If Only You Knew

by Denene Millner

  “Wait, how did your mom even find out? You didn’t tell us you told her! When did you break the news that you and Marcus broke up?” Rhea asked sitting straight up on the bed in shock.

  Realizing that she may have said too much, Sydney faked a cough to buy herself some time to think. “Um,” she said clearing her throat, “I guess Lauren must have let it slip or something…I’m not really sure.” She tried to keep a straight face and gently pulled on her right earlobe.

  Carmen shook her head disappointedly. “Your sister never ceases to amaze me,” she said, finishing Sydney’s ‘do with a spray of olive oil sheen.

  “Aww, Carm it’s perfect! Thank you so much,” Sydney exclaimed as she turned to give her girl a big hug. “If that doctor thing doesn’t work out, you should definitely look into beauty school,” she teased as she continued to admire herself in the mirror.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Carmen laughed as she put the oil sheen down and stepped back and held up a small hand-held mirror so that Sydney could see the back.

  Rhea popped her head in the door. “Let me see,” she demanded. Sydney turned and modeled her fabulous new upsweep that, thanks to a couple of perfectly placed loose curls, was just the right balance of casual and sexy. “Oh, wow, we like,” she co-signed emphatically.

  “Now if you can just help me decide what to wear…” Sydney whined again.

  “Uh-uh, that’s your department, Rhea,” Carmen teased as she playfully passed Sydney along to Rhea. “I’ve done my part for the cause.”

  With an exaggerated roll of the eyes, Rhea grabbed Sydney by the hand and led her out of the bathroom and into her enormous walk-in closet. “Come, my child,” she said in an authoritative voice. “Together, we will find you the perfect ‘Beware: Horny sex goddess hidden beneath this good girl façade’ outfit for your little rendezvous with Mr. Danden,” she joked. Carmen burst out laughing as she followed behind the two.

  “Whatever you say, Andre Leon Talley, Jr.; just don’t have me looking like J-Hud at the MTV Awards,” Sydney retorted.

  “Eww, that above-the-knee gold lamé was the absolute worst!” Carmen screeched as they collectively remembered the time the normally impeccable Dreamgirl made a huge fashion misstep at a most important award show.

  “Give me a little credit,” Rhea insisted as she slowly circled the perimeter of the closet, picking out various items along the way.

  Carmen looked at her pearl-face Rolex. “T-minus thirty-five minutes ’til the doorbell rings…”

  “Actually, I’m going to meet him at the movie theater,” Sydney hedged, immediately looking away.

  “Excuse me? Rhea stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Sydney.

  “Um, since when do we meet our dates in the street?” Carmen inquired disdainfully.

  “Well, what had happened,” Sydney started. “Since, um, Lauren, um, spilled the beans to Keisha, I couldn’t really get away with faking like Jason and I were strictly hanging out as friends—”

  “Oh, I get it,” Rhea interjected as she brought over a pair of black skinny jeans, plain long-sleeve black T-shirt, and hot pink Michael Kors kimono-sleeve jacket. “Here you go,” she said, handing the outfit to Sydney. “This with the suede and waterskin Jimmy platforms that you bought last weekend.”

  “Hot to death,” Carmen co-signed with a nod.

  A mischievous grin spread across Sydney’s face. “Jason has no idea,” she said slyly.

  “None,” Rhea seconded as she headed to the door. “Come on, Carm, let me show you the dress I think I want to wear to the holiday party while Syd gets dressed and puts on her makeup.” As Carmen followed behind Rhea, she paused to throw a thumbs-up sign at Sydney.

  About fifteen minutes later, Sydney stepped out of the bathroom with her outfit and makeup done. “Wow,” both girls said in awe.

  “I’m thinking these diamond hoops that Marcus gave me for Valentine’s Day last year,” Sydney said as she held up one earring to her lobe for them to examine.

  “Works for me,” Carmen said.

  “Perfect. Then I think I’m ready to go,” Sydney said, turning to grab her silver LV doctor bag.

  “I just have one question,” Rhea said, raising her hand as if she were in class. “How are you planning to get past Keisha looking like that?”

  “Mmm, good point, Rhea,” Carmen concurred as she pulled a pack of Big Red out of her black Gucci fanny pack and passed out pieces.

  “Oh, I’m good. I told you how obsessed my mom has become with HGTV lately, right?” The girls nodded in response. “Well, now she’s decided that she wants to take interior decorating classes.”

  “Okay…” Rhea said looking unclear.

  “Well, her classes are normally on Wednesday nights. But this week her instructor got called in at the last minute to appear on a Rachel Ray special and canceled class. The makeup class just so happens to be tonight,” Sydney finished up with a triumphant grin. “By the time she gets home—”

  “You’ll be long gone!” Rhea exclaimed as she high-fived Sydney.

  “There is a God,” Carmen said with a smile.

  “Wait, what about Altimus?”

  “Honestly, I don’t think he’s home from the dealership. He’s been working really late nights recently,” Sydney mused as she took her cell off the charger and tossed it in her bag.

  “Hmm, well let’s get the hell out of here before he comes home,” Carmen said, walking over to the closed door. Rhea grabbed her bag and followed behind Carmen. “You ready, Syd?” she questioned over her shoulder as she gave Carmen a nudge to hurry and turn the knob.

  “I’m about to,” Carmen complained as she finally opened the door. And faced Altimus.

  “Good evening, ladies,” he stated simply as the two struggled to contain their gasps.

  “Sir,” Carmen replied with eyes as wide as saucers.

  “Good evening, Mr. Duke,” Rhea replied as she turned back to look at Sydney, who was frozen in her tracks.

  “Uh, hey, Altimus,” Sydney stuttered. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I was hoping to have a word with you before you went out for the evening.” He looked at Carmen and Rhea pointedly.

  “Um, we’ll catch up with you later, Sydney,” Rhea said as she pushed Carmen out the door.

  “Yeah, Syd, we’ll call you,” Carmen offered over her shoulder as the two hurried down the long hallway.

  Without so much as a backward glance, Altimus stepped in the bedroom. “You got a moment?” he asked as Sydney started pulling at the diamond hoop.

  “Um, yeah, sure,” Sydney said, turning away. She looked at her watch. She had exactly three minutes to get out of there or she was going to be late. “What’s up?”

  “Well, first of all, I feel like we haven’t spoken in a really long time. How’s school? What’s up with your classes? I hope we’re still on track for that scholarship to Brown,” he joked as he sat down on her bed.

  “Um, sure,” Sydney hedged. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a detailed conversation about school. Aside from the time factor, nowadays she was barely keeping up in the classes she used to kick butt in. “You know, everything is good. I’ve just been really swamped with preparing for the SATs, volunteering at the shelter, planning our holiday party at the lake house, and whatnot…”

  “True. You look very nice. Got big plans for tonight?”

  “No, not really,” Sydney said, stalling for time by walking over to the bed and picking up the magazine. As she put it back on her desk, she debated using Marcus as an alibi but changed her mind at the last second. “Actually, I’m going with a couple of kids from my French class to see this foreign film that’s playing at The High.”

  “Hmm, okay. Well, I’m glad to see you’re getting out.” Altimus said thoughtfully, “‘cause your mom told me that you and Marcus broke up.”

  “She did,” Sydney gasped, shocked that her mother shared information she clearly obtained from her private investigator. Then again,
after the day she’d just had at the spa she knew better than to put absolutely anything past Keisha Duke.

  “Yeah, she called me on her way to class and said that you mentioned it while you girls were spending time at the spa today,” he said.

  “Is that so?” Sydney asked, trying not to roll her eyes at Keisha’s blatant lie.

  “I hope you’re not mad that she told me,” Altimus said as he reached to touch her arm gently. Sydney recoiled at his touch. “I could tell she didn’t think the breakup was a very good idea, huh?”

  “Are you surprised?” Sydney asked sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest. “Sometimes I think she loves Marcus more than me…”

  “That’s a bit much,” he chuckled, looking at the copy of Vogue Rhea had left on the bed.

  “Whatever,” Sydney mumbled as she looked at her nails.

  “Regardless, I just want to let you know that as much as I liked Marcus Green, I love you,” Altimus continued, walking over to where she was standing and lifting her chin so he could establish eye-to-eye contact. “And it’s his loss to suffer silently. But if he or any guy you’re dating ever gets out of line, I will not hesitate to make them sorely regret it for a very long time,” he stated definitively in a very low voice. “Because no one messes with my mine.”

  By the time Sydney rushed into the lobby of the theater, she was twenty-five minutes late and a hundred percent stressed out. Struggling to catch her breath from the run over from the parking lot in her stiletto boots, she anxiously looked around for Jason. Damn, I hope he didn’t leave, Sydney worried as she looked guiltily at her watch. Chewing nervously on her bottom lip, she pulled out her phone and called Jason’s number. It went to voice mail. Sydney decided to walk around slowly. “Please, please, please,” she muttered to herself with every step. About to give up, she spotted a very familiar figure wearing a bright yellow Izod shirt, dark blue Red Monkey jeans, bright white Air Force Ones, and a worn fitted Yankees hat, leaned up against the wall. A huge grin of relief spread across her face as she adjusted her outfit and headed over.

  Walking up directly behind him, Sydney tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, you,” she said sweetly, trying to sound adorable. However, when Jason actually turned around to face her, all the cuteness drained out of Sydney’s body.

  “There you are,” Jason exclaimed as he stepped aside to reveal his very condescending-looking ex-girlfriend, Tyra Edwards, right behind him.

  “Hey,” she offered, giving Sydney the official cut-eye.

  Realizing the awkwardness of the moment, Jason jump-started the introductions. “Sydney, this is Tyra,” he said, pointing to each girl respectively. “And, T, this is my um, friend, Sydney.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Sydney finally squeezed out.

  “Mmm-hmm, I’m sure,” she replied dismissively. “Well, it was really good to see you, J,” Tyra said to Jason as she reached up to give him a lingering kiss on the cheek. “Promise to come down to FAMU whenever you schedule your HBCU college tour. We’ll have so much fun.”

  “No doubt,” he responded with an uncomfortable smile.

  “Great. And don’t forget to give your parents my love,” she tossed over her shoulder as she sauntered away, shaking her butt extra hard.

  After an extended moment, Sydney cleared her throat and spoke stiffly. “I feel like I interrupted your little reunion…”

  “No, no,” Jason reassured as he pulled the brim further down on his hat. “Not at all. I literally just ran into her a couple of minutes before you got here.”

  “Is that so?” Sydney asked, trying to suppress the sarcasm.

  “Yeah, I guess she’s home for the weekend. Tomorrow is her baby sister’s birthday, so she came to spend time,” he explained.

  “That’s nice of her. Did she invite you to the birthday party?” Sydney asked, spontaneously, not sure whether he would be offended by the question and become defensive.

  “Oh, naw,” he responded easily. “It was a nice surprise to see her, but I’m not the kinda guy who believes in sending mixed signals. If we ain’t together like that, I don’t need to be hanging out with her fam’ at the private celebrations. You know what I’m saying?”

  Sydney released a small, silent sigh of relief. “I hear ya,” she said, thrilled that he had all the right answers. “So is it too late to catch our movie?”

  “You know, I actually got the starting time wrong,” Jason said, pulling the tickets out of his back pocket to look at them. “Showtime starts at nine-thirty not nine-fifteen, so we’re good.”

  “Great,” Sydney enthused. “I’ve actually been dying to see this movie for the longest.”

  “Me, too,” he replied casually, putting his arm around her shoulder and leading Sydney into the theater.

  “Okay, that was so good,” Sydney exclaimed as the flow of the crowd pulled them along and down the escalator toward the exit.

  “I know! How crazy was the scene where they were slap boxing on the wing of a moving Lear jet?” Jason questioned as he gestured wildly like a little kid. Sydney giggled softly just watching him.

  “What?” he asked when he realized that she wasn’t laughing at his description of Jackie Chan.

  “Nothing,” Sydney said with a smile as she spontaneously reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’re just really cute when you’re excited about something.”

  Jason took her hand softly and said, “Then I guess I’m always going to be cute when I’m with you.”

  “I sure hope so,” Sydney said softly as she drew small circles in his palm.

  The escalator finally reached the bottom floor and the couple strolled toward the exit doors. “So what do you feel like eating?” Jason asked.

  “Hmm, I’m not sure…” Sydney started, and then stopped mid-sentence. The only word she could use to describe the sight of Marcus opening the door for Dara was “Wow.” Marcus stopped cold when he finally looked up from Dara’s cleavage and saw Sydney standing with Jason Danden.

  “Sydney, what are you doing here?” he questioned defensively, looking at Jason like he wanted to kill him dead.

  “I would ask you the same, but it’s all so clear now,” Sydney hissed back as she cut her eyes to Dara, who appeared unnaturally bloated in her gray Rock & Republic jeans and Ed Hardy long-sleeve T-shirt.

  Forgetting about Dara, Marcus stepped to Jason. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Marcus Green, Sydney’s boyfriend of the past four years.”

  “Hmm, well thank God for the future, right, Syd?” Jason smirked. And without missing a beat, the two walked out the door and into the night hand-in-hand.

  10

  LAUREN

  “So repeat it back to me because we know how you do,” Lauren whispered into her recently recovered iPhone as she snuggled under her massive triple-down comforter. She scratched her scalp through the wilted-silk night scarf that held her wrap in place, and made a mental note to call Jamila, her hairstylist, for an appointment, seeing that her hair was a straight wreck. About this, she was not happy, because she’d have only about forty minutes after her parents headed off to church to shower, dress, put on her makeup, and get her hair to look like something other than a rat’s ass before Jermaine got to the house. She may have been skipping her weekly gathering at the Lord’s house to get her reunion on with her man, but that wasn’t about to stop her from having a little talk with Jesus in hopes he would help a sistah get it together.

  “I got you,” Donald practically yelled into the phone. “I mean damn, you said it five times, I said it four times, so unless you changed some of the details without making it plain between the last time I ran through them and now, do I really need to repeat it again?”

  “Yes, dammit,” Lauren huffed, snuggling into her pillow as she put her best friend through the paces of how to keep her parents on the road while she entertained Jermaine. “I want you to be absolutely sure about—” she started. Her heart practically jumped out of her chest when she heard foo
tsteps coming down the hall. “Hold on!” she said quickly before stashing her cell under the oversized Brookhaven Prep dance squad teddy bear propped up against her headboard. She watched the doorknob to her bedroom turn and tried not to let her eyes go wide as saucers when her mother peeked her head in.

  “We’re about to head to church,” said Keisha, her wide-brim church hat tottering against the doorjamb. “Edwina already left for chapel, but she left some pancakes and bacon in the warmer for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Lauren said sweetly, trying her best to hold it together. “Honestly, I think I’m going to take some Aleve and go back to sleep. Maybe by the time I wake up, my leg will feel better and this killer headache will have gone away,” she added, rubbing her head for added effect.

  “You’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Keisha said curtly. “See you in a little while.”

  Hopefully, longer than that, Lauren said to herself. “Have a good service,” she said out loud as her mother closed the door. Only when she heard Keisha inform Sydney she had five minutes to meet her in the kitchen did she dig her iPhone out from under the teddy bear and start whispering into it again. “This is serious, Donald. Now, I need you to go over the plan one more time, because if you mess this up, Keisha and Altimus are going to drown me and my man right in the driveway fountain.”

  “Okay, okay. In the car on the way to church, I’m going to bring your mom’s name up and remind my mom that it’s been a while since we had brunch with the Dukes. Then I’m going to convince her that she should invite Keisha out after church, and I’m going to suggest we all go to Bassano’s.”

  “And when she says Bassano’s is too crowded and she would prefer to go to the Teacup?” Lauren urged.

  “I’m going to tell her that I heard that the Teacup had some rodent issues and had to be temporarily shut down for a massive cleaning,” Donald sighed.

  “And?”

  “And that I really have a taste for Bassano’s French toast, seeing as I haven’t had it since Daddy sent me away to Chicago. And then I’ll search out Keisha as soon as we get to church and make sure she and my mother connect, so she doesn’t get distracted and ask someone else to brunch.”