Page 34 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

I opened the balcony door and found Christophe and Alana seated in a small lounge chair for two. I took up residence in the lone armchair next to them and handed my friend a cigar. He instantly brought the stogie to his nose and inhaled.

“Magnifique!” he said and then held it aloft so Alana could sniff it.

She dutifully and daintily complied. “It’s lovely,” she agreed, and sidled up close to her husband’s side.

Christophe had already prepared the table before us with the straight cutter to clip the tip and an ashtray and butane lighter. Traditionally, when I would visit, we’d have dinner and then smoke cigars together, usually with an after-dinner drink. Since the wine was delicious, the three of us had stuck to drinking the vino.

“I believe it’s your birth year, 1964. The Padron Anniversary series. Claims to be one of the best out of Nicaragua.”

“Oh, a treat!Merci, mon ami.”Thank you, my friend.Christophe rubbed his hands together.

We both clipped the tips and set the rolled bits of heaven ablaze. Instantly my mouth was hit with floral and fruity notes that were quite pleasant. “Do you taste the fruit and flowers?” I asked.

Christophe nodded jovially, taking long, slow puffs, holding the rich smoke within his mouth and then releasing it.

For a bit we said nothing, just spent time smoking our cigars, enjoying the quiet comfort of good friends, and a stellar view of Las Vegas and the dark desert beyond.

“Rhodes, I would like for you to attend the auction tomorrow.” Alana announced seemingly out of nowhere.

I groaned and stretched out my legs, crossing my feet at the ankles. “Alana, we’ve talked about this many times in the past. I don’t think choosing a wife by sight alone is the right path for me.”

She sat up and placed her hands on her knees. “Then what is the right path? You’ve been divorced and alone for eight years. Emily’s mother is nowhere to be found, constantly jumping in and out of bed with one man or another and leaving her daughter behind. Emily craves continuity and stability,mon cher. She is floundering.”

“I agree, I am the one constant in her life and it’s not enough. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get Portia to care about her daughter’s needs in the slightest,” I grumbled.

Alana nodded. “Exactly my point. Choose a wife tomorrow, and that woman would be committed to you and your daughter. Also, you’d have help through these emotionally difficult times. Another person to fill that lonely void within your own life. And maybe having a woman around would do some good for Emily,” Alana suggested.

I rubbed at my face with my free hand, the cigar burning away in my left. “Maybe, hell, I don’t know, Alana. Marriage was hard. Dating alone is a nightmare. I’ve tried a couple times over the years, and it never works out. Don’t even get me started about how some women responded when they found out I have a child,” I huffed. “They bolted so fast their stiletto heels left black streak marks on the concrete in their wake.”

Alana made a tsking sound. “My candidates are all fully committed.”

“For three years. That gives me until when Emily is sixteen, almost seventeen. Then what? Another woman leaves her life?” I shook my head. “Nah. I couldn’t do it to her.”

“You wouldn’t be doing anythingto her. You’d be bringing in a woman who adds value to your lives for a period of no less than three years. Just because the contracted term is three years, it doesn’t mean the person you chose couldn’t be convinced to stay.”

“And staying with Portia five years worked oh so well,” I scowled.

Alana’s lips snapped together, and she glared. “There are very few people I wish ill will toward, and that woman is one of them,” she bit out frostily.

I burst into laughter, sat back, and puffed on my delicious stogie. “I know you mean well, Alana, but I just don’t see it happening for me. At least not until Emily is an adult and headed off to college.”

“You’d be forty-three by that time. Do you truly want to put your life and needs on hold for five more years? You’ve already done that for the last eight, and the five before with Portia weren’t any better. When do you get to find your happily ever after, hmm?” Her tone was soft and nurturing, much like a sister might respond if I’d had one.

I shrugged and shook my head then stared up at the twinkling stars in the sky above. “I don’t know. Sometimes I believe I’m not meant to find true love. Take today, for example. I had a run in with a young woman at the airport. It was the first time in forever that I’d had a physical attraction to a woman. She ran straight into me. Knocked me on my ass in more ways than one.”

“Oh?” Alana perked up.

I laughed. “Yeah, and it turns out the woman was a pickpocket.”

Alana tilted her head to the side. “A pickpocket at the airport? Explain this person to me,” she commanded abruptly.

“Dark hair, super light brown skin or maybe she was tanned. Large brown eyes. Cute, petite, curvy and too young.”

Alana waved her hand in the air. “You think everyone is too young because you act old. Did she seem to be over eighteen, twenty perhaps?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t be attracted to a child, you know that.” I scrunched up my face and made a gagging expression. “She was definitely in her twenties.”

“Then the problem is?” She continued.

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