“The first snowfall is so beautiful.”
“This will be our first winter together,” Ron said. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I can’t wait to make love to you with the snow falling outside the window.” He nibbled her ear and she giggled.
“Behave in front of company,” she playfully warned as he opened the car door for her.
He darted around to the other side and hopped in. “Elizabeth, this is Ali Aziz. We go way back. He just moved up here from Atlanta last month and joined my construction crew. Best carpenter in the biz.” He chuckled and turned on the car.
Elizabeth twisted around in her seat. A hint of something familiar struck her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She supposed she was thrown off by the fact that he was older than she’d expected. A good-looking man, in the “I’ve seen the world” kind of way. Medium brown complexion, soft, almost sad eyes, sharp cheekbones that seemed to almost cut through his skin, full lips, and a broad nose. He was a big man. She could tell that much even though he was sitting down, and when he stretched his hand across the seat to shake hers, her fingers disappeared.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“You too. Ron hasn’t stopped talking about you. I feel like I know you already,” he said in a barely discernible southern drawl.
Ron slowly pulled off and headed for Delectables, the health food restaurant owned by Elizabeth’s twin daughters, Dawne and Desiree.
By the time they arrived the wind had kicked up a notch, but the snow had stopped. They hurried inside and were enveloped in warmth and mouthwatering aromas.
Desiree came up to greet them. “Hey, Mom.” She kissed her cheek, then turned to Ron and gave him a quick hug. “Good to see you,” she said to him.
“This is my friend Ali Aziz. He works on the crew. Ali, this is one of the twins.” He chuckled. “I’m still working on telling them apart.”
Desiree stuck out her hand. “I’m Desiree Lewis. I’m the cute one. You’ll see when you meet my sister.” She stuck out her tongue at Ron.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ali said.
“I was hoping you would still make it,” Dawne said, walking up to the group. “Getting pretty bad out there.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I’m Dawne. I’m sure my sister told you she was the cute one, but that’s the lie she tells everyone.” She extended her hand to Ali.
He laughed. “Ali Aziz. Nice to meet you.”
“Do you work with Ron?” Dawne asked.
“Yes, started about a month ago.”
“Don’t let him work you to death,” Desiree said.
He jerked his head in Ron’s direction and smiled. “Tell him that.”
“You’re gonna give me a bad name, man. Let’s get settled before you have them thinking all kinds of awful things about me.”
“Sit anywhere. You guys are our last customers for the day. We were getting the menu prepared for tomorrow for the spa,” Dawne said.
Desiree went to lock the front door.
“Let me know when you’re ready to order,” Dawne said, then headed back to the kitchen.
They took a booth and sat down.
“How long have you two known each other?” Elizabeth asked.
Ron and Ali looked at each other as they mentally calculated the years.
“A long time,” they said in unison, then laughed.
“I met this guy when he was young,” Ron said, hooking his thumb toward Ali.
“We both were. You were no more than a kid at the time.”
“How did you meet?”
“At a Black Panther meeting,” Ron said.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened with interest. “Really? Ron told us all about his ‘revolution days.’” She leaned forward, not wanting to miss a word.
“I was heading up a local chapter, and this scrawny kid comes in—”
“See, this is how stories get distorted. I was nevah scrawny!”
They alternated in their storytelling, making light of some intense situations with the marches, the raids by police, and the tension of those days. It was all so fascinating that the meal and two hours had flown by.
“You have to come back again, Mr. Aziz,” Desiree was saying as she collected the plates. “It’s so rare that this generation actually gets to talk to people who were in the midst of the struggle and what it was really all about.”
“Thanks for the invitation. I definitely will. Your place is lovely and the food was really great. Although I’m a steak and potatoes man, I gotta give it to you ladies.”
“This is our pride and joy,” Dawne said, looking lovingly at her sister. “It was a struggle at first, especially opening up right across the street from a rib joint.” The sisters laughed. “But we hung in there and now we have a steady flow of regulars, not to mention the work that we get by providing the food for the spa. We’ve finally been able to hire some help.”
“Nothing like having a dream and finally seeing it come true,” Ali said, his voice suddenly melancholy. He shook his head as if to dispel something only he could see and forced a smile.
Ron looked at him for a moment, then stood and helped Elizabeth with her coat.
“I’ll drop you off, Ali, after the girls lock up, since I convinced you to leave your car.”
“Naw, I’m good. I can make it from here. Why don’t you two go on with your evening? I can stay.” He turned to the twins. “If you need any last-minute help, I can pitch in.”
“Sure. We could always use some help,” Dawne said.
“Thanks, Ali. I never feel comfortable with them locking up at night by themselves,” Elizabeth said.
“Not a problem. I’m happy to do it.”
Ron clapped him on the back. “Okay, take care of our girls and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sure thing. And really nice meeting you, Elizabeth.”
“You too.”
Elizabeth kissed and hugged her daughters goodbye, then went out to meet the biting wind with Ron’s arm wrapped securely around her.
“I can’t wait to get you home,” Ron murmured. “It took all I had to concentrate on my food and conversation with you sitting right across from me looking like dessert. And, woman, every time you ran your tongue across your lips…” He tossed his head back and groaned deep in his throat.
“Ron, you’re crazy!”
“Crazy about you.” He pulled up in front of the building and turned to her. “You know that, don’t you?”
She swallowed and nodded her head, unsure of her voice.
“Good. Now come on so I can show you just how crazy I am.”
“Your friend is really nice,” she said as they went inside.
“Yeah, he’s a good guy. Got some bad breaks, but he kept it together.”
“Bad breaks? What do you mean?” She hung up her coat and took Ron’s from him.
“Got locked up on a bad break, spent years in jail, and lost his family as a result.”
“Jail? For what?”
“Murder.”