Created by Diane Brown, Buena Beach is an online soap opera, giving up all the juicy details of some of the hottest guys and gals of Buena Beach, a small town in Southern California. Check back everyday for a new episode here on HelloBeautiful.com.
Mario
Three steps through the heavy glass door and – BAM…there they are. 2:00, Belinda Maxwell, President of the Buena Beach Chamber of Commerce. 7:00, Georgia O’Ryan, Superintendent, Buena Beach Unified School District. 9:00, Sidney Hawkins, Chair of the Buena Beach Arts & Cultural Affairs Commission, talking to 3rd District Council Member Swindell Goodwin and Women in Business Association Vice-Chair Gwendolyn Banks. They’re all here – the rich, the richer, and the richest mingling with the super powerful and the ultra powerful. Teddy and Beverly di’Antonio, owners of the di’Antonio restaurant chain. Assembly Member Drake Meyers. Chief of Police Alex Santos. Lisa Stanton, Director of the local chapter of the NAACP.
And the list goes on. I’m the guppy here. Perhaps even guppy food. But, I’m here. In this pond, hopefully staying afloat with my charm and good looks. If the mayor thinks that I should be here, than so be it. In fact, I shouldn’t be surprised at being offered this glass of champagne, hounded by wait staff with trays of bacon-wrapped scallops and fig tartlets, or checked out by sharply-dressed onlookers in head-scratching attempts to figure out why I’m important enough to be here. I deserve to be here, dammit. The mayor, I’ve decided, is priming me for a future in power-tics (because there’s not enough money in politics alone; better to use political influence for personal advantage).
And I can’t think of a better mentor than Mayor Certig. Or, Hanan as she insists I call her although I’d never do so in front of Danny. Not that I care one way or the other how he feels about the matter; but for now, my vote is for keeping my friendship with Hanan on the hush. Just for now.
Sandy, on the other hand, knows all too well about lunches and early morning meetings and a couple rounds of golf with Hanan. So I trusted her enough to accompany me this evening. Now, I’m wishing I would have had her doll up a bit less and taken the initiative to buy her a “business casual” outfit myself (because her interpretation has played out more like risqué business). But it’s fine. If anything, she’s a good conversationalist. Hopefully she’ll stay away from her two favorite topics – celebrity gossip and the presidential election. I thought long and hard about bringing Cynthia (since the invitation was addressed to me and my wife), but I really hate mixing my professional and personal lives. Compartmentalization is the only way I stay balanced, especially when it comes to balancing a baby-crazy wife and a sex-crazy lover.
“Mario! So glad you finally made it. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.” It’s Hanan. She and her mini entourage have crossed over from the bar to meet me.
“Now do you really think I’d pass up this fancy shindig?”
Oblivious to the full champagne flute I’m already holding, she hands me a glass of scotch. “Well, I know you’re smarter than that. But, every once in awhile, I’m wrong about people.” Before I’m able to collect some sort of witty retort, she turns to face Sandy, almost positioning herself in between us. “Hello – and I don’t think you’re Mario’s beautiful wife Cynthia…not that you’re not beautiful, but you look nothing like the photos I’ve seen of her.”
Sandy’s blushing. Not unusual for her, but her cheeks are flaming red – like it’s taking her every last will not to spit in the mayor’s face. That’s one vote Hanan shouldn’t count on should the City Charter be changed to allow for three consecutive mayoral terms. “Hanan, this is Sandy,” I say, nudging my way back in to make us a trio once again. “She’s my assistant.”
“Oh,” laughs Hanan, now a bit at ease. “Pardon me, Sandy. I didn’t mean to be abrasive. It’s just that sometimes, astute young men like Mario make errors in judgment about the type of company they select to join them at these types of events. I suppose I jumped to conclusions,” she shrugs before taking a swig.
“Sandy, here, has been with the City for, what, two years now?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Sandy answers, taking the opportunity to down her own drink.
“Well that’s great. Just great. You have a terrific leader, you know. Good looking. Sharp. Charming. He’s a hard one to resist, isn’t he?”
Don’t snap, Sandy. Don’t snap. I want to give her my “Don’t snap” eyes, but worry the mayor will catch me. Looks like the woman is pretty intuitive.
“And, so. Where is your beautiful wife?”
This is it for Sandy. She catches a woman bringing in a freshly-corked tray of champagne, takes a flute, and chugs it like a professional beer-bongerer.
“Oh, uh…Cyn is, actually, working.”
The mayor’s not buying this. “Working?”
“Yes. Just started a job today with the Buena Beach Café. Bored.”
Hanan frowns, as if Cynthia getting bored at home all day is completely implausible. “Why doesn’t she just work for her parents?”
Her parents? How’d she…? Oh, right. Perhaps I mentioned it when the mayor and I first met at a Parks & Beaches Commission meeting last year while making small talk as we hovered in the vestibule outside City Hall, desperate to hide our shared addiction to nicotine. I think I said something about needing a new car but not wanting to shell out so much money for the G-coupe I wanted and how ironic that was because my in-laws owned all five of the six auto dealerships in the city, including Infiniti, but I wasn’t trying to rely on any special favors. What I didn’t add was the point about Cynthia’s folks thinking I wasn’t good enough for their only daughter, and that it’d be a miracle if we’d even be invited over for Thanksgiving. Those were the sorts of details I didn’t want to be reminded of in any way, although that fact alone is what continues to fuel my resolve.
“That’s not really Cyn’s thing. Besides, I’m kind of looking forward to her getting out, staying busy. Doing something different.”
“I understand. Still, it’s a shame that she couldn’t join us. I’ve really been wanting to meet the special lady behind my good friend Mario.”
I see Sandy roll her eyes, likely troubled by Hanan’s choice of the word “behind” to describe Cynthia, which causes me to snicker momentarily, thinking to myself that missionary is probably a better description of Cyn’s position relative to me. Missionary every time. “Well, perhaps next time.”
“Yes, yes, Mario. Definitely next time. As you’re soon to see, aside from my staff, Sandy is likely the only one in the room with the word ‘assistant’ on her business cards,” she says to me, then turns to Sandy. “You do have business cards, don’t you Sandy?”
And it’s there – a face off between my mentor and my lover. People always warned me that the mayor was a straight-up bitch, although I’m sure Sandy will call her worse than that if and when we make it back to the safety of my car once this party’s over. It’s a big test for Sandy. She’s told me before that she’d do anything for me. The statement was easy to write off since she always whispered it to me as we did it; but if she handles this situation with grace, I may have to take her seriously.
Sandy clears her throat and smiles. “Yes, Mayor Certig. Yes, I just received a new box of 500 last week on recycled cardstock.”
Alright. That’s my girl. I’m gonna have to take her out for a nice dinner this week for keeping it together.
Hanan nods her head, managing a smile back to Sandy. “Well, it’s good to see that Mario and the City are treating you well. Both of you, please – enjoy some more champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Mingle. And, Mario, I’ll give you a call later this week about the next Commission meeting, alright?”
“Sure thing.”
As Hanan turns to walk away, Sandy taps me on my shoulder and points to a woman in a dark blue suit. Loudly, she asks “Hey Mario, isn’t that the Assistant District Attorney over there? Maybe I should go chat with her since the two of us are just lowly assistants.”
Hanan doesn’t turn around, but I note a near imperceptible pause as she leaves our company. Ohhh, Sandy. Well, it could have been worse. No nice dinner now, but perhaps I’ll grab her a little something from the Café for breakfast later this week.
Check back tomorrow for the next episode of Buena Beach!
