Read Truths of the Heart for Free Online

Chablis.”
    She closed her eyes. “Perhaps, now get some sleep.”
    “Trying to get rid of me?”
    “Carl….”
    “Airport tomorrow, 5:30 sharp.”
    “You mean today.”
    “You got it.”
    “Nighty by.”
    “Oh, hey babe, almost forgot, did I tell you about Dent?”
    She knew of whom he spoke. She had met the pasty affable Denton Ruffin.
    He had been Carl's former Notre Dame coach. Now a Detroit financial
mogul, also an NFL official, Dent happened to be engaged to Rachelle's Michigan
State colleague, Dr.Kim Lee.
    Rachelle said, “What about him?”
    “He's going to my best man … ain' that a kick in the ass!”
    “I … yes.”
    “That's all you can say?”
    “You want expletives or adjectives?”
    “Wise ass.”
    Dumb ass , she
thought, checked the impulse and said, “Well, that's good, Kim was looking
forward to being at the wedding anyway, this will make it even better.”
    “Who Kim?”
    “Carl … Dr. Kim Lee, my colleague, she's engaged to Dent, you know that.”
    Silence then, “Ah, ah … ah….”
    “Cat got your tongue, what's the matter?”
    “I don't na anything about that.”
    “You do too.”
    “No, I do not.”
    “Carl, I know you do.”
    “Swear to gawd.”
    “Get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow.”
    “5:30, sharp, Northwest, loves ya.”
    “I love you too.”
    “Bye babe.”
    Rachelle put the phone down with a thought, Carl knew Dent was
engaged to Kim.
    She turned the light off, closed her eyes and, unable to sleep, began wandering
around in Carl's denial of Kim and Denton's engagement:
    She had met Denton Ruffin, roughly a year ago, the same night she had met
Carl. Kim had been dating suave world traveler Dent for some time. He had been
the quarterback coach at Notre Dame when Carl played there. Dent was now a
partner with Martin Lang & Ruffin, a Detroit wealth-management company. He
also happened to be an NFL official. Kim had flown with Dent in Martin Lang &
Ruffin's private jet to the Caymans. Been aboard, moored at the Detroit Yacht
Club, his fifty-foot yacht TOUCHDOWN. The inconvenient pickle in their
relationship—Dent was being sued by wife Penny for divorce. He had moved out of
their Grosse Pointe mansion, now lived on TOUCHDOWN. There were no children.
    Rachelle heard T.S. jump on the bed and nuzzle up to her. She stoked
him and, thoughts of Dent, Carl, and Kim stewing around like a simmering pot of
gefilte fish stew, she recalled the night of her first Dent/Carl encounter:
    Kim regularly attended Detroit Lions home football games. Dent's firm leased
a $150,000 a year Ford Stadium suite. She invited Rachelle to a game. Not a
fan, she declined. Kim related how the suite had a great view, sumptuous food,
super beverages, and best of all, no rah-rah of the crowd. “You need to get away,
please.” The last no rah-rah perk and umpteenth please persuaded Rachelle to
accept Kim's offer. Then things nearly got scrapped when she refused to stay
the night on Dent's yacht. Instead, she and Kim checked into the Detroit Omni.
They met Dent at the High Five, an infamous sports bar/restaurant
located in Detroit's old warehouse district. The establishment featured a fifty
foot chrome and steel bar, seventy red booths, and brick walls dripping with a
glut of autographed sport's star photos. Scattered around in glass cases were
signed footballs, basketballs, helmets, jerseys, and baseball gloves and bats;
a full size formula-one sports car hung from the ceiling. Pink, blue, and red
neon signs advertising Coors, Corona, Bud Light, Labatt Blue. An ATM machine
sat in one corner. Cigar and cigarette smoke mingling with the smell of aged
beef and human flesh. Everywhere, TV screens spewed sports video, some silent,
some with sound.
    Rachelle learned from Kim that High Five was a favorite hangout for high
rollers in the world of sports. Also courted were politicians, lawyers, power
brokers, movers and shakers. All were welcomed and pampered by owner Tommi
Gilmour. And guess what—not a