Rita Ch. 02.5: An Angel Awakens

"David, Claude owns sixteen per cent of Renard and Benoit Wines. He's loaded and acts like the money isn't there. I already have you a check for fifty grand to cover materials so far. Surprise!" Dennis said.

David's mouth fell open in time for him to say, "Sandy was worried when you bought your new car. She didn't know how you could make the payments. You were working three jobs. I bet you don't even have car payments."

"No, I don't, and we operate the Bistro on a breakeven budget. It's like a hobby for Claude. I had to tell Sandy. I only worked at the computer shop to help my friend." Dennis said and blushed. "Remember Andre's name is 'Ben-wah' not Ben-noint', cowboy."

"A lot of work for a hobby." David shook his head still confused.

The captain slowed the boat and turned onto a line that would carry them over a manmade reef. Deckhands, Jimmy and Clay brought out stiff rods rigged for bottom fishing along with buckets of cut squid for bait. Robert sat in the fighting chair and took charge. He put Tony and Claude to his right, on the port side and David and Dennis on the other corner.

Captain Mike looked over onto the group. "Three or four turns up from the bottom. I'll move the boat to keep you on fish. Just keep fishing unless we say, 'reel them in'."

"Mike, I'm sending your hands forward for a few minutes. Family meeting." Robert said.

"As long as we go back in with everybody that came out. If you lose someone, it will cost extra, lots extra." Mike laughed and went back to the bridge. The hands climbed up with him.

"OK, I'll run through what Tony and Rita told me. So, David sir, you are shooting blanks." Robert said, flatly.

"Oh Jesus, Robert! Have some tact for once." Claude scolded.

David was bracing his elbows on the transom and laughing. "Yeah, my guys just never learned how to swim. I've come to terms with it. It is what it is."

"So, you came up with the idea for Dennis to sire an offspring with Sandy the old-fashioned way. The tall girl, Karen, wound up pregnant too. She gave birth two weeks ago." Robert gave Tony a smile and a wink. "Now that's what I call friendly fire."

"Sandy wanted a baby and I wanted us to have one. Now, Karen and I have a son named after my late brother, Greg. She and I are together now. Our hearts just took over. Dennis and Sandy have loved each other for years and now they are together, and their son is due at any minute. It's nerve racking but we are happy." David stated his position.

"David, you still love your ex-wife. Dennis, you love Sandy. Do you love Karen, too?" Robert asked.

"No, we are just good friends." Dennis said not thinking how it sounded.

"Do you think? Sounds like very good friends, for sure." Robert was in rare form. All the group were laughing and blushing. "You told him about the money, right? When I heard this man was building you a house out of pocket, I almost blew a fucking gasket."

"I told him. Sandy and I were going to surprise him."

"Do they make a Hallmark card that says, "Guess what, you aren't broke after all?" Robert didn't get much response from that joke, so he got serious toward Dennis. "Have you told anyone that I've been holding a position in the company for you for over a year?"

"No, I don't want to move to France." Dennis said.

"The position is computer systems and internet guru. We can set you up to do it all from here. I want us to have a top shelf web site, asap. You'll just need to come over every now and then. How's your French?"

"Tres petite." Dennis said and chuckled.

"Well, you need to get it 'tres grand'". Robert said. "David, I understand that Karen is an officer in a bank. An American banker in the family might be comforting. We need to get to know her better."

Tony referenced his mental "to-do" list and added, [Background check, Karen Nichols]. "They want to keep the details secret until the children are older." He said.

"Good luck with all of this, guys." Robert said. "One day, it will go public that Dennis is father to these boys. Gossip will fly."

"Let it fly. Anyone that doesn't like it, can be fucked. All that matters is that our children grow up healthy and happy. Denny's name will be on both birth certificates, but to Fred, the boys are his grandchildren until he's gone. He's had two heart attacks... I don't think he could go another." David said. "May he outlive us all."

"We will all keep this secret. When the boys are old enough to understand, you will tell them that they are brothers." Robert thought about it. "My brother is a grandpapa. We've got two couples raising two boys and they are family. I'm in. Boys, catch us some dinner."

"Get off your ass and help, motor-mouth." Claude said to his verbose brother. "Stop talking like a cowboy. It sounds ridiculous with a French accent."

....

Thursday morning, Rita drove the Roadmaster to the dojo in Pensacola. The Buick was twice the size of her (Robert's) Alfa Romeo. Tony supervised her handling of the land yacht without criticism. They thought that they would have breakfast at Waffle Hut, but Phillipe had asked them to pick him up at the dojo.

Rita had turned it up a notch in the make-up department. She asked herself if it was for her new fans or the flirtatious Master Chris. She hoped that Tony noticed. 'Well damn!' She thought, realizing that she had turned the looks up for Tony.

They entered the building to find Phillipe and the others sitting on the corner of the mat. Phillipe hopped up and walked to them with his head down. He looked up with three steps to go. Rita burst out laughing and grabbed him in a hug. She examined the bruising and swelling across his brow and around his left eye. "Look what they did to that pretty face!" Rita laughed loudly for the others to hear.

All of Phillipe's new friends laughed and got up to great the guests. "Jacob, go show them your mug." Master Chris said. "Phillip gave as good as he got. He held his own against all our guys."

The young military guy showed the busted lip and scuffed cheek that Phillipe had given him. "Phillip and I got carried away yesterday. Master Chris let us go hardcore for a few minutes. My apologies, Master Alysia." He said and bowed. Jacob turned to Phillipe and shook hands. "Not bad for a Frenchman."

"I'm really Italian." Phillipe shook hands with the other students. "Thank you all. This has been a great time." He bowed to Chris. "Thank you, Master Chris."

"We brought a case of wine for Master Chris. Then we found out that he doesn't drink. You all can have it for a party away from this dojo if you want it." Rita said to a round of applause. "That is twelve bottles." She said to cheers and laughter.

"Phillip, we have something for you." Chris held out the white belt with the narrow black stripe. "Take this belt with you and keep working hard. You have great potential. Join a dojo in Marseille. I checked, there are several. Visit a few with your teacher and pick one. Some structured formal training along with Master Alysha's kata will take you far." Chris unrolled the belt. Everyone around the dojo had signed the cloth belt with a laundry marker. Some had used the marker to widen the black stripe, a true compliment. "Can I talk to you two for a minute?" Chris smiled at Rita and Tony.

They went into Chris's office. "That's a great young man you have there. Have you ever noticed that you don't have to tell him anything twice?"

"Yes, that's what our bosses like about him. That, and his manners." Tony said. He handed Chris an envelope with an even two thousand dollars in it. "It looks like we got our money's worth."

Looking around the little office, Rita Saw a photo of Chris and a cute little red-headed lady and two cute little red-headed girls. There was another picture of the two little girls in miniature karate gee. She shot a look and a smile at Chris.

Chris looked away from Rita. He knew he was busted for his flirtations on Monday. "Look, we have a rule against full contact sparring without a bunch of paperwork. Jake and Phillip got some good licks on each other, they both got pissed off. They had gloves and helmets, and I stayed right on top of them. I wanted to see how long they could stay in control. I stopped it after a couple of minutes. You would have been proud of your man. Jake needed to be taken down a notch. He has been full of crap since he got his black belt. An unranked fighter just kicked his ass. Keep working Phillip, he's really good but he needs more time at it. If you can bring him back after some work, he can test for an Isshin Ryu or traditional Karate belt here. I'd be proud for him to wear a belt from this school." Chris said.

"A respected master in Spain used to say, "Once you earn a black belt, then you can begin to learn."

Chris addressed Phillipe and Jake who were listening at the door. "I try to tell them that, but they don't seem to listen. Jake, if I looked more like Master Alysha, would you listen better?"

"Oh, hell yes! And I would take more classes." Jacob laughed and bumped fists with Phillipe. They went back to the others.

"I gave Phillip a book about the mental aspect of karate and a list of the things he needs to work on. I have found that with talented kids like him, if you will be very strict on the karate and very loose with the street fighting, they do well." Chris cleared his throat. "Guys, try not to get that kid hurt, OK?"

"No worries. His next gig is pouring wines at a tasting event." Tony said. "Nothing too dicey."

"Thank you, Capt. Doyle." Rita said. "Patterson said you would be a good teacher."

...

Rita noticed that Phillipe winced while putting his gear in the car. "Oh, I forgot about that." She hugged him and dug her fingers into his lower ribs. "I bet you boys punched each other's guts out, didn't you?" She poked the edges of his rib cage, laughing.

"Oh, Jesus! Rita, you are killing me. I am very sore."

Rita looked him in the eyes, still hugging him. "Are your new friends looking out the windows?"

"They are looking at your back side in those pants, mon amour." Phillipe smiled.

Rita kissed Phillipe. It was brief but nice and mostly for show, but not all.

....

Tony took the helm of the Roadmaster and headed north toward the highway to Ridgeview. "Phillipe, Chef Claude is cooking lunch for you. We went fishing yesterday and saved some fillets for lunch today. I'm sorry you didn't get in on the fishing. We will go sometime soon."

"I have not met Monsieur Claude. Why is he doing this for me?" Phillipe asked.

"I think Claude is cooking a big snapper fillet for you the way I cooked the sea bass. The snapper will be better. He wants to get to know you and thank you." Rita said.

"He's heard good things. He wants to thank you for saving the life of his favorite person in the world." Tony said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Who me?" Rita asked and cackled laughing. "Look, we need to give you a heads up about something. You may have figured out that we do a little more than guard the wine shipments. We keep these people safe in public situations. But you, little brother are off the clock until two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Get some rest and a run."

"Yes, Sensei."

....

When they parked and disembarked, Rita noticed Phillipe blotting a tear. "A little home sick, Pip?"

"Yes, I was OK until my sister got on the phone."

Rita hugged him. "You are a sweet man. Stretch out so that you can stop moving like a zombie. Master Chris is right, you need to join a dojo back home and get some more formal training. One day I will teach you how to move faster."

They walked in the front door of Claude's Bistro. Phillipe was duly impressed with the restaurant. It was a good-sized place decorated to resemble a modern French restaurant without over doing the theme.

The hostess, another Nikki, looked up from her seating chart. She acknowledged Rita and Tony and spoke to Phillipe. "What happened to you? Did these two take you out and beat you up?"

"Yes. Yes, they did. They are horrible people." Phillipe answered and grinned.

"Our lunch crowd is about to hit. All of you go to the kitchen. I don't want riff-raff in the dining room." Nikki said. She started laughing and hugged Rita. "I bet he was good looking before you roughed him up." More laughter.

Our three made their way to the kitchen. Robert and some other people were at the 'chef's table' and Claude was orbiting the workstations in the kitchen, preparing for lunch.

"Rita and her crew! I'm so glad that you got back early. That's quite a shiner you are developing, young man."

Rita spoke up. "Chef Claude Renard, this is our new associate, Phillipe Gaston."

Claude kissed Phillipe's cheeks and shook his hand. He held Phillipe's hand and spoke quietly to him. "I never get all the news over here, but I get some. We owe you a great debt for saving the lives of Rita and Josephine and her friend."

"It was a small thing I did with a good outcome. Your people have repaid me a hundred times over with their friendship." Phillipe said.

"Holy shit, kid! Can I get that in a greeting card?" Tony teased.

"Tony! don't be an ass. Let us go talk to Robert." Rita said.

"One moment, Phillipe, what would you like for lunch?" Claude asked.

"Tony said that you had some fish. That would be nice. Sir, may I ask for a salad? I've lived on junk food for several days." Phillipe was embarrassed to ask a favor of a man he just met.

"That sounds great, young man. I have heard good things about you." Claude said, smiling. "We must talk later."

Dennis had run with the 'chef's table' concept. They made one big booth out of two old ones and raised it on a platform two steps high. It had dining couches on three sides, Las Vegas style. A low wall and plexiglass panels was enough of a barrier to the kitchen to satisfy the health codes. Monitors displayed views from cameras in the kitchen and plating counter. Special lighting and red tablecloths gave the area an exclusive vibe. The term, "kitchen theater" was tossed around.

Robert was entertaining four others. Their body language told Phillipe that the man and woman were a couple and were very comfortable with Robert. The other two were men in their forties and did not look comfortable.

Robert got up to welcome Phillipe. "Bon jour, Phillipe, mon ami! It's so good to see you." Robert gave a quick inspection of the young man's bruised face. "Not bad. If it were any less, I'd send you back for more." Robert laughed. "You can tell me all about it later. This is Bruce and Meagan MacBride. They do our U.S. marketing and conduct our tasting parties. These two gentlemen are regional distributers that will be back here tomorrow night." The two salesmen heard the invitation to leave implied in Robert's voice and excused themselves. When your name is on the bottle...

"Nice to meet you, Phillipe." Bruce shook Phillipe's hand. "Son, did they have to beat you up to get you here?"

"No sir. They had someone else do it." Phillipe said and laughed along with the rest.

"Your English sounds good, and that accent will be popular with the girls." Meagan said and blushed.

"I was planning on Phillipe and a couple of cute girls pouring for you guys. Now he comes in with a shiner, I don't know. He took some karate classes in Pensacola. Maybe some make-up." Robert speculated.

"Oh no, Bobby. I want him just like that." Bruce said. "If he doesn't mind some joking, that black eye will be good for some old jokes."

"That sounds like fun, sir." Phillipe said

"OK by me. Now, there are only two people in the world that can call me 'Bobby' and they are both beautiful women." Robert said grinning.

Rita walked up in time to hear Robert's familiar litany about being called 'Bobby'. She knew that one of the privileged ladies was Isabella but had not figured who the other was. "We are about to bring food over. Claude got our lunch out before the lunch crowd started. Robert, I need you and Claude to sign about one hundred bottles. I'm going to drive the kitchen so that Chef Claude can come over and visit. Now, Phillipe come help me with the plates." She took Phillipe to the plating area.

"Wow, she is gorgeous, Robert." Meagan observed.

"One day she'll make some lucky man a wonderful commandant." Bruce quipped.

...

Although Rita and Robert had told Phillipe that he was off the clock until Friday afternoon, he helped where he could at the restaurant. He shadowed Claude and later Dennis. He was learning the place and the people. A truck came with one hundred thirty-six cases of wine to be moved into the restaurant by hand. Phillipe helped get that in and was shocked to hear that it would all be given away at three promotional events.

"I can give away ten thousand dollars in wine and generate an extra million gross sales over the next quarter." Robert was boasting to Tony, Rita and the MacBride couple. "Tony, I am canceling the New Orleans tasting. NOLA, Dallas and Austin have dozens of events that weekend. I want to push it back a week and move it to east Texas. See if we have any friends near Houston that could host."

"The 'Brothers' line should sell out over the holidays." Bruce was examining a bottle with the new label. "No bullshit on this label. Tasting notes and food pairings on the side. That will help people intimidated by the wine store."

"I wish Isabella were here. She could help me keep you out of trouble." Rita said.

"The sinus infection was just an excuse. She has been to too many of these things. She'll come over in a few weeks to see the babies." Robert leaned to Rita and kissed her on the cheek. "Aside from all this business, it's great to have you here, Little Senorita."

....

Friday evening.

Rita had wanted to wear a dress and heels and spend the evening hanging onto Tony like arm candy. But there was too much to be done. The more tasks she could take away from Claude and Dennis, the better. Rita was the only person to run Claude's kitchen besides he and Dennis. Sandy was about to hatch and that would be on Dennis' mind.

She had grown tired of the white shirt look that she wore so much. With actual work to be done, the black slacks and fashionable non-skid shoes were a must. At least, from the waist up, Rita would try to dazzle. A red blouse she found at a nearby clothing store fit the bill and gold accessories, watch, neckless and earrings, added just a little sparkle.

Rita didn't wear make-up every day, just a touch to turn it up a notch when going out. She could do that in a couple of minutes. For tonight, she was meticulously shading and blending subtle eye shadows...

"My beautiful daughter..."

"Merci, Mama. I knew that you were watching. I love you." Rita said to her internal conversation.

"I love you, my child. Tony is exactly the kind of man I would have chosen for you, Sara-Dina."

"I will try not to hold that against him, my mother. He is coming in the door..."

"Wow. Babe! You look so fine. You are doing the super-model make-up thing. Crazy!" Tony showed approval.

"All but the false eyelashes, can't work in them. I was saving my lips for last so that you could kiss me."

Tony moved close to her with a gentle assault to Rita's perfect lips. He kissed her several times with varying degrees of passion. "Maybe that will hold me for a while."

"The haircut looks nice, de Palma." Rita said grinning. "You are a very handsome man."

"I love you, baby." Tony laughed and headed back for the door. "I'm getting something from the car. Do you need anything?"

"I have all my things in here." Rita said. "Tony, thank you for being who you are. I love you very much."

Tony didn't know what inspired his lover to say this, but it put a smile on his face that lasted all evening.

....

There was only a vacant lot between the Roadside Pioneer Motel and Claude's Bistro. A hurricane damaged building had been demolished there. Rita chose to walk out to the sidewalk instead of crossing the rough ground in her nice clothes. It was about thirty more paces to Claude's parking lot. Just enough time for Rita to be spotted by a rough looking guy in a pick-up truck.