It's Against the Law Ch. 03

I told her the whole story. "Do you know if he's out on bail yet?" I asked Bel.

"No, he's not; and I doubt that he'll be out anytime soon," she said. "The other guy, the one who tried spiking your drink, he's going to testify that Irv paid him to drug you, so Irv is being charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, for trying to stab you, as well as conspiracy to commit assault and battery. His bond is a hundred thousand dollars and his wife won't sign the papers to put the house up...so, it looks like old Irv boy will be in the clink for a while," she said never losing her smile. "Dave says the DA has a slam-dunk case and he figures Irv will get three to five."

I couldn't care less about Irv but I still felt sorry for his wife and kids. I also couldn't help feel sorry for Jean; as hard as our divorce was on me, it sounded like she was suffering even more.

A few days after talking with Bel I found myself with a couple hours to kill between jobs; I knew Jean would be at work so I headed over to talk to her parents. She had her own apartment but her folks didn't want her to be alone so they talked her into staying with them a while longer. They pretty much told me what Bel had, she was a mess. She went to work every weekday and came right home afterward; she never stopped for a drink with the girls, never talked to anyone on the phone, or went out for the evening; the only time she left the house on weekends was to go shopping with her mother.

I asked if there was anything I could do to help, short of taking her back of course, they said no. They were pretty confident; they had finally talked her into going for some grief counseling; between that and their love and support, they thought she'd make it through. They also expressed their regret for her actions and told me they would always love me like a son. That was nice to hear.

I reminded them that Jean would receive her copy of the final decree in another three weeks; they said they knew. I was happy to hear that they had arranged for her to take a week off from work and were going to take her with them to visit friends in Fort Lauderdale; Jean loved the ocean and the beach; maybe it was just what she needed to kick-start her life again.

As I left I wondered if I should do the same thing; just make reservations somewhere and go, the problem was I had a full schedule for the next several months, no way could I do it.

On the day our divorce became final I worked like a mad-man trying to keep from thinking about it; after work Jack and some other friends surprised me by dragging me out of the house and to a 'gentlemen's club.' The next thing I remembered was waking up on Jack's couch with his kids playing cowboys and Indians around me...guess who the Indian was."

The following month I received a summons to appear in court as a witness for the prosecution in the matter of The State of Illinois vs. Peterson. The trial only lasted three days; Dave was right, it was a slam-dunk for the DA. Irv was sentenced to three to five years in Danville Correctional Center, a medium security prison.

It was over, I could close the book on that whole chapter of my life now and move on, but how do you do that? I decided a vacation was a good idea; I went home and looked at my schedule again. In addition to scheduling jobs myself, I also had an agency booking work as well; they got twenty percent of anything they listed. Between the two of us, my calendar was full right up to September, several months away; oh well, better late than never, I thought, it'll give me something to look forward to. I blocked that week out and told the agency to do the same; now all I had to do was decide on where to go and what to do; oh well, I had a while to think about it.

Life became pretty drab after that. I'd have a drink with a friend now and then but basically it was get up, go to work, come home and go to bed. I didn't have much of a social life; I hated to even think about jumping into the dating pool again.

As was the normal for Chicago, one day in spring it was forty-five degrees, the very next day it was eighty-two and summer was upon us. Shit, I thought, Memorial Day is less than two weeks away and I hadn't made any plans. I usually had a backyard party with all our friends and relatives but it was actually Jean who used to organize it. My heart gave a little flutter as I thought of her for the first time in a while; I wondered how she was doing, was she as lonely as I?

I guess my friends had already assumed I wasn't having a party, so by the end of the week I had three invitations for Memorial weekend get togethers. Jack was having a small cookout on Sunday which was great because it left me open to also attend Carl and Judy Anderson's BBQ on Monday. I was hoping that Tracy would be there. When I arrived I recognized a couple of the neighbors but was disappointed not to see Tracy anywhere. I walked around with a beer in my hand talking to a few acquaintances from the neighborhood but felt out of place since everyone had a spouse.

Finally, for lack of anything else to do I volunteered to be the official griller; that would have been my job if I'd had my own party anyway. Carl readily agreed, so there I was, handing out hamburgers and hot dogs on warmed up buns to the masses.

I was flipping a new batch of burgers when something landed on my ear; I shook my head and flicked at it with my hand at the same time but it came right back. This time I swatted at it hitting my own ear. I'll be damned if the fricken thing didn't come back. I was about to slap myself silly in an attempt to kill the lousy thing when I heard some laughter behind me. Suddenly my whole day brightened as I turned around to find Tracy standing there with that gorgeous smile and a feather she must have found lying on the ground.

"Hi sailor," she said seductively, "having a little trouble?" She had drawn a small audience who were having a good laugh at my expense but I didn't care, my heart started pounding from just being near her again.

"Nah, any troubles I have are as light as a feather," I said trying to come up with something clever.

"Ah," she said nodding toward the grill, "You should probably turn the rest of those before they're as black as the charcoal."

"Oh yeah," I said blushing as I turned, "So how do you like yours done?" I asked.

"I'm not fussy, anyone of those will be fine," she replied.

I picked out the biggest one and a nice warm bun and handed to her. She thanked me and strolled off to find a place to sit. I found Carl and told him I needed a break. I took a burger for myself and found Tracy; "May I?" I asked.

"Please," she said patting the blanket covered ground next to her. "I hope you didn't mind me having a little fun with you but I had to get you back for stringing me along at the gallery that day."

I laughed and assured her it was perfectly okay; it must have been the first time I laughed in months. As the day progressed that one laugh was followed by many more; damn I was having a good time, I think she was as well; we just seemed to click. We talked about art, Photography, dancing, movies, and things we still want to do; one of the things on her future agenda was the Monterey peninsula in northern California. She had been there as a small child with her dad; she remembered the scenery as being breathtaking and vowed she would return someday.

I was really sorry to see the sun sinking; I wanted that day to last forever. As night fell and the crowd thinned I knew we would be parting ways soon. Should I ask for her number, or just stop in and see her again at the gallery? Damn, I hated being indecisive but I hadn't pursued a woman in many years; in this day and age did guys still ask for a woman's number, or was that too old fashion?

She was getting ready to go and I was stammering all over the place, completely unsure of myself; it must have been obvious because she took pity on me. She reached into her purse, took out a pen and one of her business cards, "This is my cell," she said writing the number on the back of her card, "I really enjoyed myself today; call me if you'd like to go out some time." She handed the card to me and said she was going to say her goodbyes but would see me one more time before leaving.

I did the same thing saying goodbye to the few people I knew and my hosts telling them what a great time I had and thanking them for inviting me. As I shook hands with Carl he leaned in close so no one else could hear, "You're the first guy she's taken an interest in, in a long time," he quietly told me, "Go for it." I smiled and thanked him.

Tracy and I found each other one more time as we were both about to leave; I walked her to her car; damn, I wanted to kiss her, even just a small one on the cheek, but was scared to death. Once again I think she read my mind; sometimes I imagine that's much like reading a fist grade primer; Tracy stretched up on her tiptoes and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Call me," she said as she backed out of the drive.

It was a four block walk home; at no point did my feet ever touch the ground.

The next day I was about half way through shooting my second assignment for the day when I got a call from Jack. "Hey, pal, got time to stop off for a drink tonight?"

"Jack, these days I've got nothing but time," I responded.

He was sitting at the bar next to an empty stool when I walked in. "Hi, Pete," I addressed my favorite bartender, "Miller light, please."

"Coming right up," he replied.

"So, buddy, how are things going; how's your love life?" asked Jack.

"Huh, well non-existent right at the moment," I said.

"Man, you got to get back out there, Dalton; sitting home alone every night is for the birds. You're a good looking, successful guy with a great personality; use it, man. What about that girl from the gallery you were telling me about?" He saw the smile spread across my face. "Uh huh, so there is some interest there; have you seen her since that day at the gallery?"

"I saw her yesterday, as a matter of fact. Her brother invited me to a BBQ and she was there. She really is a terrific woman, we talked all day long and never ran out of things to say," I told him.

"Have you asked her out yet?"

"Nah," I said shaking my head, "I'd like too but...oh I don't know, all this stuff with Jean, I guess it's still just too soon to start dating yet."

"Bullshit," said Jack enthusiastically. "Look, I've never had to go through anything like you did but I would imagine it has to be devastating to your self-confidence, it's only natural, but that just means you have to get right back up on the horse and ride."

I didn't say anything; I just let Jack's words soak in; if it was only that easy I thought.

"Does she like Shakespeare?" Jack asked.

"Shakespeare, I don't know, that's one thing we didn't talk about yesterday; why?"

"Well, you like Shakespeare, I know you do."

"Hell yeah, I love it; what are you getting at?" I asked.

Jack pulled four tickets out of his shirt pocket; they were for the play, "Julius Caesar, appearing at the Shakespeare theatre that Friday. "The entertainment columnist gave these to me the other day. I'm not really crazy about it but Lynette is a fan; anyway, I know you love that stuff too. Why don't you call the girl from the gallery and see if she'd like to go; we'll double.

My mind spun around like a top; on the one hand it sounded perfect; on the other hand, what if she said no? I remembered Carl telling me she was interested and she did say to call her; should I take a chance? I looked at the tickets again then at Jack; he had a shit-eaten grin on his face as if he was saying, 'okay, asshole, let's see you talk your way out of this.'

Shit man, I was going to go for it. I had already programmed Tracy's number and the gallery number into my cell; I pulled it out and dialed.

"Hello," I could hear her smile right through the phone. Suddenly I got nervous again.

"Hi, ah, it's me...ah, I mean, ah Dalton, Dalton Conrad," I finally got out.

"Hi, Dalton, wow, that didn't take long...for you to call me I mean."

That sounded encouraging; I took a deep breath, "Well, I found a subject we didn't talk about yesterday and I...ah, well I was wondering if you liked Shakespeare... you know, Shakespearean plays I mean?"

"Are you kidding; absolutely, I love Shakespeare."

Jack must have heard her because I saw a big grin on his face; my heart started to go pitter-pat. I took another deep breath, "Well a friend of mine has four tickets to Julius Caesar this Friday night; it's at the Shakespeare theatre at Navy Pier; it would be you, me, my friend and his wife; would you be interested?" I asked now holding my breath. If she says no I'm going to die right here on the bar stool, I thought.

"That sounds like fun, I'd love it," she said.

I was waiting for a, 'but,' but it never came. I smiled and nodded my head, indicating her acceptance to Jack. "Fantastic," I said almost a little too exuberant. "It starts at eight..."

"Wait," said Jack poking at me to get my attention.

"Ah, hold on just a second, Tracy," I looked at Jack to see what he wanted.

"What about dinner before the play; could she be ready at six; we can go over to the Little General...do it up right," he said.

Damn, good idea, I thought. "Tracy, could you be ready at six? We can all go out for dinner before the play."

"Most certainly," she happily answered, "What's the attire for the evening?"

I told her to just dress nice, an evening gown wouldn't be necessary.

It had been my first actual date in many years. To say I was nervous was an understatement; I was glad Jack volunteered to drive because I'm sure I would have wound up on someone's lawn before the night was out.

Jack pulled up in front of Tracy's building and I got out to ring the bell, what happened next almost seems like a dream...a wet dream; in fact that's exactly how I would describe Tracy as she stepped outside; a walking wet dream.

Her silky blond hair hung loosely over her shoulders and softly framed those sparkling blue eyes of hers. The fabric of her short, off the shoulder, blue dress showed just the right amount of cleavage and hugged every curve like a formula one at Indy. She literally took my breath away.

"Tracy, you look absolutely stunning." I said. She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Dalton, I'm glad you called, I'm looking forward to tonight," she said.

Jack and Lynette got out of the car for the introductions. I had to laugh as we were all getting back in the car, "Put your eyes back in your head," I heard Lynette quietly tell Jack with a playful slap on the arm.

Dinner was great with lots and laughs and good conversation. Tracy was so gracious, that by the time we were done with our meals, you'd think we'd all been friends for years. I could tell Jack and Lynette felt the same way and really liked her.

The evening had started out being unseasonably warm, but as anyone who's ever been to Chicago's lake front will tell you, it can get chilly in a hear beat. Half way through the play the wind shifted from the north and the temperature must have dropped twenty degrees in five minutes...it was the perfect excuse to show off my gentlemanly qualities. I took my sport coat off and wrapped it around Tracy's shoulders then put my arm around her; she snuggled right into me and we watched the balance of the play while keeping one another warm. I was in pure heaven.

As the evening was coming to a close, I got the impression Tracy hated to see it end almost as much as I did. It was a little after midnight by the time we got her home. She thanked Jack and Lynette in the car then I walked her to her door. "Thank you, Dalton; I had a really great time tonight," she said with a smile.

"Does that mean I can call you again?"

"I'm going to be angry if you don't," she replied.

As I said, it had been a long time since I'd been on a date; I was also a little self-conscious knowing I had an audience, but I had wanted to kiss her all night and I was going to give it a try.

My fear must have been obvious as I started to lean forward because Tracy didn't wait; she put her hand behind my head and pulled me into passionate lip-lock. Our tongues mingled as she pushed her hips into me. I must have blushed ten shades of scarlet when I realized she could feel my raging hard-on.

After the kiss I promised to call her the next day then started back to the car. "Dalton," I turned back as she called out, "Don't forget this," she said removing my sport coat from her shoulders.

"Oh yeah, thanks" I said taking it from her hand.

"You might need it," she said with a knowing smile and a wink. Anyone who heard her would have thought she meant because of the temperature but I knew she meant it would hide the protrusion in my pants. Damn, what a night.

If I was walking on air after the party I was on the moon after Friday night. We had six more dates over the next month; no sex, we were taking it slow and getting to know one another. We had returned to her apartment after a Friday night date when she told me she wanted me to pick her up at the gallery at five o'clock the next day; she said not to make plans for that night but she wouldn't say why. Well, who was I to argue.

I was there at five on the dot; she was just locking the door when I showed up. She invited me in and said she had a couple things to do in the back before we could go and asked if I'd wait just a minute. I walked around looking at the various paintings and was disappointed to see someone bought the other painting of her father's that I liked. I was planning on buying it myself.

"Dalton, could you come back here and give me a hand, please," I heard her yell from the back room.

"Coming," I responded.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled as I walked through the door; I was shocked, most of my friends were there plus Carl and Judy and a few others whom I didn't know.

"What's going on?" I spluttered.

Tracy walked up me with a great big smile and put her arms around me, "Happy birthday, Dalton," she said before kissing me passionately.

I had to think, oh yeah, my birthday was the following Monday. "How did you know?" I asked.

"I Googled you, honey, you'd be surprise the information there is on you," she replied. I called Jack and he took care of inviting your friends for me."

This was too much; Jean had a couple small birthday parties for me when we were married but never a surprise party, never anything like this; I also caught that she called me honey for the first time; I was flabbergasted. Most people just had cards but some even had gifts. I opened them and thanked everyone; Tracy kept hers hidden until last; it was obvious it was a painting but I didn't realize which one until I unwrapped it; it was the other one of her father's that I wanted. I had to literally keep myself from crying I was so overwhelmed.

The party would have gone on all night but we wanted to make sure everyone was sober when they left so Tracy called an end to it at eight o'clock. I helped clean up after everyone left. As we were finishing up Tracy had another surprise for me, "Dalton, I thought I'd go home with you and help you hang that," she said gesturing toward the painting. "Also, I have Angie opening in the morning so I have all night," she said with a glint in her eye. Angie was her assistant.

Wow, it was really going to happen; it had been several months since I walked into the gallery and first met Tracy; I remember my heart skipping a beat but I hadn't dared even thinking about becoming involved at that time. Little did I know what the future would hold and that she would make me so happy.

Once we got to my place we actually did hang the painting, it looked great on the wall along side the other one. That's when I started getting cold feet again; I asked Tracy if she wanted something to drink; I thought I pulled it off as just being polite but I guess it was obvious I was stalling.