“She also is a licensed agent, capable of making sales, performing listings, and anything else I need,” she told him. “I started this company with an idea and Monica. It was her choice to manage the office and not be an agent.”
“Okay,” he acquiesced, his head held high as he walked out of her office.
DeShondra checked her watch. The day had gotten away from her and it was time to meet her mother at her house. So much needed discussing. The wedding was in three weeks, meeting his parents and another brother, seeing Tameka, and Cabrina’s new house. The blue room. I need a moment in my blue room.
Driving home first, she arrived to find her father in the kitchen with Isiah, sampling bleu cheese with different types of bourbons. She kissed them both, dropped her bags and pointed towards the blue room.
“Where is she going?” Xavier asked, frowning at the sharpness of the cheese and the strength of the Bourbon.
“Blue room to relax,” he said. “She needs quiet.”
“And I need to stop sampling this bourbon before I am three sheets to the wind,” Xavier said. “I came to ride in that truck.”
“That is not enough bourbon to get me drunk, but I’m going to be somebody’s daddy, so I can’t drink and drive,” Isiah said.
“Aww man, I want to ride in that truck,” he said.
“Maybe another day, but the Assistant Director of Operations for the ATF can’t get pulled over for drunk driving,” he said.
“Well, I’m not drunk so I’m driving. Give me them damned keys and let’s roll,” Xavier said. “Shondra! I’m driving a moferkin’ monster truck today!”
“Have fun, Daddy,” she said, coming half-way out of the blue room. She held up her hands in question to Isiah as he shrugged, walking out of the front door as her mother walked in. “Hi Mom, be ready in a sec.”
“Okay, but I am anxious to see this house,” she said to her daughter. Maya drifted into the master bedroom, looking at the new bed with adjustable sides and pressures for each sleeper. She wanted to try it but instead went into her daughter’s closet. All the expensive clothes in manmade fabrics caused her skin to itch. “None of these even rival my stitching ability. I can’t see why she pays so much for this stuff when my clothes are one of a kind.”
“Mom, get out of my closet cursing the makers of rayon,” DeShondra called out, stripping down to her undies, leaving the suit to get dropped off to the cleaners by the housekeeper tomorrow. The bed looked great and she hoped tonight it would give her stud a good night’s sleep.
“Baby, sometimes, I wish you understood this woman’s journey,” Maya said to her daughter.
“Then help me, Mom, explain all the missing pieces which makes you the driving force that is you,” she said. “All the coupon clipping, the garage full of hygiene products, the crazy gift baskets, and constantly painting that one wall in the house. Please, for the love of all that is holy, make me understand so I don’t wake up one day and morph into you and not know why.”
Maya took a soft pink cotton dress, which she had made her daughter, from the closet and held it against her body. “I can let this out so that it will accommodate your growth,” she said.
“Mom, for once, let’s have a real conversation,” she said. “Not a conversation about tips on housekeeping, perfect pastry, and money saving tips. Talk to me. I’m about to be a mother, get married, did I mention the wedding is in three weeks, and that man bought a farmhouse. Me. In a farmhouse.”
Maya, continuing to rifle through her closet, looking for items that could be altered for DeShondra’s pregnancy, exhaled loudly. The conversation needed life breathed into it, but much of it was a like a bad memory, tucked away in her subconscious. It came back to her at the oddest times. She’d found her own way over the years to deal with it by painting away the pain. She spoke softly as she riffled through her daughter’s closet.
“My mother, God rest her soul, had a choice of giving me to a man to pay off my father’s debts or to take the burden of the debts herself,” she said. “The sad part was that mean fucker, Rondo, took payment for my father’s debts in front of us, with my father watching. Rondo wouldn’t let us shield our eyes and he violated her. I wanted to kill him, but instead, it ended up killing my father.”
DeShondra’s mouth dropped. She didn’t know any of this. So much her mother kept tucked away inside of herself for so many years. Years of being in Maya’s effervescent shadow taught her to be quiet and listen to her mother. She did just that.
“That woman worked two jobs to keep a roof over our heads, while on every Friday when my Daddy got paid if she didn’t catch him, he would drink it away,” she told her child. “Or gamble it. Or spend it on whores. So, I clipped coupons to save where we could in an effort to give us balanced meals. I learned new recipes to make with leftovers and how to stretch a pound of ground beef to feed five people.”
She took another two dresses from DeShondra’s closet, eyeing the stitching and ways she could modify the pieces to adjust to her daughter changing figure. “I learned to sew using a sewing machine Pastor Thomas’ grandmother had at the annual thrift sale at the church. I paid $5 for the machine and she threw in a garbage bag full of fabric,” Maya said. “That summer, with some trial and error, I figured out how to make clothes for your Uncle Jake and your Aunt Lena. We went back to school that Fall looking like we belonged to someone, not the poor kids down on Delancy Street.”
“Mom, you never told me any of this,” DeShondra said.
“Why would I? There is so much ugly in the world,” she said. “That rattrap we lived in disgusted me. One wall... The wall behind the couch is where my father splattered his brains since he couldn’t cope with the choices he made. Rondo never let go of my mother. He stayed in our lives, controlling her. He wanted me and Lena but that was not going to happen. I cut him good and deep when he tried. He even tried to make Jake a runner but I made friends with the nice police officer who came to our house that night after Daddy took his life. Officer Tandy came back often, especially on the days when Rondo would show up. I made a point of calling him every time that man pulled onto our street. I tell you though, DeShondra, some images never leave your brain. It didn’t matter how much cleaner, bleach, or paint I used, it never erased that image of gray matter on the wall. There are days when that image will not leave my head, and I keep seeing that splattered wall repeatedly in my mind’s eye.”
“Dear God, Mom, you have been holding all this in,” she said embracing her mother.
“Pshaw girl,” she said, pulling away. “I put myself and Lena through college. Jake went to trade school and got a nice job. This lady married well and had two amazing children. I raised a doctor and one of the most badass real estate agents in the state. Clipping coupons put you all through college with no student loan debt. It paid off your Daddy’s medical school bills and I still have a shit load of money in the bank in case he ever decides to leave me for some woman with perky tits. Those baskets I make each year to sell at the thrift sale make more money than you think.”
“Who are you?” DeShondra asked, sitting on the bed and watching her mother with a newfound respect.
“I am the bad bitch who raised you to be fierce, independent, a bit judgmental, but loving woman,” she said. “Baby, I’m telling you this because you have to embrace where you come from in order to understand where you are going.”
“I am so confused right now. I’ve never heard you curse a day in your life,” DeShondra said.
“That’s because when you kids went to bed at night, you didn’t hear me in there cussing that muffin muncher out,” she said, laughing. “I love your Daddy, but that man gets on my damned nerves sometimes, but he is mine, for better or for worse.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” DeShondra asked, flopping down on the bed.
“Because loving a man and being his wife are two different things,” she said. “Marrying a white man is going to be tough on everything you hold dear and believe. New
doors will open to you based on being on his arm and a great number of doors are going to shut in your damned face. I’m telling you this because there is a new path opening for you and, Baby, please don’t be afraid to step through it. You’ve made your mark. Time to create a new one.”
“I want to, but inside, I’m all nerves right now. A baby. A husband. A wedding in three weeks. Mom, I am unraveling,” she said.
“Oh shut up,” Maya told her. “Darling, we don’t unravel. Snip or burn the loose threads and put on some lipstick, and let’s get shit done. I shall order some flowers for the church, pitch a tent in this backyard I need to see, order some portable AC units to keep the tent from smelling like sweaty butts and dirty snatches, get some food, a DJ and viola, and it’s a party. I just hope his Mamma ain’t some hillbilly who wants to serve pig feet on the buffet line. You do know he looks like a hillbilly. A cute one with them sexy blue eyes, but still he looks like he just rolled out of the trailer park.”
“Dear Jesus, Mom, I love you more and more each day,” DeShondra said.
“You’d better. This is you in twenty years and I am frickin’ awesome. You can still bounce quarters off this ass, but my skin is dryer than sin,” Maya said, handing her daughter a dress to wear. “Let’s ride. Your Daddy is driving that monster truck and will probably run over some children.”
RIDING OVER TO THE farmhouse, Isiah explained his second source of income and the small company he built to his father-in-law-to-be. He also introduced him to the crew. The first thing Dr. Xavier Neal did when he met the Bleu’s Crew was pass out his business cards. He even offered the team a friends and family discount on implants and partials.
“Isiah, I hope we are not having meat that’s on a bone. I don’t want to spend this meal hearing gums flapping and slob slurping. Please tell me your company has a dental plan so I can help these men,” he said.
“One step at a time Dr. Leman,” he said. “The first step was rebuilding their self-worth. We can get to their teeth later.”
“There’s a story here...whoa, look at this house,” he said, shocked by the size of the home. “You rich?”
“No sir, I am not hurting, but I got the house real cheap, and my crew works where I send them,” he said to this father in law. “I needed enough room for when my family comes to visit, plus room to entertain.”
“I like this house. We need more room, but my wife doesn’t like debt,” he said. “I really want something a bit bigger for all them damned grandkids.”
“Plus ours,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, then there is that,” he said. The men had gathered around to meet the Boss’s new father-in-law-to-be, shaking the dentist’s hand as they received their introductions. The conversation halted as DeShondra pulled up with her mother, who nearly jumped out of the car before it stopped. She looked over all the men, smiled at them all, and her gaze rested upon Pookie who was wearing pink cowboy boots, and a fascinator with an azure blue top which read, “thick and boujie” over black jeans.
“You, tall, dark, and gorgeous, we have a wedding to plan in less than three weeks,” Maya said. “Can I count on you to make a tent in this backyard look like a dream out of a fairy tale?”
“Heaven has heard my prayer,” Pookie said, waving his hands to the sky. “You have an idea in mind to make this work on a tight budget? Bleu is pretty frugal. That man does not like to overspend.”
“Of course, and I made this dress without a pattern,” Maya boasted.
“Here, please take my arm, come inside and see what I am doing with your Baby’s new home,” Pookie said, taking Maya into the house.
“Wait for me,” Xavier called out, trailing behind.
DeShondra stood there, watching her parents follow a tall flamboyant gay man into a farmhouse where they were going to have dinner at a table filled with five men who had broken teeth and limited table manners. Buster stood beside them also watching.
“Thank you both,” Buster said softly.
“For what?” Isiah wanted to know.
“Making us matter. Making us a part of your journey,” Buster said, getting a bit teary-eyed. “Dinner is ready. Pookie set the table with plates and real silverware for your folks, Mrs. Neary.” He said the new surname with pride, even though she wasn’t officially Isiah’s wife yet.
“I was going to get food. Who cooked, Pookie?” Isiah asked, taking his wife’s hand, and placing it on his arm.
“Mrs. Neary ordered us a cook last week, who makes us lunch and dinner with healthy choices, which are easy to chew,” Buster said. “If she weren’t marrying you, I would divorce my crazy ass wife and steal her.”
Buster teetered off, his jeans sagging in the seat from a lack of ass, followed by the rest of the team, all of whom nodded in agreement, gave gap-toothed smiles, and went inside to wash up for supper.
June Bug, the last to leave, spoke softly. “Boss, if you want us to move the business here, we all talked about it, and we would be okay doing just that. Moving here, working with you two, I mean. I think we can do great things in this town. We looked around and found several properties ripe and ready. We even spotted a few neighborhoods which could be revitalized easily,” he told him. “Think about it and let us know. We’re just about done with the house.”
Isiah didn’t have a response. June Bug, proud of his announcement, offered a gentle punch to Isiah’s shoulder. He also provided DeShondra a Gumpish type of wave and he, too, wandered away without a word.
“You can’t make this shit up,” Isiah said.
“Based on what my mother told me today...you’re right, you can’t,” she said walking slowly to enter the house. “Besides, no one would believe us.”
Chapter 15 – Dinner, The Fishing Pond, and A Road Trip
XAVIER LEMAN WALKED into his daughter’s new home and took a seat on the stairs. The men had made a kitchen table out of wood scraps, which Pookie covered in a fabric for a tablecloth. A restaurant-style stove with a matching built-in fridge loaded with fresh fruit and veggies hit him hard as he looked about, pleased that his daughter would raise her family in this wonderful home. Her current home was devoid of any personality or flair. It often depressed him to go to DeShondra’s for a visit with the drab walls and carpet. He’d become so accustomed to the bright colors of his own home, that hers, yet larger and more expensive, resonated a sadness in his daughter. This house seemed as if it would be full of joy. It was all he ever wanted for his hard-working daughter. He wanted her to be happy. The plastic shoes wearing man brought a flair with him that he respected.
His knuckles grazed his nose to wipe away the tear which tried to escape. He knew his baby girl was watching, and he attempted, with some effort, to compose himself. Not much escaped her attention, even if she didn’t speak on that which she observed. She was a lot like her Momma in that way.
“Come on Daddy, let’s take a tour of the house,” DeShondra said, overwhelmed herself with how much work the men had completed in less than a few weeks. “Let’s start downstairs with the guest bedroom.”
“I love this house,” Maya said. “Oh, my goodness, Pookie, you are doing an amazing job decorating this for my baby!”
“Yes Ma’am, and you are going to love it, even more, when I am done,” he said with a flourish.
They walked through each room and DeShondra’s mouth flapped open when she saw the custom closet for her shoes and handbags. That was as far as she made it, standing inside the empty space, mentally cataloging which shoes and which colored purses would go where. Buster took pride in his handiwork, proudly presenting the custom elements he’d fabricated with extra touches.
Pookie called from downstairs for everyone to come to dinner. Each took a seat at the table, and Maya fluttered about until Pookie made her take a seat. “Chef will serve us all,” he said.
Chef, a bearded man with intense brown eyes, served Romaine leaves lightly dressed with shaved Parmesan and homemade croutons to start. The salad course was followed by chicken wi
th bleu cheese over rigatoni with fresh pears, which caused a bit of a pause in her man. Isiah’s eyes went to his wife.
“Where did you find this gentleman?” Isiah wanted to know.
“The same place you found your crew,” she said with a wink. “He can cook his ass off.”
Maya piped up, “He sure can. Chef, would you be interested in catering my daughter’s wedding in three weeks?”
“How many people?” Chef wanted to know.
“Not sure yet, but maybe 40,” Maya said. “We are going to do it in the backyard, if I can get...what was your name? Bubba?”
“I’m Buster, that’s Bubba,” he said pointing down the table.
“Potato, tomato,” Maya said. “If whichever one is the woodworker can make a portable dance floor and a slight riser to put the food on, I would be grateful.”
Chef looked to DeShondra, who nodded while giving the man a smile. He answered, “Be honored to cater the wedding for the little lady.”
“I want some grilled sausages, steaks, easy casual food, but this bleu cheese and chicken is amazing,” Isiah said.
“Ms. Leman said you liked bleu cheese and Bourbon,” Chef replied. “I make a great bleu cheese and beef meatball with a Bourbon bar-b-que dipping sauce.”
Isiah’s face held no expression as he watched the large black man.
“Does that sound like your type of food?” Chef asked.
“I’m just waiting to start breathing again,” Isiah said, chuckling. “You can cook whatever the hell you want!”
“Great, we have a caterer,” Maya said. “Let’s finish this meal so I can see this backyard, the pond, and everything else. Pookie, let’s walk the backyard for the ideal location.”
“Yessum,” Pookie said grinning and clapping his hands. “This is going to be so exciting. I am thinking, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, with little stars hanging from the top of the tent.”
“Pookie, don’t go overboard. I want it simple, comfortable and casual,” Isiah said.
Bleu, Grass, Bourbon Page 14
