Leslie's Curl & Dye

by DL White

  “Unh hunh…” In my mind, I could see my dad pacing the deck outside the house, his thumb and forefinger stroking his chin. “You’re right. A self sufficient town like Potter Lake might not take too kindly to a rich basketball star just dumping some money on them. But uh… what about the city?”

  “I’m supposed to talk to the city council president later today. What do you have in mind?”

  “A facility like that shouldn’t sit on privately owned land, because exactly what’s happening could happen. The city should own that land. If there is a way for the city to buy the land from Mr. Adams., then they the lease the property. Now, from there if you want to use your foundation to establish a grant to go toward Primrose, that would be appropriate.”

  “Okay. Yeah, okay.” The light at the end of the tunnel was blinding. That’s how close I felt to resolving this issue. “I’ll want to set up that grant pretty quickly. We need to move on this.”

  “Sure. There’s a process, but we can move fast. Let me know.”

  “Man, dad… between you and Leslie, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get anything done in my life. I appreciate your insight.”

  “Anytime, son,” he said, laughing. “Speaking of Leslie, we get to meet her, right? TC said she was absolutely beautiful and she was doing so much for you.”

  “For sure, for sure, dad. She’s really looking forward to it. I gotta run, let’s talk soon. There’s another thing— about Leslie— that I want to bend your ear about. Give my love to mom.”

  I ended the call and killed the engine in the truck, then hopped out, making sure to land on my good leg. I grabbed my cane from the backseat and hobbled into Guys N’ Dolls. Instead of going back to my office to hide, though, I checked in with TC up front, got some dap from some of the barbers and talked college and pro football with a few clients who were mid-cut. I was already on too many Fantasy Football teams but talked myself into a couple more.

  When I eventually made it back to my office, I went through the mail. The Leaning tower of Late Notices had been demolished, but that was to be expected when I put TC in charge of that, too. When I filed for candidacy for Mayor, I knew I wouldn’t have time for things like keeping track of the bills. Besides, giving TC more power primed her for the job I wanted her to take, if everything worked out right.

  “I heard it was an eventful day.” Speaking of TC, she’d snuck into my office behind me, just as I’d settled into my chair. She took her usual seat in front of me and propped her feet up on the desk. I didn't say anything, but I scowled at her. Surprisingly, she dropped them.

  “Yeah, man. It’s crazy, the stuff that goes on in this town. Even crazier that people come to me to help resolve it.”

  “Well, that might be what your life will be like for at least the next four years. You sure you’re ready for that? You know you like to hide back here, let me be the face of the shop. You’re going to be the face of Potter Lake in a couple of weeks.”

  “If I win…” I reminded TC.

  She snorted. “What’s this if I win bullshit? I mean, cockiness aside, seems like the Mayor knows he’s on the way out. He’s just trying to get all of his goods before he leaves. That’s what that whole Primrose thing is about. He’s hoping the facility can’t come up with more money so he can sell it and get the hell out of town. I bet he wants you to win.”

  “Heh,” I chuckled. “His evil plan is working. I talk to more and more people every day that plan to vote for me instead of Adams. Just a couple of weeks to go. How are you coming on that list I gave you?”

  “It’s coming together,” TC assured me. I’d put her on a committee with Tamera, Evonne, Monica, Kendrick and Erik— basically everyone but Leslie. What was supposed to be my post election celebration would turn into something that, I hoped, was memorable for the both of us, really, but especially for Leslie. “I’ll let you know if we run into any problems, but don’t worry about it. Things are looking good.”

  “Remember, if Leslie asks….”

  “I know how to handle her, KC. We got this. You worry about becoming Mayor Cavanaugh, aight?” TC stood, stretching her limbs. “Heading back out. We always get a little rush around 5 o’clock. See you later?”

  TC walked out of my office. I needed to talk to Larry Cable, city council president. I had no idea how to reach him— I didn’t have anyone’s phone number. I pulled out my phone to call Leslie, but my eye landed on a Potter Lake phone book. More like phone pamphlet.

  This was a tiny town. Surely Mr. Cable’s phone number would be listed.

  The moment I pulled into the garage, the scent of an actual hot meal being cooked in my house seeped through the walls. I heard music, John Legend, to be exact. I picked up the bouquet of wildflowers from the passenger seat and headed inside.

  Leslie was standing at the island, looking like the snack she was in a crop top and leggings, drinking wine out of a bulbous goblet, swaying to the sounds of You & I coming from the speakers mounted on the wall and chopping spears of asparagus, which she laid out on a pan.

  “Hey, hey, sweet thing. Smells real good in here.” I sidled up next to her and gave her ear a little nibble. She liked that move, evidenced by the giggle and squeal. “Look at you, chopping stuff. You really can cook.”

  “I can at least chop stuff. Careful, babe. Chopped fingers are not delicious.”

  “You’re trying to say you lose all control when I’m around, huh? I know, I know. I have that effect.” I brought the flowers out from behind my back. These are for you.”

  The smile that popped up on her lips and lit up her whole face made the trip back over the lake so worth it.

  “And you got them from Potter Lake Petals! I love that shop! Thank you babe, they’re beautiful. Do you have a vase to put them in? Set them on the table so I can look at them.”

  I dug out a vase, rinsed it out, trimmed the stems and arranged them in the thick crystal as a centerpiece on the table while Leslie put the finishing touches on dinner.

  “Look good?”

  “Looks great,” she swooned, loading up two plates with roast chicken, riced cauliflower and roasted asparagus. “Do you want me to set up your machine so you can rehab your knee while we eat?”

  “Nah.” I grabbed the plates from her and set them at the table, then nodded for her to sit. “Let’s just eat. How was the rest of your day?”

  We talked through first and second helpings before we got around to my conversation with Larry Cable. “Turns out the build for that big box department store isn’t going well. The developer has stalled. They bid the project too low and he’s asking for more money; the city is saying no. Things are at a standstill.”

  “Hmmm…” Leslie took a sip from her wineglass. “The things you learn when you have an inside track. How does that tie to Primrose?”

  “Well, I told you I talked to my dad earlier. He runs my foundation for me—”

  “Wait. Foundation? You have a foundation?”

  I shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal to have a multi million dollar charitable foundation in my name. Because, for the most part, it wasn’t. Until it mattered that I had one. “A lot of players set one up. It’s a way to give back to communities. And to be able to write off a few million on your taxes.”

  “Okay, so… you’re just going to cut a big check? That’s how you’re going to fix this problem, KC? You’re not going to always be able to do that, you know.”

  “As a matter of fact, that’s the first thing I said to my dad. I can’t just throw a bag of money at this. But between Larry and I, we think we have a solution.”

  “Okay.” Leslie folded her arms across her chest and sat back in her chair. “I’m listening.”

  “Larry proposes that the council takes the money they had earmarked for the department store build and buy the land that the Mayor is trying to sell. Then—”

  Leslie sat up, her eyes wide. “Then the city owns the land and controls the lease.”

  “Exactly. The council is going to
hold a special session to discuss the issue and vote on it. If the Mayor agrees to sell the land to the city, I talked to my dad about establishing a grant through my foundation. Primrose can apply for a one time disbursement to address those safety issues Mabry was talking about. I wouldn’t be involved in awarding the funds at all. It happens by committee and the Foundation has its own accountant. It’s as hands-off as I can get, but still providing a way to help Primrose stay open and operate.”

  I stopped talking, more to take a breath but also to gauge Leslie’s reaction to my idea. If she hated it, felt like I was just dumping money to solve the problem, I’d have to go back to the drawing board.

  “I love it,” she said, relief washing over her features. “I love the idea, especially about that department store going away. But also about the city buying the land and leasing it to Primrose. So they stay open—”

  “And your Grandy gets to stay right where she is, close to you, where you want her to be.”

  Leslie was a mess, but trying hard to keep it together. Red eyes, red nose, flushed face, swallowing and swallowing and swallowing. I laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect. She burst into tears, almost wailing behind the hand she’d clamped over her mouth.

  “Babe…” I pulled her up from her seat and planted her on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and let her drop her head to my shoulder and cry until she had soaked the collar of my shirt.

  When she’d stopped sobbing and it was just hiccups and sniffling in my ear, I landed a gentle pat on her thigh. “You okay?”

  She nodded, wiping away tears with the heels of both hands. “I just… I was just really worried about having to move Grandy, about Primrose closing. I know things aren’t set yet, but I’m just so… relieved that you’re working on it.”

  “Of course I am. It’s important to you. This town is important to you, so I’m all over it. But you know, TC reminded me that this is probably how life is going to go, if I win this election. Hearing problems all day, solving them all night. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with help from other people. Like you. I need you to be ready for that, baby girl. I mean it, like full time.”

  “I hear you. I said I was here for whatever you had in mind. I won’t fall into an emotional heap every day.”

  “Good. Cause I want to be here for you, but you can’t be dripping mascara and snottin’ all over my good shirts.”

  She giggled and play punched my arm. “Shut up, fool, or you don’t get any of these cupcakes mama dropped off for you.”

  “Cupcakes?” My eyebrows involuntarily rose. “Those big ones she makes? Carrot cake? With cream cheese frosting?”

  “Yup. She knows you love them. Spoiled brat. She didn’t bring me any red velvet cupcakes and she knows those are my favorite—”

  “Wait a minute. I thought the deal was that you were actually cooking me dinner.”

  “And I did.” She snorted, then got up from my lap. “I didn’t say anything about dessert. You want to set up your machine and have dessert in the living room?”

  “Sounds good, baby.”

  I smacked her ass as she walked away. My mind raced ahead two weeks in the future, when I would ask the owner of that ass to be my wife. Scary thing was, I wasn’t actually sure of what her answer would be.

  Chapter 28

  Leslie

  “Erik, Dwayne— that banner is crooked. It’s higher on the left. Can you guys grab the ladder and fix it?”

  I pointed to the cattywampus banner and watched as the two men grabbed the ladder and raised and lowered it until it was even. Satisfied, I smiled and pulled the clipboard from where I’d been storing it under my arm. I’d stuck a pen in my messy bun and pulled it out to mark the next item on my list.

  I walked through the Kit Kat lounge, which seemed expansive and bright when it was empty, during the day. This evening it would be jam packed with people who would, we hoped, be celebrating KC’s win. We’d invited people to stop by beginning at 8 o’clock to watch the election coverage and await the final vote count.

  Not that we were really worried about the results. KC still held a majority vote, according to the news station informal poll. Unless Mayor Adams pulled something out of his ass at the last minute, Potter Lake would usher in a new era tonight.

  And I was so ready.

  In anticipation of KC’s win, he’d already been meeting with the City Council, getting briefs on how the town runs, what his job would actually entail, should he win, and what the town would expect from him. To say he was excited and energized every night when he came home would be an understatement. Seeing him throw himself into Potter Lake politics, caring about the people, the community— our community— made me love him more every day.

  We’d been doing a funny, sexy little dance around the L word. Around our future. We both knew there was no going forward unless we were together, but with so much going on, we hadn’t really dedicated time to saying the words and making the plans.

  But we would. As soon as we got this election out of the way.

  I turned the corner into the hallway that ran past the bar, the hallway where KC had cornered me and told me he wanted to be with me. Where he made me admit that I wanted to be with him, too. I pushed through the double doors into the kitchen, where Helen was busy directing an army of cooks.

  “Ms. Helen, how are you doing? You need anything? I have a couple of people doing nothing but running errands.”

  “Need a scotch on the rocks, to be honest,” she joked, pulling an apron over her head. “Naw, missy. We good. Just prepping everything for tonight. Orlando and I will be ready to serve going on about 7:30 you think?”

  I nodded, checking her off my list. She had been so happy to plan KC’s election night menu. Her staff and the cooks at the Kit Kat were working together to produce honey drizzled nuggets of chicken inside mini waffles, roast beef sliders, mini beef pot pies and an endless buffet of other treats. KC bought out the lounge, so our guests would enjoy soft drinks, wine, beer and liquor while we waited on results. No matter what happened with the election, at 10 o’clock the desserts would come out— apple cream cheese monkey bread, pecan and sweet potato pie tartlets and Mama had decided to bring a few sheets of carrot cake, just for KC.

  Spoiled brat. She still hadn’t baked me any red velvet cupcakes.

  “Okay, well let me know if you need anything, alright? I’ve got more things to check on.” Helen nodded and got back to work, organizing her army. Everything was being made from scratch, so fruit had to be peeled and sliced, crusts had to be made, chocolate had to be melted. I walked out and left her to her task.

  “Okay,” I muttered to myself, studying my list of to-do items. “Next is...”

  “A kiss for your man. Is that on the list?”

  I whirled around to find KC behind me, smiling down at me. He hadn’t done anything to his hair, and he was wearing an old wrinkled Baltimore Herons t-shirt and a pair of shorts, but the sight of him lately just made me happy. I angled my cheek so he could drop a kiss there.

  “Nah uh. I said a kiss. Come here, girl.” He slid an arm around my waist and drew me close to him, then dipped his head to press his lips against mine. My mouth opened my instinct; I groaned as his tongue swirled around mine, tasting the coffee he must have been drinking before arriving at the Kit Kat.

  “Damn, y’all always in each other’s mouths.”

  KC started to laugh, which broke the kiss. He reached out to tap Kendrick as he passed us, still shaking his head.

  “Good morning, almost Mayor-Elect Cavanaugh. You sleep okay?” I’d left the house well before KC woke up to meet the team and get started setting things up.

  KC surveyed the room, hands on his hips. People were scurrying left and right, arranging tables and hanging banners and cleaning surfaces. Sheila stacked glasses at the bar; Reginald ran a dust mop past us, bobbing his head to the beat of whatever he was listening to.

  “Looks like things are coming toget
her. You’re doing a great job, babe.”

  “Thanks. We’ll have all of the TV’s tuned into election programming. And in here—”

  I walked him through the lounge, toward the dance floor, where a makeshift stage was being built. “Landry’s is lending us a 75 inch TV to broadcast the results. They should be here in about an hour to set up and get connected. I figure we’ll pack this room out to watch the results. Arletha will be here around seven, right as the polling locations close, and her camera crew will capture it live. She’ll also get your acceptance speech live. You wrote a speech right?”

  KC shrugged, nonplussed.

  “Kade Cavanaugh. Did you write a damn speech?”

  He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets and walking away. God, he liked to fuck with me.

  “Fine. Whatever. I just want to remind you that your parents will be in the room.”

  He laughed and kept walking, aiming for Kendrick. I rolled my eyes and consulted my list again.

  KC’s parents had arrived the day before. Gladys and Kelvin were delightful and funny, full of stories about their twins and the trouble they always got into. My parents met us for dinner at Southern Star, a newly built restaurant on the other side of Potter Lake, which was a miracle in itself, because my parents rarely crossed the bridge. The bond between our families was instant, like we’d all known each other forever.

  After dinner, we’d taken his parents to TC’s and got them set up in her ground floor bedroom. When Kelvin stepped out of the room, Gladys started to pull herself from her chair.

  “Wait… oh… can I help you, Mrs. Cavanaugh?” I felt awkward, not knowing if I should insist on helping her or let her do it herself.

  “Oh, honey,” she said, waving me off. She stood, then moved a few inches away. “I’m old hat at this. I’m just fine. And call me Gladys.”

  She perched on the side of the comfortable king sized bed and patted the spot next to her. I sat and let her draw her arms around me. I figured I was due for the don’t hurt my son or else conversation and braced for it.