“This is the only place in town to get ice cream.” Allison explained noticing my dismay. “Fortunately it is great. Look I think there is a booth opening up.” We moved quickly and grabbed the booth as soon as the two young gentlemen who had been occupying it stood.
“Good work.” I complimented her.
“I had no intention of standing outside.” Allison griped as she discreetly slipped off her high heels. “It’s not usually this busy during the week but with classes starting tomorrow everyone is out running last minute errands.”
“How can there be only ice cream place in town?” I asked in amazement recalling how small I had always viewed New Haven to be.
“Haven is a small town.” Allison stated simply. “There is only one ice cream pallor, one Chinese restaurant, one bakery, one drug store, etc. Every couple of years or so some big chain tries to move in. They never survive. Sometimes I think that this town is stuck in some kind of Normal Rockwell painting. After all of those years with the hustle and coldness of living in New York City I have really come to love the quiet of this little town. And if I get bored with the crickets chirping I can always head down Rte. 128 and go into Boston. And of course this time of year a trip to Salem is always a lot of fun.”
“The Witch City?” I could barely contain my excitement. “How far away is Salem? I am really looking forward to spending sometime there. The history is fascinating.”
“Salem is only about fifteen minutes away by car. I could take you there some weekend. I know which tourist traps to avoid.” Allison offered.
“I would love it.” I responded gleefully.
“Unless of course you wanted to go with Peter.” Allison added sullenly.
“Peter.” I sighed. “Here we go again.”
“Stephanie don’t.” Allison cautioned as she rubbed her eyes. For the first time I could see how withdrawn she looked. The dark circles under her eyes caused my heart to drop. “I mean it Stephanie.” Allison said firmly as she looked deep into my eyes for the first time since last evening. They were bloodshot. Has she been crying? What have I done? “Look I owe you an explanation. Well not an explanation really just that I should make a few things clear about myself. We have a few moments before our waiter will get a chance to make his way over here. Why don’t I try to fill you in.”?
I nodded in agreement anxious to have some insight into this woman who had captivated me. “You know about Chris.” Allison began slowly. “Well as I said this afternoon we worked together. What hurt me the most was when I realized that most of the people I worked with must have known that she was running around on me? To know that my colleagues just turned a blind eye to it and probably gossiped about it behind my back really hurt my feelings.”
“I can understand that.”
“What you don’t understand and what Maureen does not know is that in the end I probably hurt her more than she ever hurt me.”
“That I don’t understand.” Now I was really confused. Chris cheated on her betrayed her trust and left her open for gossip in her workplace. How could anyone hurt someone more than that?
“After we split Chris wanted a second chance.” Allison explained. “When I flatly refused she began to drag out our break up. We had lived together and there were details that needed to be taken care of. Chris was in no hurry to close our relationship. I don’t know maybe she thought given enough time she could win me back. At that point I just wanted out. Finally one night in a moment of anger I admitted to her that I was never really in love with her. That our getting together had more to do with timing than with passion. I know this is going to sound cold but she simply fit into my life plan.”
A wave of guilt rushed over me as I realized the cruelty of the situation. A cruelty that I was also guilty of with Peter. Did I truly love him or did he just fit into some ideal that I had been creating? “It was at that moment that our amicable break up turned very ugly.” Allison went on.
“So that is how Chris got the BMW.”
“And I got out.” Allison admitted with a deep sigh. “I know that Chris gets a bad rap from Maureen. But you have to understand that I was never really there for her. On the other hand she is not a monogamous person by nature. The worse part of all of this is that Chris and I had been really good friends before we were lovers. It has taken a long time but we are friends again. But we will never be as close as we once were. Of course it doesn’t help that every once and awhile she tries to hand me that baby won’t you please come back crap.”
“Would you ever go back to her?” I asked with hesitation.
“No.” Allison answered firmly. “It would be easy to do. Life with Chris would be comfortable. But she has the fidelity level of a Kennedy. It is not even that honestly, the bottom line is that I am not in love with her. When I walked out on her I knew that I wanted more from life than to settle.”
Thankfully our waiter chose that moment to arrive before I could further berate myself for the way I had been directing my life. “Would you like luncheon or dessert menus Professor Kendell?” He asked sweetly.
“Neither Vince.” Allison instructed. “I will have the Aloha Sundae.”
“Great.” He beamed. “And what would you like Ma’am?” He asked innocently as Allison choked as I mouthed the word ‘ma’am’.
“What would you recommend Professor?” I teased her.
“For you Dr. Grant I would have to say, you look like the kind of girl who would love the Sinful Chocolate Boat.” Allison blushed slightly as she made her recommendation.
“You are Dr. Grant?” Vince beamed at me. “I will be taking your course on the History of the Free Masons.”
“Good for you Vince!” Allison congratulated him. “Vince is pre-law but what he really wants to do is become the next Jack Kennedy.”
“An honest Jack Kennedy.” Vince cut in. “No myths of Camelot. Just honest leadership.”
“How was you summer in New York other than hot?” Allison asked the proud young man.
“Great! Thank you again. I really learned a great deal from Ms. Beaumont.” Vince gushed. “She asked about you a lot. She told me that if it wasn’t for you recommendation she would have never considered me. She runs the type of law practice that I would like to work for.”
“Good to hear Vince. Now go get our ice cream after all of the walking we did today we deserve it.” Allison shooed the youngster away.
“Yes Ma’am.” He responded brightly as he rushed off.
“You know Allison if that boy really wants to make it politics, he needs to stop calling every woman over twenty five Ma’am.” Allison laughed at my observation. Then she seemed to drift off somewhere. I watched her run her long fingers threw her raven hair. I could sense that there was something more she needed to tell me. For some reason she was uncertain. “So how old are you?” I said suddenly breaking the uneasy silence.
“Excuse me!” Allison gasped as she feigned false indignation. I simply arched my eyebrows in response. “Oh all right. I will be thirty six next November.”
“A Scorpio?” I purred. “I am purring! Am I flirting with her?”
“Watch it.” Allison warned. “I for one do not believe in all of that stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“You know the bad reputation that all Scorpio’s have. That we are mysterious and secretive and …” Allison started to laugh. “Okay so maybe some of it is true. And just how old are you Dr. Grant?”
“Thirty two.” I admitted freely. I never understood why women felt a need to lie about their ages. Perhaps my self-assurance stemmed from the fact that at times I could pass for a teenager. “You know the first time we met I would not have guessed that we were so close in age.”