I had not seen Alvin C. Jones in over eight years, but I recognized him immediately. He was bigger and his head was completely shaved, but it could be no one other than the man they called Bull. Bull wasn't someone you forgot very easily. My name is Keylee.
Bull Jones was standing inside the Crescent City mall looking in a shop window. His hands were in his pockets and he whistled silently. He appeared to be studying a display of shirts and ties.
"You would look good in that black silk shirt with the gray tie," I said, easing up beside him.
"Not much on wearing ties," he said in his deep low voice. "How you doin', Keylee? Been a while." He didn't glance around at me and he didn't sound surprised to have me standing beside him in a crowded shopping mall after eight years and five hundred miles from where he last saw me. Bull Jones wasn't a man who was surprised very much.
"You saw me, didn't you?" I said looking at his reflection in the window.
"Yeah, I saw you a while ago."
"Why didn't you say something then?"
"Wasn't sure how you would react. I mean it's been a long time and I heard you got married and had a bunch of kids."
"You heard right on marriage, but not about children. Got married and got widowed. My husband died two years ago. Where did you disappear to, anyway?"
"Joined the navy and saw the world. I was in for six years. Sorry about your husband. I figure he was a good man, if you married him. Did I know him?"
"Yes, you and he were in the same class. Sam Hollings."
"Hell yes, I knew Sammy," Bull said turning to face me. "Dammed sorry, Keylee."
"We got married the summer after I graduated," I told him. "Sam had gone to work for his father at the building material store." I didn't mention that the following year Sam's father dropped dead of a heart attack and Sam sold the business for a bunch of money. Sam invested the money in some computer stock that made even more money. Sam's passing had left me well off. Empty and lonely, but well off. "Sam was only twenty five when a drunk driver ran into his car."
"Shit happens," Bull said. "It's true that the good die young. Want to get a beer?"
He led me out of the mall to his car and we drove to a nearby pub. In the two years since Sam passed I had not been alone in the company of any man, yet it felt right to have a drink with Bull.
I tried to remember when he got named Bull, but I couldn't. He had been called Bull ever since I had know him. That would have been the sixth grade when my family moved to town.
For some unexplained reason Bull and I became close friends and remained so through his senior year. I had to miss one grade because of a childhood decease so Bull had gotten a grade ahead of me. He was one of the few who came to my house to visit me while I was confined. He came nearly every day until my father found out about the black kid who came while he was at work. That put a stop to the visits. My dad was a great man, but he was a flaming bigot. He died as he lived, hating anyone who wasn't as white as he.
Dad saw Bull as a black kid, but I never gave a moment's thought about his skin color. To me he was just a friend. Later in high school we never dated, but I would have gone out with him in a minute. I never told Bull, but it really pissed me off when he told me all about his girlfriends. I knew he was having sex with them because the whole school knew about it. I never let on to him that I had a terrible crush on him. When he disappeared from town I thought I would never see him again. After Sam and I dated and got serious, I filed Bull Jones back in a private pocket in my mind and got on with my life. Now Bull sat across from me.
"Funny ain't it?" Bull said as if reading my mind. "Me and you here after all this time."
"Indeed it is funny," I replied. "Do you live here in town?"
"No just passing through. To tell the truth I was looking for you."
"Really?" I asked surprised. "The mall meeting wasn't an accident?"
"No, no accident. I followed you from your house."
"Bull, why didn't you just knock on my door?"
"I didn't know about your husband dieing until you told me. I didn't want to just show up and shock hubby or your neighbors. I found out where you were living and I looked your address up. I have to say, Keylee, that the years sure have been nice to you. I swear you're even prettier than you used to be, and that's saying a lot."
"Now haven't you turned into a silver tongued dude," I said blushing. "Thank you, Bull, for the flattery." I have no idea why his compliment made me feel so good, but it did.
Over the next hour, we drank beer and talked about old times. For the first time since Sam died I felt alive. In that hour I smiled and laughed more than the past two years total. Bull Jones, proved he was good medicine again.
"How about dinner?" Bull suggested. "I think I can scrape up enough to buy you a burger. No fries, but at least a burger."
"That sounds great, Bull," I said. "I have a better idea. I have a couple of steaks in the refrigerator. I'll grill them and make a salad. How does that sound to you?"
"Sounds like you don't want to be seen with a black man," he said seriously.
"Black man? You're black? Eek!" I said loudly enough to be heard several tables away. "If you ever even hint that I feel that way again, I'll smack all the black off of you," I said lowering my voice. "You of all people should know better, Bull."
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Didn't used to be so sensitive. Steak sounds good to me, Keylee. I just want you to know that my money situation is only temporary. Had a few reversals lately. Why don't I bring some beer or a bottle of wine?"