Free Charley by Shelby C. Jacobs

front while I was waiting for you this afternoon. They’re of Jimmy and Randle?”
    I could tell Coach was beginning to find the story intriguing. And he had more questions.
    “Now what about this ‘privacy setting’ you asked the waiter to set up?”
    “The privacy setting … that was Martin’s idea…”
    “Who is Martin?”
    “The crime boss, I mentioned. He started coming to the Bar and gradually made it his home. He ran his crime syndicate from this booth. Anyway, we’ve kept it even after the murders; it makes things interesting for the tourists. Whenever he held meetings with his crime council, he wanted privacy from the public, so he paid for a privacy system of folding insulated walls around the booth. Potted plants outside the walls make it blend with the décor to become almost invisible. There is a concealed door escape route leading from the booth, through to the kitchen. The booth and the table are adjustable to give a roughly nine by nine room, not big, but big enough. He actually had some good ideas for his booth office.”
    “Sounds like a description written for a tour guide's explanation.”
    “Actually it was. The tourist business is big for us in the summer months.”
    Wilma knocked on the door and entered. “Dinner’s ready.”
     
    Wilma was a little slower than usual. I knew she was taking her time to evaluate this man. When she finished, she winked at me and closed the door to our little cocoon. I knew now that she approved.
     

Chapter Eight
    “Now where was I?”
    I took a slow sip of my Peach Sangria. At some point, I am going to have to tell him why I was so anxious to see him again. But not while we were eating. Maybe later.
    “Swordfish is good.”
    Coach ate as I remembered he had played, deliberate and focused. He asked me a question, but I suspect it was to give him time to eat the swordfish. “Are you a basketball fan or was Randle?”
    “We were both big basketball fans, and we would go into Memphis for some good barbecue, and then go see the Grizzles play. You were a joy to watch on the court. Your playing style was sweet; you didn’t play for your own stats; you were a real team player, and we liked that. You were always available to do charity work in the Memphis area, and even as far away as Nashville. And that was important to both of us. You were a great athlete who used your fame for others.”
    “Stop it, you sound like my agent. Makes me blush.”
    I continued deliberately. “You signed a program for me once. It said. ‘Til we meet again’ . I was a young woman, all full of myself, and I thought you meant it just for me!”
    “Who’s to say I didn’t?” Coach replied, teasingly.
    “When you left the Grizzles, we followed your career in coaching. Randle always admired you as a man because of your playing, your attitude and your charitable work. I’ll have to admit, I admired you as a man but for a different reason. You’re a good looking sexy man, and I developed a serious crush on you.”
    Coach stopped in mid-bite and tilted his head to one side and formed a tight smile. “Seriously?”
    “Yes, seriously!”
    Now the hard part begins.
    “I’ve got to tell you something. I was insulted when you hit on me that evening, but deep down, you really turned me on big time. I got over it of course. But when I found that program a year ago and opened to the photos you signed, those feelings started again. I even started having fantasy dreams about you.”
    “No way.”
    “Yes every way. I had to see you again and find out what kind of man you’ve become. To tell you the truth, I really wanted to see if the dreams I had been having about you come close to reality. So when the Chamber of Commerce secured the Coach’s Convention, I decided this would be my opportunity to finally meet you again. So I arranged for you to be directed to Jimmy’s and to my table.”
    “So Roberto and your maître d' are both your henchmen in this scheme?”
    “Yes