by Tiana Laveen
“I would’ve liked to have met you earlier, Mr. LeBlanc but Tapestry was concerned you might not be so accepting of me bein’ White ’nd all.”
Tapestry shoved him as hard as she could! He almost toppled out the chair.
“Now why’d you go and say somethin’ like that, Cain?!” She couldn’t believe her ears. All Mama did was smile and shake her head, while Daddy grabbed a napkin, wiped his hands real meticulous like, and glared at Cain.
“Yes. My daughter is a Black woman.” Daddy pointed at her like it was a news flash of some sort. “I’d prefer her to be wit’ a Black man… I ain’t goin’ tuh even play around wit’ that, but at the end of the day, Cain, I honestly just want ’er to be happy. If you make her happy, and don’t do no stupid shit, den we’ll be just fine.”
Mama rolled her eyes, reached for her glass of tea, and took a big gulp. Cain smiled and nodded so vigorously, the necklace around his neck swung to and fro.
“I promise to try my best to not mess up… I love your daughter very much, Mr. LeBlanc. And that’s just a fact.”
Daddy looked at him long and hard. At last breaking the gaze, he took a big spoonful of dirty rice and jammed it in his mouth.
“We’ll see… I don’t trust you mothafuckas.”
“Daddy!”
“Isiah, you know betta than to say some mess like that!” Mama chastised. “Cain, don’t pay my husband any attention.”
“Hell, I don’t blame ’im! I wouldn’t trust us none either, wit’ the history ’nd all. But we ain’t all the same, Mr. LeBlanc. I promise you that. My mama, daddy, brothers and sister is good people… they accepted Tapestry wit’ open arms.” Cain finished off his cornbread and dropped his spoon back in his bowl.
“Good people can still be racist, son… best of intentions…” Mama sighed as she got to her feet and took a big half eaten cake out of the glass domed pedestal that set on the counter. “But I know what you mean. Your people from Sulphur, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Got family in Ashland and Columbia, too.”
“Ashland?” Daddy grimaced then rolled his little, dark brown eyes. “Tha KKK stay busy up in there! Lawd!” He chuckled.
Tapestry slumped down in her seat… it was over. Once they got wind of some of Cain’s crazy family members, the ones who’d tried to make her squirm, Daddy would have a full out conniption fit.
“Yes, sir, I says you right…” Cain agreed, shaking his head. “We got some of dem, too.”
Oh Lord Jesus! Cain, please shut up! SHUT! UP! Daddy is gonna give me the blues after this… I ain’t gonna never live it down.
She wanted to just jump out of her skin and go somewhere far and hide.
“You got Klan folks?” Now Mama was all ears, and the frown on her face and the raised brow proved she was none too excited about it.
“Yes, but we don’t deal with them and now that their mama dead, my aunt, we have no reason to even look in their general direction. They say blood is thicker than water, but I say family got little to do wit’ blood, and more to do wit’ love and respect. My Aunt Frieda wasn’t Klan, though.” He grabbed his iced tea and chugged it, the ice clomping about before he slammed it down on the table.
“Must be your cousins then,” Daddy muttered, as if he’d solved a mystery.
“Yes, sir… and their daddy. Anyway, I believe in bein’ honest about matters like that, ’cause ain’t no need to hide it… It’ll all come out in the wash sooner or later. Mrs. LeBlanc, this is some of tha best dirty rice I ever had! Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, baby… and I appreciate your honesty, too.”
“I’mma go out and get that guitar.” Daddy shoved himself away from the table and stood, running his hand up and down his protruding stomach.
Daddy was only five foot five. He had short legs and a long torso, but acted like he was some sort of giant in the world. Tapestry and her brother used to call him Shortie when they were teenagers, but he didn’t appreciate it none, so Mama made ’em stop.
Daddy disappeared, leaving just the three of them to their devices. Suddenly, Cain’s cellphone rang. He knocked his napkin out of the way and looked down at it.
“Mmm, pardon me. I need to get this. Mind if I excuse myself?”
“Not at all. Go on,” Mama said as she took out some dessert plates. Tapestry observed Cain walk out of the kitchen, then heard the front door open and close.
I wonder who that was? He left awfully fast…
When she turned back towards Mama, the woman was staring at her and smiling.
“You like him, Mama?” Tapestry asked with a big smile on her face.
“I think I do! He seems real nice… He cute, too!” Mama winked in her direction, took the knife to that big ol’ chocolate cake, and began to slice deep into it…
“What do you mean you can’t do nothin’ about it, Spinely?!” Cain put his hand on his hip, his patience thinner than a penny.
“Cain, I know you’re upset, but he owns half the company. I can’t go over Steven’s head. He invested in my studio years ago when I was a fledgling producer. With his help, I’ve been able to produce and record again, full speed ahead. But our deal was that I had to do a split ownership with him. I disagree with him on this matter. He knows it, I told him several times that Tapestry is a cash cow, pardon my choice of words… but you know what I mean. However, he and I are fifty-fifty on the ownership so my hands are tied.”
“I want outta this deal, ya hear me?! It’s over. I’m not workin’ with him, even if he was the last producer on Earth. That motherfucker can go straight to Hell! I’m gettin’ out this contract. You two better cut me loose or I’ll find my own exit.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Oh, I can’t? There’s three things at this point that you can’t tell me: Nothing. Shit. And not a Goddamn thang!”
“Jesus Christ! Cain, please just listen. I am saying this to you as not only your producer, but your friend. The legal ramifications of you tryin’ to back out would be astonishing. Your first single is already scheduled to drop in two months, the PR and marketing costs alone would blow your mind. You’d have to pay everything back along with interest and not only that—if you pull the plug it could ruin your reputation for future deals.”
“This ain’t right, Spinely! It ain’t right at all! I ain’t givin’ that son of uh bitch one lousy cent off of my hard work, my blood, sweat and tears. You just got back in town. I been waitin’ weeks to talk to you and this is the news you come back with?! What tha hell am I supposed to tell Tapestry, huh? ‘Oh, baby, they think you can sing real good, but you too damn big so no deal!’ I been sittin’ on this shit, tryna pretend everything was fine… certain you was gonna work it out and this is what you doin’ to me, man?! I trusted you!”
Cain looked back at his girlfriend’s Mama’s house and just wanted to scream his damn head off…
“Cain… I know… I wish there was something else I could do but he is not budgin’ on this. He and I got into it about her, all right? At the end of the day, this is about money. We invest in people, and he feels like she’s too much of a risk. Look, I’m gonna try to talk to another company who might be interested in Tapestry, okay? I will tell you this a million times. I want her, okay? Please believe me. Tapestry is going to do well, I have no doubts about that. It just might take a bit longer because she obviously won’t be doin’ it here, at Nola Studios. I have full faith in her, you know I do, but—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that fucker got tha other fifty percent…” he hissed, itching for a cigarette.
“I’m sorry, Cain… so, I expect to see you back here Monday mornin’, all right? We’re a bit behind schedule because you only showed up three out of the six times you were scheduled.”
“Because of this situation! I wanted to speak to you first.”
“I know… but it’s settled now. I’m gonna make some calls. I can’t make any promises, but believe me, I am going to shop her around. I have her de
mo tape. I’ll work it. All right?”
Cain gripped the phone and spun around, not sure where to rest his eyes.
“All right… I’ll talk to you later.” He disconnected the call, hauled ass to his truck, and took out his old guitar that he kept inside for impromptu performances. Moments later he was back in the kitchen. Tapestry’s father stood with an old wooden guitar, and a big smile on his face.
“Well, would you lookie there! You found ’er!”
“I sure did!”
“All right! I’m excited! Before we get started though, Tapestry, can I speak to you for a minute?” The woman, who sat at that table eating a piece of rich looking chocolate cake, looked downright confused.
“Uh, okay.” She swallowed and gingerly placed her fork down. “What is it?”
Minutes later, they were standing in the front yard, and the look on her face pulled his heart out of his damn chest and stomped on it.
“So… they… they don’t want me ’cause I’m not skinny?” Her eyes sheened over. Cain grabbed her hands and squeezed.
“Baby, not they, just Alexander… Spinely said he’s gonna talk to some other folks though, said he’s gonna work it out, all right?” He tried to smile and sound optimistic, but he knew the woman could see right through him. He might as well have been a window. She slowly freed herself from his grip and turned away. Placing his chin along her shoulder, he held her close to him. “I’m sorry, baby… I’m so damn sorry…”
“Ain’t your fault, Cain.” She sniffed, wiped her eye and moved away from him, back towards the house. “Ain’t your fault at all. I’m happy for you though… glad you got what you’ve worked so hard for. It’s okay,” She tossed him a sad smile. “Let’s go on back inside. Daddy is waitin’…”
…But it wasn’t okay… and somehow, some way, he had to make this right…
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Woman in the Mirror…
…A couple weeks later
All of my adult life, I’ve been curvy, thick, shapely, BBW, full-figured, big-boned…
She’d played it off, but she hadn’t eaten in two days. When Cain would ask to take her to dinner, she’d lie and say that she was busy. If he asked about breakfast, she said she wasn’t hungry. If he wanted to swing by for lunch – she’d already eaten.
Tapestry looked at herself in the long mirror, naked from head to toe. With her face bare of makeup and her hair in disarray, tears fell down her cheeks. She’d once loved her cheeks… but now she saw jowls, covering ugly, unnecessary fat. She slowly turned towards the large bed. The sunlight streamed across her lover’s sleeping face. They’d spent the evening and night together, and now, the big fiery orb had just risen. Cain’s body was spread out, making him look like an angel floating on a cloud. There he was on his back, his arms and legs outstretched for the world to see. His dark hair fell in long spirals all around him, like black rays of sun.
She turned back towards the large mirror he kept on the back of his bedroom door, and she suddenly hated herself. She pinched here, prodded around, poked there…
Her large breasts which many men ogled and claimed to adore no longer looked pretty to her. Now she saw them as saggy overgrown tissue filled masses that could smother a child with the greatest of ease. The areolas were large, the nipples wide as a dime. She lifted one and the weight of it in her hand caused her further distress. Perhaps a breast reduction and lift were in order? It wasn’t her first time contemplating such a notion.
Her eyes scanned her body, but she was unable to find any part of her to love at that moment. She paused right below her stomach and considered surgery as an option… She did have an hourglass build, something Spanx didn’t provide. Yes, her waist was rather tapered, but it didn’t matter, because as her eyes dropped a bit lower, she took notice of her stomach, which hung slightly over her pussy, like a flap of flesh and fat. The soft trail of dark pubic hair was barely noticeable. In her eyes, her hips were huge, her thighs fat, her knees heavily dimpled, and her ankles often swollen.
She turned to the side and sighed at the size of her ass… it was colossal… big enough to set a dinner platter on. The skin was pocked and lumpy and as she ran her hand over it, she felt nothing but disgust.
How did I let this happen?! Look at my fuckin’ arms… they ’bout as big as an eight-year-old’s leg. Fat… fat… fat!
She slapped her shoulder, causing the flesh to wiggle and jiggle. She slapped it again… then again. The sting of her self-inflicted abuse only made her all the angrier. The hot tears flowed faster now, making her eyes burn. She swiveled around and looked over her shoulder, taking note of all the thick rolls that lined her back. Doubling over, she wailed.
It’s cost me everything!
I don’t overeat all the time… but I like dessert… I walk a lot… I’ve got plenty of energy most days… I could stand to lose some weight… Yes, I could stand it…
The once confident woman who was prideful, full of poise and charisma, had been reduced to tears and soulful ash. She shuddered when she felt a large, rough hand round her shoulder, hoisting her back up in a standing position. The tall man, naked and covered with tattoos, wrapped his body around hers and pulled her to him. Looking down at her, he smiled, then slid his thumb across her cheeks, wiping her tears.
“Naw, baby, we ain’t gone be doin’ all this cryin’ today, all right?” Her lower lip trembled as she looked up into his big blue eyes. He felt so strong and hard against her softness. He was so warm, while the cold guitar pendant hanging from his necklace pressed into her cleavage as he sandwiched their bodies together. “You beatin’ ya self up, baby? Now why you wanna go ’nd do somethin’ like that?”
He kissed her neck, the heat of his mouth a passionate blessing.
“Sometimes folks’ delivery ain’t the best, Cain, but their memo is right all the same. We gotta take note. We can’t blame the messenger.”
“You talkin’ about bird shit man?” She couldn’t help a smile at his words. But then she looked away, unable to bear direct eye contact. “Lemme let you in on somethin’… the only person you need to try ’nd please is you, baby.” He tilted her chin upwards, forcing her to stare into his eyes once again. “If you ain’t happy wit’ somethin’, you change it ’cause you want to, not ’cause of some big mouth fucker who don’t know shit about you and ain’t gotta clue about what people wanna listen to and who’ll sell the most records. He don’t know his dick hole from his goddamn asshole. He is a dang fool and don’t you let his opinion go poisonin’ your mind and self-esteem. Now I know women especially take shit like this to heart… It’s one of the reasons I tried to get it squared away so I wouldn’t have to say nothin’ to you. I didn’t even want him to have the satisfaction.
“But see, bird shit man is the type of bastard that looks to use people then spit ’em out. He don’t give a shit about me. All he sees is dollar signs; meanwhile, he is missin’ out on real talent. He blames his shallowness on the world and media. But he is the fuckin’ world and media, baby… The world is made up of people, not fuckin’ robots, and he’s one of ’em. We don’t exist in a vacuum. It’s folks like him that keep people like you away from the radio, then everybody else miss out on your gifts from God. One of the reasons I fell in love with you so fast, songbird, is because you walked around wit’ ya head held high. You’re one of the prettiest women I’ve ever laid eyes on and you care about folks. Your voice breaks my heart and makes me wanna shout every time I hear you sing, baby… You got a real good nature, and you’re sexy, too… and it ain’t just me. I see how other men look at you. Come on over here… feel my dick.”
He pushed her fingers against his length. “It’s hard as a goddamn rock right now ’cause you turn me on… ’cause of this body you over here nitpicking, hatin’ and cryin’ about… I like how you look, all right?” She nodded. “I like every bit of you.”
She smiled when he pressed his lips to hers and reached around to squeeze her ass cheek.
; “Sexy ain’t just what’s goin’ on with ya tits and ass. It’s what’s goin’ on up in here.” He tapped the side of her head. “And here.” He pointed at her heart. “Cellulite, stretchmarks… hell, even skinny women got all that shit too, baby. It makes you human. Ain’t no photoshop in the bedroom. I know what tha fuck a real woman looks like… skinny or thick, everybody got pluses and minuses. I been wit’ my share, all different body types, and y’all more alike than different. I got good taste in women so don’t you stand here and try ’nd act like I scraped the bottom of the barrel when I got you. I got the cream of the fuckin’ crop, you hear me, girl?”
More tears fell, but this time she smiled and nodded. She shuddered when he dropped low, crisscrossed his arms around her ass and hoisted her high into the air. Squealing and laughing, she steadied herself by pressing her hands along his shoulders, praying he didn’t drop her… but he never had, and he’d picked her up over a dozen times.
He managed to hook her legs over his shoulders, so she held onto the back of his head, laughing and fearful she’d meet the floor as he steadied her just so. Her eyes fluttered when she felt the hot, warm tip of his tongue dancing along her clit. Burying his face against her pussy, he palmed her ass as he practically asphyxiated himself against her nature and sucked her essence.
“Shit…” She bit into her lower lip as he paraded her slowly around the room, his tongue twirling in languid circles against her love. She shuddered hard, and he held her steady against him as she came abruptly against his working mouth. She cried out as her orgasm climbed higher and higher. He’d given her a one-way ticket to Heaven… and she couldn’t come back down off the high. Barely able to catch her breath, she felt like jelly, and her legs trembled as her juices streamed down her inner thighs.
Gently, he placed her down on her feet, turned her around and bent her over the bed. She screamed when he shoved his impressive curved cock inside her awaiting pussy. With one hand on her shoulder and the other around her waist, he took her from behind in a ruthless, rough fucking like she’d never known. He groaned loudly as his balls slapped hard against her wet pussy, the smacking noise echoing in the bedroom.
