Any Way the Wind Blows - E. Lynn Harris [76]
“Bart, darling, come on in,” Ava said as she waved her long cranberry-colored fingernails in the air.
“How are you doing?” I asked as I followed Ava into the living area of her large one-bedroom suite.
“I’m doing fine, darling. Are you ready for our big day?” Ava asked as she sat on one of the two matching sofas. I sat on the sofa opposite her and stared at the roaring fireplace I hadn’t noticed on my previous visits.
“Bart, are you ready?” Ava asked again.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a fireplace in my apartment,” I said as I smiled weakly.
“Baby, after we finish doing what we have to do this afternoon, you can have anything you want, including a fireplace in Harlem,” Ava said.
There was no use holding back, so I said quickly, “I’m not going to make the phone calls. But since you’ve been so nice to me, I wanted to tell you in person.” Ava raised her eyebrows as if she was totally shocked by my decision.
“Do you mind telling me why? I mean, we’ve made plans, and I know you need the money,” Ava said.
“Yeah, I could use the money, but I do have to live with myself. Why don’t you give that money to some charity up in Harlem?” I suggested, trying to soften my refusal.
“Give my money to somebody up in Harlem? Are you kidding? From what I’ve heard, with Disney and Magic Johnson putting money up there, Harlem don’t need my money. Besides, my husband gives enough to the downtrodden. I’m only concerned with the uptrodden,” Ava said with an artificial laugh.
“Don’t worry, Ava, Basil will get his one day. He can’t just go around hurting people forever,” I said.
“I hope you’re right,” Ava said as she got up and walked over to the bar. She walked like she owned not only the suite, but the entire Plaza Hotel. She pulled out a bottle of champagne and popped the cork, then poured herself a glass.
She quickly emptied her champagne in one gulp and then turned toward me and asked if I wanted a drink.
“You got any brandy?”
“Of course, and if I don’t, I’ll call room service and we’ll get some up here right away,”Ava said.
While Ava was looking for the brandy, I walked over toward the windows overlooking Central Park. I gazed quietly at a winter blue sky without a cloud, as faint sunlight bounced through a large bay window. When I turned to walk back over to the seating area, I glanced toward the open door to the bedroom and the large canopy bed, layered with pillows and silk linens. My eyes moved toward the pale green carpet and I noticed a pair of men’s boxers on the floor. I figured either Ava’s husband was in town or she had gotten lucky.
“So is your husband coming to New York soon?” I asked.
“What?”
“Your husband. Does he ever come to New York to see you?”
“Naw, he doesn’t like New York. What made you ask about him?”
“Nothing, really. I just figured he probably missed you or you missed him,” I said as I sat back down on the sofa.
“Of course he misses me. There is only one problem, and that’s the fact that I don’t miss him. I mean, New York’s got a lot of fine young men willing to spend the evening with a beautiful and rich woman,” Ava said as she placed the brandy in front of me and took a small sip of her champagne.
“I’m so glad you’re not really upset with me, and I’ll start paying you back the ten thousand dollars in installments as soon as I get another full-time job,” I said, not looking at Ava directly but at the arrangement of white orchids sitting on a beautiful rosewood desk.
“And when might that be?” Ava asked.
“Hopefully very soon. I just finished a video for a young diva that’s going to be big, but they don’t pay much no matter how popular the singer. I’m going to start checking with some friends of mine about catering, and lately my agent has been sending me out on a lot of calls for film