Free Running Northwest by Michael Melville Page A

there the first time. His mom had fun trying to embarrass him,” she said.
    Stephanie paused, shifted her position on the couch, grabbed a cookie from the table, and took a bite before continuing.
    “His mom and he took me to this bar called Captain Kirk’s on Siesta Key that they go to sometimes, to do karaoke. He sang to me in front of everyone, something by Frank Sinatra because he was a huge Sinatra fan. He took me to a different beach every night, slow dancing at sunset out on Blue water Key. It was amazing and truly romantic; we were the only ones on the beach,” she continued to say very thoughtfully as the memories she thought were long lost rushed back to her from somewhere deep in her heart.
    She noticed Karen looking up at the wall to her right at a framed picture of Sinatra that was hanging. She smiled as she looked at it too.
    “Is that why you have that silly picture of Sinatra then? Because I do not see you a s a Frank Sinatra fan sweetheart . And I know for sure that Jared wasn’t. He wasn’t classy enough for that,” Karen said, curious.
    “He wasn’t…never will be. Jared hated that picture and the music. Actually, Thomas bought it for me when we were down in Florida. I did not really like Frank Sinatra all that much; I was young and did not like old music like that then, at least not all that much. Nevertheless, he bought it for me anyway because he knew someday I would like Frank’s music…and he was right. Now I love Sinatra and that whole type of music: the Rat Pack, Tony Bennett, all of them. Thomas loved Frank; he loved his style, his voice, his class and his persona. He loved what his songs represented; Thomas was always a cheesy romantic. I kept that picture up to remind me of Thomas, but Jared never knew that,” Stephanie said as she looked up, smiling still at the picture while continuing, “Want to see something?” looking back at her friend who was amazed.
    As she slowly got up off the couch, she turned to look over to Karen who had not answered her yet.
    “Yeah, sure,” Karen answered, wondering what Stephanie was going to show her.
    “Okay, but don’t laugh at me,” Stephanie said as she pointed her finger at Karen in a warning fashion.
    Stephanie walked across the room, bent down, and picked up a medium sized box that was lying on the floor next to her stereo. She came back with it, sat back down on the couch, set the box in between her and Karen, and slowly opened it. Inside it was full of CDs and a few old vinyl records; the contents surprised Karen.
    “What are these, Steph? Why do you have these?” Karen asked curiously.
    “Like I said, at some point I eventually I became a huge Sinatra fan. These are all the CDs I could find of Sinatra’s, and also a few old LPs that I found at garage sales and used record stores. I had to hide them from Jared for years, because as I said he hated this music. I just brought them out a few days ago,” Stephanie said smiling and rather excited as she thumbed through them.
    “Damn Sweetheart, I never knew this side of you,” Karen said still surprised.
    “Yeah, no one does,” she replied quietly, “I’m sorry. Anyway, back to Florida.”
    “No, it’s fine. Really Steph,” Karen said smiling and mildly impressed then asking, “So after this beach dance episode did you sleep with him?” again with a raised eyebrow and a devious smile to go along with it.
    “Yes and no,” Stephanie said.
    “What the hell does that mean?” Karen asked, confused and sitting up straight.
    “Well, when we left we were not dating or in a relationship. We were still just friends like I said before. Of course, Thomas being the gentleman he is, he willingly slept on the couch and let me sleep on the bed in the spare room. I don’t think he ever assumed anything would happen while we were down there. His mom’s condo was gorgeous by the way.
    “That night and after a busy day, I think it was our fifth night there, we were lying on the bed in