by Tina Martin
Shayla, now on rose number eight, took a step back to look at her work of art to make sure it was up to par with her own expectations, even though Jacqueline told her not to do anything fancy.
“Sometimes I wish I would’ve tried harder with her. But she was so stubborn.” Jacqueline shook her head wordlessly for a few seconds and followed up with, “Lenora just wouldn’t listen to nobody.”
Shayla frowned a little, then quickly removed the disturbance from her face. “Did…you…say…Lenora?”
“Yes,” the woman said looking skeptically at Shayla now.
“As in Lenora Williams?”
“Yes. Did you know my sister?”
Shayla’s mouth dropped open. “Um, no, but if we’re talking about the same person, she has a son named Carter…”
“Oh my word!” Jacqueline squealed. “You know Carter?”
“Yes! I live with him.”
Drops of tears fell from the Jacqueline’s eyes. “I haven’t seen Carter in years.” Jacqueline took a piece of crumpled-up tissue from her pocket. “He was a teenager when I last saw him.” She dabbed her eyes.
“Wow. This is amazing. I’m sure Carter would be glad to see you.”
Jacqueline, still crying, said, “I would love to see him.”
Shayla dabbed her eyes, a little emotional for Jacqueline and at the excitement Carter would feel seeing his aunt again. She placed the last rose in the vase. “How about you come over to the house tonight? I can whip up some dinner and—”
“Oh no, honey. Carter probably doesn’t want to see me. It’s been too long and—”
“That’s the reason why he would wanna see you.”
“You sure it wouldn’t be too sudden? I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll explain everything to him. So how about you come over around six?”
Jacqueline dabbed her eyes again. “You sure about this, hun? I don’t want to cause any problems.”
“It’ll be fine,” Shayla said, walking around the counter and hugged Jacqueline tight saying, “Trust me. Carter would be glad to see you.” Shayla squeezed her again. “I am so glad you came in here today.”
“Me too, hun.”
They exchanged addresses and phone numbers. Shayla even paid for the roses on Jacqueline’s behalf and watched her leave the store, still in tears.
Chapter 21
Later that evening, Jacqueline showed up at six as they had planned. They stood in the foyer while Jacqueline looked around.
“This is very nice,” she said. “My…my nephew has done very well for himself. A beautiful house and a beautiful, lovely young lady. I’m so proud of him.”
“Oh, Jackie, I’m not his lady. We’re friends. I mean…he’s just a friend to me. We’re not a couple.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah.” Shayla sighed softly and showed Jacqueline to the dining room.
Jacqueline hung her purse on the back of her chair.
“Can I get you something to drink, Jackie?”
“I’ll take some water, hun.”
Shayla got a clear glass from the cabinet, filled it with ice and took a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Here you are,” she said placing it in front of her.
“Thank you.” Jacqueline turned the top, poured water in her glass. “What you cookin’? It smells delicious.”
“Oh, just baked chicken and potatoes. It’s about the easiest thing I know how to cook. It’ll be done in a few minutes.”
“So how long have you been living with Carter?”
“Since February.”
Immediately after taking the chicken and baked potatoes from the oven, Shayla heard Carter at the front door. He was there early and she hadn’t even had a chance to have as much one-on-one time with Jacqueline as she had hoped.
“He’s here,” she whispered to Jacqueline. She ran to the foyer, watched Carter drop his keys on the desk and before she could say a word, he said, “Whose car is that in the driveway?”
“Um, about that. Can I speak to you outside for a moment?”
“Outside?” Carter asked frowning. “What’s going on, Shayla?”
“Just step outside with me for a second, please.”
Carter dropped his briefcase near the stairs and stepped outside behind her. “What’s up?”
“Okay…so while I was at the flower shop today,” she said pleadingly while staring up into his eyes, her heart thudding, “A woman came in there to buy some flowers…”
“Shayla, cut to the chase, baby. Who’s here?”
Shayla sighed. “I hope you’re not going to kill me for this…”
“Shay.” Carter touched her arm. “Who’s here?”
“Jacqueline.”
“Jacqueline, who?”
“Jacqueline Williams…your aunt,” she said fumbling with her thumbs.
“My aunt?” Carter asked frowning.
“Yeah. She came in the shop today to buy flowers for your Mother’s grave. I figured out who she was and told her to come by for dinner. I know I should’ve asked you first, but it was all happening so fast and she was crying and I felt sorry for her and it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time and—”
“Shay,” Carter said stopping her from rambling. “It’s okay. I want to see her.”
Shayla closed her eyes and pushed air from her mouth. She turned towards the door and walked back in.
“She’s sitting at the kitchen table,” she whispered to Carter.
Carter cleared his voice and walked through the living room and on towards the dining room and that’s when Jacqueline looked up and saw him.
“Oh my,” she said in tears. She stood, opened her arms, ready and anxious to embrace her nephew.
Carter locked his arms around her, held her close as she all-out cried, happy to be reunited with him.
“I never thought this day would come.” Jacqueline hugged him tighter. “I never thought this day would come, Carter.”
Carter let go of her, his eyes glassy and said, “Me either.” He could see strong facial comparisons to his mother as he looked at her.
Shayla dabbed her eyes, watching them reunite.
“We have a lot of catching up to do,” Carter said.
“Yeah, we do.”
“Here, why don’t you sit?” Carter told her.
Jacqueline sat at the table again and Carter sat next to her.
Shayla stood near the stove and observed the two.
“Look at you…all grown up. You grew up to be such a handsome man,” Jacqueline commented.
“Thank you.” Carter took off his suit jacket, loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt two buttons down, getting comfortable.
Jacqueline wiped her eyes again. “The last time I saw you, you were what? Fourteen?”
Carter nodded. “Something like that.”
“I remember when you were a baby. You had a head full of hair…and those big brown eyes like your father.”
“He still has those big brown eyes,” Shayla said, smiling at Carter.
He smiled back at her, before turning to look at Jacqueline. “You knew my father?”
“Unh huh. Yeah. I did.” Jacqueline coughed a bit, then took a sip of water. “You’ve done really well for yourself. I’m so proud of you, son. I know Lenora was too.”
“Yeah,” Carter responded unenthused.
Shayla noticed how his answers were short and she wondered if she made a mistake by bringing Jacqueline here now. She took three plates from the cupboard, filled each one with chicken, potatoes and a roll. She set the plates on the table.
“You cooked?” Carter said, looking at her.
She nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She rushed to the refrigerator to get the butter, placed it on the table. “Okay. Enjoy. I’m gonna go eat upstairs and give you two some privacy.”
“No, Shay. Stay with us,” Carter said.<
br />
“Nah. You have a lot of time to make up for. I’ll talk to you later, Jacqueline. Oh, and if you need anything, Carter, just yell at me.”
“Thank you, Shayla.”
Once she’d cleared the room, Jacqueline looked at Carter. “She’s a nice girl.”
“Yeah. She is.”
“I thought you guys were a couple until she corrected me.”
“Yeah. She’s a friend…I’m helping her out.”
“That’s nice of you,” Jacqueline said, looking upon him like she was impressed.
“So tell me more about my Mother.”
Jacqueline sucked in a long breath and released slowly. “Well, she was a little feisty…always in competition with me when we were growing up.”
“And when Jacob and I were younger, why was she—”
“So sorry about Jacob, by the way,” Jacqueline interrupted.
“Yeah,” Carter said, making sure Shayla was no where around. “Jackie, I need you to do me a favor…okay?”
“What is it, Carter?”
“Don’t bring up Jacob around Shayla. I can’t explain the reason to you right now, but don’t mention his name, okay?”
“Okay.” Jacqueline tasted some potatoes, but was too excited to eat much else. “Lenora loved you boys.”
“Then why did she treat Jacob so badly? I don’t understand that. She was always on him about something…she even took him out of the will and he found out about it…was mad at me like it was my fault. I don’t understand why she was so angry with him, but she gave me everything.”
Jacqueline thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll never know.”
Carter went down memory lane with his aunt for the bulk of the night. Even after finishing dinner, they sat in the den and discussed the past. Finally, when she’d yawned enough times to bring water to her eyes, they exchanged numbers. Carter made plans to stop by her home in the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood, which wasn’t far from him, on the other side of Uptown. And a little after midnight, he hugged his aunt tight, walked her to her car – the two promising to make up for the past, to maintain contact with each other.
He walked back inside, feeling a sense of relief yet melancholy for letting so many years go by without trying to resolve things between them. He was also happy Shayla took the initiative to help. He jogged upstairs heading straight for her room. He assumed she would be sleep by now, especially considering the time, but he peeped in her room anyway to make sure she was okay, but a peep wasn’t enough. He walked in, stood next to her bed, watching her sleep in a thin pearl-white gown, her hair all over the pillow. She looked majestic and serene with the added bit of moonlight, and although Carter enjoyed every minute he spent getting reacquainted with his aunt, he hated the fact that he didn’t have any time during the day to spend with Shayla.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, then pulled up the comforter over her and walked back to his room to shower, all the while thinking about Shayla and how she took an active interest in his life. He felt the connection between them growing stronger and could recognize that this was something more than a friendship. Shayla was touching his heart and he’d never let a woman that close. Never.
After his shower, he slid into a pair of boxers and sat on his bed, wishing to be next to Shayla and fighting with himself for actually needing to be near her. He never needed a woman’s company. Before, it was more of a luxury or a perk of being well-off financially. Now, it was much more, and something about that scared him.
He laid on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, wondering how her day was at the flower shop, and what she discussed with his aunt. He also thought about what the highlight of her day might’ve been and if she had a good day or a stressful one. And what possessed her to send him roses out of the blue, one of the highlights of his day.
Carter sighed. Unable to sleep, he tossed and turned for a few minutes trying not to think about Shayla. Surely he could go one night without having to recap the day with her. He placed his hands behind his head again, reflecting on how fidgety Shayla was earlier, while trying to explain why his aunt was there.
He sighed again while sitting up now, rubbing his head and seeing her face embedded in his mind. He couldn’t fight it any longer. He had to be close to her. He stood up and walked down the hall to her room, slowly pulled back the covers and slid in the bed next to her. She stirred a little. He didn’t want to wake her.
He watched her rest. He gently touched her face, strummed her soft skin with his index finger, tracing a small scar next to her lips. Her eyes slowly opened and upon seeing him, she slid closer, their bodies forming a small concave in the center of the bed. Carter closed his arms around her.
“Sorry, sweetheart. Didn’t mean to wake you.” But I’m glad you’re awake, he thought.
“That’s okay,” Shayla said softly, feeling calmness over her as she watched him. The moonlight struck his eyes often, made them powerful.
“Did you take your medicine today?”
“Mmm huh.”
“Good.” Carter yawned. “I got the roses you sent.”
A soft smile touched her cheek. “Did you like them?”
“Yeah. They were beautiful.”
“Good. Glad you liked them,” Shayla yawned. “I hope I wasn’t out of line for inviting your aunt over here.”
“You did me a favor.” He strummed her back with his fingertips, feeling her body shiver at his touch.
“No I didn’t. I saw the way you looked at me. If looks could kill…”
Carter smirked. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You were kinda tight-lipped when you sat at the table with your aunt…looked at me like I was your worst enemy.”
“Nah. I didn’t look at you with any disdain, sweetie. If anything, I was looking upon you in admiration.”
Shayla inhaled a whiff of his scent that was so glorious, it almost instantly put her back to sleep. “Admiration?”
“Yeah. For all that you do for me.”
“All that I do for you?” She laughed. “It’s you that do everything for me.”
“Nah…you cooked dinner for me…several times. Reunited me with my aunt. Sent me flowers. Taught me how to eat spaghetti.” Carter grinned.
“So you weren’t embarrassed by the flowers?”
“No. Not at all. Why you ask?”
“’Cause men really don’t get flowers, you know. They’re usually the senders, not the receivers.”
“Well, I’ve never had a woman send flowers to me, so it was a nice surprise. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Shayla stretched and yawned. “Why didn’t you bring ‘em home?”
“I wanted them to stay on my desk, so when I’m at work, I’ll think of the lovely lady that sent them to me.”
Shayla smiled. “Did you recognize the vase they were in? It was the closest match I could find to your vase…you know…the one I broke.”
“Shay, I told you not to worry about that.”
“And I told you I was going to get you another one,” she said, smiling against his chest.
Carter’s eyes drifted towards the window. The moon had him in a trance, or maybe it was being with Shayla that had him in a spell. “How did it go at the flower shop today?”
“It went well.”
“Rebecca treating you okay?”
“Yeah…she’s nice. How do you know her anyway?”
“I’ve been buying flowers from her for as long as I can remember. I like to keep fresh flowers on kitchen table.”
“That’s funny.”
“What?”
“I noticed flowers on the table from the first day I moved in here but I never thought you actually went out and purchased them.”
“Why not?”
“It just seems odd…a manly man like you buying flowers for the kitchen.”
“I like them…partly due to the fact that my Mother used to keep flowe
rs in the house when I was younger…guess I get it from her.”
“Guess so.” Shayla yawned. “Meeting your aunt really made my day. I hope I didn’t impose her on you. I should’ve called you but—”
“Shayla, will you stop it?” Carter said to quiet her. “I’m glad you invited her over. Otherwise, I might not have had the courage to do it on my own.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop obsessing about it.”
Carter placed one hand on her head, the other flat against her back. “So how did it go down? How’d you know she was my aunt?”
“Well, she introduced herself to me as Jacqueline Williams and I was like, hmm…wonder if she’s any relation to Carter? But I didn’t ask because, well, every Williams can’t be related to you, right? So she kept talking, told me she was there to buy roses for her sister’s grave…pink roses. While I was placing them in a vase for her, she proceeded to say that she wished she would’ve tried more with her sister and then she said, ‘Lenora just wouldn’t listen to anyone’. When she said her name, I knew. I remembered you told me your Mother’s name was Lenora. So I asked her if Lenora had a son named Carter and she was so shocked to hear me say your name. You should’ve seen the look on her face.”
“Wow.”
“She started crying. So did I.”
Carter released a satisfying sigh. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Please…you already have.”
Carter brought his hand to her shoulder, rubbed it. “I missed you today.”
“Missed you too. Didn’t get to hear about the adventures of global banking.” She grinned a little.
“It was quite the adventure, too…had two meetings and four conference calls. When I got your flowers, it made me pause and think about life. Sometimes I forget there’s a life outside of banking.”
“Do you have days when you just want to quit?”
“Yeah…had that day today, but I’m not a quitter….not in my D.N.A.” Carter was quiet for a moment. “I really enjoyed talking with my aunt, and the crazy thing is, I don’t know if I’m more impressed by her willingness to forgive me and my Mother, or your initiative to reunite us. I really appreciate it. Shayla.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No one has ever done anything like that for me.” He brushed his fingertips against her hairline and temple, staring at her lips.
