For the Sake of Love

by Dwan Abrams

  “There’s no rush,” she told him. Feeling broken, she said, “I don’t feel like talking anymore. I want to go home.” She excused herself from the table and found Kerryngton. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. Thanks for dinner.”

  He tried to stop her, but his attempt proved futile as she walked right out the door.

  Bria’s phone was hot after she left Kerryngton’s house. Between her parents and Kerryngton blowing up her phone, her phone rang nonstop. What part of her “I don’t feel like talking” didn’t they understand? She needed time alone to sort through her feelings. She was tired of being in limbo.

  When she got home she wrote out a list of pros and cons for Spade and Kerryngton. The pros for Spade far outweighed any cons. And the fact that he was her first love made their love more special and pure than anything she could ever hope to feel for Kerryngton. She finally admitted what she had been running away from all along—Spade is The One. He’s the love of her life.

  Once she had resigned in her spirit that she wanted to be with Spade, she called Kerryngton.

  “Hey,” she said. “Sorry I ran out like that. Things just got a little heavy, and I needed some air. I know you have Alexis with you tonight, so can we meet up tomorrow?”

  “No, I can see you tonight. Alexis has a sitter.”

  “Oh, okay. In that case, come on over.”

  Less than an hour later Kerryngton showed up at Bria’s doorstep looking as good as he usually did. “You okay, baby?” he said as he hugged her.

  She broke the embrace and led him into the family room so that they could talk. “Before I get into what I called you over here for, there’s something I need to get off my chest.”

  “Sure, baby. What is it?” He eyed her curiously.

  Exhaling, she released, “What happened with your ex-wife wasn’t cool. Her kissing you on the lips was very disrespectful.”

  “Oh.” He sucked air between his teeth. “Don’t pay her any attention. She just did that for effect. She was trying to get under your skin.”

  “Whatever,” Bria continued. “The fact that you allowed it and didn’t check her says a lot.”

  “It’s not like that,” he defended.

  She halted her hand. “It doesn’t even matter. Anyway, I’ve been thinking . . .”

  And before she could finish her sentiment he dropped down on one knee and said, “I meant what I said earlier. I have real feelings for you, Bria.” He pulled a ring out of his pocket. “Would you marry me?”

  No no no! she screamed on the inside. This is not supposed to happen. She felt like the crud in her bathroom drain. There was no easy way to say this. She swallowed hard. “Kerryngton, please get up.”

  He had a confused expression on his face, but he slowly got up and sat next to her.

  She looked him straight in the eyes and said, “I care about you . . . a lot. But if I’m being honest, I’m not in love with you.”

  He cracked a smile. “I’m not worried about that. Plenty of people get married first and fall in love later.”

  She took a deep breath and released it. “Not me. I’m not like that. I think you’re terrific, but I can’t marry you. I’m sorry.”

  He smirked. “I thought you were smarter than that. We could’ve been so good together. You obviously have no clue how lucky you are. I can’t even count how many women would love to be in your shoes.” He stood up. “I’m out.”

  Well . . . That was weird, Bria thought as she locked the door behind him. She hadn’t expected that outburst, but she knew she needed to have seen it. Between his daughter and his erratic behavior, she was convinced he couldn’t be the man for her.

  Twenty-nine

  Bria had too much on her mind to go to sleep so she called Spade.

  “You up?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m at home working. What’s up?”

  “Just needed to talk.” Then she hesitated. She didn’t want to tell him about her breakup over the phone. She wanted to see his face. “Never mind.”

  “Don’t do that. What’s the matter?”

  “It’s late, let’s just talk tomorrow.” She hung up and immediately regretted it. She didn’t want to call him back and ask him to come over because he was working. She didn’t want to disrupt his flow. However, she could drop by and momentarily distract him. He used to love when she did that. He called her a welcomed distraction.

  She got in her car and trekked across town. The entire time driving Bria thought about what she was going to say to Spade. She hoped and prayed he still wanted to be with her in spite of everything that had happened.

  When she pulled into his apartment complex she saw his car and knew he was still at home. She breathed a sigh of relief, because she knew she was taking a big chance just dropping by. Some habits die hard because she and Spade had the type of relationship where neither of them cared if the other stopped by unannounced.

  She climbed the flight of stairs to his condo and knocked on the door. She waited a moment before knocking again. She placed her ear to the door and heard someone unlock the door. Bria almost tumbled down the stairs when she saw Kola standing there in a nightshirt.

  “Hey, girl,” Kola said, tossing her weave over her shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

  All sorts of expletives went through Bria’s mind, but she was too much of a lady to let them fly out of her mouth. She couldn’t even fake a smile because she felt too pissed off. Suddenly she felt jealous and possessive, feelings she wasn’t used to having when it came to Spade. She knew she didn’t have any right to feel the way she felt, but she wanted to jack Kola and Spade up. Logically, she knew Spade wasn’t cheating on her, but her emotions didn’t get the memo. She composed herself as best she could and said, “Is Spade here?”

  “He’s in the shower.”

  More expletives.

  She was about to turn and leave, but Spade walked out in a pair of boxer shorts. When his eyes landed on Bria and her “don’t say nothing to me” expression, he sprinted across the room like a rabbit.

  Bria started down the stairs but couldn’t go as fast as she wanted to for fear of tripping in those Christian Louboutins and breaking her ankle.

  “Bria, wait!” he yelled as he ran behind her barefoot and half naked.

  “God forgive me,” she mumbled before unleashing a string of cuss words at him. She was pretty sure she probably owed his momma an apology for calling him the son of a female dog and a person who didn’t know who his father was. She was so thankful to hit that last step so that she could pick up the pace and get her stride.

  Spade grabbed her by the arm and flung her around. She gave him the middle finger and in case he didn’t know what that meant, she said it. She knew she wasn’t acting very Christian-like, but her emotions had gotten the best of her.

  “Baby, please!”

  “Baby!” She acted like he had called her a female dog. “You trifling—”

  He said in a stern tone, “Bria, you need to calm down.” He threw his hands in the air. “There’s nothing going on between me and Kola. We work together. It got late. I told her she could crash in my room while I stayed on the couch. I have not and would not sleep with her. You know I love you. It’s always been you.”

  She wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t see past her anger. What if she hadn’t shown up? Would he have slept with her? Or worse yet, what if he had already slept with her? If he had slept with Kola, what right did she have to be angry?

  She searched his face. At first she couldn’t tell whether he was lying or telling the truth. It wasn’t until she looked deep into his eyes that she could tell that he was telling the truth. She felt as though he had taken a soothing ointment and applied it on a cut, causing instant relief.

  “You believe me, don’t you?”

  She hung her head. “I feel stupid. I never should’ve went off on you like that. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s cool. That just means you still love me.” He grinned. “At least tell me
why you came over.”

  “I came over to tell you that I’m not seeing Kerryngton anymore.”

  “Thank you, Jesus!” he shouted; then he kissed her.

  She laughed at him. “Get back inside before the neighbors call the police on you for indecent exposure. We’ll talk later.”

  He touched his bare chest as if he was just now realizing he didn’t have any clothes on. “Tell me you love me,” he demanded.

  She waited a moment. “Fine, I love you.” She felt good saying that.

  “You know you’re welcome to stay, right?”

  “No, I’m good.” That was the Spade she knew and loved. Always considerate of her.

  She opened the car door and Spade took a step back. “Whose car is this?”

  “Oh, um, Kerryngton got it for me.”

  He stood there looking dejected. He tried to conceal his feelings. “It’s nice.” He made sure she was safe in her car and driving away before going back inside.

  She couldn’t believe how she had shown her tail that night. She knew Nya was going to have a field day with that one.

  Thirty

  Spade replayed the previous night’s events in his mind and laughed his butt off. Kola had already left. He had never seen Bria act like that in all the years he had known her. She went straight ham when she thought he was bangin’ Kola. At least now he knows his girl is capable of getting jealous. He felt flattered. But he didn’t know she even knew all those cuss words. It sounded strange hearing her talk like that.

  Thank goodness she had come to her senses and gotten rid of Daddy Warbucks. He was about to call her, but an incoming call came from his doctor’s office.

  “Your test results are back. We need you to come in right away.” The woman on the other end had a professional demeanor, expressionless. Her voice gave no indication as to whether his results were good or bad.

  His heart plummeted. He knew she couldn’t tell him anything over the phone, but that didn’t sound good. “I’ll be there as soon as I get dressed.”

  He had waited weeks for those results, and he didn’t know what he’d do if the results weren’t favorable. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. He hurried up and got dressed in record time. He drove to the doctor’s office at a speed that would’ve made one think he had a brick on the gas pedal.

  He said a quick prayer before entering the doctor’s office. There was only one other person in the lobby. When he checked in at the front desk someone immediately came out to escort him back. He waited a couple of minutes in one of the exam rooms before his oncologist met with him.

  The oncologist shook his hand. “Let me be the first to tell you that you do not have cancer.”

  Spade took a moment to process what the doctor had just said. He clutched the cross around his neck, dropped to his knees, and thanked the Lord! He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was official! His emotions broke through like the levees in the Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina. He couldn’t stop it. He felt relieved, but that relief quickly turned to anger.

  “Doc, had I undergone chemo and survived, they would’ve told me I had been cured of a disease I never had.”

  “Yes, what you’re saying is true, and that’s frightening. Thankfully, you declined the chemo.” He offered a faint smile. “What you actually have is a lipoma, just as I told you before.”

  “Thank God!” He let out a sigh of relief. “And thank you for listening to me and going the extra mile.”

  Spade was certain he could handle anything now. God had worked it out for him. He didn’t have cancer and for that he was extremely grateful. Now that his death sentence had been overturned, he was ready to make things right with his woman.

  Spade didn’t take his second chance for granted. He knew he needed to make a grand gesture, and he knew just the person to help him pull it off. He called Mr. Murray.

  “Pops, I just wanted to tell you. It’s official . . . I don’t have cancer.”

  “Praise God, son! I knew He’d do it.”

  “Yes, He did.” He cleared his throat. “I need your help, though.”

  “Name it.”

  “I have a surprise planned for Bria. Do you think you can get her to come over to your house tonight?”

  He exhaled into the phone. “She’s upset with me right now. I don’t know if she’d be willing to come over.”

  “Why is she upset with you?” He sounded surprised.

  “She found out that I knew about your condition and didn’t tell her.”

  “Oh.” He didn’t like coming between Bria and her dad. “Sorry about that. You want me to talk to her.”

  “It’s all right. I’ll reach out to her. I can handle it.” He sounded confident.

  “Let me know if you need my help. You know I got you,” he said sincerely.

  Mr. Murray said, “Thanks, son. Getting back to tonight, did you have a particular time in mind?”

  “How about six o’clock?”

  “That should be fine. I’m sure my wife will have some dinner cooked.”

  He missed Mrs. Murray’s delicious home cooking. He licked his lips just thinking about it.

  “I’m going to call Bria now. I’ll call you back if there’s a problem. Otherwise, see you this evening,” Mr. Murray said.

  Spade got off the phone feeling pretty good. One thing he knew about Bria was that she loved her parents. She couldn’t stay mad at them for long even if she tried. He threw up a prayer anyway. He had come too far to stop praying now.

  Thirty-one

  Thank goodness it’s Friday! And thank God Bria worked for herself. Getting out of bed had been a struggle that morning. She had tossed and turned all night thinking about Spade, and she couldn’t get Kerryngton’s arrogant comments out of her head. She didn’t show up at the spa until almost lunchtime. Even then she wore dark glasses to hide the bags underneath her eyes.

  “Girl, you look beat,” Nya told her as soon as she entered the office. “And not in the good way either.”

  She removed her glasses and placed them on the desk. “You wouldn’t believe the night I had.”

  Nya held up her index finger. “Just one moment, child. I can tell you have some tea to spill.” She popped a bag of microwaveable popcorn and pulled up a seat. “Okay, now you can spill it.” She opened the bag and the aroma of freshly popped corn scented the room.

  Bria’s mouth ran a marathon as she gave Nya the rundown of the previous night’s events. She told her everything from meeting Kerryngton’s ex and daughter to the disastrous dinner to the marriage proposal to going over to Spade’s house.

  Nya munched on the popcorn like she was watching a movie. Judging by the many different expressions she made as each story was being told she found the drama just as entertaining.

  “Girl, you had quite the night.” Then she started laughing. “Now you know you didn’t have any business going over to Spade’s house unannounced. And then you had the nerve to get angry because he had a girl there. Honey child, news flash—he could’ve been doing the booty on the balcony and you still wouldn’t have had a right to get upset. He was not your man.”

  “I know.”

  “You just happened to luck up on that one. Any other dude would’ve been doing exactly what you originally thought Spade was doing.” She laughed harder. “I’m glad he wasn’t though. You looked crazy enough copping an attitude. You would’ve needed meds for sure if he had been sleeping with her.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Nya knew her so well.

  “How are you feeling about your dad?” Concern laced her voice.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “He’ll always be my dad. I still love him. I’m just pissed, you know?”

  Nya nodded. “I get it.”

  Just then Bria’s phone rang and her dad’s name appeared on the screen. “Speak of the devil,” she said. “We must’ve talked him up.” She answered in a casual tone.

  “Pumpkin, would you please stop by the house this evening
around six?”

  “Everything all right?” She hoped he didn’t have any bad news to share with her.

  “Yes. Your mom and I are fine.”

  She didn’t really feel like being around her dad because she was still upset with him. But she knew her dad. If she refused to see him or talk to him, he’d show up at her job. He never liked leaving issues unresolved between them. So, she said, “Sure, I’ll be there.”

  She ended the call and Nya was looking so far down her throat she was certain she could see her tonsils. “You already know,” Bria told her. Nothing else needed to be said. She didn’t have to explain.

  Bria and Spade showed up at her parents’ house at the same time. They stood outside conversing briefly.

  “You looking yummy, baby,” Spade told her. He held her hand in the air as she twirled in front of him.

  “Thanks. I’m glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

  “I want to talk to you and your parents.”

  “About what?” She displayed some attitude as she placed her hand on her hip.

  Pressing the doorbell, he said, “You’re such a baby. Wait and see.”

  Before Bria could get all dramatic, as she was known to do, Mrs. Murray answered the door and greeted them with hugs and kisses. “My favorite young couple. You’re right in time for dinner.”

  “Good, because I’m starving,” Spade said. “Nobody cooks better than you, Mrs. Murray.” He handed her a card.

  “Thank you, sweetie.” Mrs. Murray kissed him on the cheek.

  Bria playfully elbowed him in the ribs, and he smoothed the spot with his hand. “What did you do that for?”

  Touching the tip of her nose, she teased him, “Brown-noser.”

  He simply shook his head as they followed Mrs. Murray into the dining room.

  Mr. Murray exited the half bath.“Hey, you two.” He made his way over to Bria and kissed her on the cheek. He gave Spade a manly hug, and they all sat down at the table.

  Mrs. Murray served fried chicken, potato salad, collard greens, sweet corn bread, and iced tea. They bowed their heads and blessed the food. Everyone fixed their plates.