Family Ties [Sequel to She Belongs To Me]

Lattes and Plans

Vincent:

My heart pounded as I stared out of the window. I simply could not believe that Hope was still alive after what I had done to her. But there she was plain as day. When she stepped into the coffee shop I glanced back at Stella. "If anyone will know where Emily is it's her. I-I have to talk to her!"

I unbuckled my seatbelt and started to climb out of the car until Stella grabbed my arm. "Are you out of your mind?" She asked, "She would scream her head off the minute she saw you and there are way too many witnesses here. You have to wait until she's alone."

Once again, I knew Stella was right. It would be completely idiotic to approach Hope in front of all these people. I leaned my head against the window with a sigh and Stella giggled.

"You really must be more patient, Vincent."

"But it could be days, maybe even weeks, before I can catch Hope alone." I whined.

Stella smiled and ran her fingers through my hair. "You just leave that to me."  She climbed out of the car and went into the coffee shop before I could say another word.  What in the hell was she doing!?  I shook my head and switched on the radio, hoping to calm my nerves with a little music until she returned.

"Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart.  I just don't he'd under-"

"Oh, for the love of God!" I grimaced,  changing the channel faster than a cheetah on steroids.  I flipped through the channels and settled on a Billy Joel tune.  Shutting my eyes, I leaned back into the seat and slipped into a sweet dream about Emily.

***

She was wearing a yellow dress and standing under a cherry blossom tree.  Next to her was a beautiful little girl.  Our daughter.  I picked her up and twirled her around playfully while Emily watched with a smile on her face.

"Oh, how I missed you, my darling."  She said, "I cried every night that I was without you."

I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into a family hug.  "You never have to shed another tear, my love.  I am here now and no one could drag me away."

I pressed my lips on to hers and we shared a passionate kiss.  When our lips parted she looked down at our daughter and said, "Did you hear that, sweetheart.  We get to live with daddy forever."

My breath hitched as I awaited her response to that news.  She looked up at me with a smile and said, "Vincent, would you wake the fuck up!?"

***

My eyes popped open to find Stella staring at me with a silly grin on her face.  "You must have been dreaming hard." She giggled, "You were snoring like a grizzly bear." 

Startled, I sat up and wiped the drool from my chin while she started the car.  "Very funny," I groaned, "So, did you talk to her?"

"Yep."

"And?"

She's really a very nice girl."

I put my palm to my face. "Stella, please. I don't think my nerves can handle much more."

"Alright, alright."  Stella rolled her eyes playfully and switched off the radio.  She looked at me with a triumphant grin on her face and said, "I'm picking her tomorrow afternoon for a shopping trip."

"You serious?"  I scratched my head in disbelief.  "You're telling me that you just met her and she wants to take a trip with you?"

"Uh-huh."

"How the hell did you pull that off?"

"Well, I started by complimenting her shoes.  Girls love when you notice their shoes."

"Okay....then what?"

"She invited me to have a latte with her.  We talked about clothes and men for a while, then we made plans to go shopping.  It's really not that complicated."

I wasn't particularly fond of the nonchalant tone she was taking with me, but I had to give her major props for getting close to Hope so quickly.  It blew my mind that Hope was foolish enough to hook up with a stranger just so she would have a shopping buddy.  I swear I'll never understand women.

"What time does she want you to pick her up?"

"Eight o'clock." She said with a shrug, "She wants to hit up the coffee shop before we get started.  But I suppose you have other plans for my new friend."

"Oh yes."  I said, "I have much different plans for her."