A Time for Us

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

October 9, 1987

Clayton, North Carolina

Deborah and the other waitresses of the Daybreak Diner, Bonnie and Karen, knew almost every face that walked through the door. They knew their names, their families, what they did for a living and what time they’d be arriving for their breakfast or lunch each day. On this day, there was a new face at the Daybreak. He was a strikingly handsome man in his early thirties. His tawny skin glowed beneath his wavy jet-black hair. He was five-feet, nine-inches tall, but carried himself with the swagger of a man a foot taller. His presence instantly seized the attention of the waitresses as he stood by the front door waiting to be seated. They stopped and glanced at each other; silently inquiring “who’s that?.”

“Go on and seat yourself, Sweetie,” Bonnie yelled from behind the counter in her trademarked Southern Belle drawl. “We’ll be right witcha.”

Deborah’s interest in the new patron was more than just the pleasure of his physical appearance or the usual curiosities sparked by an unfamiliar face at the diner. This seemingly new face held a strange familiarity for her. She was certain she knew him but struggled to recall how.

To Deborah’s disappointment, the new patron sat in Bonnie’s section of the diner, preventing her from casually questioning him about how they knew each other. Undeterred, she met Bonnie at the counter as she was putting in his order. “Bon, that guy over there…” Deborah said as she stealthily darted her eyes in the new guy’s direction. “…has he been in here before?”

“I don’t remember ever seein’ him here before, but I wouldn’t mind seein’ him here again… and again…” Bonnie joked. “He’s absolutely adorable.”

“I know I’ve seen him before,” Deborah insisted. “Get him to tell you about himself… his name, why he’s in town… you know… the usual.”

It was always intriguing to the ladies of the Daybreak when a “newbie” entered the diner. They often took bets on who the strangers were and why they were visiting their small town. This time, however, it was no game for Deborah. She was genuinely interested in uncovering how she knew the familiar stranger.

“Deborah Brown…” Bonnie began condescendingly. “…you’re a married woman with two children. Why on Earth would you be interested in that extremely handsome gentleman?”

“I’m serious, Bon. I know that guy. Just go over there and be your naturally nosey self and get the info.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Bonnie said with an impish smile, as she delivered a mock salute and winked at Deborah with her intense blue eyes.

As Bonnie served the newbie his breakfast, she used her natural southern charm to get the details Deborah requested without him having a clue he was under direct interrogation.

After gathering the requested intel, Bonnie returned to Deborah and began her debrief. “His name is Paul Giovanni. His friends call him Pauli. He’s an architect. In fact, he’s the architect that designed the new Town Hall. That’s why he’s in town.”

“That building has been under construction for months…” Deborah interrupted. “That’s it. He’s been in town for a while, and I’ve probably seen him at the post office or something.”

“Doubt it. He said his partner has been doin’ the onsite management of the construction. This is his first trip to the construction site.”

“Where does he live?” Deborah asked impatiently.

“If you’d hush for five seconds, you’ll get the information you want. Now put a sock in it and let me finish.” Deborah sighed and waved her hands in a gesture for Bonnie to get on with the details. “He lives in New York City…” Bonnie continued. “…that’s where he was born and raised. He owns an architectural firm with his partner who’s also his best friend since high school. He travels around the country a lot to supervise the major projects. He has two younger sisters. They live in New York, too. He’s never been married and he has no kids, but he’s his nieces’ and nephew’s favorite (and only) uncle.” Bonnie rattled off the information as if she were a trained CIA operative.

Deborah shook her head in amazement. “Damn, you’re good.” Bonnie never ceased to astound those around her with her talent for getting to know so much about people in a short time. “None of that rings a bell, though. I think if I’d met someone named Pauli Giovanni, I’d remember.”

“Well, Mrs. Brown…” Bonnie continued in the same matter-of-fact tone. “... Mr. Pauli Giovanni seems to be just as interested in you. The whole time I was talkin’ to him, he was lookin’ at you. He said you looked familiar to him and he’s almost certain he’s met you before.”

“You see!!!” Deborah quietly hissed. “I knew I’ve met him before. Does he have any idea where we met?”

“Not a clue,” Bonnie said as she looked over Deborah’s shoulder at the new patron. “But it’s pretty damn obvious he’s rackin’ his brain tryin’ to remember. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you for a second. I think you’ve got yourself an admirer.”

October 12, 1987

Clayton, North Carolina

The same inexplicable attraction between Deborah and Pauli was still present the following Monday when he came into the diner for breakfast. But on this day, seemingly on purpose, he sat in Deborah’s section of the restaurant. Bonnie was quick to point this fact out to Deborah when she saw Pauli sit down. “Looks like Mr. Giovanni wants to talk to you himself… alone… one-on-one…” she teased.

As Deborah served Pauli his breakfast, she took every opportunity to sneak a long look at him, trying to jog her memory of how she knew him. His soft hazel eyes, his sweet boy-like smile, the timbre of his voice were all traits of him that were enigmatically etched in the recesses of her brain.

After spending the past weekend struggling to remember where and how they could’ve met, Deborah gave up trying to figure it out without Pauli’s help. “I guess you’ve noticed I keep staring at you,” she confessed.

He smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

“I’m really sorry about that. It’s just that… I feel like I know you from somewhere. I’ve been trying to figure out how, but I can’t remember.”

Pauli’s smile widened. “I knew it! I had the same feeling from the time I stepped through that door last week. But I’m afraid I won’t be much help. I haven’t been able to remember where we met either.”

“Well, you have an advantage that I don’t.”

“I do?” he asked with playful hesitation.

“I’m wearing a name tag. At least you know my name. I don’t even have that much information for you,” she said, not wanting to disclose she knew more about him than he realized.

“You’re absolutely right… Deborah,” he said while reading her name tag. “I guess that could help. Do you have a last name, Deborah?”

“Brown.”

“Nice to meet you, Deborah Brown, I’m Pauli Giovanni. I’m in the area working on a construction project.” He paused for a second and smirked as he took a bite of his eggs. “But I think you already knew that.”

A look of utter confusion consumed Deborah’s face. “How would I know that?”

He unsuccessfully tried to hold back his chuckle. “You know that because you sent the Gestapo over here the other day to interrogate me.”

Deborah giggled awkwardly. “Sorry about that. It was just driving me crazy not knowing how I knew you.”

“No need to apologize. I feel the same way.”

Seeing neither of them had yet to determine the connection, Deborah decided she’d do a little investigation work of her own. “Have you done other projects in this area? Maybe I’ve seen you here before.”

“No. In fact, this is my first trip to the Carolinas. I was born and raised in New York City, where I still live. Have you ever been to the Big Apple?”

His question triggered a sadness Deborah hadn’t felt in years. While in high school, she thumbed through the pages of Vogue, Ebony and Jet magazines, envisioning herself in New York City in extravagant photo shoots or walking the runways during Fashion Week. She knew she had the looks to compete with the likes of Beverly Johnson or Iman. She was 5 feet, 7 inches tall with honey-colored skin and crystalline amber eyes. However, her parents’ uncompromising disapproval of her going so far away to pursue a “frivolous and unstable” career aspiration extinguished her big-city modeling dreams. Living in a small North Carolina town certainly didn’t offer any modeling opportunities. So, she quietly tucked away her big-city ambitions and acquiesced to a life as a wife and mother.

“Afraid not. I’ve always wanted to go, but I haven’t had the chance yet. The farthest north I’ve been is Washington, D.C.”

“I’ve been to D.C. several times.” His eyes glistened with excitement at the possible connection. “When were you there?”

“Spring of last year,” she recalled with the same excitement. “I was there with my family for the Memorial Day weekend.”

“Well, that’s not it. I was on a project in Miami last year from the middle of April until the beginning of August. Where else have you been outside the Carolinas?”

“I went to Walt Disney World when I graduated from high school in June of 1982. I also went to New Orleans for my honeymoon in August of that same year.” Deborah ran her fingers through her hair, tucking the coily dark auburn locks behind her ears trying to recall any other instances when she would’ve traveled out of North Carolina. “That’s it,” she confirmed. “The two trips in ’82 and the trip to D.C. last year. No other trips out of North Carolina.”

“I don’t get it.” Pauli’s brow furrowed in frustration as he took a sip of coffee. “I didn’t leave New York in 1982 at all. My mother was really sick that year and I didn’t want to be too far away from her.”

They were both silent for a moment as they scanned their memories for the connection. “Are you sure there’s nowhere else we could’ve met?” she asked convinced there was an answer lying at the tip of their brains that just needed a slight probe to solve the mystery.

“If those were your only trips, then… yeah, I’m sure.”

She shook her head in absolute confusion. “So weird.” They looked at each other intensely for a long moment. “I guess we’ve actually never met.” She knew her words were factual but still found the facts difficult to absorb.

“Yeah… I guess not,” he said with unease.

October 13, 1987

Clayton, North Carolina

The crew at the Daybreak started their day knowing this was going to be a hectic Tuesday. Bonnie was leaving after the breakfast shift to meet her fiancé, Jonathan, for their twelve-thirty appointment to close on their new house.

At eleven forty-five on the button, Bonnie gathered her purse and bid everyone adieu. “See y’all tomorrow,” she yelled as she raced out the door, her waist-length strawberry blonde hair flowing in a trail behind her.

A couple minutes later Bonnie stormed back into the diner with her usual alabaster complexion ablaze in a beet red hue. “It never fails…” she roared as she threw her purse on the counter. “… that piece of crap car always dies on me when I’m in a hurry.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Billy, one of the Daybreak regulars, asked.

“It’s a piece of crap, Billy. That’s what’s wrong with it.”

Billy chuckled lightly as he gestured for Bonnie to throw him her keys. “I’ll take a look at it and see if I can get it goin’.”

Bonnie tossed her keys to Billy as she made her way to the phone hoping to catch Jonathan before he left work and could arrange for him to pick her up on his way to the attorney’s office.

Seeing how upset she was, Pauli offered to drive Bonnie to her appointment. “I really appreciate it Pauli, but it’s nearly a 30-minute drive from here. I’d never ask you to go that far out of your way.”

“It’s no problem. I’m just killing time waiting for a delivery that probably won’t arrive for a couple hours. It’ll give me something to do for a while. Come on…” Pauli said as he got up from the booth with his keys in hand. “My truck’s right outside. Hop in and let’s go.”

Pauli’s words made Deborah spin in his direction so fast it sent the tray of water glasses she was carrying crashing to the floor. The diner fell silent upon the clamor of the broken glass. Everyone’s eyes turned to Deborah who stood frozen, seemingly oblivious to the chaos she just caused. She stood and stared at Pauli with the color completely draining from her face.

Bonnie navigated her way over the broken glass and puddles of water to get to Deborah. She pried the tray from Deborah’s hands. “Deb? What’s wrong?” Bonnie asked as she guided Deborah to one of the booths. “You want some water, Hun?” Without waiting for a reply, Bonnie instructed Karen to get a glass of water.

Deborah continued to be unresponsive. Her eyes were fixed on Pauli. Bonnie sat next to her in the booth, gently rubbed her back and pleaded with her to say something. “Deb… Sweetie, please talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” Karen returned with a glass of water and slid it into Deborah’s hand. “Drink some water, Sweetie.” Bonnie insisted. But there was still no response from Deborah.

Bonnie looked at Pauli and silently mouthed “What happened?” He responded with a shrug of his shoulders and a look of bewilderment.

Pauli slid in the booth, positioning himself directly across from Deborah and took her hands in his. “Deborah… Please tell us what’s the matter. Are you sick?”

Deborah looked down at her hands enveloped in Pauli’s as tears began to fill her eyes. “No… I’m not sick….” she said, emerging from her catatonic state with nothing more than the sound of Pauli’s voice and the warm touch of his hands.

“Deb, Sweetie, what’s the matter?” Bonnie asked again.

“I don’t know,” Deborah said in a whisper. “I’m feeling a little lightheaded, but I think I’m okay. Just let me sit here a minute and I’ll be fine.”

Deborah’s attempt to put forth a strong demeanor convinced no one. The color still hadn’t returned to her face, she was visibly trembling and her voice was almost inaudible.

“Can you tell me what happened, Deb?” Bonnie asked. For the first time Deborah took her eyes off Pauli and turned to Bonnie.

“I know him,” she whispered to Bonnie.

“What?” Bonnie asked.

She then turned back to Pauli. “I know you,” she said with unwavering conviction.

“How?” he asked with a tinge of apprehension.

“I have no idea.” She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back her tears. “But there’s no doubt in my mind that I know you.” She opened her eyes and looked deeply into his. “I mean really know you.”

Pete, the cook and owner of the Daybreak walked over to the booth where a crowd had gathered around Deborah. “Deb, you don’t look too good. Why don’t you go home for the rest of the day.”

“I’ll be fine, Pete. Besides, you’re already shorthanded with Bonnie leaving for her appointment.” Suddenly, the realities of the world rushed back to Deborah. “Bon, what are you still doing here? You’re going to be late.”

Bonnie chuckled. “That ship has sailed, sweetie. We’ll just reschedule.”

“I’m so sorry, Bon. I didn’t mean to make you late.”

Bonnie gave her a gentle hug. “You didn’t make me late, Sweetie. That piece of crap car made me late. You being…” She paused and smiled lovingly at her best friend. “…You needin’ me will always come before any appointment.”

Deborah laid her head on Bonnie’s shoulder, grateful she was blessed with such a good friend. “I’m okay now. You could probably still make it on time. You just need to hurry.”

“She’s right,” Pauli chimed in. “If we leave right now, I can still get you there in time.” His attention turned back to Deborah. “You’ll come with us. After I drop Bonnie off, I’ll take you home so you can get some rest.”

“I’m fine!” Deborah insisted. “Besides, I can’t leave Pete shorthanded…”

“We can handle it, Deb,” Karen interrupted. “Just go home and get to feelin’ better.”

“She’s right,” Pete added. “I’ll call Marlene to come in and help if we need it.” Pete’s wife, Marlene, was always happy to help out when the Daybreak needed her. “If you’re not feeling no better tomorrow, stay home,” Pete advised. “Don’t worry about the money. You’ll get a full paycheck. Just take it easy.”

“Fine!” Deborah relented. “I’ll go home. But I can drive myself.”

“Absolutely not!” Bonnie interjected. “I wouldn’t trust you to walk across the street by yourself right now. You’re goin’ to take Pauli up on his offer,” she continued as if Deborah had no say in the matter.

“Are you sure it’s no trouble?” Deborah asked Pauli.

“No trouble at all.”

“Okay then… I accept. Thank you.”

Pauli delivered Bonnie to her attorney’s office only ten minutes late for her appointment. He wasted no time after Bonnie exited the truck to begin questioning Deborah about what happened at the diner. “Apparently, it was something I said.”

“Pardon?” Deborah asked, still slightly disoriented.

“The reason for your reaction…. It seemed to be triggered by something I said. But I don’t know what I could’ve said to make you react that way.”

Deborah shook her head wearily. “I’m not sure what happened. I heard you offer to give Bonnie a ride and I freaked out.”

“If you knew something, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

Deborah chuckled slightly as she rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. “I wish I did know something. It’s the not knowing that’s driving me insane… Literally insane!”

After Pauli delivered her home, Deborah executed her plan to take full advantage of the peace and quiet, which was a rare occurrence in the Brown household. She called the Grissom Electric office where her husband, Chris, worked as an electrician and left a message for him to pick the girls up on his way home. It was usually her responsibility to pick up her daughters, Chelsea and Vanessa, from preschool, but she knew Chris wouldn’t mind picking them up under the circumstances.

She settled into bed after a long hot bath, hoping a nap would help her feel well enough to have dinner ready by the time Chris and the girls got home. She thought after dinner, they could swing by Dairy King for ice cream when they picked her car up from the diner. But her racing thoughts wouldn’t allow her to sleep. Pauli’s words “hop in and let’s go” continued to reverberate in her mind. She had no doubt she heard him speak those words before, but couldn’t remember where, when, or why. She cried quietly in frustration at her lack of memory, her embarrassing reaction to Pauli’s words and her overwhelming fascination she had for a total stranger.

Trying desperately to get the rest she wanted, Pauli’s presence wouldn’t leave her. His sincere kindness, the sense of peace and security she felt with him, the sound of his voice, the touch of his hands consumed all her thoughts. She felt an attraction for him she hadn’t felt for any man since she met Chris. She questioned the connection she felt, suspecting the feelings of comfort and familiarity had nothing to do with anything that happened in the past, but perhaps something she was hoping for in the future. She tossed in bed as she chased away those thoughts.

After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep, Deborah searched for anything in her medicine cabinet that would help her fall asleep and get rid of the exploding headache she had since her episode at the diner. Picking up the car that night wasn’t important, she decided. She went to the kitchen, took out leftovers from dinner the night before and made notes for Chris on how to reheat them. She returned to bed with a cup of hot peppermint tea and the assurance she’d finally get the rest she needed.

Minutes after consuming the tea and pills, she drifted off to sleep. However, the words she fought to unravel wouldn’t leave her, even in her sleep.