Free Away in a Murder by Tina Anne

Maybe I’ll change careers.”
    “You make a better living as a lawyer,” Frankie said.
    “True, and I love my money,” Pete said. “But my uncle does very well as a stylist. He was once even the stylist for that dead heavy metal singer, Misty Breeze. Such a tragedy, she was beautiful.”
    I looked at him. “Kevin is your uncle?”
    Pete looked at me in surprise. “Yea, how did you know?”
    “I used to know Misty Breeze. Next time you talk to your uncle tell him that Misty Summer says hi. And that I miss him.”
    “You got it.”
    What were the odds that Pete’s uncle would be someone I knew from the past? Wow. It really was a small world.
    Frankie was sitting on my bed looking at me. I could practically see the wheels in his head turning. I wondered what he was thinking. I wanted to ask, but not with Pete around. Anyway, that’s when the door bell rang.
    “Mom, you stay in here. We’ll talk to Marlowe for a few minutes. It’s better to keep him waiting. That way you don’t seem desperate,” Frankie said smiling.
    “I’m not desperate.”
    “Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to brush your teeth. Fresh breath and all,” Pete said. “Especially for the goodnight kiss.”
    The two of them went to have a turn at driving Marlowe crazy in the living room. I followed Pete’s advice and brushed my teeth. Although, wouldn’t eating kind of ruin the effect of fresh breath? Then I put the things I needed in a little purse that I hoped Pete would approve of, and went in to the living room.
    When I entered Marlowe and the boys stood up. Wow did Marlowe look good. He was wearing a nice button down shirt, grey dress slacks, and wing tip black dress shoes. When I saw him my heart skipped a beat. Wow, I hadn’t reacted like that when looking at a man in years.
    “Are you ready?” he smiled at me.
    “Wait,” Pete said. He walked over to me and did some last minute adjustments. “There, now you’re perfect.
    “Thanks,” I said to Pete. To them both I said, “Don’t wait up.”
    “We will,” was Frankie’s response.
    “Don’t be out too late or you’re grounded,” Pete threw in.
    “Good night,” I said as I closed the apartment door.
    When we dot to the car Marlowe opened the car door for me and I got in. I was impressed. He cleaned his car for our date. After he got in the car Marlowe started to laugh. I hoped it wasn’t at me.
    “What’s so funny?” I asked.
    “You’re son and his friend are very protective over you. They were asking me what my intentions were.”
    “Oh, wow. That is funny. And I barely know Pete.”
    “Oh, that’s even funnier.”
    “Frankie I can understand, I mean he knows the only man I ever dated was Frank,” I said.
    “Really? No one else? I mean even before Frank?”
    “No, fell in love with him in Junior high. That was it.”
    “Impressive,” was all he said.
    He didn’t mention his ex-wife and I was not going to push it. It was probably still painful for him. If our relationship grew he would tell me when he was ready. I’d wait.
    As we drove I enjoyed the view of the city. Adventure Planet was beginning to bring tourists in. This was reflected in the businesses here. Buildings were looking like they had been fixed up. People were walking the streets shopping, dining, or just strolling. And the city was beginning to decorate for the Christmas holiday season. There were strings of lights everywhere. The trees were beginning to sparkle with twinkle lights.
    Even some of the empty lots were decorated with holiday scenes. There was a manger scene, a Kwanza scene, a Hanukkah scene, and plenty of Christmas scenes and decorations everywhere. It was an odd sight for me. I mean there was no snow and the temperature right now was around seventy five degrees. I was having an “I’m lucky to live in Florida” moment.
    When we arrived at the restaurant Marlowe used the valet parking. Something Frank would never do. Uh, oh that was bad. I’d have to remind myself, don’t