The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love)

by Gaines, Oliva

  For Jayne that was the pot, sitting on the roof, yelling at the kettle, “Hey Homie. Did you know you were black?” Brionna was the type of sister who was in love with the idealism of the concept of love. Every other year she would have a new man. Pitiful men who required a great deal of fixing up to even be presentable among good honest folk. Brionna’s latest was Tyrone Jenkins. A man she bragged that worked for the city and was on his way up. Jayne remained quiet when she found out the stinking truth about Tyrone’s good paying job. A smile, a hug, and agreement with Brionna was in order, because Tyrone worked hanging off the back of a garbage truck. Which in all honesty, left him nowhere to go, but up. Jayne never uttered a word to her friend that she knew what Tyrone did for living. Truth in context, was harsher than truth in reality. There wasn’t a darn thing wrong with the brother earning an honest living, especially considering the alternative of what he could be doing. With his job, he did as a man should do and helped to take care of his woman.

  Tamika, on the other hand, always looked for the man who would take care of her completely. Jayne categorized her friend as the type of sister whose weave was always right, nails were done, and wore the latest and hippest clothing. Any man who came within nose shot of her could smell the money dripping from her haute couture. If he desired a sniff, he had to come with at least a platinum line of credit or he could stay where he was. The drawback to her lifestyle was that the men that were in the position to take care of her, often belonged to another woman. The woman who helped put him through graduate school. The woman that ate ramen noodles two nights a week so that he would have a nice suit for job interviews, to get that first great job. The woman who bore his children and sat up with them at night doing homework while her husband was out doing Tamika. Yes, she was the type of woman who did not care, as long as she felt she was in control.

  Control was an odd thing. Jayne often found that whenever a person felt they had it all together and everything was under control which was the moment in life where everything was just the opposite. RaShunda lived the example.

  A college graduate with a specialization in marketing and promotions, RaShunda obtained a cushy job with a local Fortune 500 company and was on the move. Jayne labeled her friend as the angry black woman. In sincerity, she did it to herself. Grandma Pearl’s rule of thumb was, you never poop where you eat. RaShunda made the mistake of dating a coworker. Not only did she date a coworker, but it was a man who worked in her department and was her equal. Being the loudmouth braggart that she is, RaShunda had to share everything that came into her head; her time of month, the sandwich she ate giving her gas, and her latest really cute marketing idea. It was no real surprise to anyone when Calvin took her ad campaign, dressed it up, and presented it as his own. The campaign made the company millions. Calvin was promoted and sent to head up a division at the corporate headquarters in Switzerland. RaShunda became resentful. Scratch that, she became vindictive. During the first round of cutbacks and layoffs on her job, she was the first to be let go.

  It took three years of therapy, personal coaching, and another shot at the big leagues before she settled down and became tolerable again. Jayne wondered if the last set back was ever going to make her friend right in the head again. Her latest setback was marriage. A marriage to the wrong man. RaShunda married a man who seemed to dote on her and give her everything she needed; love and support, but not a lot of understanding. Ronnie’s lack of understanding of what she did for a living manifested itself in his funky attitude when RaShunda took a client to dinner. It was even worse when his wife had to work late or received a gift from a client. Ronnie took it over the top when RaShunda earned a sizeable bonus that enabled her to put a hefty down payment on a new car that she desperately needed.

  Jayne sat across the table from her three gal pals and refused to buy into any of the drama. RaShunda started the conversation, complaining as usual about her husband. The anger simmering underneath her mantle. “Would you believe that fool wanted me to take back my car? He don’t know who he is dealing with if he expects that…..”

  Tamika ignored her. Too busy pushing lettuce leaves about her plate, while eyeing the new two carat diamond on her finger. Jayne wanted to ask whose husband had given her that, but the conversation was turned instead by Brionna who flashed the new quarter carat diamond ring she was sporting on her left hand.

  “Girl, marriage ain’t nothing but a trap. You should be smart and give it back and enjoy your freedom like Jayne over here,” RaShunda blurted out, smashing Brionna’s joy. Tamika, being trifling as usual, compared her new sizable ring to the baby carat that Brionna was attempting to flash. Jayne was the stabilizer of the group.

  “How wonderful for you and Tyrone, Bri. Congrats.” Everyone relaxed a bit. “Let’s order a round a margaritas to toast the upcoming nuptials.” The waiter took the order and returned shortly with four glasses.

  Jayne’s joy didn’t go unnoticed by RaShunda’s harsh eyes. “Who is he Jayne?”

  “I’m sorry. Who is who?”

  “Don’t play coy Honey. Who is this man you are seeing?”

  This caught the attention of Tamika and Brionna who both focused in on Jayne. “I thought I noticed something different about her as well,” Brionna added.

  “Did you finally find someone to dust the cobwebs off that sealed up pocketbook, girl?” Tamika burst into laughter at her own question as she dug at Jayne’s celibacy.

  “No one is sticking their fingers in my pocketbook,” Jayne said with ease. The margaritas arrived and she began to pour. “Besides, I would rather have dust on it than more fingerprints than the bathroom door at Walmart!”

  Balance had been restored as the ladies laughed at the dig, but RaShunda knew that Jayne had avoided the question. For Jayne, there was no real answer. She and Toshi had only shared two kisses and two meals. There was some chemistry between them, but too many differences which could not easily be overlooked. Her focus centered on her and Toshi getting through New Year’s Eve tomorrow night with her panties on and intact. The rest, she would deal with later.

  Chapter 11

  Raheem, Felix and Phở sat in the Mexican restaurant laughing and having a good conversation with their friend Toshi. The four had been friends since ninth grade math club at Lakeside High School. Each man was successful in his own field, but Felix was the only one who was married.

  Felix Masterson, the science genius had come from a meager background and was that student who lived in the trailer park close to the school. The ongoing joke between them was that Felix used his knowledge of science to create drugs in the ‘90s that helped him create a slush fund for college. His parents, both hard working people, had no idea what he had been up to. The saving grace was his grades that, along with some help from Toshi, earned him a full scholarship to Princeton. Felix returned home when his parents became ill. He took a job with a local pharmaceutical company and took a major cut in his salary, but he was still happy. His wife Jenny, was a really sweet woman, who looked forward to giving him a home full of squalling blonde children.

  Raheem Thomas, on the other hand, lived a different lifestyle. He was shocked when in the eleventh grade he came out to his friends. None of the group seemed to care since they always knew and it had no real bearing on how they regarded their friend. The friendship meant everything to Raheem, whose father suffered a heart attack when he learned of his son’s sexual orientation. His father’s love for his son was not diminished, especially when Raheem’s sister began popping out babies, year after year. Finally after child number six, Mr. Thomas asked the doctors to tie her tubes. There was no disappointing his parents when their very large, burly son, who had grown a full beard at the age of 15, received his acceptance letter to Harvard. He had a partial scholarship, but with a supplemental scholarship from Hirishito’s Steak House and one from King’s Beauty Supply, he made it through the first year, earning more scholarships. Dr. Raheem Thomas came home to take an Assistant Dean position at Paine College
in the math department.

  Nguyễn HànPhởheld an MBA and was also a Yale graduate like Toshi. As the eldest son, a few years back, he took over his family’s beauty supply stores and nail salons, doubling the profit margin and retiring his parents. It was no secret that under his skin, he resented a $150,000 dollar education that was used to make sure plus sized women were pleased when his employees asked, “you want design?” He also felt some resentment toward Toshi who never had to work in his family’s restaurants. His friend Toshi never came home from work smelling like Hirishito’s secret sauce. He would come home smelling like nail acrylic and hair weave. The resentment didn’t go very far when he came to terms with no longer having a student loan, his BMW was paid for and he’d made a sizeable cash deposit on his five bedroom home on Stallings Island.

  All in all, they were good guys and really good friends who truly understood the strength and weaknesses of each member of the group.

  “Hey you,” a sweet voice said. Toshi looked up and saw Jayne standing there. A huge grin covered his face as he rose to greet the woman who was costing him a few sleepless nights. He embraced her as if he had not seen her in a year. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her subtle fragrance; something his friends easily noticed. With his arm still about her shoulders, he turned Jayne to face his friends.

  “Jayne,” he said as he looked down at her upturned face. “This is Raheem, Phở, and Felix. Guys, this is Jayne.”

  She was surprised when each man rose and shook her hand. A bigger surprise was the diversity of the group. Toshi asked, “are you here alone? You are more than welcome to join us.”

  Jayne was about to turn and point to the table where her friends were sitting, but her hand came into contact with RaShunda’s boobs. Her friends were all standing behind her. They were scrutinizing Toshi, who had yet to remove his arm from around her shoulders. Jayne cleared her throat. “These are my friends.”

  “This is Rashunda,” who added an “hmmmnnhhn,” with a sister girl neck roll. “Tamika,” who instantly asked what Toshi did for a living. And Brionna, who spontaneously felt the need to say, “look at you with your own little Rainbow Coalition over here.”

  Jayne let out a large swoosh of air followed by laughter as she introduced Toshi’s friends to the group. Brionna’s eyes first went to Raheem, then to Felix, and eventually settled on Phở, who looked over his shoulder to see who she was staring at. When his eyes came back front, he realized that Brionna was eyeing him. Just to be certain, he looked over the other shoulder. Nope. No one was behind him.

  Jayne sensed Phở’s discomfort. “Well, it was nice to meet you all.” She patted Toshi on the chest, but his arm tightened about her shoulders. He had kissed her in front of his sister. He needed to know if Jayne would acknowledge him in front of all of their friends. He looked down at her, as she leaned upward and placed a feathery kiss upon his lips. “See you tomorrow night. Don’t forget the Champagne.”

  There.

  It was tangible.

  It was in the open.

  Toshi sat down at the table with three sets of eyes affixed on him. “What?”

  Phở was the first to say something. “He’s smiling.”

  This remark was followed by Felix. “He closed his eyes when he hugged her.”

  Raheem was the last to weigh in. “She seems so nice and normal Toshi. What is she doing with you?

  Toshi was offended. “What do you mean Raheem?” He also addressed the other comments. “I smile all the time.” He paused. “What do you mean, I closed my eyes?”

  All three men were shaking their heads in unison, telling him no, but Toshi was not hearing it. “I don’t like the implications here fellas.”

  Raheem spoke up. “Let’s see. There was Cindy, Candy, Karla, Mandy Rae, Jaqueeda, Gloria, Bronetta, Jonqueeta, Melissa Ann….”

  “What are you trying to say Raheem? That I am some kind of dog?”

  Phở spoke up. “No Toshi. You are a wolf. An insatiable wolf that stalks and hunts all the time. Women are not safe around you. You go through them and toss the scraps aside.”

  Toshi was getting angry. “That is not true.”

  “Dude, I was your college roommate. There was always different women in and out of your bed. At one point, I thought your dick was going to go on strike for being overworked,” Phở said with a straight face.

  Felix added his two cents. “She seems like a really sweet woman Toshi.”

  “She is. I really like her,” Toshi said in his defense. “I don’t just toss women aside!” He needed his friends to understand. “There is a red hot fire burning inside of me. I need the right woman to make it burn blue. You know what I am saying?”

  Raheem would not let it go. “Do you like her, like her?” Which was a running joke in high school. They all knew Toshi never stayed with one woman for long. “Besides, your parents would have a cow.”

  Toshi sipped at his tea. “They already know.”

  Phở was shaking his head. He had come home once with a white girl and his parents treated him as if he had picked up the local crack head. He could only imagine how Toshi’s parents had reacted.

  “My father went into one of his speeches. My sister choked on some of my Mother’s burnt turkey.” He told his friends.

  “What did your Mother do?” Felix asked.

  “She passed out in the cranberry sauce.” This statement brought tons of laughter from the group.

  Toshi got quiet. “There is something about Jayne.”

  “You haven’t slept with her yet have you?” Raheem asked.

  “That is none of your business. It is also not something that is discussed among gentlemen,” Toshi said with a very straight face.

  All three friends chimed in at the same time. “No, he hasn’t!”

  “I only met her in October and we are getting to know each other. Like I said, I really like her.” His eyes dropped to the table.

  Felix said what they all had been thinking, “yeah, but you have got to get through those friends first.”

  Phở, always the last to add his two đồng tiềns said, “I think that Tamika girl scanned my credit cards through my wallet.”

  Raheem piped up. “Yeah, Phở. She zoomed in on you.”

  Both Felix and Toshi in unison said, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…..”

  As the men finished the verse of the song, Toshi heeded Raheem’s words. He had to get through those friends first. It wasn’t the friends he was worried about. A larger concern was for Jayne. Was he a good man? If what his friends believed and said about him was true, then he needed to be better. He had taken a seat at the playing table and tossed in his chips. He was all in. A woman like Jayne deserved his best and he was going to be a better man. He was going to filter his words and really think about her feelings and what she needed. I only hope it will be what I need.

  Chapter 12

  Jayne fussed and primped all day getting ready for dinner with Toshi. The guest bathroom was double checked three times, the toilet cleaned twice, the special towels hung, and the soap containers refilled. A quick peek under the sink to ensure no personal items were in this bathroom, making certain that everything was okay as she ran the vacuum over the carpet. Still not satisfied, she added some carpet freshener and vacuumed it again. Although she had no plans for him to be in her bedroom, she changed the bed covers, put on the good comforter and the nice pillow shams, before running a dust cloth over all the furniture.

  While she was at the market yesterday, she had picked fresh seasonal fruit for the centerpiece on the table. The pound cake had come out of the oven and she was roasting apples with cinnamon to go on the cake. At four o’clock she showered and pressed her clothing. She didn’t know why, but she put on a nice set of matching underwear and laughed at herself for taking the extra step. Nothing is going to happen, but just in case there is a little over the clothes action, I am wearing the good stuff. It had been a while for Jayne, but she could wait a bit longer.
She still wasn’t sure about Toshi. Her girlfriends had plenty to say, but this was her time. For whatever reason she and Toshi had been brought together, was yet to be seen.

  At five o’clock she removed the apples and put the parmesan dusted fingerling potatoes in the oven. The table was set with her good dishes and crystal wine glasses. The doorbell rang and Jayne nearly jumped out of her skin. She peeked through the keyhole to find Brionna standing at the door. “Come in,” she told her as she cracked the door.

  “Why are you answering the door in your drawers, girl? I thought you were just having him over for dinner?”

  “I still have to cook the fish and I don’t want the smell in my clothes.” Brionna looked about the apartment.

  “I wanted to see if you needed help with anything?”

  Jayne looked about the small two bedroom space. “Nope. I’m good.” What is this about?

  “Jayne,” she said with the sisterly look. “This guy….” She chewed on her lip a bit as Jayne waited to see what her friend had to say. “He makes you smile, and honestly, you looked good standing next to him.”