I recognized one of them as her neighbor whom I'd met, and he was sitting close to who I assumed was his boyfriend, judging by their openly intimate demeanor. Sam was sitting on the other side of them, looking slightly uncomfortable. Next to her was a guy with dreadlocks who seemed to share her mood. There were two other men to my left, and a third was planted much too close to Emily for my comfort.
Damn! Leave it to my daughter to fill the room with testosterone. When I focused my stare on the guy who was sitting too close to Emily, his face registered in my memory. I had seen him several months ago at her mother's funeral.
He must be her ex,
I thought. I wondered what the hell he was doing here.
“Good morning.” I nodded to everyone, trying hard not to sound irritated. Sam jumped up, came over, and gave me a tight hug.
“Hey, Daddy!” She smiled.
Sam was unusually happy to see me and after a minute I quickly understood why. Upon further inspection of the room, I realized that one of the men sitting to my left was none other than her ex-boyfriend,Tyler Jacobs. Now I was really confused.Was this some sort of reunion of the exes? Sam released my neck and gave me a nervous smile.
I scanned the room again, and I had to say that these young men weren't anything like what I'd expected from my daughter. I guess it was because they obviously had some association with Tyler. It was going to be interesting to see where he fit into the equation.
The guy with the dreadlocks stood up, came over to me, and offered an outstretched hand. “It's nice to meet you, sir.” He nodded.
Sam swallowed hard like she was taking medicine. “Daddy, this is my, um . . . my friend,Tyme Alexander.”
I shook Tyme's hand and appreciated his firm grip and that he looked me in the eye when he spoke. “It's nice to meet you,Tyme,” I greeted him. He was counter to Sam's usual taste in men and I wondered why she hadn't said much about him.
“And this is Tyme's cousin, Jason.” Sam motioned as she politely, but cautiously introduced us. She didn't introduce the guy who was sitting too close to Emily, and before I could go over and meet him for myself,Tyler approached me.
“Mr. Baldwin.”Tyler smiled. “It's good to see you, sir.”
“Good to see you, too,” I said as Tyler and I greeted each other with a handshake that turned into a hug. Tyler was the only man my daughter had ever dated who I approved of. He was a stand-up guy. I respected him. He was the kind of young man I'd be proud to call my son-in-law. Sam stood beside us looking like she used to when she was a kid and had just done something wrong. When I glanced over to my left, I saw Emily walking up with the “close sitter” in tow.
“Hi, Ed.” Emily smiled. “Thanks for coming.You really didn't have to.”
“I wouldn't miss your big day.” I nodded, turning my attention to the man standing beside her.
“I'm Bradley Johnson. Emily's friend.” The strapping young man extended his hand.
I pumped his wrist with more force than necessary. He didn't pick up on my irritation, but Emily did because she cleared her throat and looked away.
“Daddy, I have a question I need to ask you,” Sam said. She took me by my hand and led me out the front door. I watched her brow furrow as the sun beat down on her face. “I can't believe that Tyler's here. Daddy, what am I gonna do?”
Sam explained that Tyme had asked his cousin if he and a couple of his friends would help Emily with her move. His cousin agreed, and one of the friends he asked just happened to be Tyler, who was in town for a business conference. He'd flown in a few days early, and because he didn't have anything on his agenda for today he decided to help out. It was a small world.
I looked at my daughter, who was acting uncharacteristically nervous. “Sam, all you can do right now is help Emily. Concentrate on that and you'll get through the day.”
“Then what?”
“You'll just have to see how things play out, kiddo. Just be calm and use your head.” After I gave her a quick pep talk followed by a comforting hug, we went back inside.
I walked into the living room and studied Bradley. He was looking at Emily in a way that I could never allow myself to do in public. I scrutinized the two of them together, searching for signs of any romantic entanglement on her part. I wondered when he had arrived in town, where he was staying, and how long he'd be here. I didn't have those answers, but I was going to make damn sure that I got them before I left.
After another twenty minutes the work finally began. Emily and Sam cleared away the discarded cups, napkins, and paper plates while the rest of us started bringing in the furniture and boxes. When we opened the UâHaul truck it was packed from top to bottom and front to back. I learned that this was what Emily and Sam had been doing until late last night.
“It took us nearly six hours to pack this truck last night,” Bradley said as he held the other end of the sofa we moved into the living room. His comment answered one of my questions. He had been in town since at least yesterday.
We lifted the heavy furniture in a steady stream, as though we were working on an assembly line. The ninety-degree temperature made our task hard, and sweat poured off us as if we'd run through a rain shower. I was glad I worked out every day; if I didn't, I'd be in serious trouble. I looked at the young bloods around me and felt good knowing that I could hold my own. As a matter of fact, my arms were more cut and my body was more defined than any of them, except for Bradley.
We had unloaded over half the truck when we decided to take a lunch break. Gerti came by and dropped off sandwiches, chips, cookies, and a bottle of champagne that Brenda had sent over as a housewarming gift. Brenda was in Manhattan this weekend with her sister. She claimed she wanted to buy gifts for Sam and Emily's party next weekend and that she could only find what she needed in the Big Apple. She could have easily found what she wanted right here in DC. She was really in New York to shop for herself.
After we started eating, a calm hush fell over the room. Everyone seemed to mellow out and relax, thanks to the good food that Gerti had supplied. I was probably the only person who was still uncomfortable. I wasn't in the frame of mind to eat or socialize. Not after talking with Bradley.
While we were moving furniture, I'd asked him questions to get a better handle on the extent of his involvement with Emily. What I learned caused a small rise in my blood pressure. He flew into town yesterday afternoon and was staying with relatives who lived in the city. It was clear to me that this guy had no intention of remaining “just friends” with Emily.
I also learned that he and Emily maintained regular communication. He said he hoped that being in her new house would help her to relax because she had been going through a stressful time with two kids in her class. He even knew the names of some of her neighbors and coworkers. That kind of information came from nightly conversations on the phone, not a few hours of chitchat while packing a UâHaul late at night.
It was nearly five o'clock by the time we unloaded the last box from the truck. Ruben and Roger called it a day, and shortly after that, Jason took Tyler back to his hotel. Emily and Sam started unpacking the boxes downstairs while Tyme, Bradley, and I set up the furniture in Emily's second-floor rooms. She had very nice belongings, some of which had been in her home in Atlanta, but most of which she bought shortly before moving here. I knew this because I overheard her tell Sam that she wanted new things for her new life.
A short time later, Sam and Tyme announced they were leaving, and from the expression on their faces, I knew they were going their separate ways. A few minutes later, Bradley left, too. He had asked Emily out to dinner with him and his family, but she declined, citing all the unpacking she still needed to do. I volunteered to stay and finish setting up the furniture in her home office upstairs. That left only the two of us. Finally, we were alone.
It was dark when I finished my task. The entire time I worked, I could hear Emily downstairs, ripping boxes open and moving things around.When I came down I was beat. I stood in her living room and surveyed the space. It was the only room that was completely set up. She'd even put pictures on her mantel.
“You must be worn out,” she said.
“Yeah, and I bet you are, too.”
“A little, but there's still so much work to do.”
“Can I help with anything?” Even though I was tired as hell, I wanted her to say yes.
“No, I can handle it from here. I know you're ready to get home so you can relax.”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “As a matter of fact, I think I'll take a little breather before I get going, if you don't mind?”
“Of course not.” She smiled.
I started to feel the heat that always rose between us when we were in the same room. I had stolen awkward glimpses of her all day, but now that we were alone I could take in her full view. She wore a blue T-shirt and denim shorts, the same ones she had worn the night she arrived in town. She did wonders for denim.
Emily looked around the room as she always did when she was nervous. I realized I was staring too hard, so I averted my eyes. “I'll sit on this,” I said, moving a heavy box from the corner. “I don't want to ruin your nice new furniture.”
“Excuse me,” she said, then disappeared into the kitchen.
I watched her shapely brown thighs and perfectly round behind move like slow-motion footage as she walked out of the room. A minute later she returned with two glasses of lemonade. She pulled up a crate and joined me, surprising me by sitting so close I could touch her.
“Thanks,” I said, accepting the ice-cold drink. “When did you have time to make lemonade?”
“When I poured it from the Minute Maid carton,” she teased.
I laughed, and a warm comfort surrounded us. For the next hour we talked with more ease than we ever had in all the years I'd known her. I discovered that Emily was hilarious. She had a wonderful sense of humor. She was also witty and quick with a comeback.
She sat her glass down on the floor and put her hands on her knees. “Ed, thanks again for helping out today. I know you're busy with the trial and you could've spent the day preparing for the week ahead instead of breaking your back lifting furniture.”
“The trial is over. The defense offered us a settlement yesterday.”
“Really!” she said in an excited voice. She was genuinely happy for me.
“Yes, and my client is getting more than we originally asked for.”
“That's great!”This time she clapped her hands.
“Thanks.” I nodded. I put my glass down next to hers. “But even if the trial was still going on, it wouldn't have stopped me from being here today. Nothing could stop me from doing what I can to help you.” I tried to look into her eyes, but she avoided mine, so I cleared my throat and plunged forward into new territory. “Bradley seems like a good guy.” I said it because I wanted to know how she felt about him, but also because it was true. Emily deserved the best, and even if it couldn't be me, I wanted her to be happy, despite my jealousy.
“Yes, he's a very good man. I told him that he didn't have to make a trip here to help me move. But he surprised me by showing up yesterday. He's a good friend.”
“He wants to be more than just your friend, you know that don't you?”
She fidgeted and then stood to her feet. “Wow, I can't believe how late it is. I'm really beat. Um, I think I'm going to call it a night.”
I could've let the issue go and beat around the bush like we always did, but tonight I felt compelled to stop the denial. Our intimate conversation gave me the license to go further. I rose to my feet next to her. “Why are you avoiding my question?”
“Because I don't want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it's complicated.”
“Are you in love with him?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Ed, I'm not trying to be rude, but I think you should leave now.”
“Why?”
She raised her brow and craned her neck like only a black woman could. “Because I said so. And the last time I checked, Emily Eloise Snow was the name on the deed to this house.”
The minute the words came out of her sweet mouth we both started laughing. “Oh, so now you're breakin' bad, layin' down the law and kickin' brothers out!” I laughed.
“And I'm gettin' numbers and takin' names.”
We rolled for a few minutes before we finally calmed our laughter. “Emily,” I said in a soft, low tone, “I'm sorry if I was pushy. I only asked because I care about you.”
She looked down at her feet, then lifted her gaze to meet my eyes. “I know.”
We stood in silence for a minute. The heat between us reappeared, and this time I agreed with her, I needed to leaveâbefore something happened. She walked me to the door and we said an awkward good-bye before I headed to my truck.