by Donald Welch
He led her back over to the bed and she rested her head on his shoulder. Nestling under the covers, he faced her and began to tell her how much he had missed her. She wanted to believe him.
“Shorti, you still cool on what we talked about a while ago?” he asked, planting delicate kisses on her neck. Storm did not answer right away. This caused DuBoy to stop and lean back to get a good look at her.
“Is there somethin’ wrong? Yo, you ain’t flaking out on me, is you?” His voice became stern.
“No, no, baby, I’m not. But I just got home. I need to take this slow with Skylar, you know that. Me trying to convince her of some shit like what you’re talking about is not going to be easy,” she said in a calming voice.
“I knew it! I thought we was clear on this shit, Storm!” he said, raising his voice.
“We were!” She turned his face toward her. “Nothing has changed. I know the plan.”
“You sure ’bout that?” he said, arching his eyebrows.
“Yes, I just need some time to work on it. It’s only been a few days since I’ve been home, DuBoy. Can I get my life back first? Damn!” Storm was annoyed.
“I thought that’s what I was doing here, right now wit’ you, helping you get your life back!” He sat up on the side of the bed, reached over, and started to light a blunt. Not wanting him to be upset with her, Storm assured him that he was helping, but all she was asking for was a little time. With that she leaned over and started to gently massage his neck and shoulders. Every so often she’d stop and give him light kisses in the middle part of his back. Her actions seemed to calm him down. She even convinced him that he didn’t need a joint right then either.
“Yeah, well, you stressing my ass out, girl! You know me and Torch been working on this idea for some time now. He’s expecting me to come through with this shit!”
“Everything is going to be fine, Boo. Don’t worry.” Storm tried to sound convincing. “Neither one of us needs any stress, baby, you know that.” He allowed his head to fall back, but not before taking a drag off the blunt. He passed it to Storm but she declined. DuBoy knew that smoking weed wasn’t Storm’s thing. He started to laugh.
“I thought maybe you changed yo shit up a little by being in there, bay. You mean none of dem hos ain’t try and get you to wild out wit’ dem for a minute?”
Storm did not find this funny at all. “I don’t want to talk about Muncy. That shit is in my past,” Storm said as she lay back down, covering her body with the sheet.
DuBoy decided to join her. It was not long before they were in a sensual embrace and began another round of lovemaking. This time, they were careful, gentle lovers, taking time to enjoy every touch, kiss, caress, stroke, and embrace. Just as their bodies became one DuBoy asked, “Are you ready for all that we about to do?”
“Yes,” she said softly, pulling him closer.
< TWELVE >
Tomorrow
Lovely was dreading this call but she had to talk to someone. Someone that might understand what she was going through. Usually, she’d call her mother when she felt like this. But not this time. She couldn’t call her this time.
“Hello, yo dime, my time, make it quick!” The voice on the receiving end said.
“Nettie?” Lovely said softly.
“Yeah … Who is this?” Nettie responded with something of an attitude.
“Hi, it’s Lovely.”
“Lovely? Hey, girl, it didn’t sound like you. I could barely hear you. How are things? You feeling better?” Nettie asked.
“I’m coming along,” she lied. “Listen, I was wondering if you had some time in the next day or so. I’d like to come by and have a talk with you,” Lovely asked.
“Sure, sure … Hmm, how about tomorrow around three or four in the afternoon? You want to come by the club? Ain’t nobody gonna be there but—”
Lovely interrupted her. “No, if you don’t mind, could it be somewhere else?”
“Okay, okay,” Nettie said. “We could either meet at Miss Tootsie’s on South Street or Ginger’s Coffee House on Second and Walnut.” After deciding on Ginger’s at three-thirty, Nettie asked Lovely again if she was all right.
“I’m okay, Nettie, I just need some advice, that’s all,” Lovely assured her.
“Everything’s all right with my baby, ain’t it?” Nettie asked, referring to Lovely’s son. “Put him on the phone so I can holla at him for a minute.”
“Oh, I would, Nettie, but he’s in the bathtub right now,” Lovely lied.
“Okay, no worries. Maybe you’ll bring him by to see me soon.” Lovely said she would do just that. “Nettie, could you keep all this between us?”
“Sure, baby, my lips are sealed tighter than a casket!” They both giggled. Lovely asked how the other dancers were doing and who had taken her spot for the last few weeks.
“Well, Miss Princess finally done gave Gidget a chance to shine. You know, with your solo spots,” Nettie offered.
“I’m so happy about that. I know she was doing her thing.” Lovely was sincere about this.
“But I’m worried about you!” Nettie let her know. “And look, don’t worry about your job either. I don’t care how good li’l Paula Abdul is, your spot is here whenever you come back, you hear me?”
“I do, Nettie. And thanks again.” Just hearing Nettie’s comforting words let Lovely know she had done the right thing by calling her.
“All right, baby. See ya tomorrow,” Nettie said before hanging up. Lost in thought about what could be wrong with Lovely, she didn’t notice that June had come in the room.
“Hello! Hello! Anybody home!?” June called out.
“Hey, sweetie, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” Nettie got up and planted a gentle kiss on June’s lips. Pulling her close, June noticed something was wrong.
“You okay?” she asked, relaxing their embrace.
“I just got a call from Lovely. She wanted to know if I’d meet her tomorrow to talk.”
“Does it involve Tony Jr.?” June asked.
Nettie shook her head. “I don’t think so, but whatever it is, I know it’s got something to do with her requesting a leave from the club.”
“Maybe she got some flack from her bosses at the hospital about moonlighting as a dancer, ma’.”
“That couldn’t be it. Hell, several of the doctors and her fellow nurses go to Legends on the weekends. Besides, she can do what she wants on her own time,” Nettie pointed out.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll tell you mañana, baby.” June rubbed the center of Nettie’s back and asked her if she’d like to go out for dinner. Nettie declined, saying she’d rather just stay home, maybe order Chinese, watch a movie, and just chill for the evening. Besides, she told June, they’d had so little time to enjoy their new place. “Hey, maybe I’ll come back once you’re settled and give you that promised massage from a week ago.” June agreed and promised Nettie that she would give her that much-needed rubdown she had been begging for last week.
“Seriously?” she asked June. “Man, that would be great. I have been mad stressed,” she told June, while tossing back her head with closed eyes and massaging her own neck. “Let me take a nice bath, you order the food and pick up a movie, okay?” With a sudden burst of energy, Nettie trekked off to the bathroom. She was happy that she and June had not been fighting for almost a month now. She wasn’t sure which of them had grown up the most—instead of arguing over the smallest little things they now talked things over. Maybe it was also the move to a larger place. June had been sharing Nettie’s small one-bedroom apartment on Twelfth and Locust Street for the last year and a half, but for the last month they’d been spreading out in a two-bedroom apartment on Eighteenth and Pine Street. The building, reminiscent of a Brooklyn brownstone, housed four apartments; they occupied the largest one, on the third floor. As her body slipped deeper into the relaxing water, Nettie leaned back and tried to forget any and every thing that was on her mind.
Ta
king long baths was something she did all the time. It worked for a while, until the nagging feeling of what could possibly be wrong with Lovely crept its way back into her brain. She released it. For now she wanted to enjoy her bath, her Chinese food, and her woman. Tomorrow would take care of itself.
< THIRTEEN >
My Baby Just Cares for Me
Lovely felt awful for lying to Nettie about little Tony. He was not taking a bath. In fact he had been spending the last few days with her mother. She hated being away from her son more than anything but she needed some time to figure things out. In addition to taking a leave from her job as a dancer at Legends, she had also spoken with Hertha James, nursing supervisor at Jefferson Hospital. Considering the circumstances, Hertha granted the leave from her position at the hospital that Lovely had requested, too. Hertha had to admit to herself that Lovely’s was the strangest story she’d ever heard in all her twenty-five years in nursing.
As a registered nurse, Lovely dealt with a large number of organ transplant patients. As much as she tried not to get emotionally involved with any of the patients, sometimes she’d find herself taking a lot of their personal stories home with her. After losing Anthony, life meant so much more to her.
Over a month ago, Felix Murphy, a sixty-five-year-old, had been admitted to the coronary care unit in need of a heart transplant. Although Lovely was not his primary nurse she was very familiar with all the patients on the ward and there were times when she did attend to Mr. Murphy. Felix was one of the nicest men she had ever met. He never complained about anything and always seemed grateful for everything the nurses or doctors did for him. He was such a pleasure to be around, she thought. No matter what kind of stressful day she had at the hospital, after walking into Mr. Murphy’s room she’d feel better in a matter of minutes. During one of her visits, Lovely asked Mr. Murphy why he’d never married or had any children. He told her that at one time he thought about it but felt he wasn’t deserving of a family. Seeing how his mood changed once he said this, Lovely felt it was best for her to leave it alone. However, Felix wanted to talk more and went on to tell her that he wasn’t always the nice guy he was now.
“What, Mr. Murphy? You cheated on an old girlfriend or something?” Lovely teased.
“I wish it were something as small as that,” he told her.
Lovely could hear the serious tone in Felix’s voice. He asked her to sit down. Pulling a chair close to his bedside, Lovely could not imagine what he was about to tell her. “I’ve never talked to anyone about this before now,” Felix spoke softly. “Lovely, about thirty years ago I did something to a woman I cared deeply for. I … I forced myself on her and raped her,” he said, bowing his head.
“What!” Lovely was shocked. “Why?”
He paused for a few moments before continuing. “I was an alcoholic, still am, because no matter whether you drink anymore or not, once an alcoholic, always one,” he said. “Anyway, she told me if I did not stop drinking she was going to leave me. Of course I promised her a million times that I would. Well, one day I believe she just got fed up ’cause she called me and told me we were through. I figured that she just needed some time to cool off. You know, because she always took me back.” Felix looked at Lovely as tears formed in his eyes. “Anyway, I had made up my mind this time that I was going to get some help. And I did, too, Lovely. I hadn’t touched a drop in over two months. Anyway, after being clean for a period of time, I went by her place one evening, just to talk to her. When I got there I saw her getting out of another man’s car. Before he pulled off they were hugging up all over each other. I was crushed. I couldn’t believe this. She was my girl and now she all over some other man. Instead of just going home, I … I went by the bar….”
“Oh, Mr. Murphy, you didn’t.” Lovely took his hand in hers.
“I got drunk. If that wasn’t enough, I didn’t go home, I went back to her place to confront her,” he said.
Lovely held her breath, expecting the worst. Oh, God, she thought, did he hurt her?
“She didn’t want to talk to me, especially seeing that I was blasted. She could see through the chained door that I was. When she went to close it I pushed it open and I … I forced myself on her,” Felix said as he began to weep uncontrollably. “I raped her.” He sounded ashamed at this admission.
He went on to tell Lovely that he was arrested but received probation. His court-appointed attorney convinced the jury that it was her word against his. “Everyone knew that we were an on-and-off couple in the neighborhood, so there were witnesses on both sides.” After it was all over, Felix said he moved back down South with his family and did not come back to Philly for years. He had no idea what became of the girl.
“It feels good finally getting this all out. Even if it took thirty years and a stranger to admit it to,” he said as he wiped his eyes.
Although his story repulsed Lovely, she did not want to judge this man who seemed so kind and gentle. She certainly did not condone what he had done, but judging by the pain on his face, she could see he was suffering. She patted his hand gently and told him to get some rest and she’d see him tomorrow.
A few days passed and Lovely had not gone back to see him. However, she had been checking his charts and noticed that his hemoglobin levels had decreased and the doctor had ordered a blood transfusion immediately. They were looking through all possible resources because Mr. Murphy’s blood type was so rare. Because of how everyone felt about Mr. Murphy, any one of the nurses would have donated, but it was Lovely who was called into the nurse supervisor’s office. She was told that out of all the employees, only she was a match. Her supervisor asked if she would be willing to donate a unit of blood. “Sure,” Lovely said.
Lovely went into the laboratory, wondering what if she and Mr. Murphy had the same DNA? Lovely suddenly felt as if she were going to faint. Her mind started to race a mile a minute. No, it couldn’t be. She tried to reason with herself. Lovely thought of her parents. Her mother had always been overprotective of her, as was her stepfather. She’d had a wonderful childhood. But as any inquisitive child would do, she’d often ask about her biological father. Especially as she got older.
“Your father passed on before you were born, sweetie,” her mother would say. “It’s too difficult to talk about, baby.” Seeing this obviously pained her mother, Lovely stopped asking. Her stepfather was the best daddy any girl could have so she left things alone.
Lovely still had to find out if Felix Murphy was truly her father. If so, not only had he raped her mother, but he’d also had a child he had never known.
On another visit to his room, she asked him about the woman. Did he remember her name? She braced herself for the answer. “Theresa Waters,” he spoke painfully. My mother’s name, Lovely thought.
Not able to cope with the news, Lovely became withdrawn and detached from everyone. She had to get away for a while. Her mother knew something was wrong because they talked about everything but suddenly Lovely clammed up. Lovely didn’t know what to do. But she knew she had to make a decision soon enough. A man’s life, her father’s life, was hanging in the balance.
< FOURTEEN >
In da Club
It was hip-hop night at Legends and the crowd was much younger than usual. Skylar wanted to make sure that, unlike most other clubs in Philly, Legends highlighted all genres of music. The sounds of Nas, Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Kanye, and T.I. dominated the air as the crowd of twentysomethings took to the floor with the latest dance moves, eagerly anticipating a special midnight performance by Philly’s own Cassidy. Normally Skylar would hold off on booking a hard-core artist like Cassidy, but he promised her that the show would be tamed down, and the two of them had been friendly since he started in the business, back when they met at an open mike event at Phoenix Dance Club down on Arch Street years before.
Flynn made his way through the crowd over to the bar, where Nettie was checking a young man’s ID, looking up at him and then back down at the ID several tim
es before pouring his drink. Even then, she still gave him a look of uncertainty. He left a dollar tip on the bar and took his drink away. Nettie watched as he walked away, wondering if he’d just got over. Noticing Flynn, she shouted out, “Aw shit now! Look at Mr. Flynn. Sharp as Dick was when Hattie died!”
Flynn, dressed in a tailored single-button suit, spun around with both arms spread open. “You like?” he asked.
“Yes, I do, baby. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so handsome. And who are those flowers for, like I don’t already know.” They both laughed.
Looking around, Flynn asked if Alexia had come in yet. Nettie pointed out Alexia where she was already working. “Aw, Flynn, you really like that girl!”
“Yeah, I do, but she hasn’t really given me a chance,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been asking her out for more than three weeks, and she always turns me down. I’ve tried everything.”
“Well, let me tell you a little secret, but swear you didn’t hear this from me.”
“I swear, Nettie. Scout’s honor.”
“Boy, you ain’t never been no kind of boy scout. But I think you get it, so here go. That chile’s confessed that she likes you, too, but she’s just not ready to date again. I can’t put my finger on it, but that girl got a lot on her mind. She’s got some secrets,” Nettie stated matter-of-factly. “But just give her some time, I believe she’ll come around.” Nettie smiled.
Noticing Alexia making her way through the crowd with a raised serving tray, Nettie told Flynn here was his chance to be alone with her for a few minutes, because she had to go to the restroom.
“Watch the bar for me, baby, while I go pay my water bill,” Nettie teased as she scurried off. Watching her as she left, Flynn shook his head. I can’t believe Nettie is letting all that go to waste. As fine as she is at her age, she won’t let a man touch her. She really don’t know what she’s missing.
