At Last (16 page)

             
“I was.”  I said wiping my eyes.

             
There was a knock at the door, “Cliff?”

             
“What up?”

             
“You got a customer out here.”

             
“Tell em I’ll be out here in a minute.”

             
“Got you,” Mike answered back.

             
“I told you it was rough, Ma-ain’t for the faint of heart.”

             
“I know.”

             
“You’ll be good. Just come out when you’re ready.” He smiled at me and walked out the door.

             
He was right.  I was a fighter but damn it I was tired.
Tired of fighting.
  But one thing was for certain I wasn’t running away.  I made my bed and I was gon’
lay
in it.

Chapter Twelve

             
“Well, you made it,” Cliff said as he sat in my chair playing with his phone while I swept up the hair from my last client.

             
“Yeah...” I replied.

             
“We should celebrate.”  He suggested with a smile.

             
I had been working at the shop for one month today.  I guess he saw fit to celebrate the occasion.

             
“I don’t know.  I’m kind of tired.”

             
“Too tired for a drink?”

             
I thought about it and I didn’t feel like putting myself back in a vulnerable situation with another man. For the past couple of weeks I had been checking him out though.  I did have eyes; and Cliff was an attractive man.

             
I didn’t really see him like that at first because he was my boss. But one morning I came in and he was giving a little boy a haircut, and he was just so sincere and genuine.

             
It was the little boy’s first haircut and he-not to mention his mother were so nervous.  But Cliff put them both at ease. He just had this certain manner about him that made you comfortable like you’d known him for years.

             
I felt a certain way about Cliff, but I couldn’t bear getting involved with him and having it end up sour. Then I’d have to find another job. Not to mention another failed relationship under my belt.

             
“So what’s up Ma?  What’s it gon’ be?”

             
“Where you wanna to go?” I asked reluctantly.

             
“We can go to my house.”

             
“Your house?”

             
“Yeah, my house.”

             
“I don’t know where you live.”

             
“I know that. You can follow me to my crib.”

             
“You think that’s a good idea?”

             
“Why not?
  You’ve never had drinks with a friend?”

             
“Yeah, but we work together.  You’re my boss.”

             
“You puttin’ too much thought into this.  It’s just a drink, Ma.”

             
  What did I really have to lose?  Wouldn’t anything happen that I didn’t want to happen, and it was just a drink. 
Wasn’t it?

             
I finally relented, “I need to call and check on my daughter.”

             
“Cool, I’m bout to take a smoke. I’ll be back in a minute.”  He said stepping outside the shop.

             
I pulled out my cell phone and made a call to mother’s house.

             
“Hey Momma.
  Can I speak to Taylor?”

             
“Sure, baby.  Hold on.”

             
“Hi, Mommy.”
I heard.

             
“Hey, Poo!
What you doing?”

             
“
Me
and Granma are watching T.V.”

             
“Sounds fun, baby.
I just wanted to let you know that Mommy will be home in a few hours, okay?”

             
“Okay.  Love you Mommy. Bye-Bye.  Here’s Granma.”

             
Damn, blown off by my own child.  She could be really cold blooded when SpongeBob came on.

             
“She’s too grown for me,” I told my mother with a giggle.

             
She chuckled “I know. I’ll see you when you get home.”

             
“Okay.” I hung up the phone as Cliff reentered the shop.

             
“What’s the deal?”

             
“I’ll take you up on that drink.”

             
“Cool.” He replied. He clearly was suppressing a smile.

             
We were the last people in the shop.  Cliff shut off all the lights as I grabbed my bag and purse.  Cliff locked up and pulled the gate down behind us.

             
“You gone follow me to my crib or you want to drop your car off?”

             
“I’ll follow you,” I said quickly.

             
“Alright.”

             
Cliff jumped in his Black Navigator and I followed him. I felt sort of restless driving to his house.  I was extremely attracted to him, but I didn’t want anything to go down between us-especially this soon.

             
There were so many different things going through my mind.  I wasn’t sure if he was feeling me or if he was just really trying to have a drink. I guess I would find out soon.

             
We got to his street, Boston.  It was in the Boston-Edison District in the city.  I’d always loved those houses. When I was younger in the summertime on Sundays after church, my family would load up in the car and go for rides around the city.

             
My dad rode us around throughout the city to Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Sherwood Forest and Boston-Edison Districts. But to me by far the Boston Edison District was my favorite. The houses always reminded me of royalty. My dad would say, “See girls, if you work hard one day you can live in houses like these.”

             
Cliff pulled all the way into his driveway and I followed. He got out of the car, came over to me, and opened my door.

             
“Why didn’t you tell me how far you lived from the shop?” I asked.

             
He smiled, “You didn’t ask.”

             
“Whatever.”

             
He opened the front door for me.  The house was huge.  It was three stories. I admired the foyer, while he disarmed the alarm. His house was beautiful.  There was hunter green leather furniture in the living room along with glass end tables. Cherry hardwood floors were throughout covered with matching area Oriental rugs.

             
The kitchen floor was black and white with a huge black marble island in the middle of it.  His dining room was all white.  The table setting for six that was acrylic, but looked as if it were glass. There was also a huge wall mirror from the ceiling to the floor.  A woman must’ve decorated it.

             
“Ma, I
been wantin’
to tell you this all day…” Cliff said slipping out of his Camel colored Timberlands, “You look beautiful.”

             
I smiled. I couldn’t lie; his comment caught me off guard. I had on a black sheer shirt, a pair of
Seven
dark blue fitted jeans, and a pair of black BCBG ankle boots. I was wearing my hair down with slight spiral curls on the ends and my huge silver hoops. It was nothing special, so for him to compliment me made me feel good.

             
Cliff had on a pair of dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt under his tan sweatshirt he’d already come out of. I sat in the kitchen on one of the barstools around the island and surveyed.  He opened the refrigerator and began to grab a couple of things.

             
He closed it, turned around, and showed off a fifth of Belvedere and a bottle of cranberry juice.  I was beginning to wonder if Cliff meant a drink or drinks. He placed both bottles on the counter in front of me.

             
“So how do you like the shop?” He asked completely disregarding the fact that he’d slammed two big ass bottles on the countertop in front of me.

             
“It’s interesting,” I said.

             
“Yeah.
I told you.”  He said pulling out two glasses. He then proceeded to pour the mixture into each glass.  He poured himself a lot more than what he poured for me, “Let’s go out in the front.”

             
I followed him into the living room. He had a huge stereo.  He picked up the remote, and the Dramatics begin to sing.

“Some people are made of plastic;
You
know some people are made wood, Some people have hearts of stone; Some people are up to no good.”

             
“The Dramatics?
What you know about that?” I asked smiling before I took a sip of my drink.

             
“What you know about The Dramatics?” He replied beginning to laugh as he took a seat on the couch.  I was seated on the floor.

             
“You like The Dramatics?”  I asked surprised.  They were my father’s favorite group.

             
“Why wouldn’t I?” He asked.

             
“’Cause you not from Detroit.  How could you appreciate them?”  I asked before giggling.

             
“How you know I’m not from Detroit?”

             
“Come on now. ‘
Ma’??
‘Playboy’?
‘Money’?
How you dress, how you talk.  It’s obvious.”

             
He laughed, “Well, you right. I’m not from Detroit.”

             
“Where are you from? New York?
Philly?”

             
“Philly?
Nah,
cut it out. I’m from Brooklyn, baby girl.”

             
“How’d you end up here?” I asked taking another sip.

             
“When I was younger, I got into some trouble and I had to dip.  I came here to live with my uncle. I was a knucklehead not doing shit with my life, so I went to barber school.”  He explained before taking another drink.

             
“How did you end up with a shop?”

             
“My uncle passed.  He left me this house and
a
little bit of change.”  He said pouring more of the mixture in his glass.

             
“So with the money my uncle left me, I bought the shop.”  He said before taking another drink.
He rose from the couch and lay
down on the floor next to me.

             
“What brought you to the shop?” He asked me.

             
“That’s a long story.” I said letting out a deep sigh.

             
“All we got is time.” He said looking into my eyes deeply.

             
“I moved away and ended up coming back to Detroit.  I couldn’t get my old job back.  My sister told me you were looking for a barber, so I figured didn’t have anything to lose.”

             
“Why did you move?”

             
“Dang, nosey!”
I said laughing.

             
“Just wondering.”

             
“Well keep on wondering,” I said smiling.  I didn’t know if he was drunk, but I was.  The damn room was spinning.  I guess I must’ve looked crazy.

             
“You straight?”
He asked with a sly grin. He knew I was gone.

             
“Yeah, I’m cool.”  I said standing up. Suddenly, I lost my balance and sat back down.

             
“Calm down, baby.” Cliff said smugly.

             
“I’m good.” I reassured him.

             
“You wanna lie down?” He asked beginning to sound genuinely concerned.