Can't Stop the Shine

by Joyce E. Davis

  “Uh, they also make money, Miss Thing, which is why you get to eat so well and live so well and get such an expensive private school education,” said Roxie, ascending the spiral staircase on the right. “I just want you to see what a great position you’re in, Asha. All you have to do is study and sing and have some fun. I wish I had it that easy when I was a kid.”

  “All right, Mama, you don’t have to guilt me to death,” shouted Asha up the staircase after her mother. “I’m grateful.”

  She turned to Mari. “And I’m gonna whip your sister’s butt, just as bad as I’ve been whipping yours.”

  “Whatever,” said Mari, sending up a silent prayer to God to start working on convincing Kalia to enter the contest. There was no way Asha was going to beat her and Kalia. She’d do anything to see Asha lose, even if she had to get dirty making it happen.

  “So how was dinner?” Elaine asked Mari, handing Kalia the glass part of the blender to fill with ice.

  “It was cool. They have a big ol’ house,” said Mari, “and everything is spacious and wood and looks expensive, but is still kinda chill. I liked it…And hey…they have a piano, too—a white grand piano—in their entryway, uh, foyer, between two spiral staircases.”

  “Two spiral staircases, huh?” mumbled Elaine. She was cutting up fruit to make one of her famous smoothies.

  Mari tried to keep talking about the Wrights’ house, but every time she opened her mouth, her mother turned on the blender. Finally she was done, and Kalia asked who played the piano in the house.

  “Roxie can play,” said Mari, “but get this, Asha sings…I mean really sings.”

  “Who is Roxie? Asha’s sister?” Elaine asked.

  “No, Ma. Roxie is her mother. She won’t let me call her Mrs. Wright. I tried a couple times, but she said Mrs. Wright was her mother and everybody she knows calls her Roxie. I felt kinda funny, but…”

  “Hmm,” said Elaine, frowning.

  “Asha can sing?” mused Kalia.

  “And she’s entering the talent contest, too, Kalia. I told her you’d give her some stiff competition,” said Mari.

  “You said what? Why did you tell her I was going to enter the contest? I told you I wasn’t going to do it,” said Kalia and stomped out of the kitchen.

  Elaine poured a coral-colored smoothie to share with her younger daughter and sat at the kitchen table across from her.

  “I don’t understand why she acts like that, Ma. She has so much talent,” Mari said. “If I was her I would enter that contest in a second.”

  “Everybody isn’t you, sweetie. One of your gifts is that you have a competitive, adventurous spirit, and I love that in you, but Kalia isn’t you. She’s more cautious, especially with her gift,” said Elaine.

  “But it’s not like she’s not good at it. She’s a great singer. There’s nothing for her to be afraid of.”

  “What if Kalia isn’t afraid, Mari? What if she’s just checking out the lay of the scene?”

  “Do you think she’s going to enter the talent show?” asked Mari.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I think she’s interested, but this might not be her thing, and you need to be okay with that, baby. It’s her talent. You have to let her accept and do with her gifts what she chooses. You have those same choices. Choices is what it’s all about,” said Elaine, getting up from the table.

  Just then Ronald walked in the kitchen door. “Hey,” he said, looking around kind of sheepishly.

  “Hey, Daddy,” Mari said, nearly jumping from her chair to give him a hug.

  “So I guess your mother was able to pick you up,” he said, patting her on her back and looking at his wife. “Sorry. I just couldn’t get away tonight,” he said to Elaine, who just nodded at him.

  “That’s okay,” Mari eagerly forgave. “How was your day?”

  “Long,” Ronald said, slinging his bag on the table and reaching into the refrigerator for a cold beer. He had three long gulps before he even loosened his tie.

  “Well, maybe you just need to sit down for a minute, Daddy,” Mari said, ushering her father to the kitchen table.

  “There’s some smoothie left if you want some, or I can throw something on the George Foreman, if you want. You know how quick that grill is,” said Elaine.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” Ronald asked sharply.

  “What do you mean?” asked Elaine.

  “I mean, you haven’t been nice to me in months. What’s up with the all-star treatment tonight?” said Ronald, kicking his shoes off into the middle of the kitchen floor, wiping one hand down the entire front of his face and letting it rest on his chin.

  “Do we have to talk about this now?” asked Elaine, moving closer to Ronald.

  “Are you okay, Daddy?” said Mari.

  “Yes, I’m just fine,” he said, suddenly remembering Mari was in the kitchen, too. “Just fine and tired. Tired of working so damn hard, and for what?”

  “What are you talking about, Ron?” said Elaine.

  “Nothin’. I’m just exhausted. I’m going to bed,” he said and left the kitchen with all his stuff everywhere.

  “Ma, you think Daddy’s all right?” asked Mari.

  “Girl, who knows?” Elaine said, clearly annoyed. “I’m tired of thinking about him and his Fish Frys.”

  “What do you mean? You think something is wrong with the Fish Frys?”

  Elaine erupted. “Can somebody around here worry about something else besides the damn Fish Frys? There must be something wrong with the restaurants because that’s the only thing he shows any emotion about or really pays any attention to. Your father is about to get on my last nerve with that,” she said. Mari was watching her mother, and Elaine seemed to be straightening and restraightening the same thing in the kitchen. She’d wiped off the same counter at least three times.

  “Are you okay, Ma?” Mari said.

  “Yes, girl, I’m fine,” Elaine said, stopping suddenly and staring at Mari. “I’m just fine. Why are you asking me all these questions? Go upstairs and do your homework or something.”

  “Okay. G’night,” Mari said and headed out of the kitchen. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw her mother standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open, peering inside like she was looking for something she knew wasn’t there. Mari knew that the next time she opened that refrigerator, it would be rearranged and clean as a whistle. Her mother always found things to do in the kitchen when something was on her mind, particularly if she was stressed or upset.

  Mari wondered why her mother and father were acting so weird to her and to each other. Maybe Kalia would have a clue. Figuring Kalia was probably still mad, Mari decided not to knock on her door. She went to bed with her parents’ strange behavior on her mind.

  Kalia wasn’t in her room. She’d needed someone to talk to, and had sneaked out of the house over to Dewayne’s. She threw a rock at his window in the back of the house, and he came outside a few minutes later. They sat in the gazebo in Dewayne’s backyard, which was extremely overgrown with grass, vines and weeds.

  Kalia told Dewayne that on the way out of the house, she’d seen her daddy sleeping in the guest room again.

  “You know, I don’t know if they’re getting separated or divorced or what,” she said. “I just want them to stop fighting. The other day Daddy and I were talking about college, and he just went off on me, but it seemed to me who he really wanted to yell at was Ma, and since she wasn’t there, he was taking all of his frustrations out about her on me.

  “I told him I wanted to go to a college that has a good fine arts program. He said he wanted me to major in business and minor in fine arts. He doesn’t understand how serious I am about music and how since I’m trying to double major in voice and piano, I really need an excellent fine arts program. He just doesn’t get it.

  “And God forbid I decide to enter this Fire contest that Mari is so hyped about. Daddy would probably really go bananas. I have been thinking about auditioning,
though—I just don’t want to get off track. I mean, what if I qualified? What if I won? That would be kinda crazy, huh?” Kalia half questioned. “Do you think I could win?”

  Dewayne didn’t answer—partly because he could tell she was warming up to the contest and partly because he knew her question was rhetorical. She was in full monologue mode, the star of her own show. He hadn’t said anything since Kalia started talking. He just leaned as he always did.

  “I…I…I…just can’t think about the contest now…Hmm, I wonder what I’d sing, though…I really like Alicia Keys…I mean, you know, I’ve been thinking to myself, she is a classically trained vocalist and pianist. And she has great style. She incorporates all kinds of styles into her music and her performance. I mean, she can do it all. If she can do it, I can do it. Don’t you think?”

  Dewayne didn’t even nod.

  “Anyway, anyway, anyway—back to what’s important…When I tried to explain to Daddy how much I’d thought about getting into a good fine arts program, he launched into this whole speech about Ma and how he didn’t want what happened to her to happen to me. He was just talking about her so bad, saying she didn’t have any business sense and because of that her yoga studio was going to fail. He was just going on and on about how if she’d had a business degree and wasn’t so ‘artsy fartsy’ she might have been farther along in life.”

  Dewayne put his arm around her and pulled her head down to his shoulder. He still said nothing because he knew she wasn’t finished.

  Kalia put her hand on his chest and continued, “He called Ma flighty and clueless. I just couldn’t believe it. He said if I knew what was good for me, I’d get a business degree and concentrate less on my singing and my playing. I’ve been practicing for years. I thought that he loved to hear me sing and play. He was clapping the loudest at the party, but somehow all of the sudden he’s changed his mind.

  “I think it really has something to do with what’s going on between him and Ma. They’ve been snapping at each other for months, and now they’re sleeping in separate rooms and talking about each other behind each other’s backs. It’s just terrible. I wish they’d get their shit together.

  “I mean could they really break up? Really?” asked Kalia, searching her friend’s lean face for answers. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and smoothed her hair down.

  “Dewayne, what would I do without you?” she asked him, wrapping her arms around his waist from the side. “Thank you so much for being there for me.”

  Dewayne’s only response was a kiss on the top of Kalia’s head. They sat in the gazebo for a long while that night, just holding each other.

  Chapter

  5

  Mari adjusted her seat for the third time. For some reason, she just couldn’t seem to get comfortable behind the steering wheel. Maybe it was because she was distracted. Her mother looked at her and shook her head.

  “If you don’t want to drive today, we can do this another time,” she said, flipping open the newspaper. “Pay attention. The light is changing.”

  Mari took her foot off the gas and tried to focus on the task at hand: getting to IHOP, which was right around the corner. As she drove, her thoughts wandered again.

  She was still in shock that Kalia had decided to enter the Fire contest. When her sister had sauntered into her room the night before, acting like she wasn’t looking at her wardrobe, Mari knew something was up. Kalia did not share her sense of style. After answering one too many questions about hip urban fashion, Mari started to get suspicious and Kalia finally gave it up. She was going to audition and she wanted Mari to be her stylist. They’d spend the rest of the night flipping through magazines and talking about clothes, shoes, hair and makeup. Kalia had really surprised her.

  “Ma, how did you know that Kalia was interested in the Fire contest?”

  “Girl, please keep your mind on the road and not your sister right now,” said Elaine, putting down her paper. “You’re gonna send that dog to meet his maker.”

  “Okay, okay,” Mari said, swerving to avoid the lost-looking golden retriever. “But really, how did you?”

  “Because Kalia is a creative young woman and she’s ambitious and competitive, but mostly with herself. She likes to challenge herself, but stepping out of her comfort zone isn’t really one of her strong points. So this is a brave move for her.”

  “When she told me last night that she was going to audition, I almost fainted. I was sure she’d wimp out. And then we, like, planned out her outfits and stuff. I mean, we haven’t hung out like that in a while.”

  “I’m glad you guys are sharing this experience,” said Elaine. “Did she tell you why she decided to enter?”

  “Well, something about Alicia Keys and being able to sing and play all kinds of music. What if she wins, Ma? Ooooh, she’ll be famous. And I’ll be her sister, and I’ll get to kick it with all the stars on Fire Records. I’ma have to get me some new gear, too. I can’t be the sister of a star lookin’ busted.”

  “You’re gonna bust us up if you don’t watch it. You’re following that car too closely. Slow down or we’re going to end up in his trunk,” Elaine ordered.

  Mari slowed too quickly and both she and her mother lurched into the dashboard. Her heart pounding and her life flashing before her eyes, she decided her mother was right. She needed to pay attention. What she really needed to do was go back home. Besides helping Kalia with her style for the Fire contest, midterms were upon her. She needed to be hitting the books and not wasting time fooling with her girls. Nevertheless, she’d agreed to meet Colby at the IHOP at noon to talk with her about whatever the pressing thing was that she swore she could only talk about in person.

  As she pulled into the parking lot, Mari’s suspicions proved to be true. Colby and Shauntae were visible through the glass window. She parked in a handicap space right in front and hopped out of the car, avoiding her mother’s look of disapproval.

  “Ahh, parking here is not going to win you any points with me,” her mother called to her as she walked around the front of the car, checking out her outfit in IHOP’s glass windows. She liked her orange nylon track pants and her Nikes, she thought, pulling her orange trucker hat farther over her right eye.

  “Oh, it was only for a second,” she called to her mother.

  “And that’s all the time it takes to get a ticket,” her mother said as she walked toward Colby, waving goodbye. Although she and Colby had gone to the movies in the last week, it had been nearly two weeks since Mari had seen or spoken to Shauntae. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see her. Shauntae’s performance at East Moreland was still fresh in her mind. She hesitated for only a second before joining them in line.

  “What’s up, C?” she said to Colby.

  “Hey, Mari. We just got here,” said Colby, nervously glancing at Shauntae, who was boring a hole into Colby.

  “How long is the wait?” asked Mari, ignoring Shauntae.

  “Umm…let me go see,” said Colby, escaping the tension to look for the hostess.

  Uncomfortable dead silence hung heavy between Shauntae and Mari, until Shauntae broke it.

  “That dude Derrick called me,” she said.

  “I’m sure he did,” said Mari.

  Silence again. Mari spoke up this time.

  “Well, did y’all go out?”

  “Not yet. He’s talking about midterms or something.”

  “Yeah. They’re next week.”

  “He sure does talk a lot about school. As a matter of fact, that’s mostly what he talks about, and he asks me about my classes, too. Talking about how he wants to be some kind of engineer and how he’s going to work with NASA and stuff.”

  “Yep. He’s ambitious,” said Mari.

  “So what? You’re gonna do something like that, too? Be a big shot somewhere making a lot of dough?”

  “I don’t know, I guess,” said Mari, surprised at Shauntae’s question. In all of the years she’d known Shauntae, they’d never had a discus
sion about their future professions. “What do you wanna do?”

  “I don’t know,” Shauntae said, looking at the ceiling. “I haven’t really thought about it that much, but Derrick thinks about it all the time. He’s got like this ten-year plan. Shoot, I don’t know what I am going to do the rest of this weekend.”

  “Well, I’ll be studying. I know that.”

  “Figures.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Mari, a little annoyed.

  “So it’ll be about ten minutes,” said Colby, walking up. She was grinning, looking back and forth between Shauntae and Mari. “What are y’all talking about?”

  “Nuthin’,” said Mari and Shauntae at the same time.

  “Oh,” said Colby, disappointed.

  Mari and Shauntae did start talking to each other again, but the conversation between the three of them remained a little strained all through breakfast. As they walked out, Colby tried to convince them to walk down to the drugstore with her to pick up some acne medication. Shauntae wanted to take the train to Lenox Square Mall, and Mari wanted to go home and study. The three were about to part company when they heard a loud screech. Turning, they saw a young man holding several rolled-up signs, dodging cars, across the busy four-way intersection in front of IHOP.

  “He must be crazy,” said Colby.

  “Or have a death wish,” agreed Mari.

  “I’m glad he made it ’cause he’s kinda fine,” said Shauntae, finger-combing her hair and adjusting her pink micro-miniskirt.

  He stopped just short of them at a light post, pulled some thick tape out of his back pocket and hung one of the posters before jogging over to them.

  “Ladies, ladies, ladies,” he started.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” said Shauntae, putting a hand on her hip.

  “Do any of you sing?” he asked.

  “Why?” asked Mari, eyeing him. He was handsome, she thought, checking out his wavy afro, freckled nose and dimples deep enough to swim in.

  “What about you, Miss Lady?” he said, taking Colby’s hand.