A Wife for Stephen by Valcine Brown Read Free Book Online

the couple makes their way to
Stephen’s table to join him. Stephen waits patiently for
Mario
to
get
Jenny
situated before
entering into
a
conversation
in
which
he
intends
to
gain
as
much
knowledge as possible about Celeste Brooks.
    The conversation is a friendly one in which Jenny is
telling Mario about her career. Apparently Jenny is the
owner and proprietor of a beauty salon and has a faithful
clientele. Stephen is afforded the opportunity to find out
more about Celeste when Jenny starts to talk about her
childhood with Celeste.
“So, you’ve known Celeste quite a while, then?”
    Stephen asks.
“Yes, since junior high school.”
“But, you two seem to be so different from each other.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that we’re all that different. She is
    my best friend after all.”
“I just mean that while you chose to stay, she, on the
other hand, couldn’t get out of here fast enough. I must
admit, I am perplexed. I’ve never been shunned by a
woman before,” Stephen confesses.
“Don’t take it personal. Sometimes life’s experiences
can make us rough around the edges, but if anyone would
dare to nudge just a little bit closer, he would soon find out
how warm the heart is.”
“Since we’re being honest, I don’t mind telling you that
I would really like to get to know Celeste better, but she
shut me down.”
“She didn’t actually shut you down. It was more like she
was shutting down the opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” Stephen asks in bewilderment.
“No offense, but is he always this slow or did he just get
off the short yellow bus?” she says to Mario before
continuing to speak to Stephen directly, “I’ve already said
much more than I should have.” Jenny pauses for a second
before saying; “I will say one more thing, though. Celeste is
a
special
woman.
Stay
close
but
not
too
close.
Be
persistent but not too persistent, and you’ll find out what I
mean.”
“I don’t even have a way of getting in touch with her.”
“I can remedy that. Give me your cell,” Jenny
commands. When Stephen hands it to Jenny, she inputs
Celeste’s home and cell number. “Give her a call, and I
mean soon. If you wait too long, she won’t take you
seriously.”
“Thanks Jenny,” Stephen says as he takes his phone
back from Jenny’s hand. “Good looking out.”
“Oh, I’m not looking out for you. I’m looking out for
Celeste. Now, I will warn you. If you hurt her, you’ll
answer to me,” Jenny says with a glint of determination in
her eyes so fierce that Stephen thinks to himself that Jenny
is not a woman to tangle with.
“I won’t, Jenny. I give you my word,” Stephen vows.
“ That’s what I wanted to hear,” she says before turning
her attention and bright smile back to Mario.
A few more minutes of light
conversation
goes by
before Stephen decided to excuse himself and give the
couple some time to themselves. Rising from his chair he
says, “Well, I’m gonna get going, Mario. I’ll catch you at
the studio in the morning.”
“Cool man. Drive safely,” Mario says as he rises from
his chair and gives Stephen a pound.
“And it was a pleasure meeting you Jenny. I’m sure I’ll
be seeing you again,” says Stephen as he shakes Jenny’s
slender hand.
The first thing Stephen does after he gets into his car is
to pull his cell phone from his coat breast pocket. After
pulling up the number that Jenny has put into his phone,
presses the send button and places the phone to his ear,
listening to the ringing. He is not surprised that there is no
answer. He leaves a message on her machine, feeling quite
unsettled.
Just as Celeste expected, the drive home was less than
45 minutes. As she pulls her car into the garage, she thanks
God that she has made it home safely and is looking
forward to getting into her comfy bed and getting a good
night’s rest.
Walking into her living room and turning on the side
table lamp, she sets her keys on the end table by the door in
the marbled bowl where she usually