Trickery & Envy (4 page)

Toni
threw the paper towel in the garbage, and then too, leaned back against the counter, and then slid his hands into the front pockets of his slacks.

“I didn’t have her number,” he answered as a
young male doctor strolled into the kitchen, and without speaking, grabbed the coffee pot from the front burner that was still brewing. He then reached for the half-filled decaffeinated pot of coffee on the back burner and placed it on the burner still brewing. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat the coffee pot on the back burner. He looked over at Barbara and Toni watching him. “It’s all coffee,” he stated and walked away.

Toni after the doctor was out of
hearing range murmured, “If it’s all coffee why didn’t you just pour a cup from the decaf pot. Barbara if I ever decided to become a doctor and if you see me heading down asshole lane, please yank me back.”

“
In all seriousness Toni, I would tell her.”

Toni
then looked as if a bit of gloom brushed over him, and too with the thought he was going to wait until a suitable time.

* * *

Vivian was lounging on her sofa in her living room. To her side and on the end table was a glass of Red Zinfendal. She had slid a CD of Kem into her stereo system.

“While I’m sitting her
e waiting for Toni to call I need to be thinking about letting Tracie go. Lord knows I’ve had enough of her fictional tales. She’s going to mess around and cost me one of my clients having them to wait until another stylist finish before they can get their hair done.”

Vivian reached for her
drink and after taking a sip the telephone rang. She set her wine glass on the cocktail table in front of her then lifted the cordless sitting on the end table. She checked the caller ID before saying, “Hey, what’s going on.”

“I’m just calling to see what you’re up to,” Jennifer said. “I’m waiting on Charles to get in. I wanted to ask you, and I wasn’t spying, but was that Vernon that came to your house yesterday?”

“Yeah, it was him.”

“I’m just checking because when I was driving into the garage
, he looked like he was casing your house. He saw me watching him that’s when he walked up and rung your bell. After he went inside I figured it was him.”

“
Jennifer he’s worse off than he was the last time I saw him and still mad about daddy not leaving him anything. He’s looking for me to take care of him. I know he’s my brother, I care about him, but he’s not my responsibility. Did I tell you that I met someone?” Vivian said dismissing the topic of her brother.

“Did you? What’s his name?” Jennifer heard the garage door closing.

“Toni, we talked earlier. I was actually sitting here debating on answering the phone if he calls.”

“Did he peak your interest?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“So what is the debate about?”

“Girl I don’t know. It’s just something about him.”

“It sounds like an excuse to fire him before you hire him if you ask me. Vi, give the man a chance.”

Charles walked into the kitchen. “Hey baby,” he said then lifted the top of one of the two pans on the stove. “You must have been reading my mind; steak and potatoes,” he said hungry from a long and hard day of work.

“Baby there’s some cornbread in the oven. I’m sorry
Vi, what were you saying.”

Jennifer was cradling the cordless with her shoulder. She pull
ed a couple sheets of paper towels from a roll on the counter. She had been washing dishes when she called Vivian.

“Let me just say
that he’s interesting,” Vivian said, reaching for and finishing the wine that was in her glass.

“Well if you’re interested it won’t hurt to see where he’s coming from. It’s time you get back into the dating game. Chauncey was a year ago.
He was too selfish to see you are a good woman. Don’t let what could be love pass you by.”

“Wow,
Toni said something similar in reference to letting love pass me by.”

“
Then maybe you should take heed to it. Anyway, I’m going to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

Charles walk
ed over and wrapped his arms affectionately around Jennifer’s waist. “What have you been doing all day,” he said and positioned his head to kiss her on the neck.

“Gone Charles; don’t come over here with all that. I’m not in the mood. I’ve been in this kitchen all day. It’s hot.”

“Hot? Baby the air conditioner is on. It’s a minute away from freezing in here.”

“It’s still hot.” Charles pushed his lower body further into Jennifer. “Move Charles, I’m not in the mood for all this cuddling.”

Charles released Jennifer then backed away peering at her, wondering if she was experiencing menopausal symptoms since she had been really moody lately.

Jennifer a
s if someone had just made her angry slammed the cordless phone back into its base. She yanked opened the cupboard and removed from it two plates that she pushed onto the counter. Needing a breather, she planted her hands against the counter and closed her eyes as her body began to heat from the chest up. She then grimaced from the jagged pain she had been experiencing in her lower abdomen for the last two weeks.

Charles
continued to peer at her with crossed arms. “You just don’t won’t to accept it do you? Woman you’re going through that change all women go through.  You may as well accept it. Go ahead and sit baby. I’ll make the plates.”

Jennifer burst into tears. “I don’t feel like sitting
. Why does this have to happen to me now? I don’t want to go through menopause.”

Charles set
s the plate back down on the counter and moved over to console his wife who seemed to get more emotional by the day. He turned her around taking her in his arms. “Sweetie it’s temporary. You’re going to look up one day and this will be all behind you. You’re going to forget you even went through menopause. I’ll tell you one thing; I’ll take your hot flashes over what I experienced with my mother, any day.”

“Was
Ma Washington mean?” Jennifer asked referring to her mother in-law and sad she was treating her husband so badly.

“Was she
mean?” Charles said and releasing Jennifer. “Menopause had mama putting a whipping to my backside just because. I don’t think I would have gotten my butt whipped at fifteen if mama hadn’t had me at forty.”

They shared a laugh and then Charles move
d over to finish preparing their plates.

Jennifer watch
ed him then smiled. She adored her husband. No matter what she was going through Charles was always by her side offering support.

“Baby, let’s go make love,”
Jennifer then said, catching him by surprise.

Charles released the bake
d potato that he just captured with a pair of tongs as if he caught the wrong fish. He moved over with excitement in his eyes and rested his hands gently on Jennifer’s shoulders.

“Are you sure about this?”
he said. Though he was a little excited, he was also a bit shocked his wife wanted to make love; especially after just having a hot flash. “Baby, you know the last few times we attempted it you shut down. Why don’t we just wait until after you see your doctor? I know I’m long overdue, but I’m willing to wait until we know that what you’re experiencing is menopause and nothing serious.”

“Okay,” Jennifer
said and puckered her lips to kiss her husband.

***

Vivian had changed into lime green silk pajamas and was now thinking of having another glass of wine when the phone rang. “Hello,” she said.

“H
ey, it’s Toni. I didn’t call too late did I?”

“No
, you’re okay.” Vivian blushed. “I was about to have a glass of wine,” she said not wanting him to know that it would be her second glass.

“What’s your favorite?”

“Red Zinfandel, though the white is fine, too.”

“Would you have dinner with me tomorrow? I would love to cook for you,” Toni plainly
stated.

Wow, that seemed
to come out of left field. There wasn’t any asking how your day was. Are you an only child? How long have you been single?

The pause had Toni adding, “I know it’s a little too soon to invite you to my home, but I enjoy cooking and I’d like to cook you dinner.”

“You’re right it is a little too soon to be visiting each other’s home, but I don’t see it being a problem.”

Toni
was happy that she took him up on his offer and pantomimed, yes.

“Great, are you a fan of chili?”
he asked.

“Actually I haven’t had chili in quite a while. It would be a treat. I look forward to it.”

Vivian after writing Toni’s address down and ending her call with him returned to her bedroom. She got comfortable in bed with a book she had been reading.

* * *

The next day as Vivian drove to her salon her cell phone rang. She had ignored the first call but felt it must be important if whoever called was calling right back.

“Who in the world is trying to get a hold of me this early in the morning
,” she said with one hand fishing inside her purse for her cell phone. She didn’t think it was her mother given that she always texted her.

After Vivian showed her mother how to text she fell in love with it. Her mother would
send little messages; most of them reading hey you what’s cooking just so she could text.

Vivian f
inding her cell phone tried to hit the talk button and concentrate on the road. “Hello,” she said and approaching a red light.

“Ms. Fowler this is Patricia
,” she said, serious in her voice.

“What’s going on Patricia is everything okay?”

“I have been trying to call you. I tried calling you at home about an hour ago and...”

“
Patricia, get to the point. What is it?” Vivian interrupted her and said, and feeling something serious has happened because rarely did Patricia need to contact her.

“
It looks like someone has broken into your salon. I was about to open up and the door was already open. I sort of looked in and things appeared tossed around. I know I locked this door before leaving yesterday...I know I did. I always double check before walking away.”

“Damn it, wait!” Vivian spat at the car
s blowing their horns behind her. They were annoyed at her slow start after the light turned green. Vivian crossed the intersection pulling over in front of a paper stand.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t talking to you Patricia.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t go inside did you?”

“No, but I did walk around to the back and saw that door was open, too.”

“Did you call the police
?” Vivian glanced through her rearview mirror and saw an elderly, puny man, with a shaven head walking up the passenger’s side of her car.

“Sun-Times or Tribune,” he said tilting his head a bit to see inside the car.

Vivian let her passenger side window down and took quick notice of his liquid eyes. “I’m sorry I had an emergency and had to pull over.”

“
That’s fine, but I do business here,” he stated. “My regular customers pull right up here to get their paper. Unless you want to become a customer if you can kindly move your car more up the street,” he said with a nod of the head and began to walk away.

“Hold on a minute
, Patricia. You know what,” Vivian said, noticing the man had a slight humpback, too. “I’ll take a Tribune.” She pulled five dollars from a slot on the side of her purse and handed it to the man. “Keep the change,” she said. “You can drop the paper on the seat,” which he did. Vivian let the passenger side window up and then drove off. “Are you still there, Patricia?”

Patricia was standing in front of the salon looking a little uneasy.

“I’m here but my phone is going to cut off. And no, I didn’t call the police?”

“
Call them,” Vivian responded. “But don’t go inside.”

“Believe me I have no plans to Ms. Fowler.”

“I’ll be there shortly. I’m about twenty minutes away.”

Vivian
drove up to her shop and parked behind a police car. She saw two officers. One was questioning Patricia standing by the curb next to her black Toyota Camry. The other officer was taking notes of the damage done to the front door.

Officer Rogers hand
ed Patricia his card. “Give me a call if you notice anything unusual happening around the premises,” he said to her. “If the burglar didn’t get all that he came for it’s almost certain he’ll be back to finish the job.”

Patricia
responded with a few jiggles of the head. “Okay Officer,” she said.

Officer Rogers
then looked mystified at the woman walking up to them. “Are you the owner,” he said.

“Yes I am. Is anything missing?
” Vivian asked looking over at her salon.