WHAT GOES AROUND

WHAT GOES AROUND

“Good morning, Ray,” said the waitress, as she filled his cup with hot coffee. “The usual?”

“Yes, thank you,” Ray said.

“Coming right up,” she said, with a wink. “I put the order in when I saw you coming.”

“You’re good, Monica.”

Ray smiled and watched her walk away, focusing on her perfect butt. Monica was a knockout, no other way to put it. Medium height, jet-black pony-tailed hair, deep dark intelligent eyes, slim sexy body with all the right curves. She was smart and witty and had a genuine, shy smile that could thaw ice. And that cute little wink that made him feel like they were sharing some long lost secret. He’d almost asked her out a dozen times, but he always wimped out. She didn’t wear a wedding ring, but he assumed any gal that looked that damn good is sure to have a boyfriend, if not several. Or who knows these days, maybe a girlfriend or two.

Ray ate breakfast at Hal’s & Sal’s Restaurant most weekday mornings and always sat in Monica’s station. He usually ordered the same thing: Hominy grits with salsa, sourdough toast, coffee and a small tomato juice. It came to about eleven bucks and he always left fifteen on the table.

“You’re later today than usual,” Monica said, as she set his food on the table.

“Yeah, I have an appointment with Hal at ten o’clock,” Ray replied. “We’re putting together some new ad copy. New specials, or something.”

“Sounds like fun. You know Hal, he’s always got something up his sleeve to drive his servers crazy.”

“But we love him anyway, right?”

“That goes without saying,” she said, and gave him another wink.

Ray was an account executive for a local radio station. Big Country 103. He never much cared for country music, but it had grown on him over the last couple years. And its audience delivered the ideal demographic for most advertisers.

Breakfast over, at a couple minutes before ten, Ray saw Hal waving him in from behind the counter. He placed a ten and a five on the table and grabbed up his satchel from the floor and followed Hal back through the kitchen to the office. They sat down and went to work. After he had gotten all the info he needed to write the ad copy for the next flight of commercials, Ray asked Hal about Monica.

“What’s her story?” he asked.

“You like her?” Hal said.

“Sure, who wouldn’t? What’s not to like?”

“Better get in line.”

“Oh, really?”

“No, I shouldn’t say that, I really don’t know. I don’t think she’s seeing anyone steadily, but guys hit on her all the time. She’s a single mom, has a little girl, so I guess that scares most of them off. But she’s sensational, I wish I had eight or ten more just like her. She’s sharp, is a hard worker, and is the first one to pitch in and help someone else if they get into the weeds. You know, she’s worked here more than three years and I don’t think she’s ever missed a shift, and she works breakfast and lunch six days a week. I remember she was late one time because her car wouldn’t start. She’s got an old beat-to-shit Honda Civic. She lives in a little house in that old neighborhood behind the legion hall.”

“How old is she?”

“Twenty-six-or seven. Her daughter is eight, I think, and that little girl is all she cares about. Don’t know the whole story, but she got knocked up in high school and the boyfriend took off when he found out, didn’t give a shit about her or the baby and never gave her a dime.”

“Hmm. Wow, that sucks. She’s been through a lot. Strong lady.”

“She is that. She’s been loyal and reliable for us. I wish I could do more for her. We offer some benefits, I know the health insurance is important to her. It’s not the best plan and it takes a chunk out of her pay, but it’s better than many local businesses provide. I’ve tried to get her to work dinner, she could make more in tips, but she won’t, she wants to be home when her daughter gets in from school.”

“Sounds like a good mom.”

“She is. Good person, too.”

“Would you mind if I asked her out?”

“No. Why would I mind?”

“Oh, I dunno, just checking. You’re a good client, I wouldn’t want to make things awkward, or weird, or anything, ya know?”

“Yep, I know. But what the hell, Ray, go for it. Like John Lennon said, life is what happens when you’re making other plans. You never know, so take a shot. Plus, she’s gotta say yes first, right?”

“Right, there is that,” Ray said with a hollow laugh, suddenly realizing he could easily be shot down. “And I wouldn’t want to put her on the spot.”

“Tell you what. I know she takes her little girl to the dog park behind the high school on Sunday mornings if the weather is good. Maybe catch her there.”

Ray thought that sounded like a good idea, and told Hal as much. A laid-back, no pressure, fun atmosphere. It might just work. He knew then and there he would be staking out the dog park come Sunday.

—-

Two days later on Sunday morning the weather was fair. The dog park was next to a big community park that had a playground, ball fields and tennis and basketball courts, as well as an asphalt hiking trail that encircled it and interconnected with the surrounding neighborhoods. Ray dressed to go running and parked his car at the far end of the lot. He planned to spend the morning running and walking the trail as he scoped out the landscape in hopes of spotting Monica.

He heard the dogs as soon as he got out of the car, barking and yelping and arfing down at the other end of the park. He did some stretching, then started jogging around the trail. Over the next hour he walk/ran about fifteen laps around the park perimeter, resting here and there, while keeping his eye out for a beat-up Honda. Finally, he spotted it driving onto the lot. He moved closer for a better look. He would observe for a bit, let them get into their routine before choosing a time to approach.

The car was a faded blue, had to be twelve or thirteen years old. Ray figured there would be three of them, Monica and her daughter and a dog, but there were just the two of them, no dog. Monica looked beautiful. She was dressed entirely in black: jeans, sneakers, shirt. And her long black hair was hanging loose and free over her shoulders and down her back, not tied back like it was when she was working. And the little girl was a cutie-pie, clad in a blue jumper and obviously eager to visit with the dogs.

They went through the double gates and the little girl made a hasty beeline for a corgi and a what looked like a beagle something-or-other that were interacting in the center of the fenced-in space. She obviously knew these dogs. The dogs knew her too, and excitedly surrounded her. The fun began.

Monica said hello and made conversation for a couple minutes with several dog owners, then made her way to a bench that backed up to the fence, sat down by herself, and watched her daughter play with the dogs. Ray took a deep breath. It was time. He walked over to where Monica was seated and approached her from behind.

“Monica, I’ll have the usual,” he said from over her left shoulder on the other side of the fence.

Startled, Monica turned around to face him, looked confused for a second before a smile formed on her face.

“Ray, Hi. What are you doing here?”

“I’ve finally gone to the dogs.”

She laughed. “I guess we have too. My daughter loves dogs and has made friends with a few. Look at them.”

He watched her little girl romping around with her friends for a moment.

“Looks like the doggies love her too.”

“Yeah, they’re all buds. We come here a lot. It’s very relaxing, almost therapeutic.”

“I know what you mean. I’d like to have a dog, but my lifestyle is not conducive to having one. I’m single, out all the time working, whatever, it wouldn’t be fair to the dog.”

“I know what you mean. We’d love to have a dog too, but my landlord does not allow pets.”

After a silent pause, Ray said: “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all, please do.”

Ray put his hands on the rail of the chain link fence and hoisted himself over in one swoop and sat down beside her.

They didn’t say anything at first. They watched the girly dogplay, the petting, chasing, tossing the ball, with lots of giggling, and occasional peals of laughter.

“Wow, your daughter sure does love this. What is her name?”

“Cheri.”

“Cheri. That’s a pretty name. And she’s a pretty little girl. Takes after her mom, I guess.”

Monica’s lips twisted into a shy smile and she turned her head toward him and locked her eyes onto his. “Are you flirting with me?”

Ray shrugged. “Nah. Well, yeah, maybe, just calling it the way I see it. What? Too corny?”

Monica burst out laughing. “No, just a little. But thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Yes, please do.” He swiped his fingers across his forehead and said, “Phew.”

She laughed again and patted his knee. He thought that was a good sign.

They made small talk while they watched Cheri play with the dogs. Cheri eventually ran over to them, chased by Buster, the beagle. Shorty the Corgi followed. A brown and white mutt with floppy ears lingered nearby. One of the pet owners, a smiling older gentleman in Bermuda shorts and smoking a pipe, observed the lovefest from a few yards away. Monica introduced humans and canines.

“Cheri, this is Mister Ray. He’s a customer where I work.”

“Hi.”

“Hello Cheri. It sure looks like you’re having fun out there.”

“Yep,” she said, hugging both dogs and getting an unexpected french kiss from Buster. Then they all ran off again, racing away in buoyant, playful glee.

“Damn, she’s having a blast,” Ray said.

“I know. She loves animals. If there’s an animal show on TV, we watch it, doesn’t matter what it is. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, whales, apes, hippos, you name it, we watch it. She’s fascinated with animals.”

This gave Ray an idea.

“Monica, have you and Cheri ever been to The Petting Safari?”

“No, what’s that?”

“It’s a petting zoo, a big one. It advertises on my radio station. It’s only about an hour away, on the way to the National Park. It has all kinds of animals. Miniature horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep, ducks, and more, they are all tame, you can pet them. They have a llama, an alpaca, and they get animals on loan from different places too, they even had a young giraffe for a while, but I think that’s over now. There’s pony rides, and exhibits, and shows, and refreshments. I think Cheri would love it. I think all three of us would. Would you like to go? My treat, of course.”

Monica smiled again. “Are you asking me out? Like on a date?”

Ray blushed. All he said was, “Yes.”

There was silence, a pregnant pause. Ray was beginning to wonder if maybe that was a bad sign when Monica spoke.

“I was wondering when you were going to get around to it,” she said.

“What?”

“Asking me out.”

“You were?” he said. She nodded. “Well, I’ve been trying to get up the nerve for some time.”

“Really? Why did you have to get up the nerve? You seem like a pretty confident guy to me.”

“Well, a couple reasons. First, I’m divorced. I was only married briefly, and no children. It was almost five years ago, now. It was short and not so sweet. I got married and in less than two years my wife was cheating on me.”

“So you don’t trust women,” Monica said.

“No, it’s not that. It’s more that I have trouble trusting myself.”

“Meaning?”

“I married the wrong person, plain and simple. After we were separated and headed for divorce, friends and family told me they knew she was all wrong for me. Everyone could see it but me. It was easy to get over her, believe me, I don’t have any hangups there, she is who she is. But it’s taken me quite a while to come to grips with the fact that I could have misjudged someone so badly.

“We broke up for a while when we were going together, then one day a few weeks later she called me out of the blue and wanted to meet for a drink. Next thing I knew we were back together and before long we were getting engaged, the ball started rolling and I couldn’t seem to stop it. I was along for the ride and then I was getting married. To the wrong person.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know that now. That’s what everybody kept telling me and I’ve gotten over it, and I’m a better man because of it. And I am glad it ended when it did because I would have been the type to stick it out, keep trying, and it would have just prolonged the whole mess. We had no children or assets to fight over, so the divorce was pretty smooth compared to what a lot of people experience.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Ray. But thank you for telling me. What’s the second thing?”

“Huh?”

“You said there were a couple reasons you had put off asking me out.”

Ray chuckled. “The other reason is that I figured you probably were getting hit on by guys all the time. And I didn’t want to be just one of those guys.”

Monica touched his arm, and an electric buzz of exhilaration jolted through him. “I don’t think you’d ever be one of those guys.”

“So what do you think? Do we have a date for The Petting Safari?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, Ray. And I would definitely like to go out with you. But here’s the thing: I have been very cautious about introducing a man into Cheri’s life. And if someone is in my life, they are in hers too. Understand?”

“Absolutely. You’re a good mom.”

“I have my own sob story that maybe I’ll tell you sometime, so I’m careful. So, my answer would be yes. But can I let you know for sure tomorrow? I want to make sure Cheri is comfortable, because if she’s not, it would not be an ideal first date. I think that when she hears about the animals, she’s going to love the idea. But I want our first date to be a good one. Okay?”

“I think tomorrow is fine, and it’s a standing offer. And, know what else I think? I think you are a very smart lady.”

They talked a bit longer while they watched Cheri play with her dog friends. Then Ray decided to make his exit.

“Well, I think I’ll be going, Monica,” he said as he rose off the bench. “I’ll see you in the a.m. And I’ll have the usual.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Monica said, and gave him her wink.

He hopped over the fence and walked to his car.

—-

The next morning Ray had no sooner sat down when Monica was at his table pouring his coffee. She also placed a four by six inch white card in front of him with a giant YES! written on it in multiple colors with felt tip markers. It also had Monica’s cell number written on it. A big grin took over his face.

Monica was grinning too. “Oh, Ray, Cheri is so excited. She can hardly wait, she’s already praying for a sunny day. I was curious last night, so I looked on line and found the website for The Petting Safari and showed it to her. I had to pull her away from the computer to put her to bed. She looked at photos of all the animals they have. There are cattle, yaks, a zebu, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs, llamas, horses, donkeys, and a map of the place, she’s already planning her route. I think you hit a home run with this idea.”

“That’s great. I’m happy and relieved. And I’m looking forward to it as much as she is.”

“So am I,” she said, with a wink. “I’ll get your breakfast.”

The rest of the week couldn’t move fast enough for Ray or Cheri or Monica. Breakfasts were joyous occasions each day as the weekend neared. Ray hoped for good weather. He also kept his fingers crossed that the anticipation would live up to the actual event.

—-

There was no need to fret about the weather. It was mostly sunny with a slight breeze.

They met at the dog park, where Monica and Cheri piled into Ray’s sedan. Monica looked great as usual, again dressed in black, with her long black hair hanging loosely and black nail polish to boot. He’d offered to pick them up at Monica’s house, but she suggested they meet at the park. “My mother lives with us,” she’d said. “I’d like to save her for another time, if that’s okay.” Ray was fine with that.

The drive to the zoo was comfortable for both Ray and Monica, and the conversation flowed back and forth easily, not forced at all. Any first-date jitters they might have had were eradicated by their week-long anticipation and by Cheri’s excitement in the backseat.

The Petting Safari did not let them down. Cheri had studied the map on the website all week long and knew her way around like she was a regular customer. They went from cows to sheep to llamas, petted an alpaca, rabbits, goats, pigs, miniature horses, donkeys, even a yak. Cheri fed ducks and geese and a horse, and took a pony ride. There was big sign announcing that soon a small elephant would coming to the zoo for a limited time, and Cheri was already dropping extremely obvious hints about coming back for that.

As they walked around the park, Ray and Monica couldn’t help but smile observing Cheri’s enthusiasm. You could almost feel the excitement and joy emanating from the little girl. On a couple occasions Monica grabbed Ray’s hand as they walked, which he more than welcomed. He thought her hand meshed with his just right.

They sat at a picnic table outside the small cafe and ate burgers and fries for lunch, and from the gift shop Cheri got a book about mammals, which she read in the backseat of the car on the ride home.

All in all, it was a long afternoon, but it couldn’t have gone much better. When they got back to the dog park it was getting onto dusk. Ray pulled his car into a space close to Monica’s Honda. She lowered her window a bit and unlocked her car with a remote.

“Cheri, get in our car and I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

“Are you guys gonna kiss?” Cheri said.

Monica smiled at Ray and said, “Honey, do you have anything you want to say to Mister Ray?”

“Thank you, Mister Ray. I had fun.”

“You’re welcome, Cheri. I had fun, too,” Ray said.

“Now take your book and get in the car, Honey, I’ll be right there,” Monica said.

“O-kay,” Cheri said, and opened her door. “But don’t kiss too long.”

They watched her get into the Honda and close the door.

“Well.”

“Well.”

“Kids say the darnedest things, huh?”

Monica turned to Ray and took his hand, looked into his eyes. “Ray, thank you so much. Today could not have gone better. I had a wonderful time. And doing this for my daughter…I can’t tell you how much that means to me. To both of us.”

Ray squeezed her hand. “I had a blast. She’s a doll.” Then, with his eyes locked on hers: “When can I see you again? I mean, except breakfast.”

“Soon. I’m looking forward to it.”

They kissed. Their lips melded together. He took her in his arms and could feel her breasts pressing against his chest. Lips parted, their tongues got in the act, their arms tightened around each other. It was a long kiss, it went on longer than either one of them expected as their tongues explored, but it felt right. Monica did not remember a kiss like that ever. And it was their first one.

“Wow,” she said, almost breathless. “I better get out of this car now while I still have a chance. Whew.” She smiled and waved her hand in front of her face as if to cool off.

Ray was smiling too. It was definitely a kiss to remember. And his dick was hard.

“Good night,” she said, tightening her hand around his while she planted another quick kiss on his lips. “See you in the morning.”

Ray sat there and watched her walk to her car, open the door and get in. He watched her start the car, and waved back at her when she waved to him. He watched her drive out of the lot before he put his car in gear and pulled away. He had a smile on his face.

—-

Breakfasts at Hal’s and Sal’s became more and more enjoyable. All of the employees knew immediately that Ray and Monica were seeing each other and welcomed the idea. Hal and Sal gave Ray the thumbs up. His interaction with Monica became more playful and intimate, loaded with sexy innuendo.

Monica had her hands full with work and Cheri during the week, so they would get together on the weekends. The Saturday after their trip to The Petting Safari Ray took her to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant while Monica’s mother Molly babysat. The week after that Monica had him over for dinner–nothing fancy, chili and salad and bread–and Ray met Molly for the first time. The house was very small, and the neighborhood had seen better days, but it was neat and clean and well-cared for. After dinner they all sat in the living room and watched a movie on TV. The week after that, dinner and a concert.

At the end of each date, their goodbyes became longer and longer as it became harder and harder to say good night. At the end of their fifth date, Ray’s cock was like a slab of petrified wood in his pants, and Monica’s pussy was dripping as they made out in his car in front of her house.

“I want to make love to you,” Ray said into her ear as he sucked on her lobe.

“I want you too,” she whispered. “But…”

Ray backed off and looked at her. “But what?”

Monica looked down for a moment, then back up into his eyes. “I’m afraid.”

“Afraid? Afraid of what?”

Tears formed in her eyes. Her face scrunched up. “Afraid you’ll go away.”

He looked at her for a moment, forming his thoughts. He shook his head. “No. Monica, I won’t go away. Not unless you want me to. I want to get closer to you. That’s why I want to make love.”

She hugged him as tightly as she could. “I want to make love too,” she said softly. “I want to be closer to you, too. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. And it’s okay to be scared. And look. I don’t know your history, I hope you’ll trust me enough to tell me sometime. But I know that you have had a bad experience and Cheri’s father gave you the shaft. But not all men leave. My father has been married to my mother for thirty years. That’s my role model when it comes to what it means to be a man.”

Monica sobbed softly, then said, “Thank you for saying that. You’re a good man, Ray. I think I just need a little more time. Would that be okay?”

Ray was falling in love. He would be ready when she was.

—-

One thing that blew Ray’s mind about Monica, aside from her incredibly good looks and body and mind and strength and toughness and resilience and responsibility, was how they could talk. About anything. She only had a high school education, but she was extremely intelligent and well-read. He’d never known a woman with whom he could talk like he could talk to her, about most any subject. They would go out on tangents of conversation like branches on a giant oak, and she’d be right out there on the limb with him, and he with her. He’d always heard the word ‘soulmate’ but never really knew what it meant, he couldn’t grasp it.