When I turned 40, my best friend proclaimed we would now be 29 forever. At 29, we felt we had all our stupid, immature behavior out of our system; we’d finished college, and had pretty stable lives. So 29 it was! This year was especially nasty since I turned 45, so I appreciated 29 that much more. I looked young, so pulling off an age that wasn’t quite the “truth” was doable, plus I was young at heart. As my grandma would say, it all equals out in the wash.
It’s a rare treat to travel somewhere sunny for work, but this year the travel Gods were kind to me. After a long and rainy winter, I was ready for the sunshine. I had been doing crunches like a maniac; earlier that year I started going to Zumba, and had become somewhat of a gym rat, I didn’t fear the bikini anymore. I think I was ready for those two tiny pieces of silky black fabric that were supposed to cover my private parts. A 29 year olf would not fear the bikini.
The resort in Scottsdale, The Fire Sky was a diamond in the rough Arizona dessert. I have been to Hawaii a number of times and I would NEVER compare Hawaii to Arizona, but, when I walked through the trendy brown and red toned lobby, I was met with calm. Very Hawaiian, clam, relaxing and Zen like. Everything had clean lines, lots of glass and metal, but soft, not hard looking. And beyond the glass wall was a tropical oasis with fuscia bougainvillea, swaying palm trees, heliotrope the color of fresh churned butter, and water everywhere. Trickling water falls that poured into glistening swimming pools the color of sky, were punctuated by torches, with flames reaching towards the Gods. And hidden back behind all this lush vegetation was a quiet pool surrounded by a white sand beach, not visible from the community meeting areas. I knew that’s where I would escape every free moment I had.
Once all the craziness of kicking off this event had surpassed, I took a moment to look around at the other vender booths. Down the hall from me was a man that was too beautiful to be attending a software conference. If this is what the geek squad looks like these days, sign me up. A leggy 6 foot 4 man, with piercing brown eyes that can see right through your soul, shadowed by a shiny black mop, styled just right and pepper with enough gray to make him look incredibly sexy, stared back at me. I may have been drooling slightly when I realized I’d been staring at him. Since he was surrounded by computer geeks, his hotness was punctuated even more.
His brown eyes connected with mine (suddenly I could feel every degree of the 102 day) and he smiled. Wow. He stood and I thought, oh hell he’s going to come talk to me. Instead, he moved around to the front of his booth, giving me an unobstructed view of his body, something he clearly worked hard on maintaining to perfection. This was going to be a fun week!
Later that night, I saw him sitting at the fire pit...all alone. Could this be? Unattached? So I grabbed some marshmallows and some skewers and went and sat down next to him. We exchanged pleasantries, had a couple drinks, and before I knew it we were telling each other about our lives, comparing our knowledge of the constellations that were lighting up the sky above us, and chatting like old friends. If there were other people around, I am not sure either one of us noticed. We were both smitten. My general rule of thumb is to quiz a new guy about his mother. I think a good mom can teach a boy how to treat a women and a man that loves his mother, typically, will treat you well. I was encouraged by the kind and respectful things he said about his mother and four sisters!
As the sunny week progressed, every time we had a break during the day we’d meet by the secret pool and drink champagne cocktails and soak up the hot Arizona sun. He made me laugh and forget the worries in my world. It was nice to feel so comfortable around a man, and he had this way of making me feel like the most beautiful women in the state. As our week started to wrap up, we finished early and met at our spot at the pool. Shaded by a Audrey Hepburn sun hat, I snuck a look at his tanned face, strong jaw, I reached up and brushed away a lock of his hair. So silky. In the real world we lived on opposite coasts, he in the east, me in the west; he travels a lot of business and I go to Florida once a year. We exchanged cell phone numbers with the promise that this would not be the end. However, that’s how I roll. I would meet prince charming and he would live at the opposite end of the US. It’s never easy for me.
I returned to the dreary northwest, the thought of my tanned friend fading from memory. I jumped back into the hubbub of work and forgot my little slice of paradise.
One stormy night the rain was slamming against my window, proving to me despite my hate for the rain, it was winning and would continue to win the weather battle until July! I was wishing for the comfort of the warm sun on my face when my cell phone buzzed on the table. It was him; my tanned prince charming. I did a quick calculation and realized it was 1 a.m. on the east coast. Hmmm.
“Hello,” I said the smile on my face clear in my voice.
“Hey gorgeous, what are you up to?” He asked.
“There’s an investigation at my work?” he said.
I knew he was an accountant that investigated financial fraud, especially embezzlement, which seems to be a chronic problem in our country. Since his company was a client of ours, I figured there was a good chance I would know who was being investigated.
“Who is the hammer coming down on?” I asked.
“Well we were investigating a large corporation for tax fraud and they retaliated by launching their own investigation.”
“Well I suppose, fight fire with fire. Who are they investigating?” I asked.
“Me.”
Huh? What?
He went on and tried to explain. It became clear rather fast that he had been drinking excessively and the more he talked the less coherent he became. It was like a tidal wave of information, or maybe a confession. He peppered in between stories that I deserved a better guy. Apparently, he didn’t like rules, limitations, or police. As a result, he had been arrested 29 times!
TWENTY NINE TIMES!
The last one was the Sunday before the conference and had been for alleged domestic abuse.
Suddenly, I don’t want to be 29 anymore.
