Yakima Ch. 05-06

He shrugged. "Dunno. Never been there."

"So, who's watching you tonight?"

"Grams. She'll be along soon."

I hadn't met a six-year-old quite as together as Jack Bledsoe. If I'd heard his voice on the phone, I might mistake him for much older. He had a slight accent, but nothing like his mother. It sounded like he had some of her vocabulary, though.

"First year in school?" I asked him.

"Naw. Second. I'm a little ahead of some of the other kids."

"I'm not surprised," I chuckled.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I manage the works department for the city. We make sure all the water and sewer and roads are in good shape." I tried to keep it simple for him.

"Mum works for Grams. She's some kind of boss. Grams is the big boss."

"Yes, I know. I met your grandmother last week. She's a very nice lady."

"Yeah. I'm glad we live here now. I get to see her a lot. Gramps died, you know."

"I heard about that. I'm sorry you never got to know him."

At that moment the front door opened and Kim Bledsoe entered.

"Hello, Graham. How are you this evening?"

"Fine thank you, Mrs. Bledsoe."

"It's Kim, Graham. Are you all settled in your new job?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm happy the budget is all set for this year so I'll have some time before I have to do next year's."

"Hello, Jackie," she said with a big smile, tousling his hair before turning back to me.

"Where's that daughter of mine. You'll be late for your reservation if she doesn't get a wiggle on." With that, she walked quickly toward the back of the house seeking my date. One thing I was learning about the Bledsoe family. They weren't the shy, retiring types.

It was only a minute later that both Kim and Ali appeared. Kim had been dressed very casually in a cable-knit sweater and slacks. Ali, on the other hand, looked quite different. She was wearing a multi-colored blouse on a dark blue background and complemented it with a navy blue skirt that was ankle length. The effect was something very different ... and very, very attractive.

"You look lovely," I said, as I greeted her.

"Thank you, Grime. You look very handsome yourself."

I was wearing a black blazer under my top coat, tan wool slacks and an open-necked cream-colored dress shirt. It was cold out, so I expected Ali would wear a coat and she passed me a very nice black knee-length dress coat. I helped her on with it and we were ready to go.

"No need to hurry back, Graham. I'm fine here with Jackie. Take your time and enjoy your evening together."

"Thank you," I said with a smile. It would appear that Mrs. Bledsoe approved of my dating her daughter.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," Ali said as I opened the door on my new Escape and waited as she entered.

"I was trying to decide what to wear and couldn't make up my mind," she explained when I got in behind the wheel.

"You look terrific. I can't imagine you any other way," I said.

"Ah ... that's interesting. Have you been imagining me, Grime?"

I cleared my throat, which had suddenly, inexplicably clogged. "Well, to be perfectly honest, yes."

"Let me guess. You went home after the New Year's party and lay in bed trying to get to sleep, but that little encounter of ours wouldn't let you. Am I correct?"

I looked at her in amazement. "How did you know? Was I that obvious?"

"It was the other way about. I was the obvious one. And I lay in my bed thinking about a certain fellow who got my attention."

"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" I suggested.

"It will help pass the time. We aren't in any rush. We can take our time and tell each other tall tales."

I smiled. "I'm not sure mine are very tall, but I like your idea."

We were only five minutes late arriving at the restaurant and were seated within a minute by the hostess. The family that ran the place were originally from Switzerland and I remembered meeting them the first time I was here with Reese. I wondered what the appeal of Yakima was compared to the Swiss Alps. The two geographic areas couldn't be more different.

"I've only been here once before, Ali, but the food was wonderful and the service was excellent. We met the Zaitzeffs who own the place. They are originally from a small town near Zurich and came here about fifteen years ago."

"I'm sure I'll love it. Mum says it's very good. She's been here a couple of times. She said you had very good taste," she smiled.

Her eyes sparkled as they usually did and her smile was as bright as ever. Surely she must know how lovely she looks, I thought.

Our waiter arrived and we decided on a three course meal. A shared appetizer first, entrée, and then something afterwards. I was presented with the wine list and consulted with Ali.

"What would you like for wine?"

"I'm going for meat tonight, Grime, so if you don't mind, I'll have some red. You choose."

"I'll join you, both with the meat and the wine. What do you see on the menu that catches your eye?" I asked.

"Lamb. They've a rack of lamb that made me blind to all the other choices. Mum says it's the best of the best."

"I haven't had lamb in years," I said. "I think I'll join you. And as for the wine, they've got a nice Pinot Noir that I know is good. Very smooth. I hope you'll like it."

"Very smooth, eh. Something like you, then," she grinned.

"If you only knew," I mumbled, studying the menu.

"I heard that," she snorted.

We decided on sharing an appetizer and the waiter left with our order. A couple of minutes later he was back with our wine choice and passed a sample to me for my approval. It was just as I remembered it and nodded confirmation.

"Very nice, Grime. This is a very good choice," she smiled, raising her glass to me. I met her with my glass and we clinked gently.

"Before we start comparing our history," Ali said with a serious note, "there's something you should know. I know a bit more about you and your family than I've let on. You know I'm not Gordon Winters' best friend. He tried to chat me up more than a few times. I had him pegged as a slimy bugger right off the bat. He was dating as many of the women in the office as he could get his hands on. A real ladies man, so he thought.

"When your wife came along, he changed his tune. I knew she was married because I did the financing on the Explorer you bought. I don't know what happened, but not long after, she was showing up at the dealership at odd times and somehow Gordo was always the one chatting her up. At first, I thought there was something wrong with her car, but after a bit, I was pretty sure she and Gordo were getting together. Then, later on, Gordo would disappear at lunch time and not show up until past two.

"Well, I'd seen all that before, but not quite the same. I was pretty sure he was trying to keep this little bit of playtime out of anyone's eyesight. Then, I guess your wife ... ex-wife ... got pushed a bit and the next you knew, she was headed for the divorce court. I was pissed she did the dirty on you, but by the time I'd figured it out, it was all over but the court case. I still don't believe he'll marry her, but bloody hell, I didn't think she'd throw you over either."

"There wasn't anything you could have done, Ali. If she was determined to trade me in on a fancier model, there was nothing I could do to stop it."

"She's not getting any bargain, Grime. I know that bugger. He's got a wandering eye. I'd fall over in a dead faint if he's changed."

I shrugged. "It's all over so it doesn't really matter. I didn't get raped in the divorce and she didn't get the kids full time. It wasn't a nice experience, but based on some of the horror stories I've heard, I came out of it with only a few bruises."

"That's bloody big of you, Grime. You spent twenty years as faithful as old Big Ben. You helped raise two very good kids. You made her comfortable so she didn't have to work. For all that, the stupid cow threw you over for Gordon bloody Winters."

"Calm down, Ali. You sound more upset about it than I am. What the hell, you went through something similar yourself."

She was shaking her head. "No. Not really. Pete was a man attached to a pecker, not the other way about. I knew that when I took up with him and I knew that when I left. I unexpectedly got pregnant. Pete decided that he wouldn't be getting his rightful share of my favors, so he started looking a little more seriously for my replacement. I gathered my kit and came home. Smartest thing I ever did."

"You've got a very responsible job at Kimble. How did that come about?"

"Pete wasn't great at making money, just good at spending it. I had a job and I'd been taking courses in accounting and business at the uni. I got my certificate and when I got back here, Mum made sure I was qualified in Washington State. I'm in training to take over as CFO when Morley Callahan retires in a few years. I'll be ready then."

I was shaking my head. "You should be very proud of yourself. You didn't stop trying to be better. Now ... look at your future."

"There are some pieces of my future that aren't clear yet," she said cryptically. "I'd rather not spend it alone. I'd rather Jackie had a father. I'd rather Mum felt free to date more often and not worry if I needed a sitter for Jackie."

I was tempted to say something at that moment, but chose to dodge the issue.

"Is your mother dating?" I asked, wondering if the question was improper.

"Yeah. How's this for a coincidence? She's dating Miles Hoffman."

"Really! Well, I'll be damned. She has good taste, and so does he. Miles was my lawyer in the divorce."

"I know. That's one of the reason's I know a little more about you," she admitted. "He was very impressed with you, Mum said. I decided that if I could arrange it, I'd have you at my table at New Year's and it worked out. I was curious. Now, I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too," I smiled. She had set out to meet me and this was the result of her success.

Our entrée arrived and it was every bit as good as advertised. I'd forgotten how much I liked lamb and this meal was one I wouldn't soon forget. Ali agreed and we ate in silence, enjoying the food. We were sitting at ninety degrees from each other, rather than across the table. I liked that better. It seemed much more intimate.

"So now you know more about me, what about you, Grime?" Ali asked as we waited for the dessert menu.

"Pretty plain vanilla, Ali. Finished high school, then went to work for the city. Met and married Clareese Newell three years later. My supervisor, Frank Martinez, took a liking to me and suggested I get more education unless I wanted to spend the rest of my days on a work crew. I went to community college night school for four years after Matt was born. When Jessica came along, I went back to night school for some business related subjects.

"Frank kept following my progress and gave me an office job in scheduling. I just kept doing what he said and the next thing I knew, I was his right hand man. I'm reasonably young to have the job I just received, so I feel very lucky. I owe it all to Frank."

Ali had her lovely eyes fixed on me as I told my story. "You must have shown Frank and the higher-ups something as well, Grime. You're a good man and it's small wonder I'm attracted to you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Ali. You already know I'm attracted to you."

"Yeah ... I could feel it in your pants at New Year's," she laughed.

"I apologize for that. I would never embarrass you on purpose," I said contritely.

"I know. I don't know how I know, but I do. You're not like any of the men I've known. You're definitely not like Pete. God knows what made me stay with him."

"Was he always unfaithful?"

"I think he was, but I had blinders on for a long while. After a bit, I figured it out and then I had to decide. Go off on my own, or stick with Pete and try and make it work. Stupid me."

"How about we change the subject," I suggested. "I know all I need to know about your past. Let's talk about your future. You have a nice home to live in, so that's a big plus ... especially for Jack."

"Yeah. Mum helped with the down payment and I'm well done for with my salary. She doesn't do me any special favors at work, but I don't want any. I want to earn my way. Someday in the distant future, I'll be running Kimble Ford if it's still about. I'm going to find out everything I can about what that takes. If Mum marries Miles, then I'll have a model to follow. He's a good fellow and not one to sit about and let Mum take care of him."

"He could be very helpful in the business as well," I suggested. "He might have to give up his family law practice, but there are worse things you do for the woman you love."

She looked at me very carefully after that remark. I realized I might have stepped over the bounds and was about to apologize when I saw the lovely smile on both her lips and in her eyes.

"You've got it all sorted, then," she grinned. "Mum gets Miles and everything's super."

"Sorry. I guess I was thinking aloud. Even if it wasn't Miles, I'm sure your mother would want someone compatible with her life, not just an escort."

"Absolutely! You'd better love Fords or it's not on," she laughed.

"Well, now that I'm part of the Kimble customer base, do I qualify?"

"You could qualify if you drove a bloody Lada," she said, reaching for my hand under the table. Maybe sitting this close wasn't such a good idea. I could feel her hand on my thigh and only the long tablecloth covered her move.

"You have quite a naughty streak in you, don't you," I suggested.

"Yeah ... sometimes. Does that bother you?"

"I don't know. I've never met anyone quite like you. I guess I've lived a sheltered life. I'm still trying to figure out why you're attracted to me."

She was squeezing my thigh now, her hand moving a bit further up. I was trying very hard not to react.

"Sometime, when we have a quiet moment, I'll explain it all to you in words that a fellow can easily understand. I'm not some teenager with a crush on the handsome stud. I'm a mature woman with a young lad and a craving for a better life for both of us."

Once again, the accent was almost non-existent, but the impact of her words was unmistakable. I believed every word she said.

To Be Continued