An Unusual Cupid

-1
An Unusual
Cupid

Pamela Caves

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Pamela Caves

Learn more about this author at
www.PamelaCaves.com

Also the author of the following stories on
Smashwords:

The Suicide of Time Hall

The Jump

The Crazy Ole' Bird Lady

Cover art photography by niebla/morguefile.com

Cover art editing and design by Pamela Gifford,
Creative Services/ www.PamelaGifford.com

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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this author.

Message From Pamela Caves:

This story is provided free to my readers and
supporters. It is my Valentine's gift to everyone who follows me on
my social networks and reads my work. My deepest appreciation goes
to all of you. Happy Valentine's Day!

An Unusual Cupid

"Pssst, Dude."

At first Marcus ignored the man across the
aisle of the bus. He refused to respond to someone who referred to
him as "dude". But the guy seemed relentless.

“Dude!" came the urgent whisper. Then there was
a flick of the guy's hand across his arm. "Yo, Dude."

Marcus huffed and closed his book. He silently
cursed his car. The transmission had died and would take a week or
more to get fixed. And of course there were no available rentals
nearby so Marcus had been forced to take the bus. If it hadn't been
Valentine's day this weekend, he would've canceled the trip to
Chicago altogether.

It was Mom and Dad's anniversary. Had Dad still
been alive, they would've been married for 32 years. He didn't want
to leave Mom alone this weekend. But taking the bus had tested the
limits of how far he was willing to go for her. He would joke
around about it to her once he got there.

To make matters worse, the novel he had packed
for the bus ride wasn't in his bag. Instead, he'd found a
completely different book, a Stephen King novel, tucked away in his
carry-on. It wasn't usually his genre but so far the novel was
pretty good. However,
Yo, Dude
man was putting a damper in
an otherwise barely tolerable ride.

"Can I help you?"

The man was a little younger then Marcus's 30
years. He wore a blue button down shirt and khakis; not a badly
dressed man at all if not slightly dated. His blonde hair was cut
neat and trim and he was clean shaven. Not what he expected from
someone who would loudly whisper
Yo, Dude
.

The man had a goofy grin across his face. He
leaned over toward Marcus as if to keep the conversation just
between them. "See that chic up there? Second row?"

Marcus was about the fifth or sixth row back.
He sighed, annoyed that the
Yo, Dude
man had bothered him
just for a peek at some woman. He caught a glimpse of the back of a
curly, long haired brunette head. Nothing unusual. Nothing
spectacular. "And?" Marcus said, a hint of sarcasm cutting into his
tone.

"And she's quite the eye candy." Despite the
irritation that Marcus felt he was clearly portraying,
Yo,
Dude
man was still grinning as if he'd just discovered the
secret of farts. "Why don't you go say hi? I think she's reading
the same book."

"Why don't
you
go say hi?" Marcus opened
the book back up and tried to find where he’d left off.

Apparently
Yo, Dude
man couldn't take a
hint. Marcus felt another flick across his arm. "Because, I'm
chained down." The guy held up his hand to show off a gold band. He
was still grinning like a doofus. The guy leaned over again.
"Listen, I have a kind of sense for these things. If you don't like
her, I'll pay you $100. Are you game?"

Marcus narrowed his eyes at him, trying to
determine if he meant it. A stranger was offering him $100 just to
go talk to some random woman. He could definitely use $100. Who
couldn't? Although Marcus doubted he’d ever see the money, it would
be worth the effort just to get the guy off his back.

"Fine. And if I don't, will you leave me the
hell alone?"

"Sure." The silly grin grew wider.

Marcus rose and made his way toward the
brunette. When he sat down beside her, she jumped in her seat. She
was pretty, yes, but Marcus had no intention of staying
long.

She smirked and her brown eyes glistened.
Marcus found himself loving the oval shape of them. "You didn't
like your seat?"

Marcus snickered at her attitude. "I liked my
seat just fine. Just thought I'd say hi."

"Oh," she said, seeing the Stephen King novel
in his hand. "So you saw I was reading the same book and what? Came
to discuss it?" She used sarcasm quite well. Marcus was impressed.
"Don't tell me that you somehow stashed this thing into my bag when
I wasn't looking."

"Excuse me?"

"This book," she said, holding up her copy of
the Stephen King novel. "I know I packed a James Patterson novel.
This was in it's place."

Marcus was momentarily stunned. "No, I promise,
I wouldn't do such a thing."

"Hmmm," she said, clearly
suspicious.

Marcus looked back over his shoulder. The
Yo, Dude
man wasn't there. At first Marcus thought that
maybe he could've went to the bathroom but an older lady was in the
process of scooting out of it. Where the crap did he go?

"I'm Emily."

Marcus turned his attention back to her but was
still clearly confused. "Marcus."

***

The two of them spent the next couple of hours
conversing about books, celebrities, and they even played an
impromptu game of hang man. Marcus discovered that Emily was on her
way to visit her brother for the weekend in the same part of
Chicago where Marcus's mom lived. To make things even more strange,
Emily actually lived two blocks down from Marcus in
Moline.

When they reached the terminal in Chicago,
Marcus gave Emily his phone number and she promised to call. As she
stood to get her things from the overhead, a piece of paper fell
from her pocket. Marcus picked it up and without really meaning to,
glanced at it. His heart caught in his throat.

"Emily, who is this?"

The picture was of Emily and the
Yo,
Dude
man in front of a statue he didn’t recognize. Emily had
her arms wrapped around him, planting a kiss on his cheek and
Yo, Dude
man had that same ridiculous grin.

"Oh," she said, taken by surprise. "That was my
husband, Derrick."

"Was?"

Emily took the picture back and looked at it
thoughtfully. "I'm sorry. That must've looked bad." She smiled
apologetically. "Derrick died a couple of years ago. Cancer."
Marcus felt his stomach flip.

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you. It was a few years ago so the sting
has worn off but I still miss him."

Marcus remembered his Dad. "You always miss the
ones you love, no matter how long it's been," he said
thoughtfully.

As they disembarked, Marcus searched over every
face but didn't see
Yo, Dude
man again.

"Hey, you wanna share a taxi?" Emily
asked.

He wasn't sure what had just happened but he
knew it was something very special. Marcus smiled at her. "Sure."
And he followed her out the front entrance of the
terminal.

###

About the Author:

Pamela Caves is a full time content and fiction
writer. Her latest credits include winning a short story and poetry
inclusion in two Twin Trinity Media's "Expressions" themed
anthologies to be published in the next year. She currently resides
in northeast Alabama.

Find out more about this author on
www.PamelaCaves.com