She spent the next several minutes putting herself back together as best she could. She stripped off her bathing suit to pee and realized how badly she itched and smelled of chlorine. And stupid me packed everything in this bag except a change of clothes. She finished her business and reluctantly stuffed herself back into the still damp bathing suit. Her phone rang. She glanced at the display before hitting the answer button. It was the car service.
“Hello?” she said.
“The taxi you ordered has arrived at your location,” a recorded voice announced.
“Thank you,” Moji said automatically, even though she knew no one was listening.
She hung up the phone, put her bag on her shoulder, and headed for the hallway. She stopped at the bedroom door when she saw her tunic hanging from the hook. I almost forgot this, she thought, and took it off the hook. It was mostly dry but still reeked of chlorine. It’s probably ruined, just like my life. She bit her bottom lip and scolded herself for the negative thoughts. Come on girl, get a hold of yourself. Things will get better, they always do. She put it on and buttoned it up to her neck. I’m gonna look like a complete fool jumping in a taxi in this get up.
Checking one more time to make sure she had all of her belongings, she braced herself and slowly opened the door. The hallway was dark and unoccupied. She heard faint chatter and laughter downstairs that sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Good, she thought, I’ll be down the stairs and out the front door before they even realize I was here. She tiptoed down the hall, quietly passing two other bedrooms, making her way to the main staircase. The front door was ensconced in an elaborate two-story foyer, flanked on either side by floor-to-ceiling windows and topped by a large, gaudy crystal chandelier. Moji could see the distorted image of the waiting taxi through the windows. Any second, the driver is going to get impatient and start blowing his horn, she thought, I’d better get down there.
Before she could take a step down the stairs, she heard a familiar noise that made her pause. The noise didn’t come from downstairs but from the hallway to her right, in the direction of the master suite. That sounded like Darryl, she thought. The knot in her stomach returned and she could feel the slow throb in her temples as her heart rate rose. Every fiber in her being told her to ignore what she thought she heard and to run to the waiting taxi. But you can’t do that, can you Moji? You’re just a glutton for punishment. She took a deep breath and walked as fast as dared to the end of the hallway. Ok, Moji you’re here. Now what?
The double doors of the master suite spanned the entire width of the hallway. The space between the doors was small, no more than a small crack. Being careful not to put too much pressure on the doors, she pressed her ear to the crack. A cool draft escaped from the room, tickling her earlobe. She heard the familiar sound again, much more clearly this time.
“Mmmmm,” she heard Darryl moan.
She heard slurping noises, like someone enjoying a fast melting popsicle.
“Does daddy like that?” she heard a woman’s voice purr through wet lips.
Moji recognized the voice immediately. It was Queen.
“Does daddy want some more?” she heard Queen ask.
“Ahhh yeah,” Darryl answered.
More slurping noises poured through the crack in the door, extinguishing whatever remained of Moji's love for Darryl Strickland. Before she could contain it, a cry of anguish wound its way from deep within her and filled the hallway with a pitiful whine. She backed away from the doors, turned, and ran as fast as she could toward the stairs. Tears blurred her vision. She stumbled down the staircase, her sandals slapping awkwardly against every other tread, and her hands reaching out desperately for the handrails to break her fall.
Don’t run away! the small voice in her head said, Why are you always running away? I hate you so much!
Moji reached the bottom of the stairs. Her face felt hot. She could hear her pulse in her ears. She felt faint. Please God, she begged, just let me get into the taxi.
She heard curious murmurs behind her. Her descent had attracted the attention of the folks in the kitchen. She reached the front door. She turned the knob and pulled. The door did not open. No! Why won’t the door open?
“Hey Moji!” she heard Bruce’s voice behind her. “Where you going?”
She didn’t dare respond or turn around. I don’t need this! God, please open this door! She yanked hard on the door several times in succession but the door still would not yield. She could hear footsteps getting closer. Please God, I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t want to see anyone. I just want to go home! She finally saw that the door had a latched dead bolt lock above the knob. In her panic, she hadn’t noticed it. She snapped the dead bolt back and flung the door open. The footsteps were almost upon her.
“Moji!” she heard Bruce say, close enough that he could probably reach out and touch her. “Girl, where you goin’? I think Blaze is asleep upstairs. I can go wake him up if you want.”
His lie twisted like a knife in Moji’s gut. She ran out into the downpour. Though the taxi was only a few steps from the front door, by the time she fumbled the door of the taxi open, the cold torrential rain had soaked her through. She launched herself into the backseat of the taxi and slammed the door behind her.
“Drive!” she commanded the driver, “Get me away from here!”
“Yes Miss! Right away Miss!” the driver responded, noticeably shocked at the distress in her voice.
I hate you! Lara howled. You killed daddy and now you’re running away again. No one will ever love us!
Moji didn't answer. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in the folds of her tunic.
8
“Girl, I am so sorry,” Crystal said as she scraped the last of the mash potatoes off her plate with a half-eaten biscuit, “that bastard doesn’t deserve you. If he wants to lay down with some skank instead of spending time with a beautiful Nubian princess then that’s his loss. You need to forget him and move on.”
“I know I should,” Moji said, “everything in my being says I should, but—”
“Shit, but nothing girl! You need to kick that no-good, skank-grinding, muscle-bound bastard to the curb right now! Without delay! Pronto! Do you hear me Moji?”
“Yes, I hear you!” Moji said, frustrated by her friend’s apparent disregard for her feelings. “I was just wondering whether I am being too quick to judge Darryl. I mean, maybe I was out of line in telling him how he should spend his money. Maybe I drove him into the arms of that woman because I wouldn’t have sex with him.”
“Girl, are you listening to yourself? That’s your biological clock talking honey, not your brain. Darryl knew you were a committed virgin when he met you. Hell, most brothers would be ecstatic to meet a woman who actually had succeeded in saving herself for marriage. I mean, there can’t be more than three of y’all in the United States. And based on what you told me, the boy’s a dumb-ass. He should’ve been begging you to be his financial advisor. No Moji, you weren’t too quick to judge that bastard, you’re being too damn slow to throw him under the bus.”
“I guess so,” Moji said.
“I know so, “ Crystal corrected her.
Moji smiled, stood up, and patted Crystal on the back of her hand. “That’s why I love you so much.”
“Then do what I tell you.”
Instead of a response, Moji began to clear the table of all the food debris, glasses, and paper that had accumulated on the table. Crystal joined in to help, and as she and Moji busied themselves with the cleanup, Tyson circled anxiously, sniffing the air in the kitchen as if he were looking for something.
“Damn dog still acting as if he’s hungry,” said Crystal.
“Yeah, he loves fried chicken,” Moji said, picking through the chicken bones in hopes of finding something edible to give to Tyson. “Ain’t that right baby?” Moji said as she tossed a tiny piece of chicken in Tyson’s general direction.
Tyson snatched the morsel
out of the air and swallowed it whole.
“Mommy’s baby loves him some fried chicken.”
“What dog doesn’t,” Crystal replied, still incredulous of how much Moji humanized her pet.
Moji didn’t answer, as she had become preoccupied with the task of mining the mostly clean chicken bones for every last scrap of meat.
Crystal chuckled to herself and shook her head. “Gotta give the man of the house what he wants,” she said. She threw the trash in her hand into the garbage can and walked into the living room. She plopped down on the couch, grabbed the TV remote, and turned up the volume. The ten o’clock news was on.
“Hey Moji,” Crystal said, “have you seen that new weather man on channel twenty-six? His name is Maceo James. Girl, he is fine!”
“No, I hadn’t noticed,” Moji said, shouting from the kitchen, “I don’t usually watch the weekend news.”
“Well, come in here and check this brother out. He’s getting ready to come on.”
Moji walked into the living room and joined Crystal on the couch. She looked at her friend and smiled. “For the life of me I can’t figure out why you invest so much energy in checking other men out. You already got your man.”
“Look, you know what they say. There’s nothing wrong with checking out the menu as long as you don’t eat. I don’t really bother to read the menu though, I kinda like to look at the pictures and occasionally, you know, get close enough to smell the food.”
“Girl, you crazy! You know that?”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t help it,” Crystal said, laughing. “Ok, look, look, look, there he is.”
Meteorologist Maceo James was a youngish, well-built man with milk chocolate skin and a close cropped fade haircut that tapered to near baldness on the sides. He wore a dark, impeccably tailored Brooks Brothers suit with the unusual choice of a brightly colored, thistle-shaped bow tie that, in Moji’s opinion, made his clean shaven baby face look child-like.
“He’s definitely good looking,” Moji said, “but he looks awfully young. Especially with that ridiculous bright purple bow tie.”
She glanced at Crystal, who seemed to not have heard anything that Moji said. She jabbed her hand into Crystal’s line of sight and snapped her fingers twice.
“Earth to Crystal. Hello?”
“Girl, leave me alone,” Crystal said with a smirk, her eyes never turning away from the TV, “I’m trying to look at the dessert menu.”
“Crystal, you are something else! Did you even hear the man’s weather report?”
“What? No. I have no idea what he said. All I heard was the sweet sound of his sexy ass baritone tickling my G-spot.”
Moji laughed and playfully punched her friend softly on the shoulder. “You crack me up!”
“I do what I can,” Crystal said, laughing.
Moji got up to return to the kitchen when Meteorologist Maceo James ended his segment with the following announcement, “...and something special for our sky gazers. In addition to tonight’s clear skies and cool temperatures, you’re in for a really nice treat! Tonight will be one of the very few times those of us who live in an extremely light polluted area will be able to observe one of nature’s most spectacular events, the Perseid meteor shower! Every year the earth passes through comet Swift-Tuttle’s tail. The tail is made of millions of pieces rock and debris blown off of the comet as it passes close to the sun. As the earth passes through the tail, these particles streak toward the earth like tiny missiles called meteoroids. These meteoroids heat up, glow red hot, and finally burn up completely in the earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, we here in Houston and those who live in other large metro areas usually miss these annual light shows because they are too faint to see through the bright lights of the city. But tonight, the earth will pass through an unusually dusty part of the comet’s tail. When this happens, the quantity and size of the meteors entering earth’s atmosphere go way up, and the chances are good that the meteoroids will be brighter and more plentiful, giving us city dwellers an opportunity to witness one of nature’s greatest light shows. So if you’re awake between 11 pm and 1 am this evening, go outside and check out the Perseid meteor shower. I promise you will never forget it. Back to you Susan.”
“Lordy, that is one sexy man!” Crystal said, “Can I get an amen?”
“Amen!” Moji said, laughing.
Crystal stood up and yawned. “Well, she said, “we’ve been running our mouths for hours and I’m whipped. You want me to hang here tonight or can I go home to my husband and take you off of suicide watch?”
Moji smiled. “I think I’ll be alright,” she said. “Thank you for putting up with my drama.”
“No biggie. You my girl and you know I’ll be there for you whenever you need me.” She gave Moji a short hug. “Now, hand me my bag. If I hurry maybe I can get home before my husband falls asleep and I can get me some nooky.”
Moji laughed again and handed Crystal her overnight bag. “That’s my Crystal, Miss one track mind.”
“Are there other tracks?” Crystal teased as reached for the front door. Tyson suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the door, crashing into her legs and causing her to stumble forward. “Goodness! I think somebody wants to go outside.”
“Oh my god, Crystal!” Moji said, “I completely forgot to take Tyson for his afternoon walk.”
She got down on both knees and began to stroke Tyson’s head and back. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her face just inches from Tyson’s. “Poor baby must be about to burst!”
As if to confirm her assessment of the situation, Tyson began to whine incessantly, curling his tail underneath his body, and sitting as close as possible to the still unopened front door.
“You better hurry, I think he’s going to drop a load right here,” Crystal said.
“Crystal, will you go with me across the street to the park to walk him? It’s so late, I don’t want to walk over there by myself.”
“What, old killer here can’t protect you while he’s taking a dump?”
“Crystal!”
“Ok ok. I was just kidding. Go and throw some clothes on. I’ll keep an eye on whiny boy and make sure he doesn’t spray the place down.”
“Oh thank you Crystal! I’ll be right back.” Moji ran into her bedroom.
“And bring me some socks and a comfortable pair of shoes to wear,” Crystal said, kicking off her heels then waving them at Tyson before dropping them into her bag, “See Tyson, these here are man-catchers, not dog-walking shoes.” Tyson just whined in response and began to walk in circles at the front door. “Poor baby,” she said, keeping a safe distance from what looked like a very uncomfortable dog, “I’m sorry, I was just kidding about the shoes. If you want to relieve yourself anywhere in here, go right ahead, I ain’t gonna stop you.”
Two minutes later Moji emerged from her bedroom fully dressed in Capri jeans, a plain lemon yellow T-shirt, and white aerobic shoes. She had a pair of pink and white running shoes and some ankle socks in her hand. “Here, put these on,” she said, handing the shoes and socks to Crystal.
“Girl, you know you wrong for this,” Crystal said, holding up one of the shoes for inspection.
“What?”
“You know damn well these kicks don't go with my skirt.”
“Girl, be quiet and put those shoes on so we can go. My poor dog is about to burst.”
“I'm gonna put them on,” Crystal said, “but only because you're my best friend in the whole wide world.”
“Well, thank you.”
“And there is almost a zero percent chance that I'll run into anybody else I know. Otherwise, there's no way in hell I'd wear these outside.”
Girl shut up,” Moji said, laughing, “Just let me get Tyson’s leash and we can go.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed the bright red leash hanging from the back of the utility cabinet. At the sight of the leash, Tyson began to walk in circles, wagging his tail. “I know baby,” Moji said, “we’re going out right now.” She
waited for Crystal to finish putting on her shoes then clipped the leash to Tyson’s collar and opened the door. Tyson charged down the hall, painfully yanking Moji’s arm, forcing her to jog after Tyson to keep from falling over. “Oh! Tyson, baby take it easy!” she said from the far end of the hall, ”Crystal, can you close the door behind you? Obviously my baby is in a little bit of a hurry.”
“I can see that,” Crystal said, closing the door and hurrying down the hall to catch up with Moji and Tyson. “Stupid dog practically ripped your arm out of its socket. You sure you got him under control?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. He just has to go to the bathroom really bad. You’d be in a hurry too if you hadn’t used the bathroom in sixteen hours.”
“I guess. It’s just that the dog is so big it looked like he was taking you out for a walk instead of the other way around.”
“Oh shut up,” Moji said, smiling.
“Just saying.”
They boarded the elevator. When it reached the ground floor, Tyson sprinted across the lobby, forcing Moji into an involuntary trot. Crystal followed close behind, only slowing long enough to wink and wave flirtatiously at Jamarco, who watched, bemused, as they rushed past the security desk. The trio pushed through the lobby’s main entry doors and outside into the cool night air.
Moji pointed to the park across the street. “There’s a walking trail on the other side of those oak trees. It’s right next to the golf course. I usually don’t like to walk there because, with no tree cover, it’s too hot during the day. But now should be perfect. Maybe we’ll see some of those meteoroids the weather man talked about.”
The Scourge Page 9
