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| VOYEURS BY BEESA |
CHAPTER 11 |
After their breakfast meeting in Téa’s apartment, they had adjourned to the office downstairs. Del had decided to bring Todd further into the fold and had introduced him to all the currently pending cases. It’s now mid morning, and Téa watches the men in amazement. She can’t believe how well they get along. Todd seems to share a similar thought process with Del, which is something that Téa does not share with her brother...their frequent squabbles about business and life in general are proof of that difference in thinking. She shrugs her shoulders and chalks it up to it being a guy thing.
Since they have finished up the immediate business at hand, Téa excuses herself. "I’m going to the studio. I want to make up a class I missed, plus take today’s class, so I’ll be gone a while."
"Okay, mija. I’m headed to the gym myself."
"See you two later."
"Bye," says Del.
"Uh, bye...," says Todd.
As Téa closes the door to the office, Todd turns to Del. "What studio?"
"Huh?"
"What was Téa talking about, when she said she was going to the studio? What studio?"
"Dance studio."
"Dance?"
"Yeah. Téa’s into ballet. Has been since she was a little kid. She got back into adult classes a few months ago."
"Oh, yeah. I remember her telling me years ago about how she took ballet lessons as a kid."
"Well, she doesn’t have to feel guilty about them now. She pays for them herself, so she can enjoy them without guilt. She’s really quite good at it, you know."
"No, I didn’t know that."
"She got all the flexibility in the family, I’ll tell you that much. Jesus, she lifts her leg over her damned head. It’s unbelievable. Me? I can’t even touch my toes when I bend forward."
Todd takes a moment to process the visual of Téa lifting her leg over her head. He shakes his head to clear it. "Hey, um, Del?"
"Yeah, man?," asks Del, as he locks up some file cabinets.
"You said you’re going to the gym now?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? To work out. Pump iron. You know...work out."
"You do that? Pump iron?"
"Yeah. You clearly don’t. Damn, Manning, you’ve gotten really skinny. You weren’t such a twig back when you were married to my baby sister. What happened to you? Did you start running marathons or something?"
"No, nothing like that. You’re right though, I am puny." He thinks back to Téa’s reaction to seeing David Vickers’ muscular body. "Del?"
"Yeah?"
"Can anybody join your gym, or is it some exclusive thing, you know, no ex-cons allowed?"
Del laughs. "No, it’s a junky old place. It’s right next to the police station, so there is a heavy presence of law enforcement types, but if that doesn’t bother you, you’re welcome to tag along and work out with me, if you wanna."
"Yeah?," replies Todd, surprised at the offer. "That would be great."
"Cool. It’s a good idea to have a spotter, and we can spot each other. That is, if you can handle the amount of weight I can lift...’cause I know I can easily handle whatever you can lift," teases Del, as he chucks Todd’s shoulder. "Oh, sorry, that didn’t hurt, did it?," kids Del.
"Hey! I’m stronger than I look!"
"Uh-huh. We’ll see, little man."
~~~
At the gym
Del leans his head back as he heartily laughs. "Okay! Okay! You’ve made your point! Damn, boy, you aren’t gonna be able to move tomorrow! You’d better quit soon."
Todd puts the heavy barbell back in the weight bench’s holder, with guidance from Del. He sits up and feels a little lightheaded.
"Manning, you have no common sense, do you know that? You can’t do it all in one day. It takes time to gain muscle, and doing too much too soon puts you at risk for injuries."
"Whatever. I know all that," replies Todd, as he wipes the sweat out of his eyes. "I played football in college. I know my way around a weight room, and I know how to lift."
"Mm-hmm. Well, Mr. Know It All...it’ll be fun watching you try to walk tomorrow."
Todd glares at Del for a moment, but he quickly notices the twinkle in Del’s eyes, and Todd can’t help but smile. "We’ll see about that, old man."
Del does a take at that. "Old man?! What the hell do you mean old man?"
"If the shoe fits."
"Yeah, the shoe’s gonna fit right up your scrawny ass, boy!"
The two men look at each other briefly, trying to gauge whether the other is serious and means what he’s saying or not. It takes a moment, since they don’t know each other well, but they both determine that they are both just kidding around, and they both laugh.
"Let’s hit the showers...’cause you stink," declares Del.
"I stink? That putrid stench is coming from you, man, not me."
"Oh, I beg to differ, stinky."
The two men continue to trade insults, as they make their way to the showers.
~~~
At a nearby café
Del and Todd enthusiastically eat the last of their huge hamburgers. Del leans back in the booth and pats his stomach. "That was some damned fine eating."
"Yeah, I’m completely full," groans Todd. "Want dessert?"
"Hell yeah! Bring it on. I want one of everything. I gotta take advantage of every meal that Téa isn’t supervising. She’s no fun, pushing all those vegetables and shit on me. Yuck."
"Vegetables suck."
"Preach it, man!"
"How about pie?"
"Oh, yeah!," cries Del, as he signals the waitress. Todd laughs.
Del smiles at the woman. "Yeah, my friend and I would like pies for dessert."
"Pies? Plural?"
"Yes," replies Del.
"What kind of pies and how many pieces?"
"No, no pieces. Pies."
"Uh, sir, are you asking for entire pies, not just pieces?"
"That’s right. Manning, you like apple pie?"
"Yeah, with ice cream."
"Oh, excellent addition to the menu!," declares Del. "Yes, two apple pies à la mode. Want yours hot?"
Todd nods, as he drinks his milk.
"Okay," says the waitress, as she raises her eyebrows and walks away.
After they finish eating their respective pies, Todd notices Del observing him. "What?"
"You’re still in love with her," says Del.
Todd just stares at Del, having no idea how to proceed.
"It’s okay, you know. It’s how you feel. There’s nothing you can do about it, either, which sucks when it’s not what you want to be feeling, huh?"
Todd looks down at the table. "Something like that."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Look, Del, I don’t really think you’re the person I should be talking to about this."
"Who else are you going to talk to about this, hmm? You seem a little short on confidants, but I’m here, and I’m willing to listen to what you have to say."
"Well, thanks, but uh, if I talk to anybody about it, don’t you think it should be to Téa?"
"Téa?! Oh, man. No."
"Why not?"
"Because, Todd, she doesn’t want to hear it."
"She doesn’t want to hear that I’m in love with her?"
"No."
"I thought chicks dug hearing shit like that."
"Sometimes they do...sometimes they don’t. This time would be a don’t."
"Why?"
"It’s too late for the two of you."
"That’s not true!"
"Yes, it is."
"I’m outta here!"
"Sit back down, Todd. I’m not trying to piss you off, okay? I’m just trying to clue you in to reality. Téa has moved on, for real. She has. She no longer holds out any hope for you as a romantic partner, or whatever she’d call it. You fucked up too many times, buddy. You only get so many chances, and apparently, you used up all of yours."
Todd is silent for several moments. "No."
"Yes."
"No, Del. Téa can always decide to give me another chance. It’s up to her."
"Exactly."
"No. I don’t believe that it’s over forever. No. It never has been before, why should it be now?"
"Man, I think I said that exact thing to my ex not so long ago. Sometimes, you just have to let go."
"Why should I?"
"Because...oh, hell. I don’t know...I don’t know," says Del, quietly.
"Maybe you should call your ex – Kate, right? – and tell her that it’s not really over yet, just like I’m going to tell Téa?"
"I’ve got a complication with Kate that you don’t have with my sister."
"What’s that?"
"Another man."
Todd feels sick at the thought of Téa with another man. He looks at Del and notices the hurt look in his eyes. "Let me guess, Del, she settled for someone safe and easy, right?"
"Yeah."
"It’ll never work. She’ll start to miss what she had with you. She’ll miss you and all your complications. Trust me on this one. That’s exactly how it is with your sister and me."
Del regards him for a moment, before standing up and putting on his jacket. "Let’s get back to the office."
"Okay."
The men walk along in silence, each deep in thought about the woman he loves but can’t have. After a few minutes pass, Del stops in front of an old brick building. Todd looks at him, wondering why he stopped. All Del says is, "She’s up on the third floor. Studio C. Be back at the office in an hour." Del pats Todd on his shoulder, as he walks by and heads for home.
to be continued...
