Another Man Will

by Daaimah S. Poole

  “Mom, I know you had a hard day at work. We cleaned the house and made dinner for you. Dad told us to start helping you out more,” Brandon said.

  “I really appreciate this. Thank you.” I gave them both hugs.

  “Oh, Mom, I forgot to ask you. Is it okay if I go with Mr. Walker to the art museum? He is on his way over,” Brandon said.

  “That will be fine,” I said. His vice principal, Mr. Walker, had been mentoring him and you could definitely notice the change in him. Brandon had a dad, but it was good to have someone close who could get through to him. Doug asked me what was up with Mr. Walker and why was he paying so much attention to Brandon. I told him I didn’t get the pervert vibe from him at all and that he was just a good principal going the extra mile.

  Mr. Walker knocked on the door. I greeted him and asked him to come in.

  “I thank you so much, Mr. Walker. Does he need money for anything?”

  “No, we are only going to be gone for an hour or so, and I’ll bring him right back.”

  “I really appreciate the way you’re helping my son. He doesn’t get to see his dad often, because he is in Florida. So it is really nice for him to be around a strong male figure. Since you’ve been mentoring him I’ve noticed a change. The other day he said he was thinking about going to college, then law school to become an attorney. That’s amazing, because before he just wanted to run stuff, and now he wants to be a lawyer.”

  Mr. Walker laughed and said he was glad he could help.

  CHAPTER 49

  Dana

  “Aunt Dana, me and Mr. Walker are at the art museum. Can you meet up with us?”

  “Uh, how long are you going to be there? I’m still at work, trying to complete a few things, Brandon.”

  “Mr. Walker said we should be here for about an hour.”

  I agreed to meet them. After my long day at work I really didn’t feel like going anywhere, but I wanted to support Brandon.

  I met them on the steps of the art museum, the ones that were made famous by the movie Rocky. Immediately, I noticed my nephew was dressed like a miniature, casual version of Mr. Walker. He was wearing a navy blue peacoat, pants, and hard-bottom shoes.

  We walked around the museum, admiring the artwork. Some of it looked like something I or one of my nieces or nephew could have drawn, but beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

  We stopped in front of a collection by a painter named Bartolomeo Vivarini. He was a painter from the Renaissance era. While we were admiring the large paintings on the wall, Brandon went to the restroom, leaving me alone to talk with Mr. Walker.

  “Ms. Turner, do you know anything about this painter?”

  “ No.”

  “Do you see the texture? His painting reflects anger. His mother abandoned him, and he was an orphan on the streets of Paris. That’s where all his inspiration came from.”

  “Really?” I asked, seeing new depth in the picture and seeing it with a different set of eyes.

  “No, I just made all of that up. I don’t know anything about him.”

  “You’re really funny, Mr. Walker. So are you making my nephew a clone of you?”

  “No. I had some old things, and I gave them to him.”

  “That was really nice of you. He really needed a male role model in his life. He pays my father no attention. I can see the change in his demeanor and behavior already.”

  “Your sister mentioned the same thing earlier.”

  “Well, I’m glad I met up with you guys. I haven’t been here in years, and this was really nice,” I confessed.

  “When I drop Brandon off, would you like to get coffee at Brownie Joe’s and discuss you possibly mentoring some of the young ladies at the school? They are still talking about you. You made a really big impression on them.”

  “They are? Okay. I’ll meet you at the Brownie Joe’s on Nineteenth Street.”

  We met at the Brownie Joe’s coffeehouse. It was a small café with delicious desserts and great coffee. Mr. Walker was still trying to convince me to become a mentor, but I told him I didn’t have the time.

  “So, Mr. Walker, do you pay this much attention to all your students? How do you do it?”

  “Yeah, I do, especially the students I see with a lot of potential and who have pretty aunts.”

  “So are you trying to use my nephew to get to me, Mr. Walker?”

  “Maybe, and Brandon is gone, so you can just call me Marcus.”

  “Like the porn star Mr. Marcus?” I said jokingly.

  “Exactly, like him. Are you familiar with his work?”

  I blushed and said no, and we both laughed as my phone began to ring. I answered without looking, still giggling, and said, “Hello.”

  “Hey, babe. Where are you? I called you a few times,” Adam’s voice said from the other end.

  “Adam, I had to meet up with my nephew and his mentor. I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “It’s pretty late for a school meeting.”

  “Yeah, its running a little over; we’re almost done. I’ll call you when I get home.” I hung up the phone and Marcus began inquiring about my relationship.

  “I’m assuming that was your man.”

  “Yup, it was.”

  “How long have you been together?”

  “About four months.”

  “Only four months. So you are still getting to know him. Adam—that’s a different name. I don’t know any black Adams.”

  “I know a few, but my Adam is not black.”

  “That’s interesting, because you don’t take me as the kind of sister that would date other. No offense, but don’t you want a strong man that looks like you standing next to you? I have nothing against interracial relationships, but I just only date black women. I’m not attracted to any other kinds of women. My boys date the rainbow, that’s them. I don’t.”

  “Well, for us it just happened, and I think you have to be open minded. And my last boyfriend was a black man and he was a jerk. I bought me and my ex tickets to see Wade Devon. I love Wade Devon. He knew that and, anyway, an hour before the show he called me while I was getting dressed to tell me couldn’t make it.”

  “So you did you get to see Wade Devon?”

  “Yeah, I did, but it wasn’t the same seeing him with my girlfriend. He offered me money for the tickets, but I was just, like, it’s over. At that point I’d had enough of him. So when you get a good guy, his race doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, I’m glad you found someone who treats you well.”

  “I am too! How about you, Mr. Walker? Where is your girlfriend? I know you had ladies beating down your door since you were a kid.”

  “No, not exactly. I was a weird kid. Some might say a geek. I didn’t really start coming into my own until college. You know what else I used to think when I was growing up?”

  “What?”

  “That the news people knew God, because they knew the forecast. I said, ‘Hey, they must call up God and say, “What’s the weather tomorrow and the next day?”’ And I think I believed in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy until I was in the eighth grade.”

  “That’s funny.”

  “Don’t laugh at me, Ms. Turner, Brandon’s aunt. So I think I missed the whole game most men learn. You know pickup lines, how to act with and attract pretty women.” He smiled as he looked across the table at me. “To be honest, I’m ready to get married. I can’t wait to start a family.”

  “It will happen.”

  “I know it will. I witnessed a good marriage. My parents’. My father loves my mom. They’ve been married almost forty years, and I just want the same.”

  “Wow, my parents have been married thirty-five years, and my dad really loves my mother, too. I think relationships today are just a lot different. Men do not know how to be men. If my dad sees a woman on the side of the road, he stops and helps her out, doesn’t ride by her. Or I’ve seen men let a door swing right in a lady’s face, instead of holding it open. I’ve had that happen.�
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  “But you know what, Ms. Turner? It all boils down to examples and what you see. If people don’t know, they can’t do better.”

  “And you’re very right about that, Mr. Walker—I mean, Marcus.”

  There was something so alluring about Mr. Marcus Walker. He was tall, dark, handsome, worked in the community, and wanted to start a family. He was the man I had wanted and had dreamed of before I met Adam.

  CHAPTER 50

  Crystal

  “Get in the car. I have to show you something,” Rell instructed me.

  I wanted to sleep in on my Saturday, but he insisted, so we all loaded in the car. I didn’t have any idea where he was taking us, but twenty-five minutes later the car stopped in front of a single brick home with a driveway in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

  “Who lives here, Rell?” I asked.

  “Just come with me.” He grabbed my hand, and we all followed him to the front door of the home. I thought he would ring the bell or knock. Instead he took a key out of his pocket and opened the door.

  “Boo, on my way to work for the past month or so, I saw them working on this house. I kept saying, ‘That’s a nice house. One day I’m going to get a house like that.’ So then I saw this sign go up for rent. I called the number and got a tour inside. I started looking around and was like, ‘I really like this place.’ I didn’t sign anything, but I told the owner I had to show it to my wife. But what do you think, boo?”

  “It’s okay, but why would you make a decision like this without me?” I said, arms folded, looking around the freshly painted white rooms.

  “I didn’t sign anything yet. I just think this is what we need . . . a place of our own. It has four bedrooms. Come look at this big yard, and the basement is already finished.”

  “I don’t know about this. What I want even more than a house is you. It seems like all you ever do is work now, anyway, and with a house like this, you will work even more.”

  “Come here. I’m doing all this work so you . . . so we can have what we want. You deserve to have everything.”

  “I know, but I’d really rather just have you. This neighborhood looks really expensive. How much is the rent?”

  “It’s only fifteen hundred. I was talking with the landlord about my deposit.”

  “You gave the man a deposit, Rell? You just said you didn’t. That’s too much money!”

  “Yeah, I did. I gave him the first month’s rent.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” I said as I looked around. “What would make you do that?”

  “Crystal, you know, eventually, we are going to need more space, and the kids can play back here. I can get them another dog.”

  “What about my house? And I don’t want a dog around my baby. Dogs stink and you have to constantly clean up after them. You will be working all the time, so who is going to clean up after the dog? And what about my house?”

  “I’ll clean up after the dog and you can rent your house and this can be ours. And we can make the rules in our house, and it can be our new beginning. The owner wants to sell in a few years so we can eventually buy this.”

  “No, Rell, this house is nice, but I’m not interested, and I hope you get your money back,” I said as I marched out of the house and back to the car. Who would go and do that? He was so damn stupid sometimes.

  On the way back home, Rell was acting like a spoiled baby, and I did not care. He would get over it. I didn’t want to move right now. I liked it where I lived now, and people didn’t make rash decisions like that without speaking to their significant other.

  Later that evening, I was in the bed waiting for Rell to get in. I wanted to explain to him why I felt the way I did. He took a shower, put on his boxers and t-shirt and flipped on the television without acknowledging me. I knew he was still upset about the house, but I didn’t really care.

  “What’s wrong with you, Rell?”

  “Nothing,” he said as he pointed the remote at the television and changed stations.

  “There has to be. I’m sorry I didn’t like the house, Rell. But we are a team, partners, and you need to tell me when you make a decision that is going to affect all of us.”

  “Like you always do, right? Please, Crystal. It’s not the house. It’s us. I feel like you are not the same person I met. It’s, like, I can’t understand you. I feel like we are hitting a block. Something has changed. Do I even make you happy anymore?”

  “There is nothing wrong with me, and I don’t know what your problem is. Rell, come on please. I’m tired. I’m not going to argue about something so stupid.”

  “Crystal, do you want this marriage? Do you want me to leave?”

  “What kind of question is that to ask me? I don’t like a house you picked out on your own, so that means we should break up? I don’t want you to leave, but if you want to, then fine.”

  “No, I don’t want to leave.”

  “So why would you ask me something so damn ridiculous?”

  “Because you have crazy mood swings, and I’m doing everything for you, working hard, making moves. I really am, Crystal, and yet all you do is complain about everything.”

  “What did you do for me that was so special? I’ve been on my own since twenty, and I can take care of myself. I don’t need you or anybody else. Okay, Terell?”

  “What did I do for you? Let me see. I married your ass for one. So your family could stop talking about you. Then I’ve been working, giving you money for the bills, paying for the car, making sure you had a ring, the kids had a nice Christmas, and I even tried to go out and get us a new house, and you just shut it down. Didn’t even bother to look around the house. That’s crazy.”

  “So I’m crazy now?”

  “Look, I didn’t call you crazy, but you always have to find the negative in everything. If I didn’t know better, I would say I think you’ve been trying to force me out of here. It’s like it scares you when there’s no drama, like you don’t know how to be happy.”

  “Yeah, whatever. I like drama. You sound stupid.”

  “It’s not your fault, though. All you know is drama. Since I met you, it’s been one thing after another. The bitches at your job, drama with your dad, your mom, your sisters, your baby father. Crystal, you argue with everyone. Do you want us to fail? Because it’s like you trying your damnedest.”

  “Whatever. I knew all you were going to do was try to use me and leave me.”

  “I’m going to use you?” He chuckled. “I’m going to use you for what? Before I met you, I was a single man with no responsibility, and I’m trying to use you or get over on you? I need you to think about that. Ask yourself if that even makes sense.”

  I lay there in silence.

  “Crystal, use you for what? Has it ever crossed your mind that none of those kids down the hall are mine, but each day I’m growing closer to them and loving them like they are my own, because I love their mom? Huh? Do you think about that when you talk that crazy shit? Are you happy with me, Crystal? Because if I’m not making you happy and you don’t need me and you can do everything on your own, anyway, I’ll leave. I love you, but I don’t want to be miserable.”

  “That’s your choice, Rell. I really don’t care if you stay or leave. You didn’t do me any favors by marrying me. I was doing perfectly fine without you. You can do whatever you want.”

  “So you don’t care if I leave.” He sat up. I don’t know if he was testing me or not, but it was not working.

  “Not really.” I said holding my ground.

  “Ok, then. I’ll leave since you don’t give a fuck.” He jumped out of the bed and started pulling his belongings out of the closet and drawers.

  “I didn’t say that, but since you are packing, fuck you and fuck this ring,” I yelled, taking the ring off my finger and throwing it across the room.

  “I see,” Rell looked over at the ring on the floor, and just twisted his lips and marched over to the closet and filled his duffle bag with more clothes. I still
didn’t care.

  “And just to let you know. I don’t need you or any man. I’ve been holding everything down by myself for years. So pack your shit like you doing and go back to your mother’s house.”

  “Okay, no problem. I will.”

  “Bye.”

  “Ok, if that’s the way you want it.”

  “I do.”

  “Yup, well if you have any questions and need to figure out why your life is the way it is, just look in the mirror,” he said as he picked up his bag and walked out the house slamming the door so hard I could feel the vibration on the second floor. I looked out the window at him pulling off. He was gone, and I was not fazed.

  CHAPTER 51

  Yvette

  William had slipped and fallen at the restaurant and needed to stay off his ankle. He asked me if I could take his granddaughter to get her hair done since he couldn’t get out. A little girl with big, bright, wide eyes answered the big double doors at William’s home.

  “Hello. You must be Jalena. I’m Miss Yvette.”

  She smiled at me and then screamed, “Daddy Pop, your lady friend here.”

  “So I’m your lady friend?” I said when William walked into the foyer.

  “No. I told her to listen out for the door, because I was expecting you.”

  “Oh, so are you okay? Your ankle looks pretty bad.”

  “I’m feeling as good as anyone would feel after twisting my ankle on ice.”

  Eyeing his cane, I asked, “So do you have to use that thing?”

  “No. I’d rather limp than walk with a cane. I don’t need you calling me an old man.”

  “I didn’t say anything. If you need it, you better use it. This is a big beautiful house.” I was admiring all of the high ceilings and big windows that were allowing sunlight in.

  “Thanks. Five bedrooms, but we only sleep in one. Jalena refuses to sleep alone so I pulled her bed in my room. Here’s the money for your hair, and thanks for coming to get her. When you are ready for me to pick her up, I will. I have to come to Philly today anyway.”