Over the years, Marshall dated sporadically, but none of the relationships ever got
to the point of becoming serious. Marshall missed being in a committed relationship and
looked forward to the day he'd be able to fall in love and perhaps settle
down and start a new family. However, that was easier said than done.
The mature, career oriented ladies he'd been dating were done with having children.
It's hard as hell out there, man, he told his brother Quentin,
when he'd stopped by the house the following afternoon after he'd had coffee with
Carmen. Marshall had fired up the barbecue grill and was grilling vegetables and fish.
The ladies that I've been meeting in their early forties are all solid career
women and aren't looking to have kids. Marshall said, Maybe you need to
look at a younger woman to get some of that young, energetic stuff.
Quentin said, slouching down in his seat and placing his feet up on a
small table. Man, please, I don't want to date a twenty year
old. I'm not trying to be anyone's sugar daddy. Quentin and Marshall burst
out laughing. Marshall, you make it sound as if you're an old man.
You're only forty two. A young piece of ass. Maybe just what
you need. I know, if I were in your shoes, i'd have
him coming and going. Quentin smiled at the thought. Yeah right, Marshall
disagreed with him. What would I do when I go to meet her parents?
Me and her father are the same, damn age, I'd feel like
the male version of Stella. I can see the book title now, how
Marshall got his cradle robbing on. Both men laughed. Well, it's not
uncommon. You know. Men our age have always dated younger women, Quentin
reminded Marshall. Quentin, I want what you have. What's that, Marshall
asked, A relationship that can weather a storm like you and Dawn. You
guys have had your share of ups and downs, but you've always managed to
stick together and tough it out. I thought I had that with Stacy,
but I didn't. It hurt like hell when she left me and moved back
to Florida. I'm still tripping out on the fact that I needed to see
a therapist after she left me. Marshall, you needed help. You'd gone
through a lot, and that was just a difficult time in your life.
You got through all of that, and I don't ever want to see you
that hurt again or that distraught again. Now I'm telling you, brother,
a tender piece of young ass might straighten you out. Quentin said, with
absolute certainty. You need to get out there and get to know more people.
What am I supposed to do? Go out and get tattooed up and
put on a pair of sacking pants and pimp walk into a club. Marshall
demonstrated how silly he'd look. Okay, all right, all right, you've
made your point. You should let Dawn hook you up with one of her
girlfriends. Quentin said, Nah, that's okay. I don't need someone playing
matchmaker for me, Marshall said, as he stepped inside of the house for
a moment. He returned with the small radio and plugged it in. The
sound of Marvin Gaye's smooth voice crooning about sexual heat filled the air around them.
Marshall went over to the grill checked the food. He almost tripped over
a sledgehammer that was resting against the side of the house. He had planned
to use it to bust up a section of concrete that the tree root had
cracked. He made a mental note to himself to place it back in the
garage where it belonged. You know, Dawn and I are going to a
steppers competition. You should come along, or even better, you should take
some steppers lessons and join in on the fund. Don't I need a partner
for that? Marshall asked, no, not really, There are more than
enough women who will be happy to dance with you. All you have to
do is take the class and learn. Hello. Their neighbor, Carmen waved
to Marshall from the sidewalk. Oh hey, Carmen, Marshall greeted her.
Quentin turned around in his seat to see what woman had come up to the
fence. She's a cutie, quick whispered, Who is she? And how
come you haven't said anything about her? It's not like that, Marshall said,
Is she singing? Quentin asked yes. Marshall answered, then it's like
that man, Quentin said, So this is your home, Carmen said,
as she looked around at the property Marshall was on. Yes, this is
home. Marshall said that foods you're grilling smells good. The scent of it
is wafting all the way down the block. Are you also a master chef?
Carmen teased, invite her into the backyard, fool. Quentin was whispering
instructions to his brother. Shut up, Marshall said, trying to silence his
brother. Where are you headed? Marshal asked, well, I'm headed down
to the hardware store to pick up a pipe wrench. There's a pipe leaking
under my sink and I need to fix it. Carmen said, see,
she needs a plumber to fix up pipes. Quinn began snickering, you need
to go and lay some pipe patna. Do you know what to do?
Marshall asked, no, not really. Carmen answered, excuse me, My
name is Quintin, this knucklehead's brother. Why don't you come on in for
a minute. Oh no, I couldn't. I was just walking past and
it happened to see Marshall. I hate to be this type of person who
walks past and doesn't speak. Carmen explained, don't be silly, come on
in. Quentin got up and walked toward the gate. Marshall will be more
than happy to help you. He's really good at that sort of stuff.
He owns a rental property and it's constantly having to fix broken pipes and patch
holes and walls. Carmen, you'll have to forgive my meddling brother, Marshall
said. How is your little man? Marshall asked, he's fine. Had
his arms wrapped around my legs right now, Carmen said, as she reached
down to pick up Nicholas. Why don't you come on in and have a
seat with us. We're just shooting the breeze. Quentin said, really,
guys, I should go. Carmen tried to excuse herself. No, are
you sure, Quentin asked, I'm positive. Carmen said, I can drop
by in about an hour if you'd like me to. Marshall said, in
the meantime, perhaps you should go back home and put a bucket under the
leaking pipe so that you don't get any water damage. I've already done that.
Carmen smiled at Marshall and then paused in thought. And how are you
say? Carmen asked, yes? About that? Okay, Carmen said,
and removed a pin from her purse. Mind, if I write my address
on your hand, just tell me the number. I'll remember Marshall's find.
Carmen gave him the number and then turned to head back towards home. Okay,
fool, who is she? And how come you haven't told me about
her? Quentin began grilling Marshall. There's nothing to tell. Marshall said,
nothing to tell? All, Come on, man, that woman came down
here because she wanted to see you. It's written all over her face.
Obviously at some point you made one hell of an impression on her. Quentin,
I met her yesterday at the community festival. Marshall paused, well,
actually we'd met before then, and Quentin was waiting for further details. She's
a woman, I say, from the lake a few years back, Marshall
said, really. Quentin's voice was filled with disbelief. Yes, really,
she purchased a home a few doors down. She's divorced now and is raising
her son her own. That's about all I know. Marshall walked over to
the cooler chest and removed about of water before sitting back down. Do you
find her attractive? Quin asked, she's pretty. Marshall answered, would you
fuck her if you got the chance? Quentin boldally asked. Marshall smirked and
paused in thought for a moment. Now you know I would, Marshall laughed.
Then take your ass down there, fix up pipes, and get to
know her. I'm willing to budd a million bucks. She's just dying to
get to know you better, Quentin said, Do you really think so?
Marcia was now considering what Quentin was saying. Dude, trust me, I've
overheard enough conversation that Donn has had with her single girlfriends to know that Carmen
has more than a casual interest in you. Get your head out of your
ass, Marshall and start living Quentin's as he rose to his feet. I'm
going to head on out so that you can get your tool bed and go
help that woman out. It's not going to take me that long to fix
a leaking pipe. It probably just needs to be tightened. You don't have
to leave, Quentin. Oh, I have a feeling that you're going to
be at her house longer than you think. Don't forget to feed Lovey before
you head down there, Quentin said, as he got into his car and
headed home. Was a man again, washal Man. A short while later,
Marshall grabbed his tool belt and his plumbing equipment and walked down to Carmen's
house. When he arrived, Carmen was glad to see him and escorted him
into the kitchen and showed him him where the leaky pipe was. As Marshall
inspected it, he immediately saw that the pipe had cracked and needed to be
replaced. Ah, this is going to take a little longer than I thought,
Marshall explained, what's wrong, Carmen asked, The pipe is cracked,
but I can take care of it. Don't worry, Marshall said. Marshall
spent the remainder of the afternoon finishing up the repair job. When he was
done, Carmen invited him to sit on her deck and enjoy a glass of
lemonade with her. Now that tastes good, Marshall said, as he placed
the ice filled glass up to his forehead. I'm glad you like it,
Carmen said, as she took a sip of her drink. I just loved
summer evenings like this. It's so peaceful and relaxing. Yes it is,
As he listened to Cricket sing, I still can't believe that I'm actually sitting
here with a man who saved not only my life, but my baby's life.
Carmen's voice was filled with gratefulness. Marshall smiled and took another sip of
his drink. So what do you like to do for fun, Marshall?
I like traveling. Since my divorce, I've taken several trips. Marshall glanced
over at Carmen. Where have you been? I'd love to travel more,
but I have to just find the time. Carmen tucked her legs beneath her
and focused on Marshall. Let's see, I've been to Costa Rica, I've
been to Belize, the West Indies, and I've taken an Alaskan cruise,
Marshall said. Carmen to how Marshall's face lit up when he talked about his
vacations. Wow, what was your favorite one out of those trips, Karmen
asked, I'd have to say the Alaskan cruise. Marshall said, really,
Karmen's voice was filled with this belief. Why I would have thought the trip
to Belize would be on the top of your list. Well, the Alaskan
cruise was different. And believe it or not, it is so beautiful up
there. The mountains are incredibly peaceful, while there, I did a lot
of soul searching. And Marshall paused, Let's just say I was able to
finally accept a lot of things that didn't go the way that I planned.
Did you have a spiritual experience or something? Carmen wanted to know more.
Yeah, I guess you could say it was something like that. Marshall agreed
with her assessment. Well what else do you like to do, Karmen asked,
because she really wanted to get to know him. Well, I do
volunteer work for the village. I bicycle, although not as much as I
used to. I like to go to the gym, read books, that
sort of thing. I'm a pretty flexible person. I can do just about
anything and enjoy it. But what about you, what do you like to
do? That's a great question, Carmen said as she readjusted her position in
her chair. Let's see, like you, I love to travel, although
I haven't had the money to do much of that ever since I purchased this
house. Oh, I can understand that a house will suck your bank account
dry. Marshall joked. I like taking evening walks and going to concerts,
and Carmen laughed. I've even been thinking about taking dance classes to learn how
to step, which would be something totally new for me because I have two
left feet. Marshall laughed, What you don't think I do well at it,
Carmen asked defensively. No, it's not that. My brother and his
wife have become serious steppers. They entered dance contests and are even going on
a steppers cruise in a few weeks. He and his wife don have been
trying to get me to take classes for the longest. Like you, I
have two left feet, then I would be a perfect dance partner for you.
Carmen laughed. Oh no, I'm not taking a dance class, Marshall
said, as he took another sip of his drink. Why not, It
would be fun. Besides, I'd feel more comfortable if I took the class
with someone who was just as bad as me. Now, wait a minute,
you don't even know me that well, and already you're calling me a
bad dancer. Marshall felt as if Carmen was issuing him a challenge. Well,
do you want to prove me wrong? You said you were a pretty
flexible person and could have fun doing just about anything. The Community Center offers
classes on Friday evenings. Carmen flirted with Marshall as she offered up the information.
Marshall was silent for a long moment and then said, what the hell
You only live once, right, Marshall said, exactly. Carmen agreed,
I can lead the information about the class in your mailbox. Marshall laughed again.
I can't believe that I'm agreeing to do this, but okay, I'll
do it. Great. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun, Carmen
said as she stood up and offered to take Marshall's glass. Can I get
another glass of that before I go? Marshall assed, absolutely, Carmen said
as she walked back inside the house. As she walked past Marshall, he
tried to inconspicuously get a really good look at her shape, he uttered to
himself as he imagined what he would feel like in his arms.