by Lisa Jackson
“For your information, Miss Smarty Pants, the man I met was a young man. I was thinking about him for you. His name is Dennis Lawman and he’s an investment broker with Merrill Lynch.”
Alexa shook her head. “Ma, how many times do I have to tell you that I am okay with being single? I don’t need a man on my arm to validate my existence. And if my memory serves me, wasn’t it you who said that it was inappropriate for a woman to chase behind a man?”
“Yada, yada, yada,” Beverly grunted. “When did you ever start taking my advice?”
“Ma, please can’t we just get along for once?” Alexa asked as she turned the car onto the expressway.
Beverly rolled her eyes with a pronounced click of her tongue. They spent the remainder of the ride in silence. The two didn’t speak until Alexa pulled into the driveway of her house.
“Oh, this is a nice house,” Beverly said in awe.
Alexa smiled. Only her mother could make her so angry that she could spit fire one minute yet bring a smile to her face the next. Beverly’s words were touching. She regretted having such ill feelings about her visit to begin with. “Thanks, Mama.”
She turned the engine off and popped the trunk from inside while Beverly took it upon herself to go inside, leaving Alexa to retrieve the luggage. After two trips, Alexa had carried in everything. With the last bag in hand, she closed the door behind her. She walked into the family room to find Beverly kicked back on the sofa, flipping through the channels on her fifty-inch big-screen TV.
“Did you look around?” she asked.
“Yes, I did and I must say that you have a lovely home. I’m so proud of you, daughter.” Beverly urged with a wave of her hand. “So, what are we getting into tonight?”
“What do you want to do?” Alexa shouted back over her shoulder on her way to the guest bedroom with the luggage.
“First of all, I want to get me something to eat!”
“What do you feel like?”
“What was that restaurant we went to last time I came?”
“Desmond’s?” Alexa asked, referring to the Caribbean gourmet restaurant that they ate at almost every night during Beverly’s last visit.
“Yes!” Beverly exclaimed. “I talk about that place all the time. I told James about it when I came last time.”
Alexa’s ears perked at her mother’s comment. She immediately dropped the bags on the floor and hurried back into the living room. “Mama, are you still talking to Daddy?”
As far as she knew, her parents had been estranged since their divorce was final five years ago. The process was drawn out because her father refused to honor the divorce. As a result, the two had parted more like enemies than anything else.
According to Beverly, their relationship was rocky from the start. Exactly nine months after they were married, Beverly gave birth to Alexa. A year later she had Alexa’s brother Justin. James Kirkwood was a hardworking man who prided himself on having a tight rein on his household affairs. Beverly wasn’t allowed to work and was issued an allowance along with the children. She wasn’t allowed to go back to school or seek higher learning in any capacity because James said there was no point in her doing so. She was resigned to managing the household and raising their children.
About ten years into her marriage, Beverly wanted a divorce, but James wouldn’t hear it. He was in control of what took place in their family. Five years later when the kids were teenagers, she asked him again but James again refused. Over time, Beverly became bitter. She was fed up with her husband’s need to control her.
Emancipation day, as she put it, came a week after Justin graduated from high school. Beverly mustered up the courage one day, while James was at work, packed up her clothes and personal belongings and left. She told Alexa that was the best day of her life. She also told her to live her life to the fullest before considering marriage and when she was ready, to pray long and hard for the right man.
“We’ve been decent to each other lately,” she replied, answering Alexa’s question.
“When did all of this come about?” Alexa asked, taking a seat beside her. She hadn’t talked to her own father in almost a year. He was angry with both her and Justin because they supported the divorce. He told Alexa that he felt like everyone, including Beverly’s family were in her mother’s corner. When she brought up the control issues, he told her that he was only being protective of his family.
Beverly looked towards the ceiling and counted back the months. “We’ve been civil for about five months and have talked more regularly for the last two. You don’t know this, but your daddy had surgery for kidney stones and was down for almost a month. He needed somebody to take care of paying his bills and such and since I was the one most familiar with his situation, he asked me to do it.”
“That was nice of you, Mama, considering.”
“Well, in my heart I am still his wife.”
“Where does that leave your boyfriend, Henry?”
Beverly laughed with a wave of her hand. “Henry’s old poot-butt don’t mean a thing. He just likes to spend money on me. I just call him my boyfriend when he’s around.”
“But Ma, you said you had sex with him,” Alexa stated, uneasily.
“I know. Never said I was perfect. All I can do is repent and pray that the Lord forgives me.”
“Are you saying what I think you are saying?” Alexa asked, her eyes widening.
“I’m not saying anything to incriminate myself right now!” Beverly retorted. “Who knows, I could get up to Vegas and find Mr. Right on Time!”
Alexa rolled her eyes. She wasn’t really upset with her mother because she knew in all things she was sincere. Throughout their growing up, Beverly had given up a lot for others. It was nice to see her enjoying herself for once.
“I can’t wait to see you,” Darius whispered.
“I can’t wait either,” Alexa agreed. “I just hope that my mother won’t drain me too much. We’ve been out partying like twenty-year-olds.”
“I’m sure if that happens, I can revive you,” Darius murmured suggestively.
Alexa and her mother had just returned from The Atrium Dinner Club where a hot reggae band performed. The music was great and the atmosphere was lively, but Alexa was tired the minute they walked into the club. Her mother, however, was a different story. Beverly partied like it was New Year’s Eve. She danced the rumba around the room sipping on Tropical Teasers with the rest of the party animals. Alexa watched in awe at the energy her mother possessed, while batting away pesky men begging her for dances.
“I guess I’m getting too old. My head aches, my feet hurt,” she proceeded to give him a list of her ailments.
“I wish I was there to remove the pain,” Darius contended. “I’d give you a nice massage with some warm oil.”
“Hmm,” Alexa cooed from the image she created in her head.
“I would rub your naked body until you’re nice and relaxed.”
“I’d like that,” she murmured as she lay back in the bed, closing her eyes. She could almost feel his hands gliding down her body and felt herself getting slightly aroused.
“Then, I’d turn you over and kiss you from head to toe.”
“Yeah, go on, go on,” she urged him.
“Then, I’d make slow love to you.”
“Hmm, that’s what I’m talking about.”
Darius laughed deep in his throat. “You like that now, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do,” she calmly admitted. Alexa rolled onto her back in her bed and gazed at the ceiling. The long-distance thing was harder than she had imagined. Talking to Darius on the phone was not like having him within reach. She wanted to be able to stroke his face, hold his hand or snuggle her nose against his neck. Yes, they talked for a few hours about four times a week, but Alexa was beginning to realize that she wanted more.
A knock on her bedroom door diverted her attention. “Hold on, Darry,” she said and held the phone away from her face. “Yes?”
&
nbsp; The door opened and her mother poked her head inside. “Can we talk?” her mother asked.
“Are you okay?” Alexa inquired.
The older woman nodded. “I just want to talk to you before I go to bed.”
“Okay.” She turned and put the receiver back up to her mouth. “Darius, my mother needs me. Can I call you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be out late tomorrow setting up a new system for a new client. So, how about if I call you?”
“That’s fine.”
After professing their love, they hung up.
Alexa went into the guest bedroom to find her mother seated on the side of the bed.
“Is something wrong, Mama?” she asked upon entering the room. She leaned up against the dresser.
“No. I just wanted to talk to you before I hit the sack.”
“You mean like we used to?” Alexa asked as a sense of warmth came over her. She recalled the mother-daughter talks as if they were just yesterday. Yet, it had been years since they committed to one.
“I guess you could say that.” She patted the edge of the bed, motioning for Alexa to sit down.
“I just wanted to say I had a really good time tonight. Thanks for letting me come down.”
“Oh, Ma,” Alexa sighed. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just glad you had a nice time because I know I was being a party pooper.”
Rather than respond to Alexa’s comment, Beverly surprised her by asking a question of her own. “You miss him, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“The young man you were talking on the telephone with. I overheard you talking on the telephone. You said the name Darius. Is that the same young man who wanted to marry you after college?”
Alexa nodded.
“When did he come back into the picture?”
Alexa explained how they had run into one another while at Maya and Bryant’s wedding. Again, she purposely left out the marriage proposal. Somehow it was something that she wanted to keep between the two of them. Revealing it would bring about all sorts of complications that she was not ready to deal with.
“It’s like the nine years between us had never existed. We both love one another as much today as we did back then. I know you can’t understand that, given what you have been through with Daddy, but Mama, he is different. Our love is different.”
“Daughter, there is a lot to consider. He’s in one state and you are in another,” Beverly pointed out.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we are just getting to know one another again.”
“One last thing and then I am done. I just want to say, don’t give up too much of yourself too soon, or you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment. Now, I know you are a grown woman, and whatever decisions you make in your life are yours to live with. I just want you to do what is right for you and that’s all I’m going to say.” With that, she held up her hands as if releasing her involvement in the situation.
“Thank you,” Alexa replied. She was glad that her mother wasn’t about to give her a lecture on men.
As she lay in bed that night, her mother’s words kept haunting her mind. She loved Darius. She just hoped that this time, she was doing the right thing.
Chapter 13
Alexa glanced at the executive timepiece located before her on her desk. The titanium clock, which was a gift from Teressa, was made up of a propped-up open book with the face coming out in the center. She loved it as it reflected one of her favorite pastimes.
According to the clock, it was time for her to hit the road. Her flight to Cleveland was expected to leave in an hour and a half and she was still punching away at the keyboard to her dismay. When she came to a stopping point, Alexa seized the mouse on her computer and began to save and close the several documents she had been working on.
She was so excited about her trip that she had to fight the urge to press the power button rather than go through the normal procedures of shutting down the system. Thoughts of losing the important documents caused her to refrain from doing so.
It was a sunny Thursday morning. The skies were clear and the snow was practically all melted. It was the perfect day to travel. According to Darius, the weather was about the same in Cleveland. Alexa was looking forward to her four-day vacation especially since it would be spent with the man she loved.
This would be her first visit to Cleveland. She eagerly anticipated seeing Darius’s handsome face and holding him in her arms again. In preparation for her trip, she had gone shopping. She found an alluring dress to wear to the Ball that she was sure would knock Darius to his knees. Her next stop was Victoria’s Secret where she found some eye-catching pieces for Darius’s viewing pleasure.
She had arranged for a cab to pick her up in five minutes. After turning off the computer, she went over to her closet and pulled out her pullman and garment bag. She placed both items near the door and turned back to see if she forgot anything when she realized she hadn’t forwarded her calls to voice mail. Scurrying around to the other side of her desk, she reached to pick up the telephone when Sharon the secretary buzzed in.
“Alexa, you have a call,” the woman announced.
“I’m on my way out, Sharon,” Alexa informed her, slightly irritated by the interruption. “Can you take a message?”
“It’s a gentleman. It sounds kind of personal.”
Thinking that it was probably Darius calling to make sure she was getting off okay, Alexa accepted the call. “Thanks, Sharon. I’ll take the call.”
She sat down on the edge of her desk and waited for Sharon to transfer the call into her office and snatched it up midring. “This is Alexa.”
“Well, well, well,” a familiar male voice said. “You must really be moving up if you have a secretary.”
“Who is this?” Alexa asked, not wanting to believe it was who it sounded like.
“Ouch. You sure know how to hurt a brother.” The man pretended to be wounded.
“Who is this?” she repeated. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. A voice from her past that she did not particularly want to hear.
“You tell me,” he replied. His response brought one person to mind.
“Sean?”
“The one and only. How are you today, Ms. Alexa?”
Alexa rolled her eyes in her head yet was determined to not let him spoil her mood. If she acted snotty towards him, she was sure that he would conclude that she was still angry over the breakup, which wasn’t the case. Besides she knew it would hurt him more if she reacted nonchalantly about everything, including him.
“I’m doing fine, and yourself?” she duly replied.
Sean paused for a moment before answering. “Good, good. So, what are your plans for lunch?”
Alexa caught her breath. “Why, are you in town?”
“Yes, I’m staying over at the Wyndham Hotel. I thought maybe we could get together for lunch, maybe talk about old times.”
She shook her head with a sigh. “I’m sorry, that won’t be possible. See, I’m on my way out of town.”
“Oh really? Where to, if you don’t mind me asking?” Alexa felt like he was getting too personal.
“Actually, I do mind,” she quickly replied. “So, I guess I’m going to have to pass on your offer.” Even if she weren’t going out of town, going anywhere with Sean was out of the question.
“Same old Alexa,” Sean said, chuckling lightly. His behavior made Alexa seethe with anger.
“And you’re still the same old Sean,” she sarcastically replied.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to sit here and wait for you.”
“Don’t stop your life on my account. You didn’t before,” she couldn’t keep herself from commenting.
Alexa’s patience was wearing thin. Sean had a lot of nerve calling her as if they were good buddies. Since fleeing weeks before their wedding, this was the first time she had heard from him in two years. She thought back to the position he had left her in. Not only was she a
total wreck mentally, but financially as well. In some cases it was too late to cancel with vendors, resulting in Alexa bearing the expenses. Thank goodness Maya was there to help. She contacted all of the respective parties and pleaded for the release of her friend’s responsibility from the debts incurred given the situation in which Sean left her.
“I deserved that,” he admitted. “Actually, I am calling because I was hoping that we could talk about what happened.”
Alexa glanced at her watch. It was already 11:45. “I’m sorry, Sean, I can’t talk now. I have got to run. Have a nice life!”
“I’m back in Denver to stay this time, Alexa!” he shouted before she could hang up.
“Why?” she asked with a hint of disgust.
“I got a good job offer.”
“Just because you are back in Denver doesn’t mean you can call me up whenever you want to. You made the choice, Sean, not me, to run off before our wedding. But you know, that was two years ago and I am very over you. So, don’t try to get any ideas. I have a new life and it doesn’t include playing games with you.”
She hoped that Sean would get the picture, but when he laughed that same laugh that said “you’re so cute,” she wanted to scream. “I’m serious, Sean!” she promised and slammed down the receiver. She was angry with herself for blowing her cool. She glanced at her watch again and prayed the cabdriver hadn’t taken off.
Forgetting all about her voice mail, she grabbed her things and marched out of her office and down the hall to the elevator, blind to those who watched with dismay in the trail of her dust.
The first face Alexa saw when she exited the airplane was Darius’s. She ran over to him, dropping her bags at his feet. Then she threw her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his waiting mouth. After a few moments, she pulled back breathless.
“I’m so happy to see you.”
“You don’t even know how happy I am to see you,” he said, planting a kiss on her nose.
Alexa could see a mixture of love, passion and elation swirling around in Darius’s eyes. They both paused and fixed their gaze upon one another, totally enamored by the mere presence of the other. Suddenly, he raised his hands and placed them on each side of her cheeks. In slow motion, he lowered his head until their lips met where he proceeded to stroke her mouth with his own.
