“Oh, I can’t stand them, makes me cry,” the older woman said cheekily.
“You’re lucky you’re not within my reach, Miss Cartwright,” she playfully warned. Ronnie poured the steaming hot chocolate into two mugs, then added mini-marshmallows. She brought one to the table and set it down within the young woman’s reach.
“I’m within your reach now, what are you going to do about it?” The intelligent executive realized her mistake a second later when small fingers slipped around her waist and began to tickle unmercifully. “Oh, hey now, heh heh, come on now, Rose, I was only joking.” She backed away out of reach of the playful hands. “You just wait…” she said between breaths. “When you’re out of this chair…I’ll get even with you.”
“Yeah, you and what army?” Rose was beaming at her, obviously quite proud of herself. “It seems to me I only need my two hands to defeat you, oh mighty warrior of the corporate world.”
“That’s because you know my weaknesses,” Ronnie replied.She walked behind the chair and put her hands on the smaller woman’s shoulders.
“And one weakness right now is that I’m starving. You want your steak broiled or sauteed?”
“Surprise me.”
“Sauteed you said? Coming right up.” She gave a gentle squeeze and went over to the refrigerator. “Oh, there are eclairs for dessert.”
“Sounds great. Maria always picks out the best food,” Rose said. “You were practically drooling over the chicken last night.”
“Another one of my weaknesses,” she said while retrieving the steaks and butter.
“I’ll have to tell your prospective suitors that the way to your heart is through your stomach.”
Ronnie thought to herself. “And what about you? What secret things should I know to tell your prospective suitors?” She watched as Rose’s attention turned to anything but her. “What’s that? I didn’t understand you.”
“Um…” Her fingers traced the delicate pattern of her doily. “I dunno,” she finally answered with a shrug. “I guess I never really thought about what I would want in a lover.”
“Okay, so think about it now. Let’s start with the basics: tall, dark and handsome. Now what else?” She put the steaks on to cook, grabbed her mug, and headed for the table.
“Well, I guess I’d want someone who was intelligent, thoughtful, had a sense of humor but was not a practical joker, no problems with gambling or drugs or anything like that.”
“Would be attentive to your needs and wants…”
“But not at the expense of their own,” Rose interjected.
“Right,” she agreed.Her eyebrow rose slightly. “Okay, what else?”
“Hmm.” The young woman tapped her finger on the tip of her chin. “Oh, well there’s honesty and trust. I’d have to know they would never lie to me. There has to be that trust.”
“Don’t forget that he’d have to be able to fulfill your every desire.”
Rose seemed to mull a thought over in her head for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know how our parents did it. Waiting until they were married to have sex.”
“Um, I hate to clue you my friend, but I don’t think they waited. I mean, would you buy a car without first taking it for a test drive?”
“Yeah, maybe that’s why so many trade theirs in after a few years.”
“I think they’re just looking for a newer model.”
“Maybe what they’re really looking for isn’t a car at all,” Rose offered nervously.
“Perhaps.” Ronnie took a deep breath and plunged ahead into dangerous territory. “Not everyone is interested in cars.”
“And that’s fine,” the young woman blurted quickly. “If someone would rather have a truck than a car, more power to them.”
“Whatever makes them happy, I guess.”Another thought occurred to the dark-haired woman.a“There are even those that like both.”
“Some people aren’t sure what they like.” Rose looked up for a split-second then back down at the table. “Maybe they thought they liked cars but now they think they want a truck.”
Ronnie let out a deep breath.“Um, well…t-that’s okay too. But I think they should take their time and not rush into anything because of what they think someone else might like.” She noted the nervous fingers tapping the ceramic handle.
“Especially if they’re not sure.”“Maybe they’ve only driven cars and now they have a friend who likes trucks. They may think they want a truck too but they really don’t.”
“So you’re saying they shouldn’t rush into anything, even if they really feel that they want a truck?” came the soft voice as green eyes raised up to meet Ronnie’s.
“Have they ever wanted a truck before?” As much as the metaphors were driving her nuts, the older woman did not want to do anything that might spook the obviously nervous Rose.
“No.”
“I think the best thing is for the person to just spend some time riding around with their friend to see if they really like trucks.”The smell of sizzling meat gave her the perfect excuse. “Damn, I forgot about the steaks.” Ronnie hopped up and went to the island. “Good, they’re still fine. Now you see why Maria doesn’t like me cooking.”
“Oh, I thought it was because you used every pot and pan in the house.”
“I see you two talk about me when I’m not around.” Ronnie smiled inwardly at the thought. “I hope it’s good things.”
“Mostly good things,” Rose teased. An uncomfortable silence followed, broken only by the sizzling of the steaks as each woman withdrew into her own thoughts. For Ronnie, the conversation revealed far more than she had hoped for. She looked over at Rose.With that thought however, came fear.At that moment Tabitha came bouncing out into the kitchen and Rose moved her chair to allow the cat to jump up on her lap.Deep down Ronnie knew she was right to keep things the way they were, no matter what her heart said. She had hurt Rose enough.