by Cydney Rax
Alita said, “That chick looks like she’s been getting dick since—”
“Since middle school just like me, right, Alita? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“This isn’t about you. Your damage has already been done with your three point five kids. This is about my son and making sure he won’t be a baby-making machine before he’s ever had a chance to do something with his life. Coco, your kids are still young and innocent, but you best believe when they reach that age, you’ll be pulling your Afro puffs and worrying just like me.”
“Okay, Sis. You’re right. If my kids end up doing everything I’ve done, my ass is in trouuuuble.”
They waited a couple more minutes. Then Alita banged her fist on the door. This time a different door flew open. Leonard stuck his neck out.
“What are you doing in my house?” he asked as he started to approach her.
“Babe, I told you that you had company,” said Desiree, who followed behind him. “But I definitely didn’t let them in. Obviously, they’re used to just breaking in—”
“Excuse me?” Alita said.
“I meant to say they must’ve invited themselves in, because I definitely didn’t. And I have a problem with that. No, mm mmm. You can’t just be going where you weren’t invited,” Desiree said. “That won’t work at all.”
“Leonard, who the hell is she?” Alita asked.
“I told you that I’m Desiree,” the woman answered as she stepped in front of Leonard. “I’m the lady of this house.”
“Oh, really?” Alita said, annoyed. It made her feel slightly better. Maybe Leonard had moved in with the woman because he was struggling financially.
“We live together,” she continued. “So his house is also mine. And I don’t want just anybody making themselves at home without being told that it’s okay.”
“Uh oh, I didn’t,—” Alita clumsily stumbled over her words. She felt so embarrassed. And angry. Why hadn’t Leonard simply let her know his current situation? Then she figured it out. Because of the ways she’d acted in the past when she found out about his little girlfriends, that was probably why he neglected to inform her. He knew she had a temper like a teapot sitting on a fire ready to boil over.
“How long have you two been together? When did this happen?” Alita demanded.
“Look, baby moms—”
“The name is Alita Washington.”
“Oh, yeah?” Coco interrupted in a loud voice. “But I thought you said you were getting your name changed back to Reeves. What happened with that?”
“Coco, please be quiet.” By then Alita was exasperated. It shocked her to realize that feelings of envy had been exposed. The woman standing in front of her appeared sophisticated, obviously attractive, and although it was hard to admit, the lady might even be a nice person once you got to know her. And when Alita thought about how her ex had moved on, although it shouldn’t have hurt, she still felt pain. She remembered how much in love he’d been with her in the beginning of their relationship.
Alita watched how Leonard protectively placed his arm around Desiree’s waist, and she thought of Shade and wished she could see him or hear his voice.
Suddenly, Leno walked out of his bedroom with Zaida. They were holding hands, smiling, and seemed to be taking their sweet time.
“Oh, God,” Alita said. “Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ll wait for him outside.”
She raced down the stairs with Coco ambling behind her as she struggled to hold onto Chance.
Alita could hear Desiree’s voice. “Look, next time she is going to have to respect our house and not walk all around like we’re the damned Museum of Natural Science. My shit is insured, but so what? We don’t know what she may have stolen.”
“Wow,” Coco said with a laugh as she followed behind. She waited until they both got back in Alita’s car. “Lita, your drama with Leonard is making Calhoun Humphries look like Jesus Christ.”
“Don’t even try it. I wasn’t given a heads-up about this situation, as usual with Leonard. He enjoys springing shit on you and sitting back to see the reaction on your face. He is the devil, I swear to God.”
“To you all men are the devil.”
“If I can help it, my son won’t grow up being one. Did you see how Leno and Rojo was staring into each other’s eyes, Coco? I know lust when I see it. You think they fucking?”
Coco covered up Chance’s little ears. “If they are, there is nothing you can do about it, Sis. And that’s the cold, hard truth.”
“Like hell there isn’t,” Alita said. “I see the way he looks at her. It’s different than when he was hanging around the thotsicles at his school. He was being friendly with them. But Leno’s really feeling this chick.”
“And if he is, and you try to break them up, he may run away from home . . . never come back . . . hate you for the rest of his life. Young love ain’t no joke.” Coco set aside her usually wisecracking attitude. Her sister was in pain but she needed to hear the truth.
“I know about young love. People fall in love and break up with someone new all the time.”
“But if Leno loves her, Alita, don’t mess it up. Them Latina chicks don’t play at all when it comes to love.”
“If Leno’s got to be out here living his life, why can’t he at least find someone that looks like him? I’m not against interracial dating, but—”
“Oh, really?” Coco said in doubt.
“Leno can see who he wants, but it hurts like hell that my son brought a little Mexican to his dad’s house. He’s never brought no Mexican girls to our place.”
Coco was stunned. “You sound like a straight-up racist, Lita.”
“Don’t label me. It’s okay for me to wonder why my son can’t find a pretty melanin girl? Why can’t he fall in love with someone like me?” Alita knew that the high school Leno attended included Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, a tiny percentage of whites. But when her son chose a non-black girl for his love interest, it dragged a sharp dagger across her heart.
“He needs to stick to his own kind, pick someone that looks like or reminds him of his mama.” Alita’s words sounded hollow, for even she understood that most people couldn’t help who they fell in love with.
Coco broke the silence. “With the way you act all the time, for all you know, you could be pushing your son away from black women. And if that’s what’s happening, it’s your own damned fault.”
“Coco, please—”
“No, no, Lita. You need to listen to me for one time in your life.” She paused. “We are supposed to confront someone, right?”
“No!”
“Yes, we are. Sister Day says—”
“Fuck Sister Day,” Alita said.
“What? Are you serious?”
Before she knew it, Alita’s cheeks were hot and moist. She blinked rapidly; allowing the tears to splatter across her cheeks. Surprised, she wiped her face with the back of her hand. The thought that her own son could reject her by picking a woman totally opposite from her wasn’t anything she expected. Didn’t he know she would die for him?
“I’m not in no mood for no Sister lecture. Sister Assignment. Sister Nothing.”
“You are a hypocrite,” Coco said. “I knew you only liked this assignment shit if it benefits you. Only you can tell people off. Only you can keep it real with the sisters. But when we try to do the same thing you do—”
“I told you I don’t wanna hear this,” Alita said. “I don’t care what you say. Some things are bigger than these silly ass assignments that Burgundy gives to us. Hell, I could come up with some juicier shit than her.”
“Well, go on ahead then, since you think you can outdo B.”
“I just might.”
“Even if you do, it still won’t change you, Alita. You are still bitter, hateful, moody, mean—and racist.”
“All that? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“If you think that way about me, then you—” Alita swallowed her
words. It felt like she wanted to release more tears, but once every few days was more than enough for her. She grew sober. “You know what? My bad . . . I should have followed my first mind. Handled this by myself as usual. You just don’t understand, Coco.”
“But that’s the thing. I do understand. You’re pissed off, Sis, and you got a right to be. You think that Leonard has ruined your life. But why keep bringing up the past? How is it helping? Let the past go. That’s what I do. I learned to just let the damned past go.”
For once, and it was rare that it happened, Alita was in agreement with Coco. Holding onto the memories of what hurt you meant you’d stay hurt. And that’s something she did not wish to do.
“You’re right,” Alita humbly admitted. She wanted to push Leonard Washington and every other dreadful memory far from her mind.
It took forever before Leno finally emerged from the house, and she was so ready to go.
“The past is the past,” Alita admitted to Coco. “I’m all about my future—starting right now.”
* * *
Exactly one week later, Shade and Burgundy were holed up inside the church bookstore. It was approximately two thousand square feet and as professional looking as any other brick-and-mortar store.
Burgundy stood by the cash register.
“Let’s see,” she said to a customer standing at the counter. “You want to purchase two children’s Bibles, four pair of earrings, these T. D. Jakes books, this beautiful tote bag, a Travis Greene CD, and a Kirk Franklin CD?”
The female customer smiled and nodded as Burgundy calculated the order.
“Thank you for your business. And because you bought so many items today, we’ll throw in a free Mary Mary CD.”
The woman frowned. “Mmm. Actually I can’t stand Mary Mary. You got Tasha Cobbs’s latest one?”
Burgundy laughed. “I’m sure we do. Shade, can you go find the Tasha CD and then get some shopping bags for me? They’re in the drawer. Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he said. He located the CD that the customer requested. Then he had to squeeze past Burgundy in order to reach the drawer. They were in a very small space, and he nearly brushed against her behind. Shade placed his hand gently on her back so he would not bump into her.
Burgundy waited until he had gotten the shopping bags, then she proceeded to swipe the woman’s credit card in the machine.
Once the lady signed the slip and left, Burgundy and Shade were alone.
She stared into space looking at nothing. Finally she sighed.
“Is there something on your mind?” Shade asked.
“Oh, no. I’m fine,” she chirped.
“Burgundy, it’s me you’re talking to. You look like you want to talk about something.”
She shrugged. “It’s nothing serious. I guess I am so busy today I completely forgot to plan our dinner. And after church lets out I’ll have to race to the grocery store and buy food that’s quick and easy. Maybe cook a pot of chili, corn bread, and add something else that doesn’t take a lot of time.”
“You are quite a woman,” Shade replied.
“Why you say that?”
“ ’Cause you’re always thinking about your man.”
Burgundy wanted to laugh out loud. Shade knew her well, but obviously he did not know everything about her. She was the type of person who shared only what she wanted people to know.
“I do all right, I guess.”
“I’m sure your husband feels lucky to have you and likes everything you bring to the table.”
“Ha, sometimes I may not have time to bring something to the table. Sometimes,” she emphasized.
“You’re allowed that. I mean, nobody is perfect,” Shade said.
“Not even you, huh?” She laughed and joined him at the table; she grabbed a sheet of labels and started applying them to a stack of books.
“How are you and my sister coming along?” she asked.
“Great. We actually had a chance to hook up twice this past week,” he said. “She convinced me to do something I hadn’t done in a minute.”
“What?” Burgundy asked. “Have sex?” She laughed out loud even as she wondered what would make her even say that.
“Hey, how’d you guess?” Shade laughed.
Burgundy stopped what she was doing. “Shade Wilkins. I know that you aren’t trying to get busy with my sister in the bedroom. That’s not you at all.”
Shade sighed heavily. “Pass me that book, will you?”
She picked up the paperback sitting next to her and checked out the title. Sex in the Sanctuary by Lutishia Lovely. “Who ordered this for the bookstore?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the former manager? The one that was here long before we came on board.”
“I was about to say,” Burgundy replied, “I think this is a somewhat progressive church, but I don’t think they’re that progressive to be selling books like this.”
“Why wouldn’t they, though?” Shade said. “Christians have sex.”
“Shade—”
“Now come on, Burgundy. Don’t tell me that you’re a prude. You can’t be. You have two daughters.”
Burgundy found herself blushing.
Shade had a pleasant smile on his face, but he wasn’t above taking her to task. “Let’s talk about sex.”
“Shade?”
“Burgundy Taylor, do you really believe that the members that attend Solomon’s Temple aren’t bumping and grinding and getting their freak on in between a little Bible study?”
“Well—”
“Well, nothing. I know for a fact that some of these women around here will have the King James Bible on their night stand, right underneath an erotica book by Zane.”
“You know about Zane?”
“From the look on your face, you know about her too.” He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, fine,” she said stubbornly. “But how do you know for a fact about what these women keep on their nightstand? Is your knowledge of them limited to their nightstand? Do you know what’s in their drawers too?” She stuttered. “I meant, the furniture, not the—”
“I know what you meant, Burgundy.” He gave her a teasing grin. “And to answer your question, I know all about where women store things in their bedroom, their bathroom, and every other room in their house.”
Suddenly Burgundy grew very interested in what Shade had to say. “I thought you were a strict believer that goes by the rules.”
“Huh? What you talking about, woman? I read the Bible, but I am a man too. I think I’m a decent man. I’m not out here tearing up the streets and breaking women’s hearts left and right. And don’t forget I told you about the woman that still goes to this church. She and I were in a long-term monogamous relationship.”
“Meaning you had sex with her?”
“Every chance I could get.”
“Oh. All right. Hmm.” Burgundy’s cheeks flushed apple red. She knew her older sister loved to have sex. Maybe not as much as Coco, but Alita definitely had her horny moments, of that she was sure.
“Well, what can I say?” she finally allowed.
“Don’t judge me, Burgundy. We’re friends. We’ll always be great friends.”
“Right, I know that. I, um, I was just wondering how you and Alita are doing. For real.”
“We’re hitting it off well. I’m enjoying myself. Did I tell you that we went bowling? She twisted my arm and made me take her to Dave and Buster’s. I grumbled about it at first, but I ended up having a good time. She whipped my behind good.” He laughed, and his eyes twinkled at the same time.
“I’m happy you two are hitting it off, glad you had a nice date.” She paused. “You plan on seeing each other again?”
“I’m sure we will. And I must thank you for introducing me to Ms. Washington.”
“You are very welcome,” Burgundy said. “It’s about time my sister started enjoying life again. In fact, I may call her up and get her take on things.”
�
�Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
Burgundy froze. “What do you mean?”
“I feel like some stuff she may tell you, other stuff she may not.”
“And how would you know that, Shade?” She was feeling a little territorial and was actually seething on the inside, but she did not want Shade to notice.
“I know it because she and I had a discussion.”
“About?” she asked.
“She was telling me some stuff that she recently went through with Leonard and his new lady Desiree, and her son Leno and his new girlfriend Zaida. Alita was livid. I could tell. I let her vent. But afterwards I told her that now that we are getting closer, and I know how much she likes to vent, she may not want to blurt out every single detail about us to any and everybody.”
“You said that to Alita? How’d she take it?”
“After she very nicely chewed off my butt, she said she understood. And that she agreed with me.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” Shade told her. He picked up the Lutishia Lovely book and went to stack it face out on the top of the fiction shelf.
CHAPTER 11
The Sex He Expects
After putting Natalia and Sid to bed, Burgundy stared at six-year-old Natalia’s sleeping face one last time and quietly shut her door. She paid the same honor to Sid, tucking her in securely under the comforter then leaving her alone.
Burgundy hesitated, then ran down the front spiral staircase and went to her master suite.
Nate was sitting on one side of the king-size bed. He wore a big bath towel around his waist. He removed it and dried his legs. Then he asked, “You wanna wipe off my back?”
“Sure,” she said in a chirpy voice. She took the towel in her hands and used it to absorb shower water from both his broad shoulders and his glistening neck. He smelled fresh and good and she quietly inhaled his scent, but concentrated on her task.
Nate suddenly reached behind him and pulled his wife toward him. He forced her mouth closer to him. Made her kiss his neck. She complied with his request for a few seconds; her lips peppered him with light smooches. Then she rose up.
He sat and watched her. “You about to shower too, Burg?”
