41
Glover
“I feel like I need a cigarette,” Max said as we cuddled, gazing into one another’s eyes. It was four o’clock and I had to be to work in four hours. “Those things are bad for you.”
“I’m joking. I don’t smoke,” he said before kissing me again. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought it was obvious,” I answered, gesturing at our naked bodies with a smile.
“Cute. You know what I mean.”
“I had a crazy dream and you were in it. I woke and was spooked. I just knew that I needed to see you. I didn’t like the note things ended on last time.”
“Neither did I,” he said. “I see your ring is missing again. Forgot it?”
“No, not this time. I left it in my car when I was certain about what I was doing. I almost didn’t come here. Real talk. I was trying to fight it with all my heart.”
“I guess your heart gave up.”
“No, maybe my heart won. For one night.”
“One night?” Max sighed. “You’re still going through with it, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I replied softly, almost embarrassed. “Soon.”
“I’ll be checking my mailbox for the invite,” he joked dryly.
“I saw your clothes on the bed. Were you going somewhere tonight?”
“Nah. Actually, I was just coming back. I went home for a few days. Had to clear my head. That didn’t work out so well.”
“It was hard on you too. I’m sorry.”
“Sheesh. Enough with the apologies already,” Max said as he tickled me. I felt electricity at his touch. “Instead of apologizing all the time and still doing things, you need to stay with me. Not that you asked for it, but in my opinion, you’re making a mistake by going through with this.”
“Something’s different about you, Max.”
“Yep. A lot can happen in a few days. My perspective’s a little different now. It’s still me, though. You never really told me much about Lionel. What does he do, anyway, besides providing you with obvious security?”
“He works downtown at B and G.”
“Barnes and Greenwood? I thought he looked familiar when we
met
. I went over there the same day I met you. Maybe I saw him walking around or something.”
“Oh yeah, when you met,” I said, feeling sorry for the fight he’d been in because of me. I sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet up to my chest. “Max, I know you’re tired of my apologies, but I am so sorry. Really. This is all my fault.”
Max slid over and wrapped his warm arms around me. “Shhh,” he said, shutting me up. “What’s done is done. I’m as much to blame in this as anybody.”
“Yeah. That smile is still the same,” I said right before I kissed him. I pinned Max down onto the bed, climbing atop him as we continued to kiss. We wound up doing the do again. It was close to dawn, and I knew I needed to get home, but part of me refused to leave, for once I was outside this bubble, things would go back to the way they were.
That’s life, I guess. The illusion has to give way to reality.
We never brought up Max’s comment about falling in love with me. It was something I didn’t forget, though.
After I borrowed his shower, Max was kind enough to let me borrow a pair of his warm-up bottoms. I could have used a safety pin to hold up my skirt, but some of my older neighbors would be gossiping.
We had a quick kiss as I rushed out the door to my car. My ring was sitting right by the gearshift, where I’d left it hours ago. I paused then closed my eyes as I placed the ring back on my finger.
I arrived home just as the sun rose in the sky. It was going to be another smoggy day in spite of the thunderstorms that had passed in the night. The damp ground was the only reminder of the storm—that and my sore body. Whew. I finally got to see him in action, and the pleasure was all mine.
I made it to work on time by the skin of my teeth. I was run down, but tried to play it off. I’d stopped at a Korean mini-mart on the way in and bought a can of Red Bull.
Mr. Marx had hired some more people, and things were at a bearable pace around the office. That was especially welcome on a day like today. The three chicas got to take a break together in the morning for the first time in weeks.
“G-love, are we doing anything this weekend? We haven’t been out clubbing since that time at Drama.” Charmaine smiled as she cut a sly look at Mona. After all this time, it was still a touchy subject with Mona.
“I can’t. I have to go out to Catalina this weekend. The wedding’s going to be here before I know it.”
“Have you thought about the job here? Are you going to quit?” Mona asked. She was sitting back in one chair with her feet up in another.
“I’m still undecided, girl. There’s so much I haven’t had a chance to consider yet.”
“You’re going to have a bachelorette party, G-love? ’Cause I know some strippers who—”
“No, no. None of that,” I blurted, cutting Charmaine off. After last night, I couldn’t take any more excitement. “Y’all ain’t getting me in trouble.”
“Aw, c’mon,” she pleaded. “You know Lionel’s boys are gonna throw one for him. Hell, they’re probably gonna truck in real live French whores for the event.” Charmaine stood up and danced around the break room as if in a production of
Moulin Rouge
. We all burst out laughing.
“No, Charmaine. We already talked about that. Lionel’s not going to have one either.”
“I know I would want to go out with a bang—or two. We could’ve gone to Vegas,” Mona said with a sigh, “but I guess you’ve made up your mind.”
“Sorry. But you guys are right about one thing: the three of us need to do something together before I tie the knot.”
“Um, G-love? I shouldn’t bring this up, but you are about to be off the market and stuff. I was wondering about that fine-ass stud you were talking with in front of the office a while back. Since you don’t really have a need for him, I was wondering ... um ... if you could hook your friend up.
Oh, the things I could do to him
.”
Mona noticed me flinch in response to Charmaine’s last comment and interjected, “Charmaine, please. Glover barely knows that guy. He was just checking on a job that day.”
“Oh. Damn, G-love. You shoulda at least got the digits. I guess that’s that.” She shrugged.
“Sorry, girl.” I gave Mona a thank-you look as I shrugged my shoulders at Charmaine. Mona was a master at reading people, and my body language had betrayed me. Luckily, our break time was over and we returned to our desks.
I was deep into my work when my phone rang an hour later.
“Ms. McDaniel. May I help you?”
“I’m calling about an interview.” The joking voice on the other end of the phone perked me up instantly.
“Hey, you,” I mumbled, curbing my excitement. No need for everyone in the office to know what I was talking about.
“Sorry to bother you, but I had to call. You think you’re gonna be hungry Thursday night?”
“Thursday? I guess. Why?”
“No strings or anything. I wanted to know if you wanted some dirty South home cookin’.”
“Are you cooking for me?” I whispered.
“Me? No! I’m having dinner at my Uncle Mo’s . . . and I’m inviting you as a guest.”
42
Max
After Glover left, I returned to the bedroom, where I stared up at the ceiling for about thirty minutes, reflecting on what had just happened. Glover was here. She really was here. And we’d knocked down some barriers while sidestepping others. While getting there was pleasurable, the end result was still frustrating. At least I’d offered her my opinion, finally getting that off my mind instead of being a pussy.
The sun was coming up and the rain had stopped. I needed to get some sleep, but I cleaned up and changed the sheets first. When I did sleep, I dreamed of making love to Glover over and over again. The damn girl had me feenin’, and she was my drug of choice.
My dreams ended, giving way to total blackness. I had reached that point where everything shut down, giving my mind and body some needed downtime. Only the phone ringing brought me out of it just before noontime.
“Whaaaaaat?” I weakly groaned at the phone that wouldn’t speak back to me unless I picked it up. Then I thought,
Maybe it’s Glover
. Just enough to get my silly ass up.
“Hullo?” I answered just before the answering machine picked up.
“Hey, Country. Yo’ ass made it back in one piece?”
“Yeah, cuz. Thanks. I forgot your boudin, though.”
“How about the pecan candy?”
“Didn’t get it either.”
“Aw,” he moaned. “That’s fucked up, cuz. Let me guess, you ran into an old girlfriend and she fucked your memory away.”
“No. An old girlfriend did die, though.”
“Yeah, that’s really funny,” he snarked, not getting that I was serious. “You know you owe me double now.”
“Yeah. I know, man.”
“I told Pops you went to Lake Charles. Moms is cookin’ Thursday, so you know the deal. Pops wants your momma to think he’s taking care of you.”
“I’ll be there. Think they’d mind if I brought some company with me?” I asked, not knowing if she’d even agree; but I was living for the day now, and willing to take that risk. Besides, I had another motive for asking Glover to come along. Uncle Mo and them were the closest family I had out here. I wanted to see her through my family’s eyes, as I was probably less than objective right about now. If the remote possibility existed of us somehow getting together, then Thursday night would give me a good indication about our future.
“Not that nigga Smitty, huh?”
“No, just a lady friend,” I admitted.
“Oh shit! You got a woman, Country?”
“Naw, man. Just a friend.”
Jay tried to get the details out of me, but there was nothing really to tell, and I was tired as hell. Besides, I could hear Jay’s mouth now if he knew the details:
“Country, did you eat some of that girl’s red gravy? ’Cause she got you trippin’ and shit.”
I wasn’t sure Glover would be interested until I called her.
When I picked up Glover Thursday night, I didn’t know what she would be wearing. I played it safe and dressed up a little more than usual for dinner at Uncle Mo’s. Instead of some dingy warm-ups, I wore a dark blue pin-striped Kenneth Cole dress shirt and my Lucky denims. Good choice, considering how stunning Glover looked in her gray pantsuit. I dreaded having to keep my eyes on the road.
On the drive to Carson, I gave Glover some pointers on the Chavis family before we got there. The fewer surprises, the better, I figured. There was a spark in the air, different than our previous car rides together. We were no longer just friends, as evidenced by the way our hands kept wandering. It had to be awkward to be meeting my family in spite of her wedding day fast approaching, but Glover had indulged me anyway, leaving open the possibility that I wasn’t totally crazy.
In spite of my warnings, I realized things were different when Aunt Lucy opened the door wearing makeup and one of her colorful shirts. Aunt Lucy was usually in the kitchen when company arrived, but not this time. Jay must have told them that I had company coming over, and she wanted to be the first to check out Glover. At the dinner table, the “good plates” were on display, and Uncle Mo, who was already seated, rocked one of his nicer golf shirts. Was that Old Spice I smelled too?
I pulled out Glover’s seat for her before seating myself. I watched her eyes light up as the feast came out. Being free from ramen noodles again, I became pretty happy myself. Dinner consisted of smothered pork chops with rice and gravy, baked macaroni, green beans, cornbread, and rolls.
I pinched Glover’s thigh under the table and she grabbed my hand before I could pull it back. Holding me captive, she gently caressed my fingers while Aunt Lucy explained how she moved heaven and earth for tonight’s supper. This was the third time Glover had left her ring off; I contemplated it becoming a permanent condition.
Uncle Mo smiled approvingly as he fawned over my date. He’d cut a quick wink at me when he thought nobody was looking. I could attempt to reiterate later that we were just friends, but he probably wouldn’t believe it. Based on our body language, I don’t know if I’d believe it myself.
Uncle Mo looked impatiently toward the stairwell, ready to eat. “Glover, you’ll have to excuse our boy, Junior. He should be down in a minute,” he offered to her. Hey, what about me? Jay was keeping me from eating too.
“That’s quite all right, Mr. Chavis. I’m happy to sit here and enjoy your company.”
“Please, call me Maurice, girl,” Uncle Mo said with a bashful grin, his old ass having flashbacks to his youth. If he didn’t watch it, Aunt Lucy was going to clock him with one of her black cast-iron skillets.
Aunt Lucy joined in. “Glover, are your people from Louisiana too?”
Glover chuckled. “No, ma’am. Just Virginia,” she replied softly. She had to be tired of people asking her the “Louisiana” question.
Finally, Jay jogged down the stairs. He wore red-and-black warm-ups with black Nikes. Something comfortable, like I would’ve done. I stood up to introduce Jay to Glover.
“Whaddup, cuz.”
“Whaddup, Jay. This is my friend, Glover. Glover, this is my cousin, Jay.”
Jay had a strange look on his face as he shook Glover’s hand. His eyes squinted then suddenly widened. Glover’s normal smile flipped into a scowl just as quick. Something was up.
Glover said, “Pleased to meet you ...”
“Jay. Maurice Junior, but everyone calls me Jay,” he shot off rapidly and with emphasis.
“I’m sorry. I almost had you confused with someone else. You ever been to Ohio?” she asked with a smirk.
“Nah. Just SoCal,” Jay snorted before taking a seat on the side of Uncle Mo.
After that strange moment, we finally got to eat. Over dinner, I noticed Jay’s gaze track from Glover to me and back again.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Glover as I wiped my mouth after savoring a piece of buttery cornbread.
“I’ll fill you in when we leave,” she said, cutting those dazzling eyes at Jay in a less than cordial way.
We were too full for dessert, but had four foil-covered plates for us as we prepared to leave. Aunt Lucy was talking it up with Glover as we started down the hallway. Jay shot away from the table, but started upstairs instead. He stopped halfway, where only his legs were visible.
“Ay, cuz. Let me holler at you real quick,” came from the half of Jay I could see. I glanced at Glover. Aunt Lucy, and definitely Uncle Mo, would keep her entertained for a second.
I followed my cousin upstairs and into his room.
“What’s up, Jay?”
Jay whipped around like he was wildin’ out or something. “What the fuck are you doin’ with that bitch?” he barked.
“Whoa. Slow your roll, cuz. What are you talking about?”
“That bitch down there!” He thrust his finger for emphasis. “Glover! Man, I thought I knew you better!”
“Again. I’m gonna ask you,” I said, becoming heated at his tone. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Cuz, I fucked that ho. Met her at that club, Drama, a while back. Bitch is a straight-up freak. I can’t believe you’re bringing that up in my parents’ house,” Jay muttered, a disdainful gaze cast at me.
“Jay, you need to shut the fuck up right now because you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. And that
bitch
and
ho
shit ain’t cool.” A sick, angry feeling was gathering in the pit of my stomach.
“Cuz, I ran into her in the club before. Dropped her a line about being a TV producer ‘n shit. Next thing I know, Bam! She up in the hotel sucking my dick, ass, and whatever. Straight hit it and quit it. I know you country and shit, but you can’t be that stupid. That bitch playin’ you.”
I felt ill.
“You’re crazy, man. Fuck you.”
“You need to watch your mouth. That bitch got your nose all open. If you want to be parading around with a ho on your arm, then go ahead. Just don’t bring her around here. She ain’t that kind of material, cuz. How long you known her anyway?”
I ignored Jay and started out of his room. Answering that question would only further his argument. The mouth wouldn’t let it end, though.
“Bitch was good, though. Rode me like a pro.”
Game over.
I slugged Jay right in his mouth. Blood dripped through his fingers from his busted lip, staining his white T-shirt. As he lay there on the floor, I waited for him to get up. Dared him, with fists clenched. When he didn’t comply, I turned around and headed out the door.
Jay blurted out through his covered mouth, “I hope you get what’s coming to you, punk-ass nigga. She’s gonna lie to cover her ass. Watch! See if I ever look out for you again!”
Shit. I’d scraped one of my knuckles on Jay’s teeth.