by Tiana Laveen
“I can’t hear you! I’m deaf!” Noah yelled in his choppy, broken tone. “Did he say Ohio?” The boy looked at her with a perplexed expression and all she could do was smirk and shake her head.
“You know damn well he ain’t say no Ohio.” She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t have nobody over here while I’m gone, you hear me?” she stated vocally as well as in sign language.
“No, I can’t hear you but I won’t,” he signed back, being a smartass. “Any dinner?”
“Yes, it’s in the refrigerator. Just heat it up. Call me if you have an emergency.” She gave him another kiss on the cheek, then turned and walked away, but not before noticing her son staring back down the hall.
What’s he lookin’ at?
When she turned to approach Langston, she gasped. He was half way down the hall now, moving his hands about, talking to her son.
“Are you sure? We can bring you back something,” Langston signed.
“I’m good man, thanks.” Noah signed back with a half-smile.
“Okay. It was nice meeting you. If you change your mind, just text your mom and we’ll hook you up.” Langston turned to walk back up the hall.
She chased after him, shocked and impressed, her mind spinning in a million different directions. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards her, slowing his gait.
“Hold up, hold up, hold up. I didn’t know you knew sign language?”
“Why would you?” He shrugged. “It’s not somethin’ we got around to discussing. I didn’t know your son was deaf. I was just offerin’ to bring him something back is all. Just seemed like the polite thing to do.”
“I know, I know, that’s nice of you.” They walked together and approached the front door. He waited as she closed and locked it. “How’d you learn sign language? Who taught you?”
“A friend of mine back in elementary school. She was deaf and we were close. She’d lost her hearing due to some disease she’d had. I wanted to talk to her better, so instead of expecting her to learn how to talk to me, I learned how to talk to her. I’m a little rusty, but I’ve never forgotten it. It’s come in handy a time or two. Anyway, are you ready? I think we’re gonna have a real good time tonight.”
“I sure am.”
She looped her arm around his and squeezed as he led her to his truck. He opened the door and helped her inside, then kissed her cheek… and her lips. They stared at one another for a spell before he closed her door and got in the driver’s seat. He headed off to the tune of The Weekend’s, ‘Try Me’ playing on the stereo.
There were those damn butterflies again, jumpin’ in her stomach like fish outta water…
Langston was simply too much. Heroic, handsome, in great shape, sexy, funny, and definitely romantic…
Ain’t no man this good. Rainbow flowers? I love rainbows, got like five shirts with rainbows on ’em. He can talk to my boy and he was nice to him, didn’t say or do anything stupid once he found out Noah was deaf. Is this for real? It’s still too early. He gone slip up, just watch… He’s a fairytale walkin’… Those butterflies in my stomach ain’t on no hook. We still out fishin’. Now I just need to find out: what is the catch?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Not Enough Dough Uh Deer, A Fe-Male, Deer…
“GET WHATEVER YOU want,” Langston said.
Bistro M. in McAllen, Texas was a mere thirty-five minute or so drive from her home, so they had time to enjoy a bit of small talk before they got to the place. “This here has some European cuisine. I hope you like it.”
He clasped his hands together and smiled.
She looks so beautiful. I thought she was nice lookin’ before… wow. Just wow.
“I’m sure I will. This is nice, Langston.” She looked around, her dark eyes sparkling like black diamonds. “You ever been here before?”
“No, I ain’t ever been here… I’ve been curious about it for a long time though. Seems I’m underdressed.” He smirked nervously as he noted all the stiff-backed folks dressed in sports coats and ties. “I’m surprised they didn’t turn me away at the door.”
“Oh, you’re all right.” She shrugged him off as she tapped the rim of her wine glass with a long black fingernail covered in rhinestones. “You got a nice shirt on. It’s clean. You look nice.” She winked at him before opening her menu and scanning the selections.
“Thank you. You look real pretty tonight. I like your hair like that, Yaz.” He pointed at her. “It suits you. Nice.”
“Thank you, too. Couldn’t quite figure out what I was going to do with it till the last minute. Most days it just gets parted on the side and pulled back or put in a ponytail. I don’t fuss with it much. Tonight though, well, I figured it was a special occasion so I wanted to style it different is all. I’m usually pretty decisive but I been kinda unsure lately.”
She snuck a glance at him as he grabbed his menu, too, and struggled with the various thoughts that floated within his mind.
“Do, uh, you wanna talk about the attempted robbery at the store, Yaz?” He threw up his hands. “I just don’t know. I mean, you told me you didn’t want to, but then you said you’ve been indecisive lately so my mind…” He tapped the side of his head with his index finger. “It immediately went there, you know… but I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable or step over boundaries, cross lines.”
The woman looked at him as if she were trying with all of her might to figure him out.
“I don’t have no issue talking about it, Langston… just not right now, not tonight. I don’t want this tainted with that, you know? You said yourself that you felt like he ruined everything, sullied it. He didn’t, but this is about the thoughts that drift around in our heads. That fool got enough of our attention as is.” She grimaced and shook her head. “He ain’t worth the space in our brains, let alone another full-fledged conversation. He’s evil; it’s like summoning a demon as far as I’m concerned… messin’ wit’ a Ouija board. Now, don’t get me wrong. I ain’t duckin’ and dodgin’ it. I ain’t no head in the sand type of woman but I’m just all talked out about it, at least for now. After all the reporters, my family and friends, Uncle Sonny and strangers ’round town, I’ve had enough. My poor son been harassed, too. Hell, Noah wasn’t even there. I wish they’d leave my kid alone.”
“Don’t nobody have no right to ask him anything ’bout it. Don’t you hate like when a celebrity has a problem, and people go ’nd mess with the kids or say somethin’ slick ’bout their children? That’s low to me. Just leave them out of it.”
“Exactly. At the end of the day, as long as that son of a bitch stays in prison for the rest of his life, I don’t want to even think about him. Pardon my French, but that’s just how I feel about it.”
Langston nodded in understanding and glanced back down at the menu.
These prices sure are high… Hell, with charges like this, I expect the damn chef to float down to our table from the sky wit’ wings and a halo, a golden spoon and diamond encrusted spatula and cook it right in front of me, and then give me seconds and thirds to take home right after he makes me a dessert of my choice that’s made of gold flakes and crushed up dollah bills. Ain’t no way no damn potatoes, no matter how they cut and what they soaked in, should cost this damn much. They better taste like buttery heaven for the taste buds, believe you fuckin’ me!
Nevertheless, despite his sticker shock, Langston made sure to not touch his check that had just deposited from his recent winnings for a local competition he’d scored second place in. He left it all in there so he’d have enough to cover whatever she ordered and then some. Wasn’t nothin’ worse than being cheap on a date, especially a first one. He wanted to make a good first impression, especially after everything the poor woman had been through.
“You like cream bisque? I ’spose that’s like lobster bisque since they got here that it’s seafood,” she asked, pointing down at the spot on the menu.
“I a
in’t too much a fan of seafood, ’less it’s fried up or blackened, and even then, I gotta be in the mood. Don’t much care for fish in my soups and stews, things like that.”
“Gotcha. I like it. I used not to, but it grew on me.”
“Kinda like me when you first met me, huh?” he teased, forcing her to lightly laugh.
“Naw, you got it all wrong.” He enjoyed the flirty look in her eyes. “I liked you right away… I was just havin’ a rough night the first time we met is all. I thought you were cute right off the bat.”
“Cute? You can’t give me somethin’ a little better than that?” He threw up his hands as if greatly offended, causing her to snicker. “Little monkeys dressed in tiny purple tuxedos are cute. Hell, baby frogs on lily pads are cute. I want to be told I’m an Adonis…” He made a muscle, flexing his arm hard, causing her to plummet back in her chair in a fit of laughter, hand covering her mouth in a semblance of discretion. “I wanna hear that you about lost control of yourself when you laid eyes on me and dreamt of me every single night since then.”
“You’re too much, Langston.” She shook her head and looked back down at her menu, but not before bursting out laughing again. “You probably mean that, too. You’re just pretending that you’re puttin’ on.”
“You right.” They both burst out laughing again.
After they settled, he reached across the table and patted her hand.
“You got a real pretty smile, Yaz.”
“So do you. I been meanin’ to tell you that. What dentist you go to? They seem to do a fine job. I need to get me and Noah one. I found us a doctor here, but still ain’t settled on a dentist. Might have to go to a neighboring town.” She tasted her wine, tipping the flute to her mouth slowly and delicately, then set the glass down.
“Hell.” He shrugged. “I ain’t been to the dentist in two years… need to go. I try ’nd take care of my teeth though, but I just got fulltime at UPS, so I ain’t have insurance for a few years. Well, I take that back, I did, but it wasn’t a good package. I had bought it myself. I’d go to the doctor but the dentist I kinda left that alone, robbin’ Peter to pay Paul. Goin’ to the dentist is important though. Ain’t gonna have me out here with the nickname ‘Gummy.’ No, sir!”
Her eyes sheened over with mirth. He loved that.
“You are so funny. But yeah, I know about that all too well. Thankfully, my Uncle Sonny made sure he got good insurance for his employees. I don’t have to worry about that.”
“That’s good… yeah, that’s good. Speakin’ of which, what he say about my brother workin’ down there?”
“Oh, yes! I almost forgot. Thank you for bringing that up. He said—”
Just then, the waiter returned, ready to take their orders.
“I’ll have the cream bisque and the grilled salmon and asparagus, please.” The waiter nodded and took her menu.
“And you, sir?”
“Uhhh, hell, lemme see here…” Langston gripped the menu tighter as the realization that he’d been talking the entire time and barely looked at the menu set in.
“Do you need more time?”
“Naw, naw… I got it… lemme get tha… lemme get tha… this here venison?” He pointed at the menu. “The Broken Arrow Ranch Axis deer. I think I’ll get that but I don’t want it tough. Last time I had venison it was tougher than leather, like some dog chew toy.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Yasmine drop her head and chuckle. The waiter followed suit, his face cracking in a smile, too.
“I assure you it’s not tough. It’s cooked perfectly but I will let the chef know your concerns.”
“Thank you. Now, says here it comes wit’ roasted beets. I ain’t no beet fan. Can I replace that wit’ somethin’ else? Like a potato?”
“Sure, I don’t think that’ll be a problem but I understand that it comes with a potato puree.”
“Puree? Like baby food?”
“Langston!” Yasmine giggled, her face flushed as he shot her a wide grin. “Stop playing with this man! You know darn well what he is talking about.”
“All right, I do, but I don’t want no puree. Can I get a baked potato instead?”
“We don’t have baked potatoes.”
“Well hell, you got a microwave, don’t ya?”
“Uh… well, yes.”
“All you gotta do is instead of mashin’ it to hell, just bake it. See, here’s a real easy way for lazy folks like me that wanna eat all the time but not cook. What ya do is, wash the tater, stick a fork like four or five times on the top of it. Then, you sprinkle it wit’ a bit of water and toss it in the microwave for about seven or eight minutes. Slice it down the center, toss some butter on it and chives, bacon and such, and voila! Baked potato.”
The waiter stared at Langston and burst out laughing.
“Langston… you need to cut it out.” The woman was still laughing, too, but he knew she meant business by her tone.
“All right, I’ll stop messin’ with you. Just bring out tha beets and potato baby food that goes with it then. You’ll have to excuse me, I’m a little excited ’cause I’m out on a date wit’ this pretty little darlin’ here.”
“No apology needed. Thank you for the laugh. It gets kinda stuffy in here sometimes.” The man smiled, took Langston’s menu, and paraded off.
“All right, now I done forgot ’bout what we was sayin’ before he came over.”
“Your brother workin’ at the store.”
“Oh yeah, so can José get on? What did Sonny say?”
“Believe it or not, he agreed to it. He told me to tell you though to let your brother know to stop in and interview next week. We gotta retired cop in there right now, but that costs a lot so he is lookin’ for cheaper options.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get that. Good. I’ll let José know. Like I told you, he got plenty of experience in that and he needs to be workin’ ’stead of stayin’ up in my parents’ house for a million years. He got two kids from his ex-girlfriend and ain’t takin’ care of ’em… he don’t do shit at all but he’s real good at that sort of thing. Hopefully, he can save up a little bit and rent himself a room somewhere or get an apartment. It’s a real shame. He’s real smart, you know?”
“Is this your eldest brother?”
“Yeah. I’m the third kid. It’s Brittany, José Jr., me, Jacelyn, and then Anthony.”
She nodded. “Langston, sometimes people just don’t have enough motivation. My daddy always used to tell me that people will make time for what they wanna make time for, and that’s true. If José Jr. ain’t pullin’ his weight, then he needs incentive. If my Uncle Sonny like him, he can work at the store and maybe that’ll help him. Maybe he’s depressed, his self-esteem down.” She shrugged.
“Well, while he’s busy bein’ sad, he could be bringing in some money to make him happy.” She smirked and shook her head. “I’m serious! All that depressed shit. Hell, I’m depressed, too! You think my bills give a flyin’ squirrel f-u-c-kentucky about my mood?! They sure as hell don’t. Every day I wake up and know I’m still in Elsa I’m depressed. My money is funny half the damn month, lookin’ for dimes in the couch so I can do my laundry. It gets silly; I still need to get off my behind and work and I ain’t even got no kids. If I had some, you best believe I’d do everything I could to put food in their mouths.”
“But see, Langston, if he is sufferin’ from depression, that’s easier said than done. I ain’t making excuses for him, believe me. I just know that when people sit around in the house all day doin’ nothin’, ’specially if they are smart and they are in their parents’ home and very well full grown, then sometimes somethin’ psychological is going on is all.” Langston rolled his eyes and she cocked her head to the side and grinned at him. “I’m serious… ask him about it. Maybe he needs some help.”
“He needs some help all right… help goin’ to chowline. He’s been arguin’ with my parents and usin’ them. I ain’t sayin’ you right and I ain’t sayin’ you wrong. I am just sayin’
that it’s real funny how he ain’t depressed when there is somethin’ he wanna get out in the world and do. He got all the stamina in the world then! We all need motivation though, right?” She nodded. “A good ass whoopin’ outta motivate him just fine… I beat his ass last Christmas. Now that’s a gift that keeps on givin’. How you like them apples and jingle bells?”
“Langston, you should be ashamed, fightin’ with your brother on the Lord’s birthday. What did your parents do?” She grinned as she chastised, obviously amused.
“I ain’t ashamed of shit! He jumped up in my dad’s face. I tried to break it up, then he swung on me. He saw the North star that led to Bethlehem that night for sure! How many fingers am I holdin’ up, José? One, two, or three wise men?” At this, she burst out laughing so hard, he thought she may choke. “Incense and myrrh to wake his ass up from the coma I’d liked to have put ’im in. Our parents ain’t do nothin’ but tell us to cool it though. They know how José is, always whinin’ and complainin’. He reminds me of a billygoat…eatin’ everything in sight, too but didn’t give a dime to the dinner. Damn, I thought I could grumble, he takes it to a whole new level. Oh, ’fore I forget…” He leaned across the table. “I wanna ask you somethin’ and if you think I’m bein’ too fresh, then tell me.”
“All right, but you know I will.” She took another sip of her wine.
“I wanna talk to you about what you like to do, you know, sexually. I ain’t sayin’ I’m gettin’ lucky tonight, but I like to talk about things like that in advance. You know, get a feel for your sexual tastes.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open as if she were horrified.
“Langston! You don’t ask no woman no mess like that on no first date!” She tossed her napkin down onto the table and slapped the table.
“Why not?”
“’Cause you should get to know the woman first! All this time you’ve come across as charming, and now look? You had to go and ruin it.”
She didn’t look exactly angry… but she did look concerned.
“Well, hell, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the big deal. We’re two adults here, and neither one of us is a virgin, so I’m not sure why you’re actin’ all outta sorts about it. No need to get all sensitive. Sex is a normal, natural part of life and if I ain’t gettin’ it, I sure wanna talk about it. I like talkin’ about it.”
