John looked slightly sheepish for a moment. “Okay, she did leave me a note. I finally found it after losing my mind for a few hours because it wasn’t like she’d put it where I could find it right away. There were just a couple of lines: ‘I’m sorry to do it like this but it had to end sometime. It may not seem like it, right now, but this is the best thing for both of us. I really do love you.’” John recited the words angrily and raked his fingers through his goatee. “I still can’t get over her thinking she could just leave me a little note like that and then disappear on me.”
“So now you just have to figure out where she could be. We can call Titus Argonne. His people could track her down in a New York minute,” Adam said.
John had a surprising response. “Actually, she’s in Oakland right now, unless she’s taken off again. I called her home number and she answered the phone. It was her voice, no question about it. So I really don’t have a choice,” he said grimly.
“What do you mean, no choice,” Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I mean I’m going out there and get her. I have no idea what happened to make her think she could just drop out of my life with no warning but she’s about to find out what time it is,” John replied angrily. “I always knew Nina was difficult, but to be honest, that’s what I like about her. She’s not like most women, all sweet and sugary. Nina is spicy, man. She keeps me on my toes constantly and I love that. But this goes beyond all understanding, it really does. I don’t know whether I want to love her forever or lock her up.”
He was shocked when all his brothers started laughing. The shock subsided when Andrew was finally able to speak. “Welcome to the family, John. Now you’re a real Cochran. You’re not really one of us until your woman drives you crazy,” he said with a wry smile.
The brothers all spoke in unison. “Amen to that.” Adam took it a step further and grinned at John. “You’re definitely one of us now.”
When Alicia came home and found her loft full of the Cochran men wearing gloomy faces and looking forlorn, she did what any smart woman would do. She fixed a huge pot of arroz con pollo and a big salad of avocado, oranges and sweet onion in citrus vinaigrette, and fed the delicious meal to them while the flan she was making for dessert baked in the oven. In a little while, they all felt better, even John. He felt well enough to ask what they meant about him really being one of them now.
Alan took pleasure in elaborating. “All of our wives gave us a hard time from jump street. A Cochran wife has to be dragged kicking and screaming down the aisle; otherwise it might not be true love. None of us had an easy time with the women we love. Believe me when I tell you, Nina’s behavior is typical of this family.”
John laughed, but his brothers all looked at him with total seriousness. Andrew started by telling him what he’d gone through with Renee. “Man, she hated the sight of me for seventeen years. Seventeen years of being in love with the woman and she wouldn’t give me the time of day. We fought like tigers for years, ask anybody. Even after we finally got together there was plenty of stuff. I almost lost her forever because of my macho stupidity,” he told him.
John still didn’t quite believe him. “Andrew, that’s deep. You and Renee seem like the perfect couple. Anybody can see how much love and respect you have for each other.”
Donnie laughed. “Yeah, now they do. But back in the day, man, they used to throw down. Almost as bad as Angel and me. We fought from the day we met, back before Clay and Benita got married. In fact, the other reason we got married in the first place was because we drank too much champagne in Vegas one night and lost our minds.” At John’s look of shock, he laughed again. “It’s all true, John. Of course we realized we were in love and we were smart enough to stay together, but we had some pretty lively years before we got it right.”
By now, John was really enjoying his brother’s tales. Nodding to Alan and Andre, he said, “Okay, your turn.”
Alan shuddered. “Man, Tina couldn’t stand the sight of me. Andre and I went to Harvard Law School and we thought we were the shizz-nit, hear? Young, fine, educated and rich. We just knew we had it goin’ on. Well, Tina thought I was the biggest jerk in the world. She called me a blight on humanity and that was when she was being affectionate. It took me a long time to get next to Tina,” he said ruefully.
“So when did she warm up to you?” John wanted to know.
“About a year ago,” Alan said with a straight face.
Andre nodded in agreement. “Faye wasn’t much better than Tina. Actually, she was worse. Her family has serious money, enough to buy and sell us ten times over, and she wasn’t impressed with me no kinda way. She used to look down her nose at me like I was a street hustler or something. It took an entire semester of dedicated, systematic beginning to get her to give me the time of day. That woman had me beggin’ like Babyface for weeks, man.”
Adam had nothing to add during all this, he was busy clearing the work island where they’d eaten and was filling the dishwasher. John called him on it, and wanted to know his tale of woe regarding Alicia.
Voices were raised as the brothers all denied Adam and Alicia having any such problems. “Oh, no, he didn’t go through what we went through. They were always best friends, all sweet and kind to each other,” scoffed Alan.
“He hasn’t suffered like a real man,” Andre agreed.
“John, see what you missed out on not growing up with these fools? These jokers have no idea what they’re talking about. I suffered plenty, believe me,” Adam retorted.
“Like how? Did you two fight about who was the best looking or something? Y’all were so close it was sickening, that’s not what I call suffering,” Alan looked disgusted at the idea.
Adam looked serious as he defended himself. “Let’s say you meet the woman of your dreams, the one woman you know is your soulmate, the perfect person for you. And let’s say you get a little glimpse of paradise and then you get tossed into the friend zone and you have to stay there for ten years. Ten years of being her pal, her buddy, her best friend. How would you like that, having to watch her going out with other men? Would you like to think about other men touching her, wondering if you were going to lose her forever? I had a hard time, all right, and don’t tell me I didn’t.”
The respectful silence lasted for about ten seconds before the men started making derisive noises and throwing their napkins at Adam. Even Andrew, the most genteel of the bunch, got on Adam. “Nobody’s buying it, bro. I’m sorry, but your story doesn’t compare. We went through hell and you’re complaining because you were just friends? You had it easy, man.”
“Hey, man, Tina put out a restraining order on me one time, Alicia never did that to you,” Alan said indignantly. “Just admit it, you had it the easiest of all of us.”
“Okay, I guess I did. Probably because I have more skills than the rest of you,” he said with a condescending smirk.
The loud, raucous reactions to that statement almost made John forget about his agony. Almost, but not completely as he contemplated what he had to do next.
***
John was putting the last of his personal items in his suitcase when he heard a knock on the door of his apartment. He left the bedroom and entered the living room to open the door He couldn’t conceal his surprise when he found Adam and Alicia standing there.
“Come in,” he invited, although his voice betrayed his curiosity. “What brings you all the way out here?”
Adam got right to the point. “I’m going with you, John. I can’t let you go out to California by yourself, there’s no telling what kind of trouble you might get into.”
“And I’m going with you to keep him out of trouble,” Alicia said wryly. “And to give poor Nina some support, she doesn’t need you two ganging up on her.”
John was speechless, but Adam wasn’t. “Hurry up man, let’s get going. You can have your say on the plane. Let’s just get out there because you know you’re not going to rest until you see Nina and make sure
she’s okay.”
Amazed by Adam’s perception, John did just as he suggested and finished packing at light speed. Soon they were on their way to Detroit Metro and the plane that would take them to Nina. He had no idea what he would find when he got to Oakland, but anything was better than this uncertainty. Nina, I’m coming for you. And you’d better have a good reason for all this craziness. God knows you’d better be able to explain this madness to me.
Chapter 17
Nina’s legs were past tingling. The pleasant exertion that normally accompanied a run had long gone and her legs were almost numb. She didn’t pay it any attention; the lack of feeling in her limbs matched the emptiness she’d felt since the day she got the phone call. She forced her body forward in the gathering twilight gradually slowing down to a walk under the canopy of trees lining the streets of her neighborhood. She tried not to look at the small houses on either side of the quiet lane, but she couldn’t help herself. They were all painted in pastel colors with contrasting trims, the yards neat and green with borders of shrubs and flowers. Several of her neighbors called to her and she waved and spoke to them, calling them by name. She could feel her eyes filling with tears and she dashed them away with the back of her hand. This was no time to get weak; she had too much work to do.
She set her jaw resolutely and increased her pacer to a quick jog as she neared her house. She was looking down at the little clusters of flowers that bordered her driveway, thinking they needed a trim. If she hadn’t been so absorbed with the flowers she wouldn’t have been so startled. As it was she ran up the stairs to her porch and was about to open her front door when a figure loomed out of the hanging swing, which was partially obscured by bougainvillea vines. Nina screamed bloody murder and gave the intruder a blast of the pepper spray she kept on her key ring.
“Good God, Nina, it’s just me! Oh, damn, what was in that crap, battery acid?” John covered his eyes and bent over as the stinging pain of the spray overcame him. Nina frowned as she realized the identity of her visitor. “Serves you right for sneaking around. Get in the house so I can wash that stuff off our face, you idiot.”
She ushered him through the front door and took him right to the kitchen. She made him bend over the sink and used the hose attachment to rinse his face and eyes. She directed the warm water at him and rinsed over and over until he finally begged her to stop. “Okay, baby, that’s enough. I’m sure it’s gone now,” he gasped as he choked on the excess water.
Nina didn’t answer; she made him sit down at her kitchen table. “I’ll be right back. Don’t rub anything, it makes it hurt worse,” she warned him. Her hands were shaking and her heart was still pounding from the mighty surge of adrenalin his presence caused. She couldn’t even speculate about why he was there, she had to concentrate on getting that stuff off his face. She got towels from her linen closet and a jar of Vaseline from the medicine cabinet. She went back into the kitchen and screamed again as she saw Adam and Alicia standing there. “What is this, Scare Nina Day? Where did you people come from?”
Alicia answered her, speaking in a soft voice in deference to Nina’s obviously rattled nerves. “We got in a couple of hours ago and your neighbor saw us knocking at your door and invited us over.”
Nina had collected herself enough to put a towel around John’s shoulders and began to pat his face dry with a soft cloth. She was absorbed in her task, but not so much that she ignored Alicia. “Miss Velma is a good neighbor, but a little too trusting for her own good,” she murmured. And a little too talkative. There’s no telling what that sweet old lady told the three of you, she thought resignedly. Suddenly remembering her manners, Nina looked at Alicia and Adam with an apology in her eyes. “I’m sorry I’m being so rude. Please have a seat. May I get you something? It’s a long flight from Detroit, are you hungry?”
They both assured her they were just fine. “Miss Velma insisted on feeding us,” Adam said with a smile. Nina didn’t look up from her task of applying a very thin film of Vaseline to the reddened areas on John’s face, but she returned the smile all the same.
“Miss Velma feeds everybody,” she said fondly. “It’s a wonder I’m not as big as a house, as much of her food as I’ve eaten.”
“I’m just fine, thanks for asking,” John said with obvious irritation. “I’m the one who’s been attacked and you’re ignoring me.”
Nina was finally satisfied with her work and took her hands away from John’s face. She went to the sink and washed her hands, drying them on a paper towel. “Okay, you’ve got my full attention now. What are you doing here, John?”
John rose from the chair and almost knocked it over in his haste. “What am I doing here?” he shouted. “Nina, you left me! You packed up and disappeared without a word except that stupid note that told me nothing. You may as well have left a Post-it note! You didn’t write one word about where you were going or why you were leaving and now you ask me why I’m here?”
Nina tried to turn away from John but he was too quick for her. He put his hands on her shoulders and kept her from moving. His voice was hoarse and raspy as he demanded answers. “Nina, what happened? Why did you leave me?”
“I don’t owe you any explanations, John. You don’t own me and I can come and go as I please, you got that?” Nina radiated defiance as her voice rose to meet John’s but he wasn’t having it.
“You’re gonna have to do better than that, baby. How could you leave me, Nina? After all we’ve been to each other, how could you walk out and not say a word to me?”
Adam and Alicia left the kitchen to give the couple much-needed privacy. Nina didn’t notice them leave because her eyes were fixed on John’s. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Everything happened so fast, I had to get out here right away. The bottom dropped out of my world and all I could think about was what to do next.”
“It didn’t even occur to you that I might be concerned, that I might be able to help you, that you didn’t have to handle whatever it is all by yourself?” John couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
Nina had to look away from him, she couldn’t stand the pain in his eyes another second. “No, John, it didn’t cross my mind,” she admitted. “I got a phone call and I didn’t have time to plan anything, all I could do was react.”
John relaxed his iron grip on Nina’s shoulders and massaged them gently. He could feel her tension; her body was as taut as a steel and. “React to what, Nina? What happened to make you come out here so fast?”
Nina pulled away from John and walked around the kitchen table. She wrapped her arms around her waist and looked around the cheerfully decorated room before answering him. “I had to come out here to pack up my things and find a place to live,” she said sadly. “I’m being evicted.”
***
John couldn’t take his eyes from Nina’s face as she explained the sorry situation. They were now seated in her living room, a pretty, surprisingly feminine space. The walls were pale green and there were draperies in cotton sateen with thin ivory and green stripes at the windows with matching shades. The sofa and loveseat were covered with ivory slipcovers and there was an oversized armchair covered in a flowered chintz fabric that matched the array of throw pillows. There were two big comfortable ottomans and the room was filled with plants both flowering and green, which gave it a homey air. Alicia was sitting on an ottoman next to the armchair where Adam was sitting and John and Nina were on opposite ends of the sofa.
“I’ve lived here for about ten years,” said Nina. “It was a wreck when I first saw it, the whole neighborhood was a wreck, but I liked this house, there was something about it that spoke to me. So I made the owner a deal. If he’d cut the rent, I’d fix it up with the understanding I could buy the house from him, and he said okay. So I fixed it up, room by room. It took a long time, but I finally got everything looking just the way I wanted. I did the work myself because I couldn’t afford to pay anybody. When it was something big, like electrical wiring or something, Mr. Gid
dens would do it because he was the owner, of course.
“But everything else, I did all by myself. I learned how to paint, plaster, stain, strip, whatever it took to get the job done. Even the furniture,” she waved her hand to indicate the living and dining rooms, “came from yard sales, secondhand stores, even stuff other people just threw away. I got to be a pro at trash picking,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh. “I think it all turned out pretty well though. I love this little house. I always get a sense of accomplishment when I walk in the door,” she said in a quiet, dull voice.
Following her gaze around the room, John could see why. Nina had created a beautiful home. It looked like a doll’s house. Everything was selected with great care and positioned just so. The love and creativity and hard work were evident in every corner of every room. “What happened, Nina? Why are you being evicted?” John wanted to reach for her hand, but she seemed so remote he didn’t dare.
“Mr. Giddens thought I’d done a really good job on the house. So good, in fact, he decided to give the house to his mother. He changed his mind about our deal, says he’s not selling the house because the value has gone up so much it just wouldn’t make sense for him to let go of the property. I have until the end of the week to get out so he can move his mother in,” Nina said flatly.
“He can’t do that,” John said angrily. “That has to be a violation of something, some kind of statute or law or something. You had an implied contract with him and he can’t renege on it at this point. You can take him to court and use for the rights to this house.” John didn’t seem to realize that if Nina kept the house she’d also stay in Oakland instead of returning to Michigan with him. All he cared about at the moment was Nina’s happiness. The fact that she was being treated so badly was enraging him.
She surprised him totally when she said no. “I suppose I could try to sue him, but I’m not going to. If I’ve learned anything in this life it’s that when something is over, it’s over and there’s no point in crying over it. This house wasn’t meant to be mine and there’s nothing I can do about it, except get my stuff out of here and move on,” she said dully.
A Fool for You (The Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 7) Page 17
