Kirk took his cue from Cissy, and rose taking the bill from the table. "My treat," he said. "I know you ladies invited me, but I've had such a great time, I insist."
"Kirk, I was thinking it's still early. Maybe we could go out for drinks? I know this really quaint pub around the corner from my apartment."
"I'd like that, Cissy. Nice meeting you both," he spoke rapidly as Cissy pulled him toward the cash register.
Mara and Cole waved absently, eyes only for one another. He leaned in, kissing her gently, his touch full of meaning.
"Did you like the song?"
"I loved the song," she told him honestly. "I was thrilled with the song and the flowers. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mara."
"You'll be the talk of the office for the next five years," she told him.
He chuckled softly, brushing hair out of her face. "Let's split, Mara. I just want to get you alone."
"Oh, I'll have to go by Toby's first and run to the hospital." She explained about the baby being born.
"Can't one of your brothers do it?"
"I suppose, I didn't think to ask them."
"Ask. Please?" His eyes held so many promises, she couldn't refuse.
She called Paul who agreed to feed the pets and get the suitcases for Toby and Olivia.
"Have fun, sis!" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Go be bad."
"Thanks, bro!" she giggled, blushing deeply.
Mara and Cole drove at a leisurely pace to her apartment. As they passed buildings she'd worked on, she pointed them out to him proudly. When they reached her building, he parked in front of it.
"This is my masterpiece," she told him. "This building made my career."
"You live here?" He was amazed. It was an incredible edifice that had been refurbished to perfection.
"Yes, up there." She pointed to the top floor. "The entire floor is mine. I call it my penthouse. Come see!"
She unlocked the street door and they entered a foyer that had been made to look like the original warehouse office. The next door opened into a wide hallway with hardwood floors and wainscoting. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.
"Believe it or not, that was found in a closet full of junk on the top floor. We never found out where it came from, but it was too beautiful to pass up." She led him to the broad, curved staircase.
"This stairway actually came from a condemned brothel down by the bay. The building was too messed up to even think of renovating, so we did some very judicious salvaging. It was built the same year as this building, by the same contractor. We couldn't do any better than that."
"It's a walk up?" He gazed at the stairs despondently.
"No, there's an elevator, but I thought you'd like to see the staircase."
Cole looked around, hands deep in his pockets. "Okay, I've seen it. Where's the elevator? I'm not a patient man, Mara."
"This way, oh impatient one." She took his hand and led him to the elevator. "It's the freight elevator but it's been rebuilt and brought up to code. We couldn't keep much but the grate. The rest was eaten through by termites."
The elevator was hand operated and took a few moments to get warmed up enough to move past a slow crawl.
"Maybe the stairs would have been faster," Cole teased as they finally got to her floor.
"Close your eyes," Mara told him. "I want to surprise you. When I decided to buy this, I made it to suit myself. Wait till you see!"
Cole obediently closed his eyes and allowed himself to be led into the apartment. She closed the heavy metal door behind them with a clang.
"Open!"
The room was on three levels and went all the way to the roof. The first level was the living room, kitchen and dining area. The second was the office and TV room and the third was her bedroom. A metal staircase zigzagged up to the top floor and a small spiral stair led out to the roof. The city sounds were muffled up here, making them seem very far away.
Everything was stark and modern in dark metal, wood and glass. The kitchen had a central island with a sink and gas stove built in. The range was separate, in the opposite wall. A steel side by side refrigerator nestled snugly by a large pantry.
"The pantry doors are from a saloon leftover from the river boat days. I found them in pieces and had them rebuilt. All the original pieces were there. It fit together like a jigsaw puzzle."
"This place is fantastic, Mara! It's incredible!" He looked around for a few moments, completely awed. He walked to the staircase and trotted up to the next floor, looking around as if he was searching for something.
"What's wrong, Cole? Can I help you?"
"Yes," he told her flatly, standing with his hands on his hips. "Where the hell is the bedroom?"
"Up there" She pointed to the second flight of steps.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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