And Elwood Wept

Attorney Elwood Barnes drove up.....He looked around...He hoped the lofts inside looked better than the outside....

Though he really didn't care...He just wanted to see her again!!! Zoey...It had been about a month since their glorious week in Ocean City...Some of the best lovemaking he'd ever had in his life.....Some of the most peaceful post coital sleep he'd ever had....And the feeling of elation when he was near her....

Zoey Easter, the attorney who had represented his wife in their divorce ,years ago...The last person he'd ever expected he'd sleep with ,let alone fall in love with....And he did love her dearly , despite himself...He couldn't think of anyone else but her...

He dreamed about her several nights of the week...He dreamed he hadn't messed up and that they were together.....He dreamed that she had never discovered Tamika Carson's panties in his hotel room, which caused her to just leave without saying goodbye.....

It had been a month since he had seen her....He had called her several times and his calls had gone to voicemail...He sent her multiple texts and they too went un answered.....He had tried visiting her at her Law Firm...Cowen, Cowen and Young....but you had to have an appointment with someone in order to get up to their floor and he had none... His calls to her work number all went to voicemail...His numerous emails went unanswered.. He'd sent enough roses to her law firm to fill up a store...


Unknown to Elwood, Zoey had run into the Attorney, Nelson East one day last week ..

She had given him the last bouquet of roses....She told him they had come from a grateful client and that she didn't have room for them...She suggested he give them to his girlfriend, Beverly...Olivia's niece... He thanked her profusely...She asked that he not reveal he got the roses from her...He said he wouldn't tell..

Zoey figured that was one way of really getting back at Elwood...She knew he despised Beverly...How fitting that Beverly would get roses ,purchased by Elwood..




Elwood's Investigator...Bonnie Shay had found out where Zoey lived for him....

Bonnie Shay was also a close friend and associate of his ex-wife, Attorney, Olivia Bennett-Alexander...

but she didn't  know Zoey or Zoey's connection to Olivia...

Elwood spotted a coffee shop down the street....He bought some coffee...two blueberry muffins and a bagel and cream cheese..

Then he got his courage up and headed back to the Lofts where Zoey lived....He hoped she was home.. It was Saturday Morning...She wouldn't be working...

He rang her doorbell...

II-

The place had a video camera that allowed the tenants to see who was at the door....To his surprise...Zoey answered...

"Go Away!" she said.

"Zoey don't be like that....Let me up...I bought coffee and blueberry muffins and bagels.. just like you like." said Elwood..

To his surprise...She buzzed him in...

He was pleasantly surprised to find an ultra modern loft with a walk up........He smiled...

"Nice!  Nice Zoey!" he said...

She took the coffee and poured herself a cup....and took the Blueberry muffin and the Bagel and sat down at a table in her kitchen....

"I only let you up because I was hungry..." she said as she buttered the bagel and the blueberry muffin and devoured them both... She smelled great as usual.. She had just gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed...and put on a nice fragrance...She said nothing ,but stared at him blankly as she sipped her coffee...Elwood didn't touch his bagel or his coffee.

"Going somewhere?" he asked..

''I hope so." was all she would say...

"Your place looks great, YOU look great." he said..

"Something you want Elwood?" she asked..

"Yes.....You!!....All I could think about was you the entire month since we last saw each other...I've been goin crazy.....You left without saying anything...You didn't give me a chance to explain.." said Elwood.

"What was there to explain?  I sat on a pair of panties in your hotel room...Panties that were not mine...Panties that weren't there before...Ergo, your other woman must have left them there....Did she come back for them?" asked Zoey...

"Now.. Now.. Now.. Now.. You being an Attorney, you of all people know that things aren't always as they seem..." he said..

"Did you or did you not screw another woman that afternoon while I was sleeping in my hotel room? After you had just convinced me to have an exclusive relationship with you?" asked Zoey...

"Well...Well.. Well.. Now.. Now.. Now.. Now.. Ahhh..er...Zoey see...ahhhhhhhhh...I can perfectly see how ...uhhhhh you would think that, but see what had happened was...I discovered that there was an indoor pool on the roof of my hotel.. I put on some trunks and went swimming...While up there I uhhhh....ahhhhhhhhh..ran into a young lady I knew from years ago...Imagine that?  I knew her when I was uh working for Delorean Motors as their Chief Counsel...She is uh a model...She came down to my room for some drinks after we uh finished swimming...To uh catch up on old times.. She asked me if she could change her clothes in my bathroom and I said yes...She changed her clothes and she left...an uh ,She must have left her panties..." said Elwood.

"So she swam in her panties right? Her dry panties?? Oh My God! You didn't even try to come up with a believable story...Elwood ,get out, go home!" said Zoey...

"Okay.. Okay...Yes...I slept with her...but it meant nothing...nothing!!!It was just the finishing up of old business...One last fling before I got serious with you...I swear baby.." he said.

"I liked the first story better, it was more imaginative.......But anyway...I don't care....It's done...It's over. Forget about it." said Zoey...

''Well thank goodness...Look, can we start over?" said Elwood..

"Oh Hell No!.....What made you think that? Look! What we had that week was nice, Amazing sex....and that was all it was...That's over..."she said sternly...and finished the last of her tumbler of coffee.

Elwood moved towards her...He smiled...

"Is it Zoey?  Is it Really??? Zoey, right now...I've got this huge erection....and it's all for you...It's been hungering for you...."he whispered...

She saw the bulge in his trousers...She smiled.. "WOW! Yes you do..." she said and she stroked it lightly...

"Ouuuuuuuu..All I can think about is putting this inside you right now Zoey..." he moaned..Enjoying her soft strokes and thinking he was in like Flint...."Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Ouuuuuuuuuuuu, I could sit here all morning baby..." he moaned...as she softly stroked him for a few minutes...

"Yeah, well I can't and I'm not.." she said.


She got up.. She motioned for him to follow her upstairs to her bedroom.. He took off his coat and his shirt...He took his shoes off....

He had missed this so much...He couldn't wait to be inside her soft ,moist center again....He had dreamed of this for weeks..

She opened up her drawer...

There were panties of all colors and styles.....Bikinis, Thongs....You name it...

"Ohhhhhhhhh my goddd!" he moaned.. So Horny and dizzy ,he was about to collapse....

"Take a good look Elwood...That's the last time you're going to see my panties.....and the ones I'm wearing today....YOU AINT GONNA SEE!  Now put your shirt back on and your jacket...and your shoes.. Thank you for the coffee, the blueberry muffin and the bagel...Now get out!!!Don't call me again, Don't text me, don't email me...Don't stop by my job....If you do...I'll take out a restraining order against you...Don't make me do that." said Zoey...

"You know...I might just mention this to Olivia...." he said.

Hating himself for using his ex-wife as leverage.. but being desperate...

"Go ahead....I was her divorce lawyer...She was a client!!! You two have been divorced for a couple of years now...She's remarried...She might question my judgement ...Lord knows I'm questioning it....but I doubt if she'd care and even if she did....I still wouldn't be going out with you or sleeping with you again Elwood...It's over...Deal with it.." said Zoey.

"Zoey !!! Can we be friends? Go out for a few drinks sometimes?? Maybe a few months from now...When this has all blown over..??" he asked..

"I don't think that would be a good idea...I don't want to give you false hope when there is none...That would be a waste of your time and mine. Please go and don't try to contact me again Elwood...Stalking is so unbecoming of you...So unsexy!" said Zoey...

Elwood gathered up his shoes and his shirt and his jacket, turned and left.....

Once outside...He turned and asked..

"How about one last kiss?"

Zoey stared at him...She thought for a moment....That man did know how to kiss a woman....she admitted...His kisses in Ocean City made her knees weak...but a kiss would lead to her clothes coming off and them being in bed....She thought for a moment ......

"You just don't give up do you?" she asked and smiled..

Elwood smiled...

"You know me baby....Tenacious...in the courtroom and the bedroom...Heh..Heh...Heh..." he laughed..

"Yessssssssssssssssssss..I do know you....Better than I want to." she said and slammed the door in his face!

Elwood stood there...He was in total shock at first thinking she was going to open the door and they would wind up in bed, making sweet love the rest of the morning...maybe into the afternoon...He put on his shoes, His polo shirt and his suit jacket....He straightened himself up....

She didn't open the door! He waited! She didn't open the door! He walked down the steps and out into the street...

Elwood walked out...He looked up at her window...She was nowhere to be seen....He quietly walked over to his car and got in....He waited a few minutes...She didn't show up in the window...He pulled off...Tears streaming down his face....He couldn't believe he had messed up...He couldn't believe he was so crazy in love with her...in spite of himself...He couldn't believe that he was begging a woman....He had never done that before..


III-

 Once Zoey saw that Elwood had gone...She sighed a sigh of relief...

Tears had been streaming down her face too!.....She closed that door in his face in just the nick of time...before she started crying herself...He had hurt her...More than she showed him...She had almost allowed herself to care for him...Came perilously close to being his girlfriend...but deep down inside she knew that it would have only lead to pain and heartbreak and lying...Same thing Olivia had gone through....And imagine if she'd gotten pregnant?? If he suddenly lost interest the way he did Olivia?? No way was she going to go through that.....She was proud of herself for being strong and resisting....Stroking his penis had gotten her a little aroused...One more minute, one last kiss and they would have been in the bed...for hours....She wasn't going to do that! Not with him, not ever again!

She told herself...You deserve better and until you find it...be satisfied with being alone....

Her days consisted of going to work, then going to her 12 step program meetings....Sometimes she went to the gym and other times she went to Whole Foods or Trader Don's and then spent the afternoon alone, reading or watching TV or Listening to music...She needed to hang out with friends..Maybe she would , when it got warmer....That's what she always said...When it got warmer...

IV- 

 Josies was hopping tonight....It was Saturday night and so naturally it was crowded....

Symphony Sam and the Josie's House band was playing tonight....The crowd was jumping...and Elwood was filling himself with Fried shrimp

and downing shots of Whiskey....

Honey Brown, the Manager now walked over to him...

"Ease Up counselor...you're really knocking those things down tonight..." she said.

Elwood smiled at her , but ordered six more...He gave her the money to pay for his last drinks and then peeled a few more dollars off and slipped them to her....

"Okay...but I'm going to bring a glass of water to you....You need to drink some water." she said.

He didn't say anything...He smiled at her and nodded...Out of the side of his eye he saw someone else he hated...

BEVERLY WEST!!  His ex-wife's little niece....Their hatred for each other was mutual....Just like his hatred for Zoey had once been...The only difference was he definitely didn't see himself bedding Beverly..

Beverly was slow dancing with a young man....He didn't know the man, but he had seen them together before....He supposed that they were a couple...She leaned her head on his shoulder and softly kissed him as they danced...

Watching them dance only made him think of Zoey...and what could have been....If he hadn't of run into Tamika Carson...He and Zoey would be somewhere dancing right now....Slow like Beverly and her fellow..
He looked out the side of his other eye and he saw his ex wife, Olivia Bennett-Alexander now and her new husband of nearly three years now, Donnie Ray...They were drinking and smiling at each other.....Olivia looked happy, something she never looked when she was with him....

They didn't notice him....

His six shots of whiskey came and he downed them all...He drank the tall glass of water.....

He sat there and tears streamed down his face....He was crying profusely and shaking....

Gus the bartender and Owner of Josies noticed...

"That guy has had a little too much to drink." he said.

 "You Think Gus?  He's only had 12 fingers of Whiskey....I gave him a tall glass of water to chase it..." said Honey Brown...

"Well no more for him..." said Gus...

Elwood was crying profusely , when he smelled a very familiar fragrance and heard a very familiar voice...

"Elwood...you okay?" asked his ex-wfe Olivia...

He looked up and she was standing over him , with her current husband, Donnie Ray Alexander...

"We saw you and uh, you uh looked like you were in uh bad way." said Donnie Ray....

Elwood looked at them and smiled...

"Liv, I screwed up...badly....Over the past two months....I nearly lost my job...Twice....because of my indiscretions...my company was in jeapordy twice....We could have lost millions...Thanks to Kevin Morris, the private investigator and our own Bonnie Shay...

my bacon was saved...." he said...

"Well that's...that's good Elwood...You uh have to be more careful next time.." said Olivia...

"I met a woman Liv...She reminded me of you...She was so like you it wasn't funny....I fell in love all over again...I was determined not to screw up like I did with you Liv...I'm so sorry Livy.." he said and began to cry...

"That's great man...You met somebody...." said Donnie Ray..Trying to make him stop crying....

"Yes...Good For You!" said Olivia..Who was a bit unnerved...She had never seen Elwood this vulnerable, this low...Had never seen him shed a tear...She'd often thought he was too arrogant, too haughty to cry.. She had certainly cried a lot when she had been married to him.

"I managed to screw that up just like I always do....She came to my hotel room and found a pair of panties on the chair...They weren't hers....Sound familiar Livy?" he asked.

"Yeah, Very....Elwood why do you do that? Why can't you be true to one woman?" asked Olivia, who remembered all too well when they had been married, finding panties and bras under the passenger seat in her car and Elwood's car that weren't hers and hearing his lame excuses...and finally finding a pair in the hallway of their home...His multiple indiscretions led to their divorce seven years ago...Zoey Easter had been her attorney and had been appalled at how Elwood had behaved...

"He's a serial cheater...A Walking erection." she used to say.

"Because I'm a Stupid ,low down nasty good for nothing dog.." he said.

Neither Olivia nor Donnie Ray said a word....

-**

Elwood shrugged...

"You could 've stopped me at anytime you know." he said.

They all busted out laughing.....

Finally he stood up, got himself together...

"Livy, you're a good girl...I mean a great woman...You always have been....Donnie Ray, you're a stand up guy and you got a great woman there...Stay in love you two....You guys give me hope....Good Night." he said.

"You think you're in shape to drive?" asked Donnie Ray....

"No....I'm going to catch a cab...I'll come back and pick up my car in the morning.." he said..

"Good Night Livy, Good Night Donnie Ray." he said and walked out..

Olivia and Donnie Ray stood there dumbfounded...

Beverly walked up.....

"What was wrong with Bum Ass Elwood?" she asked..

"He said he fell in love with some woman, who reminded him of me...and he screwed it up....She found a pair of panties in his hotel room...THAT WEREN'T HERS!" said Olivia...

Nelson cracked up laughing...

"Awwwww mannnn." he laughed...

"That's so typical of him....He can't help himself." said Beverly.

IV-

The cab took him to Zoey's loft...

He got out and he sat on the stoop in front of her building...

Meanwhile in her loft...

Zoey made herself some popcorn and poured herself a glass of wine...She put her headphones on and cued up some Miles Davis...She laid down on her couch and dimmed the lights and slowly listened to Miles and drifted off to sleep...

She had to do something different on Saturday Nights..Next weekend, She was going to call Olivia and Beverly and hang out with them, Do some shopping,Go to Josies or Aqua Bar of Stoleys...Get her dance on and perhaps meet a man!

Meanwhile Elwood sat downstairs, unknown to Zoey and contemplated what he was going to do...How he was going to live without her in his life....Tears streamed down his face....