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“Sounds good. Take care of yourself, Frank.”
“I’ll try. ’Bye.”
After hanging up, Adele locked her apartment door and headed down to The Center. Sure enough, things were swinging into high gear. The staff bustled in, ready to get to work. Various women dropped their children off at the daycare center.
“Morning, Sister,” several called as she descended the steps.
Adele waved back, smiling at the children. She made a mental note to stop in after lunch. By then, the attendants usually needed a break from the little angels.
Adele got settled into her tiny office. She flicked on her computer, a gift from the local electronics shop. A few people had responded to her request for donations. She found an e-mail from her sister; she’d deal with that later. Right now, she had more important things to arrange.
Adele had been engrossed in her work for about an hour when a knock interrupted her. She looked up to find Frank standing in the door. A strange man stood behind him. Adele assumed he was Miguel. For reasons she couldn’t fathom, he was still wearing his sunglasses inside the building.
“Frank, come in.” Adele stood up, extending her hand to the stranger. “You must be Miguel.”
Miguel nodded curtly, shaking her hand quickly. “What’s up?”
Adele studied his face, searching for signs of his character. He didn’t give her much to go on. She supposed he would be handsome, if he relaxed his mouth int
o a smile. Or at least less of a scowl. His brown skin contrasted sharply with the white tee and the diamond studs in his ears.
“There’s no sun in here.”
He shot a quick look at Frank. “What’s she talking about?”
Frank pointed to the glasses. “Take ’em off. Adele likes to look into your soul.” He chuckled as Adele swatted him playfully.
Miguel sighed, and then pulled the shades from his face. Adele was struck by the intensity in his gaze. So many emotions swam around, vying for attention: anger, fear, distrust, could that be lust? He did have gorgeous brown eyes. Adele wasn’t one to wax poetic, but they looked like deep brown pools, pulling her deeper into their abyss.
“Adele?”
She realized that Frank was talking to her. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” She resisted the urge to look back at Miguel; those eyes were hypnotic.
“He’s all yours. I’ll be in touch.” He walked out of the office and clasped Miguel by the shoulder. “She’s a good woman. She’ll take good care of you.”
You bet I will, Adele thought before immediately flushing with shame. Lucky for me, my skin’s darker than his. She turned to her charge. “It’s good to have you. Let me show you around.”
Adele led Miguel out down the hall, suddenly very aware of her body movements. She realized that her hips were sashaying and her breasts bouncing more than normal. She wondered briefly if Miguel was watching her walk, but she shoved the thought guiltily from her mind.
“These are the offices.” They left the narrow hall and entered the main space. “This is where most of the activity happens. It’s still a work in progress. We’ve partitioned off the daycare, kitchen, and storage closet so we can renovate the rest. Mornings are usually pretty calm. At least ’til school lets out.” She smiled at him. “Any preferences?”
Miguel shrugged. “Wherever.”
She thought for a moment. “How’s your Spanish? We could use a tutor.”
“Don’t speak it.”
Adele’s cheeks were starting to hurt from holding the smile. “Can you cook?”
“Nah.”
“No.”
He looked at her. “Why you surprised? My mom and sister did all the cooking.”
“No, the word is no, not nah. By the way, helping verbs are your friends.”
He stared at her. To Adele’s surprise, a small smile spread across his face. “You sound like my mom. She used to teach English before we were born.”
