Book Store Rule

by Jones, Janice

  “Girl, the sight of Darrin makes me sick right now, and it has only been one week. The truth of the matter is it’s not really him specifically. I think it’s my own guilt and conviction that makes me so sensitive to every little thing he does wrong. I know I have been cranky, irritable, and virtually impossible to live with, but I can’t help myself. Pastor Abraham’s sermon today did and did not help matters. I mean, it helped amp up my guilt, but it made me realize I messed up big time, girl.”

  In light of how helpful and insightful Maleeka had been to her in her crisis, Aujanae wanted to be just as supportive to her friend and offer her godly advice in return.

  “Mal, the fact that your decision is tearing you up the way it is, is a good thing. It shows you do love the Lord. You have just got to love him more than you love Darrin. I don’t know the details of your living arrangement or what Darrin’s options are, but you all need to put an end to this. Let him get his own place or go back to his old place or whatever, but the last thing you want to do is get comfortable in the situation you are in. You need to rectify this while you can and wait until you two are properly wed before living together, no matter how close your wedding date is. By the way, have you two set your date yet?” Aujanae asked curiously.

  Maleeka rolled her eyes and groaned loudly. “No. I have been engaged to this fool for four years. I have foolishly moved him into my place, hoping to prompt him into hurrying up and marrying me, and I have turned into this mean woman, filled with guilt that I don’t even recognize anymore, only to be no closer to being a proper wife than I was on Valentine’s Day, four years ago.”

  Maleeka dramatically plopped her head down on their table loudly. The noise prompted a few people nearby to look in their direction. Aujanae smiled an embarrassed smile at the other patrons then got up from her side of the table to check on Maleeka.

  “Girl, are you okay? Look up. Let me see if you have a knot on your head,” Aujanae asked, concerned.

  “I’m fine,” Maleeka stated as she raised her head. No bruising or bumps were visible. “I think I just knocked some sense into myself. I have decided when I get home I am going to tell Darrin that he needs to move back into his house with David. The transition will be annoying, but it will be less painful than continuing to live in the cocoon of guilt and misery.”

  “Good for you. If you need me to, I will even help.”

  “Thanks, Aujanae. I truly appreciate your ear and your advice.”

  “Right back at you, girlfriend. But I have one last question. How in the heck did Gerald Miller find out about you and Darrin living together? What is going on between you two? There were sparks flying like crazy between you two.”

  “That’s like three or four questions, Aujanae.” Maleeka chuckled goodheartedly. “But to answer your question, Gerald Miller has been flirting incessantly with me since the first day we met. I have told him I am engaged, but he keeps insisting, none too subtly, that Darrin is not good enough for me. He thinks he’s better. He knows about our living arrangement because he was at David’s house the day we moved Darrin out of there.”

  “Hmmm. I see,” Aujanae said subjectively.

  “Girl, there is a whole lot being said in that hmmm. I know what you are thinking: the same thing my cousin Tammy has been saying and thinking for quite some time as well. You both think Gerald is better for me too,” Maleeka said dismissively.

  “Don’t sleep on that man, Maleeka. He seems like a catch to me. He is good looking. He is in church every Sunday. He is one of the leaders in the Men’s Ministry. He seems very interested in you. He is obviously single. He is always dressed so nice. He drives a nice car. And did I say he was good looking? Honey, if you don’t want him, pass him my way.”

  Maleeka gave her patented eye roll and said nothing else on that subject. If she were to say something honestly, she would probably tell Aujanae to keep her still-married paws to herself.

  “Let’s get out of here. I have got to get home and kick a certain man I’m engaged to out of my apartment. No use putting it off. The sooner it’s done, the sooner I can get this shame out of my spirit.”

  Aujanae paid the check for both meals, and the ladies got ready to leave the restaurant. Just as they approached the door, none other than the man of the last five minutes’ conversation appeared as if he were a conjured-up apparition coming through the same door.

  “Gerald!” both ladies exclaimed simultaneously.

  Gerald’s eyes bucked at the urgent tone in the women’s voices.

  “Hello, ladies,” he said inquisitively.

  “Funny you should show up here, at this moment, today,” Aujanae said comically. Maleeka shot her a contemptuous look.

  “Are you stalking me, Mr. Miller?” Maleeka asked in mocked suspicion.

  “Stalking you? A man brings his favorite niece out for their ritual biweekly dining experience, trying to do a good deed, and he gets accused of criminal behavior. Wow. Only in America, and by a Christian woman no less,” Gerald mocked in return.

  “Your niece?” Aujanae asked.

  “Yes. She ran in ahead of me. She had to make it to the restroom in a hurry.”

  Gerald’s answer was for Aujanae, but he never took his eyes off Maleeka. She was so riveted by his stare that she was unable to pull her own eyes away.

  “Ahem.” Aujanae simulated clearing her throat to break the trance. “I think that is very sweet of you, Gerald, to purposely spend that kind of time with your niece. I would love to meet this blessed young lady.”

  “But we really don’t have time. We must get going,” Maleeka said, feigning disappointment.

  “Oh no, Maleeka, we have a few minutes. I’m sure Gerald’s niece won’t be too long.”

  Maleeka wanted to choke Aujanae. To continue to protest, however, would make her look silly and too eager to get away from Gerald.

  Gerald laughed at the look of aloofness on Maleeka’s face.

  “My niece is the only child of my only brother. He’s a couple of years younger than me. He became a dad when he was barely out of his teens, but he’s had custody of his daughter since her mother ran off and left when Deidre was just a few months old. I spend as much time with her as possible. She’s thirteen. I believe in young ladies having positive male role models in their lives before they start dealing with these knuckle-headed young boys out here.”

  Aujanae none too subtly nudged Maleeka with her elbow. Just then Gerald’s niece appeared.

  “I’m sorry, Uncle G, but I really had to go,” the pretty young teenager announced.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. Deidre, these two beautiful ladies attend church with me. This is Ms. Aujanae,” he stated, pointing in her direction, “and this is Ms. Maleeka.” When he said Maleeka’s name, he reached out and actually touched her shoulder.

  Maleeka was surprised by the surge of comforting heat that penetrated her skin at his touch. She wanted to jerk away for fear of truly leaning into its appeal, but she did not want to embarrass any of the others standing with them; so she just stood there like a statue, willing herself not to move.

  “Both of you have very pretty names,” Deidre stated politely.

  “Thank you. And you are a very pretty young lady,” Aujanae responded.

  Maleeka was barely able to eke out a “Thank you.” She was so thankful when Gerald finally removed his hand.

  “Well, we won’t hold you two any longer. It was truly a pleasure running into you again today.” Gerald was addressing both ladies, but again his eyes were on Maleeka.

  Then, to the ladies’ surprise, Gerald stated, “Maleeka, you need to give me a call. I think we should talk.”

  “I don’t have a number for you, Gerald.” Maleeka’s response surprised all the adults in the circle, including herself.

  Gerald reached into his jacket pocket and removed a gold case, holding his business cards. He handed one to Maleeka. As an afterthought he gave one to Aujanae as well.

  Maleeka took the card silently and read it.
Aujanae took hers and stuck it in her purse without so much as a quick glance.

  “Thank you, Gerald. Nice to meet you, Deidre,” Aujanae said.

  “Looking forward to hearing from you.” Gerald did not address his comment to either lady specifically, but everyone knew who he was talking to.

  Chapter Nineteen

  On the drive home, Maleeka could not keep her thoughts focused on where they needed to be. She needed to be thinking of the best way to tell Darrin he had to move out and hopefully not have it turn into a big scene. Instead she kept focusing on the still-lingering touch of Gerald Miller. Aujanae’s list of Gerald’s good qualities kept popping into her head. Couple those with his declaration and desire to spend time with his only niece in an effort to shield her from the bull of the boys her age, and future bull of the ones Darrin’s age, and she had to admit Gerald Miller was suddenly, overwhelmingly interesting to her.

  The card he gave her stated he was a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch. Maleeka was not the least bit materialistic, so the money he made in his career was not very important to her, but she assumed a job title like that had to require substantial intellect. Darn her for thinking it, but the man did just happen to be good looking. Goodness gracious.

  Maleeka forced her thoughts to return to the issue at hand and at home. Darrin. Her fiancé of four long years. The man she could barely get to attend his own church, the church where he grew up. The man who was still afraid to stand up to his parents. The man who was probably sitting in front of the television waiting for her to return home to feed him and pick up his wet bath towels and funky socks. Maleeka thought about Gerald’s list and Darrin’s list and realized why she was having such a hard time keeping her mind off Gerald and on Darrin.

  When she walked into the house, Maleeka found Darrin exactly where she thought he would be, glued to the television with a stack of DVDs that he had either already watched and/or planned to watch throughout the rest of the day. She walked in and gave him a curt hello, then headed back to her bedroom to exchange her church shoes for her house slippers. She needed to be comfortable for the conversation she was getting ready to have.

  While in the room, she found a shoe on top of her antique vanity table and a wet towel strewn over the back of its chair.

  “Lord, help me,” Maleeka said aloud, speaking directly to God.

  As she marched down the short hallway, she tried her best to keep her mind focused and her thoughts clear. It would not do her any good to conjure up images of Gerald as she prepared to confront Darrin. The last thing she wanted was the impression of a perfect man, which in basic reality did not exist, clouding her thoughts, allowing that to be the reason she asked Darrin to leave. She needed to stay on task, remembering that it was the only perfect man, Jesus, whom she was trying to please.

  The moment she crossed the threshold into the living room, before she even had a chance to make herself comfortable in a chair, Darrin began speaking first.

  “Hey, baby. I’m glad you’re home. How was church? Did you see my parents? Mom has been blowing up my phone since what I’m assuming was right after church let out. Did she say anything to you?” he asked curiously.

  More fuel for the fire, Maleeka thought. Here she was engaged to and living with a grown man who was hiding from his mama.

  “Darrin, I did see your mother at church, and she wanted me to tell you to give her a call, so I think you should do that as soon as possible,” Maleeka stated with more calm than she felt. Suddenly she was nervous about her proclamation to make Darrin leave.

  “Mal, look. I have told you I’m not ready to tell my mother about us living together yet. I know you want me to make this announcement to my parents and have it somehow validate us to them, but I will tell them when I’m more comfortable—maybe once we have at least set a wedding date. That way this shacking up thing may look a little less sordid and a little more practical. So baby, let’s not argue about this, okay? What’s for dinner?”

  Maleeka stared at Darrin without saying anything for several moments. She was really at a loss for words. She did not know whether to concentrate on being excited that he at least mentioned setting a wedding date, or perturbed about him asking her what’s for dinner. Maleeka made her way to her favorite chair, suddenly exhausted from merely being in her own skin. Her seesaw emotions were wearing her out. Finally she found her voice.

  “Darrin, are you ready to set our wedding date?” she asked simply.

  Darrin looked away swiftly from his movie and gave his full attention to Maleeka.

  “Aw, man, Maleeka. See, I should have known you were going to take this conversation way out of context. I was just trying to help you understand why I am not ready to tell my parents about us living together. I should have known the only thing you would hear would be wedding date.” He shook his head and refocused on the television just that quickly.

  Maleeka lowered her head and closed her eyes. She sat in her chair, in her apartment, with her now ex-fianc é and started praying aloud.

  “Father, I come to you at this very moment, asking You, Lord, to forgive me. Forgive me, Father, for my sin of fornication. Forgive me, Father, for allowing my heart to take control and not staying close to You through the Holy Spirit. Forgive me, Lord, for allowing my fleshly desire to be married to choose for me who I thought would be my husband. Lord, I ask You to give me the strength to turn this situation around and to lean on You to get me through the grieving process as I let this relationship die. Father, give me the strength and the wisdom to depend on You and to wait on You to send me the man You have prepared for me as my husband. Lord, I am depending on You to comfort me, to show me that You are all I need until or unless You move me in that direction. This is my prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  When Maleeka lifted her head, she found Darrin staring at her in complete and utter shock. She chose not to concern herself with his look, however. She needed to stay focused.

  “Darrin, you got to go. This past week we have lived together has been more stressful for me than any other time in my life. I’m not saying you have done anything particularly foul or anything like that. I’m just saying that the guilt and shame I have been feeling has been unbearable. You can hide our living arrangement from your parents, but you can’t hide it from God, and neither can I; therefore, you have got to leave. I pray David lets you come back to the house with him. I’m sorry for the inconvenience of the move. Heck, I am sorry for the inconvenience of the past six years.”

  Maleeka got up from her seat and walked toward Darrin as she removed her engagement ring. “But I refuse to continue to be your long-term fiancée, translation: strung-along girlfriend, for another moment.”

  She dropped the ring in Darrin’s lap as she walked past him into her bedroom. She returned a few seconds later with the other three rings and gently placed them in the opened palm that matched his wide open mouth. Maleeka ignored his crazy look and resumed her speech, pacing back and forth in the living room.

  “It’s still kind of early in the evening. It’s only four thirty. We can start packing your stuff now. I will take tomorrow off work and move you back to your place while you are off. Aujanae has already agreed to help me. Do you need me to call David and make sure it’s okay that you return? If he has a problem with it, I will give you the money to stay in a Days Inn or Motel 6 for up to a week while you find a new spot. As a matter of fact, I will pay for you to stay there tonight, too, because we will not spend another night under the same roof.”

  Maleeka sounded and moved in the living room as if she had overdosed on caffeinated energy drinks. The truth of the matter was that she was actually very controlled and steadfast. When she finally stopped moving and talking, she leaned against a wall and waited for Darrin to say something, or even better, say nothing and just get up and start packing. Suddenly the song “When a Woman’s Fed Up” by R. Kelly started playing in her head.

  Darrin sat on the sofa, stunned, unable to find the words to re
ply to anything Maleeka said. He was literally shocked speechless.

  After about sixty seconds of listening to Darrin say nothing, Maleeka again took up the charge.

  “Okay, Darrin. Since you don’t have any ideas about how to start facilitating this move, I’ll go ahead and get you started. I’ve got about seventy-five dollars cash in my purse. I will pack you a few things for tonight, making sure you have what you need for tonight and to get you to work tomorrow. You can take the money and find yourself a room.”

  Maleeka walked to the bedroom and returned with the money and her cell phone. Darrin was still sitting glued to the same spot.

  “You know what? I’m going to give David a call. He’s probably still at Katrina’s. I’m going to ask him if you can move back in with him, or at the very least see if you can stay there tonight. No use wasting money if I don’t have to.”

  When Maleeka began looking through her cell phone contacts to find David’s number, Darrin finally got up from his seat. He rushed over to Maleeka in a fury, grabbed her cell phone, and threw it against the wall, smashing it into seemingly a million tiny pieces. Maleeka recoiled at the noise as the phone smashed into the wall. She had never seen Darrin react so violently. She wanted to move from the spot where she stood, face to face, noses nearly touching, in front of Darrin, but because the wall was against her back and her ex-fiancé was right in her face, she really had no place to go. Maleeka began praying in her head that Darrin would not try to hurt her.

  “I don’t need you to do anything or call anybody for me. I don’t need your money and I don’t need you,” Darrin yelled before turning on his heels and heading to Maleeka’s bedroom.

  Maleeka moved slowly from the wall and returned to her chair. Darrin remained in the bedroom for about twenty minutes. Maleeka stayed glued to the chair. She was very curious as to what he was doing back there, but the violent act he committed on her cell phone made her stay put.

  Darrin emerged with a huge duffle bag stuffed to capacity on one arm. In the other he held a bag that more than likely housed his computer. Darrin put those bags down by the front door. He then began walking toward Maleeka, which immediately made her stiffen in her seat. He stopped short of reaching her chair, opting instead to only go as far as the sofa. He reached down and grabbed what Maleeka now realized were her engagement rings. Up until that point, she had paid the jewelry sitting on her sofa no attention. Darrin stuffed the rings in his pants pocket. He glared at Maleeka for a few brief seconds. He suddenly opened his mouth to say something, but just as quickly clamped it shut so hard she heard his teeth click. He moved back to the front door, grabbed his bags, and left the apartment wordlessly.