Love After War

by Cheris Hodges

  “Maybe you ought to think about something more than work these days,” Solomon said.

  Richmond folded his arms and Kandace pushed his glass out of his reach. “And what should I focus on? I don’t have a wife. I don’t have kids. All I have is Crawford Hotels, so what do I need to focus on?”

  “Not this alcohol,” Kandace said. “Let’s go sit down and eat.”

  Dana crossed over to Adrian and whispered, “Did everything go all right?”

  “As well as can be expected,” he said, then kissed her on the cheek. “He’s mad.”

  “He has every right to be,” Dana interjected.

  Adrian agreed. “I know, but he needs to chill out. This could be a new start for all of us.”

  Dana glanced over at Richmond, who was scowling as he took a seat at the dining room table. “I don’t think he’s going to be chilling out anytime soon. Adrian, you ruined his life. Do you know his wife left him?”

  “Yeah, we were discussing it. But from what he was telling me, his marriage was at the end anyway.”

  “Didn’t mean you needed to help it along.”

  He wrapped his arms around Dana’s waist. “Let’s eat and then you can show me why this is the city that never sleeps.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  After a quiet—at least when it came to this crew—dinner, Richmond turned to Solomon and Adrian and said, “We should run Crawford Hotels together. We can keep the media out of our business, assure the stockholders that the company is in good hands, and—”

  “I don’t know a thing about the hotel business,” Adrian said before Solomon could reply. “And I have a business and a life in Los Angeles.”

  Dana sipped her grape juice slowly. She wished Adrian would’ve immediately agreed to joining the company and move to New York. But he was right; he had a business to run in Los Angeles and moving away so quickly wasn’t going to be easy.

  “What about the life you’re trying to have here?” Solomon asked. “Even though I didn’t want this to be a business dinner, Richmond makes a good point about us putting together a united front.”

  Kandace turned to Dana. “This is where we take our leave.”

  “No, I want to finish my cake.”

  Solomon turned to Dana. “I don’t mean to put you in the middle,” he began.

  “But you are,” Adrian said with a frown clouding his face.

  “You did the same damned thing to us,” Richmond slurred.

  Solomon nodded. “At least we’re up front about it.”

  “That hurts,” Adrian replied with a laugh.

  “But it was warranted,” Kandace said as she returned to her seat and waved for one of the caterers. She whispered for him to bring cake slices and no knives.

  “Listen,” Solomon said. “Lost, and I mean Lost, Angeles is a great city to visit. But who wants to raise a family in a world of distorted body images and fake skyscrapers.”

  “Wow,” Dana whispered. “That was a low blow.”

  “First of all,” Adrian said, “I don’t live on a movie set, and secondly, my son isn’t going to have to worry about that kind of stuff.”

  “Son?” Solomon asked. “And you know this because ?”

  “Because I had a talk with God,” Adrian replied.

  Richmond groaned and reached for Kandace’s full glass of wine. She snatched it away from him. “You’re cut off,” she said as the caterer placed cake slices on the table.

  “I asked God for a son too,” Solomon said, then nodded toward a portrait on the wall. “I was blessed with a little girl who will probably date men just like her dad.”

  “Not on my watch,” Kandace said, and she and Dana broke out into laughter.

  “Anyway,” Solomon said, turning his attention back to Dana. “You know you can’t get good hot dogs on the left coast.”

  “Please, don’t remind me,” she said.

  “Do I need to remind you about the last time you had a famous New York hot dog?” Adrian asked.

  Richmond groaned again. “Either we’re going to do it or we’re not. Why do we have to beg him to be a part of the family?”

  “I thought family was about more than a business,” Adrian said.

  Richmond narrowed his eyes at Adrian. “What do you even know about family? You’re the reason why we need to do damage control.”

  “Richmond, calm down,” Solomon said.

  “And you! You walked away from the company when Dad needed you and I guess you think that teaming up with this guy will give you an edge?”

  “You’re drunk and you’re about to get punched in the face,” Solomon gritted. “And you brought this up.”

  “I’m tired of being the odd man out,” he said. “Tired of being silly Richmond Crawford—who isn’t really Elliot Crawford’s son but cared about him a hell of a lot more than the two with his DNA.” Richmond pushed away from the table, leaving everyone with their mouths hanging wide open. He stumbled to the sofa and dropped down. Adrian and Solomon exchanged confused looks. Seconds later, they heard snoring coming from Richmond’s direction.

  “Was that the rambling of a drunk man or is he telling the truth?” Adrian asked.

  Solomon shrugged. “Maybe he found out when he tested to see if he was a match for Dad’s DNA. What a twisted family tree we have.”

  Adrian dropped his head, not wanting to comment on Solomon’s mother. Dana and Kandace sat in silence, watching as if they were viewing a big-screen movie.

  “We’re going to take off,” Adrian said after a few moments of an uncomfortable silence.

  Dana rose to her feet and exchanged a hug with Kandace. “Thanks for dinner.”

  “Anytime. Maybe we can do some shopping or something later this week,” Kandace said, then shrugged.

  “Give me your number. I get the feeling we’re going to have a lot to talk about.”

  Kandace nodded and wrote her number down on a scrap of paper. “What are you all going to do about him?” Dana asked, nodding toward Richmond’s sleeping form on the sofa.

  “Sober him up and try to get him to realize that family is more than DNA.” Kandace shook her head. “I’ve never liked Vivian, but I feel like that man needs her right now.”

  “Maybe not,” Dana said. “I don’t know her, but maybe he needs a fresh start without her. Even though Adrian set it up, no happily married man would willingly sleep with a strange woman in the backseat of a car.”

  “You do have a point there.” The women hugged again as Adrian approached them.

  Once the couple made it outside, Adrian was still taken aback by the way dinner had turned out. Richmond wasn’t his brother, Solomon wanted him to move to New York and be a part of a business he had no interest in, and he still had a wedding to plan.

  “Are you all right?” Dana asked as they got into a black town car that Solomon had called for them.

  “I’m beginning to think that my mother had the right idea.”

  “Which was?”

  “Leaving this city and never looking back. That Crawford family tree is twisted as hell.”

  “They’re still your family.”

  “Family, yes, but unlike Richmond, being a Crawford isn’t my entire identity.”

  Dana stroked his hand. “At least they want to include you in—”

  “You really love this city, huh?”

  “Not as much as I love you,” Dana replied. “I know you have a successful business in Los Angeles and you’re a hands-on business guy.”

  “Yeah, but more than anything else, I want to be a hands-on father. And I am going to be an extremely hands-on husband. So, you tell me, do you want to live in New York or Los Angeles?”

  “Is Chicago still an option?” she joked. “Adrian, wherever we are together, we’ll be happy. I can set up a second studio in Los Angeles. My base can be here and I can work with the studios more often.”

  “And have our baby grow up on movie sets?”

  “Or in the office of a n
ightclub?”

  They both broke out laughing. “So, we’re going to be a bicoastal family?” Adrian asked.

  “Sure, when little Adrienne is three.”

  “Adrienne? The female version, because you’re so sure that we’re having a little girl? I’m sure Daniel will enjoy spending his formative years in Los Angeles.”

  “New York.”

  “LA.”

  She smiled and climbed onto his lap. Dana nuzzled his neck and flicked her tongue across his earlobe. “I bet I can change your mind.”

  “Mmm,” he moaned as he felt his erection stretch against his zipper. “I’m sure you can.” He slipped his hand underneath her dress. The smooth skin of her bottom made his anticipation grow as well as his erection. Then she ran her tongue up and down the column of his neck while unzipping his pants. Dana stroked him, making him moan without regard to the driver, who was getting an ear show.

  “Let’s hear it for New York,” she whispered in his ear before easing down his body and taking his throbbing erection between her lips.

  “Oh yes!” he exclaimed. “I love New York!”

  Epilogue

  Three months later, Adrian was still struggling with being a New Yorker. Subways sucked; he didn’t give a damn about the convenience. Traffic leaving Manhattan to get to Brooklyn every day was, at times, worse than the PCH at five o’clock. Cabs sucked. The drivers seemed to do everything to ensure the passengers had a heart attack while sitting in the back of a vehicle that smelled like a summer day in Beirut.

  But what he loved about New York was watching his woman work. And watching his child grow inside her. Dana was showing only slightly, but she glowed like a Christmas tree every time she woke up in his arms. Even Imani had warmed up to him. She was also pregnant, and she was pretty, but Dana was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  While Adrian didn’t officially join Crawford Hotels, he did offer his services as a consultant for the LA project. He and Solomon got along as if they’d grown up together—most days.

  He and Solomon were headstrong and always thought they were right. That led to a few arguments and threats of violence that usually ended when Solomon broke out the good liquor. Richmond, who had buried himself in work after learning of his paternity and the quickie divorce that Vivvy had gotten done in Mexico, tried to loosen up. He still had work to do. But Adrian was glad to see that he hadn’t crawled into the bottom of a bottle.

  Standing at the bay window in Solomon’s office, Adrian smiled as he looked at the skyline. He really did love New York.

  “Yo,” Solomon said, breaking into Adrian’s thoughts.

  “What?”

  “I said are you going to stare out the window all day or do you have some information for me about the opening party at Crawford Towers?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “It’s in the file I e-mailed to you.”

  “I thought you said we needed to talk?” Solomon asked as he kicked his feet up on his desk.

  “We do need to talk. But it’s not about business.”

  “Okay,” Solomon said as he flipped through some photos on his iPad. Adrian glanced over his brother’s shoulder and saw the pictures were of his niece, Kiana. “You staring or you want to talk? I’m a busy man.”

  “Yeah, whatever. She’s a beautiful little girl. Are you ever worried about what happens when she grows up and meets a man of—”

  “He’d better be a track star because if I get my hands on him, he’s a goner.”

  “That’s why I pray for a son every night. I hurt Dana in the middle of all of this. The fact that she agreed to marry me and have my child, it’s unbelievable. I want our wedding to be magical. Something that will knock her off her feet.”

  “And you’re doing it in New York, right? You know a divorce in California will cost you half.”

  Adrian raised his eyebrow at his brother. “Cynical much?”

  “Yeah, when it comes to other people’s marriages, not mine. I’m in it for the long haul and a few more kids.”

  “Anyway, no offense, but New York isn’t that romantic to me. Between the subways and crazy cabdrivers, I have to get her out of this city to marry her.”

  “But what does Dana want?” Solomon asked.

  “She’s the bride and the bride always gets what she wants.”

  “I want to surprise her.”

  “Bad idea.”

  Adrian stroked his chin and recounted Dana’s hand in Imani’s surprise Jamaican wedding. “I think her best friend would help with a little payback. The problem is, I don’t want to take my pregnant fiancée too far away.”

  “I don’t blame you on that. Kandace said I held her hostage when she was pregnant, but that they don’t get it. I felt so helpless when she was pregnant and that’s not how I roll. But she was determined to go to Charlotte and Atlanta.”

  “You let her go?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. As quiet as it’s kept, I just do what that woman says because her happiness means everything to me.”

  “The mighty Solomon Crawford is whipped.”

  “Yeah, pot, I’m whipped and proud of it.”

  They stopped talking when a scowling Richmond walked into the office and dropped a file at Solomon’s propped up feet. “Here’s the report from the resort in the Pocono Mountains.”

  Solomon picked up the report and then banged his hand on the desk. “This is it. You can get married here.”

  “What?” Richmond snapped. “Who’s getting married?”

  Solomon tilted his head toward Adrian. “He’s trying to surprise Dana with a wedding.”

  Richmond rolled his eyes. “You’d be better off to forget a wedding.”

  “You two are some—” Adrian stopped short, remembering how bitter Richmond’s divorce from Vivian Crawford was.

  “Well,” Richmond said, “there is a chapel at the resort and the property manager was planning to promote summer and autumn weddings.”

  “Hold up, my wedding is not going to be some marketing campaign.”

  “Of course not,” Richmond said. “But there is a faculty there—you have a built-in excuse to get Dana there.”

  “Yeah, pretend we’re opening a club in the resort and we have to check the place out,” Solomon said.

  “I like Dana,” Richmond blurted out. “She’s a really good woman and those are rare to find.”

  “Tell me about it,” Adrian said. “Now I have to get Imani on board. Our relationship is just a thread. If I don’t hip her to the plan, then she’s going to hate me forever.”

  “All right,” Solomon said, then nodded toward Richmond. “Good job.”

  “I used to be romantic and the like. I guess I got my balls back,” Richmond said.

  Solomon smirked and tipped his imaginary hat to his brother. “Then you can plan the bachelor party.”

  Richmond rolled his eyes and walked out of the office. He stopped at the door and turned to his brothers with a half-smile on his face. “Just let me know when I need to show up in Pennsylvania.”

  “Will do,” Adrian said. “And thanks.”

  “Hopefully this is a favor I won’t have to extend again.”

  It took two weeks for Adrian to get everything set up for his surprise wedding. Imani, who was finished filming her latest movie, had been more than happy to help Adrian.

  “This had better work out,” she said when he called her with instructions for the wedding cake.

  “It’s going to work out, I’m sure . . .”

  “I’m not talking about the wedding, Mr. Slick.”

  “Are you ever going to call me Adrian?”

  “Maybe on your seventy-fifth wedding anniversary—then I’ll know it’s real.”

  “It’s very real, Mrs. Actress, and I have to say, I don’t think Fearless Diva is that bad of a movie.”

  “See what I’m saying? Mr. Slick. That movie sucked ass. At least I can admit that now.”

  “I saw your last movie too. That was great as well,”
he said. “And that’s the truth. Dana loves chocolate cake and—”

  “Butter cream icing. I got this. I know what my best friend likes. And if you’re smart, you’d better make sure there are some hot dogs close by.”

  “You two and these hot dogs.”

  Imani laughed. “You don’t know how many dreams we discussed over those hot dogs.”

  “Or how many Broadway producers you two stalked?”

  “Dang! Did Dana tell you everything?”

  Before Adrian could respond, Dana walked through the front door of the brownstone. “All right,” Adrian said as he rose from the sofa and crossed over to Dana. “I’ll make sure to e-mail those details to you, Solomon.”

  “Tell Dana I said hello,” Imani said before they ended the call.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he said as he took the camera bag from Dana’s shoulder. She was a month away from the release of her book and had been finishing up a couple of sessions so that she would have a clear calendar for a short promotional tour.

  “I wish I could see me through your eyes. I’m tired and annoyed.”

  “What’s wrong with my baby?” he asked as he led her to the sofa. Adrian prompted her to stretch her legs on his lap. As he removed her shoe and massaged her feet, Dana told him about the Broadway cast she’d photographed that day and how annoying they’d been.

  “I’ve dealt with some divas—hell, my best friend is one—but this cast took it to another level. Mmm, your hands are magical.”

  “You think so?” he said as his fingers danced up her calf. “I think you need to get away for a bit.”

  “Oh, I wish I could go with you on your next trip to LA.” She placed her hand on her growing belly. “I might have one more ride in me.”

  “Yeah, no one is talking about going to LA, so you can keep that motorcycle in storage. Solomon and I are talking about beefing up the entertainment at the resort in the Poconos.”

  “The Poconos. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been there. When are you guys going?”

  “In a few days,” he replied as he started on the other foot. “And there will be no motorcycle riding in the mountains.”

  She rolled her eyes and poked her bottom lip out as if she was upset. “You’re no fun, Adrian.”