AS THE MOUSE

OVES©

Thursday November 23^rd, 2000 - Thanksgiving Day
"I call you later," Amir said kissing Tiffany lightly on the cheek.
"Enjoy your day with the Princess," Tiffany said turning her head to avoid his kiss.
"I be with you later in evening," he said in his broken English filled with regret that he had only recently become an American citizen and had forgotten Thanksgiving.
"No, forget it Amir. I don't have a turkey to cook, forget the whole thing."  Tiffany said starting to push the door closed.
"I call," he said glancing at his watch and deciding he had to leave.  He felt horrible leaving her alone on the holiday especially after the passion last night.
Tiffany closed the door and the hot tears rolled down her cheeks.  She never should have forgiven him she thought.  He had seemed so sorry that he had withheld his marriage and sick wife from her.  When he stopped by in the early morning hours she decided to forgive him in the heat of passion .  She could understand how he might have withheld the information about his wife; she had been in a coma for years and was in another country.  She had even decided that perhaps her anger had a lot to do with her jealousy over him being seen on television with the Princess at his party last night.  His PR firm had made that arrangement to make him look good for the press.  Then this morning he told her he had to meet with the foreign Princess and that seemed like the last straw.  Maybe he did forget that it was Thanksgiving Day, but there had been too much to forgive him for lately.  She walked into the bedroom, took off her long white robe and slipped into her jeans.  She would go out to lunch and have Thanksgiving on her own.  She remembered that last Thanksgiving Day she had promised herself that she would never be alone like this again. Here she was alone again, hurt and humiliated.
Tiffany left her apartment at Washington Square and walked along Bleecker Street looking for a diner that was open and serving Thanksgiving lunch.  Money was a big issue lately since she had lost her job.  She checked the menu on several windows and finally decided a turkey sandwich would be good enough for lunch.  She quickly decided on the Washington Square Tavern and opened the door walking into the half empty diner.  She saw several senior citizens in a booth and a few students with pastel hair and earrings in their noses.
"I'll sit at the booth," she said walking past the waitress and taking a seat alone at a booth near the front door.
"What can I get ya?" the waitress asked.
"Turkey sandwich and fries," she said as she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind.
"You alone?" Skeeter asked in his slow southern accent.
"Yeah.  What are you doing here?" she asked shocked to see that her estranged husband had just walked in behind her.
"Don't know how to cook turkey," he said.
"You did last year," she said remembering that she had called him in Georgia and he said he couldn't talk.  He was busy taking the turkey out of the oven.
"Oh yeah, that's right. I burned it though," he said remembering that her best friend Brenda had cooked for him in the kitchen of their mobile home in Georgia.  He thought quickly how much better Tiffany was at cooking turkey than Brenda.  Tiffany was better at a lot of things than Brenda or any of her friends in Georgia.
"Join ya?" he asked.
"I guess."
"Where's your rich boyfriend?" he asked reflecting on the newspaper reports with the shocking news that Amir was married with a dying wife.  He remembered seeing the handsome foreigner Amir last night with the young Princess on his arm at the opening party for Manhattan Gold International.
"Looks like he's married and got a Princess," Tiffany said picking up her paper napkin and starting to tear it into tiny pieces.
"Any man that wouldn't see that you're the princess is blind," Skeeter said wondering how he would spend the afternoon.  Jan was helping Amir entertain the Princess.
"You didn't seem to think that before."
"I see clearly now Tiffany.  Baby you're a princess and I wish you'd be my princess again," he said stroking her thigh under her tight jeans as he slid into the booth beside her.
CONTINUED TOMORROW. MORE PHOTOS BELOW.