Bonne Blue Eyes

Serena can walk out of the eye of a tornado without a hair out of place, although having her own Insurance Agency thanks to her father doesn't give her license to be rude. I felt my blood start to boil at her audacity.

But then, Serena has always been this way; all through school including Kindergarten; we are the same age and started out together there sharing a cubby hole. Serena is the girl with the perfect grade point average and wore all the right clothes.

Serena joined all the right school clubs and was always on the right school committees; her parents saw to that; as they say, money talks.

When we were thirteen, Serena and her groupies; Susan Smith, Lola Day and Becky Hopkins thought it would be hysterically funny to put my violin in the toilet of the third floor boys' room. Serena did the dirty deed while the others were lookouts.

I spent my first summer working in the family business to earn enough money to purchase my own instrument from the music store next door; it was my most prized possession.

That day was the first concert of the school year for the student body and parents. The band would be playing first, followed by the orchestra.

Needless to say my violin was found in pieces after the concert by Mr. Hyde the head janitor. It was waterlogged and smashed.

I had my suspicions and they were confirmed because in those days Lola Day had a big mouth.....the word got out through the grapevine and I told my Aunt Mary.

I sat in the kitchen with Mary as she telephoned the mothers of all involved explaining what was heard. They all were polite to her; assuring my Aunt they would question their daughters and get back to her; the mothers did; Serena and her groupies denied doing it. Lilly Day came right to the house with Lola to have Lola deny it in person. Aunt Mary wasn't satisfied and we scheduled a meeting with the Principal.

Mr. Francis Eugene Blake, Serena's father was there of course; he was the School District's Attorney. He insisted that the Superintendant of Schools be there with all the members of the Board of Education and my Aunt pretended to reluctantly agree.

Mr. Blake also insisted on speaking first and Aunt Mary let him. He questioned us girls one by one as if we were in a court room. We sat up straight and looked him in the eye.....it was all rehearsed for the other girls....that was obvious to me at thirteen as they denied doing it.

"Well, ladies and gentleman" Mr. Blake said "I speak for the wrongly accused children when I state there is nothing more to say.

There is no hard evidence merely hearsay. It comes down to one confused child's word against four good children from impeccable families; families with a proper mother and father to act as role models.

For all we know Bonne was acting out and did it herself to be the center of attention. There is no shame in getting counseling for your niece, Ms. Allaway and I can recommend several fine family counselors.

I'm sorry to have wasted your time, ladies and gentlemen; however Mary wouldn't take our word for it and insisted on this meeting."

"May I speak now? My Aunt Mary asked quietly.

"Yes, Mary, go ahead if you wish to embarrass yourself further. I'll give my summation after you finish."

"Francis, before the day is over, I'm certain the Board will insist you resign as the School District's Attorney. You've crossed over from the appearance of impropriety to outright impropriety.

Your summation indeed; you're so full of crap I'm amazed you haven't exploded by now."

With a look of confused embarrassed disgust, followed by panic on his flushed face, Mr. Blake abruptly fled the room; not making it to his intended destination as he loudly wet and soiled his suit pants on the way out the door.

"Well ladies and gentleman; Francis did explode. He appears to be indisposed at the moment. What a final summation! How embarrassing for him. I suggest you make an appointment for Francis Eugene to see a proctologist, Jennifer (Mrs. Blake) there is no shame in that."

Mary questioned me first and then the girls. They fingered Serena as the one smashing my violin and putting it in the toilet. They admitted to being her lookouts and admitted to being coached by Serena to lie to their parents.

Susan, Lola and Becky apologized to me in front of everyone; excluding Mr. Blake of course. Afterwards the girls were appropriately punished and Lola in particular.

Mrs. Day came to our house right after the meeting and couldn't apologize enough to me, Mary and especially to Mellissa who was in fact Lily's closest friend.

After that day, Lola was no longer a groupie; her mother and father saw to that. We actually became good friends the following school year and remain so to this day. My good friend Lola Day is now Lola Lambert who I called at the medical Center.

Mr. Blake resigned post haste as the School District Attorney.

It's my opinion that men are nothing but toys for Serena's pleasure; an ends to a means. Serena always gets what she wants.....not this time.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Serena and Michael will do. I'm taking a break from medicine today even though a few of the older parishioners I've been introduced to have asked my advice about their ailments, aches or pains.

I haven't attended church on a regular basis since college and now that I've heard Bonne play, I've made up my mind that this is the congregation for me."

I put my hand on his other shoulder pushing Serena's hand away to receive a look of surprised indignation. Michael took this all in stride as he put his arm around my waist and asked her "Did you enjoy the concert Serena?"

Before Serena could answer I interjected "Serena just arrived; no doubt pressing business at her agency prevented her from attending the concert. Serena is a generous contributor when the call goes out, Michael.

Did you know that Serena bought a block of 100 concert tickets to help purchase furniture and learning toys for our Sunday school nursery?"

"I had no idea and I must say that is generous and more. Since you recently arrived we won't keep you, Serena" Michael said pleasantly "I'm sure there must be dozens of people here you want to talk too. Please, don't let us keep you. Bonne and I were just going outside to get a breath of air..................."

I PROBED SERENA'S MIND AS WE SPOKE and this young woman has enjoyed a variety of men although I can't say that she's a bad person at heart. Actually Serena has the potential to be a really good woman.....deep down inside of her she wants to be; she's searching for the right man, although she is going about it all the wrong way.

Yes, Serena is bit selfish and self centered. She definitely has been spoiled all her life. She's very aggressive in her business dealings....a real go-getter in her quest to amass wealth and material possessions.

Interestingly enough, given her father, Serena is also scrupulously honest; a true advocate for her clients and she takes great pride in the fact.

She recently bought her father out of the business and pushed him aside in this aspect of her life.....very interesting. Bonne doesn't care for Serena much at all..................................

"IT WAS GETTING A LITTLE TOO WARM IN THERE" Michael said as we stood outside behind the church "and I surmise you don't particularly care for Serena Blake."

"Is that your diagnosis?"

"It is."

"Serena is a royal pain..... Michael, did you mean what you said about joining our congregation?" I asked hopefully.

"I meant every word, Bonne. Let me show you something" and he took the bracelet he wove from my red and green shoes laces from his pocket and slipped in on his wrist.

"Until I met you in the park I viewed luck as superstition or a random equation. I'm an amateur mathematician. In this endeavor I deal with facts, logic, statistics and science. Until I met you I gave little thought to romance or a long term relationship and now I'd like to explore both with you.

Logic, mathematics and science aside; this is Michael speaking from my heart; your music touched my soul, Bonnie. I closed my eyes while you played and in my mind's eye I saw you infuse your music with all the bright colors of your soul."

He kissed my hand....and felt tingles of pleasure were his lips touched it...wishing....wishing I had the courage to kiss him because somehow Michael knew I was playing just for him.....calling out to him with my music.

"I feel a strong connection with you, Bonne as you do with me" and what he said is absolutely true.....I wanted him to kiss me!

I find your shyness endearing.....see, you're blushing" and I was blushing, my face was warm and pink. I was tongue tied that Michael knew I was so shy, nonetheless I was first embarrassed and then relieved that he found it endearing.......I wanted to kiss him!

"I'll tell you a secret. I wanted to kiss your warm generous lips from the moment I first met you and still do."

I felt my face go from warm to hot and I was really blushing.......how did he know I wanted to kiss him? "However beautiful blue eyes I'm willing to wait until you're ready."

I didn't answer and Michael continued "With your permission, I want to see more of you. We can go as slow as you like. Attending services on Sunday is a good start. Will you do me the honor of another date?"

"I wondered where you disappeared to" said Mellissa surprising us as she carried my flowers and violin case to her Mini-Van "Serena seemed a bit distracted about something.

My guess is you Michael. Serena is asking all kinds of questions about you. Oscar is picking me up in an hour; we're going dancing. Are you two planning another date?"

'You'll probably spend the night with Oscar' I was thinking 'and I haven't even kissed Michael yet' and I mentally sighed.

"Yes, Mellissa" I answered finding my voice while thinking 'the heck with Serena!' "We're going for a walk and then get a bite to eat."

"That's wonderful, Bonne! Where are you going?"

"Delmonico's for steaks" said Michael playing along as he took my arm in his "We're going to walk."

After we crossed the street and were passing the library it was now or never "Stop walking" I said quietly, and thinking 'You can do this, Bonne, baby steps.'

"Close your eyes and keep them closed, please" I said.

"They're closed, Bonne. I'm at your command."

I put my arms around Michael's neck hesitantly....took them off and put them back again and kissed his lips lightly, once, twice....three times, and I was tingling all over "You may open them now."

"This is nice Bonne. May I kiss you?" And he put his strong hands around my waist and I looked deep into his green eyes feeling safe, calm and at ease with him. I wanted Michael more than anything I've ever wanted in my life and nothing was going to stand in my way......especially my shyness.

Michael kissed me once...long and deep. I felt like Princess Snow White being awakened from a kiss from my handsome Prince. Lo and behold; my spell of kissing shyness was broken in a flash of blinding light. It was banished forever like the wicked queen.

"You're not blushing now" he said smiling "it must be my kisses."

"Yes definitely your kisses and with the evil queen banished forever I can live happily ever after."

"Aren't you being a little hard on Serena? She not banished completely. We'll see her in church on Sunday."

"I guess I'm just being silly, Sir. Don't you get silly on occasion?"

"I don't have anyone to be silly with, Bonne."

"Oh, really; what about being fun and spontaneous or spur of the moment and just running amok?"

"Well such behavior is hardly dignified or proper for a Board Certified Physician. My idea of running amok is ordering white wine instead of red with our steaks but I'll do it for you."

"Oh, the shame of such unforgivable impropriety; what will the wine steward think of us? Let's find out right now" I boldly took his arm as Serena drove by slowly and then sped up as I waved to her.

"So....Serena drives a Jaguar" Michael commented "apparently the insurance business pays well."

"It's probably lease and tomorrow is Saturday. We can have a picnic by the canal and then go boating if you like."

"Boating?"

"Yes. My father restored an original Adirondack rowing skiff. It is hanging in the boathouse. We can have a picnic lunch on the water if you like. Do you fish? Oscar taught me how to fly fish."

"Yes and it sounds like a plan. We'll talk about tomorrow over dinner.........."

I DIDN'T GIVE BONNIE ANY TELEPATHIC PROMPTS OR SUGGESTIONS, yet in my mind's eye I saw her Aura brighten when she kissed me....one...twice....three times. They were shy butterfly kisses that made me tingle.....a totally new sensation for me.

I absolutely feel it to my very core; Bonne is my Aura's mate. I kissed her generous and luscious lips long and deep and our Aura's flared and mingled like twin Suns going Nova together...................................

I DON'T REMEMBER HAVING such attentive service in any restaurant as we had that evening at Delmonico's. Our waitress was right there and anticipated our wants almost as soon as we thought them. We sat in my favorite booth in the corner by the salt water fish tanks. Actually it was occupied but somehow Michael convinced the people to move to another table.

Everything about the meal was perfect. We shared two dozen raw oysters on the half shelf for our appetizer. We ordered three of the steak and lobster tail special. I had one glass of white wine and Michael two glasses of Sutter Home Pinot Noir. Michael ate two complete meals by himself explaining he has a fast metabolism.

We shared a single order of Delmonico's signature dessert; homemade vanilla ice cream with shaved dark chocolate, walnuts and pecans; drizzled with Cherry Hennessey Liquor and topped with whipped cream.....we finished our repast with a small glass of Anisette.

All throughout the meal our conversation flowed like the waves in the ocean. This wasn't as hard as I once imagined it would be. Among other things I learned Michael's favorite color is blue and he likes black licorice. He also does Math equations in his head as a form of meditation and relaxation.

Mary taught me to meditate to clear my mind; meditation is a wonderful stress reliever as well as helping me with my music. My favorite anything is dark chocolate. My favorite color coincidently is green, like Michael's intense green eyes.

We walked to the park to sit on our bench. From the time I was eleven it was my bench. I think of it as our bench now. We didn't talk at all and he didn't kiss me. We sat for about half an hour listening to the crickets and watched for the occasional firefly. Michael held me close....nothing more; it was calmly Romantic and exactly what I wanted him to do.

When it got chilly, Michael put his tweed sports coat over my shoulders and we walked to his older model full-size station wagon that was parked in the now mostly deserted church parking lot.

Michael drove me home and walked me to my front door. I invited him in for coffee however he declined, explaining he had a patient in intensive care to check on before bedtime. I was counting the minutes for him to kiss me again at just the right moment and he did.

He kissed me again, long and deep and I returned his kisses, putting my arms around his neck to keep him from getting away. I wanted this kiss to last until morning.

Michael gently took my hands down seconds before Mary opened the door. She had a knowing look on her face as we bid him goodnight. She ushered me firmly inside with her hand in the small of my back before closing the door and locking it.................................

I COULDN'T GET BONNE OUT OF MY MIND as I drove to the hospital. I've never experienced such overwhelming infatuation before. The weather forecast on the radio called for rain and overcast tomorrow with a 20% chance of sunshine.

I decided to fall back to plan B and call Mr. Chang. I wanted everything to be perfect for Bonne.

Ah, the advantages of being a telepath. Mr. Chang will drop whatever he is doing to prepare and deliver the perfect feast for us. The permanent commands I placed firmly in his mind makes it his pleasure to accommodate me without question.

Mr. Chang genuinely believes I bring him good luck and I do. He and his brother are fabulous cooks and their menu is outstanding. He is unaware that I've inserted compelling suggestions and commands into many of his customer's minds for them to dine there on a regular basis. I pick people randomly out of crowds. I do this with all businesses and establishments that I frequent.

This practice is used by most telepaths. We receive free merchandise or services and the customers we send them more than makes up for it; call it an undeclared commission.

At every opportunity I seek out a few drug dealers or criminals in general to compel them to put their ill gotten gain in the always strapped for cash City Mission Church poor box. This fine organization includes a homeless shelter, a soup kitchen and a food bank. Donations are vital for their continued success.

That's one way to take a bite out of crime and it keeps my Aura in balance.

'Bonne, Bonne, Bonne'......I thought, noticing a far away smile on my face every time I glanced into the rearview at traffic behind me. I was so happy I couldn't help myself. I half-heartedly reminded myself that love is an emotional state involving neurobiological and biochemical correlates in the brain.

As I concentrated on Pythagorean's Theorem to clear my mind, I was again distracted by the sight of my far away smile inspired by the lingering memory of Bonne's sweet warm kisses on my lips. Defeated I surrendered to bask in the thought of her.

I then scoffed at the explanation of neurobiological and biochemical correlates as I recalled Bonne's dimples when she smiles. There is no escaping the glowing epiphany that I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth......................

MY AUNTS WERE GONE FOR THE DAY; we were having a 50% to 75% Sale on orange and green ticket items and they insisted I keep my date. I didn't expect them back until after six in the evening so essentially we'll have the whole place to ourselves.

Michael arrived around eleven in the morning. The sky was overcast gray and it was raining steadily. The forecast called for more rain and drizzle; so much for our picnic on the water.

Michael was dressed casually in blue jeans, a red tee shirt, Bean Boots and a green flannel shirt that was unbuttoned and not tucked in. He had a rain parka and was well prepared for a day on the water.

I was dressed just as casually in blue jean, a Kelly green hooded sweatshirt with the same style rubber bottom leather top Bean Boots as Michael. I wanted to change into a nice dress for him, however he said I looked beautiful so don't bother when he took my hands and kissed them.

I showed him my boat though. While in the boathouse Michael suggested we attend a movie, return here, and order Asian takeout. We could picnic in the Gazebo by the breakwater weather permitting and then take the boat out after we ate.

While we were waiting in line to purchase the tickets, I noticed a black luxury sedan with dark tinted windows parked across the street. Disreputable people were going up to the window, shaking hands and then leaving immediately. It was obvious what was going on.

Michael said "I'm going to wait right here. Will you please get in line and get me after you purchase our tickets. I'll talk to the manager before the movie."

He stood outside and watched the drugs buys. He was very intent and serious showing no fear whatsoever; when I returned to get him the black sedan was nowhere in sight.