“There’s my boy!” Her high-pitched voice was full of joy.
“Hey, Mama,” Clay replied bashfully as he allowed his mother to grasp his cheeks tightly between her hands and pull his head down for a kiss. Mrs. Watkins was much shorter than her son and had to crane her neck to look up at him. She was a pretty, silver-haired woman dressed in comfortable Capri pants and a loose-fitting blouse. Katie noticed that she still wore her wedding band.
“Your hair’s getting a little wild again,” she teased, making her son blush as she ran her fingers over his sideburns affectionately. If she could have seen how wild it looked earlier when he was in Katie’s bed, she’d probably be the one blushing.
“Oh, Mama. It’s fine. I want you to meet someone.” He turned and reached for Katie pulling her into their circle. “Mama, this is Katie. Katie Parker from Lakeside High School.”
A look of surprise crossed Mrs. Watkin’s face as their eyes met.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Watkins. Looks like y’all are about to have some fun playing bingo.” She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt like she was back in high school, anxious for Clay’s mom to approve of her.
Mrs. Watkins tilted her head, her eyes expressing warmth and love. “It’s so nice to meet you, honey. And please, call me Birdie.” Her southern accent was warm and comforting.
“Okay. Thanks, Birdie.”
Clay palmed her back while guiding the women to chairs. He had to stop several times and shake hands with some of the men and accept kisses on the cheek from the women he obviously knew. Everyone they met was kind and seemed happy to have a couple of young “kids” in the crowd. They settled at the end of a table, Katie sitting next to his mother and Clay sitting across from them. Several cards with different numbered squares were already laid out along with foam-tip dauber markers. For the next two hours, the room was a buzz of excitement as the middle-aged caller with a distinct radio voice randomly called out bingo numbers generated by a machine. A huge, electronic bingo board was set up at the end of the room that lit up, showing each number as it was called, just in case someone wasn’t paying attention.
The mood in the room was electric and Katie couldn’t believe how much fun she was having playing “four corners” and “blackout” with the older generation. She chatted with Birdie who told her all about her new, happy life in the facility, and Clay was a doting host, retrieving plates of cookies and refills of coffee for everyone on their end of the table as they played. She loved watching him every time he got up, her eyes fixated on his toned butt that outlined his blue jeans. He caught her eye several times and shook his head, smiling at her as if he knew what she was thinking, and brushed his boot along her bare leg under the table, making her flush. When it was time for the last game that included the biggest jackpot of the session, Katie hunkered down, willing herself to win, marking off every number that was called out.
“G-51,” the caller yelled out.
“BINGO!”
Katie turned to look at Clay’s mom with her mouth wide open and watched her hold up the winning card, waving it frantically in the air. Clay immediately got up and looped his arm with hers, the two of them prancing across the room to where the bingo committee would authenticate her as the winner. The whole place was suddenly a buzz of activity.
“He’s a good boy,” Blanche Reed said matter-of-factly. She was sitting across the table to the right and had been a part of their conversations while they played all afternoon. “Is it serious?” she asked nosily with a twinkle in her blue eyes.
“With Clay?” The woman’s question took her aback, not sure how to answer. “Nah…we knew each other in high school. He’s a nice guy.”
“Hmmm…” Blanche sat back in her chair, eyeing her. “You know, he’s never brought a friend here when he visits. Must be serious. I’m sure Birdie is thrilled. She’s always going on and on about how worried she is that he hasn’t found someone yet—that he’s just too shy and had those problems when he was a boy.” She took a sip of coffee from a Styrofoam cup before continuing with her thick, southern drawl. “You’d think him hobnobbing with all those music city folks would have landed him a wife by now, but he always comes alone and doesn’t say much about anything.”
Katie furrowed her brow, feeling heat on her cheeks. She didn’t like it that Blanche was talking about Clay behind his back. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about Mrs. Reed. Clay is a great guy, and he actually has a lot to say.”
Their conversation was interrupted as Clay helped his mother back into her chair. She was ecstatic that she had just won five dollars in the final round.
“Can you believe it?” Birdie was beaming, her face glowing with excitement. “Five whole dollars!”
“Congratulations, Birdie Watkins!” Blanche offered with an over-zealous smile.
After saying goodbye to everyone at their bingo table, they toured Birdie’s comfortable room and got her settled. When they were finally back in the truck alone, Katie sighed happily and turned to him.
“That was really fun.”
“Sorry she was so insistent that we stay for dinner. She’s not normally that clingy.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. She’s your mother and I’m sure she misses you like crazy and just wants to spend more time with you.” She clicked her seatbelt at her hip. “We can stay if you want to. I don’t have to be anywhere.”
Clay shook his head and looked down at his hands that were planted on his thighs. A small smile tugged on his lips. “I know it’s selfish of me, but I really just wanted to hang out with you for a little longer before I head back to Nashville.” He shifted in his seat before looking at her with wide eyes. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to you, Katie Parker.”
She inhaled quickly and inadvertently reached her hand up to caress a small curl above his ear. She had wanted to touch him all afternoon, but held back in an effort to be respectful in front of his mother. He leaned into her touch. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to you either, Clay Watkins.”
Chapter eight
Katie stood in front of the large office window, cupping her coffee mug in her hands. The blinds were open wide as she watched the sun rising on the east side of the property, the luminous, orange glow reminding her to be in the moment. She closed her eyes, the warmth penetrating the glass and highlighting her face. Her body tingled as she slowly inhaled, grateful for the past weekend with Clay. Mini-snapshots of them together flashed through her mind as she thought about him—bumping into him in the hallway at the reunion, kissing his full lips in the moonlight, feeling his skin against hers for the first time. If she had it her way, they’d still be naked in bed in a tangle of sweaty arms and legs, touching and thrusting.
“What are you doing, Kathryn?”
Startled, Katie quickly turned and had to squint in the bright morning light to make out her co-worker, Dale Dubsky who stood in the doorframe with his hands on his hips. Ever since the two of them sat next to each other at a local conference sponsored by their firm, he preferred calling her by her full name which he read off her name tag for the event. She didn’t mind. They became good friends over the years and were thick as thieves in the sometimes suffocating, micromanaged world of corporate America. He was a proud, successful gay man who made her laugh almost as much as her BFF, Stacey. Dale was instrumental in helping her find her sense of style when they were both newbies in the insurance biz. They would often shop together during their lunch hour in the midtown area stores and find beautiful pieces of clothing that she could mix and match. He was a fashionista himself and always dressed impeccably for work, standing out in the crowd from all the other poor businessmen chumps who didn’t have a clue. The distinct aroma of his Dolce and Gabbana cologne wafted into the small office, making her smile. Leave it to Dale to look and smell this good on a Monday morning.
