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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: Hayes
“You look amazing, Bo,” I said, walking around him in a wide circle, taking all of him in. We were in the tailor’s area just outside the fitting rooms. My longtime tailor smiled and winked at me. Geoffrey was impressed. “You look like a model, baby. You are so handsome.”
Bo fiddled with the cuffs on his suit, probably wondering why they were so long and hid his hands. “What about all this?” he asked, holding his arms up. “Too long, right?”
I approached him and folded the cuffs of his dress shirt. “We just double them up like this and stick cufflinks in these holes.” I held his shoulders and took a step back, shaking my head. “Damn, boy!”
Bo frowned and checked to see if Geoffrey was paying attention. “You’re the boy, mister. Don’t make me remind you,” he teased, motioning toward the dressing room.
I would never use terms likecleaned up wellbecause I loved Bo as he was and he deserved my respect. Not to mention I was partial to his masculine jean-wearing persona. Bo was as hot as they came and he didn’t need fancy clothes to show that off, but I admitted he was a stunner in a suit.
“Okay, baby. Go change out of that so we can be early to dinner with Gloria and Dave.”
“Dinner out again?” he moaned. “This is the third night this week and it’s only Wednesday, Hayes. Do we have to?”
“I promised, baby. Glo loves you because you and Dave hit it off so well. Most of her friends don’t understand why she chose him,” I said.
“Because most of her friends are like yours, rich and snooty.”
Bo closed the curtain and changed out of his suit while I went up front to pay.
“He’s charming, Hayes,” Geoffrey said. “And of course, incredibly handsome.” He waved his hands in front of his face like he was on fire. “Where did you say you found him?
“He found me,” I said.
“Oh!” he gasped. “That is so romantic.” Geoffrey returned to his serious retail personality when Bo came to the cashier desk. “Did we decide on taking the belt,” Geoffrey asked, smiling at Bo.
“Yes,” I stated, answering for Bo. “Both,” I added.
Geoffrey pushed a few more buttons on the screen. “With the tailoring, the additional belt, and taxes, your total isjusta shade over twenty-two hundred, Hayes. Twenty-two hundred and three dollars to be exact.”
Bo craned his head over the counter in an attempt to look at the screen. “Excuse me, what?” Bo turned to me and then to Geoffrey again. “Did you say two thousand? For a suit?” he asked, doing a double take at us both.
“That’s a good deal, Bo,” I stated. “It’s an investment really. You’ll have the suit for years.”
“I won’t have it for years because I’m not buying a suit for two grand, Hayes.”
“I’m paying for the suit,” I reminded him.
“No one’s buying that thing,” he argued. “Least of all you.”
Geoffrey’s eyes widened as he witnessed our debate. “I need to grab something in the back room, Hayes. Please give me a minute.” Geoffrey was the epitome of class and knew when to make a polite exit.
I waited until Geoffrey was out of earshot. “Bo, honey. Let me pay for the suit. The celebration of my return is a formal event,” I pointed out. “Well, actually, all of Momma’s parties are formal so you’ll get to wear it more than once,” I pleaded.
“At two grand, I’ll be wearing the damn thing every day, Hayes,” he protested.
“Please?”
“The only way that suits leaving with me is if I pay for it,” he argued. “You are not supporting me, Hayes. I mean it. You paying for everything does not make me feel good about myself.”
I knew not to argue with Bo. He was a very easy going person who rarely made demands, but he would dig in when he felt he was correct. He simply wasn’t the kind of man to treat people disrespectfully by arguing a point in public. I should have known that about him and handled things differently.
“Geoffrey,” I called, holding a hand up toward him as he made his way back. “We’re ready to ring the suit up now.
Bo pulled an old Velcro wallet from his back pocket and pulled out his debit card. The card was still enclosed in the paper sleeve it arrived in. He handed it to Geoffrey. “This’ll only be the second time I’ve used this,” he said.
“Very well, sir,” Geoffrey stated, taking the card and swiping it through the reader. I held my breath until I saw the receipt spitting out. “Thank you, Mr. Dawson.”
