Book Store Rule

by Jones, Janice

  Maleeka did not realize she was holding her breath until she actually exhaled after Darrin left. The first thought that came to mind after he left was that he still had a key to her apartment. She got up on very shaky legs and walked to the bedroom to see if he had left the key there, but came up empty handed. She wanted to change the locks, but had no idea how to go about doing it other than calling a locksmith. She had seen enough TV shows depicting the difficulty and expense of hiring a locksmith to come in an emergency on the weekend to know she did not want to go that route.

  Since Darrin had turned her cell phone into a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, she had to opt for using her home phone to make contact with the outside world. She was probably the only person she knew who still had a land line phone in her apartment. She went to the phone to call Katrina, to let her know what happened and for her to help calm her down in the aftermath of her breakup. She then realized she did not have a clue what her best friend’s phone number was. As a matter of fact, she could not think of a single phone number by heart. With the convenience of simply pushing a button or two on her cell phone and reaching those who were closest to her, she never took the time to actually memorize their phone numbers. She could not even call Darrin if she wanted to, which she absolutely did not want to do. She knew she was officially and forever through with him.

  Maleeka found her way back to her chair to try to come up with a solution to having her locks changed without having to take out a loan to do it.

  “God, what am I going to do?” she pleaded aloud.

  Then it hit her. She remembered that Gerald Miller had given her his business card earlier in the day, stating he would be looking forward to her phone call. Maleeka jumped up from her chair and ran to the bedroom to retrieve Gerald’s card from her purse. She sat on the bed and decided to call him from the phone in there.

  After dialing the number, Maleeka’s stomach turned into a butterflies’ nest. When the phone started ringing, her mouth went dry. When his velvety smooth voice came on the line, all fears were calmed.

  “Hello,” he answered

  “Hi, Gerald. It’s me, Maleeka.”

  The need to tell him everything and even ask for his help overwhelmed her. Rather than allowing her pride to overrule her senses at that moment, Maleeka gave in to her desire and poured her heart out to Gerald.

  “Wow. You have been through a lot today, haven’t you? Look, why don’t you give me your address. I will stop by Home Depot and grab a standard lock and head over there to change your lock, hopefully giving you at least a little peace of mind for the night. What do you say?”

  “I say thank you so much. I don’t know why, after the way I have treated you in the past, but I knew you, the only person actually available to me right now, would have no problem coming to my rescue.”

  “I must admit, I am very happy to be the only person you could turn to at a time like this. I could say a lot more, but I won’t. You have had a pretty rough day. Give me your address and I will be on my way.”

  Maleeka recited her address then said aloud, “Thank you so much, Gerald. And thank You, God.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Two weeks ago, April had put in her notice at the firm, letting them know she was resigning and moving back to Chicago. She had actually decided a month prior to that to make the move, which was right after she received the news from her doctor that she was completely cancer free. Life in Phoenix held absolutely no appeal for her any longer.

  In the time since the humiliating fallout with William’s wife and her ghetto girlfriend at the church, April had been doing some serious soul-searching, hoping to find answers that would cure the savage pain she felt behind losing William for good.

  After the last time he told her he would not see her again, William held steady to his resolve. He stopped taking her phone calls, would not respond to her emails, and even had her escorted out of the building by security when she showed up on his job one morning insisting that she needed to see him. Standing on the sidewalk outside of his office building, staring at her reflection in the windows, wearing her broken heart all over her face, was the final straw for her. She knew at that moment she had hit her rock bottom.

  In her quest for healing, she decided to try to remember the last time there was happiness in her life, the life before she knew William. The answer came to her with the jolt that held as much power as a lightning bolt. April remembered she was happiest when she was not in love with anyone but herself, so it only made sense to return to the life she once knew—a simpler place and time for her. That meant going back home. She needed to put William Rucker and everything that reminded her of him out of her life for good.

  Well, almost everything. The one thing she would hold on to was her desire to continue to attend church. She made a promise to herself and to God that she would begin visiting various churches in Chicago when she arrived and would eventually find one to pledge her membership to.

  So here she sat at Sky Harbor International Airport, waiting to board the plane and get comfortable in her first class seat back to the place before life included relationship, love, and heartache.

  April decided to check her emails on her phone while she waiting to board. As she fished through her cute new Prada handbag for her phone, the area around her seemed to lose its sunlight. April looked up to see what had caused the sudden eclipse. Standing before her was a beautiful six feet four inch, two hundred and fifty pound specimen of a man who had seemingly dropped straight down from heaven.

  He eventually took the seat right next to her, not paying her any particular attention. April knew better, however. There were several unoccupied seats near where she was sitting, so his sitting smack dab next to her, practically in her lap, considering his size, was by no means a coincidence. Somebody needed to tell this man that he was dealing with a woman who had once upon a time been an expert in the game.

  April decided to play along. She pulled out her phone and continued with the task she had begun.

  “Excuse me, miss. Do you happen to have a pen I can borrow in that beautiful bag of yours?” Heaven Sent asked.

  April was impressed that he recognized and was impressed by the quality and splendor of her bag. This was a man with an eye for detail and the finer things in life.

  “I believe I do, sir.”

  April reached into her bag, removed her Mont Blanc writing pen from the slot in the purse, and handed it to him

  Heaven Sent gently removed the pen from her fingers and studied it ceremoniously.

  “Nice. Very nice. I’d be willing to bet my first class see that you are flying first class as well,” he said in a voice that oozed both sensuality and style.

  This man was obviously familiar with quality, but he was definitely a novice in the game of subtlety. She decided she would not hold it against him, though.

  April smiled. “You, sir, would be able to keep your seat,” April replied smoothly.

  Heaven Sent smiled as well, revealing a very expensive set of well cared for, natural teeth. He held on to the pen April had given him, making no moves whatsoever to utilize it.

  “May I ask why you asked for my pen? You look as if you are about to hijack it,” April said suspiciously.

  Heaven Sent placed the pen between his large fingers on his ring-less left hand and eyed it curiously, as if he were looking at it for the first time. He then snapped the fingers on his right hand, indicating he had suddenly remembered something.

  “Oh, yes. I was going to use it to write down your number,” he responded cleverly.

  Cute, April thought, but she was not prepared to give in to his charm just yet.

  “Write down my phone number? That’s a bit old fashioned, isn’t it? I thought things like that were done electronically now.”

  “I’m an old fashioned guy, beautiful. Besides, I plan on presenting the piece of paper back to you on our wedding day, reminding you of the day we first met.”

  Wow! Now, that was smooth,
April thought.

  Just then the airline announcer came on the microphone announcing that all first class passengers could begin boarding now.

  “What is your name?” Heaven Sent asked.

  “Why don’t we discuss all of our particulars while we are in flight?” April responded flirtatiously.

  Heaven Sent stood, again blocking out the sun, and offered April his hand.

  God was just going to have to be patient with her, she thought as she placed her small hand in his palm and allowed him to glide her back to very familiar territory.

  David was filled with trepidation as he approached the door cautiously. He honestly could not understand the incessant need he had to see her, to talk to her, especially under the circumstances. He had not spoken to Toriyana since he told her he was not ready to marry her and therefore could not give in to her ultimatum.

  David had been in Detroit for three days now. Each day he talked himself out of going by her house to see her.

  “She does not want to talk to you. She wants nothing else to do with you,” he would convince himself. Yesterday, however, he had given up arguing with himself and decided to just given in and go see her. He at least persuaded himself to wait until the following day, as it was Thanksgiving Day when he made his decision. He did not want to ruin her holiday.

  David was certain Toriyana knew he was in town for the holidays. They had talked about it often when they were still a couple; yet she did not once try to reach out to him. His urge to see her in spite of that was still baffling to him as he rang her doorbell.

  Toriyana sat on her sofa in her living room snugly wrapped in her favorite blanket after finishing off a plate of leftover Thanksgiving Day food for lunch. She was hunkered in for a day of catching up on her favorite television programs. There were so many shows on her DVR that she had to pray she would get through them all before she had to return to work on Monday.

  Yesterday had been a great day for her. She enjoyed spending time with her family, eating a great meal, and introducing her mother to her new friend, Treyvon. She met Treyvon about two weeks ago in the city county building while running an errand for her boss. He stood in the middle of the floor, looking as lost as a displaced puppy. She could not help going to see if he needed assistance, especially since he was such a cutie-pie.

  “Hello. Is there someplace I can help you find?” Toriyana asked sincerely.

  “Yes. Oh my goodness. Thank you. I’m here to file for a business license,” Treyvon said gratefully.

  “Well, let’s come over here to the big board which will direct you to exactly where you need to go.”

  Toriyana led the way to the directory in the main lobby of the building. She stood with Treyvon as he looked at the menu. She watched has his eyes brightened and his lips curl into a smile when he found what he was looking for. His excitement made her smile.

  “Wow. I never paid any attention to this board. Thank you so much for taking pity on a lost soul,” he said genuinely. Toriyana noticed he had a Southern accent for the first time.

  “No problem at all. You are not from Detroit, are you?” she asked.

  “No, ma’am. I moved here from Florida three months ago. My name is Treyvon,” he said as he offered Toriyana his hand.

  “Hello. My name is Toriyana Kent. Welcome to Detroit. It’s nice to meet you,” she replied and placed her hand in his.

  “Please call me Treyvon. Toriyana. That is an unusually pretty name.” Again he gifted Toriyana with his smile.

  Toriyana could not help but return the gesture.

  “Thank you,” she said shyly.

  The two new acquaintances stood silently staring at each other until it became a little obvious and uncomfortable to them both, although they both seemed to like what they saw.

  “Well, I need to get back to the courthouse before my boss sends out a search party for these files,” Toriyana said finally to break the trance. “Again, it was nice to meet you, Treyvon.”

  Toriyana slowly put her feet in motion, heading for the revolving doors.

  “Wait a minute, Toriyana. I would really like to repay you for your kindness and generosity,” Treyvon jogged the couple paces to reach her. He then reached in his back pocket to retrieve his wallet.

  Toriyana was taken aback by his action. Perhaps that was how they did things in the South, she thought.

  “No, no, Treyvon. That won’t be necessary. It was my pleasure,” she said quickly. When he pulled out a business card instead of a monetary bill, she felt quite silly.

  “No. I insist you let me take you to dinner sometime soon. You can show me around your great city,” he said enthusiastically.

  Toriyana could not help but to laugh out loud at herself.

  Treyvon cocked his head to one side as he watched the woman laughing in front of him. “What’s so funny, Toriyana?” he asked, confused and perhaps even a bit insulted, Toriyana assumed.

  “I’m so sorry, Treyvon. I was laughing at my own silly self. I thought you were about to offer me money for my help.” Toriyana again started laughing and was struggling to stop herself.

  Treyvon found her laughter infectious and joined her in the amusement. They both stood there cracking up for several moments.

  “Okay, now I have to insist that you allow me to take you out after that blatant offense,” Treyvon joked.

  The two had seen each other a few times since then, including yesterday at dinner. Treyvon happily accepted Toriyana’s invitation to Thanksgiving dinner, since he had no family in town.

  Toriyana smiled as she thought about Treyvon. She actually realized she would miss hanging out with him while he was away in Florida visiting his family for the next few days. He said it was a whole lot cheaper to fly out the day after Thanksgiving, so he opted to leave to go home today.

  Toriyana purposefully checked her giddiness as she thought pf Treyvon. She did not want to get caught up with this man too quickly. Her relationship and subsequent breakup with Darrin had taught her a thing or two. She decided she would heed his example of dubbing herself completely single until she met the man who asked her to marry him, but she did have to admit that Treyvon was proving himself to be a good candidate so far.

  Toriyana was taken from her revelry by the ringing of her doorbell. Realizing she had not invited anyone over, she was very curious as to who could be on the other side of the door. She got up from the sofa and checked the peephole. Though she had not invited him, she was not all that surprised to see David standing on her porch. She considered leaving him out in the cold for a little while before opening the door, but she then realized that would not be very Christ-like.

  She opened the door, unhooked the screen, and offered him access to her home. She returned to the sofa and attempted to resume the comfy position she had vacated, all without saying a word to David.

  Toriyana was not really angry with David. She actually felt more discomfort and annoyance than fury. As Thanksgiving approached, she had wondered if he would try to contact her, since she knew he would be in town. She resolved in herself not to allow it to bother her one way or the other.

  David was not surprised by the chilly reception he received from his ex-girlfriend. He was just grateful that she let him in at all. It was mighty cold in Detroit in November.

  “Hi, Tori. How are you?” he asked as he stood in the middle of the living room.

  “I’m well, David,” she replied evenly.

  “Do you mind if I have a seat?” He tried to keep his voice as level as hers, but he was in fact pretty nervous.

  “Certainly not, David. Have a seat,” she said, still cool.

  “Thank you.” David sat on the chair. “It’s good to see you, Tori. You look good. Very relaxed today.” David tried to relax himself. He knew Toriyana well, and he knew that if she were truly angry with him, she would not have let him in her home. He took a deep breath and prepared to state the reason for his visit.

  “Tori, I wanted to come by and see you, face
to face, so I could apologize to you for hurting you this past summer. I’m very sorry for how things ended between us,” he said sincerely.

  Toriyana just looked at him for several seconds in silence. David was unsure how to interpret her quiet.

  Toriyana stared at David wordlessly, trying to figure out how she felt about his apology. His words and his attitude were so typically David Mathis. Everything about him was completely the same as it was since the last time she had seen him several months earlier. Everything, that is, except his feelings for her. She could feel that the love the two of them once shared had diminished, if not completely disappeared. Now he was sitting in her living room as if he was never any more than a platonic friend, casually apologizing for a menial offense.

  Toriyana knew not to expect much more from David, but she did think she would feel more of something. She always suspected that the next time she saw David, she would be bubbling over with something—anger, unrequited love, remorse for the wasted years. Something. Yet she felt nothing. Not anything more than okay for how things turned out between them.

  “David, thank you very much for coming by to see me and offering me your apology. You are right. I was very hurt when we broke up this past summer, but truthfully, and I really mean this, I am good. I am really okay.”