T-Bone

By MarieStella Obot

Lora Davies is beyond frustrated with the singles scene. After dating for years without success, she contacts her old college flame, Ken Howard, to confess that she still has feelings for him. With encouragement from her friends Katie, Sandra, and Keisha, Lora prepares to travel to Los Angeles in an attempt to capture his heart once again. A few days later, as she settles into her airplane seat, Lora knows she has just taken the first step in becoming closer to the man she has secretly admired for almost a decade. But what if he does not feel the same way?

Katies life seems perfect from a distance, but she is harboring a horrible secret from her friends. Trapped in an abusive marriage, Katie keeps her troubles quiet for fear of scaring her friends into making commitments. Yet as the secrets of her marital woes are revealed, a tragedy strikes that causes all the women to carefully examine their own relationships and discover that fantasies can never resemble real life.

In this contemporary romance novel, four women determined not to part ways or live miles apart follow their hearts to a new territory where they hope to find solace, peace, joy, laughter, and, most of all, true love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475948448

MarieStella Obot

MARIESTELLA OBOT is a scientist with a creative talent in writing both fi ctional and non-fi ctional novels. She is the author of the novels A Tramp and Lucile Snap.She currently lives in Virginia where she enjoys a world of adventures through her writing.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009, 2012 by MarieStella Obot

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-4843-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-4842-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-4844-8 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 10/05/2012

Contents

A Novel Based On Fantasies!!

Synopsis

Dedication

One Frustrating Intent

Two Admirable Friendship

Three Grandiloquent Joke

Four Shuffle

Five Scarp

Six The Joy Of Friendship

Seven The Big Joke

Eight The Joker Of A Husband

Nine The Proposal

Ten The Engagement

A Novel Based on Fantasies!!

Life in itself is full of fantasies. Fantasies and great imaginations are intertwined and if carefully put together bring forth memorable events. Nothing is worth more than imagination; it is the gateway to great achievements.

T-Bone was conceived purely based on fantasies. Some life experiences may have paved way for some of the scenes but it was purely written for leisure.

Synopsis

Lora had secretly admired Ken from their time at college onto years after graduation. She fantasized about him constantly and longed for the day she would make her intentions known to him. Encouraged by her friends Katie, Sandra and Keisha she boarded a plane across country hoping that on arrival she would not meet Ken wrapped in the hands of another woman. All she wanted was to capture his heart and have him long for her like he had never longed for another woman before.

Life without a man to share it with is lonely and void of completeness for any woman, Sandra had emphasized to her friends. Having heard this statement over and over again, Katie being the only married one among her friends kept secret her abusive relationship in order not to scare her friends from making commitments. As the secrets of her marital woes unfold, her friends remained undaunted in their quest for their soul mates but rather, they supported her through the ordeals.

One by one they fulfilled their hearts’ desires when they found the men of their dreams to share their lives with. Determined not to part ways or live miles apart, all four women followed their hearts to a new territory where they hoped to find solace, peace, joy and laughter while celebrating their acquisitions and achievements.

Dedication

Dedicated to every dreamer who dares make his/her dreams come true.

It is also dedicated to my family- my dad Johnson Obot (Ph.D), my mum Mrs. Veronica Obot, my brothers Aniefiok, Eyakeno, Inietop and Nsitie all of whom have made my life meaningful.

I dedicate this novel also to my friend Linda Akpan who in spite of her busy life, always creates time to accommodate some of my needs. I love you all.

ONE

Frustrating intent

Katie stood chest out staring deep into her own eyes through a mirror nicely positioned over well arranged flowers reminiscing about her recent walk down the aisle with Bill. She remembered the first time they met, his broad chest, cute smile and the hello that melted her heart instantly. With her eyes still fixed on the mirror she rolled them over her body examining every part of her own anatomy as she wondered what part of her was most attractive to him.

Unable to answer the question which was born only out of curiosity she grabbed a robe from the hook and hastily slipped into it. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and murmured I am beautiful no doubt; I have gorgeous eyes and well formed lips. These certainly must have been part of Bill’s attractions.

She then stepped out into the living room where her friend Lora was waiting patiently for her to finish her bath routine. She approached Lora without apologizing for keeping her waiting; instead she beamed at her and started blabbing about her infatuation for the man she had just married. Being in love is the most beautiful thing in the whole wide world, she said looking at Lora cynically and swaying her hip. Fifty -fifty love according to Teddy Pendergrass is the most awesome thing ever, she continued without hesitating for a minute to make sure Lora was listening.

Yes, that is true…I don’t want seventy -thirty, or sixty- forty, I want fifty-fifty love, she sang out loud while displaying some of the dance steps she learned at her last exercise class.

Suddenly just like she had started she stopped realizing for a split moment that her friend was watching patiently without uttering a word.

Did I sing that right? She asked with an attempt to connect with her friend whom up till that moment was just starring in wonderment.

Stop being funny Katie, Lora finally uttered having watched her exhibit her joy through dance steps and a love song.

I can see you are happy, she continued. Finding the right person to be with must be a fun experience. Congratulations again on your marriage.

Thanks Lora. I am only exhibiting my joy.

I understand that perfectly well, I pray that it will last forever for both of you.

That is my prayer for us too. I am trusting God for His mercies.

How is he doing by the way? Has he found a job yet? Lora asked remembering that the last time they spoke Katie had mentioned he was interviewing for a position.

Not yet. He has been scheduled for a few interviews, had some already, we are expecting results.

He will get one soon. He has some skills; how many people can work with their hands as much as he does? I thought he would be interested in mechanical jobs. That indeed would have been excellent.

That may be true; but he is going back to college to study law. Although he is good with mechanical stuff, he likes to argue a lot so I think the area he has chosen is a good fit for him. He wants to be a business lawyer. I am completely behind him one hundred percent. I love- love- love the idea. Can you imagine owning a business and having my husband handle all the legal processes? This means we will not have to pay someone else to handle our legal matters. I am really excited about it.

You have a good thing in your hand Katie, hold on to it and cherish it. I have tried dating so many times and yet, have not found someone compatible enough to want to share my life with. I am frustrated with the whole dating issue.

Not to worry Lora, God is faithful. He will bring the right person at the right time. You just have to keep trusting. I remember a magazine I read when I was in the elementary school. I think it was the valentine’s issue of the magazine.

What about it?

It had this fairy tale that said; if you want someone to love, pluck a red rose the night before valentine. Keep it under your pillow for the night. On valentine’s morning, walk into the church with the rose flower in your hand. The first person you see while holding the flower, will love you forever. I thought that was cute, but I never tried it. That probably was the valentine’s version of Shakespeare’s love portion. Remember William Shakespeare’s novel we read way back at high school? Which one had that love portion story?

I am not ready to think about that. I have better things on my mind at the moment. You can live in your fantasy world. My world right now is how do I get the man of my dream beside me? Gosh, you will not believe the latest, she says changing the subject.

And that is? Katie asked.

I called Ken today. I thought he liked me. I am beginning to be confused about my feelings for him.

You are confused about your feelings for him? I had no idea you had feelings for Ken. However, what happened? May be I can help.

You cannot claim ignorant of my feelings for Ken. I loved him while in College and I have loved him ever since. Yesterday I tried putting the cards on the table. I asked him what he thought of me and guess what he said?

He acted surprised and demanded to know why you would ask him that

Exactly, she responded staring at her friend with her eye brows raised and her mouth wide open. How did you figure that? Tell me why would you think that?

I am your friend Lora and I had no idea you have been imagining yourself with Ken. You have never mentioned it so how do you think Ken would have known about this? She asked laughing.

Seeing the look on Lora’s face; Katie realized how deeply interesting the subject was about to become. She knew at that moment that she was in on a romance gimmick with Lora and responded to her every question very carefully.

Based on the conversations we have been having, she continued both of you have not come to any concrete terms about having a relationship. At first I thought you had both dated previously, but from what you’ve said, both of you have been admiring each other without anyone having the courage to approach the other. If I were you, I would come out straight and tell him how I feel.

How do you mean? I should call him and say, hi Ken I have been admiring you for awhile now. I am wondering if you would date me.

Not exactly that way. Do not make fun of the situation Lora. If you like him, tell him.

Did you do that to Bill?

Don’t be ridiculous. Our situation was different. He chased me around. I did not have to do any of that. Believe me; I would have if I had to. Why did you call him if you are not ready to make your feelings known? He is not a mind reader to know what is on your mind. Spill it out lady if you are serious about what you feel. The world has gone beyond women waiting on men to chase them, these days both sexes go out to get what they want before it is snatched out of their hands.

What if he says no? I will completely lose him after that.

You are yet to get him either way. Don’t you think that telling him how you feel will make a great difference? He will like you more after that even if he says no. Everyone loves to be admired and wanted. It is a good feeling to know you have an admirer.

I do not want to be an admirer; I want him to love me. I want to be his lover.

You can achieve that. Watch the program ‘Love Spring International’. I think it is shown on one of those cable channels, which one, I cannot remember. You have to find a way to make him know you care. Take a ride into town. Find out about his schedule before going, pretend you came into town on vacation. Bump into him as many times as possible. Get talking and then come back home and plan from there.

You mean I should travel all the way to Los Angeles from Georgia just to bump into Ken?

If you want him, how far can that be?

It is far enough to cost a lot of money.

Love can be expensive Lora, Katie said nodding her head in the affirmative as if what she said was nothing but the gospel truth.

Take a stride young lady for what you want, go get him. That is all I can say.

After her conversation with Katie, Lora wondered if Katie’s advice to travel to LA to bump into