by Teneka Woods
Laughing, he said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy and modify some things if we need to. This is just something different so your body doesn’t get used to the same ol’ routine.”
TWENTY-SIX
“I agree with Eric. I think you’re overreacting.”
“What? How so?” Tora pulled out the straight-pin she held pressed between her lips, using it to fasten a knit blouse behind a mannequin torso to achieve a fitted look for the otherwise square-shaped top. “Are you telling me you would’ve kissed him after the first date?”
Candace blew a gum bubble before sucking it back in with a piercing snap. “First of all, it wasn’t y’all’s first date. Second of all, hell yes I would’ve kissed him. I kissed Ruki after our first date. I wanted to kiss him before the date actually got started to tell you the truth,” she laughed.
“He brought his daughter on our first date, so that no longer counts as a date.”
“Didn’t you like him? You said it was a really nice time, so what was the problem?”
“I don’t know him, Candace. We’re supposed to be spending the first couple months just feeling each other out.”
“He was attracted to you, Tora. Wanting a kiss is not a bad thing.”
“His hand was practically underneath my dress!”
Candace sighed. “Okay… so he’s apologized and now he knows it’s not something you feel comfortable doing. I say you should give him another chance.”
“And he’s turned out to be a pest you see?”
Every day for the past three days Eric had called her no fewer than ten times. And each time it just so happened she was in the middle of doing something or on her way to do something—or dining with Nate—so she dismissed the call and planned to return it when she had the spare minutes. But then he’d follow up with a text message, demanding that she give him a call as soon as possible.
“Now just a few days ago, Tora, you were saying you appreciated how thoughtful he was.”
“That’s before he showed his jerk tendencies. I’m sure if he found out some young boy was pushing his hand up his daughter’s skirt and trying to kiss her without permission he would’ve been ready to beat his ass.”
Nodding her head, Candace said, “You got a point there. Still, I really don’t think he meant any harm.”
The pocket of Tora’s vest began to vibrate. “Speak of the devil,” she said as she looked at the caller ID.
Candace smirked. “You may as well tell him now how you really feel so he can stop calling.”
Tora walked towards the rear of the store as she answered. “Hey, Eric.”
“Wow. I’m surprised you picked up.”
She rolled her eyes at the sarcastic tone of his voice. “I’m here working. What’s up?”
“Well I’m grateful for you blessing me and taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule to grace me with your attention…”
“Eric—”
“How are you doing, Tora?”
“I’m fine. How about you?” She sat on the edge of the desk in the office.
“We’re doing well over here. I came home to have lunch with my daughter today. But Whitney has something she wants to ask you.”
Tora didn’t have a second to process what he said before Whitney was on the line.
“Hi, Tora. I apologize for calling you at the last minute, but I really, really, really need a huge favor. Like… huge. My dad has given me permission to go to my friend’s party—it’s her Sweet Sixteen—and it’s a big deal. Like… really big deal. And we found the perfect dress, and it was the only one they had in the store like it, and I had to have it, and I told Daddy there was no way we were going to find anything prettier at another store, so there was no way I was going to leave and go home without it…”
Tora’s mind whirled as Whitney rambled on, wondering what was her point and what it had to do with her.
“…And I already have the perfect shoes and the perfect bag… but there’s just this one tiny thing,” Whitney said.
“Okay,” Tora said hesitantly, the word coming out of her mouth as a question.
“It’s just a little bit too long. And so I told Daddy we would have to find a tailor that could cut a few inches off the bottom, but he said that I should call you. That you would do it for me. And I had totally forgotten that you like to sew. Will you hem my dress for me? Please, Tora?”
Tora bit her bottom lip. Eric had done it again, using his daughter to put her in an awkward position to help fulfill his request. “Let me talk to your dad again, Whitney.” Once Eric was on the line, she said, “There are many tailors who can fix her dress on the same day. It’ll just cost you a little extra.”
“I know that, Tora,” he said briskly, “but I don’t have time to try and find one. It’s the reason why I suggested she call you. I thought maybe you can help us out with this.”
“How soon does she need the dress?” she asked him impatiently.
“Thursday night. They’re having a sleepover and all of the girls are gonna be at the Parkers’ house, so that’s where I’m dropping her off Thursday night.”
Tora thought for a moment about her schedule and what she had to do the next couple of days. “Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Oh my god! Thank you so much!” Whitney screamed. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Tora hadn’t realized she was on speaker.
Eric said, “So what time will you be available tomorrow evening? I can leave work an hour earlier if you need me to. Should we go to your apartment or do you want to come to our house?”
“Did you let him down easy?” Candace asked when Tora returned.
“I didn’t get the chance to. He called because his daughter needs someone to hem a dress for her tomorrow. She’s going to a Sweet Sixteen this weekend.”
“Awww…. See? He likes you, Tora.”
Tora sucked her teeth. “He did this intentionally, using his daughter to get to me. I’m only doing this because she practically begged me to. What would it have sounded like for me to say no?”
“I still say you shouldn’t let that little kiss be the reason you write him off so soon. He seems like a decent guy. He just got excited about seeing you in that dress that night. And after all the fun y’all had, he couldn’t help himself.”
Tora rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, girl.”
* * *
The next morning Tora pulled into the parking lot of LA Fitness. Nate did exactly as he said he would do and called her again at eight o’ clock sharp to ask if she was working out with him. She’d yelled at him, called him crazy for disturbing her sleep, told him she was tired since it wasn’t until after three a.m. when she’d finally gone to bed. She had spent the night binge watching Power.
But she left the comfort of her plush mattress and dressed anyway, fussing at him the entire time as she held the phone, deciding to just do the workout and be done with it for the day.
She walked into the gym and immediately spotted him chatting with someone off to the side of the member services desk. God help me, she thought as she looked at him. Even in the basic uniform of gray shirt and black track pants Nate was a sight to behold. His locks hung loosely at his shoulders and shook slightly with each nod of his head as he spoke with the gentleman standing before him. But the gentleman’s eyes had fixated on her, which prompted Nate to turn around.
His face lit up as if he was surprised she’d shown up afterall.
She couldn’t help returning his smile. He turned back to the gentleman and shook his hand before leaving him.
“Tora, look at you, distracting folks as soon as you walk in the door. How you feeling?”
She laughed. “Tired, Nate. Just tired.”
“Well let’s get right to it,” he said. “I don’t want you to change your mind and run out of here.”
She had to present her ID and sign a waiver before the clerk behind the desk gave her a 3-day guest pass. She’d told Nate she had no plans of joining his gym, that
it would be a complete waste of money if she did, so he convinced her to try it out for free for three days.
After a tour of the facility he led her to the cardio machines. “Which one you wanna do?” he asked. “Stair climber, treadmill, bike, or elliptical?”
“Bike,” she said, and took a seat on one. “This looks like the easiest of them all.”
He chuckled and showed her how to work the settings and took a seat on the bike next to hers.
Tora glanced around at the other members. At the joggers and walkers on the treadmills watching news and sports highlights on overhead TV monitors, the elliptical trainers who appeared to be skiing in place, at the one stair climber who was doing more posing than stair climbing as she held her cell phone in the air taking selfies. On the opposite side of the room was the weight training area. Tora noticed the dichotomy. On that side were the muscle men and women whose bodies were fit for glossy magazine covers. The outfits were sleeker, more revealing to show off all the hard work they’d put in. They strutted back and forth between the machines and weight benches, admiring their own reflections in the mirrored walls as they passed.
“So this is the gym life, huh?” Tora said to Nate after a while.
“You’ve never been to the gym?” he asked.
“Nope. Never had a reason to.”
“That’s crazy. We definitely have to change that, Tora.”
“Like I told you before… don’t get your hopes up.”
He laughed. “I’m determined to get you to fall in love with exercise. You’ll see. You’ve already taken the first step by showing up today even though you didn’t want to. So… that’s a good sign right there.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re lucky I like you.”
The words were out of her mouth before she realized it. She didn’t mean it the way it sounded. She definitely didn’t like him. At least, she believed she didn’t. What she liked was looking at him.
But the smile on his face told her he’d taken her words literally.
“What’re you doing after this?” he asked.
“Going home to take a shower and get back in my bed.”
He chuckled. “Okay… what are you doing after that? I know you’re not spending your whole day off in bed. This is our day to hang out, remember?”
“Later this afternoon I have something to do—around four—but I am free after that,” she said. “I have to go to Spring and shorten a dress for someone for a party they’re attending Friday night.”
“Oh yeah? One of my partners lives in Spring. My partner Chauncey.”
Tora nodded. “So I have to drive out there. That’s one of the things I’m still not used to about Houston. You have to drive so far to get to places.”
“You’re right about that,” he agreed. “So what time should I call? How long do you think it will take you?”
“It shouldn’t be too long. Around five I guess.”
“Cool,” he said.
An hour later Tora left the gym without having broken much of a sweat. She and Nate did more talking than working out. The entire time she was near him she could only think about how handsome and fine he was and why she had agreed to meet with him later. She was only setting herself up to be tortured all over again in his presence.
* * *
Tora parked her jeep next to the shiny white Benz. Eric’s house was the two-story red brick one in the center of a quiet cul-de-sac. With her sewing machine kit in tow she rang the doorbell.
Eric answered with a wide grin on his face. “Hey sweetheart. Thanks for coming.”
He leaned in to kiss her cheek as she stepped into the foyer, but she held up a hand. “Please, Eric,” she said, “I’m here to do this for Whitney.”
“Well alright,” he chuckled. “I see how you’re acting.” He shook his head and licked his lips as she moved past him. “With your sexy self.”
Tora rolled her eyes.
“Hi, Tora!” Whitney bounded down the stairs followed by a pretty teen with the most glorious haircut style Tora hadn’t seen in decades. It was a high-top fade with a streak of gold in the front. Intricate design parts were cut on the sides. Tora could definitely see herself rocking something like it if her hair was thick enough to pull it off.
“Hey, Whitney. How are you?” Tora asked, smiling. Whitney walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her, surprising Tora.
“Doing good. Thank you sooo much for coming,” she said.
“Oh, you’re welcome. Glad I could help out.”
“This is my friend, Faye.” With a wave of her hands she introduced her friend as if she were presenting a game show prize.
“Hi, Faye. I absolutely love your cut.”
“Thanks.”
“Her brother did it,” Whitney provided. “He’s in barber college and she’s his guinea pig. It’s awesome, right? I told Daddy I want to get mine cut like that, but he said no. Not until I’m eighteen when I have free reign to do whatever I want to do.” She gave a look at her dad.
“Well… where should I set up?” Tora asked. “And how about you go ahead and change into the dress, Whitney, so I can get started.” She didn’t want to be there any longer than she had to.
They led her to the dining room. Eric covered the cherry wood table with a bed sheet before she set up and plugged in the sewing machine.
“We’ll be right back,” Whitney said, and she and Faye disappeared.
Tora made it a point to not make eye contact with Eric as she removed her tools from her bag.
“We really appreciate you doing this for us,” he said.
“Like I told Whitney… it’s no problem.”
“So… how was your day?” he asked.
“Fine,” she answered dryly. She stood next to the table, looking over her threads and needles, waiting for Whitney to come downstairs.
“Y’know… I really think we should sit down and talk.” He took a step closer to her and raised his hands as if he wanted to grab her shoulders.
She took a step back. “Eric, I’ve already told you why I’m here. Let’s just leave it at that. This is not the time.”
“Well, when will you have time, Tora? I’m sick of playing phone tag with you!”
Tora looked at him. Did he really just raise his voice at me? She unplugged the sewing machine. “Eric, I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to tell your daughter you will find somebody else to help her with the dress. You are crazy if you think you’re gonna talk to me like this.” She picked up her bag and slung it on the table.
He grabbed her arm but quickly released it as she glared down at his hand.
Raising his hands in surrender, he said, “Look, Tora… I’m just a little perplexed by this whole situation. I really don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of nothing.”
“And that’s your problem… you keep saying ‘it was nothing.’ You have a daughter, Eric. What if someone did to her what you were doing to me?”
Just then Whitney appeared in a beautiful gown with a beaded bodice and pink chiffon skirt. She held it gathered in her hands to lift it off the floor.
“Oooh… this is beautiful on you,” Tora said, forcing a smile to hide her anger with Eric.
Whitney dropped the dress and turned around slowly. “It’s the best, right?”
“You are gorgeous, honey,” Eric said.
The girl was truly beautiful, Tora thought. It was just too bad her father was a jerk.
“Do you have a stool?” Tora looked at Eric. “Something she can stand on while I take the measurements?”
“Hmm… I’ll see what I can find,” he said.
Yes, you do that, she thought as he left the dining room. She went into her tray of threads to find the closest match for the pale pink dress. “I think you’re gonna have on the prettiest dress at this party,” Tora said to Whitney.
“Oh no. You should see my friend Monique’s dress. Hers looks like a princess gown. She said nobody can outdo her at her ow
n party.”
Tora laughed. “What about you, Faye? Are you going to this party, too?”
Faye grinned and nodded, running a hand over the sides of her head. “Yes, ma’am. I’m going.”
Whitney said, “She doesn’t wear dresses though. Faye said she’s showing up in a tuxedo.”
Both of the girls laughed again.
“A tuxedo can be cute,” Tora said. “There are some really nice ones out there for girls.” Tora’s phone pinged in her purse. It was a text message from Nate.
There’s a bar and restaurant out there where you are called Bombshells. Me and my partners are going to watch the baseball game tonight. You wanna meet me there? It’s only if you want to. Or do you prefer it’s just us?
She smiled and replied back.
“Is this okay?” Eric returned with a dairy crate.
Whitney laughed. “Daddy that looks like it’s going to hurt my feet.”
He left the room again and came back with a thin blanket and folded it in half to lay on top of the crate.
Eric and Faye watched in silence as Tora measured and marked and pinned the dress to Whitney’s liking. Then the girls went back upstairs so Whitney could change.
“I like to have me a cocktail sometimes after work. Can I get you one?” Eric asked.
Tora shook her head. “I’m fine.”
He went into the kitchen. “Taking time out of your day for her just further proves the type of woman you are. I love that about you. And that’s how I know you’re good for me.”
Tora pretended she didn’t hear him.
Whitney returned and Tora hemmed the dress in no time. Whitney beamed proudly while Eric took photos and Faye looked on admiringly.
“Daddy, you act like this is my prom night.” Whitney rolled her eyes as her dad snapped pictures with his phone.
“Well, you know I like to document every little thing.”
