“Don’t we all?” Tangie said nonchalantly.
“Well, I don’t see you kickin’ it with your boss,” Charisma said.
“Have you seen my boss?” Tangie asked. “Stone Canyon is a worn-out racist. But back to you, stop being so noble. If you want him, go for it.”
“I have too much to lose.” Charisma ran her hand through her hair.
“Not really. He has more to lose than you do,” Tangie said. “What can Dex offer you but great sex? What has Dex offered you but great sex?”
“You know Dex wants more. I’m the one who’s not ready for marriage.”
“At least not with him,” Tangie reminded her.
“But you don’t know what Nate has to offer. Maybe he’s not even interested in a relationship. Maybe he’s just after a good time,” Charisma insisted.
“Anything’s possible,” Tangie admitted. “But I don’t think so from what you’ve told us. I think he’s really feelin’ you. And because he’s a gentleman, he’s trying not to rush you. You know how Miss Crappuccino loves our black men, and you’re ready to just hand him over to her on a silver platter? Charisma, so help me, if you blow this one, I better not hear a peep out of you about shoulda-woulda-coulda.”
Charisma thought for a moment and took another sip of wine. “I don’t know, Tangie. Maybe deep down inside I’m afraid of happiness. Maybe I don’t think I deserve to be happy in the traditional way. Maybe on some level we all fear commitment. When’s the last time any of us has had a real relationship?”
“I’m not afraid of commitment,” Tangie insisted. “Men are just dogs—black, white, well-bred, ghetto, mutt, pedigree. They’re all dogs—two-legged, dysfunctional dogs.”
“No, you mean three-legged, and it’s that third leg that gets them and us into trouble every time.” Charisma laughed and Tangie joined in.
Charisma went in to work Monday morning with the intent of asking Nate over for Thanksgiving dinner that Thursday. She caught up with him in the break room pouring a cup of coffee.
“Good morning, Charisma,” he said with a smile.
“Good morning, Nate.” She returned his smile, pleased that he was wearing her favorite suit. Charisma loved the way he looked in his gray pinstripe. She took it as a good omen that maybe he’d accept her dinner invitation.
“Ready for Thanksgiving?” she asked simply, adding cream to her coffee.
“Absolutely. I’m going to San Diego to see my son. I can’t wait. I haven’t seen him since I moved here.”
“That’s great. How old is he?”
“Sean’s fifteen, and he’s as tall as I am. He’s a great kid.”
“Nice. Have a wonderful time. I’m glad you won’t be alone. I wanted to invite you over for Thanksgiving, but I’m glad you’ll be with family.”
“I appreciate your offer. So what are you doing, Charisma? Are you cooking?”
“I’m going over to my parents’, but I’m taking a couple of dishes.”
“I bet you’re a good cook.” He took a sip of his coffee, looking into her eyes. “Hopefully, one day I’ll find out.”
“Maybe one day you will.” She smiled.
As if on cue, Charisma sneezed just as Chase Martini tipped in, her royal blue stiletto heels the exact shade as her suit. “Must be the fumes in here,” Charisma said, fanning herself from Chases’s daily overdose of the latest designer fragrance.
Nate got back to business. “Chase, I need to see you in my office about the Grant account. The Grant brothers just called for status. I told them I’d have some figures for them before noon.”
“No problem,” Chase said as she and Nate left the break room together. If her slit had been any higher it would have cut her throat.
Well, so much for inviting Nate over for Thanksgiving dinner. Now it was safe to ask Dex. He loved having her with him on the holidays or at least stopping by afterward and hanging out with her folks. She went back to her desk and dialed his work number. He picked up on the fifth ring just as she was about to hang up.
“I know your mother’s having Thanksgiving dinner, but I thought you might want to stop by for dessert,” she told him.
“I’d love it even more if you came with me to my mother’s. My brothers’ll be there with their wives, and I’d love to show you off, but dessert’s good,” he told her.
“Great. I’ll see you Thursday.”
Next, Charisma quickly dialed Tangie. “I have good news.”
“What’s that?” Tangie asked.
“I invited Nate over for Thanksgiving dinner, but he can’t make it. He’s going to spend Thanksgiving with his son in San Diego so I’m off the hook.”
“So much for the Thanksgiving massacre. Dex would’ve kicked Nate’s behind.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Charisma said.
“You’re gonna stand by your man, huh, lady?”
Charisma shook her head. “Don’t start, Tangie. I am not in the mood. I’m just relieved to be skipping all that drama.”
The next couple of days flew by as Charisma did her last minute grocery shopping and errands for Thursday. Wednesday afternoon, just as she prepared to leave work, Nate stopped by to see her.
“All set for tomorrow?” he asked her.
“Not hardly. I have to go home and start making the cakes and lasagna. JFK must be a madhouse. What time’s your flight?”
“Would you believe my plans have been canceled? I just got a call from my ex-wife. My son’s grandmother had to have emergency surgery so he and his mother drove up to Oakland to be with her. So if your invitation still stands for tomorrow . . .”
“Absolutely,” she said, wondering how Dex would react to Nate, but she couldn’t uninvite either of them. “Dinner’ll be around five.”
“Can I bring anything?”
“Just yourself.” She gave him easy directions to her parents’ home and told him she’d look forward to seeing him there.
The minute she got home Charisma called Tangie and Heather and told them about the change in plans.
“I just hope I’m there in time for the cockfight,” Tangie said, laughing.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this,” Charisma said.
“Charisma, breathe. I wish I had one man interested in me, let alone two. Miss Diva, you better count your blessings and have some fun with it,” Heather told her.
“You know how jealous and possessive Dex can be. All Nate has to do is look at me the wrong way, and it’s on. And lately Dex has been talking about moving in together. So he’s gonna put two and two together and come up with eleven. But you guys are welcome to stop by and watch the fireworks if you’re feeling a little sadistic,” Charisma told them.
“Girl, we wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Heather said.
“Wish me luck,” Charisma told them.
“Luck,” Heather and Tangie both said before hanging up.
Charisma slowly exhaled and poured herself a glass of white zinfandel before taking a quick shower, changing into sweats, and getting busy in the kitchen. It was going to be a long night. Somewhere after midnight, Charisma was awakened by the sound of her phone ringing. It was Dex.
“Hey, Miss Lady, mind if I stop by?” he asked her, his speech slightly slurred.
“What time is it?”
“Twelve-twenty. Can I come by?” he repeated. Charisma yawned and opened her eyes, hesitating slightly before answering him. “I’m really exhausted, Dex. I’ve been up baking and cooking for hours. Can’t it wait till this evening?”
“Baby, I need to see you now. I just wanna hold you in my arms and feel you next to me. I promise I won’t stay long.”
Charisma thought fast. Maybe if she let Dex come over tonight, he’d feel no need to come by after Thanksgiving dinner. “Okay, come on by,” she said simply before hanging up. She quickly headed to the bathroom to wash and brush her teeth.
He was there within minutes. “Gosh, you even smell good.” He tickled her neck with his nose.
“It should be against the law for a woman to get up looking so fine,” he told her as he took her in his arms. “I missed you so much, baby.” He sat on the sofa and pulled her toward him.
“Come sit on my lap.”
“Boy, you’re sure in a good mood.” She yawned. “What ’cha do today?”
“My brothers and I went out for drinks, and they were all bragging about how special their wives are and how they wouldn’t trade their marriages for the world.”
Charisma could tell it was going to be one of those nights. She knew that whenever he got around his brothers, he ended up putting the pressure on. But the truth was she just wasn’t ready for marriage. Sure, she cared for Dex, but she enjoyed her freedom too much to settle down. For the umpteenth time, she tried to make him understand.
Finally, he asked her, “Is there somebody else?”
“No, there’s no one else, Dex.”
“Then, you’re not making any sense. Don’t we have a good time when we’re together?”
“Yes.”
“And don’t I make you laugh?”
“Yes.”
“And don’t I take care of business in the bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“So, what’s the problem? What more do you want? Don’t you know I’d give you the world? Maybe you’re the one with the problem.”
Charisma got off his lap and stood, pulling her robe closer to her. “I care about you, Dex. I really do. Yes, we laugh and have a good time. Why can’t that be enough? Why must you push and push and push?” She ran her fingers through her hair.
Dex sobered up. Finally, he stood too and grabbed her from behind. “Baby, I’m gonna wine and dine you till you beg me to marry you. And that’s a promise. Lord knows you don’t need any more beauty sleep, but I’m gonna let you get some anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, Dex,” she said simply, taking his hand and leading him to the door. He kissed her on the forehead and left.
First thing Thanksgiving morning Charisma got up and fixed herself a cup of coffee. While enjoying the sight and aroma of the cakes she had baked last night, she turned on the Macy’s parade. When she was a little girl, her father would take her and her brother Eric down to the city to see the big, colorful floats until she got lost in the crowd of people when she was seven. After that, the Dearborns never went farther than their living room to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
Heather called, still boo hooing about her weight gain. She was suffering from the shoulda-woulda-couldas. She was petrified about putting on even more pounds. Sometimes, she dreaded the holidays.
“You know Thanksgiving is just the beginning,” Heather whined.
“Heather, it’ll be okay,” Charisma told her. “Just drink lots of water beforehand and don’t gorge yourself on sweet potato pie.”
“Yeah, and macaroni and cheese and dressing, and lemon coconut cake.... I can go on and on. I don’t stand a chance.”
“Heather, if you lost it once, you can do it again. The world isn’t over. But, if you really can’t resist temptation and you wanna skip my parents’ house, it’s okay.”
“And miss bachelor number one meets bachelor number two? Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said.
“Don’t remind me.”
“I think you better talk to your girl.”
“Why, what’s up?”
“She’s back with Blade.”
“You gotta be kidding me,” Charisma sighed.
“Not only that, but he wants to move in with her.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“As a root canal.”
“I’ll talk to you later. Let me call Tangie and see if she needs to be committed.” Charisma got up from the sofa and poured herself another cup of coffee before calling Tangie. She ended up leaving a message on her answering machine and enjoying the last hour of the parade. Dinner wasn’t until five, but she decided to hop in the shower and head over to her parents a little early to help with last-minute preparations. Just as she finished showering, the phone rang. She grabbed her bathrobe, dripping water along the way.
“Hey, girl, what’s going on?” It was Tangie.
“I can’t believe you’re back with Blade.”
“Heather has such a big mouth!”
“You’re crazy.”
“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“Hmmph. What’s to understand?”
“No, you did not.”
“Tangie, you could do so much better than Blade.”
“Charisma, you’ve had your choice of guys since we were five years old. Some of us aren’t so lucky.”
“What school did you go to? Don’t even try it.”
“Look, Charisma, men treat you like a freakin’ princess. You crick your little finger and they come running, ready to wine and dine you. Your every wish is their command. Men save their best side for you, and their backside for me. Right now you have one man who wants you and another just itching to get with you. And you’re still not satisfied, Miss Prima Dona.”
“If men act like dogs around you, it’s because you let them.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?” Tangie asked.
“I’m saying that we teach people how to treat us. Stop treating these men like they’re the prize. You are the prize, Tangie. Not them, you are, Tangie.”
“I know, Charisma. I know. Everything you’ve said to me, I’ve already said to myself.”
“Then, enough said. See you later?” Charisma asked her.
“Whatever.”
Hours later, Charisma was busy making homemade biscuits in her mother’s kitchen. Jena Dearborn saw the tension in her daughter’s face right away.
“Wanna talk about it?” she asked her.
“What d’ya mean?”
“You’ve been slamming that poor oven door like there’s no tomorrow. I carried you for nine months. You think I can’t tell when something’s on your mind?”
“I guess I’m a little nervous about Dex meeting Nate.”
“Why should you be nervous? Nate is just your boss, right?”
Charisma didn’t say anything.
“Right?” Jena repeated. She paused for a moment. “Charisma?” she said softly. “Talk to me. What’s going on? You know I try hard not to meddle in your life, but is Nate more than just your boss?”
“No,” Charisma said. “But I’m attracted to him.”
“And how does he feel about you?”
“The same.”
“He’s not married, is he?”
“No.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“He’s my boss!”
“I know that.”
“I just don’t know if I’d respect myself in the morning.”
“Well,” Jena said as she walked through the swinging door and put the last few dishes on the dining room table.
“Time will tell.”
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. It was Nate. Charisma welcomed him into her parents’ home and took his coat. Jena, the consummate plant lover, thanked him for the lovely houseplant he had brought. Ellis Dearborn shook Nate’s hand and looked him squarely in the eye. Standing several inches shorter than Nate, he wore a royal blue sweater that set off his salt-and-pepper gray hair and camouflaged his love for his wife’s cooking. The two joined his son Eric in the basement to watch the football game.
Half an hour later Jena called down to the men and told them that dinner was ready. They were having a hard time pulling themselves away from the television. Finally, after three coming honeys Ellis, Eric, and Nate made their way up to the dining room. Ellis was obviously ticked off about losing money in the office pool. Thanksgiving was one of the few times of the year that he gambled. As a loan officer, he was mindful of his spending habits. Jena turned the stereo down. They sat down at the table and Ellis said the Thanksgiving grace as they joined hands. He thanked the Lord for his family’s good health and the food they
were about to eat. They were a family blessed with plenty of love and a warm home. They were truly privileged.
Finally, it was time to eat. Carved turkey, ham, and roast beef took center stage on the dining room table, surrounded by cornbread dressing, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, a mixture of mustard and turnip greens, string beans, cranberry sauce, and buttermilk biscuits. They chowed-down like there was no tomorrow.
Charisma had second helpings of almost everything.
Thanksgiving and Christmas were two days out of the year when she ate like a pig, kicking her eating plan to the curb.
Jena insisted that everyone help themselves to more. There was plenty of everything, and they ate up.
“So how do you like New York, Nate?” Ellis asked.
“Well, it’s a big difference from San Diego, especially weatherwise,” Nate answered.
“You can say that again,” Jena added. “New York winters can be brutal.”
“So I’ve heard,” Nate said. “I’m dreading it already.”
“I know what you mean,” Ellis admitted, shaking his head. “I’ve been here all my life, and I still dread them.”
“I bet you’re a big Lakers fan,” Eric said, adjusting his Knicks baseball cap. Eric had Ellis’s height, smile, and warm brown eyes.
“No doubt,” Nate answered. “I’m as big a Lakers fan as your sister’s a Knick fan.”
“Aww man, you got it bad then, ’cause there is no hope for my sister,” Eric said.
“Did she tell you I had to buy her dinner after I lost a bet at the Garden?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, that sounds like my sister. Always looking for a free meal,” Eric said.
“Don’t listen to him, Nate,” Charisma said good-naturedly.
“He’s just mad because he can’t get good seats to any of the games.”
“Next time I get tickets, I’ll give you a call,” Nate told Eric.
“Cool,” Eric said.
Jena looked at the others. “Anyone ready for dessert?”
They all shook their heads, completely stuffed. Dessert would have to wait.
Cheesecake and Teardrops Page 9
