Chapter 12

Aria lived in a condo that was located in a golf course community. Frank was thinking that there were more golf course communities here in Florida than in any other State. He made a mental note to do a Google search to check that out. Aria looked nice in tan colored pants and a white pullover. He passed on her offer of a cocktail.

At her suggestion, they went to “Shades” restaurant which was close to the water and had both inside and outside seating. It was a casual atmosphere with a good crowd. The all-you-can-eat fish and chips were what they both ordered. Even though it was a generous portion served, Frank thought the food was delicious and had a few more portions of fish. It was a nice time because of the food but more so because of Aria.

He told her he enjoyed fishing with her today. She says she goes fishing when she can but that depends on the weather and work. If Frank wants, she will tell him when she is going and he can come along. Frank was no dummy and said that would be great.

The evening ended with Frank taking Aria back to her condo. She thanked him for having a nice time. He told her that went double in spades for him.

It turned out that in the next four weeks, Frank went fishing with Aria five times. Besides snappers, they did catch a few king mackerel. The size and the fight those fish gave told Frank why they had the name of “King.” Spanish mackerel and a few bonitos were also caught. While he was eating the fish they were catching, his freezer was also getting filled.

When Frank was up north, he would at times stop by a fish shack that was located close to the river and purchased some smoked fish to pig out on. Thinking about the fish they were catching here had him surf the net and he found a Smokey’s Smokehouse listed. Their advertisement said among other things that they would smoke your fish. He brought them a day’s catch of a large king mackerel and two snappers to be smoked.

The following day he picked up the smoked fish, and after leaving a portion at his home, he brought a large portion of this smoked fish on a platter to the offices of Traylor and Traylor along with some crackers. He never saw smoked fish disappear so fast off the platter.

He talked with Joni about the demand letter they had sent for the insurance company to pay the policy limits on that injury case. She said the claim adjuster phoned her and said the offer was still 45k and no more. Frank told her they had set the hook and now it was time to reel them in.

“Send them a letter and say the offer to settle is withdrawn. File suit against the driver asking for two million dollars in damage. If the adjustor calls, you can tell him we are no longer negotiating and are going to go to a verdict as the letter states. Besides filing interrogatories, take the depositions of all parties, including the witnesses and the doctor, and obtain copies of all medical records. After this is done I will review what we have and see if we need anything more but I doubt it. We are going to teach that adjustor an expensive lesson of what acting in bad faith can cost his company.”

Frank enjoyed going fishing with Aria and it seemed to him that she enjoyed being with him. He was taking her out to dinner frequently. She told him they had gone to most of the restaurants she was familiar with in the area. She did say that there was the annual Sarasota Bar Association dinner dance coming up and asked Frank if he would be her escort. Aria said this was the only event in the area she was aware of that was formal and asked if he had a tuxedo. He told her he did and it would be his honor to be her escort.

Since this was considered to be a major event, Frank thought he would do it right and hired a chauffeured limousine for the night. At her condo, he pressed the doorbell button. Aria opened the door and she looked gorgeous wearing a red strapless cocktail dress.

He looked at her and said, “You need to get ready or we will be late.”

Frank could see his remark shocked her. She was flustered and didn’t know what to say.

He followed up and said, “Aria, I am only kidding, you look absolutely beautiful.” That remark caused her to smile and she said he had a way of kidding her that keeps her on her toes.

This dinner dance was an enjoyable affair. There were some nice-looking ladies there dressed in their finery. Frank didn’t think he was prejudiced when he thought Aria was the best-looking lady there. She was a good companion and stayed by his side introducing him to a number of the attendees.

Frank had a nice time at this dinner dance. When he took Aria home his hopes jumped because all indications were things were going to be getting even better. That was because when the limo pulled up at her condo, she told Frank he could release the limo because she said, “I will see that you get home.”

Once inside her condo, things progressed at a fairly fast rate. It started with kissing, then zippers being pulled down and buttons unbuttoned. Soon they were in her bedroom making love. Aria was no virgin and at her age, he didn’t think she would be. He however had the impression that she wasn’t that experienced in making love. She was eager and a quick learner. He did all that he could to make this night a night the both of them would remember. He knew he would remember this night and from what she said and how she acted he thought Aria would as well.

In the morning when they were awake, they cuddled with each other. Frank laughed when Aria said doing this could be better than fishing. He tried to show her again that it could be that.