NOSTALGIA (eBook)

WANDA

It was August 10, 1990. This had to be one of the hottest days ever in upstate New York. People sought relief in any way possible.

Marilee was covering the reception desk that day in the law firm of Gillman, Steiner, and O’Leary, whose practice was mainly Estate law.

There were seven attorneys in this firm and each had their own secretary; so, as part of their daily routine, it was required that each secretary would take turns at the front desk for a day. Today was Marilee’s turn.

She was a rather shy young lady of 20 whom everyone knew, thus far, had led a somewhat sheltered life. But she was a very good secretary and worked for one of the Junior partners.

The phone calls were coming in rapidly without ceasing and Marilee worked the phones like a true professional. Thankfully, the phones stopped ringing by late morning and Marilee was able to relax a bit.

The swinging glass doors opened then and Wanda, another secretary strolled in…greeting Marilee as she passed.

Wanda was 27 years old and worked for one of the Senior partners of the firm. She was 5’5” tall and weighed 120 lbs. She had naturally blonde curly hair that reached her shoulders. Her hair always seemed to shine and glisten. She had very dark brown, expressive eyes.

Wanda wore very short dresses all the time and this day was no exception.

Her dresses were about the shortest anyone had ever seen! She had spectacular legs, (like a dancer’s legs), and all the men in the office couldn’t help but “sneak a peek” now and then. Wanda deliberately wore them short to show off her fantastic legs. She was also known to have had a few lovers by the age of 27 and she sometimes even talked about it openly in the office, although her best friend, Delia, encouraged her not to.

“Hey there, Marilee, what’s new?” Wanda asked Marilee as Wanda leisurely strolled into the reception area, swinging her hips from side to side, as usual.

“Nothing much. John has a big Estate being probated today,” Marilee replied.

“Doesn’t this girl EVER talk about anything else except work?!” Wanda thought to herself, but stayed silent.

“Honey,” Wanda said, “You’ve got to start getting around a little more. You are 20 years old you know. Don’t you care about meeting a guy and having some fun?” (She made it sound as if Marilee was already “over the hill.”)

“You know, Wanda, I’m still living at home and while I am still there my parents absolutely insist that I abide by their rules. I’ll meet someone when the time is right. But now is not the time and I don’t care to rush things.”

“Okay then. Have it your way. Delia and I are having lunch at the Rustic Inn Café at 1:00 P.M. today; would you care to come along? I have exciting news about what I am going to do for my vacation in two weeks.”

“Alright, I’d like that. I can get Caterina to cover for me.”

Marilee wondered what Wanda was going to tell them. She was sure it had to be about some new guy she’d recently met. Wanda seemed to have a “one track mind.”

One o’clock P.M. rolled around and the three of them, Wanda, Marilee, and Delia all met at the elevator.

“This restaurant is awesome!” Wanda told them.

“Why?” asked Delia of her friend. “Do the men outnumber the women?” She was ‘on to her friend’ as everyone else was, except Delia always openly teased her about it.

“Oh, keep quiet, Delia!” Wanda told her impatiently.

The three of them rushed down the street to the Café.

The Rustic Inn Café was only one block away from their office building. It had opened only 6 months prior. They served breakfast, brunch, and lunch and by the looks of it, it was a winner! Fortunately, by 1:00 P.M. the 12-noon crowd was slowly diminishing. They found a table toward the back of the room, which allowed for more privacy.

Marilee was very curious by this time and could not wait to hear what Wanda was up to now. Delia already knew.

They seated themselves and a waitress, Jeanie, immediately appeared with their Menus. She was tall and thin and looked about 40 years old. Her dark brown hair had been pulled up in a disorderly knot and she had a pencil stuck in her hair, which she promptly removed to write down their orders.

Marilee wondered what the waitress would look like if she had let her hair down to her shoulders. This is the way Marilee wore hers, only because her mother didn’t want her to cut it too often; but on Marilee it made her look even younger than 20.

Wanda was always telling Marilee she had to “cut the ties” and move out of her parents’ home and find a little apartment of her own; but Marilee seemed to always cringe at this thought.

Their table was in the back of the room in a corner, so they had adequate privacy.

Jeanie, the waitress, spoke up even before the three had seated themselves. “Well…what will it be, ladies?”

Wanda spoke first. “I’ll take the turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce and tomato and a glass of iced tea with extra lemon.”

Jeanie jotted that down quickly as she turned to Marilee. “And for you, Honey?”

“I’ll take the tuna fish sandwich on grain bread with lettuce and tomato and a glass of water with lime.”

“Great choice,” Jeanie offered, while turning to Delia, who was for some reason still looking at the menu unable to decide.

“Hmm…I’m…not sure. I want something light today.” In the end, she chose a chicken salad sandwich on rye with lettuce only and a cup of green tea.

“Okay, ladies. Be back in a sec with your drinks,” the waitress said as she hurried off to give the kitchen their orders.

Jeanie brought their drinks and now both Marilee and Delia were anxiously waiting to hear what Wanda had to say.

Wanda slowly sipped her iced tea through the straw before replying.

“You know that young handsome attorney, Alan Landers, who works in the courthouse examining titles?”

“Yeah,” Delia replied. “I’ve seen him. He looks like a nerd to me.”

Highly annoyed at what her friend had said, Wanda replied, “NO, Delia, he’s NOT a nerd. You don’t even know him, so how can you say that!”

Wanda continued. “Every time I go to the courthouse for something he is always looking me up and down. One day, about a week ago, he finally came over to speak to me as I was looking up a book and page number of a document and trying to copy a section of it.”

“And?” … Marilee interrupted.

“Well, we got to talking and…”

“So?” said Delia.

“So…he asked me to meet him after work at 5:00 P.M. in the bar downstairs in our building for a quick drink before going home.”

“Yeah…go on” …Marilee was all ears!

“Well…we ended up having three drinks each and bar snacks before going home. He drove me home and kissed me at the door. I myself was shocked! He wanted more he said. He invited me to spend a week with him in Charlotte, N.C. He’s in a big golf tournament there in three weeks. He wants me with him he said. I’ll be able to do anything I want during the day, but must be available for him at night; dinner, cocktails, sex…”

Delia spoke up. “Wanda! The guy is married. He only wants to have some fun. With your legs who wouldn’t. He’ll never be serious about you. He probably loves his wife.”

“Oh Delia, you’re such a prude. So what? A free luxury hotel with a spa; He’s even paying for my airfare and shopping at his expense. It’s an adventure! I’d be nuts not to accept.”

Poor, young Marilee just sat there; not even being able to fully comprehend what Wanda was saying. She didn’t even want to comment at that point anyway, for she would not have known what to say.

“Well,” Wanda said affirmatively. “I thought you guys would be happy for me. Free luxury week with bonus. I’m going!”

“Okay Wanda,” Delia stated. “I hope you’ll enjoy.”

“I can’t wait,” Wanda excitedly told her friends.

Their orders arrived 10 minutes later and they all ate with gusto not mentioning again what Wanda was planning to do.

After they paid their checks, they hurried back to their office building, taking their places at their desks and resuming work.

Two weeks went by and Wanda was getting ready to take her week off to be with Alan Landers.

Alan had arranged everything. All Wanda needed to do was “show up.”

Alan picked Wanda up at her apartment. She had only a carry-on bag with her that morning, as she knew she’d be shopping for anything she wanted in Charlotte on Alan’s credit card.

The American Airlines flight took off from the Albany International Airport and landed in Charlotte two hours later.

They sat in adjoining seats, cuddling, and kissing and getting excited.

Alan had arranged for a Limo to take them to their hotel and it was waiting for them when they left the airport building in Charlotte.

Their room at the Regency Empress Hotel in downtown Charlotte was a luxurious...