Prologue #2
Skipping formalities, I got right down to business. “Rossi, I need you to get with Marsha as soon as possible. The youth center needs a new director.”
Bewildered, he asked, “What happened to Dahlia?”
“She resigned,” I voiced, void of any emotion.
“Wow.” His brow creased. “Did something… you know, happen? It’s unlike her to make such a bold move without addressing the staff.”
“Nothing happened. She decided to pursue another opportunity.”
“Well, what’s going to happen now?”
“Business is still going to go on, Rossi. The only thing that’s changing is the director.”
“That’s a big change though, Mr. Harvey, and it makes me sad.” He sulked.
“I’m saddened as well, and I’m sure her sudden departure will have that effect on a few people. However, the show must go on. We need that role filled expeditiously. I can’t afford for the kids to suffer.”
Two years ago, Dahlia had come to me with the idea of opening a youth center; a place where kids could come after school.
After scouring several locations, we decided to renovate an old recreational center in Vine City.
The crime was so bad in the city of Atlanta, we felt it would be a better location since it was central to several neighborhoods.
The center offered counseling, basketball, and football programs; we even employed a few educators to help some with their homework. During the summertime, we offered feeding programs and let them utilize the swimming pool.
The ultimate goal was to keep them so busy that they wouldn’t have time to play in the streets. The center was Dahlia’s baby and being that she was there twenty-four seven, I let her do her thing and played the background while focusing my attention on my other business ventures.
Now that she had up and quit, I was going to have to spend a few hours out of my day there to make sure things didn’t slip in her absence. It was imperative to hire her replacement sooner rather than later.
“I’ll get right on it. Uh... Mr. Harvey, will you be sitting in on the interviews? I can have Marsha reach out when she has enough suitable candidates.”
“I would prefer to skip the interviewing process. As soon as she’s narrowed the search down to three solid leads, she can email me over their resumes and I will make the final decision.”
“I can do that sir. Anything else?”
“Actually, there is. Get the staff together and have them meet me in the conference room. I need to bring them abreast before the rumors start spiraling out of control.”
Everyone employed at the youth center knew of my relationship with Dahlia.
I would be a fool to think that once they figured out she was no longer working here, they would assume it had something to do with our personal affairs.
It did. That was none of their business though, therefore I felt no need to try to clarify or justify anything.
What I would do is answer questions about what to expect going forward.
“The last of the staff comes in at nine. I’ll have them gathered no later than nine thirty.”
“Perfect. I’ll order breakfast to soften the blow.”
Nodding his head, Rossi slowly smiled before walking off.
Once I was settled back at her desk, I made lunch reservations and sent the screenshot to my intended guest through a text message. After getting confirmation of her attendance, I gathered my things, left the office, and took the trek down the hall to the conference room.
* * *
Leaning in, I pecked her on the cheek. “Sorry for my tardiness.” Rounding the table, I shed the black blazer I wore, draped it over the back of the chair, and took a seat.
“I figured you were tending to a business matter.” She smiled. “What happened?”
“Why would you assume something happened?” I countered, lifting the glass of water to take a sip.
“We don’t do impromptu lunch dates. For the past few years, everything has been planned.” A frown creased her forehead. “She left you,” she deduced after a long pause.
“And you gathered that from a sudden lunch?”
“Don’t play coy with me, Law. You’re never available for hardly anything. When it comes to her, you move carefully so… with this sudden change, one can deduce that she finally decided to stop chasing a fairytale.”
“She did.”
“When?” Adele queried.
“Last night. Walked in on her redecorating my living room with the autographed bat Derek Jeter gifted me the year the Yankees won the world series.”
“Ouch. That had to hurt?” she asked, baffled.
“The bat, her leaving, or the redecoration?” My head titled to meet her eyes. “I suppose all of it.”
“Did she offer a reason?”
“Come on, Adele. You and I both know the reason. She wants the unimaginable.”
“Are they unimaginable, though? At one point, you were willing to give those things to me.”
“You,” I clarified. “Back then, I was willing to give you anything.”
“And you know, just like I know, that those things are impossible with me. I’m far too old for such.”
“We can go round for round about said things, but I would much rather not. I’m stuck licking my wounds and could use a friend.”
“God, Harvey.” Craning her neck, she leaned in. “You love her?”
“Immensely,” I admitted. “Just not enough to bend in the way I feel. I could have done forever with Dahlia… would have done it, in fact, had she not switched up on me.”
“She’s a woman. Those things are inevitable.”
“Not for you.”
“I’m pushing sixty-seven, darling. Of course, I don’t want it.
I had one marriage and when it ended in divorce, that wasn’t a road I was willing to travel down again.
I say that to say, you should open up your heart to Dahlia.
She’s the only one that lasted as long as she did. That should count for something.”
“You know what’s funny? You speak so highly of her, and she faults you for me being the way I am. I think she said it was my ‘sick admiration’ for you that kept me from wanting to take the final step.”
“It’s easier to blame me than to accept the fact that she stayed even after she was told those things wouldn’t happen. Women tend to do that, you know.”
“I know. I was once in her shoes. I get how hard it is, and maybe I shouldn’t have let it get this far.”
“It happened, it’s over, and now you are a free man. Date around.” She waved her hand in the air animatedly. “It’s plenty of women in Atlanta that would love the opportunity.”
“I think I’m good for a while.” I shrugged dismissively, not wanting to obsess over my failing love life.
The woman Dahlia accused me of admiring so much was twenty-one years my senior. What started out as her wanting to teach me how to please a woman easily morphed into me falling in love with her.
Adele was my first love, the woman whom I credited for me being the man that I am today. Of course I admired her, she taught me a lot.
It was me who had the idea of taking our relationship further than just sex. Adele was fresh out of a divorce and expressed not wanting to go down that road again. While I understood and respected her, I secretly held a certain level of resentment toward her.
Our situation made me feel like women would dangle the possibility of something long-term in your face only to snatch it back when it no longer benefited them. Looking at things on the other side, I now realize it’s exactly what I had done to Dahlia.
Dahlia and I just happened. It was never anything that was supposed to go further than a few dates and late-night sessions. Over time, she became my friend and from there, a relationship formed.
Because of my history with Adele, I let it be known from the beginning that outside of the lavish lifestyle, quality time, and having her on my arm for everything, I couldn’t and wouldn’t offer anything more.
She chose to stay around. It would have been easy to call her a kept woman, but that would be the furthest from the truth.
Dahlia worked hard at everything she did, so I was confident that she could survive without me.
Because of the fact that I didn’t see a long-term future with her, I had my lawyer draw up an agreement that stated if and when the relationship was dissolved, she would walk away with an undisclosed amount of money.
I kept my end of the bargain, regardless of how much it pained me to let her go. I loved her, indeed, but the only woman that I’d ever seen a future with was the one sitting across from me now. Since that wasn’t a possibility, I had long decided that it was no longer a goal of mine.