Summer's Spell

Chapter 11 - Green-Eyed Monster

 "What's your excuse this time? It's been nearly three years. Are you starting to run out?" Victoria bit her lip, her voice shaky, attempting to fight back tears.

"Yes, but I'm sure I'll think of something." Sheldon almost laughed, but caught himself. This was no laughing matter to Victoria. She had been flipping through page after page of bridal magazines searching for the perfect dress, venue, deor.

"First you said you needed to finish school, you've finished. Then you said you needed to save up for a house, we're both rich, remember? Then when I picked out a church, you said "no" because it has 13 steps. Then when I picked a date, you said your horoscope warned you of trouble on the horizon. Your excuses are getting sillier and sillier." Victoria shouted, her eyes misty.

"You might think it's funny, but my horoscope predictions are always accurate. I'm just trying to avoid a disaster."

"This engagement is a disaster. It's going nowhere. I'm tired of getting my hopes up." Her hands shook as she reached for a kleenex to wipe her face.

He ran his fingers through her soft curls, trying to sooth her. "Just be patient. The day will come."

Victoria composed herself. As she stood up to leave, she looked him straight in the eye. Her voice was calm, but firm. "I've run out of patience. Maybe some day it will work out, but until then, goodbye."

"Victoria, don't do this," he pleaded. "Come back." Her long hair and flowing skirt swayed in the wind as she walked away, never looking back. He watched her until she disappeared in the distance.

_________________________________________________________

Sheldon poured himself a cup of coffee as he thought about that last painful conversation with Victoria. Always reserved and patient, this was unlike her to speak her mind. She was definitely coming out of her southern belle mode. It took him off guard.

At least they would remain in touch. After all, she was still working for Merrick Property Management. In fact, Victoria had excelled at her job so much that she switched her course of study from fashion merchandising to maintenance technology. Now, two years later, she was recently promoted to supervisor.

Sheldon grabbed his binoculars and opened the kitchen window. MPM owned his apartment complex and Victoria's crew was in charge of the maintenance and landscaping. The crew, consisting of Victoria and six guys, were mulching the area outside his window. A few of the guys were attractive, but one guy in particular worried him.

He was a young, eager trainee named Carlos, tall and dark, with well-defined muscles popping out of his shirt. He oozed masculinity with his rugged good looks, deep voice and Italian accent.

Victoria and Carlos never seemed to be more than an elbow's length from each other, mulching together side by side. Sheldon observed him glancing at her while raising his dark heavy eyebrows up and down.

This set off a spark fueled by the green-eyed monster. Sheldon called his Dad, skipped the "Hi, how are yous," and went on his frustrated tirade.

"The view out my window is a hostile environment. As a tenant, I am highly offended. He is sexually harassing her and getting away with it, all because he's speaking in Spanish. How do I know? I don't speak the language, but trust me, guys know these things. Dad, I'm telling you, they are elbow to elbow! It's sickening to watch. I realize the guy is in training, but come on! How complicated is it to move a shovel full of mulch from one spot to another. The two of them are about as productive as a couple sleeping cats. Can't you transfer him to another crew?..... Better yet, why don't you use your Rieke magic to send that guy into a state of castrated equilibrium. And I don't want to mention names, but you know who I'm talking about!"

Walter burst into laughter, so loud it almost busted Sheldon's ear drum. "If you're that worried, marry the girl, for goodness sake."

He hated it that his Dad was always right, but Dad did not understand the complexity of the situation.

Sheldon was torn. The thought of Victoria being available made him very uneasy. But then he thought about the other option, an imminent marriage. Next everything would all go down hill, the whiny children, the nagging wife, the "honey do" list, and no more fun nights out with the guys.

How he wished he could keep things the way they were. It was an ideal situation, an engagement with no set wedding date. He could keep Victoria at bay while he was technically still single and free to roam. Now she was free. He tried not to think about it.

Enough spying, back to work. As he entered his office, he checked his phone messages. A female voice requested a private showing. Sounds like a LOFOR, he thought. LOFOR was an acronym meaning, "Ladies out for one reason" It was his policy to schedule an office screening for all clients in order to eliminate those with ulterior motives. For it was well known that Sheldon was single, handsome and, despite attempting to mask his identity by changing his professional name, he was still known as Walter's son. It's hard to keep a secret in this town.

These ladies would request a private showing. At the office screening, he could spot them a mile away, and so could the other realtors in the office. "That's a LOFOR if I ever saw one," they would joke amongst themselves. Upon further questioning, LOFORs would admit they were not interested in house hunting, but they did want to make him an offer. It was all quite tempting but Sheldon could not mix business with pleasure.

Besides, Summer was always on his mind. It's as though she cast a spell on him from afar. He found himself constantly reliving those electrifying moments of passion when their eyes first met.

Then one September morning, one of his many Summer fantasies was interrupted by a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Hi Don, it's your Uncle Bob."

"Hi Bob."

"I just wanted to tell you Summer stopped by the store."

"Oh, she did."

"Yes, we had a brief, pleasant conversation."

"What did she say?"

"She's taking her act to the Big Apple, headlining at Comet's Comedy Club."

"Comet's. Wow! . . . . Did she mention me?"

"No, but it's just as well. You haven't heard about one of her old boy friends."

"No, he's not, uh, dead, is he?"

"No, but he checked into a shelter for abused victims at the time he was living with her. That's not a rumor. I know that for a fact."

"Oh no, do you know how he is doing?"

"I heard he's okay. He left town."

"Okay, thanks for the update. Hope all is well with you. Let me know if you hear anything else."

"I sure will. Goodbye"

Sheldon was quite disappointed Summer did not ask about him, even after what Uncle Bob just told him. He hung up the phone thinking he would not hear from her again.