Coveted

by Mychea

  “Chile’ please. You know I love looking after my grandbabies. Now you just take that nonsense you speaking elsewhere.”

  I look at her and laugh then take a glance at the pie cooling on the stove.

  “I see you over there, eyeballing my pie and practically drooling. Don’t you touch it either you hear? That is for dessert tonight.”

  My mom knows me entirely too well, because I sure was about to cut a slice.

  I turn my head and give her a mischievous grin.

  “Okay Ma you win, this time. Where are Namiyah and Kalani?”

  “Your dad took them out fishing. They all left about six this morning.”

  “Fishing!” I said growing immediately alarmed. “You don’t think Kalani is too little for that? He likes to move around a lot. I don’t want him falling out of the boat and drowning or something.”

  “Baby you know your dad will not let anything happen to Kalani. Now stop worrying and take a load off. Go do something with yourself.”

  I know what that means; she’s had enough of me worrying her to death and wants me to leave her alone. Which is fine, I just don’t know what to do with myself.

  I decide to go back upstairs and do some work. I do after all have to plan Mr. Collins - I mean Damir’s - birthday party and I have been kind of slacking off on it for a while. There is no time like the present to be productive.

  I go and grab my purse, looking for my cell to give Camille a call. When I grab it, Damir’s business card falls out. I wonder what he would say if I decided to give him a call. I am feeling somewhat flirty and decide to make that move.

  As I am dialing his number, I get nervous and hang up. What am I thinking? I cannot just call him out of the clear blue sky. He will think I am some weird psycho or something. Then again, he did say that he would be awaiting my call.

  I refuse to punk out. I pick up my cell and this time I dial all of the numbers and wait for the phone to ring.

  He answers on the second ring.

  “Damir speaking.”

  I almost dropped the phone. He sounded so delicious - like hot fudge dripping over a vanilla sundae - and all I wanted to do was scoop him up with a spoon. Mmmmmmmm.

  “Damir speaking,” he said again. I noticed that I was just breathing on his phone.

  “Uh, hi this is Naima Vaughn. I apologize for calling so unexpectedly. I came across your business card and decided to give you a call.”

  “Naima Vaughn, what an unexpected pleasure to hear from you today.”

  “I thought maybe we could talk about your party.”

  “Is that why you called? Or is that an excuse to avoid saying what you really want to say?”

  Damn, he is very direct and straightforward. Since he called me out, I decide to own up to it.

  “Okay, Mr. Collins you caught me. I know it is unprofessional to call a client to engage in unrelated personal conversation, but I wanted to talk to you. So here I am talking to you but not really saying much,” I say as I give a nervous laugh.

  “The conversation does feel rather forced does it not? So let me offer a solution. I was about to cook dinner, but now that I am talking to you I feel more like dining out. How would you feel about accompanying me to dinner tonight?”

  “Thanks for the offer but I have to check to see if my mom will watch my kids while I am gone.”

  “Well go check. I’ll wait.”

  I feel like a little girl again as I run down to the kitchen to ask my mom to watch my kids while I go out on a date. This is very reminiscent of my high school days.

  “Hey Ma!” I yell as I enter the kitchen.

  “What chile, why are you yelling?”

  “I was wondering if it would be okay if you watched Namiyah and Kalani tonight while I kind of go out on a date.”

  “A kind of date, huh? You’re not even divorced from your husband yet.” She sighs, “But I do want you to be happy, and the way you’ve been moping around lately…” I hold my breath while she pauses in her statement. “Sure baby, if that will lift your spirits; you go ahead on that date. Your dad and I will watch our grandbabies.”

  “Oh thanks mommy,” I say as I throw my arms around her neck for a hug then bound back up the stairs. My cell phone still in hands and I bring it to my ear. “My mom says she will watch my kids so I am free for you to wine and dine me.” I laugh softly to myself.

  “Wine and dining you will be my pleasure, Ms. Naima. Let’s say about 5 o’clock this afternoon. I just need your address and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  That sent a tingle down my spine. I gave him my address and hung up. Wow, a date. I do not even know how to date; I have been married since I was 18.

  I let the excitement take over. I am going out on a date with Damir. It is funny how life works out sometimes. I fall back on the bed and gaze at the ceiling with a smile.

  The evening started with mommy business at its best. Namiyah and Kalani were running around the house as if they had lost their minds. I thought that they would be tired after coming back from their fishing trip this morning, but I was sadly mistaken.

  I just returned from shopping in Georgetown, before I could even get my foot in the door, I had to drop my bags because Kalani was insistent on leaping into my arms. Namiyah was right behind him, running her mouth a mile a minute, trying to tell me about all the fun that she had while on the fishing trip.

  “Wow did you miss your mommy punkin?” I ask Kalani.

  He just nods and lays his little head on my shoulder. My heart melted. I love babies, they love you unconditionally with no strings attached.

  “Mom, are you listening?”

  “Yes, Namiyah. I heard every word,” I say as I go and sit on the couch and lay Kalani across my lap. “Why don’t you come over and sit with me for a minute and let me talk to you.”

  “Okay.”

  I look directly into her charming green eyes and smile. She is such an adorable child.

  “Mommy is going out on a date tonight.”

  “Really? Do you think Daddy will mind?”

  “Your daddy will probably most definitely mind, but let’s not talk about Daddy. Let us talk about you. How do you feel about that?”

  “I don’t know,” she says as she shrugs her small shoulders. “If you want to go, you should go I guess.”

  “Well I do want to go but I wanted to check to see how my little muffin would feel about it.”

  “If you’re happy mommy, then I’m happy. Can I finish telling you about the fishing trip now?”

  I smile to myself. Kids will be kids.

  “Sure baby tell me all about it,” I say as I put Kalani back on my shoulder and carry him upstairs to lay him down in his crib. Namiyah once again begins to run her mouth a mile a minute as she describes in vivid detail her phenomenal day.

  Leaning my head back on my bath pillow and basking in the lavender scent of my bubble bath, listening to the silence had never felt so good. Namiyah finally was tired of talking and laid it down for the evening. Woo! That child sure can bring it. I hope she takes up debating when she gets to high school. Listening to her put me behind schedule. I only have an hour and a half to get ready before Damir is scheduled to show up.

  My hair is in heated rollers, and since I am on a time crunch, I decide to get out of my luxurious bath and sit down and do my make-up. I am the queen of multi-tasking. With two children and a job, you learn to adapt to almost any situation. What I really need is a personal stylist and make-up artist. They would make my life so much easier. I think that is one of the things that I do miss that came with Kaden’s celebrity status. I always had someone to cater to my needs. It was nice while it lasted. Oh well, time to say goodbye to the old memories. I look in the mirror at my reflection and smile. Time to bring in the new.

  I glance over on the bed at my outfit for the evening. I cannot wait to hop into it. I am wearing a short lace and charmeuse, black cocktail dress, with a crystal-icon belt from BCBG. I purchased these cute Ma-Maud
e gold strappy sandals, with stones on top to go with the dress, along with a matching clutch. I know I am going to have fun tonight. My outfit ran me well over $1,000, and I am not with Kaden anymore. This splurging thing is not as it used to be. I did not use to have to worry about money. However, with me now being a single mother, it is a cause of concern for me, but I think that Damir is so worth it. I was thinking to myself when a light tap on the door interrupted my thoughts.

  “Naima,” I hear my mother say. “I came to see if you need help getting ready.”

  I love my mom. I kid you not; she is the best mom that has ever set foot on the face of the Earth. The best.

  “Come in Ma, of course I need help getting ready. Your help is always appreciated. I have rollers that need to be taken out, make-up that needs to be put on and an outfit I need to put on. I am just so overwhelmed,” I say as I put my hand to my forehead and pretend to faint as I fall backward onto the bed.

  “Lordie chile, you are so dramatic and you wonder where Namiyah gets it from. The apple apparently doesn’t fall to far from the tree. Now sit in this chair over here so I can get these rollers out your hair.”

  I have to laugh in spite of myself. Nothing fazes my mom. She just ignores me and keeps on about her business. Got to love that. That’s probably how I adopted my attitude toward Namiyah, and just let her be, for the most part, with her overly dramatic self. I move to the chair, as told, and begin to work on my make-up as my mom removes rollers from my hair.

  Damir 9

  God must be pleased with me because I have definitely been favored. Only the powers that be could have gotten me a phone call and a date from Naima. I always give credit where credit is due.

  I did not know where to take her and I told her to be ready around five o’clock. Maybe I could fly us to New York for the night in my private jet, and we could have dinner at the 40/40 club. We could stay and party for a little while. I do not know too many people that would not be impressed about doing something like that.

  This evening, I chose to be chauffeured in a rented, stretch black Hummer. I want Naima to feel like the queen that I know she is, and I want to enjoy her company, rather than concentrate on driving. This way all of my focus would be on her. I feel a little apprehensive. I cannot tell you the last time a woman actually had me nervous and second-guessing myself. I just hope that she finds justice with the evening that I have planned for her.

  The driver pulls up and stops in front of the address that Naima had given to me. I wait as he comes around to open the side door, and head to the front door. Just as I am about to ring the bell, the door flies open and the pretty little girl from the pictures in Naima’s office runs out screaming.

  “Oh, whose ride is this? Can I see the inside?” she said almost knocking me over to get to the door.

  “Namiyah! Get back in this house!” I hear Naima yell, though I cannot see her.

  “Aww, Mommy, I just want to look inside the big truck.” She pouts, poking out her lip.

  “Namiyah, NOW!”

  “Yes ma’am,” she says as she hangs her head and reenters the house.

  I don’t know what to do. I still have not officially been greeted, so I don’t want to just walk in the house.

  I hear Naima chastising her daughter in the distance.

  “I know you better act like you have some sense young lady and stop running out of this house like you have lost your mind. You did not know who was out there or what was going on. Now go back to bed.”

  At that moment, an older version of Naima appeared at the door.

  “Hello, I am Cynthia, Naima’s mother. Please come in. Mr.--?

  “Collins. Damir Collins,” I say as I extend my hand for her to shake.

  “Please have a seat,” she says as she gestures toward the couch. Sorry about the little show you just witnessed. We thought the little missy was asleep, then you pulled up in the yard, and here she comes bounding down the stairs out of nowhere.”

  “No apologies needed. Kids will be kids, and I’m sure she was curious to see who her mother would be going out with.”

  “Yeah, well it was nice meeting you,” she tells me as she begins her retreat out of the room. “Naima should be out in a moment; once she puts Namiyah back to bed.”

  “Okay, it was nice meeting you also Cynthia,” I reply as I sit back and get comfortable on the couch. With nothing else to do, I begin to look around the room at all of the photographs lining the wall. I see pictures of who must have been Naima as a baby, all the way through her teenage years, to her now. In one picture, I see a very pregnant teenage Naima smiling and waving at the camera. Even then, she was beautiful.

  I hear footsteps behind me; I rise and turn around, and stop in mid-motion. So, this is what astonishment feels like. Words have eluded me. Our eyes collide and I am finding it hard to breathe as she stares back at me with the sultry intensity of magnetic hazel eyes.

  “Hi,” she finally says in a throaty whisper, that I believe she has trademarked and owns all exclusive rights.

  “Good evening. You look breathtaking. You rendered me speechless for a moment,” I tell her as I lean in to place a kiss on her cheek. With all honesty, I can say that she really did take words away. She was a lovely vision, encased in black and gold, and her beautiful jet-black hair was wavy and cascading down her back.

  “Now that is a compliment worth holding on to I believe. It is not often that a man says to a woman that she has rendered him speechless. I am extremely delighted to have that effect on you.”

  I gaze into her hazel eyes again and I am lost. The power that she can weld from her gaze is hypnotic. She has cast a spell on me. I am enchanted.

  As I guide her into our rented vehicle for the evening, I begin to imagine what life, with Naima by my side, would be like. I can only imagine that it would be full of children’s laughter, with lots of hugs and kisses of bruises in between, with a caring mother there to save the day.

  “Damir did you hear me?”

  I slowly fade back into reality to notice that Naima is watching me expectedly.

  “My apologies I was imaging a fairyland where you were the princess.”

  “You are laying it on kind of thick, huh? You don’t have to try so hard, I already agreed to the date.” She gently laughs afterward.

  “I wasn’t aware that I was trying hard. I give credit and compliments when they are due, and trust and believe, I mean every word that I say about you woman.”

  Her cheeks flushed pink at my statement.

  “Now,” I continue. “What was it that you were asking me?”

  “I asked where we would be dining this evening.”

  “I was hoping to surprise you, but if you really would like to kn-.”

  “No,” she interrupts. “I like surprises. I can wait.”

  “In that case why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, since we’re practically strangers.”

  She inhales slowly and is silent for the space of a heartbeat or two.

  “What is it that you would like to know?” she finally asks.

  “Well for starters I thought I could ask you about the first time that we met. I am interested in knowing what was bothering you that day.”

  She closes here eyes and whispers “Why?”

  I thought about that for a second and asked myself the same question. Why did I feel like I needed to know what was bothering her that day? If she did not want to talk about it, then she should not have to.

  “You know what Ms. Naima, why is a good question. I really don’t need to know. Just know that if you ever want to talk about it I am here for you.”

  “I’ll remember that. Thank you for being a gentleman and not pushing the subject any further. I really appreciate the gesture.”

  “Anytime. Besides, we’ve reached one of our destinations.”

  “One of our destinations? Well how many are there?”

  “A couple.” I get out and reach for her hand to help her out of the vehic
le. “So let’s begin our night shall we?”

  “Oh my goodness. We’re on any airfield. Are you kidnapping me?” she asks with a slight giggle as the wind whips through her hair, and she turns hazel eyes on me.

  I chuckle softly. “No, I am not kidnapping you. If you agree to go with me willingly, I would like to begin our date. Is that okay with you?” I ask her as I place my hand beneath her elbow and guide her toward my black Learjet 60.

  “Who is Alanna?” Naima asks as she notices the name encrusted on my jet.

  I clear my throat and respond, “She was my baby sister.”

  She reaches out and takes my hand. “Sorry for your loss,” she says, and continues to walk toward the jet with no further words.

  I glance down at her, too choked up to speak now.

  The pilot came down to help us into the jet.

  “Alanna is all fueled up and cleared for takeoff Mr. Collins.”

  I just nod my head toward him and proceed onto the jet. Once inside, I hang back to see what Naima’s response will be, but she does not seem impressed at all. She proceeds to sit in a seat by the window. I am still trying to get my thoughts together. It was not that I could not handle hearing my sister’s name or anything. It was the fact that Naima knew that I had suffered a loss, and I needed a moment to get myself together. I cleared my throat again and drew a blank. I did not know what to say or do.

  “Damir its okay, there’s no need to get shy on me. My mom calls it a gift that I have. I can sense another person’s pain. I’ll offer you the same services you offered me. If you ever want to talk about it I am here for you.”

  I swallow audibly and finally say, “No one ever knew up front that I lost my sister. Your comment took me a little by surprise, and I did not know what to do for a minute. It was as if I was having an out of body experience until now.”

  She looks at me as if she is about to say something, and abruptly changes the subject.

  “I like your jet. It has a nice artistic flair about it, very colorful and vibrant. It seems so different from the characteristics that I see in you.”