Not a Day Goes By Read Online Free PDF

two. Shafts of the morning sun were filling the apartment with warm light. A handsome Hispanic man dressed in a black tuxedo and looking like the headwaiter in a five-star restaurant welcomed her. “Good morning, Ms. Braxton, welcome to a day designed especially for you.” He had a white linen napkin draped over his left arm and with his free right hand he then pulled back the chair and motioned for Yancey to take her seat. Yancey smiled and nodded toward him, then looked at Basil. His smiling face glowed with pleasure. Basil’s eyes widened when he saw the smile on Yancey’s face, which was both seductive and sincere, her eyes filling with tears. She picked up the linen napkin and dabbed her eyes, then noticed a small plate filled with sections of tangerines, kiwis, and pink grapefruit drizzled in champagne. Basil had hired a small catering service his firm often used to prepare a brunch of fruit, eggs, waffles, and an array of breakfast meats for Yancey and himself. A florist had been commissioned to decorate the apartment in the flowers Yancey loved.
    “Why did you do this?”
    “Because I love you,” Basil said.
    “What did I do to deserve all this love?” Yancey asked.
    “You were born,” Basil replied quickly. At that moment Basil’s heart was filled with so much love for Yancey he thought it would push right through his light-green cotton stretch sweater.
    “Stop saying stuff like that! You’re going to make me start bawling,” Yancey said.
    “You know I don’t want to make you cry, it’s just a special way to celebrate your new job,” Basil said.
    “But I don’t have a new job. Don’t you remember? Last night was the end. I’m unemployed. Again,” Yancey said as she started to frown. The waiter moved close to Yancey and asked, “Can I offer you a mimosa or some coffee?”
    “Let me have both,” Yancey said, gazing at Basil with a quizzical look on her face, without even looking at the waiter.
    “I know that look,” he said. “You’re wondering why I went through all this effort.”
    Yancey nodded her head and waited for his explanation.
    “I just want you to know that I not only love you but I appreciate your talent as well. I don’t want you to spend today or any other day wondering when the next job will come along.”
    “I love you,” Yancey said, cherishing Basil’s every word.
    “And I love you more. Now eat up. I have a whole day planned.”
    “Tell me,” Yancey demanded with an eager smile. She raised her fork daintily and took a small portion of the eggs.
    “As soon as we finish breakfast, I’m going to draw you a bath. And guess what?”
    “What?”
    “I’m going to bathe you with my clothes on. I don’t want you to think about hittin’ the skins,” Basil answered gently.
    “Then it’s not going to be the bath I have in mind,” Yancey said.
    “Next we are going to the gym and work out. After that, I think we should stop by this store I know you love on Fifty-seventh and Fifth Avenue and see if they have something for my special lady.”
    Yancey clapped her hands in delight and asked, “Please tell me you’re talking about Tiffany’s?”
    “If it’s on Fifty-seventh and Fifth. Then we’ll come back here for a candlelit dinner and I’ve bought DVD’s of a couple of your favorite movies, including your all-time favorite,
All About Eve
.”
    “Stop it. I can’t stand any more. Let’s just finish breakfast so we can get started.”
    “Whatever you say, baby. This day is all about you.”
    YANCEY almost dropped the crystal salad bowl when I asked her a question at the end of her day. It was hard to believe after two years and the countless conversations we had had about our families that it had never come up. The question just sorta popped out of my mouth as I watched her rinse and pull apart the lettuce while we prepared my favorite meal of salad, steak, and baked potatoes. In her black tight-fitting pants, and cashmere V-NECK sweater, Yancey looked