Envy flung her hands in the air, flipped around, and placed her back side to her sister. Storming off, she walked over to the recliner where her mother sat in front of the picture window. “Momma, how are you doing?”
Her mother slowly turned around and looked at her daughter. “Hi, sweetheart. Your momma’s just fine,” she spoke in a low, weakened voice. “What are you doing back over here so quick? I just saw you yesterday.” Her mind often couldn’t conceive the passage of time.
“I had to come to check on you, Momma.”
“You’re such a good daughter, Envy. Where’s that husband of yours?” she asked in a cloud of confusion.
“Mother, I’m not married, remember? Nikkei is the one with the wonderful husband and the, oh so perfect family.” Envy turned her head and met her sister’s sizzling gaze before Nikkei did a superhero turn and stormed out of her sister’s sight.
“Oh, that’s right. Envy, I’m so glad to see you, precious. You’re still as pretty as can be. I know everybody is jealous of you. They’re jealous just like they used to be of me. That’s why I named you Envy. My sweet, sweet, beautiful, Envy.” Her mother’s mouth turned upward until a smile formed on her face. She reached up and pulled Envy closer to her. “Even your sister is envious of you ‘cause you’re so beautiful,” the woman whispered real low in Envy’s ear. Envy smiled in return and hugged her mother. Sometimes Envy’s mother could be so sweet, and other times when Envy visited, her mother was mean as the devil’s sister. Nikkei wore a smirk on her face as she listened and watched. Envy turned again and rolled her eyes at her sister.
“Envy, honey. Where is Charles? Is he home yet?” Envy’s mother leaned forward and looked past her daughter out into the open spaced living room. Her eyes scanned the perimeter of the living area, searching for Charles.
“Momma, Daddy doesn’t live here. He’s been gone for years. Remember?”
“Heavens, nooo. Charles isn’t gone. Gone where?” her mother screamed out loud.
Nikkei came bolting back into the living room. “What did you say to make her upset?” Nikkei shoved her sister aside, and her voice rang out in full rage at Envy.
“Where is my husband? Where is Charles?” Their mother grabbed hold of Nikkei’s wrist and held on for dear life, almost causing Nikkei to fall to her knees.
“Mother, calm down. Daddy will be back. He’ll be back soon, Mother.” Nikkei lightly rubbed the top of her mother’s thinning, graying head of hair. She hugged her against her waist until their mother’s tears settled. Looking over to the side, she spotted tears in Envy’s eyes too. “No need for you to cry. You’ve always been the one to wreak havoc in this family. Why don’t you go? I’m going to take mother to her room and give her some medicine that will help calm her down and rest.”
“Momma.” Envy moved in front of her sister. “I’ll be back soon, you hear me? I love you, Ma.” She kissed her mother on the forehead and wiped away a tear that was about to fall from her mother’s vacant eyes. Envy turned around and walked away.
Nikkei’s husband and kids walked in the house just as Envy was getting ready to leave.
“Hi, Envy. You leaving already?” Nikkei’s husband, T’juan, asked.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. Nikkei is about to put Momma to bed.” Envy looked down and acknowledged her niece and nephew. “Hello, you two.”
“Hi, Auntie.” The little girl and boy hugged Envy one after another. “Can’t you stay?” one of them asked.
“I wish I could, but Auntie has somewhere else to be. Next time I’ll stay longer.” Envy reached inside her purse and pulled out two five dollar bills. “Here’s a little something for each of you. Buy yourself something from the candy lady.”
“Thanks, Auntie.” They grabbed the money and ran past Envy and into the house.
“Looks like you and my wife had another round, huh?”
“How could you tell?”
“Because your eyeglasses are about to fall off your face, tears are in your eyes, and your cheeks are red as strawberries. I’d have to say that’s a sign.” He smiled slightly.
“Something like that,” Envy admitted. “She has a way of working my last nerve. Anyway, I’m outta here.”
“She really doesn’t mean any harm, Envy. It’s hard for her to see her mother’s health deteriorating right in front of her face.” He patted Envy’s shoulder, and then hugged her. “Believe me.”
“Sure. Look, I’ve got to get going, T’juan. I’ll see you next time.” Envy waltzed past her brother-in-law and out to her car.
Envy got inside her car and drove toward the open air mall in Southaven. She hit the speed dial button on her phone and called Layla. She somehow found it easier to talk to Layla than Kacie. Maybe it was because Kacie had so much daddy drama and was always into herself. Layla’s phone rang several times but there was no answer. Layla’s voicemail popped on. “Layla, call me.” Envy said without leaving her name. Disconnecting the call, she thought aloud. “Where could she be? She can’t drive.”
At the time Envy was calling Layla, someone was knocking on Layla’s door.
“Who could this be? Did Kacie forget some of the children’s things? Layla spoke out loud while looking around and heading toward the front door from her bedroom. It sure bet’ not be Mike, ‘cause I’m not letting him in.” The phone was ringing but Layla didn’t bother going back to her bedroom to answer it. She could always call whoever it was back.
Layla went to the door, pulled the crescent curtain slightly back and viewed the stranger on the other side. In slow motion, Layla perused the handsome man in the postal uniform. He had a package the size of a shoe box in his hand and several pieces of mail piled on top. His bearded face was finely sculptured like he’d just left the barbershop. The uniform pants showed off a pair of body builder shaped legs with bulging muscles. Biceps and triceps tried to escape from underneath his shirt. It was the beginning of fall but Layla didn’t question his attire; she indulged in it.
“Uh, yes, may I help you?” Layla refused to open the door. He must have the wrong apartment because she wasn’t expecting a package of any kind.
“Yes, ma’am. I have a package for a Layla Hobbs,” he said through the closed door. The postman’s voice was strong and rang with an air of calming confidence. Layla’s stare stopped at the postman’s set of thin lips and from behind them a set of straight even teeth topped off a perfect specimen of a man.
Layla opened the door slowly. “I’m…I’m Layla Hobbs.”
He looked at Layla until she began to twitch uncomfortably. He smiled. “Mrs. Hobbs, I need you to sign here.” He passed an electronic device to her with an electronic pen attached.
Moving like she was in a state of distress, Layla signed for the package.
“Here you go.” He offered the package to her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His smiled deepened. “Have a great day.”
“You do the same.” Layla turned, nervously closed the door, and then eased the curtain back one more time to catch another glimpse of the attractive looking postman. “Mercy, mercy, me,” she hummed. The doorbell chimed again just as she was about to open the package.
Layla hurried back to the door and pulled the curtain back. Her heart raced wildly when she saw it was him again. “What could he want?”
“Sorry to disturb you again, Mrs. Hobbs.”
“Miss,” Layla corrected him. “Miss Hobbs.”
“There were two packages for you instead of one. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, that’s okay. You didn’t disturb me. Thanks for bringing it back.”
“My pleasure.” He turned and walked away for the second time.
Layla wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard him say in an almost inaudible tone, “My pleasure indeed.” She shook her head and convinced herself that he didn’t say anything else at all. Why would he?
She carried the two packages to the den and sat on the sofa to open them. They were from her br
other. She loved her family dearly. Her older brother and sister were always thinking of her in some way. Her parents were just as kind. They would do whatever they could for Layla. But Layla rarely asked them to run her around because she didn’t think it was fair to her mother and father. If she had listened all of those years ago, she could have been driving. But involved in a pretty bad fender bender when she was in the car with her then teenage brother had never quite left Layla’s memory. Since that happened, she had no desire to learn how to drive at all.
The first package she opened was a beautiful set of bath towels. They were the thickest, plushest towels Layla had seen in a long time. The feel of them told her that they were quite expensive. The second package was a priority letter. Layla opened it and found a beautiful poem written by her brother.
Sister, sister, you’re one of a kind.
I think about you all of the time
No one can compare to you in any way
I wanted you to know that, so I sent you a small token today.
I hope you’re doing well, I wish I was there
But until I can see you, my thoughts of you are always there.
Love your bro, Lee
Layla started to cry when she read the poem. Her eyes filled with more tears when she saw that her brother had sent her a $350 cashier’s check. The phone rang and Layla went into her bedroom and answered it. “Hello.”
“Hey, there. Where have you been? I just called a few minutes ago.”
Layla was so overjoyed that she told Envy everything from the fine looking postman to Lee. “You are not going to tell me that God isn’t good. God is always right on time. I was down to my last dime, and look what God did. First, he had Kacie to bring her kids over for me to babysit. That was money. Then Lee sent me an elegant bath towel set and a check for $350 dollars.”
Envy screamed into the phone. “I am happy for you. But your family is always thinking about you, Layla. That is a blessing.”
“Yes indeed. What’s up with you? This is your second time calling in less than an hour.
“Oh, not much. I wanted to see if you needed to get out and run some errands today. I’m already out and about, so I was going to pick you up and we could go together if you need to get some things.”
“Sure. I do need to pick up a few things. Are you far from here?” asked Layla.
“About fifteen minutes.”
“Well, you can head in this direction. I’m going to put on some clothes. I should be ready by the time you get here,” answered Layla.
“I’m on my way. See ya.” Envy hung up the phone and smiled. She was always glad to hear Layla happy. What a family. They were closer than a glove in hand. Her mind shifted to her and Nikkei. They had never been close, even when they were small kids. It always seemed like they were trying to outdo one another. Envy was merely one year older than Nikkei, but it was no secret that Envy had gone from being her mother’s favorite at an early age to Nikkei being smothered in love and affection. Then again, Nikkei wasn’t as beautiful as Envy. She took after God knows who. From what Envy heard from some of her friends when she was a teenager, her mother was a rolling stone. Envy never believed it, but the older Nikkei became, the less she looked like their mother or her handsome, debonair looking father, Charles.
Envy arrived at Layla’s house and blew the horn. She sat in the car for several minutes before Layla came out.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” apologized Layla.
“No problem. I was out here thinking. I didn’t even think about the time or how long I’d been out there.”
“Are you okay?” asked Layla.
“Sure. Why do you ask that/”
“Because. On the phone you were talking about how close me and my family are. Now you didn’t even notice I was late coming out when anybody who knows you, knows how much it irks you to wait for anything or anybody.” Layla focused on Envy’s face.
“Naw, for real. Everything’s fine.” Envy turned her head toward Layla and said, “You ready to get your shop on?”
“You got that right,” was Layla’s response.
Envy prepared to back up and turn in the direction of the exit when Layla hollered.
“Hold up! You almost ran over Mike. Look at him, girl,” Layla said as she turned her head to see him running toward Envy’s car.
“Wait, hold up, Layla,” they both heard him screaming. “Layla,” he cursed, “I said wait a minute. Stop,” he yelled even louder.
“What is wrong with that fool?” Envy asked. “Girl, he’s actually running after my car. Is he insane?”
“I don’t know. I try my best to avoid him. I don’t talk to him anymore. He’s crazy.” Layla said and tried to look over her shoulder, but without success.
“Hey, Layla, wait up. Wait up for just a second,” he yelled again. “Layla!” He followed up with a stream of expletives, then shouted, “I said, wait!”
Envy slowed down. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked.
Layla paused. “No, go on. Forget him.”
Envy was glad to hear Layla tell her not to stop. The two women sped out the exit gate and to the mall they went. They spent most of the day together window shopping, and they even picked up a few things.
“Poor old Mike,” Envy said sarcastically while they perused the mall. “Do you think he’s still out in front of your apartment yelling?” She laughed.
“If he is, I’ll be sure to go in the house and call for a strait jacket for that fool. I don’t know how I get mixed up with sorry men like him.”
“Come on, we’re not going to let him ruin our day. You want to go to Ryan’s and eat? My treat,” offered Envy. She felt like doing something to make someone else happy. What better person than Layla.
“Yeah, you know I love Ryan’s. They’re just getting so expensive.”
“Well, today, you don’t have to worry about that.” Envy started the car and followed the stream of exiting cars out of the mall parking garage.
They went to the Ryan’s off of Kirby Parkway.
“I’m glad we came to this one instead of the one in Southaven,” remarked Envy. “This one is never as crowded as that other one.”
“I’ve only been to this one maybe twice. Me, Momma, and Daddy came here when I went to the doctor with them. It was on a weekday, and they weren’t crowded then either,” Layla said.
“Two please,” Envy told the cashier when they made it to the front.
The ladies filled their plates and found a booth next to a window. The weather outside was getting cooler as the early signs of fall approached.
“They have some of the best chicken there is.”
“Girl, you just like chicken; that’s all.” Envy giggled and placed a forkful of green beans in her mouth.
“I didn’t tell you about the postman that came to the house yesterday, did I?”
“No, you didn’t. What happened?”
Layla proceeded to share with Kacie her encounter with the postman.
“Ooh, wee, wish I could have been a fly on the wall,” Envy teased. “I bet you wish he’d deliver some more packages.”
“You got that right.” Layla tapped Envy’s hand, laughed, and placed a heaping of macaroni and cheese in her mouth.
“I sure would like to see him,” Envy remarked after Layla had talked about him during the entire course of their meal. “He definitely left an impression with you.”
“Yeah, but too bad it’s not likely that I’ll see him again. He’s one of those special delivery carriers, you know.”
“Yeah, but there’s a solution to that.” Envy’s brows went up in the air, and a smile of mischief formed on her face.
“What do you mean?” inquired Layla, looking clueless.
“I mean, tell your brother or your sister to send you another package. It doesn’t have to be much. Just send you a package and see if he’ll be the one to deliver it.”
“Ummm, you might have something there.” Then Layla shook her hea
d from side to side. “Naw, on second thought, I’d better not do that. I’ll be wasting my time anyway. A man as fine as he is wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
“Will you stop it already?”
“Stop what? Telling the truth?” Layla shot back.
“No, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You act like you’re the only big girl in the world. All of that feeling sorry for yourself and thinking that the only man you can get is a bum like Mike, needs to stop. I get sick of hearing it. If you don’t like yourself, do something about it.”
Layla remained quiet and took a light sip on her diet soda. “Come on, let’s go.”
“I’m not through eating,” Envy said. When Layla began edging out of the booth, Envy added, “Ughhh, wait a minute. You sure know how to ruin a good day.” She threw her napkin on the table.
The otherwise quiet drive home to Layla’s apartment was nicely interrupted by a Kirk Franklin song on the radio and another song followed by Marvin Sapp.
Layla sung some of the words. “They’re jamming on Hallelujah 95.7 tonight,” she spoke up.
“Yeah, they are,” Envy answered less enthusiastically. She pulled up in front of Layla’s apartment. They sat in the car for a couple of minutes.
“I’ll pick you up in the morning around the same time I always do; ten o’clock.”
“Oh, I’m glad you mentioned that. The youth choir is going to sing tomorrow at church. So I’m going with Momma and Daddy since I never have a chance to worship with them that often. So since I don’t have to sing, I thought I’d hang out with them. They’re going to pick me up in the morning for Sunday School, which should be about eight thirty. I probably won’t be back until five or six because we’re going to have dinner after that.”
“Okay, then I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good time.”
Layla opened the door, got out the car, and then opened the back door to retrieve her packages.
“Can you make it?” Envy asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got ‘em. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, and be careful, Envy.”
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