He was good-looking and looked like he used to box, but he took my hand and kissed it and said, “This is very nice indeed. Odessa has also told me so many wonderful things about you, I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Finally?
“I’ve heard a lot about you, too, Derrick, and hope the three of us can have dinner sometime in the near future.”
“You can count on it,” he said, and Odessa was smiling from inside, which I had not ever seen before.
Cinnamon gave me a kiss and whispered in my ear: “He’s the handyman who has apparently come in very handy. And by the way, Grandma, Ma has come by to see us and she looks and sounds so good. Just so you know, I’m not getting an audition on The Voice because my singing isn’t up to snuff, but I’m not quitting because I like working there. This is just beautiful, and now, let me find something I can’t afford.”
What an opening. And what a crowd. People were buying all kinds of hair and makeup and skincare products, even jewelry. The food and drinks were being devoured. The music was pitch perfect and folks were complimenting how refreshing it was to come to a beauty supply so organized that you didn’t have to hunt for things.
Everybody kept asking Korynthia if she was a senior model and she lied and said yes, which prompted her to remind me and Lucky that we’d better be in hip-hop class tomorrow. But I told her I couldn’t make it because I was going to be at my favorite spa getting a hot stone massage, a pedicure, and an age-defying facial to celebrate my opening.
She gave me a thumbs-up.
Moments later, in walked Serenity and Roxie, the two young women I had sold the L.A. House to. They had the same look children have on Christmas morning when they look under the tree at all the gifts. They clearly were not expecting the store to look this way, which made me feel good. They waved and walked through the crowd, and I clapped my hands loudly and shouted to everyone:
“Excuse me, everybody! Attention please! I want you all to meet the new owners of the L.A. House of Beauty: Serenity and Roxie!”
Everybody applauded.
The two girls smiled.
“Thank you, Mrs. Curry!” Serenity said to me as we walked toward the makeup. “We are completely and unequivocally dumbfounded! We can’t imagine what it’s going to take for us to get our house in the same zone as this. It is just so cool. The floors alone! But we can afford concrete!”
“Don’t you young ladies worry. You’re going to be just fine.”
“We brought you a gift!”
And Roxie stuck her hand inside the large fuchsia shopping bag she carried and whipped out what looked like a pie.
“It’s sweet potato. We made it! For you! And we hope you like it!”
“Why thank you. I will do my best, but not until later as I’m a little stuffed.”
“Then you can set this one out because we made two! The other one’s in the bag for you to take home!”
I hugged them both. “Thank you. Now please look around, mingle, and don’t even think about paying for anything.”
And off they went.
Peggy gently squeezed my shoulder. “What a nice crowd. Look at all the folks with bags. I’ll definitely be back, Loretha. Also, I would really like to visit Jalecia. And you sometimes.”
“That would be just fine,” I said. “I’m sure Jalecia would love to see you. You’re still family.”
“Look at us,” Ma said, making her way over with Carolyn. “Tell me we’re not sexy!”
“And we know it,” Carolyn said.
“I’m not ready to go yet, Carolyn. You think I went through all this beautifying just for those old folks at Valley View to see? Think again. I want to say something to my daughter in private, so beat it. Go get some coffee and I’ll be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”
“Don’t be so mean, Ma. Did you tip the girls for making you look so gorgeous?”
“Tip? Were we supposed to tip them?” Ma asked.
“I have never tipped anybody except a waitress and I didn’t bring any cash with me,” Carolyn said.
“Well, I’m sure we can make it up to them. Now scoot, Carolyn. Anyway, Daughter, I just want to say how nice everything is and how proud I am of you. I hope you enjoy going to Tokyo and please bring me back something Japanese. I don’t need to see you before you leave, I just want to see you when you come back. And give Jackson and those beautiful little girls a kiss for me….And what kind of discount can me and Carolyn get for the robes and slippers we picked out? The sign out front said twenty percent.”
“Your discounts are one hundred percent.”
“Thank you! This has been a lot of fun, but we need to go. Excitement is exhausting. Where’s Kwame and that cute boy who brought us here?”
I pointed.
“I am so glad these homosexuals get to be homosexuals in public. What a waste of years when they couldn’t. Even Carolyn finally agrees, don’t you, Carolyn?” Ma said as Carolyn returned with coffee.
“It is what it is and we have to be who we have to be.”
Ma nodded.
“Anyway, ask them to get our wheelchairs and we’ll be sitting on stools by the front door.”
Carolyn put her hand in my hand and squeezed. “I just want you to know I have not had this much fun in years, so thank you, Loretha. And I didn’t know so many white folks would be coming. This sure ain’t Flint.”
“Oh, Loretha!” Ma said. “Don’t forget to take my envelopes on the plane with you. Nothing earthshattering so don’t expect it. I hope you get a few chuckles.”
I hugged her and Carolyn and watched as Kwame and Parker rolled them out the front door.
I also made a mental note to have another sign made for the wall behind the makeup artists: TIPS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
* * *
—
By five thirty, everybody had finally left. I wanted these folks to go home. They had spent a fortune and seemed as if they didn’t get out often enough the way they just hung around chitchatting and waiting for us to pop the cork on another bottle, which I did because this was the best grand opening I could have ever imagined, especially since it was the only grand opening I’d ever had.
Of course I overpacked.
I needed to buy things for the twins after Jackson tried to weigh them so I could figure out what U.S. size to buy even though he and Aiko insisted it wasn’t necessary. Of course it was necessary. I wanted them to know that this black woman they did not know had come bearing gifts and hugs and hopefully tickles. And if I get to meet their other grandmother, maybe Aiko will be able to tell them I’m the same as her.
I was excited and nervous about being gone for six days and really wished I could stay longer. I didn’t want my grandbabies to forget me, which was why I’d already decided I’m not going to go another year without seeing them.
I said goodbye to Jalecia and gave her my sweet potato pie to share with the people in the house where she’s living.
“Hug my brother for me, Ma, and please FaceTime me if we can figure out the right time difference.”
“I will. And you’re good?”
“I am very good. I spent the night with my grandbabies.”
“What? I thought you couldn’t…”
“Ma, I tried to explain that it’s not a jail. Anyway, they are just hilarious and so cute and they even slept with me.”
“I’m looking forward to sleeping next to mine, too!” I said, trying not to cry.
But I did.
And she hugged me.
And I hugged her back.
* * *
—
Odessa insisted on driving me to the airport.
She was an hour early.
“You don’t want me to order you as my Uber?”
“Come on, Loretha.”
After she opened the trun
k and picked up one of my three bags, I grabbed her by the arm.
“Wait a minute. I don’t want to feel like a customer!”
She just laughed, put the other two in the trunk, and I could tell she was about to open the back door for me, but I got in the front seat.
“So,” she said. “Before you ask, I’ll just tell you. I am not in love, but I am loving his company.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Don’t play that silly game with me, Loretha. His name is Derrick. You might want to remember it.”
And she started laughing.
“So, what’s it like?”
“What’s what like?”
“The sex.”
“I prefer it.”
And then we both started laughing, which we seem to be getting used to.
“I hope you get to have it again one day, Lo. Carl would want you to, we all agree.”
“Who is we?”
“Ma, all your girlfriends, and your daughter.”
“Did you all get together and talk about my sex life without me?”
“Maybe.”
“Anyway, I’ll just say this: you’ve come full circle and it makes me very happy. Now step on it! We only have until tomorrow to get to the airport since you got here yesterday.”
And we started laughing again.
“I hope you enjoy seeing my nephew. And I hope those little ones are growing into their looks.”
“Watch yourself now, O. They are cuter than we were at this age.”
And with that we were quiet for a few minutes.
“I’m also happy Jalecia is doing so well. You know I knew depression was her issue all along.”
“And how would you know that, Odessa?”
“Because she’s not the only one in the family who’s been struggling with it.”
I turned to look at her. “You?”
“Yes, me. I wasn’t born mean, Lo. But it was the reason why my husband left me. Little did I know. And not to sound like a hypocrite but it was the reason I turned my life over to God. Anyway, back then there was no name for my moods and when I was finally diagnosed, it wasn’t something you just told everybody. So I didn’t. It’s only been the past nine or ten months that I finally found the right doctor and was prescribed the right medication.”
“Why didn’t you at least tell me, Odessa?”
“Because I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me.”
“Sorry?”
“Or be angry at me.”
I squeezed her thigh.
“I think we’re all finally trying to set sail, Odessa; and it feels like the wind is blowing in our favor.”
And we didn’t say another word until she pulled up in front of Japan Airlines and I insisted that the skycap take all the bags out and carry them inside.
My sister and I hugged each other hard.
And kissed each other on both cheeks.
“Have a safe trip,” she said. “And when you come back I hope you can say something in Japanese.”
* * *
—
It is tomorrow morning in Tokyo.
Of course, the flight attendants are all Japanese and their skin is dewy, their lips are red, and they’re all pretty and short. I want to see how they reach to help you with carry-ons, but I won’t be staring. Yes I will. I was still five-seven when I had my last physical and I’ve been wondering when I was going to start shrinking. This plane feels like I’m in one of those space movies where everything looks like it’s in the future. I could be on my way to the moon.
I do not have a carry-on and am asleep before we take off.
When I wake up, I don’t know where I am. I press the Call button. I eat the savory teriyaki beef I ordered along with a cup of hot water and lemon, something I would never drink at home but I might start. Dessert? No thank you, but thank you. I am now wide awake, but most people here in business class have their black eye masks on. I have no idea when I should try to go back to sleep since it’ll be afternoon when I get to Tokyo. But I would love a cup of coffee so I order one, and it is much better than Starbucks.
I am excited and anxious, but I don’t want to watch a movie on the iPad that Kwame loaded for me. I remember Ma’s instructions to read whatever surprising things she had put in her yellow, pink, and three blue envelopes. I am prepared for anything.
I open the yellow one: it is an expired 20 percent off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond. I just shake my head.
The pink one, which she had handwritten, says: You still have room for love.
What?
The first blue one is a picture of a gorgeous and sexy seventy-year-old model, Maye Musk, that says: I am what I make up. I didn’t get it.
The second blue one: Don’t apologize for living. Have some damn fun.
The last blue one is a fortune from a fortune cookie that looks like she’s had for years: Listen to your mom.
That woman.
* * *
—
In the days leading up to my trip, I’d been making a list of everything I would love to be able to do and see in the short time I’m in Tokyo, even though Jackson told me he had quite a few must-see-and-dos. I had to remind him that technically I was only going to have five days of daylight hours there. There were things I wish I could see that I won’t be able to, like those plum and peach blossoms, because I had missed spring and read that in Japan the seasons are like clockwork. So, I narrowed it down to this:
Ginza. The famous shopping area where they close the streets to traffic on Sunday, even though I have a problem with crowds.
Mt. Fuji.
That Meiji Shrine, which everybody who has ever been there swears is a must-see. According to the descriptions, they say it will feel like a mystical forest, but so long as it doesn’t make me feel like Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, I’ll be okay. I should put this on the bottom of my list because most shrines scare me, especially the ones in New York City.
Hot springs. No. I forgot. We have one in Palm Springs, which is only a two-hour drive. And it’s not cheap.
The NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building. One of the tallest skyscrapers that looks like the Empire State Building, which I have not seen in almost thirty years.
The statue of that dog Hachikō, so I can show the picture to B. B. King and Billie Holiday when I get home!
Ride that bullet train. But not that Hello Kitty one. If at all possible. I just want to know what it feels like to go two hundred miles an hour on a track. But you couldn’t pay me to do this on Amtrak.
Disneyland. If I just have to, but this is where you take your grandchildren, especially when they can’t really talk that much.
Walk up and down the busy and quiet streets, but especially Shinjuku Gyo-en, the beautiful and serene Japanese garden right in the middle of the city.
I would love to see an American movie with Japanese subtitles. Jackson said in Japan they do not walk out of the theater until the very last credit to show respect to everyone who helped make the film. He said when he saw Black Panther, it took almost three hours before they were able to leave.
This would be enough for about fifteen days, but I will not be heartbroken if I only get to do or see three or four of them. I came here to spend time with my son and his family even though he’s the one who told me to make a list of everything I wanted to see.
But he is on the top of this list.
* * *
—
Jackson does not have a car because he said they were unnecessary, which was why I begged him not to bother coming to meet me. It’s over an hour’s drive but he told me not to take a taxi because it was “cost prohibitive.” I told him I didn’t care but I was not getting on any bus with three bags, so when I found out they had U
ber, I took it, which was a van that I had to share with four other people. It only cost about a million U.S. dollars to get to their apartment in Jiyūgaoka, which, according to Google, is an “upscale and trendy neighborhood.” I was more curious where the ghetto might be in Tokyo. And if they had one, I wanted to see it.
We passed Disneyland.
When we got closer to the actual city, I spotted what looked like the Empire State Building crammed between a million other skyscrapers that were even taller. For a minute I thought that maybe I was heading into Manhattan, but I knew it was Tokyo because I was too tired, and for me it was still yesterday.
Tokyo is no doubt beautiful. But I knew that before I came. I had googled everywhere I didn’t really care if I ever saw. And when the Uber van finally stopped in front of my son’s two-level apartment, there was my tall chocolate son standing close to the curb with his arms crossed next to a yellow gingko tree. My friends in the van said goodbye in their native languages and waved to Jackson, who waved back and said something in Japanese. He helped the driver set my bags on the sidewalk.
Then he stared at me a few long seconds, kissed me on both cheeks, and hugged me like he hadn’t seen me in a hundred years.
“Hello, Ma,” he said, and sounded like he did before his voice changed. “You look prettier in person than you do on FaceTime! Was your trip okay?”
“Do I look like I’m alive?” I asked, and pushed him with all the love in my tired hips. And then I hugged him again like I hadn’t seen him in a hundred years.
“So this is home,” I said.
“For now.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
He grabbed the two big pieces of luggage and, as I picked up the other one, he got a stern look on his face and said, “Absolutely not. I’ll come back and get it. It’s safe right there.”
It's Not All Downhill From Here Page 32
