Davis had also called recently and wanted to talk to me.
“Are you going to see him?”
“I might. I want to know what on earth can make a person turn his back on his family. I hope it’s not because he was embarrassed that they were sharecroppers,” I said.
“How is the young lady you worked with? The magazine editor.”
“Zola is doing fine. She invited me to an Oscar party and I felt well enough to go, but Basil suggested we stay in bed and watch them together. So we did. He ordered some food and I had my first taste of champagne in months. I fell asleep right after Sidney Portier’s wonderful speech, but Basil woke me up with a kiss right before they announced best actress. I’m sure glad God let me stick around to witness that,” I said. I didn’t share Basil’s confession that night. He had realized how he might lose me for good, and on the morning after the Oscars, he told me he never noticed how the sunrise flooded his bedroom until that moment.
“What are you smiling about, Raymond?” Dr. Few asked.
I realized I was smiling too much so I told her that Zola was starting her new magazine and had asked me if I wanted to come and work for her. I turned her down because I wanted to make sure my next job would be something I could do for a while. Magazine start-ups were too risky.
“So are you going to stay in New York?”
“For now. I’m thinking seriously about moving to Atlanta, but that will depend on what happens with Basil and me.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“A sign. I’ll know when it’s time to take the next step.”
While Dr. Few was jotting down a few notes on her pad, I looked at her mantel and noticed a beautiful picture of the ocean with two lovers, a man and a woman racing toward the water. I remembered the dream I had while I was in the hospital about Trent, Kelvin and Basil. When I told Basil about the dream, he shared a recent dream about the time we had made love in the pool when we first met. Basil told me how that night was one of the best nights in his life, both physically and emotionally. I asked him why he’d felt that way and he surprised me because he said, “I felt like I was forever swimming in your love.” I couldn’t even respond. I just placed my head in his arms.
Reflecting on how much Basil had changed in the last three months caused an easy flow of tears. Dr. Few asked me why I was crying.
I let the tears continue to fall and then looked at her and said, “Sometimes love just fills you up. I’ll never complain about not having love in my life. I have a great family, wonderful friends and Basil. I have my life and I realize how precious it is.”
“So what are you going to do, Raymond?”
“Live like it’s my last day and love like I’m going to live forever.”
* * *
Bling Bling Confidential is back in business—July 30, 2002
Retired diva Ava Parker Middlebrooks was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Former Bling Bling editor Zola Norwood announced December 1, 2002, as the release date for the first issue of Urban Soul and her engagement to William Jabar Lewis. John Basil Henderson was named Bling Bling Sexiest Brotherman Alive and picked up his prize with his daughter, Talley, and partner, former Bling Bling CEO, Raymond Winston Tyler Jr. Davis Vincent McClinton will hold a press conference on August 5, 2002, to comment on an Ebony cover story concerning his background.
* * *
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*1bling bling: jewelry; material show off; the glitter of diamonds.
(From The Hip Hoptionary, by Alonzo Westbrook)
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About the Author
__________________
E. Lynn Harris is a former IBM computer sales executive and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is the author of seven previous novels: Any Way the Wind Blows, Not a Day Goes By, Abide with Me, If This World Were Mine, This Too Shall Pass, Just As I Am, and Invisible Life.
His newest book, a memoir, will be published by Doubleday in July 2003. In 1996 and 2002, Just As I Am and Any Way the Wind Blows were named Novel of the Year by the Blackboard African American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. In 2000, 2001, and 2002 Harris was named one of the “Most Intriguing African Americans” by Ebony. In 2001 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. In 2002, Harris was included in Savoy magazine’s “100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America.” Harris divides his time between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia.
Books by E. Lynn Harris
INVISIBLE LIFE
JUST AS I AM
AND THIS TOO SHALL PASS
IF THIS WORLD WERE MINE
ABIDE WITH ME
NOT A DAY GOES BY
ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS
A LOVE OF MY OWN
FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, JUNE 2003
Copyright © 2002 by E. Lynn Harris
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. A Love of My Own was originally published in hardcover in the United States by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2002.
Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
The Library of Congress has established a record for this title.
www.anchorbooks.com
eISBN: 978-1-4000-7553-9
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