Divas of Damascus Road

by Michelle Stimpson

  “A roll model, maybe.” Regina thumped her stomach and couldn’t help but laugh at her own joke.

  “Bye, girl.” Yolanda hugged her again, then fumbled through her purse, looking for her keys. She unlocked the door, but Regina placed her hand on the driver’s door, securing Yolanda’s complete attention.

  Regina motioned to Orlando to go ahead to their SUV with the baby.

  “Yo-yo,” Regina changed the subject, “Aunt Joyce Ann is moving back into Momma’s rent house.”

  “What?”

  “She’s moving back to Dentonville, and she asked Momma if she could move into the rent house while she gets back on her feet.” The wind caught Regina’s bangs and blew them away from her distressed forehead.

  Yolanda didn’t know what to think of Joyce Ann’s return. It wasn’t as if they were kids. They were all adults, and what Joyce Ann did was none of her business. On the other hand, Joyce Ann was clearly off. “And Momma agreed?”

  “Yeah.” Regina nodded. “She had me draw up the lease and everything. Now, call me crazy, but I think Joyce Ann is smokin’ something. And the way Momma’s acting, she’s got some kind of contact high, because she can’t seem to say no to Aunt Joyce Ann—like Aunt Joyce Ann has some kind of hold on her.”

  “Well, it is Momma’s house,” Yolanda recognized. “I guess if she wants to rent it out to Aunt Joyce Ann, that’s her business.”

  Regina looked away from Yolanda, toward Orlando and the baby. “It’s just hard for me. I don’t understand how somebody could just walk away from their child and never look back.”

  “Maybe she’s looking back now.”

  “I guess I’m more worried about Dianne than anything else.” Regina folded her arms across her chest. “She’s been on my mind lately. I’ve tried to call her a few times since the wedding, but I couldn’t get her. And she never returns my calls. I’ve been praying for her ever since that night. I still think we should have escorted Joyce Ann’s butt right out of the sanctuary.”

  “It’s a sanctuary, Regina. It’s open to the public.” Yolanda smacked her lips and sighed. “You know, we do have to forgive her.”

  “She needs to—”

  “No, Regina, you know that’s not how it works,” Yolanda reminded her. “Forgiveness is not contingent upon what someone else does or doesn’t do.”

  “I am so sick of these wings sticking out of your back. Here, turn around. Let me snap these suckers off.”

  Regina’s smile made the day brighter. There was something about her big sister that always made Yolanda look up to Regina. Regina could be rude and abrupt; to be graced with her stunning smile was a reward in itself.

  “I’ll call you later if we don’t stay at my mother-in-law’s house too long.”

  “I’ve got to work tonight.”

  “I guess I’ll call you later this week, then.”

  Yolanda hugged her sister again, thinking that Regina was lucky to have different people to see on Sunday afternoons. “Y’all gonna stop by Momma’s house?”

  “No, I don’t think we’ll have time.” Regina looked at her watch. “You going by there?”

  “Yeah. I’m gonna go home and change first.”

  “Okay.” She backed away. “Tell Momma I said hi. I’ll see you.”

  “Bye.”

  Halfway to her mother’s house, Yolanda’s cell phone blared its tune. “Hello,” she answered.

  “Hi.” Kelan made no attempt to hide the smile in his voice.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Nothing.” She could almost hear his dimples punching into his face. “Did you enjoy the service today?”

  “It was just what I needed,” she sighed. “Pastor really hit home today—some of us have some serious spiritual housecleaning to do.”

  “You’re right about that,” he concurred. “Hey, have you eaten yet?”

  “No,” she replied, “but I’m on my way to my mom’s house— well, I should say, my mom and stepdad’s house—to eat.” Acknowledging Richard tasted like bad medicine.

  “Oh.” his voice fell. “All right, then. You working this evening?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice fell, too. No Kelan. It occurred to her, at the corner of Jake and Windfall Court, that she’d invited friends to her mother’s house before. Why not Kelan? “Kelan, would you like to eat dinner with me at my mother’s house?”

  “I don’t want to impose,” he kindly declined.

  “Kelan, you know you hungry.”

  “You know you right,” he laughed. “Give me directions.”

  At Gloria’s house, Yolanda asked her mother to make another setting at the table. “I invited one of my friends from church.”

  “Oh, good,” she sang. “We’ve got plenty.”

  “Baby, hand me a fork,” Gloria said. Yolanda reached for the drawer but quickly realized that she wasn’t “baby”—“baby” was Richard. He already had the fork in hand. Seeing him in the kitchen with her mother was...it just didn’t seem right, even though Yolanda knew it was.

  Gloria had eased herself into wifehood as if it were second nature. Yolanda watched them move about, flowing smoothly in and out of each other’s path, passing utensils, tasting sauces, and stealing knowing glances. She’d never been so happy for her mother, but Yolanda felt completely out of place in the home that used to be hers.

  Aunt Toe rolled her chair into the kitchen.

  “Aunt Toe, what are you doing in here?” Gloria asked her.

  “I know my way around a kitchen,” she snapped back. “I’m the one taught you how to cook.”

  “Aunt Toe, you ready to get in here and teach these young gals a lesson?” Richard asked her.

  “Don’t get her started,” Gloria warned him softly.

  “Yeah, but I’m still learning. You got any uncles? Brothers?” she asked Richard. “I could use a classmate.”

  “Aunt Toe, did you take your medicine?” Gloria asked her.

  “Aw, gal, y’all act like insulin is supposed to zip my mouth shut,” she said. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me. I just asked the man a question.”

  “Aunt Toe, what you gonna do with a man?” Yolanda joked.

  “Same thing you’d do with him,” she winked at Yolanda. “You know, Sarah was ninety-five when she gave birth to—”

  “Aunt Toe, I’m gonna push you back in the living room.” Gloria wiped her hands on her apron and twirled Aunt Toe around, though Aunt Toe showed her objection by letting her feet drag on the floor. “We got company coming, Aunt Toe. I don’t want to hear any more talk about you and a boyfriend, okay?”

  “All right,” Aunt Toe agreed. “All right. I was just foolin’ with you, Gloria. You take everything so serious all the time.”

  “Life is serious,” Gloria sang.

  “Yeah, it’s serious, but it ain’t no sin in laughing every once in a while.”

  “I guess you’re right. And you certainly do make us laugh.” Gloria locked Aunt Toe’s wheelchair in place and kissed her lightly on the forehead before heading back to the kitchen.

  Kelan’s knock on the door surprised Aunt Toe. “Gloria!” She alarmed them all. “Gloria! It’s a man at the door!”

  “A man?” Gloria questioned.

  “Remember,” Yolanda said, “I told you, one of my friends from church was coming by for dinner.”

  “Well, you didn’t say it was a man, missy,” Gloria pinched Yolanda’s shoulder and gave her daughter one of those smiles she usually reserved for women her own age.

  “I said it was a friend,” Yolanda repeated, embarrassed at the exchange. Especially with Richard there. She took off her apron and went to the front door.

  Kelan was his usual old goofy self, waving at her through the screen door.

  “Hi,” she said, taking the brown hook out of the little ring that barely held the screen door shut. It was one of those bygone things that made an old house a home—well, what used to be her home.

  She fought the door back with her hand, makin
g sure that the springs didn’t slap him on the backside. His dreads were pulled back, held in place by a black rubber band. He balanced a cake on his right hand, though she hadn’t asked him to bring anything. Yolanda could smell the fresh butter through the foil.

  On his way in, he took the liberty to greet Yolanda by brushing his lips against her cheek. It seemed only natural that he should do it, coming to a friend’s house for dinner. It was an innocent gesture, but it felt more significant to Yolanda.

  Aunt Toe’s face lit up when Yolanda introduced her to Kelan. Oh, Lord, please don’t let Aunt Toe get to talking.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Kelan bent down to hug Aunt Toe.

  Gloria and Richard came into the living room next. Yolanda really hadn’t thought about how she should introduce Richard. “Kelan, this is my mother. And. . this is... Richard,” she fumbled through.

  “It’s nice to meet you both,” Kelan said, then offered the dessert to Gloria.

  “I hope you all like pound cake.”

  “Oh, yes. This sure smells good.” Gloria relieved him of the cake. “Have a seat, Kelan. We’re almost finished in the kitchen.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to use your restroom.”

  “Oh, sure,” Gloria said gracefully, “Yo-yo can show you where it is.”

  Aunt Toe almost broke her neck watching the two of them walk down the hallway.

  Yolanda whispered as they neared the restroom. “I guess you’ve got homemade pound cakes just lying around your house?”

  “A man can make a cake for Sunday dinner,” he smiled. “I’m single, but I still have to eat.”

  “All I brought was Kool-Aid.” Yolanda stamped softly. “You’re making me look bad.”

  “You could never look bad,” he flirted, backing into the bathroom doorway.

  Spying on Yolanda, Aunt Toe leaned so far over in her chair that she almost fell out. She caught herself and then called, “Yo-yo-o-o!” as if the girl were outside playing after the street lights came on. “You come out that bathroom with that boy!”

  “Oop!” Yolanda put her hand over her mouth, a flush of embarrassment crossing her face.

  Kelan slammed the door shut.

  Minutes later he joined them at the dinner table, his lips threatening to give way to mad laughter during grace.

  Gloria kept food on Aunt Toe’s plate so that her mouth would stay busy chewing.

  “So, Kelan,” Richard asked, “what do you do?”

  “I’m an assistant professor at Dentonville Community College. I teach English, and I also dabble a little in art.”

  This whole thing—eating with her family, watching out for Aunt Toe, Richard interviewing Kelan—it was odd. It made Yolanda feel like a teenager bringing home a date. It wasn’t a date. It was Kelan, for goodness’ sake. So why am I making such a big fuss over it?

  “Oh, I love art.” Gloria touched Richard’s hand and added, “Richard’s always getting me things at the starving-artists exhibits in Dallas. Do you sell at those?”

  “No, ma’am.” Kelan shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Well, when you get ready to sell, let me know,” Richard said. “I’ve got some friends around the city with connections. If you’re pretty good, I’ll bet we could get your work in front of the right people.”

  “Thanks, Richard. That would be great. We’ll have to talk more.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Kelan’s leg came to rest against Yolanda’s knee during the course of the dinner. She almost jumped the moment his slacks swept her skin, yet she doubted he even knew that he was touching her.

  “Kelan?” It was Gloria’s turn. “Yo-yo says you both attend the same church.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled, swallowing his food so that he could continue. “I met Yolanda on my first visit.”

  “How nice.” Gloria smiled at Yolanda. “And are you enjoying the church?”

  Kelan dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Immensely. I’ve learned so much in the short time I’ve been a member.”

  “Where did you worship before?”

  “At First United.”

  “First United?” Aunt Toe asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “How you get from First United to the Master’s Tabernacle?”

  “The Word,” he laughed, eager to tell her. “The unadulterated Word. A colleague of mine invited me to the Master’s Tabernacle for a men’s conference. I got more out of that weekend than I got in almost thirty years at my old church. I knew I needed to get someplace where my soul could be fed—quickly.”

  “Hmm,” Aunt Toe thought. “I like First United. They got the best garage sales. I got a purse for a quarter one time. Nice, fancy purse. Had two zippers on it—one across the top and one right there in the front for your knickknacks.”

  “What color was it?” Kelan indulged her.

  “Red with a silver buckle, only the buckle wasn’t real,” Aunt Toe replied. “They just put that on there to fool the pickpockets.”

  After they finished dessert, Richard invited Kelan to stay and watch ESPN, but Kelan declined. “I’ve got to get on back home.”

  “Well, we certainly enjoyed you,” Gloria said.

  “Thanks for having me. The food was great.” He gave Gloria and Aunt Toe a light hug, then reached to her left to shake Richard’s hand.

  Yolanda walked outside to Kelan’s car with him. Finally, it was just the two of them. She was relieved that the show was over. It was all too Cleaver-ish.

  “You sure were quiet,” he remarked.

  She looked down at the ground and shoved her hands into the front pockets of her denim skirt. Why am I acting like this? “I’m just tired, I guess. I had a long weekend.”

  He let it go. “Well, I hope you get some rest after tonight’s shift. Sleep all day tomorrow if you have to.”

  “I will,” she said. “So don’t be calling me and waking me up on your lunch break.”

  “I’ll remember that,” he laughed. “Your aunt is too funny.”

  “I know,” Yolanda apologized. “That’s my Aunt Toe.”

  “I like her.”

  “She’s something else,” Yolanda agreed with a slow nod. “I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I get up.”

  “Okay,” he said, leaning forward and hugging her. Yolanda watched Kelan get into his truck and secure himself with the seat belt before waving good-bye once again. Pull those dreads back into a neat ponytail and Kelan was strikingly handsome. His full lips were sometimes distracting, calling her attention to their form and line. He had a kind of boyish handsomeness that he’d probably had since he was an infant. I’ll bet Kelan was a cute baby. Yet his body told the story. Kelan was far from childhood. When he hugged her, she’d felt the muscles beneath his cotton shirt. Strong, solid. She liked that he didn’t flaunt his body for everyone to see. Maybe he’s saving it. Yolanda went back into the house and watched as his truck disappeared from view.

  “Yo-yo-o-o!” Aunt Toe screamed, though she was only a few inches behind Yolanda.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Yolanda turned and nearly fell over the wheelchair.

  “Didn’t you hear your momma calling you?”

  “No, Aunt Toe, I didn’t.”

  “Too busy thinkin’ ‘bout that man,” she snickered. “He’s a nice-looking one, even if he do have those nappy strings on his head.”

  “They’re called dreadlocks, Aunt Toe,” Yolanda laughed at her, sidestepping the wheelchair and heading to the kitchen. Aunt Toe rolled in behind her.

  “Grab a drying towel,” Gloria ordered.

  Yolanda pulled a towel from the drawer next to the oven and joined Gloria at the sink.

  “He seems nice,” Gloria said, opening the conversation.

  “He is. We’re just friends.”

  “I didn’t say anything.” Gloria drew back, sticking her lips out all the while. “I didn’t say a word.”

  “Well, I will,” Aunt Toe started in on Yolanda. “Y
ou’re thirty- something, you ain’t got no man, and you ain’t got no kids. It ain’t natural goin’ around like this. Everybody tryin’ to be like that Oprah Winfrey—makin’ all that money and ain’t got nobody to share it with. It ain’t natural, I tell ya. It ain’t the way God intended it to be. Now, I done said what I got to say.”

  “It would be different if you was a widow,” she went on, “but you ain’t. Your sister’s married. Your momma’s married. What you waitin’ on—Jesus to come back?”

  “Aunt Toe, I’m waiting on a word from the Lord, okay? Is that all right with you?” ‘

  Yolanda put a little too much sass in her voice for Aunt Toe.

  “Don’t you talk back to me! I don’t want to have to pop up out this wheelchair like Lazarus coming up from the dead!”

  Yolanda hung her head in silent laughter. “I’m sorry, Aunt Toe. I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you.”

  “You better say you’re sorry.” She swung her finger at Yolanda with conviction. “That man done made you lose your mind, I see.”

  “Aunt Toe,” Gloria intervened, “I’m gonna take you in here with Richard, okay?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Aunt Toe moaned on her way out.

  With Aunt Toe out of the kitchen, Gloria apologized. “You know she’s just looking out for you, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know,” Yolanda laughed. “I know getting married and having babies was all they had to look forward to back then.”

  “Well, it’s not just that.” Gloria shook her head. “Aunt Toe couldn’t have children. She can’t understand why any woman in her right mind wouldn’t get married and give birth, given the opportunity. Everybody has their issue, you know.”

  “Hmm. I never knew she couldn’t have kids.”

  “So, you and Kelan are friends?” Gloria switched gears.

  “Yes.” Yolanda tried to hide her smile. “We have been talking on the phone and we’ve gone out. He loves the Lord. He’s a great listener and he’s a pretty good friend. I think that’s what I like about him the most.”

  “Well, next to a man that loves the Lord, a friendship is the most important thing,” Gloria advised her daughter. “If all of that is in line, there’s not too much else you have to worry about.”

  “I don’t know,” Yolanda told her. “I’m in no hurry whatsoever to settle down. I just want to live my life with as little disruption as possible.”