Trickery & Envy (19 page)

Robin remove
d her green jacket revealing a lime silk top.

“Girl, I’m fine. That cut healed in no time
, barely left a scar.”

The black hip hugging jeans
Robin was wearing fit snuggly on her. She had sexy long legs viewers rarely got to see. The two inch heels she was wearing made her a little taller than her already five eight frame was. She took a seat at one of the shampoo bowls. Vivian placed a flowery wash gown around her tying it in the back. Robin then leaned her head back against the black ceramic bowl.

“I’ll have you ready in no time
,” Vivian said wetting Robin’s hair. “I know you’re a busy woman.”

After Robin’s hair was good and wet Vivian
towel patted it and then applied some shampoo that she worked into lather and then began massaging into Robin’s scalp.

“Did you find out who threw the brick into your salon?”

Vivian glanced out the corner of her eyes. Patricia was closest to her, three shampoo bowls away attending to a client.

“I’ve got an idea of who it was,” Vivian
replied softly.

“And what’s going on with you? If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were glowing
after I walked in here.”

Wow, is it noticeable
.
Vivian waited a few seconds before uttering, “Robin you won’t believe the news I received a month ago.” Vivian again looked around to make sure no one heard her conversation.

“What.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“Are you serious,” Robin responded
back in a whisper.

“Girl I’ve been coming and going since finding out.”

Vivian began rinsing the shampoo out of Robin’s hair.

“O
oh...that water feels good on my scalp.” Robin took in the warm soothing sensation to her scalp before saying, “Your pregnancy wouldn’t have anything to do with that brick that was thrown through your window?”

“
Uh umm I’m too old for baby mama drama. That brick being thrown is a whole other story.”

Vivian look
ed off in the distance as she worked up another shampoo wash. She then gave a good sudsy finger massage to the back of Robin’s head.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do?”
Vivian said.

“
You’re thinking about aborting.”

“Robin if you knew the story you probably would have
aborted by now.”

“You weren’t raped were you?”

“No.”

“
Well outside of your old age,” she teased, “What would make you consider aborting.”

Again, Vivian look
ed at her surroundings. “I can trust you, right Robin.”

“Vi...,”

“Oh Lord please do not call me that. If my best friend heard you call me Vi, she’d think I traded her in.”

Robin smile
d and said, “You don’t have to worry about me repeating anything you tell me.”

“Girl Scout honors.”

“You can throw in the Brownies and Cadets. I won’t say anything.”

“The guy I was seeing is a hermaphrodite.” Vivian
’s eyes shifted from left to right for anyone in hearing distance.

“You’re kidding me,” a surprised Robin
responded. “Did you know that before you slept with him?”

“
No, I didn’t.”

“You mean you didn’t
check out the package.”

“
Girl, I didn’t pay any attention. It was one of those moments. We had been seeing each other and he was sweeping me away. It happens.”

Robin
was baffled. “How did you not feel something was different?” Robin’s dimples became more indented as she tried to picture what a hermaphrodite might look like.

“He seemed a little shy so I turned
off the light as he was undressing. You know how some men do with little dicks, turn their back. I thought he might have one.”

Vivian began rinsing the shampoo out of Robin’s hair.

Robin enjoying the warm water to her scalp again said, “So when did you actually find out?”

“
After we descended from cloud nine and I laid my hand on his chest. I was in another world, began running my hand over his chest when I came across his breast.”

Robin
’s face displayed a mix of shock and revulsion.

Vivian sa
id, “Shit...them jokers was almost as big as mine.”

Vivian
’s disclosure had Robin rapidly sitting up from her hair being rinsed. Water from her head was dripping on her and the floor. The swift movement also had Patricia looking at them as she was reaching for a shower cap to place over her clients head.

“Robin if you don’t lean your head back in this sink wetting up my floo
r you better.”

Vivian
was a little tickled at how Robin responded even though she wasn’t trying to make her laugh.

Robin lean
ed back against the shampoo bowl. “Girl that would have shocked me,” she said and still tickled. “I’m sure it blew your mind.”

“You know it did. He tried to explain and I listened until he
said that he had a vagina, too.”

“Shut up!” Robin said laughing all over again.
“I’m sorry. I know this is serious matter, but it’s also funny. I’m really sorry for laughing.”

Vivian squeezed some conditioner in
the palm of her hand and began massaging it in Robin’s hair.

“You fell in love with him didn’t you,” Robin asked.

Patricia looked over at them.
What in the world is she telling her
.
Don’t you know news reporters tell everything? That’s why they become reporters because they can’t shut up. I hope its jokes and nothing personal. It may not be on the news, but somebody else is going to know whatever you’re telling her.

“I don’t know about in love
, but I had started to care a great deal about him. It’s crazy because we haven’t known each other that long. Even so Robin, I feel like I was tricked.”

“On the outside looking in I would agree that you were
mislead. Though, you did consent to have sex with him. I don’t think there is a law that you have to tell someone if you’re a hermaphrodite.”

Vivian
while massaging the conditioner into Robin’s head began to immerse in deep thought. She then without looking reached for a plastic shower cap to put over Robin’s head.

Patricia look
ed over at them again and saw Vivian in a bottomless state.
It’s something personal
, she concluded.
I hope you don’t regret whatever you told her.

Robin sa
id, “Wow. I can’t even dream of what I would do in this situation. One thing’s for sure, we can’t help the way that we’re born. It’s not like he had a sex change and kept it from you. All I can say Vivian is to think hard before making a decision. I’ve known people to abort and when they decide they want kids for some reason can’t have them. Or something ends up happening to their child after it’s born.”

“Come on,” Vivian said tapping Robin on the shoulder
. She then led her to an open dryer.

***

Toni as he lounged on the sofa with his arms crossed looking aimlessly at the television thought about Vivian. It had been over a month since he last tried to reach out to her. He thought his feelings for her had diminished some, but something was pulling at his heart to call her.

“
She probably isn’t going to answer,” he said. He looked at his cell phone on the table in front of him. “God…I need you to intervene,” he said with the urge to attempt another call to her.

Vivian was doing the same. After coming home
from her salon she had fixed herself dinner and then took to the living room to relax. She found herself glancing from the television to the cordless over on the end table and contemplating a call to Toni. Vivian had thought about what both Jennifer and Robin had said about aborting. She was now afraid to follow through with her intention out of fear she wouldn’t be able to have children sometime in the future.

Vivian
closed her eyes and forced herself to see Toni as he is. The bare imaged made her cringed a bit.
God give me strength
she uttered and inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
He’s just different
she told herself. This time when she pictured Toni she looked at him from waist up. She forced herself to stay focused on his upper torso.
Toni, Toni, Toni, this is new for me.
Vivian then smiled some.
So does this makes me gay or a lesbian
and she moved her head from side to side, as she began to accept Toni. She smiled again looking at the lower part of him again.
Umm, small as it is…it’s still power house. I guess I was a little hard on you.
Could you ever forgive me?

I
nstead of listening to her heart and picking up her cell phone to call Toni, she rose and headed to the kitchen for tea.

Toni had
taking his wanting to talk to Vivian a stepped further. He actually picked his cell phone up and after locating her name just looked at it. Shortly after they started dating he had changed Vivian’s name in his phone to PRINCESS.

“Forget it,
she’s not going to answer,” he said and then slid his phone into the front pocket of the jeans he had on. Toni then rose from his sofa and prepared to go grab a cup of Mocha from Starbucks.

While Vivian was pouring hot water
into a cup her home phone rang. She lifted the cordless on the counter and looked at the name of the person calling.

“I meant to call you,” she
said and then hit the answer button. “Hey Jen, what’s going on” and she opened one of her cabinets for her teabags.

“What are you up to?” Jennifer said and sounding as if she was
a little under the weather.

“
Making me a cup of tea, are you okay? You sound a bit hoarse.”

“
I’ve had better days. Vi, you mind riding with me to get some coffee from Starbucks. I went to make me some coffee and we’re just about out of it. I don’t know why I didn’t buy two bags the last time I was there. You know Charles love it to.”

“I
know you guys are addicted to coffee, but you can’t wait until tomorrow to go.”

“Would I be calling you if I wanted to wait until tomorrow? Charles is going to want a cup before going to work in the morning. So no, get up and get ready. I’m heading out
,” and Jennifer coughed.

“I guess Jennifer.
How was your treatment today?”

“We’ll talk about it in the car
.” Jennifer disconnected the call.

While driving to Starbucks Jennifer commented that she felt the treatments were making her worse. That she always have a lack of energy. That
it could be the reason she finds herself drinking more coffee, just to stay up.

“Vi
, you should try the mochas. Girl they are good, especially with the whip cream in them,” Jennifer stated in line and waiting to be waited on. She then covered a coughed that escaped.

“I am not about to get addicted to Starbucks. I already see how it’s got you coming out
the house at seven o’clock in the evening. And let me move away from you. I do not want to catch a cold.”

“Vi, I do not have a cold. I told you it’s these treatments.”

“What can I get for you?” the young man behind the counter asked.

Toni drove up to Starbucks a little emotional. He had just listened to the duet
Ain’t Understanding Mellow
by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager that played on the radio. “If only it were true,” he said shutting off his car. He paused getting out of his car. “This will be my last attempt. God, please let this woman pick up the phone,” he said and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. When he located Vivian’s number he punched call. He then proceeded to get out of his SUV.

Vivian heard her cell phone ringing that was in her purse tucked under her armpit. She removed it and saw that it was Toni. She paused
, unsure if she wanted to answer, but did.

“Hello
, Toni,” she said and then turned away from Jennifer who immediately smiled when she heard the greeting.

Toni
was about to open the door to Starbucks but stopped in his tracks, surprised that she responded.

“Wow, I
almost…speechless. I didn’t think you would answer,” he said.

“Tall Latte,” Toni heard someone say on Vivian’s end.

“Wait…where are you?”

“I made a run with Jennifer. We’re in Starbuck
s. Why?”

“What a coincidence
, that exactly where I’m headed. I was about to walk into a Starbucks. Which one are you at?” Toni asked and after opening the door received his answer. He froze when he laid eyes on Vivian, not sure of what to do next.