Note: There are still a few readers who send their e-mail comments containing questions, however sign their Feedback, Anonymous. It is not possible to respond unless there is an e-mail address attached. If you are concerned that your address will be shared, have no fear as I treat all communications with readers, secret and confidential. I welcome any comments and questions, as I believe they will help me with my writing. Without you, I am just a hack, banging away on my keyboard for nothing. Thank you again for taking the time to read my work. Professor98.
*
Richard and Linda sat across from each other in Mimi's restaurant sipping their coffee. They were both smiling, recalling how they had spent their morning. Every time Richard yawned, Linda would giggle.
"Are you tired?" she asked.
"Maybe a little. Why?"
"Well it's a long way to drive to San Diego and then back by this evening."
"What makes you think we are coming back tonight?"
"Tomorrow is Monday. Class ... you lecture, I listen. Remember?"
"I also remember Monday is September 5th, Labor Day. No classes, remember?"
"Labor Day ... I forgot; but I didn't pack anything. We have to go back to your place."
"No way little girl. If you get me back there, we will never leave. Later we can pick up a swimsuit and some other clothes for you."
"You just bought me clothes in Laguna. Why didn't you tell me? I could have packed them. You have already spent too much money on me."
"Maybe I should have, but I wanted this to be a surprise ... SURPRISE!" Said Richard waiving his hands, palms facing her, side to side like a singer in an old minstrel show."
"Funny ... but as the saying goes, don't quit your day job."
"Don't worry about the money. The trip is on my brother, James. The clothes will be on the expense account he gave me. James wants me to meet a client, for him. Actually I'm supposed to be James. We aren't going to talk about business. The meeting is more social than anything else. We are supposed to meet the guy on his yacht."
"Why didn't James go himself?" asked Linda.
"He is in love again and off to Cabo San Lucas, with his girlfriend de jour. Knowing him he will probably come back married. How he ever got ahead in business, thinking the way he does, I'll never understand."
"Okay, I'm yours for whatever scam you and your brother want to pull."
"It's not a scam. A scam is a swindle and unlawful. We are just meeting one of his clients."
"You mean ... one of your clients, James."
"Maybe a little scam, but nobody is being cheated," said Richard.
After breakfast they got into Richard's Porsche, and headed south on the Coast Highway. Richard placed a CD in the player. When one particular track came on, Linda began moving her butt in the seat, and did a little dance, her shoulders moving in all directions.
"What is that Richard? It really makes me want to move."
"That's a group called 'Euge Groove' aka Steve Grove. He plays a mean sax, doesn't he? The track is called 'From The Top.' He is young but very talented. Some of his tracks have 'rap' in them, so I don't buy those."
"If you buy an album, don't all the tracks come whether you want them or not?"
"No not really. I get all of my music from the Internet. You can download a whole album if you want or just various tracks. All you have to do is pick the tracks you want, and download them to your computer. Later you can burn them to a disc."
Linda was really moving to the music when Richard said,
"If you keep moving your butt that way, you're going to wear out that leather seat. You are also going to awaken the hulk. We don't want that do we?"
"Oh I wouldn't mind," said Linda, raising her eyebrows. "It has been several hours you know."
"Exactly three hours and seventeen minutes. You can wait until we reach the hotel, can't you?"
"I guess," she said, moving her lips to the side in a small gesture of defiance, "where are we going to stay?"
"It is a hotel called the "Catamaran" in Mission bay. I thought I told you. I understand that it has a beautiful view of the ocean."
It was a typical Southern California day and Linda relaxed as he shifted into fourth gear. Eighty degrees, puffy clouds and the blue Pacific Ocean to her right, as the black Porsche sped south, passed the bright red bougainvillea plants, which lined the highway. She now understood what the poet meant when he wrote,
"All is right with the world."
Glancing at his watch, Richard said,
"It's almost ten, and we are coming into Laguna Beach. All the shops will be open. Would you like to stop and pick up some clothes there?"
Linda smiled a little crooked smile, her deep dimples accentuating her beautifully tanned face. She muttered,
"Shopping is my middle name. You don't have to ask me twice. I really liked that little boutique, on the left just passed the Art gallery. I can't recall the name, but I can show you where it is."
"To the boutique, Macduff," said Richard, thrusting his hand in the air as if he were holding a sword.
"Who is Macduff?"
"Actually the quote is,
'Lay on, Macduff, And dammed be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'
"In Shakespeare's Macbeth, they are his last words, meaning something like 'Go for it, Macduff, let's fight to the death!', before Macduff kills MacBeth in combat. I guess sometimes, you just bring out the silliness in me."
It was wonderful, she thought. Her Psychology professor, who she originally believed to be, stuffy, straight laced and dull, turned out to be a strong, sexy, handsome intelligent man with a sense of humor. As her cousin Lila, who was from Tennessee used to say, 'She was in Hog heaven.'
Linda found the store and it only took her a half hour to pick out everything she would need for the trip. Against her better judgment, Richard made her choose an expensive cocktail dress for the evening. He even had her pick out some very sexy, black 'fuck me' shoes. Most girls know that if they wear a certain type of stiletto high heal shoe, it was almost a guaranteed that they would be fucked before the evening was out. It's an old trick many girls use that seldom fails.
She felt a little guilty when she saw the total on the cash register and frowned at Richard. He just smiled and displayed his brother's VISA card, then whispered to her,