Russel felt slightly pole-axed. She looked like a dream in that frothy sundress, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for a bike ride. He was torn between apologizing for not telling her how they were getting to dinner and suggesting he go back home and bring back his car. It would be worth it to see her in that dress all night.

  Clarisse managed to speak before he decided. “I… I can’t. I mean… I don’t… that is I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”

  Tommy, paying no attention to her, said “Cool, you must be Russel! Can I ride on it?”.

  “Well, not today, young man. Your mom and I have to get going. But first, maybe she might like to change into something a little more, uh, comfortable for a ride in the open air. It’s warmer this evening. I thought we could take a ride back up into the hills. There’s a great Mexican place I know, and…”

  Seeing the look on Clarisse’s face, he stopped in mid-sentence. “Look, I’m sorry. Maybe we should take your car. It’s just that it was such a nice night, I… I should have told you, huh?”

  “Uh, yeah,” she said, staring out at the red monster in her dr
iveway. “I might have picked you up, instead. Maybe my car is a good idea.”

  “Aw, Mom,” Tommy cried out, “You got to try it! It’s always good to try new things. Isn’t that what you’re always telling me?”

  Tommy never seemed to listen when she gave that speech to him, but now he could recite it back to her? Parenting wasn’t fair.

  “Maybe, just a ride around the neighborhood, Clarisse? See how it feels? I’m really a safe driver, lots of experience. You don’t have to worry.”

  Not wanting to spoil his obvious enthusiasm, or put a damper on the good work she had done raising her son to try new things—like spinach, broccoli, and yogurt—Clarisse relented. “Okay. I’ll change into jeans and sweater and be right back.”

  Clarisse turned, going to her room, but took a second to call out, “But not you, young man! No bike rides for you today.”

  After giving Clarisse a leather jacket to wear, Russel put on his own jacket and stabilized the bike so that she could get on. When she’d settled astride the pillion seat, he showed her how to adjust the strap on her helmet. Russel put his leg over the fuel tank and sat. In one smooth motion, he started the engine, hearing Clarisse let out a scared squeak. When she didn’t object further, he rolled the throttle to rev the bike, impressing Tommy with the throaty roar of the Harley. Reaching back, he took Clarisse’s hands and positioned her arms around him, motioning for her to clasp her hands.

  She hesitated for a few seconds. Then, her arms wrapped around him, squeezing tight. He chuckled to himself. Bikes definitely had their advantages. He rolled the bike down the driveway and turned into the street, slowly picking up speed.

  At first, Clarisse hung onto to Russel as hard as she could. They rolled down the street at an even pace. This isn’t too bad. He slowed and stopped at the stop sign, checking the cross street for traffic. He adjusted his weight and then pressed his back against her.