Love Across Colors (Urban BWWM Interracial Romance) (5 page)

              “Because I know it might seem rude that I haven’t been the one to introduce myself to him after all this time. Usually that sort of thing was common
place back in the day.”

              Melinda started laughing so much Wayne had to ask her if she was alright. “I am. It’s just that you sounded just like him a few moments ago. Just this morning he was giving me that same lecture again about back in the day the man had to ask the father’s permission to court his daughter.”

             
“See?” Wayne interjected. “I may have already lost points for that.”

             
“I doubt that. My dad is just eager because he has been clamoring for grandchildren ever since my Mom died.  I think it will give him something to do.”

             
“Grandchildren
,
huh? Well
,
I will try my best to facilitate the old man,” Wayne joked.

              “Please don’t say that to him when you meet. I don’t need any further harassment which will be the case if you do.”

             
“When will that be though?” he asked.

             
“When will what be?” she asked, having lost the conversational trail.

             
“For us to meet. When will that be?”

             
“Oh. What made me think I had already told you?” she said as she slapped her hand on her forehead. “I told him you would be coming by for dinner tomorrow evening. Is that alright?” she asked.

             
A big grin came over his face. “Tomorrow evening for dinner it is,” he said
,
and kissed her forehead affectionately again. “I just hope that when we do meet that I will not be a disappointment.”

              “I doubt that will be the case. He is going to love you,” she said.

             
She rolled over and slid her right leg over his, and as his arms came around her, she sighed deeply, not remembering another time when everything in her life was perfect for once.

             
The following day Melvin could hardly contain his excitement as he helped his daughter prepare dinner for their soon
-
to
-
arrive guest. It was a regular past time for them to prepare dinner together, but this particular occasion warranted above average anxiety. Melinda was concerned about how her father would receive Wayne in light of how others from the neighborhood were reacting. She had never dated a white man before, but living in this century, she could hardly believe that could be a problem, what with equality and acceptance being promulgated globally.

             
They spent the afternoon chopping, slicing, dicing, baking and roasting until the aroma of dinner dominated the air space within the house. They were to have pot roast beef, baked potatoes, fried chicken, tossed salad mixed with fruit, collard greens and apple pie for dessert. The work they put in was a lot, but the reward at the end of it all would be worth it when they sat down to partake of it.

             
At minutes after five, Melinda went upstairs to shower and get ready, slipping into casual clothes
-
—
jeans and
a sweater top
—
-
and gathering her curls  together with a clip fastened at the back of her head. Eye
liner and liquid foundation was all she needed to accentuate her beauty
,
and when she went back downstairs, she saw her father walking away from the door with a strange look on his face.

              “What is it
,
D
d
ad? Who was that?” she asked.

             
He didn’t answer right away. “Marcus,” he told her. Then he looked directly at her now when he spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me that Wayne was white?” he asked.

             
Just then there was a honk outside and Melinda leapt toward
s
the door, temporarily forgetting her father or their strange visitor, for Marcus had never come to her house before. Maybe he was getting desperate that the lucky man in her life wouldn’t be him, so he had taken to pressuring her father. She stood by the steps and waved at Wayne as he alighted from his Volvo and turned the alarm on. The headlights flashed once when he did, simultaneously with the smile he flashed her. She came down one of the steps to meet him in a warm embrace. Wayne was painfully aware of her father standing inside watching them
,
and he restrained himself from kissing her, as much as he wanted to.

              She held onto his hands and led him inside. Once the doors were closed, she walked to her father, smiling the entire time as if she had done something he ought to be proud of. “Dad, this is Wayne. Wayne, this is my father
,
Melvin.”

              Wayne stretched out his hands to greet her father. “Pleasure to meet you
,
Sir,” he said and Melvin, almost like an ungreased engine, extended his own slowly.

              He gripped Wayne’s hand firmly and gave him a half smile, but he didn’t venture a response. Melinda looked at him awkwardly but then directed Wayne to the dining area where dinner was laid out on the table. She sat next to Wayne as her father took the head of the table. There wasn’t much hurrah to follow
,
so before long they were all chomping away at their meals.

              “This tastes absolutely delicious,” complimented Wayne as he bit into a slice of the pot roast. “To whom may I direct this?”

             
Melinda beamed. “I did that, but
D
d
ad did the fried chicken. You need to taste that,” she told him
,
and he followed her command by taking a piece of wing from the bowl. Two swallows later and he was nodding his head in approval again.

              “Very well done
,
Sir,” he said and looked at Melvin.

              Melvin smiled but continued to eat. When he was done he wiped the corners of his mouth with a white table napkin and then turned to look at Wayne. “So tell me
,
Son, how did you come to know this part of town?”

              “I don’t really know here
,
Sir
,
;
just my way to her,” he said and pointed to Melinda with his forked hand.

             
“I see. Where do you live?” Melvin queried.

             
“In the Hamptons,” Wayne replied, not sure where the conversation was leading.

             
“Hmm. Was it that hard to find a woman there?” he asked.

             
“Excuse me
,
Sir,” Wayne said, obviously confused.

              “Never mind. Would you both excuse me?” he said, and the chair scraped against the tiles even as he pushed it back, not waiting for an answer. He exited the room and went in the direction of the kitchen
,
and neither of them saw Melvin until Melinda had cleared the dishes and they went to settle for a while in the living area. There they engaged in small talk
,
and Melvin only made the occasional grunt and nod. Melinda was completely taken aback by his behavior, but she would get to that later.

              Wayne noticed how uneasy the man was, and not wanting to be the bone of contention now, he apologized and told Melinda he had an appointment across town that came up suddenly, but he couldn’t miss it. He thanked them both for a lovely dinner
,
and shook hands with the elder before departing. Melinda followed him to the car.

              “I must apologize for my dad’s aloofness; he isn’t usually this quiet,” she said.

             
“That’s alright. It was my first visit; I didn’t expect him to rush into me. Maybe it will be better the next time when he has grown accustomed to me.”

             
“Maybe.” She leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the lips
,
and he touched hers after with his finger before driving off. She stood there for a minute as his tail
lights disappeared at the end of the drive. As she was about to walk off, she spotted Marcus standing a little way off, and suddenly she remembered that he had visited her home earlier. She walked over to him and confronted him now.

              “What was with the visit earlier? Didn’t I tell you that you don’t need to visit me there?” she asked angrily.

             
“I wasn’t there to see you, and the last time I checked, I was free to knock on any door I please, or is that now a federal offense?”

             
“What did you want with my father?” she asked.

             
“Why don’t you ask your father?” he spat at her, and for the first time since she had known him, he did not have glossy eyes when he looked at her; that was now replaced by venom that struck at her wildly. She walked off before she could be contaminated with his poison and up her steps.

             
“Why the hell did you bring that man in my house?” Melvin asked as Melinda closed the door behind her.

             
“What do you mean? That is Wayne,” she fired back.

             
“Mel, when I told you that I wanted grand
children and for you to settle down, I meant for it to happen with someone of your own color I don’t want any white babies,” he all but bellowed.

              “Are you serious right now
,
d
D
ad? I have never known you to be racist before. Where is this coming from?” she asked him.

             
“I am not a racist. I have white friends
,
and I maintain good working relationships with everyone. I would just prefer if my daughter did not get involved with one.”

              “Isn’t that a little hypocritical
,
d
D
ad?” she asked now with frustration.

             
“No it isn’t. It is preference; I can be preferential without being racist in the same way I can eat carrots and not lettuce. The choice is mine.”

             
“Well you know what
,
d
D
ad? This choice is also mine, and I choose to be with Wayne, not because of his skin color or because it isn’t
black
,
but because he treats me royally. Isn’t that enough
,
D
d
ad?” she asked, tears coming to her eyes now. “It would mean a lot to me if you would accept our relationship, because you both are important to me.”

             
Melvin stood there with his head turned down, focu
s
sing on the tiles rather than her, and seeming to be in another place. When he looked at her again, there was this faraway look in his eyes, and he sighed. “I’m sorry
,
Mel, but that’s a blessing I’m afraid I can’t give,” he said as he walked off.

              Melinda stood there as the tears streamed down her face. Now it all made sense; he had asked before why she hadn’t told him Wayne was white, and then at dinner he had asked Wayne if he couldn’t have found another woman from his side of town. He didn’t even speak during the entire meal even though he had been pressing for this meeting for so long. He had been opposed to his being white
,
and had he met Wayne before, he would have probably interfered with the progress of the relationship.

              She dragged herself up the stairs and into her room amidst the tears that flowed continuously. How was she to maintain both relationships now? Her father was the most important person in her life, and he was against the one man she had chosen to be with. She would not give him the satisfaction by leaving Wayne; he would just have to get used to it. Whatever problems he had with ‘white’ folks were his own
,
and she wanted no part of it. Still, it bothered her and ate away at her for the remainder of the night.

              The days that ensued did not see much attitude change from Melvin, and he never asked about her love life again. Whenever Melinda mentioned Wayne he would walk away or remain unresponsive.

             
“You are going to have to deal with this sooner or later
,
D
d
ad, because I am not leaving him,” she ventured to say one day.

             
He looked at her as if she were a convicted criminal and walked away. “Dad? Dad!” she shouted after him, but he made no response. Melinda left for work, but for each day that she was at home she grew more and more uncomfortable. As close as the father and daughter duo were in the past, there remained no words between them to be spoken, and it seemed Melvin was determined not to say anything to her unless she was telling him that
she
her
and Wayne
were
are
through.

             
She grew angry after a week of this same behavior and lashed out at him one day when he was watching television. “Why are you so hell
-
bent against this union? Do you not know that there are many inter
-
racial couples all over the world? It is not uncommon,” she said.

              “How was work?” he asked her, completely ignoring her comment.

             
“Dad, please talk to me,” she pleaded. “Something must have happened
why you are
to make you
tak
e
ing
this so personally. I have never seen you act like this. At least Mom would have supported me,” she said.

             
He turned to look at her then, and a sigh escaped his lips. “Melinda, I cannot support your decision to be with this man, but I can’t stop you either, so do what you have to.” He got up then
,
and she could only watch as he took up his hat and place
d it
on his head before closing the door behind him on his way out.

              Melinda couldn’t comfortably go through her day and her attitude did not escape Helen. “Okay
,
spit it out,” she said as soon as she got a chance. “I’ve seen you these past few days moping around the place
,
and I don’t see what could be this sad about your life,” she huffed.