From the kitchen, Vic bellowed, “Getting along? Caitlyn, the man is crazy.”
“Vic, come on.”
Vic came from the kitchen and stood next to Caitlyn. “Don’t come-on-Vic me. Do you know what he had the nerve to tell me?”
“What?”
“That if a woman is married, she doesn’t need a career, that her place is in the home.”
“Oooh, I bet that ruffled your feathers.”
“Ruffled, hell. How about plucked right out?”
Caitlyn giggled. “What did you say?”
Vic’s placed her hands on her hips. “I told him, Negro, please.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Girl, the man’s definitely not in the twenty-first century. And you know what else gets on my nerves? He calls me ‘honey.’ ”
“Come on. Vic. Be nice.”
“Oh, I’ll be real sweet. I’m just going to ignore his chauvinist behind.” Vic sat and plucked a carrot from the salad bowl. “You better hang on to that man you’ve got. I’m telling you, he’s a rare commodity.”
Caitlyn stared. “A rare commodity?”
“Yeah.”
“How so?”
Vic bent back her fingers with each point she made. “Thirty-eight, no babies, college educated, and ain’t spent time in jail…”
Caitlyn heard the knock at the door first. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, kitten.”
“Hi.” Caitlyn stood aside and let Marcel enter.
“How’s my girl?” Marcel pulled her into his embrace and buried his head against her neck, breathing in her fragrance.
Caitlyn moved seductively in his embrace. “I’m wonderful. But baby…uh…Vic is here.”
“I see her. But a smart man prioritizes.” He proceeded to kiss her with such thoroughness her legs gave way. He grabbed her hand, and they walked to the table.
“Hi, Vic.” Marcel leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek.
“Hi, yourself.” Vic put a forkful of salad in her mouth and chewed. “I heard what you just said back there, brother. You ain’t getting no complaints from me about handling your business. Besides, from the looks of things, my girl might want to consider giving you a promotion.”
“Promotion?” Marcel gave Vic a puzzled look.
“Yeah. Move-in rights.” Still smiling, Vic winked at Marcel. “Listen, you take my spot. I’m out of here.”
Marcel placed his hand on her shoulder. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not going to stay. Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I want to know if I can talk you both into joining me for Baptiste family week.”
Vic shook her head. “Marcel, that’s sweet of you, but I’m not family.”
Marcel shook his head in disagreement. “Yes, you are. You’re a part of my kitten’s family, and her family is my family. So, will you join me?”
All Caitlyn could do was smile. She was touched by Marcel’s generosity, that he would invite Vic to his family gathering because of her. If she didn’t love him before, she sure loved him at that moment.
Vic smiled. “Is there another one like you anywhere around?”
Marcel’s puzzled gaze volleyed between Vic and Caitlyn.
Caitlyn offered an explanation to clarify things. “Vic thinks A.J. is a chauvinist.”
“Ain’t no thinking to it…he is,” Vic hissed.
Marcel smiled. “You and everybody else think along the same lines, so join the club. But to answer your question, no. My other brother, Ray, is even worse. He’s at the other extreme. Skirt chaser. Guess I fall somewhere in the middle.”
Caitlyn and Vic looked at each other, then back at Marcel, saying at the same time, “And that is?”
“Uh…well, I admit I can be arrogant at times…”
“At times?” Caitlyn mocked.
“A little stubborn…”
“A little?” Caitlyn rolled her eyes.
“Be quiet, kitten.” He blew a kiss her way. “Let’s see. I don’t take no for an answer…”
Caitlyn nodded. “Oh, you got that one right.”
“But I’m a firm believer in chivalry.”
Vic chuckled. “Good save. Your hole was getting a little deep there, brother.”
After a moment of laughter, Marcel sat in the chair across from Vic. “Listen, don’t pay any attention to A.J. I’ve been telling him for years that what he needs is a good sister to put him in check. Well, what do you say? Will you come to family week?”
Vic smiled. “Sure. Thanks for the invite.”
Marcel turned and looked across his shoulder at Caitlyn who stood behind him. “What about you, kitten?”
“Maybe.” She turned and walked toward the kitchen, purposely swaying her hips.
In fast pursuit, Marcel walked up and pinned her against the counter. “Just maybe?” He trailed his tongue along the space between her neck and shoulder. “Can you take a week off?”
“If I do, what’s in it for me?” She moaned as Marcel cupped her breasts.
“Can’t let you in on all my surprises, but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.”
“God, that feels so good.” Feeling Marcel massage her nipples through her silk blouse made her knees buckle.
“I aim to please.”
The movements of his lips and tongue accompanied by the rubbing of his hard erection against her caused Caitlyn’s eyes to flutter shut and her head to fall against his chest. “I’m not family, you know, just a friend.”
He inched back slightly and placed her hand on his crotch. “Baby, friends don’t make me feel like this.”
“Bad boy.”
“Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“You need to show me.”
“First, you show me those moves you were doing at the center the other day.” Caitlyn really wanted to encourage the girls at the center to exercise, so she’d started a belly-dancing class.
“You mean like this?” She slowly gyrated her hips.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
She moved in closer and pressed hard against him. The feel of his hips rolling with hers caused her breathing to quicken. “Marcel…”
His head dropped back and slid his eyes shut, all the while rotating his hips in perfect sync with hers. “Whatever you do, don’t stop.”
From the dining room, Vic shouted, “Caitlyn, you coming or what?”
Caitlyn gripped Marcel’s thighs as she reached the peak first. “Hmm-hmm.”
A few moments passed before Vic shouted out again. “Marcel, come on now.”
Marcel clamped his hands down on her hips right as he slipped over the edge. “I did.”
* * *
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when everyone gathered at Alcee’s home for the official start of Baptiste family week. The family was committed to coming together every year during the second week of October in commemoration of Angelique, the Baptiste children’s late mother. It was a symbol of their strength as a family, bound not only by their love for her but for one another.
Early Monday morning, Caitlyn smiled as she stood alongside Mama Z doing her best to stifle her yawn. Only she and Marcel knew the reason for her exhaustion—they’d made love until dawn once she finally found the room he was in. She’d always had a poor sense of direction, especially when she had to rely on someone else’s verbal instructions. On Sunday night, she had eased down the dark hallway trying to follow the directions Marcel had given her to his room until she realized she was lost. She ended up in Mama Z’s room.
Caitlyn was so sleepy that she struggled to understand the recipe for jambalaya, which she was reading for the third time. Before meeting Marcel, the extent of her culinary skills had consisted of popping a frozen potpie into the oven. Even though her first two attempts at jambalaya had been a disaster, she was thankful for Mama Z’s patience and encouragement. She was determined to get one of Marcel’s favorite meals right.
Mama Z smiled. “Caitlyn?”
Caitlyn jerked her head up. “Ma’am?”
/> “Where’re Kenji and Max?”
“Oh, Kenji is taking her nap.” Caitlyn shrugged. “And Max…well, uh…Max is in time-out.”
Vic, Brie, Moni and Aimee sat at the table with puzzled looks, staring at Caitlyn.
Vic frowned. “Time-out. Who put him in time-out?”
“I did.” Caitlyn sheepishly lowered her lashes.
Vic opened her arms. “For the love of God, why are you putting the dog in time-out?”
Wiping her hands on the nearby dishtowel, Caitlyn released an exasperated sigh. “He’s having a hard time at school. He’s not sharing well with the other dogs.” Caitlyn had enrolled Kenji and Max into a doggie camp so they wouldn’t be bored during the day. Marcel dropped them off each morning, and she and Marcel alternated evenings picking them up. She chewed on her bottom lip. “Marcel is going to have a talk with him after family week is over.”
Moni’s eyes bulged. “Oh, my God. He is?”
Caitlyn bobbed her head.
“Lord, have mercy.” Brie rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Marcel is going to talk to Max, you mean like father to son?”
Caitlyn nodded. “Umm-hmm.”
Aimee chuckled. “Jesus H. Christ. I’ve heard just about everything now.”
Mama Z leaned over the counter with her hand near her heart.
Shouting her name, everyone rushed to her side. “Mama Z.”
Mama Z shook her head and made the sign of the cross. “Mary, mother of Jesus.”
Everyone froze at Mama Z’s words.
Mama Z laughed out loud. “In all my years, ain’t never heard of no dog having a father-and-son talk. Jesus help ’em.”
They all burst into laughter.
* * *
Caitlyn was ecstatic when Brie invited her, along with Mama Z, Moni, Aimee and Vic, to spend the rest of the day at Taste of Heaven getting pampered from head to toe.
Brie finished Caitlyn’s manicure and placed her hands inside a nail dryer. “I’m really glad you’re here with us this year.”
Caitlyn beamed. “Thank you for having me.”
Brie’s eyes twinkled. “You know, this is the first time in twenty-four years Marcel’s ever invited anyone to family week.”
Caitlyn sat up with such a jolt her wet nails bumped the inside of the dryer. “Darn it.”
Brie eased Caitlyn’s hands out to assess the damage to her right pinkie. “No problem. You just nicked the side of it.” She reached for the bottle of red nail polish. “Here, let me touch it up for you.”
“No one else?” Caitlyn whispered, leaning in closer. “I mean, you know, another woman?” She cupped her hand against the side of her mouth. “No one?”
Brie smiled. “You hold that distinct honor.”
“Distinct honor for what?” Moni asked from across the room.
Aimee snorted and looked at Moni. “Moni, I swear to God, you have radar ears.”
“Aimee.” Mama Z’s voice was stern from her chair at the other manicure station. “Ya don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.”
Caitlyn inwardly chuckled when she thought back to earlier in the morning when they were all in the kitchen and how Mama Z had done the same thing. But she wasn’t about to remind the woman of her choice of words. No way.
Aimee nodded. “Sorry, Mama Z.” She turned back to Moni. “Like I said, Moni, you have radar ears.”
Moni wrinkled her nose and didn’t comment. Instead, she looked at Caitlyn. “So, you and my brother have become quite the couple.”
Before Caitlyn could string two words together, Brie was on her feet. “Moni, put a lid on it. Why is it that you seem to get into everybody’s business? Doesn’t having a baby keep you busy enough?”
Moni sat next to Vic and wiggled her French-manicured toes. “Brie, I’m not being nosy.” She turned to Vic. “Right, Vic? You don’t think I’m being nosy, do you?”
“Nosy, no. Real nosy, yes.” Vic answered back.
Moni released a huff. “Well.”
Vic turned in her chair to face Moni. “Listen, I’m just a friend of a friend, okay, and I’m not really in a position to say much. But I know my girl, and I think she’s got the situation under control.”
With a wicked grin, Moni tilted her head and slowly nodded. “Oh, I see. So I guess the conversation you and A.J. were having yesterday at dinner was under control?”
“No…she…didn’t.” Vic gritted her teeth as her chest heaved and she gripped both arms of her chair.
Caitlyn giggled. “Yes, she did.”
Brie nodded at Vic’s hands. “Careful now. They’re still wet.” Pausing, she placed her finger against her temple. “Well, now that Moni’s brought this up, y’all were kind of tight yesterday, Vic.”
Vic stood, placed her hands, wet nails and all, against her hips. “For the record, ladies, A.J. and I were simply discussing our mutual interest—you know, our mentoring at the youth center.” She sat back down. “That’s all.”
“Umm-hmm,” everyone said at the same time.
Caitlyn giggled. “We believe you, Vic.”
“Uh, yeah, Vic, it looked that way to me, too.” Brie hid a snicker behind her hand.
Mama Z barely contained her chuckles. “Ya keep on believing that, child.”
Aimee laughed out loud. “And pigs fly.”
Moni opened her mouth, but Vic looked over and gave her a warning look. “Don’t you say one word. Not one.”
After fifteen seconds of complete silence, they all burst into laughter. Moni looked over at Caitlyn. “Now tell the truth. You don’t think I’m being nosy, do you?”
“Yes, I do,” Caitlyn replied calmly. “Moni, I heard you when you asked your question the first time.”
Moni frowned. “Well, you didn’t answer me.”
Caitlyn smiled. “Yes, I did.”
Moni shook her head in confusion. “How?”
“It’s called silence.” Caitlyn winked at Vic. “In other words, no comment.” Smiling at Mama Z, she added, “For you that means none of your business.”
Brie took her right index finger and made an imaginary stroke in the air. “Point in favor of Caitlyn.”
Moni pouted. “But, Caitlyn—”
Aimee sighed loudly. “Jesus, Moni, give it a rest.”
“Aimee.” Mama Z’s warning held a sharp edge. “I don told ya once about using the Lord’s name that way. Ain’t gonna say it no mo.”
Aimee placed her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
Moni looked at everyone. “I was just—”
Mama Z’s voice was crisp. “Monique Desiree Baptiste Tate, silence. Caitlyn may not think ya being nosy, but I certainly do, young lady. Ya needs to concentrate on handling yo’ business with Zach.” She tossed a loving wink at Caitlyn. “I’m sure Caitlyn and Marcel can handle theirs.”
“Amen to that.” Brie sighed.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Vic added.
* * *
On Tuesday evening after dinner, the family gathered in the backyard. Marcel, A.J., Ray and Alex huddled together near the patio table nursing their Coronas as they watched Caitlyn and Vic introduce A.J.’s twin daughters, Taylor and Tyler, to some belly-dancing moves.
“Oh, mon frère, now she’s a beauty.” Ray nudged Marcel in the side, tilting his head in Caitlyn’s direction.
Marcel looked over at Ray and chuckled. He was an all-out ladies’ man, and if it wore a skirt and had a split, it was on. He was the only one who’d inherited their mother’s love for music. At thirty-six, he’d already earned two Grammys.
Marcel watched the undulating movements of Caitlyn’s hips with sheer delight. “Yeah, she’s a beauty that’s all mine.”
Ray whistled. “Tiny, but damn, got all the curves a man likes.”
“Ray,” Marcel admonished.
“No disrespect.” Ray patted Marcel on the back and chuckled. “Ain’t never known you to be possessive, not over a woman anyway.” He palmed the beer between his hands. “You know I love me an ebony-skinned si
sta.” He took another swallow. “Besides, you know what they say, the blacker the berry, the sweeter—”
“Watch it, Ray,” Marcel barked.
With a wide-eyed stare, Ray’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, don’t tell me you done jumped up and fell in love with Little Bit.”
Marcel sighed loudly. “Her name’s Caitlyn, Ray, not Little Bit.” He stared at Ray. “How long are you home?”
“Till the end of the year.” Ray shrugged. “Why?”
“Damn. I don’t know if I want you around Caitlyn that long.”
Ray put his bottle on the table, bent over with his hands wrapped around his stomach, and burst into laughter. When he straightened, he shook his head. “Mon frère, you really are in love with Little Bit, huh?” All humor left his voice, and he nudged A.J., who was standing next to him. “Homeboy’s in love. Well, I’ll be damned.”
Marcel knew despite his protest, Ray would always refer to Caitlyn as Little Bit. Marcel couldn’t remember the last time Ray had called him by his given name. They were both alike. Once they settled their minds onto something, nothing between heaven and hell could change it. “Is that such a crime?”
Ray polished off the remainder of his beer. “Nope. Just glad it’s you and not me.”
Marcel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ray, I pray to God I live to see the day when the right woman comes along and finally snags your rusty ass.”
Ray tossed his empty bottle in a nearby trash bin. “Guess you planning on living into eternity because it ain’t going to happen.” Ray turned around to A.J. “And what you over there snickering about? Don’t let me start on the way you been looking at Vic all day.”
A.J. shrugged. “I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”
Alex chuckled as he lifted his bottle of Corona to his lips. “What a convenient time to come down with temporary amnesia.”
“Oh, so I guess them stars floating around in your eyes and that drool running out your mouth every time you look at her is nothing, huh?” Ray’s black dreads hung over his shoulders and he cocked his head. “Look at that, full hips handling a shimmy like a pro. Daaayuuum.”
Marcel looked over at A.J. and laughed. “He’s got you on that one, petit frère. You have been staring awfully hard at Vic.”
When I’m With You (Indigo) Page 13
