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Part III

“You have enough kitchen gadgets to start your own restaurant,” Marshall remarked as they lugged the third box of kitchen utensils down to the car.
“Didn’t I tell you cooking was my thing?” Coral laughed.
“You weren’t lying.”
They packed and talked and laughed and generally had a good time.
“So, does anything stay?” Marshall asked once they had gotten to the bedroom.
“Um, any of the jerk’s clothes, they should be relegated to those three drawers, which can be dumped in the corner, the top two shelves of books can stay, and all the pictures on the dresser. But everything else can go.” Marshall quickly took care of the clothes she mentioned, as well as the books, and finally the picture frames. He looked into the eyes of the guy that had once been Coral’s boyfriend. Tall, handsome, dark eyes and black hair, put together in a business suit. Marshall nearly sighed in relief at letting his hair go back to brown. Coral in all the pictures looked like she was putting on a smile merely for the camera. He wondered why.
“So that’s him?” Marshall asked.
“Hum?” Coral replied edging out of the closet from where she was collecting her sneaker collection.
“The ex?” Marshall asked turning the picture to show her what he was looking at.
“Yeah, that’s him. Charlie, the stockbroker. He should be one of the little icons you use for software or something,” she replied going back to the more important task of pulling out her shoes.
“Well, even you don’t look too happy in those pictures, so no use in saving you from them, so, we’ll try for a three pointer!” Marshall made like he was playing a basketball game and shot the picture frame into the pile of “Charlie the Stockbroker’s” stuff.
“I knew you had a good sense of humor when I met you,” Coral laughed, finally pulling out the last of her shoes and stuffing them into a suitcase.
“You need to have somebody around that’s not so stuffy,” Marshall replied, sinking another shot with another frame and giving a satisfied smile when he heard the glass break. Coral gave a low chuckle.
“Now Marshall, those were very expensive frames, they came from Tiffany’s don’t you know, pure silver and all that Tiffany’s entails.” Coral said with a phony ritzy accent.
“I know darling, but they are a bit tacky don’t you think?” Marshall put on an accent of an airy Englishman and dunked another frame. They both laughed.
“We’ll have to hang out again after this whole divorce thing you know, just for the hell of it you know,” Coral remarked.
“Yeah, that’d be cool.” Marshall nodded with a smile. He walked over to the only poster on the walls of the grubby little room, a plastic framed eleven by twenty, double matted photograph. He understood immediately why she had it. It was a winter scene of what looked like the wide expanse of a park. Trees lined the walk and took up the whole scene that was shaded almost entirely blue and hauntingly beautiful. He didn’t realize how long he’d been standing there looking at it when Coral came up beside him.
“Kinda pulls you in doesn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah, it does. It’s beautiful, you do it?” he asked looking over at her.
“Na, I found it at this little restaurant I used to work at. I bugged my boss to let me buy from the day I got there. When I left, he gave it to me, as sort of thank you. Well, not so much left, as the restaurant went under. Not too many places last around here. Not new places anyway.”
“This is definitely coming then?” he asked.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Where is it a picture of?”
“I have no idea. But one day, I’d like to find it, and see it, maybe, you know, during the winter, while it’s snowing. I don’t know, sounds all romantic or something right? Like where you’d want somebody to propose to you.” Coral replied starring at the picture.
“Being romantic isn’t a bad thing you know, everyone has a romantic ideal about something.” Marshall replied, though he was still looking at the picture too. It seemed to just suck them into that world, like they were standing there in that park, on that walk, in that moment, with the snow falling around them.
“What’s your romantic ideal?” she asked suddenly turning to him.
“I don’t have one,” Marshall replied quickly, finally pulling his eyes away from the photo and plucking it off the wall. He carefully and gingerly wrapped the photo in some plain paper before Coral helped him package it in a box meant specifically for the picture.
“No, really, what is yours?” she asked as he held the flaps of the box closed for her to tape shut.
“Family. A big family Christmas, at home. You know, house all decorated, a big Christmas tree in the living room, presents to wrap, toys to put together. A big dinner in that dining room that’s never been used. Hailie, dressed up in one of her favorite dresses. You know, different from all the Christmases I’ve known.” Whoa, did he just say that? How the hell had she managed to get to say that out loud? He’d never even said that to himself, let alone some woman he’d met only a day ago.
“That’s not unrealistic. That’s a pretty normal request, I think a lot of people want that. I think that’d be nice too. I never had a big family Christmas either,” Coral replied.
“No?”
“Nope. My parents did a lot of traveling, so we usually were just sent on like these little vacation things. I spent almost every Christmas growing up with my great Aunt Gretchen in Kentucky, god that place was awful. She had this huge house, that I’d end up getting lost in half the time, and this creepy butler with a glass eye,” here Coral gave a little shiver before continuing.
“Thing was, Aunt Gretchen never liked me. So I spent most of my time there in the kitchen with her cook Toasty, that’s what she liked to be called. The kitchen was the only warm place in the house too, that’s where I learned to like cooking. I always had so much fun with her. But I did miss my family, believe it or not. Especially Turkey, we’ve always gotten along the best.” Coral turned to Marshall who was listening with rapt attention and then she finally snapped out of it.
“Damn it Marshall, when are you going to tell me to shut up?” she laughed. He laughed as well and took the picture out to the living room.
“Have you ever thought that maybe I enjoyed listening to you talk?” he asked.
“I don’t know, I figured maybe you’d have something to say once in a while, and Charlie used to get all pissed off when I talked too much.” Coral replied shrugging her shoulders.
“I’m not Charlie.” Marshall replied simply, implying the seriousness with his gaze. She looked away uncomfortably and replied,
“I’m gonna go call the pizza place and see what’s taking them so long.”

They arrived back at Marshall’s house close to midnight, both dead tired and sore from loading Marshall’s car. Everything fit, except for the furniture of course, which Coral had arranged to be put in storage.
“I’m gonna grab something to eat, you want anything?” Marshall asked as he got in the door.
“Uh, sure I guess so,” Coral replied following him.
“What do you want? We got, well, not that much to tell you the truth,” Marshall replied as he looked through the refrigerator.
“Step out of the way, the master approaches the podium,” Coral said stepping alongside him. He laughed slightly but moved aside all the same.
“We only got some like, leftovers, and not that much either,” Marshall replied.
“Take a seat boy, and I’ll show you what I can do,” Coral replied gently pushing him out of the way. He chuckled and took a seat at the counter to watch her.
“Fabulous, what are you talking about? We’ve got plenty to work with!” Coral dove into the refrigerator and pulled out what she needed.
“Some leftover chicken, fruit salad, bell peppers, guava, avocado, lemon, we got plenty to work with, all you need is a little imagination, you’ll see.” Coral said giving him a smile.
“You need help with anything?” Marshall asked looking over the contents that she’d brought of the fridge.
“You just sit right there, and watch the master at work. You’ll be surprised what you can make out of a few leftovers.” Marshall did just that, watching as Coral worked her way through the kitchen, finding everything she needed almost by instinct. She talked to him as she worked, her hands a blur as she chopped ingredients with a large butcher knife.
“All right, what was the best sex, you ever had?” Marshall asked with a laugh. They’d been playing the twenty questions game since she started cooking.
“Sss, well, that’s hard to say. What are we talking, romance, or just the best shag period?” she asked.
“Just the best fuck, come on, what was it?” Marshall egged on. She laughed slightly.
“Okay then, best one, the best one, hmm. Okay, I got it. One night when I went to pick up something from my parent’s office, I met Pearl on the way out. She was coming out with one of her clients, a one Mr. Buster Collier. Well she left and I went upstairs to her office, she’d given me her key so I could get my jacket, I’d left it there the other day. Well, I got up there, and just as I was turning to leave the office, I found Mr. Collier in the door. We knocked all the stuff off of Pearl’s desk and fucked like jackrabbits until he nearly broke his back. A few weeks later when I saw Pearl again I just casually asked about him, and she said that he’d postponed their meetings until he was out of traction!”
“You are shitting me!” Marshall laughed.
“Nope, I put the bastard in traction, and Pearl never did figure out how her favorite picture of her and her pukey boyfriend got smashed.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Marshall laughed.
“Oh really, wait until you taste this,” Coral replied turning from the stove and putting a plate down in front of him. A pile of pasta layered with what looked like a salsa and chicken lay before him. He picked up his fork and took a hearty bite.
“So? What do you think?” she asked with a smile.
“This, is, just, wow, fucking amazing. I mean, what it is?” Marshall asked.
“Well, it’s diced chicken, salsa made with mango, red and yellow peppers, avocado, with just a touch of lemon, sautéed in light olive oil, you like?” Coral raised an eyebrow, watching him devour the food before him.
“You’re good, I mean, you’re really good,” he replied between bites.
“Why thank ya, thank ya very much!” Coral laughed taking a plate for herself. She sat down across from him to eat.
“Okay, so Marshall, you’re turn, you’re best sex ever.”

They lagged behind and took a good long time polishing off all the food Coral had whipped up as they laughed and talked some more. Marshall hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he was telling stories about being on tour with his band and showing her pictures of Hailie.
“Aw, she’s beautiful, she’s got your eyes,” Coral remarked.
“Yeah, that’s my baby girl, she looks so much like her mother, but she acts like me so much it’s scary.” Marshall laughed.
“That’s sweet, you must really miss her. Me, god, I don’t know what I’d do if I had a kid taken away.”
“You don’t have any kids?”
“Na, I don’t want to bring a kid into the mess that my life is. I don’t want to have to struggle to give a kid a life, when I can’t even take care of myself. I mean I want kids, but not until I can take care of them, plus, I’d like to be married. But either way, if it happens it happens. But I’m in no hurry. Life gives us what we want when we need it and not before. And if you want something bad enough, you’ll make sure you live your life the way you need to in order to get what you want.” Coral took his plate along with hers and placed it in the sink.
“Where were you when I needed that advice?” Marshall laughed.
“What do mean?”
“I mean, you make a lot of sense. If I had lived my life, the right way in the first place, I’d be able to see my daughter now. I’d be able to talk to her.” Marshall dropped his head and looked at his shoes.
“Well, look at it this way. You want it bad enough Marshall, you’ll do it. You need to prove it to yourself, not just the court that you deserve your daughter.” Coral replied. He lifted his head and looked at her.
“You’re doing a pretty good job at being a wife, you know that?” She merely shrugged and smiled at him.
“I hate to bust up a big party here, and I am enjoying our little chat, but you did say that Paul is coming early, and I’m sure that Onyx will be here at the crack of dawn,” Coral started but Marshall interrupted.
“So what? Lets just stay up, for the first time in a long time I’ve got somebody to talk to, that isn’t interested in getting them a deal or an autograph or something,”
“And that means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Coral asked curiously.
“Lets just say I don’t get to meet a lot of honest people, and to tell you the truth, if you do turn out to be like your sister Pearl, and decide to sue me for half of what I got, I’ll never trust another woman I meet.” Coral took in his intense stare and marveled at what had become the strangest relationship she’d been involved in since she could remember. Some how, she’d managed to get this guy, who obviously had trust issues, to open up to her. It wasn’t something she’d been looking for, but then again, when you stop looking for something is when you find it. She’d make sure that he knew he did have a friend that he could lean on, one that wasn’t looking for something in return.
“All right, let’s stay up, but, we’ve got to play truth or dare.” Coral raised her eyebrows at him and grinned. He smiled wide and nodded.
“You got it.”