Small Sensations

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  She took a deep breath. “I’d rather not say what’s wrong, Justin. But, who knows, maybe someday I will be ready to talk about it.”

  “I’ll settle for what I can get.”

  Davia offered him a handshake and thanked him for the evening. “I’m afraid that’s all that I can give you for now.”

  Justin nodded, suppressing his disappointment, as he watched her get into her car and start the engine. Before pulling away she rolled the window down and leaned out. His hopes soared.

  Davia smiled at his expectant expression and for reasons she couldn’t fathom, she decided to take an invisible step forward. “Next Saturday, the date is on me.”

  As he watched her drive away, Justin couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

  * * *

  “Who is Davia Maxwell?”

  Justin lifted his eyes from his dinner plate to look at his mother. It was ironic that she should ask the same question that he had been asking himself. The only difference was that the motive behind each of their questions was different.

  Taking a sip of his soup, he answered nonchalantly, “She’s a friend of mine.”

  Nothing in his voice or his actions betrayed the fact that he wanted her to be anything more than that.

  Katherine nodded; her senses were attuned to the slightest indication that this Davia Maxwell might be something more than a friend. Men could be so naive sometimes, and a rich, handsome man like Justin was a prime target for some tramp. Justin had always been independent to a fault, defying her and his father at every turn, but when it came to the important matter of choosing a mate, she meant to have some say-so in who would be the mother of her grandchildren. They would be the ones to carry the history and heritage of two of Atlanta’s most prominent black families. His choice for a wife must be impeccable.

  “Vanessa tells me that her daughter goes to Bianca’s school.”

  Justin’s eyes slid to Vanessa, who appeared to be very interested in the pattern on the china. He had wondered when Davia’s name might come up. He’d never mentioned the biting incident to his sister or mother and neither had Bianca, but the two little girls had developed a growing friendship over the past few weeks and Gabby’s name was already a household word. After meeting Davia, Vanessa had asked him about her, noting how attractive she was, but he had been noncommittal, just as he was being at this moment with his mother.

  Katherine continued her probing. “Vanessa mentioned that she met this Davia at the Black Chamber event, but hasn’t seen or spoken to her at the school.”

  “She drops her daughter off and picks her up at a different time, Mother.” Vanessa sounded defensive.

  “It doesn’t matter, Vanessa. I’ve always told you about the importance of knowing the parents of one’s children.” The censure in her voice was evident. “Bianca tells me that your brother and this Davia person met at Chuck E. Cheese with the children. Although we really know nothing about this woman, it seems that Justin has no objection to having your child spend time with her.” She looked at her son disapprovingly.

  Justin refused to take the bait. Vanessa already knew about the Chuck E. Cheese meeting. He had nothing to explain. He kept eating as the inquisition continued.

  Katherine took another tactic. “Gabby, what a peculiar name, but at least I’m able to pronounce it.” Katherine threw an amused glance across the table at Charles Cash, who had joined them for dinner this evening.

  Charles took the cue. “It’s better than Shanequa, or Charmain, or Quetta, some of the names I’ve heard.” He joined Katherine in condescending laughter.

  Justin’s jaw tightened. He didn’t like their laughter at the expense of others, and he wasn’t too fond of Charles. It seemed that every time he visited his mother the man was there. He was always polite and seemed very respectful toward Katherine, Vanessa and Bianca, and his mother seemed to enjoy his company. If she was happy Justin was happy for her. Just as he didn’t want her prying into his love life, he wouldn’t pry into his mother’s. She had been a widow for six years and deserved to be happy again. Yet, there was something about Charles Cash—

  Their laughter drifted into his thoughts and disturbed him. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his mother. “We as black people have always been creative. Why wouldn’t it continue in naming our children? After all, oftentimes a name is all a person might have to give his or her child. Why not make it as unique and as special as possible? And Gabby is a nickname for Gabrielle, which, as you know, Mother, is French. I think it’s a beautiful name.”

  Katherine’s laughter turned into a coy smile. “Is that all that you find beautiful in the Maxwell household?”

  Justin wasn’t falling for that one. “I find beauty everywhere I go, Mother, especially in this room.” He winked at her.

  Vanessa laughed at his clever retort. Katherine pouted. “Justin, I’m not trying to get into your ‘business,’ as you so crudely put it. I simply asked a question!”

  He knew that he was tiptoeing through a potential minefield. Katherine wanted information, and if she couldn’t get it from him, she would get misinformation from somewhere else.

  “Actually, Davia Maxwell is quite attractive.” That was an understatement. “And if you’re trying to ask me about her family background, I don’t know anything about it. All I know is that she seems like a nice lady.” And that she turns me on totally! Justin resumed eating his dinner.

  Katherine nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”

  She returned to her own meal, but she had watched her son closely as he talked about the Maxwell woman. He had displayed little or no interest, and that was his big mistake. Justin Miles displaying no interest in a beautiful woman was like a child leaving a candy store without asking for a treat. It didn’t happen. Something was going on.

  Meanwhile, this little friendship Bianca had developed with this Gabby child had to be closely watched. She doubted if her grandchild could learn very much from people outside of their social circle. Justin was a grown man, and if he wanted to hobnob with the masses, that was different, but Bianca was a baby, and it was her duty as the child’s grandmother to see to it that she was not unduly influenced by those unlike herself. She regretted the day that Vanessa had enrolled the child in that school.

  Why she had to fight to maintain family traditions and mores was beyond her comprehension. Young people today didn’t seem to understand tradition and the importance of knowing one’s place in life. With her marriage to Zachary, the Justin and Miles families had become the social and economic forces in black Atlanta. She would go to her grave before she would let all that both families had worked for be easily compromised.

  CHAPTER 9

  The cat was out of the bag at the Maxwell house about her date with Justin Miles. Both Reba and CeCe were ganging up on her today, and she was about at the end of her rope. It had been an early morning phone call from Justin that had done the deed. She had been asleep when he called and Reba had taken the message: Tell Davia that I enjoyed our date Saturday and I’m looking forward to this Saturday. Reba had given her the evil eye when she delivered the message and Davia had confessed to CeCe without any prompting.

  Now it was Friday, the evening before their second date, and the three women sat on the deck of Davia’s house overlooking her fragrant garden while CeCe and Reba pressured her to tell all.

  “I cannot believe that you would go on a date with Justin Miles and not tell your friends anything about it.” CeCe was hurt and wanted Davia to know it.

  “And she lied to me,” Reba added, sounding just as wounded. “She told me that she was going to a business affair last Saturday. I should have known she wasn’t wearing that turquoise dress to impress any business acquaintance.”

  CeCe squealed. “You wore the turquoise dress? Humph, humph, humph.” She shook her head slowly from side to side. “You could have killed the man because, honey, he wants you.”

  Reba added. “Yes, he does, and when a man wants a woman like that, nothing is
going to stop him.” Reba addressed CeCe. “You should have heard him on the telephone.” She put an imaginary telephone receiver to her ear to dramatize. “Uh, is Davia Maxwell home? Uh, this is Justin Miles.” She grinned at the thought of the flustered caller. “He was hesitant, uncertain. Not sure that his call would be accepted. I could hear it in his voice. And I assure you, a man like Justin Miles is not the kind who lacks confidence. It’s not in his character. The only thing that would make a man like him hesitant is a woman who has gone against the grain of everything he’s known.”

  CeCe shook her head in agreement. “Uh-huh, the girl done put a whippin’ on that tail and he doesn’t know which way to turn.” She turned to Davia, looking at her with a new sense of admiration. “Girl, what did you do to that man?”

  “She’s got what it takes, that’s all.” Reba grinned at Davia approvingly, and picked up an empty pitcher that had contained lemonade. “Let me go fix us another round.”

  As soon as Reba disappeared into the house, CeCe scooted her deck chair closer to Davia’s and whispered teasingly, “You and Justin didn’t get it on, did you?”

  “What!” Davia jumped from her deck chair so quickly that it overturned. Birds nesting nearby scattered. Butterflies fluttered away. “How could you think that I would do something like that? I don’t even know him! We’ve seen each other two or three times! I won’t be thought of as a whore!”

  Shocked by Davia’s reaction, CeCe sat frozen.

  “I was only teasing,” she said weakly, realizing instantly that she had gone too far.

  Davia stood trembling with anger at the accusation that she felt had been hurled at her. CeCe had never seen her like this. She was at a loss to how her words had caused such a reaction. However, she knew that there were secrets in Davia’s life to which she was not privy. Not once in their friendship had she pressed her to confide those secrets. She had always hoped that eventually she would do it on her own. Their friendship was based on the unspoken agreement that there were areas of their lives that would not be discussed. CeCe wasn’t certain what her own areas were. She seemed to have confided her entire life to Davia, from her disastrous three-month marriage at nineteen to the death of her baby shortly after its birth. It was Davia who had the untouchable topics. Now sex must be added to the list. With her reference to the last of those taboos, CeCe could tell from her stance that Davia was willing to challenge their friendship. CeCe wasn’t.

  Rising from her chair, she approached Davia cautiously, measuring each step. There was pain and defiance in her friend’s eyes. CeCe spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Davia. I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”

  “Then why did you say it?” Davia’s nose flared, and her breathing was heavy. She declared emphatically, “I will not be thought of as a whore!”

  CeCe stopped in front of her. “It was a bad joke, my friend, a sad attempt to be flippant. I apologize. I would never think of you in those terms.”

  Feeling foolish about her reaction, Davia took a deep breath. She and CeCe had gone through too much together for her to react like this, especially when her friend had no idea what was behind her response. Perhaps this was the time to change that and take a step out of the past.

  She sat back down at the table. CeCe joined her. Reaching across the table, Davia placed her hand on top of CeCe’s. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You’re my best friend and I wouldn’t hurt you for the world.”

  CeCe flashed an understanding smile. “I know that.”

  “It’s just that there have been so many things that I don’t want to remember.” Davia paused. Like a kaleidoscope, brief moments of her tumultuous life flashed before her. “But maybe it’s time that I did.”

  CeCe stilled, unable to believe what she was hearing after all of these years. Davia spoke quietly.

  “Before last Saturday, I haven’t dated anyone since I was fourteen years old, if you want to call what I did dating.” She paused, traveling back in time. “His name was Mark Cattrell, and he was sixteen years old. We met at a fast food restaurant in downtown Chicago. He was smart, well spoken and well dressed, and he told me that I was pretty and made me feel like I was. We used to meet at the restaurant every weekend and he would take me to the beach, to museums. He opened up a whole new world. It wasn’t until he took me to his parents’ home on Lake Shore Drive that I discovered that his family were wealthy. He told me that the difference in our backgrounds didn’t matter, that he loved me. That’s all I needed to hear. No one had ever loved me before. His folks weren’t at home the day he took me over there, so we took advantage of that and we ended up in his bed. That’s where his parents found us.”

  Davia stopped, not certain that she could continue without breaking down. She took a shaky breath. “I don’t have to describe the scene that took place when they discovered us, but I never expected to hear the things that they said to me.” She closed her eyes, the events of that day still painful. “His parents called me a whore. They said that I was ghetto trash who had seduced their son. They assured me that I was beneath them and their son in every way. To make matters worse, Mark never said a word in my defense. Not one word.” Davia opened her eyes, brought back to the present. “A week later Mark and his parents died in a small plane crash. It was two months after that I discovered I was pregnant.”

  Davia watched CeCe closely, searching for the slightest sign of condemnation. She saw none; instead, her friend’s eyes glistened with tears.

  “It must have been difficult, being all alone—a child carrying a child.”

  “I survived.”

  “Yes, you did,” CeCe concurred. As a matter of fact, Davia had done more than that. Now pieces of the puzzle that formed her friend’s life made sense, especially her reluctance to get involved in emotional entanglements with men. Davia had something to prove. “I won’t be thought of as a whore!”

  CeCe ached for her friend and what she had endured in the past. Life had dealt her some harsh blows, but she had fought back and she had won. CeCe squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Thank you for sharing with me.”

  “Like I say, it was time.” Davia gave a sigh of relief. The burden of silence had been lifted. She had finally told her best friend almost everything.

  * * *

  Justin couldn’t get enough of Davia Maxwell. She was on his mind constantly.

  At his weekly Wednesday night dinner at his mother’s house, she mentioned that he seemed distracted. Vanessa also noticed, as did Bianca. His niece complained that he wasn’t playing with her at the dinner table the way he usually did. The ever-present Charles Cash tickled her and said that maybe he could take her uncle’s place. Justin scowled at the comment. Not likely. Still, his family was right. His growing fascination with the lovely Ms. Maxwell had his mind in a constant fog.

  Saturday evening finally arrived, and it hadn’t come soon enough for him. They met at a movie complex in a suburban shopping mall. This second date turned out to be less strained than the first. The film that they saw was a comedy, and they left the theatre thoroughly entertained. They were still laughing at the antics in the movie as they walked to their respective cars.

  “I like that comedian,” Davia declared, feeling much more relaxed than she had when the night began. “Of course there are guys coming up that are just as funny, but he still has what it takes to make me laugh.”

  She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Justin. He was simply overwhelming. It wasn’t just his height; he was just so attractive. He was dressed casually in all gray, and he had to know how good he looked in that color, especially with those gray-green eyes. More than one woman at the theatre had given him surreptitious looks, yet Justin’s attention had been focused completely on her. He had made her feel very special.

  “You know, I was thinking,” he said, breaking the brief silence between them as they strolled. “A lot of these comedians got their big breaks on television, but I can’t see it replacing the comedy clubs. These guys need a place to hone
their craft.”

  “Well, I guess you’re right, but I can’t say. I’ve never seen a stand-up comedian live.”

  Justin came to a stop and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You haven’t!”

  Davia shook her head, unsure if that was good or bad from his reaction.

  He grinned, obviously delighted. “Hmmm, I was just wondering where I could take you next.” In his excitement he forgot the no touch rule which he had practiced religiously throughout the evening. Taking her hand he pulled her toward the parking lot. “Come on, let’s take my car and come back and get yours later. We’ll grab a couple of burgers and be at the club in time for the last show.” Wordlessly, Davia trotted alongside him. Caught up in his excitement, she forgot the no touch rule as well.

  Hours later as he pulled up in front of Davia’s house, Justin felt a sense of loss at having to part with her for the evening. The night had been perfect. Davia seemed to have had the time of her life. She had been fascinated by the comedy club and the comics and he had enjoyed sharing the experience with her. The truth was that he enjoyed everything about Davia. The lady was too good to be true. She listened well and had a positive view of life—all of that and an exquisite face and body, too.

  Davia had objected to his following her home. She didn’t want Gabby to see them together. But he had insisted, noting that at this late hour Gabby should be in bed. Suspecting that her fear of his following her home wasn’t based on Gabby’s curiosity, his departure at her front door consisted of the simple words “Good night.” But, not kissing those luscious lips had been an exercise in self-restraint. As he strolled down the walkway to his car, he vowed that he would be back, and the next time that they parted at her front door, a kiss would be in order.