Tiago Cartel: Dahlias Story

Red Dress

"Goodmorning Frankie. I have tea if you'd like some." Dahlia said walking in the building carrying the new paint she'd bought from the store. Frankie looked back and seen all the pain she was carrying, so he went to help her.

"More paint?" Frankie asked while grabbing the buckets out of her hand.

"Yes. I plan to, we'll with your help, I want to have this done within 6 months." Dahlia answered before going back outside. Frankie knew it was possible to have this place done in 6 months, if they worked on it everyday. He walked out with her and grabbed the rest of the paint.

"I got it, go in and sit down for a bit." Frankie told her. She went in, leaned on the wall, and slid down to take a seat.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Dahlia asked. Frankie looked towards her way, he knew he might regret saying yes but he nodded his head anyways.

"Do you have a woman?" Dahlia asked. Frankie smiled. That was a rare reaction and it made Dahlia smile too.

"Not at the moment." Frankie responded.

"How come?" Dahlia asked.

"A lot of women say they want a good man but some of them don't know how to treat one. If I'm going to love, I want to be loved as well. Especially if that love is from my significant other." Frankie responded.

"So they don't know how to love you?" Dahlia asked.

"They don't want to know how to love me." Frankie answered. Dahlia shook her head.

"What about you? I haven't heard you on the phone with a man." Frankie asked sitting down against the other side of the room, facing her.

"I'm just tired of encountering men who just want one thing from me. So I've decided to wait and sit with my self to see why I keep attracting those type of men." Dahlia answered.

"Or, maybe you should just enjoy yourself until someone sees you enjoying yourself and decides to enjoy you with you." Frankie replied.

"You gave her what?" Laraines asked, motioning her head forward a bit.

Diego came to sit with her this morning and talk to her for a little while. He wanted to get all of these strong emotions he was suddenly feeling out. He knew suppressing them would only lead to them becoming stronger, so he had to release them.

"It was just a bag and some shoes." Diego replied.

"A six-thousand dollar bag Diego." She replied.

"She didn't question it. All she did was smile." Diego said.

"She smiled? Like, she was excited? She didn't say she couldn't take it or anything?" Laraine asked.

"She smiled." Diego replied. Laraine sat back in her chair and smiled. A part of her was questioning the six-thousand dollar bag choice but another part of her started to realize why Diego had these strong feelings for a woman he'd just met.

"Have you put her in a category?" Laraine asked.

"Category?"

"A lot of people put people in these categories when they meet them. For example, I meet someone and say 'oh there going to make a great friend'. Or I can meet someone else and say 'that is going to be my man'." Laraine answered.

"I haven't. I've just been enjoying her." Diego responded.

"Well, keep doing that. Keep enjoying her." Laraine said.

The next week for Dahlia was nothing but hard work. She worked extra hard to get this building to look exactly the way she had dreamed it would look. Frankie was there to help her and did a lot more than Dahlia was able to do but he didn't mind. He was just happy to be in the building again. Dahlia would talk to him in full sentences and he'd give her half but she was used to it so it never bothered her much. She brought him food every other day and although Dahlia wasn't aware, he loved her cooking. He'd close his eyes on ever other bite so he never ate it in front of her.