“I ordered chicken, pork, and beef so choose the wine,” he told her.
He pointed to the butler's pantry, which had a shelf of red and white, and she chose a Malbec.Her bladder also screamed, and she found the bathroom and took a moment to check under the sink.Finding nothing but cleaning supplies and tissue paper, the sigh of relief alarmed her.
Mae came from the bathroom to find Thom had set the table.He checked his watch.“It's five twenty-five, so you're officially off the clock.”
“I'm never off the clock, Mr.Brown,” she said, taking a seat at the table.
Again, he held her hand as he prayed.On his phone, that she hadn't seen him use until now, he pressed a few buttons and the subtle trumpet of Miles Davis filled the space.She expected him to talk, but he didn't.
Thom opened all the containers of Chinese food and passed her a pair of chopsticks.He poured wine, and they ate their meal.He didn't fill the air with words since much of the day he'd made his pitch.It was the best meal she'd eaten in a long time in the company of a man.
There were no expectations of her when the meal was done, although she helped clear the table.He stood on the porch, watching like a sentry as she retrieved her overnight bag from the train engine and returned to his home.He refilled her wineglass and sat on the opposite end of the extremely long couch.
Mae had never in her life wanted to make out with a man as much as she wanted to make out with Thom Brown.He had an energy that called to her in such a way that made her feel calm, yet craving to nest and decorate the house.She also wanted to spend an evening in his arms, calling his name and scratching up his back.All of it unsettled her in a way, which made her want more.
“What in the world is happening here?”she asked herself, sitting back, allowing the feelings to wash over her.
Chapter Eight – Scrimmage
Normally, Thom endedhis evenings with a cup of chamomile while reading a few chapters of the latest bestseller.In the rear of the home, and the only truly decorated room of the house, was the home office that also included his personal library and music collection.Also in the room were his musical instruments which were off limits to the kids and the little lady whenever he finally got a little woman or kids for that matter.The woman on the opposite end of the couch had his full attention, but he planned to take it slow with her even though the connection between them had become evident the moment she stepped off her adorable little train.He had questions about the lady, but for now, the lady was here to find out about him and determine if he was, in fact some kind of nutter.
“Thom,” Mae said softly, “I need you to help me connect the dots between you, the trains, and jazz.”
“My first job, off the books at 13, was for the railroad, checking the lines alongside a friend of Aunt Sue's,” he said.“Officially, at 16 I got a job on the books for the company and therefore have worked for the organization since I was a teen, holding various positions.In my off time and on Spring Breaks, I spent time with Mateo.”
“Zingales, the saxophonist,” she said.
“He started with a trumpet that he didn't like, so I have the trumpet,” he said.“Aunt Sue wanted us to be cultured, so we all had an instrument, but not all took to it.My brother Jeremy loves 70s funk, which is what he listens to, but I took to the melancholy of jazz.”
“Have you ever played with Mateo, I mean, are you on any of his albums?”
“Shitty Blues,” Thom said, laughing, “an album dedicated to him and Chambers Claypool blowing up a bathroom in a nightclub in St.Louis.I was in New York when they started recording, and he asked what I thought about the structure of the album.I said the entire album didn't need to be instrumental.He brought in Shelly Varve, along with his favorite teacher at Julliard, Bethany Greene.”
“Bethany Greene?Are you serious?”
“Yeah, the ladies sang a track, and he asked me what else was needed,” Thom said.“In my head, people expected a woman to sing on a jazz album, but it would be kind of cool to have some moody dude sing a song about looking for love and kissing frogs that just turned out to be overdressed toads with bad wigs.”
