“You’re right.” I nodded with a half grin. “Let me start over. Good morning. I’m Celeste. I have to give you an elbow bump because I’ve been sneezing in my hand and don’t want to get you sick.” I leaned my right elbow toward him, instead of sticking my hand out for the standard handshake.
Appreciating my consideration, he laughed and reciprocated the gesture. “Nice to meet you, Celeste. I’m Keith.”
“Likewise.”
Not meaning to, I released as much air as a fully inflated balloon that had been pricked with a straight pin when I took a seat, letting out a “Whew!” I caught myself by surprise, and a wave of embarrassment washed over me.
Keith acted like he didn’t notice, but he had to, because I knew I just about blew him out of his chair. Almost immediately, he stood, slid his device into a sleeve, tucked it under his arm, and said, “Well, I hope your day gets better.”
“Thanks.” I blushed. Suddenly I was ashamed of the cakey treat I’d pulled out of my pocket and sat on the table just before I sat down. How hard would it have been for me to have grabbed a banana or an orange or something? Replaying the events from the day before made me dismiss that thought and fall into my familiar pattern of being comforted by my taste buds. “I’ll start tomorrow,” I promised myself . . . like I’d done a hundred times before.
I used to look forward to going to work just to get away from Equanto, but Keith’s morning company soon became my motivation for leaving my house every morning. He always engaged in pleasant conversation and even had a compliment or two for me. Sometimes I got to work a whole hour before my shift just to talk to him. On those days, I’d eat my sweets before he got there, then enjoy a piece of fruit once he arrived. Caring what he thought of me, I didn’t want him to see me eating unhealthy snacks. I’d started putting on a little makeup again, which I hadn’t done since I left my old job, and sometimes I caught myself trying to suck my stomach in. I had to laugh at myself, because there wasn’t enough sucking in in the world to make a difference with all the belly I had beneath my smock. I did it anyway, though, feeling like I was on a little date every morning.
It was during these little dates that I told Keith about my three boys and my husband and a few other details from my crazy, mixed-up life. He told me he had a teenage daughter, whom he rarely saw because she lived out of state.
“I can’t imagine life without my kids,” I said.
“It’s tough,” he said with a nod. “Real tough.” With a few passes of his finger on the screen of his tablet, he showed me a picture of a cheery-looking girl with braces. “This is my heart right here.”
“She’s gorgeous,” I commented, taking the tablet in my hand and swiping through some other photos. “What’s her name?”
“Jordan. She’s the love of my life.”
“That’s nice.” I couldn’t help but smile. I loved to hear men talk about how much they loved their kids. “Maybe I’ll get to meet her one day.”
“Yep. Definitely.”
I liked the sound of that. It sounded like he hoped we’d be friends for a while. I wasn’t about to forsake my marriage vows, but it felt nice having some positive male attention in my life. There was nothing wrong with have a good male friend around, just to make me feel like a woman, since my husband wasn’t going to do it.
Chapter 20
Celeste
“So you want me to cosign on you stepping out on your husband?” was Candis’s response when I asked her if I could invite Keith to her birthday party as she drove me home from work, since Equanto claimed he needed the car to go to a job interview. I figured her party would be a great place to for us to interact outside of work. It would be a mixed crowd, we could arrive separately, and onlookers wouldn’t necessarily put us together. It was the best I could do without feeling like I was out on a date with a man other than my husband.
“I’m not stepping out on E, Candis. Keith is just a friend. That’s it.”
“What kind of friend? One with benefits?” she challenged with raised brows.
“Girl, no! You know I’m married.”
“Yes, I do know. So why are you trying to be all in this man’s face?”
“Would you rather me bring Equanto with me?” She knew he was a straight-up hell-raiser.
Immediately her expression changed, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You got a good point! What’s his number? I’ll invite him myself.”
While Dina, Candis, and I decorated the community clubhouse in Candis’ neighborhood, I was all giddy inside about seeing Keith. He was all I could think about while the three of us embellished the clubhouse with pink and black diva-themed decorations. From the stereo Anthony Hamilton’s voice filled the room, giving us something to work to, and when he crooned the lyrics to “The Point of It All,” I imagined someone, specifically Keith, serenading me and meaning those words. Not just saying them out of obligation.
I started daydreaming, envisioning myself in his arms, leaning back against his chest, standing on the shore of a beach somewhere, just enjoying the waves washing over our feet, with his arms wrapped around my shoulders. We had on jeans that were rolled up at the ankle and crisp white shirts that dropped over our waistlines instead of being tucked into our pants. Then we held hands as we strolled, laughing and talking and stopping every few steps to pick up a shell.
Unknowingly, a smile crept across my face as I imagined what it would be like to be in love and have someone love me back.
“What are you grinning about?” Dina asked as she passed by me, suddenly making me aware of my silly thoughts and expression.
“Just thinking about something one of the boys told me about school the other day,” I lied.
“It must have been mighty funny for you to be cheesing like that.” She grabbed a folded tablecloth for the gift table and disappeared into the next room, freeing me from making up some story to explain my unintentional smile.
I watched the door like a hawk, waiting for Keith to arrive, and when he did, I tried to look happily occupied with chatting with other guests, but I saw him scan the room in search of me. It took only a few minutes for him to casually make his way over to where I was.
“Hey, Celeste,” he greeted with a smile.
“Keith!” I beamed, as if his presence surprised me. “Glad you were able to make it. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to be seen, but even better to see you.” He bent down and kissed my cheek and embraced me with a quick hug. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” From the way I blushed, anybody would have thought he’d laid me down and given it to me real good. I cleared my throat and had a knee-jerk action. “Let me go get you something to eat.”
Turning my back to him and heading for the food table, I felt my cheeks rise in a grin. I was super happy to see Keith. I piled food onto a plate, then stopped at the drink station, where Dina stood ladling punch into cups.
“He’s here!” I semi-whispered.
“Where?”
“Over there, near the DJ table. He has on all black.” I dared not turn around but watched Dina’s eyes casually search the room to catch a glimpse of him.
“Girl, he’s cute! You better hope your husband don’t come busting in here.”
“We’re just friends. Nothing more than that.” That was the truth, even though I would have loved for it to have been more.
“Yeah. That’s what Candis used to say about SeanMichael, and now he’s her boyfriend and she’s never even seen him.”
“That’s a mess,” I stated. “He should have at least come to her birthday party, but I’m glad he didn’t, because I did text Russell and tell him to come.”
“You did what?” Dina gasped.
“What? It’s the only thing I could think of to get her mind off of Mr. East Coast. You know she don’t need to be dating him.”
“She’s gonna kill you if she finds out you invited him.”
“Well, she’s not going to find out, and even if she
did, she can’t prove it.”
“How do you know he is not going to show up with his new woman and make matters worse?”
“Because I told him not to. Duh!” I said, grabbing a drink from her hand. “Oh, snap! There he is too!”
Chapter 21
Candis
“Happy birthday, beautiful,” I heard a voice say to me from behind.
“Thank you!” I answered before turning around and finding myself standing face-to-face with Russell. Who invited him? I sure didn’t, and I didn’t know whether to smile politely, cry, or slap him in his face. Before I chose one of the three, he extended his arms for a hug, and I cordially obliged. As soon as our bodies came together in an embrace, which lasted all of three seconds, I was caught up. The feeling of his chest against mine was comfortable, alluring, and sexy. Instantly, I remembered him intimately and craved him. I had to catch my breath and pull away.
“What are you doing here?” I smiled out of both sincerity and confusion.
“Your birthday was set up as a reminder on my phone. I heard you were having a little get-together,” he said and glanced quickly around the room. “And I couldn’t just let the day pass without acknowledging it.”
“Did you bring your fiancée?” My eyes darted around his body, then around the room. I didn’t really expect him to have anyone with him.
He dropped his head in a chuckle, then looked up again. “No.”
“Does she know you’re here?” With a slight swivel of my hand, my wine swirled around in my diva glass.
“I guess you could say that,” Russell said with a slow head nod.
“What do you mean?” As I was speaking, I remembered how sexy I looked in the stretchy black minidress I wore. I poked my chest out a little bit and casually placed my hand on my hip. “You only told her as much as you wanted her to know.”
He hesitated for a few seconds, then said, “She knows you and I are still friends.” I rolled my eyes at the word friends. “And she knows that I was dropping by a friend’s party.”
“Uninvited,” I added, but that time my smile was cynical, as I remembered the parts of our involvement that I didn’t like so much. And the fact that he was someone else’s man now.
“Oh, is it like that?”
“I don’t remember inviting you.” I shook my head quickly with a shrug. “Did you at least bring a gift? Oh yeah, I forgot. You don’t do gifts.” Russell hadn’t given me so much as an Easter egg, and it reminded me of one of the many reasons why I’d dismissed him from my life.
“I didn’t realize a gift was required.”
Same old Russell.
I shook my head and started to walk off. He was getting my emotions stirred up, and not in a good way.
“Wait a minute, Candis,” he said, reaching out to grab my arm.
“Look. It’s my birthday, and I want to enjoy it, unlike last year, when I waited all evening for you to come pick me up to take me out and you never showed. Do you remember that?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, twisting his lips.
“And now you are about to get married, and you show up here like you can just walk in and out of my life whenever you get good and ready, and I’m supposed to be just overjoyed about that, right? I mean, I’m supposed to be that desperate that I will settle for someone else’s man because he comes crashing in on my birthday party and didn’t even bring a damn gift.” It took everything within me to keep my composure and not let my body language communicate to the entire room the anger I felt. “If you really want me to have a happy birthday, Russell”—I paused and put on my sweetest smile—“get the hell out of here.”
Russell and all his fine-ness stared back at me, as if my words had made him a statue. The only thing that moved was his eyes, which studied mine for a hint of weakness. I didn’t show an ounce.
“There’s the door.” I nodded.
Shaking his head in what I assumed was defeat, he turned away and headed toward the exit, while I turned and headed for the bathroom, needing to pull myself together real quick. Leaning back against the sink, I cupped my hands around my mouth and nose and inhaled. I could still smell his signature cologne lingering on my skin from when he hugged me. Lord knows that man was looking and smelling some kinda good, and I wanted him some kinda bad. Even if it was just for old times’ sake or for closure, or just because I hadn’t had a good piece of ding-a-ling since he and I broke up. I mean, since I dumped him. We could have some one-last-time sex, and I could put something on him that would make him not want to marry Latrice and come running back to me. But then I wouldn’t want him.
“Snap out of it, Candis. You sound like a fool,” I said to my reflection in response to my thinking. “You know he doesn’t want you. He never did. Remember?” Then I answered myself back. “Yeah, I do. I remember. You’re right.”
Turning the water on and pumping soap into my palms, I replaced Russell’s scent with a cucumber-melon fragrance. I cupped my hands to my face again and sniffed, proud of myself, although the soap didn’t smell nearly as good as he did.
“Did you see Russell?” Dina asked, practically attacking me once I came out of the bathroom.
“Russell who?” With my hand I dismissed the notion and walked off, but she stayed on my heels.
“Russell, your ex!” she exclaimed.
“So what? He’s an ex, and he’s engaged, or did you forget that?”
“Suppose they broke the engagement, though? I mean, he did show up here.”
“Yeah, and I’m wondering how he knew to do that.” I looked at her suspiciously while she picked up a piece of shrimp and stuffed it in her mouth. My hands flew to my waist, and I stared at her, demanding a response.
“It wasn’t me.” Dina shook her head quickly but still looked as guilty as sin. Adding a shrug, she said, “I don’t know how he knew.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I murmured in disbelief. “You and Celeste are trying to be slick. Where is she?” I let my eyes dart around the room, looking for the other suspected accomplice in Russell’s sudden and unexpected appearance. She was giggling and smiling all in the face of the guy she’d invited out on the dance floor as they did the cha-cha slide. I slid on out there right beside her, fell into step, and semi-yelled over the music, “I need to talk to you when this song is over.”
“Okay.” She grinned while she dipped and turned. Before I could ease my way off the floor, the DJ started playing 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.”
Everybody started shouting, “Go! Go! Go, Candis. It’s your birthday! Go, Candis. It’s your birthday,” prompting me to stay on the dance floor and shake my groove thang. We ended up forming a Soul Train dance line right after that, and I must have danced to about ten songs consecutively before I couldn’t take any more. I didn’t think about Russell again until the end of the party, when we were cleaning up and putting gifts in my car.
Most of the gifts I’d received, I’d opened as soon as they were handed to me, but I took a second look at everything, anyway. I was consolidating bags of shoes, purses, various gift cards, jewelry, envelopes stuffed with cash, and little knickknacks, when I saw a small glossy black bag that I didn’t remember seeing before. There was a card in the bag and a small box wrapped with a silk white ribbon, which begged me to open it. When I did, I gasped like I was having an asthma attack.
“Look at these!” I called to Celeste and Dina, who were washing some dishes in the kitchen. I didn’t give them a chance to come to where I was. I grabbed the box with the pair of one-carat diamond studs and rushed toward the kitchen. They both dried their hands long enough to peer over at the earrings like they were newborn twins.
“Where did they come from? Somebody had some money!” Celeste squealed.
I slid my finger through the glued seal of the card’s envelope, pulled the card out, and skipped all the reading to look at who’d signed it.
You’re a diamond. As brilliant as you are, I was just too blind to see it.
Hope this makes up for all t
he bad times,
Russell
Chapter 22
Candis
Texting was my first inclination to thank Russell for the earrings, but I didn’t know if the future Mrs. Wayne checked his phone, or if it would trip him up any other kind of way, which was not my intention. With that in mind, I semi-reluctantly called his number, assuming that I’d find him at work since it was ten o’clock on a Monday morning. He answered after two rings.
“I called to thank you for the beautiful birthday gift.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you like them.”
“I love them,” I gushed, touching my earlobes to make sure the earrings were still there.
“You deserve them. I should have gotten them for you a long time ago.”
“What made you get them for me now?”
“I don’t know.” He paused for a couple of seconds.
“I knew your birthday was coming up, and I started thinking about how things ended between us, and I guess I just kinda wanted to make it up to you.”
“Make what up to me?”
“Make up the fact that I was too selfish to give you what you wanted and what you deserved.”
At a loss for words, I didn’t respond, and silence fell between us for a few seconds.
“I messed up,” he admitted.
“I hear you’re engaged now.”
“Yeah,” Russell sighed. “I wish it were you, though.”
That caught me off guard, but I quickly recovered. “You could have made it me, but that’s not what you wanted.”
“I should have made it you,” he mumbled.
“But you didn’t.”
“I tried to call you so many times, Candis, and you refused to take my calls. I need to see you,” he stated, and immediately I had mixed emotions.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Russell.”
“Just for closure,” he threw in. “There’re just a few things I want to tell you, and I’d rather it be face-to-face.”
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