The three of them had been sistahgirlfriends since alternative schedule orientation, over two years prior.
“How did you get finished so darn fast, Cydney?” Faith asked.
“I’ve been studying for this exam like you wouldn’t believe,” Cydney said. “I have to raise my scores in this class.”
“Your eyes show it, too, honey,” Victoria said. “You need to move from the perfume counter at Macy’s and go over to the makeup counter.”
“Thanks,” Cydney said.
Victoria waved her off. “Don’t thank me, thank Lancôme.”
“I do need something,” Cydney admitted.
“I’m off to the Bahamas after the semester ends,” Victoria said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Faith responded.
Cydney forced a smile.
“So what new music have you discovered for us, Cydney?” Faith asked as Victoria, who had been standing the entire time, settled in the tiny space next to Cydney.
A thought crossed Cydney’s mind. “No music this month. But I am doing a feature on this great new soul food restaurant.”
Victoria’s eyes crested. Even though it was hard to tell by her svelte figure, she was a food connoisseur. “Do tell,” she begged of Cydney.
“It’s called Cush,” Cydney said.
“Oh. That’s a name of an African city, from ancient times,” Faith said.
“It’s a delicacy as well,” Victoria chimed in. “A Southern dish, like a cornmeal pancake. Oh, and also a soup made with cornmeal, milk, onion and seasonings.”
Cydney looked at the both of them. “Can anyone say, Jeopardy? Damn, you two are something.”
Victoria smiled. “I told you, anything you ever need to know about food you come to me.”
“We’ve been talking the past few weeks about getting together,” Cydney said. “Why don’t you come with me to the restaurant. We can’t let these books hold us hostage.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Faith said. “Where is it?”
Cydney hesitated. “Asbury Park.”
Victoria said, “Oh.”
“Asbury used to be the happening place in New Jersey,” Faith offered. “My parents say it’s on the upswing again. They go down there and shop in this one antique place all the time.”
Victoria seemed surprised. “Well, let’s do it then, once and for all. What day, Cydney?”
“How about Friday?” she asked.
Victoria and Faith both nodded.
“Friday it is, then,” Cydney said, beaming.
Desmond was having one of those mornings everyone has from time to time. The kind of morning you wish you could start again from that first glimpse of the sun’s orange haze, that bright beginning filled with promise that the rest of the day never lived up to.
Felicia had attempted to be helpful by cooking him breakfast. She wasn’t in any danger of being a guest on that cooking show Desmond liked, Nigella Bites, that’s for sure. She glazed his last frozen waffles in a black-toasted crust. They’d make perfect drink-glass coasters but were totally inedible. She spilled a half carton of orange juice on the floor, startled by the smoke detector going off, she said. So, Desmond, who relied on his breakfast as the fuel for his day, left the house with an empty stomach.
His stomach growling on the way to work, Desmond stopped at a convenience store to grab a bagel and a small bottle of juice. He walked to the register, smiling, but then a few moments later backed away from that same register, embarrassed, and still with that growling stomach. He’d rushed from the house without his wallet.
When Desmond arrived at the restaurant he received the news that Karen had called in and would be running late, some personal problems. Desmond would have the fine pleasure of meeting, greeting and seating the patrons until Karen arrived. Thank God it was Friday.
Desmond was at the front of the restaurant now, reflecting on his poor day when the promise of that bright early-morning sun walked through the door. Desmond noticed her immediately and couldn’t hold in his smile.
“Miss Wonderful,” Desmond said to Cydney.
She smiled. “You remembered me.”
Desmond looked to her two companions. One looked like Vanessa Williams and the other looked as if she’d work the hell out of some spandex. “I see you brought along much better company this time.” He extended a hand to the spandex queen. “Desmond Rucker, I’m the proprietor.”
“Faith,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Rucker. We could smell the food from outside.”
Desmond then gave the Vanessa Williams clone his hand.
“Victoria Beauville,” she offered. “I’m very much looking forward to this meal, Mr. Rucker. Cydney told us so much about the place.”
Desmond’s eyes widened, his smile, too. He turned to his Miss Wonderful. “Did you, now…Cydney?”
Cydney shot Victoria a scowl. Victoria covered her mouth. “Oops. I meant, Miss Williams.”
Desmond bore his eyes into Cydney. “Cydney Williams. It has a nice ring to it.”
“Did you say ring?” Victoria asked playfully. Faith elbowed her in the rib cage.
“What?” Victoria responded to Faith’s elbow.
Desmond and Cydney continued their eye tango.
“Let me show you three to your table,” Desmond offered after a while. “One of our most romantic tables I might add, in the back room.”
Victoria asked, “Romantic? Oh, are you joining us? Because you know we need a handsome man to make the romance thing happen.”
Desmond smiled, looked at Cydney. “Not today, unfortunately, but I’d love the opportunity in the future.” Cydney shifted her gaze to her feet.
Desmond led them to their table, pulled out chairs one by one for them, and handed each woman a menu. “Your waitress will be over shortly.” He brushed Cydney’s shoulder as he went to leave. “Oh, pardon me, Cydney Williams.”
“It’s okay,” Cydney said. Some unknown force actually made her bat her eyelashes.
Desmond smiled and moved toward the front.
“You did that on purpose,” Cydney said to Victoria when Desmond left.
“I sure did,” Victoria responded. “Cydney, that man is fine. He’s got Taye Diggs’s smile, Samuel’s cool and Denzel’s charisma. You can borrow my camcorder if you want. You two can make a movie.”
Faith laughed. “I knew you were going to ruin it with something freaky.”
Victoria touched her chest, manufacturing a look of hurt. “I’m wounded, Faith. I wasn’t suggesting anything carnal.”
“You think he’s interested?” Cydney asked.
“It’s obvious,” Faith told her.
“Yes,” Victoria agreed, “and playing all hard to get is foolish. That’s why I went ahead and accelerated the process for you.”
“That darn Miss Wonderful bit really got me, though,” Faith added. “Isn’t that the cutest thing you ever heard, V?”
Victoria nodded, fanned herself. “Camcorder, Cydney. I’m telling you. That man has so much potential.” Victoria took a breath and looked down at her menu. “But enough about him, we need to get our order together. I am absolutely famished.”
They ate to a full belly, laughing and joking like lifelong girlfriends. Cydney forgot about all her problems during the course of the meal: Slay, Stephon, her mother, the stress of a full load from work and school. It had been ages since Cydney felt this good.
“A sistah is feeling good right about now,” Cydney said, scraping the last bit of food from her plate. “This place is excellent.”
“I know you’re going to give it a good write-up,” Faith said.
“She better,” Victoria added, “considering fine Mr. Rucker was such a gentleman to us.”
“That could be a conflict of interest, come to think of it,” Faith said.
“Why?” Victoria asked. “She’s not going to sleep with him until after the piece runs.”
Cydney waved her hands. “Yoo-hoo, I’m right here. Feel free
to talk to me. And who said anything about sleeping with anyone, Victoria?”
Victoria’s eyes lit, she sat up straight in her seat. “Now, are you telling me, Cydney, that you don’t find Desmond absolutely gorgeous?”
Faith shot Cydney a closemouthed smile. “Don’t answer that, Cydney.”
Cydney waved her off. “No, I must.” She looked smiling Victoria dead in the face. “Desmond is most certainly an attractive man, Victoria. And yes, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any interest—”
Faith reached for Cydney. “Cyd—”
“Hold on a second, Faith,” Cydney said, fanning her hand away. “Like I said, Victoria, he’s handsome, has style and cool, my type of man. But as of yet it has been nothing but some harmless flirting. I don’t know anything about him. Is he married? Does he have a girlfriend? Is he even interested in me?”
A deep voice bellowed, “No. No. Yes, with a capital Y.”
Cydney didn’t even have to turn to the voice. Embarrassment shot through her. She looked at Victoria, who winked. Faith gave Cydney an I-tried-to-warn-you shrug. Cydney closed her eyes for a moment of composure, and then turned to Desmond, smiling. “Desmond.”
“Miss Wonderful, née Cydney Williams.”
“Been standing there long?” Cydney asked.
“Long enough to have you make my day. Which I might add is quite an achievement on your part because my day hasn’t been going well.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Cydney said.
“No need to be,” Desmond assured her. “You’ve done more than your share to correct that.” He pulled the free seat at the table and looked at Faith and Victoria. “Excuse me a moment, ladies.”
“I have to be going anyway, Cydney. I’ll see you in class on Wednesday,” Faith said, rising from her seat.
“No dessert?” Cydney asked.
Faith grabbed her stomach. “Stuffed—” she looked to Desmond “—everything was wonderful and it was nice to meet you.”
Desmond nodded.
“I better head out, too,” Victoria said. “I have a hot date with one of my beaus tonight.” She looked at Desmond. “A real pleasure, Desmond,” she told him. Victoria then looked at Cydney. “One word—camcorder.” Cydney smirked, looked down to conceal her smile. Victoria blew Desmond a kiss and sashayed through the aisle and out the front door.
“Your friends are something, Cydney,” Desmond said.
“They’re the best,” Cydney agreed.
“I trust you enjoyed your meal, Miss Wonderful.”
Cydney dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, touched her stomach as Faith had done. “Yes, it was very nice.”
“Look, I have to watch the front door, I’m a bit shorthanded today, but I’d love to have your phone number.”
“Would you?”
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
“Then—” Desmond pressed his fingers to his lips “—then I call you, talk your ear off, make you fall in love with me and we live happily ever after.”
“That sounds straight up Harry Potter, a fairy tale.”
“Try me and see,” Desmond said, smiling, his dimples hypnotizing Cydney. “You just might find yourself, forty years down the road, looking over at me and wondering where the years went.”
“Wondering why I was foolish to put up with your stuff for all those years, you mean,” Cydney shot back.
“I hope that isn’t the case, Cydney.”
“But you’re not saying it definitely won’t be,” Cydney said, catching that important omission.
“I owe it to you to be real,” Desmond countered.
“You barely know me, you don’t owe me anything.”
“But I want to know you, so I do owe you,” Desmond said.
“Is it always going to be a dance like this between us if we do get together?” Cydney asked.
“I’ve got soft shoes on if it is.”
“Prepared, huh?”
“Didn’t know it…but yes, I guess so,” Desmond admitted. His heart was doing things inside his chest he’d never experienced before. He didn’t for one second think about his father and how Frank Rucker would view Cydney Williams and Desmond’s prospects with her. “So, may I have that number?”
Cydney wrote the numbers on the lunch tab, her hands shaking the entire time. “Hope I’m not making a mistake,” she said as she handed the slip of paper to Desmond.
“The gentleman will try and see that Miss Wonderful hasn’t,” Desmond responded.
“Such a charmer.”
“Let me walk you to your car,” Desmond said as Cydney rose from her seat.
“You don’t have to do that,” Cydney said.
“I want to,” Desmond told her.
“Okay.”
He walked Cydney to her car and stood holding the driver-side door for her. “I’ll be giving you a call soon.”
“I look forward to that,” Cydney told him.
He surprised Cydney and himself, leaning down and kissing her on the mouth. The kiss was long, passionate, a shedding of sorts for the both of them. They both got an inkling their lives wouldn’t be the same again after the kiss. They handled it with loud silence. Staring each other in the eyes but saying nothing.
“Well,” Desmond said after a moment, “you take care of yourself, Miss Wonderful. Expect my call soon.”
Cydney nodded, bit her lip, smiled, got in her car and drove off. Farther up the road she ran her fingers over her lips. She’d never been kissed like that before. Especially this early in the game. And she was always a fast mover, never known to look before she leaped.
Back at the restaurant, standing by the curb, Desmond touched his fingers to his lips in a similar fashion. Where had that come from? Kissing her like that. It felt so right, though. As did Cydney. Felt very right.
Slay was inside the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street, flirting with the Mexican girl behind the register, trying to recruit her, when Kenya’s uncle pulled up outside.
“Hit me off with another strawberry filled,” Slay said to the girl, dabbing his mouth with a little white napkin. “Those shits is tight. Almost as tight as you, chica.”
The Mexican girl smiled politely and scooped aside another donut for him.
Slay dropped a single on the counter and moved toward the door to meet Kenya’s uncle. The old man’s truck coughed a few times as he exited, the engine clearing all that dust from its carburetor. Slay shook his head. Old cat has some nerve driving around in that dusty bucket.
“How do?” the old man said as he came in the doorway.
“Good,” Slay responded. “You want something?”
Kenya’s uncle squinted at the big menu board. “Get me a coffee, black, no sugar and one of them plain donuts.”
Slay nodded to the Mexican cashier girl. “You heard that, chica?”
She nodded and went to work preparing the order. Slay directed the old man to a booth in the farthest corner of the shop.
“So what’s the word?” Slay asked as they took their seats.
“Mockingbird,” Kenya’s uncle said, smiling.
“You crazy old school, ain’t you?”
“I guess.”
“So what you find out so far?” Slay asked, rephrasing the question.
The Mexican girl brought over the donut and black coffee, no sugar. She smiled at Slay after she set it down.
“Throw that thang, chica,” Slay said, watching her hips as she moved back behind the counter.
“You like the ladies, I see,” Kenya’s uncle said.
Slay nodded. “Some would say different. But I think I do.” He left it at that. “So…my sister?”
“I’ve been enjoying this little project,” the old man said. “I been using my horse-racing binoculars—” a pained expression crossed his face, like he’d felt a sharp pain in his side all of a sudden “—God knows they ain’t never helped me none at the track.”
“Right, right,” Slay said, wanting this to move alon
g.
“Well, your sister, Cydney, I don’t think you have to worry about her with no drugs.”
Slay forced a fake bit of glee. “Thank goodness!”
“She drove up to Rutgers that one day—we gonna have to discuss extra monies for that lag. My baby out there almost went into labor out on that highway.”
“That’s no problem,” Slay said.
“Then she went up to the mall the next day. She’s got herself a good job at Macy’s, you know that?”
“Selling perfume,” Slay said. “Right, right.”
“She only went out one time,” the old man went on. “I mean out-out.”
This was interesting. “Where about?” Slay asked.
“Over to that fancy restaurant on Cookman. She was with two other girls—you’d like them for sure.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah,” the old man continued, “they got some good sweet-potato pie in that place, I tell you. And your sister’s boyfriend, he seems like a good brother. I think he manages the place or something. He’s a big shot over there. That much I know. They were, ‘yes, Mr. Rucker-ing’ him to death.”
Slay shot his eyes at Kenya’s uncle. “Boyfriend, you said?”
“Yeah, that Rucker fella. He walked her out after her girlfriends left, gave her a long kiss at her car and then went back inside. I followed your sister back home and then—” the old man stopped, grinned sheepishly “—then I headed on back over to that Cush—funny name for a restaurant, but that don’t matter. I headed back over there and got me a rib dinner, and some of that sweet-potato pie.”
“And you sure this Rucker cat kissed her?”
“Yeah, why, you haven’t met up with him before?”
Slay shook his head. “Not as of yet.”
“Well, he’s a good fella like I said. I can’t see him letting your sister get involved in no drugs.”
Just as Slay suspected, his sister had found someone to replace him. That’s why she’d been so quick to toss him aside.
“You gotta get over to that Cush and try some of they food,” the old man continued.
Slay looked at him, a smile creeping across his face. “Right, right.” He would definitely pay this Rucker cat a visit; get himself some eats, too.
Apple Brown Betty Page 11
