Soul Matters

by Yolonda Tonette Sanders

  “See, that’s why I don’t watch the news too often. It’s too depressing.”

  “But don’t you think it’s scary that your life can be over within minutes?”

  “Yeah I guess, but when it’s time to go, then it’s time. There’s pretty much nothing that can be done about it.”

  “Doesn’t it make you wonder about—” Kim heard the sound of glass shattering through the telephone. What startled her was not the glass breaking, but Wendy’s reaction. For the first time in her life, Kim heard Wendy utter a four-letter word. “Wendy!” Kim said in disbelief.

  “What?” responded a voice of frustration.

  “Are you okay? I’ve never heard you talk like that before.” It was as if Wendy had spoken a foreign language. Kim had stopped swearing months ago, after Tori had conned her into going to church.

  “Sorry. I was getting some water and accidentally knocked the glass off the counter.”

  “Okay, but is it really that serious?”

  Kimberly started crying in the background.

  “Great,” Wendy belted. “Look, girl, I gotta clean up this mess. I’ll talk to you later,” she said before hanging up the phone, leaving Kim bewildered.

  If it had been someone other than Wendy, Kim would not have been so taken aback. To Kim’s knowledge, Wendy had never sworn before. In fact, whenever Kim would curse around her sister, Wendy would get offended and politely tell Kim that she needed to “watch her mouth.” Now it seemed like the roles had been reversed, except Kim wasn’t offended, she was shocked. So much so that she held the phone in her hand for a moment as she reflected on what had happened. To Kim, Wendy’s swearing and then being nonchalant about it was an obvious sign that her relationship with God wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

  Chapter Twenty

  Just Friends?

  LOOKING FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL?” Renée whispered in Kevin’s ear when she walked up behind him at the Bar and Grill Restaurant.

  “There you are.” Kevin beamed and put his arm around her shoulder. “I was starting to think you stood me up.”

  “You should know I wouldn’t do that to you.” She smiled. “My mother’s doctor appointment ran later than I thought it would.”

  “Ma’am?” Kevin motioned to the hostess. “My guest is here. Can we have a table for two, nonsmoking, please?”

  The restaurant was pretty busy that afternoon. Dozens of mini-conversations overshadowed the music playing in the background. Kevin helped Renée off with her suede coat after they were led to a booth.

  “You look nice.” He complimented her on her hip-hugger jeans and baby-blue cashmere sweater. Since they first met her hair had grown longer, and she was now able to pull it back into a ponytail.

  “Thanks.” She sat down. “I was surprised that you wanted to come here for lunch.”

  “Why?”

  Renée shrugged her shoulders. “With you being at work, I guess I figured you would want to go somewhere more formal. I didn’t think you would be dressed casually.”

  Kevin, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and plain polo shirt, looked down at his attire. “Are you implying that there is something wrong with the way I am dressed?” he kidded.

  “No, not at all.” Renée blushed.

  “Actually, I am usually so busy that I normally don’t have time to go out to lunch unless I’m going with a client and it’s part of the business transaction.”

  “What happened to change the routine today?”

  “You—and the fact that today was dress-down day. We sort have a tradition in my office of wearing jeans the Friday before a holiday week. Since next week is Thanksgiving, today is dress-down day.”

  The waitress walked up to the table. “Are you all ready to order or do you need more time?”

  “Oops. We haven’t even looked at the menu. I’m sorry—can we have a few more minutes?” Renée requested.

  “Sure, no problem. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “May I have a glass of water for now—with no lemon?” Renée asked.

  “I’ll take a Coke, please,” Kevin stated.

  The woman scribbled on her order pad and placed it back in her apron. “Okay, I’ll be back shortly with your drinks,” she said before walking away.

  Both Kevin and Renée picked up their menus. After discussing several items that looked good, they decided to order separate entrées and share them. The waitress came back with their drinks, took their orders, and left again. Renée decided to pick up on their previous conversation.

  “You were saying that you have dress-down Fridays before holiday weeks.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Sounds like you’re a pretty nice boss.”

  “I try to be. Who knows what they say about me when I’m not around.” He took a sip of his Coke. “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?”

  “Since my mom is sick, I’ll cook dinner. My mom’s boyfriend will most likely come over and eat with us.”

  “My mother, brother, and his wife are supposed to fly in from Philly so they can see my daughter. She’s four months old and my family has never seen her except through a few pictures my wife gave me.”

  “Do you have a picture of her with you?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Kevin reached in his back right pocket and pulled out his wallet.

  Renée couldn’t help but notice the wad of cash he had.

  “This is my baby girl. Her name is Kimberly Maya-Nicole.”

  “Oh, she is so beautiful.” Renée gazed at the picture of Kimberly in a red and black velvet dress.

  “Thanks. Supposedly my wife is going to allow me to get her on Thanksgiving so my family can see her.”

  “Why do you say it like that?” She picked up on Kevin’s uncertainty about the arrangements.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’m afraid she’ll change her mind at the last minute because it’s a major holiday. I’m thinking about going to Philadelphia for Christmas instead of hanging out here by myself. I know she won’t let me take the baby there.” He placed the wallet back in his pocket.

  “You do have the right to see your daughter, you know. Especially since you’re paying virtually all of the bills and she’s not teaching anymore.”

  “How did you know she was a teacher?”

  “You told me,” Renée said quickly. “Duh? How else would I know?”

  “Yeah, well she has savings from when we were together, mutual funds, and stuff like that. But you are right. I am paying for everything.”

  “It doesn’t bother you that she’s basically being kept?” Renée asked with a twinge of jealousy.

  Kevin was silent at first. “Initially it did, but now I try to think of it as I’m doing it more for my daughter rather than her. Wendy’s a good mother and as long as she continues to be, I’ll be able to deal with the rest. Would you believe that tomorrow will be the first time since my daughter has been born that I will have her overnight?”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Kevin nodded. “Yep. I am. Normally, I visit her at the house. Wendy has never let me keep her for more than a few hours at a time. But it’s cool. I get her tomorrow and hopefully again on Thanksgiving, so I won’t complain.”

  “What’s so special about tomorrow?” Renée asked curiously.

  “Honestly, I don’t think she had any other choice. Her sister is getting married next year and they’re going shopping for wedding dresses. I think her mother is going also.”

  Renée paused to consider her words carefully. “How are things going between you and Wendy?”

  “Cordial. We haven’t had any arguments since the one we had the night I met you awhile back. I decided that I am going to leave her alone about getting back together. That’s what she wants, so I have no other choice.”

  “Which one of you will make the first step?” She was referring to the divorce and Kevin knew it. She had been advising him that it was not healthy to hang on to a dead-end relationship. She didn’t like it when Kevin
mentioned still having feelings for his wife. It made her a little resentful toward Wendy.

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll just take it one day at a time.”

  At that moment their lunch was brought to the table and the two enjoyed a wonderful meal together without any further talk of Kevin’s marriage.

  “Thanks for lunch,” Renée turned and said to Kevin after being escorted to her car. Standing so close to him caused her body temperature to rise despite the cold air.

  “My pleasure. I enjoyed your company.” The chilly wind formed a cloud around his words and the mist came so close to Renée’s mouth that a bystander would not have known which one of them actually spoke.

  “I expect to see you tonight,” she stated, referring to the club that had been their weekly hangout since they met.

  “Of course you will,” he responded.

  “You know I may get a little jealous watching you dance with other women.” Renée spoke softly and smoothly. Kevin kept his eyes on her luscious lips, which were very tempting for him to kiss. He fought the temptation by backing up from her a little, although he didn’t think she would oppose if he had tried.

  “How can I make you jealous if we’re just friends?” he playfully challenged her.

  They hugged and Kevin closed the door when Renée finally slipped inside.

  He was trying hard to maintain a platonic relationship with her, at least until he knew for sure when his marriage with Wendy would be over. However, he could not deny the attraction between the two of them. Being a man of his word, he promised himself that he would wait until one relationship was over before getting into another one. That was how he got in the mess with Wendy in the first place. Kevin wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lady and the Tramp

  GWEN IS IN THE BACK WAITING FOR YOU. She said to tell you as soon as you came in,” one of the ladies who worked in the hair salon said to Kim the moment she walked through the door.

  “Okay,” Kim responded. Before going to the back, she checked the appointment book. Whew. She was relieved to see that she hadn’t missed any scheduled appointments. Even when she was with a client, Gwen would excuse herself for a moment and request a meeting in the backroom whenever any of the stylists missed appointments. She did not believe in reprimanding her workers in front of each other or in front of clients. Since Kim had never been summoned to the back before, her first instinct was to think she had done something wrong when her co-worker relayed Gwen’s message with such urgency.

  “Hey, you wanted to see me?” Kim said to Gwen.

  Gwen was putting towels up on the shelves, but when she saw Kim she stopped and turned with a serious look on her face. “Shut the door.” The bright smile that usually greeted everyone she came in contact with had faded.

  “O-kay,” Kim said slowly. She took off her coat and hung it up on the coatrack. “What’s going on?”

  “You will never believe who I saw last night at Maxine’s.” Gwen referred to a popular dance club.

  Kim scrunched up her face. “Since when did you start hanging out down there?” Nothing was wrong with Maxine’s, but whenever Gwen and Kim used to go out together, Gwen never wanted to go there. She preferred another popular club on the north side, and that was where they always hung out.

  Gwen rolled her eyes. “Girl, believe me, it wasn’t my idea. That’s Anthony’s spot.”

  “Who’s Anthony?”

  “The guy I went on a date with last night.”

  “Uhhhh . . .” Kim said with a slur and sly smile. “I haven’t heard you mention him before. When did you meet him?”

  “Honestly, I just met him last night. It was sort of a blind date as a favor to my cousin, who is dating his brother. Don’t worry. We didn’t hit it off. You won’t hear me mention him again.”

  Kim laughed. That was a typical Gwen statement. When she was through dealing with any man, she was through and never sailed backwards.

  “Anyhow, I’ll tell you about him later. That’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I saw Kevin at the club last night.”

  Kim shrugged her shoulders. “What’s so special about that?” It was no secret that one of the problems with Kevin’s and Wendy’s marriage was the fact that he hung out a lot.

  Gwen lowered her voice. “Would you believe he was dancing with Natalie?”

  “No!” Kim’s eyes grew bigger.

  “Yes!” Gwen said angrily. “I wish you had seen the way she was hugged all up on him. It was almost as if she had to be peeled off.”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “She was on him like white on rice.” Gwen shook her head as though she were trying to erase the image from her mind.

  “Did she see you?”

  “No. I don’t think she or Kevin saw me. I wish I had said something to her last night, though. I could just kick myself because I didn’t. I couldn’t do anything without Dumbo following me around.”

  “Who’s that, Anthony?”

  “Yeah. I went to the bathroom. When I came out, this fool was waiting for me outside the door. He was relentless.” Gwen looked disgusted, as if she were reliving last night’s event.

  “Did it look like Natalie and Kevin came together?”

  “No, I guess not, since they both danced with other people. Plus, I saw Kevin leave like an hour before she did, but they sure had a few side conversations off the dance floor.”

  “Are you going to tell Wendy?”

  “I don’t know. Do you think I should? She seems a little edgy lately. I don’t want to upset her unnecessarily.”

  “I know what you mean. Did I ever tell you she cussed?”

  “Quit lyin’.” Gwen was shocked.

  Kim raised her right hand in the air. “Honest to God, I’m tellin’ the truth.”

  “What happened?”

  Kim quickly recapped the day when she’d spoken with Wendy and Wendy had sworn after dropping a glass.

  “I can’t believe it.” Gwen shook her head. Like Kim, she had never heard Wendy come close to swearing in the twenty-something years they had been friends. Gwen might swear occasionally, but not like she did in high school. Still, Wendy was always determined not to succumb to using foul language. “Naw, I don’t think she needs to know about Natalie and Kevin, at least not yet.”

  Kim nodded in agreement. “I agree. If his only crime was dancing, then we’re all guilty. When I used to go out, I danced with other people besides Terrance even if he was there.”

  “True. Me too. But I seriously doubt you danced with other men the way Natalie was dancing with Kevin last night. As a matter of fact, I know you wouldn’t do that and neither would I. I may start popping up at Maxine’s to see if they are ever like that again.”

  “You know if she sees you, she won’t dance like that with him, especially knowing he’s Wendy’s husband.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I guess that won’t really work. I do know someone needs to keep an eye on her, though. I know for a fact that she doesn’t mind going behind her friends.”

  Gwen was referring to the incident that happened between Natalie and Charlene, a former friend of theirs from high school. Natalie had starting dating Charlene’s ex-boyfriend three weeks after he and Charlene broke up. Fortunately, Charlene could have cared less. She said that if Natalie liked garbage then she could pick up her trash. Although Natalie apologized to Charlene after the relationship with her ex didn’t go anywhere, Gwen believed Natalie was sorrier that the relationship hit a dead end than she was about betraying her friend.

  “Excuse me.” The backroom’s door opened and Denise, who had delivered Gwen’s message to Kim earlier, poked her head through the door. “Kim, your nine-o’clock appointment is here.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll be right up.”

  Denise shut the door.

  “You had me thinkin’ I messed up this morning the way she said that you wanted to see me. She jumped down my throat as soon as I came in.”
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  Gwen laughed. “My fault. I probably did seem sort of hysterical. I was eager to tell you about last night.”

  “Thanks for telling me. Don’t forget I’m leavin’ early today. I just have this appointment and one more, then I’m gone.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re going to look for wedding dresses today, aren’t you?”

  “Um-hmm. My mom, Evelyn, and Wendy will all be there.” Kim was silent. “I wish you were able to come with us.”

  “So do I, but I have to close up the shop today because no one else was available. There’s a cost to being the boss.” Gwen always planned her Saturday events around the schedule of her employees. If they couldn’t close, she didn’t have a choice. “Call me and let me know what you find. If you see a dress for me, let me know and I’ll go and check it out.”

  “I will.” Terrance and Kim had decided to have only one person stand up for them. His best man was going to be his cousin. However, Gwen would still participate in the wedding as the soloist. Among her other qualities, Gwen had the voice of an angel. Kim opened the door to go out. “If I don’t call you tonight, I’ll give you a call after church tomorrow.”

  “All right. Tell everyone I said hi. Tell Wendy to call me too.” Gwen paused for a moment. “Truthfully, I don’t know what your sister sees in Natalie. I never understood it. They make an odd pair of friends. I think of them as Lady and the Tramp. Wendy’s the lady and that other thing is the tramp.”

  Both Gwen and Kim laughed. “You’re silly,” Kim said as she walked out of the room.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Whooo?

  HEY, EVERYONE.” A cheerful Natalie walked up to the ladies at the bridal store.

  “Hello.” Evelyn spoke to be courteous, but she had no idea who this woman was.

  “Hi, Natalie. How are you?” Marlene asked.

  “I’m fine, thanks.”

  “Natalie, you remember Evelyn, don’t you? Kim’s future mother-in-law.”

  Both Natalie and Evelyn exchanged weird looks. Neither of them recalled meeting before.

  “Oh, that’s right.” Marlene corrected herself. “I was thinking that you two met at Wendy’s baby shower, but, Evelyn, I forgot you were out of town that weekend. Natalie is one of Wendy’s best friends.”