“Fiancé?”
G turned to face Dasia. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Dasia thought about pushing the issue, but her head was pounding. She pressed the button on the bed, and it slowly began to rise. When she got it in a comfortable position, she relaxed back into it. “Can someone hand me the phone?”
“You sure you should be calling anyone?” G asked.
“I need to call my boss and the center and let them know I won’t be in tomorrow. I also need to call my folks.”
G wasn’t about to let Dasia make those calls. She needed to rest. “No. I’ll make the calls. You just get some rest.”
“G, it’s only three phone calls. I can make them myself.”
“I know you can, but you need to rest.” G’s shoulders started to tense, a clear indication of his growing frustration.
Katina watched as Dasia became agitated. “G, let her make the calls.”
“Oh, so you’re on her side now? Guess the women folk are going to gang up on the poor, defenseless man.”
“Don’t go there, you two.” Dasia didn’t mean to raise her voice, but the bickering was only aggravating her headache.
“I’m sorry, baby. I—I just don’t want you to overdo it.” G lowered his head. He just wanted to help her, but he’d forgotten that Dasia was a proud woman and could hold her own.
“I’m not completely helpless. I can make three phone calls. I promise I’ll keep them brief.”
G’s shoulders slumped as he gave in. Arguing with her would only make things worse. He just wished Dasia would let him do for her. She deserved to have someone taking care of her, babying her, pampering her, waiting on her, hand and foot. Although he was giving in on this fight, he’d teach her that it was okay to allow others to take care of her when she needed it.
Chapter 13
Dasia finally got comfortable enough in her own bed to drift off into a light sleep. It had taken only twenty minutes of G’s magic touch to relax every muscle in her body. The doctors said to make sure she got enough rest, so for the next few days he’d be there to help her.
As G stepped around the corner, he realized he and Katina were not alone.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had company.”
“G, these are Dasia’s parents—Wesley and Marilyn Warrington.”
G extended his hand first to Dasia’s father and then to her mother. “I’m Grimarious Guatreaux, and I guess you’ve already met my sister, Katina.”
Katina told G, “I’ll get us some refreshments.” She turned and made her way into the kitchen, giving him some private time with Dasia’s parents.
G sat in the chair next to the couple. The woman’s hair was a beautiful shade of silver, and her skin appeared to be flawless. Unless she’d had some plastic surgery, staring at this woman, G could see that Dasia would age gracefully. Her father appeared to be a stern man, deep creases around his eyes, and seemed wary of him being there.
“So I guess you’re wondering about Dasia?” G was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.
“Yes,” the woman replied. “How is she?”
“She’s resting peacefully. She just took her medication, so she’ll probably sleep for a couple of hours.”
Mr. Warrington was curious as to why G had come from the back bedroom instead of Katina. He’d expected Dasia was friends with Katina, but the man sitting across from them seemed to be truly concerned about her. He wondered if this man had some other interest in his daughter. “I wish we could have gotten here sooner. I want to thank you for taking care of her. She mentioned some friends were going to bring her home, but she didn’t mention anyone specifically.”
“I understand your concern, Mr. Warrington, and I want to assure you that I only have your daughter’s best interest at heart. I’m sure she hasn’t told you of the circumstances under which we met, but I know what she’s been through, and I don’t intend to take advantage of her.”
Katina returned with a tray of crackers and cheese, and a pitcher of iced tea. G was glad for the diversion. He wasn’t ready to talk to Dasia’s parents about their blossoming relationship.
“We’d have called you sooner, but Dasia didn’t mention she had any family in the area.”
Dasia’s father looked saddened. “Ever since the fiasco at the wedding, she’s kept to herself.”
G understood it was hard for him to see what Dasia had gone through and not be able to protect her.
“When’s the last time you talked to her?” G took a sip from a glass of tea and placed it on the coaster on the end table to his right.
“It’s been about a month. Up until now we didn’t even know where she was living. We discovered she’d moved a couple of days after the wedding. She calls just so we’d know she is alive, but that was always from work or her cell phone. She made it clear that she just needed some time to herself.”
Besides the first night at the hotel, in the time they’d known each other, Dasia didn’t talk much about her life prior to the wedding. He hated to hear she’d cut her family off. At times like this, family and friends are supposed to be there to support you. For some reason, though, Dasia wasn’t giving any of them a chance to do that.
“So she’s basically been hiding from you?”
“I’m not hiding from anyone.”
They all turned to see Dasia coming around the corner. She’d gotten up to get some water when she’d heard her father’s voice.
“Dasia, you should be in bed.” G wished she’d have just called him instead of getting up.
She glanced over at him, narrowing her eyes. “I just got up to get some water.” Shifting her focus to her parents, she continued, “Mom, Dad, I’m okay. I just need to do this on my own.”
“But, sweetie—”
“No, Mom, there’s nothing you can do to help. I have to sort through my feelings on my own. And as far as G and I are concerned, I’m an adult, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stay out of it.”
Dasia felt herself wobble a little and reached out for the wall to steady herself. She turned from them and slowly walked into the kitchen. She was tired of their interfering in her life. Her mother wasn’t going to change. Though she loved the woman dearly, Dasia had grown to hate being babied by her in public and ridiculed in private. It was her comments growing up that had made Dasia feel insignificant. Made her stay with Jeremiah all of those years. It had taken her long enough to realize it.
Dasia didn’t want to hurt her father’s feelings, but as long as he just went along with what her mother said, she wanted to keep her distance from the both of them.
As G entered the kitchen, Dasia heard the sound of the front door closing.
“Don’t even say it,” she said, after taking a gulp from her glass of water.
“But, Dasia, they’re your parents.”
“You’re right. They are my parents. They were my parents when I was too dark. They were my parents when I was being criticized for being too heavy. They were the same parents who supported me putting up with all of the bullshit Jeremiah put me through because I’d never find anyone else.”
Dasia was on the verge of tears. She wasn’t blaming her parents for her decision to stick by Jeremiah, but they were guilty of chipping away at her self-esteem, and she really wasn’t ready to have them in her life right now.
G caught her as her knees began to buckle and lifted her into his arms. He rocked her slowly, trying to help calm her nerves. “Dasia?”
“Don’t, G. Don’t. Just take me back to bed.”
G carried her past Katina and back into the bedroom. He tucked the covers under her chin and watched as she cried herself to sleep.
“Is she okay?” Katina asked when G joined her in the living room.
“Yeah.” G plopped down in the chair he’d vacated earlier and stared his sister in the face.
Katina had no idea what had just transpired right before her. She’d have never spoken to her parents in the manner Dasia had jus
t spoken to hers. Then again, she’d never really had any reason to. “What was that all about?”
“She feels betrayed by them. It’s a long story. She’s just trying to deal with all of this.”
“Are things that bad?”
“I didn’t think so until now. She’s hurting right now, but I think in time they’ll work things out.”
“G, promise me we won’t ever fight like that.”
Outside of her children and her husband, G was the only family Katina had. He was her own flesh and blood, and she never wanted anything to come between them.
“I promise.” G made his way over to the couch and sat down next to Katina and hugged her. He meant what he’d said.
Chapter 14
Dasia woke up needing to get out of the house. She hadn’t been to the community center since the weekend before the wedding, so she was long overdue. She missed her friends, and today felt like the perfect day to go see them. She’d thought the day would be easy, but not even the companionship of her trusted elderly friends was enough to erase the thoughts swimming through her head.
“Dasia, you been staring out dat window for a mighty long time.”
Dasia turned to face Ms. Mabel. She hadn’t realized she’d been at the window so long. Time seemed to stand still. “I’m sorry, Ms. Mabel. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“Oh, baby, you too young to have dat much on your mind. You been moping since you got here. Come on over here and tell the old folk what’s got ya so troubled.” The elderly woman patted the chair next to hers, indicating that Dasia should come join her.
“I don’t want to burden you with my problems.” Dasia held her ground, her hand resting on the windowsill, rooting her to the spot.
“Chile, please, I’m too old to be burdened. Now come tell me what the problem is.”
Dasia made her way across the tiny room to where Ms. Mabel sat. The first time she’d come to volunteer at the assisted-living community center, Ms. Mabel had greeted her with open arms. Many of the other residents at the center shunned Dasia. Most of them were just too bitter or too senile to understand that she wasn’t like the other volunteers who walked in and out of their lives without a thought. Many of the residents didn’t have any family or, at least, any family that cared enough to come check on them, so they’d lived long lives full of disappointment.
Ms. Mabel was one of many who’d outlived their spouses and, in her case, her four children, but she never seemed to let it bother her. She always said God had a plan for all of us and He just hadn’t seen it fit for her to come home yet. She still had work to do here, and as long as the good Lord was willing to let her live another day, she’d press on.
Dasia stared at the proud woman, hoping, if she was blessed with as many years, she’d know the happiness Ms. Mabel had known.
Dasia sat down in the chair next to the window, so she could still stare out at the manicured lawn. The residents had just planted tulip bulbs, which were just beginning to bud. She wished life could be as easy for her as it was for the flowers in the garden. They knew what they needed to do. Just reach for the sun, soak in the water, and eventually bloom then, as your time came to an end, wilt and die, only to repeat the cycle the following year.
“By the look on your face, I’d suspect it’s man trouble.” Ms. Mabel had watched Dasia drift off to that place in her mind where she went to hide from things.
“It’s not really trouble. I just don’t know what it is I want.”
“Well, what’s got you so indecisive, chile?”
“It’s a long story.” Dasia diverted her eyes, not wanting her friend to see the pain and sorrow hidden behind them.
Ms. Mabel let out a hearty laugh before she spoke. “That don’t matter. We ain’t got nuttin’ but time around here. Why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind?”
“Well, I guess this all started a couple of months ago at my wedding. I was so sure of what I wanted. I had my life all planned out. Everything was supposed to be perfect.” She stood, turning her back on Ms. Mabel. “But it was a huge disaster. Now, I just don’t know. I mean, I’m really interested in this guy I met, but I can’t go through the drama again. I just can’t.”
“Well, a lot of things make sense now. We wondered why you’d stop coming by. You shouldn’t disappoint us old people like that. At the very least you could have called to let someone know you was okay. At any rate, chile, I’m not going to say life is easy, and it don’t always turn out the way we’d like it to, but you can’t just give up. Does this new man treat you with respect?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Does he ever ask anything of you that you don’t agree with?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Has he ever given you any reason to doubt his sincerity?”
“No.”
“Then he sounds like a pretty good catch to me. You can’t spend your whole life running just ’cause you chose the one bad apple in the bunch. Your new man sounds like he really cares for you, and I suspect that, somewhere in dat heart and mind of yours, you feel the same. Am I right?”
Dasia took some time to think about what Ms. Mabel had just asked her. She was much happier when G was around. He’d only offered her what she needed. He was understanding and compassionate, and he always had her best interest at heart. She did really care about him, and she was learning what it felt like to truly be loved. However, deep down she was still hurting. She’d given all she thought she had to Jeremiah and just wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to open up to anyone else like that.
“You thinkin’ ’bout it too much, chile. Just feel. Sometimes you just have to feel. If he makes you laugh, if he makes you smile, if you feel safe in his arms, and he keeps you there as much as possible, then it is what it is. Just feel it. Accept it, and things will be as they should.”
Dasia didn’t answer Ms. Mabel’s initial question. Instead she turned to her and gave her the biggest hug she could manage. Dasia thanked her for the advice, and with a smile on her face and in her heart, she left the center to find her man.
G slid his key into the lock on Dasia’s apartment door. He’d received a call from her a couple of hours earlier asking if he could stop by on his way home. She seemed a little distant, like there was something on her mind, but whatever it was, she wanted to tell him in person. He didn’t know what to think of the call, which had been on his mind since he’d dropped his client off.
Stepping into her apartment, he inhaled the aroma of curried chicken and roti. Dasia had an affinity for Caribbean food, and he’d had one of his clients stop by and show her how to make a couple of dishes. Roti was her favorite, and Dasia had made it on a number of occasions, using either chicken, goat, or shrimp, all curried of course.
G carefully stuck his head in the kitchen, trying his best to make as little noise as possible. He watched Dasia as she busied herself slicing the chicken and potatoes into small morsels so she could wrap them in the roti. She was dressed in a pair of linen pants and a silk halter-top. He loved the way the pants flowed around her figure, and the top fit snugly around her thirty-eight-D breasts. He felt his body swell as he thought of how it would feel to slide his hands down her smooth chocolate skin.
“You can stop staring at me and come in and help.” Dasia knew he was there all along.
G lowered his head in embarrassment. He should have known she’d sense him, but he just wanted to observe her for a little while. She seemed right at home in the kitchen, and he imagined what it would be like for her to be in his kitchen, her stomach swollen with his child as she prepared a picnic lunch for the both of them. Smiling at the thought, he made his way into the kitchen to help with whatever the love of his life wanted him to.
“So how was your day?” Dasia asked as she started to pour spoonfuls of curried chicken and potatoes into the roti.
“Long. My last client just wouldn’t shut up. I was so glad when you called. I had the perfect excuse to ditch her.”
“T
hat’s not nice.” Dasia raised an eyebrow at him, pursing her lips.
“I know, but I was just about to lose it. And then she had us running around from one side of the city to the other looking at property she knew she couldn’t afford.”
“Oh, the life of a realtor.” Dasia rolled her eyes as she continued to prepare dinner.
“How about you? How was your day?” G wrapped his arms around her waist. He watched over her shoulder as she folded the edges of the roti over.
“It was really good. I had a good, long talk with a friend.”
“And what is it you and your friend talked about?”
“Why, you of course.”
Dasia pulled out of his grasp, grabbed the tray with the wraps, and scooted out of the kitchen. G followed closely behind her with a bowl of red beans and rice, and a bowl of pepper salad.
“Candlelight? What’s the occasion?” G didn’t notice the table setting when he came in. They hadn’t had a candlelit dinner in over a month. And they’d never had one at home.
“Just felt like a romantic dinner, that’s all.”
G eyed his woman. “Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Warrington?”
“Honestly”—Dasia gave G her most sensual bedroom eyes—“no.”
“And what else do you have planned for us this evening?” G drummed his fingers together as she took a seat across from him.
“Just a movie.”
They finished their conversation over dinner. Dasia never revealed what it was she and her friend had discussed, though she alluded to it a number of times during their conversation, wanting to tease him a bit and get more of a feel of where his head was at when it came to her.
G enjoyed the little game of cat and mouse Dasia was playing with him. He’d made up his mind that things would only progress as slowly or as quickly as she wanted them to. This was a whole new side of her though. He’d felt all along she was quite capable of seducing him, though she’d tried her best to hide her needs. Now, seeing her in that outfit in the candlelight, he began to feel the sexual desire and tension mount between them.
Loving Dasia Page 8
