Free It Had Been Years by Michael Malflic Page B

I refuse? I’ll have strawberry sauce on the side” she said pulling a gym back out of the trunk while Vince gave the Valet  his room number and a few dollars tip for tolerating them being parked there.  Vincent handed her a room key and he picked up the house phone on the way in and ordered their dessert… two pieces of cheese cake and as many quarts of strawberry sauce as they could spare.  Walking down the hall with two bottles of water in hand toward the elevator as she let herself in to see a two bedroom suite with a living room filled with fresh flowers.  She thought they were standard fare for such a room, but he in fact had the room filled with flowers just for her.  Vincent followed moments after finding her in a pair of gray sweat pants, a tank top and in the process of taking her makeup off.  They had been friends for too long to worry about such things as make up.  Shortly after the cheesecake arrived and despite being accused of being a pervert since two quarts of strawberry sauce showed up she continued to talk.  Vincent continued to listen falling asleep on the couch, she threw a blanket over him and headed off to one of the bedrooms. He stirred slightly, she kissed him on the forehead and he told her he loved her.  In truth he always had, it just was never meant to be, he couldn’t be like that with her. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Whispers and the Specter of Doom
     
    Life is often what you make of it and this Wednesday morning finds the Husker talking quietly on his new phone speaking so cryptically that you would have thought i t was a conversation with a CIA subcommittee, but the only security issue being addressed was the simple act of determining, the movie, the time and the theater.  Popcorn was brought up but and the secret speak ended. 
    “Get some if you want, but I hate that stuff. Good bye.”  Donna had asked how big of a popcorn she should buy, knowing damn well that he hated popcorn ,  Junior Mints were his guilty indulgence when seeing a movie. 
     
    When it is morning on the East Coast it is of course still night on the West.  Today was a serious one and dozing off at midnight and waking at 3:30am to start his day left even the rarely rested Vincent a little jet lagged, but today was a serious one and he was on the phone at 3:40 sharp back East.  It was the kind of day when he had to put on his big boy clothes, black suit, English Blue made to measure shirt with parallel double stitching on the cuff, and a big fat Windsor knot perfectly tied hanging between the wide spread collar.    
    Vincent takes a moment to collect his final thoughts, gently sets a note on the center of an otherwise empty floor where it could not be missed
     
    Deb,
    Make sure the bellman takes the flowers down for you to take home.
    The accounts still open, order breakfast!!!
    Tips are taken care of (so don’t give them any more money) and your fee’s on the dresser
     
    Had a great time, talk soon,
     
    V
     
    All of it was true except for the fee on the dresser part, there was always a little part of him that was a jerk, he thought it was funny, at times others did not, he didn’t fucking care what others thought.  Deb would laugh and later accuse him of not actually leaving her “fee”.  Occasionally he’s send an envelope with a 20 in it to her anonymously from where ever in the world he was.  She knew it was him and had kept each of them in stack figuring by the law of averages that he’d die before her and she could slide them into his coffin with a note that read “Finally Stiff!” to get the last laugh.  Had he known he would have thought it was funny but been too stubborn to die first.
     
    He collects his final thoughts and reaches for his briefcase passing momentarily in front of the mirror gracing the suites entrance, stopping to check the position of his tie, the part of his hair,