Chapter 14
Yosiah
“Iwas sure you’d decided to stay home,” Roman expressed as I slapped hands with him before sitting in the leather seat across from him. He blew smoke from the cigar currently in his hand.
“My bad. I got caught up with Xylina and—” My words trailed off when he started coughing before a wide grin appeared on his face.
“What the hell’s up with the smile?” I questioned, bringing the glass of Hollow Oak to my mouth.
We agreed to meet at Havana, a membership-only cigar club we both were part of, located in West Hills.
It was more of a social lounge, offering lockers for storage, dining in the front part of the building, separate rooms for smoking in the back, the opportunity to purchase the finest cigars, and TVs scattered around the establishment for those who wanted to relax away from home.
They served only the best high-end cigars and top shelf liquor and wine.
Instead of smoking in the general area, we reserved one of the private rooms.
It had been far too long since I had been able to put my membership to use. With everything I had on my plate, I had been too busy. Things starting to fall into place allowed me to make time to come tonight. Havana’s motto was a home away from home.
“Xylina, huh? I wasn’t expecting that.” He chuckled, leaning forward to ash his cigar.
Setting my glass down, I reached for the awaiting cigar and cutter. Leaning back and getting comfortable, I began preparing the cigar.
“I guess you can say we’re getting along these days.”
“That happened quickly. Last time you mentioned her, she was still a thorn in your side.”
I pulled my lighter out of my pants pocket, flicked the top open, and lit the cigar.
Xylina’s face right before I left the house popped in my head.
They way she hung on my every word. How her eyes begged me to praise and acknowledge her.
I’ve never seen her face light up the way it did when I let her know how proud I was of her.
It was sad to admit but I was starting to see different layers of my wife that I didn’t know existed before now.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say there seems to be more than meets the eye when it comes to her. Maybe I was a little too narrowminded to realize.” My eyes closed as the smooth, delicate cocoa flavor of the cigar filled my mouth.
Roman had questions. He wouldn’t be him if he didn’t. “So what you’re telling me is you’re suddenly in love with your wife?” He smirked.
I chuckled lowly and shook my head. “I wouldn’t take it that far. I’m just more accepting of her.”
“Only took five years, huh?” He laughed. “I see they’re lighting a fire under her dad. How’s Princess handling Daddy’s downfall?”
My mouth turned upside down. I rolled my shoulders back before reaching for my glass. “There’s nothing for her to handle. What he has going on has nothing to do with her.”
Roman stroked his jaw. “True, but it can’t be easy.”
Xylina’s teary-eyed face appeared in my mind. She rarely showed any emotions other than being happy, so knowing how much the situation with her dad upset her put a bad taste in my mouth.
“She’s fine.” My voice came out a little more forceful than I meant. “Xylina’s strong and she’s a fighter. Phillip’s sins won’t affect her.”
I could tell my words caught him off guard. Not too long ago I would have never defended Xylina, but now…
“Anyway, enough about me and my marriage.” I shook my head. My marriage was still on a timer, but I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t looking at it differently.
“You right. Let’s talk about your birthday next week.” He grinned and rubbed his hands together after setting his cigar and glass of brown liquor down. “I reserved a section at Treasure and I—”
“No strip club.” I shut him down instantly.
“C’mon, man, what better way to bring in the big three five than seeing some ass and titties.”
I shook my head, taking another puff of my cigar. “You know shit like that doesn’t impress me. Plus—” I paused, lifting one corner of my mouth. “I got in-house ass and titties I can look at. Why waste money on random females.”
Roman looked displeased by my words. He enjoyed strip clubs, and since he always ran from commitment and filled his time with women he met on hookup apps instead, he couldn’t grasp what I meant.
“That’s cool and all, but seeing the same person everyday gets old. I’d rather have new and fresh bodies surrounding me.”
“You know at some point you’re gonna have to grow up, man. We’ll be forty before you know it and continuing to go on like this is distasteful.”
Roman waved me off. “This is still our prime. Once I hit forty I’d’ve gotten everything out of my system.”
“If you say so, man, but settling down and having a family is all I’m worried about. My career is thriving better than I expected. My only goal now is to have a few kids and enjoy the fruits of my labor.” I puffed on the cigar again.
“I can respect that. You’re a good man, Yosiah. I’ve always admired that about you, my friend.”
We eventually shifted the conversation to other things, speaking about nothing of importance, but it was a nice break from everything going on around me.
Between Havana and cycling, I had been able to keep sane these past five years.
Roman wasn’t as big on cigars as me, so he didn’t spend a lot of time here, but still it was always nice connecting with my long-time friend and basking in the fruitful lives we both led.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I took my eyes off the road briefly and glanced at Xylina.
Taking her eyes off her phone momentarily, she twisted her head to face me and batted her lashes with a small smile on her face.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, hubby.” Her head tilted to the side slightly.
“Turn left at the next stop sign, then make another sharp left.”
The GPS continued giving instructions to the address she typed in.
My birthday was the day after tomorrow and Xylina insisted on taking a small trip to celebrate.
I wasn’t sure what she had up her sleeve, but we had been on the road for a little over an hour.
We had just turned into the Lake Cashmere area and were currently going through the small town that sat at the base of the mountains.
It was about twenty five minutes from Lake Cashmere Ranch.
“Just trust me, this birthday will be one you’ll never forget.” Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at her.
The trial with Simone had gone well and Xylina was offered a full-time position as her stylist. Since learning the news she had been in higher spirits.
Her smile had returned as well as the light in her eyes.
Her attitude was the same, except a bit more tolerable.
Even sex with us had become more frequent the past week.
She hadn’t mentioned her dad since the day she told me of their meet up and I didn’t ask in fear of dampening her spirits again.
I took it as if she didn’t mention anything then he must not have been bothering her.
I had been trying to do better with being patient and more understanding with her as well.
I no longer dreaded going home or having a conversation with her.
It turned out Xylina had more going on with her than just being self-absorbed and shopping.
She had substance whenever she applied herself.
“I was told about this place from one of my InstaFlik followers. They said it’s great for couples and celebrating. From the pictures I saw online, it looked beautiful too. It was also voted in the top twenty places to visit.”
“I’m not big on celebrating my birthday, you know?” Normally my parents threw me a dinner on my actual birthday and afterwards I went to Havana to relax. The last time I actually celebrated my birthday was when I was with Sierra.
“Well I am and I have a lot to make up for.”
I thought about my previous birthdays as a married man.
We had never spent one together since I was always out late.
Even so, she always got me a gift. It was always expensive and normally something she was more interested in than me, but I still thanked her.
Mostly I believe it was because she loved shopping and used any excuse to do it.
We turned down a stone path with blooming trees on each side. I noticed the leaves weren’t normal. They were thinner and spiky, orange and yellow.
“Those trees are called Waterfall Japanese maple trees,” Xylina mentioned, looking up from her phone and around. We had driven uphill toward Mount Cashmere.
A couple minutes later we pulled in front of a large, two-story, glass building.
There were three buildings connected. The building gave elegance.
The landscaping was well-groomed with more maple trees and different plants I’d never seen before.
The sound of running water from the stream in front of the landscape flooded my ears.
Before entering the pavilion, there was a large rock with a tan sign attached. Ryokan Cashmere was written in brown.
“Nice, huh!” Xyliana gushed, taking her seat belt off once I parked in front of the glass doors.
“It’s a Ryokan or a Japanese style resort.
It’s only been around for ten years or so, but the reviews rave about it.
I remember you mentioning your visit to Japan and how you enjoyed yourself, so I thought it would be perfect.
Apparently it follows traditional Japanese style.
The owners are Japanese and Black, I think. ”
We climbed out of the car and I went to the backseat to grab our bags. I inhaled, noticing the air seemed crisper out here.
The glass doors opened and immediately I took in the lobby as tranquility suddenly covered me.
The ceilings were low. The room was dimly lit.
Off to one side was a waterfall attached to the wall, running into the square pool.
Colored fish could be seen swimming inside.
Potted cherry blossom trees rested near it.
A few feet from that looked to be some kind of café nook.
On the other side of the lobby was an indoor fire pit with low tables and seating surrounding it.
Japanese style art was displayed on the walls. Soft music played overhead.
“Good afternoon! Please remove your shoes and take these slippers.” One of the workers approached us, catching me off guard.
My brows furrowed, but I didn’t complain, knowing this was a Japanese custom.
I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t shocked yet impressed by the place.
Xylina seemed to put a lot of thought into it, and by the smile on her face, she was proud of herself.