Flaw Less (13 page)

Charles nodded. “Well said, son.”

Lawson dotted her eyes. “Wow, I don't know what to say after that. Thank you for such kind words, Namon. When I became a mom at sixteen, I had no idea that I'd end up needing my son as much as he needed me.”

Lawson exhaled. “If I tried to tell you all everything I'm grateful for, we'd be here all night, so I'll keep it as brief as possible. I'm thankful that God allows me to wake up surrounded by love, family, and His peace every day. I'm thankful that I have a church where I'm ministered to and a pastor who is not only my spiritual leader, but he's also my friend. I'm thankful to have a job where I can make a difference in the lives of children. I'm thankful for my health, my intelligence, being clothed in my right mind, and that I know from whom my help and strength comes from.

“I'm thankful for my baby sister.” Lawson turned to Reginell. “I don't approve of everything you do, but I'd give my life for you, Reggie; no hesitation, no questions asked.” She reached for Garrett's hand. “I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, who God created purposely to love me and for me to love. Garrett, you're the best man I know. I love you, now and forever. I'm thankful for this crazy, unrestricted, unpredictable group of ladies I call friends. You all are my sisters just as much as Reggie is. And, Namon, I'm so thankful that God choose me to be your mother. I love you, bud.”

Namon kissed his mother on the cheek. “I love you too.”

Lawson turned to Garrett. “Baby, you're up next.”

Garrett cleared his throat. “Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a man of few words, so I just want to say I'm thankful to God for blessing me with the life I have. I thank Him for letting me see almost thirty-eight years on this side of heaven. I thank Him for my beautiful wife, who I would do anything for, and for my son, Namon. I thank Him for giving me a thriving business and surrounding me with good hardworking people, and I'm thankful for all of you. Lord willing, Lawson and I will have a new son or daughter at this table and have even more to be thankful for.”

Kina stood up. “I've been sitting here, listening to all of you, trying to stop myself from crying. There's so much love at this table, and God is love, so what I'm really saying is that there's so much God at this table.”

Angel concurred. “Amen.”

“This time last year, I'd just lost my husband. But I didn't just lose E'Bell. I lost my sense of who I was. I've been defined by that relationship since I was seventeen years old, so I didn't know how to be anything other than Kenny's mother or E'Bell's wife. I'm thankful that God is showing me how to be Kina. I'm grateful to be in school again and to be blessed to be working at the church that's like a second home to me. I'm thankful that I have the coolest son in the world, who I'll love until I take my last breath, and I'm thankful for all of you and for the new people that have been introduced into my life.”

Sullivan grunted at the reference to Joan. Angel elbowed her.

“You want me to go, Mama?” asked Kenny. Kina nodded. He stood. “Well, I guess I'm thankful for God, my Xbox, my friends, my mom, my cousin Namon, my therapist, and my grandma Hattie.” He paused. “I'm also thankful that my dad can't hurt my mom anymore and that he told me he wasn't mad at me for shooting him before he died.” Kina held her son.

“I guess it's my turn.” Reginell stood on her feet. “I know I'm the black sheep of the family. I'm the one who everybody expects to mess up, but y'all love me anyway. I'm very thankful for that. I know I don't know as much about the Bible as everyone else at this table, but I know that it says to treat everyone the way you want to be treated, and you all try real hard to do that. I can't act like God is pleased with what I do for a living and some of the people I hang out with, but I'm trying. I just hope He doesn't give up on me.”

“God's love and compassion never fail, my young sister,” replied Charles.

“Thank you, Pastor Charles. I guess I just want to say I'm thankful I have all of you watching my back, praying for me, and for accepting me as I am, with all my flaws. I'll just try to flaw a little less as time goes by.”

Charles addressed the group again. “My heart is so full right now. Sister Battle, I think you said it best. This table is full of love, so this table is full of our Lord. I love all of you so much, from the youngest to the oldest. Well, I guess I'm the oldest, huh?”

They all chuckled.

“We can't ever forget everything the Lord has done for us, and what He's doing for us even at this moment. No matter how bad you think it is, it could always be worse. And for someone else, it is worse. I thank God I have a friend in Jesus; I'm thankful that I'm made righteous through His blood, and that I have a blood-bought right to everything God has promised me. So do all of you. I'm thankful that He's blessed me to be a blessing to others. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with this gorgeous woman I get to call wife. I'm thankful for everyone seated here who I get to call friend. I'm just thankful. If God never does another thing for me, He's already done enough.”

His speech was met with a round of “Amens.”

“Well, let's ask the Lord to bless this bountiful harvest, then let's dig in!”

As they feasted and fellowshipped, they knew the good times and euphoric feelings wouldn't last forever, but, at least for now, all was right with the world.

—
Reginell Kerry

 

 

“I've got to say, I was surprised when you called me over,” said Mark, entering Reginell's apartment the next day. He looked around. “I like how you've got everything set up in here. It's nice.” Mark stood back and took another look at her. Her thick twists were pulled back into a bun. “Speaking of nice, look at you! I like your hair like that. It shows off your face more.”

Reginell pointed to the sofa with a stern look on her face. “Sit.”

“Ohh-kay,” he slowly enunciated. “What's up with the military routine that you've got going on here?” he asked after sitting down on the couch. Reginell sat down next to him and pulled back her robe. She wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Mark was floored. “Reggie, what are you doing?”

“You don't like it? Don't you think I'm sexy?”

“Of course! Not that I'm complaining, but what's going on here?”

“Nothing,” she answered curtly. “I called you here to give you what you want. This is what you want, isn't it?”

“I'm a thirty-three-year-old heterosexual male. I'd be lying if I said no,” confessed Mark, looking down at her seemingly flawless body.

“Good,” she replied. She lay back on the sofa and gapped her legs open.

His mouth flew open. “Reggie,
what
are you doing?” he asked again.

“I'm giving you what you want. Do you have condoms? If not, I have some in the back.”

Mark was taken aback. “Are you serious?”

Reginell crossed her arms in front of her. “I'm very serious, Mark.”

“So, are we supposed to be having sex today?” he asked for confirmation.

“Yes, Mark, we are having sex today, but we do need to go ahead and get started. I'm getting my braids taken out at three, and I don't want to be late.” She huffed and stiffened her body. “Okay, do your thing.”

“If this is some kind of test, I'm telling you now that I'm in great danger of failing.” He glanced over at Reginell, who looked stoic and bored. Then he leaned down to kiss her.

She stopped him when he was about an inch shy of her lips. “You know we really don't have to do all that. Just in and out, no extras. You can skip all that foreplay.”

“Okay.” Mark shrugged his shoulders and stood up to take off his shoes and pants. He started pulling his shirt over his head.

“You don't have to that either,” cut in Reginell.

“Do what? Get naked?”

“Yes. I mean I know that you have to take off your boxers, but you can leave your shirt on. I only took my clothes off because I'm more comfortable this way.”

Bewildered, Mark pulled his shirt down. “Well, do I at least get to touch you?”

“You can,” she said and frowned, “but I told you it's really not necessary.”

Mark caressed Reginell's face. She only stared uncomfortably at the ceiling and blinked rapidly like she was trying to figure out what he was doing. He thought he felt her wince. Mark tried massaging her shoulders. The only response he received this time was Reginell clearing her throat and swallowing. “Okay, what in heaven's name is wrong with you?” he asked, frustrated.

“What? I'm just lying here.”

“That's my point!”

“Look, Mark, are we going to do this or what? I told you that I have other things to do today.” She saw the confused look on his face. “Honestly, I thought we'd be done by now or at least made more progress than this. What are you waiting for?”

Mark sighed. He knew that he would live to regret passing up this opportune moment, but he couldn't go through with it. This was a cold, mechanical act, and he didn't want it to be that way with her.

“What's going on, Reggie? You've got me over here feeling like a rapist or something, and I want to know why.” He looked down at her again, her crotch staring him in the face. “Please, just close your legs for my sake.” She sat upright. He handed her the robe. “Here, cover your breasts too.”

Reginell covered her body. “I wasn't playing games with you, not like you've been playing with me.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, pulling up his pants.

“You men are all so transparent. You don't think I know why you're so interested in getting to know me? I'm a stripper, so the first thought that comes to mind is, ‘Oh, she's easy. She's a ho.' That's why I called you here today. Since this whole thing is just about sex to you, I'd rather get that over with and send you on your way than get caught up in your games and lies under the pretense of us trying to form some kind of relationship.”

“I never thought that.”

“Yeah, right, so I'm supposed to believe that you asked me out because you actually like me?”

“That
is
the real reason.”

“Yet you couldn't pull your pants down fast enough when you thought I was going to give you some.”

Mark shook his head. “Reggie, it's not even like that.”

“It's
exactly
like that, Mark! You're no different from any of those fools sweating all over me at work. You just came wrapped in a nicer package, that's all.”

“Not all men are like the dudes you deal with down at the strip club.”

“Yes, they are! Despite all this talk about wanting to get to know me, what you really want to know is how many lies you've got to tell me before I'll sleep with you.”

“I've never had to lie to a woman to get her to sleep with me, nor would I. I respect women, and I have a mama who won't hesitate to go upside my head if I don't.”

“But your mom ain't here,” countered Reginell.

“She's not, but the values she gave me are.”

Reginell sucked her teeth. “Whatever.”

“I'm not out here looking for a good time. I can't deny being attracted to you, but there are a thousand other reasons that I like you too.”

“Name one.”

“For starters, you're the most upfront woman I've ever met and, for reasons I can't explain, I actually like that. But I can tell that there's a big heart underneath that tough exterior. You make me laugh, and you keep me on my toes. You're sassy, but you're fun too. I'm feeling you—I can't lie.”

“Mark, you don't have to say that.”

“I know I don't. Stop acting like you don't deserve to have nice things said about you.”

“I don't know that I do. I mean, I know what I do for a living, and I know what people think of me, especially my sister and her friends.”

“Your sister loves you, Reggie, that's why she goes overboard. She doesn't want to see you get hurt or live beneath your potential. Quite honestly, neither do I.”

“Dancing is just a stepping-stone,” she explained. “Why can't anyone see that?”

“I'm sure that's how you see it, but you're so much more than some sex object. You're pretty and smart and funny. You shouldn't sell yourself short.”

“Now, you're starting to sound like Lawson,” groaned Reginell.

“That's because I care.”

“That's what I don't get. Why do you care?”

“There's something about you, I guess. You were the only one on my side when I was trying to get my son, and that means a lot to me. You've got a good heart. Plus, I just like being around you.”

“Somebody certainly has taught you how to lay it on thick,” responded Reginell, not swayed by his flattering words.

“I'm speaking from the heart. I don't know what more I can get you than that.”

“Mark, I deal with lying, sleazy, triflin' men every day. It's hard to believe you'd be any different.”

“You have a point,” he conceded. “But I
am
different. You'll see.”

“Every man claims he's different, which makes all of you pretty much the same.”

Mark gripped Reginell's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I like you, Reggie, and I can't promise you that I'm going to always act like a Boy Scout around you, especially when you come to the door dressed like that. Even if I had been thinking with the other head when I first saw you, it's different now.”

“How is it different, Mark? How are
you
different?” She gently removed his hands and walked a few feet away from him. “You barely even know me.”

“But I want to get to know you. I feel something when I'm around you that I haven't felt with anyone else, and it's not just a sexual attraction. I actually sit around thinking about you like a lovesick teenager. You've got me open. I don't know how or why, but you do. If I was to be honest, you have ever since the first time I saw you in Lawson's living room. If it means taking our time and being just friends until you feel comfortable with being something more, then we'll do that. No strings attached.”

“You can't say that you just want to be friends, but every time we're together, you're trying to get in my pants. I get enough of that at work. I don't need it from you too.”

“And you won't get it from me. Not all of us are oversexed swine, you know?” Mark slipped his shoes over his feet.

“That's remains to be seen.”

“Now, I want you to answer a question for me. Would you really have gone through with it a few minutes ago?”

She smiled coyly. “I guess we'll never know.”

“Well, know this, Miss Kerry, you've got me for as long as you'll have me. Now, why don't you go slip into something a little
less
comfortable so we can talk?”

Reginell couldn't help laughing. “Are you always this silly?”

“Maybe. Why don't you spend some time with me and find out.”

Reginell went into her room and returned wearing jeans and a T-shirt. “Is this better?”

Mark made a face. “Not really, but definitely more appropriate.”

Reginell sat down next to him. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Are you still in love with Lawson?”

Mark dropped his head a little. “I don't recall ever saying that I was in love with her.”

“You asked her to marry you, and I know that you weren't too happy about her marrying Garrett.”

“That was more about Namon than it was my feelings for her. I didn't want to be cut out of his life. I admit, there was a time when I thought there might be some potential for something to happen between Lawson and me, but it was more of an attraction than love.”

“How do you feel about her now?”

“I care about her. I want to see her happy, and I think Garrett does that for her. I want her to have a great life because whatever she does affects my son. I value our friendship and the relationship we've managed to establish, but that's pretty much it.”

Reginell nodded. “I just thought that maybe . . .”

“What?”

“I thought you had me here because you couldn't be with her, you know, kind of like a substitute.”

Mark shook his head. “Lawson was the furthest thing from my mind when I invited you to lunch or came here today. In fact, lately, all women have been the furthest thing from my mind, except you.”

“Really?” He nodded. “I've been thinking about you lately too. I think you're pretty cool, Mark.”

“What—for an old guy?” he inferred.

“You're not that old . . . are you?”

Mark laughed. “I've got about a decade on you.”

“I've dated guys a lot older than you. Believe me, they weren't nearly as nice either.”

“So that's what we're doing? We're dating?”

“Um, well . . .” stammered Reginell. “I didn't mean, like, you're my boyfriend or anything.”

“Not yet,” replied Mark. “But I definitely like the thought of dating and seeing you more often.”

“For real?”

“Yeah . . . I mean, if you're okay with that.”

She paused for a second, still in shock. “That's cool. I would—” she took a deep breath, gaining confidence—“I would like that very much.”

“I'm glad to hear it.”

“What about Lawson? Are you going to tell her?”

“Is what we do really any of her business?”

“In this case, it is. She's your baby's mama.”

“Reggie, you can tell her if you want. I don't feel obligated to fill her in on who I'm dating whether it's you or anyone else. Lawson's only concern should be how the woman I'm with is treating our son. That's a nonissue with you. You love Namon as much as we do, so it shouldn't be a problem.”

“It shouldn't, but you know how people are. You know somebody is going to have something negative to say about it.”

“I thought you didn't care what people think about you.”

“I don't, but I'm kind of worried about what they might think about you. My last boyfriend broke up with me because he couldn't handle his friends and family giving him a hard time about me being a stripper. Not only are you dating a stripper, but she's also your son's aunt.

“I care about what other people have to say about as much as I care about the latest episode of
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
, which is very little.”

“You seem like a really nice guy, Mark,” she paused, “then again, you all do until you get what you want.”