by ROD HARLEY
There I was doing eighty on my way out to Pinehurst to check up on a woman who I wasn’t currently and had never before dated, at two-fifteen in the morning, and to me, it was totally rational behavior. I exited the interstate and turned onto the winding two-lane road ascending to Toya’s subdivision.
I was about two minutes from her neighborhood and my heart was pounding in my chest again. I was about to turn on Oak Street, a cul de sac carved into the mountain, with Toya’s house located at the apex, right in the middle of the curve. Just as I was about to make the turn my cellular phone started ringing. Who the hell is calling me at this time of the morning I asked myself. I considered ignoring the call but it occurred to me that it could possibly be Toya calling back. Maybe she felt guilty about putting off our conversation. I pulled over to the side of the road and picked up the phone. There was no number displayed. I hesitated before answering.
“Hello?”
“Man, where the fuck you at?” It was Raoul.
“Damn, dude I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was, fool, where you at?” I wasn’t going to tell Raoul where I was and what I was getting ready to do. I would have to live with his teasing for the rest of my life. I needed a good excuse and quick.
“I couldn’t sleep so I came out for a drive. I’m going to stop by the Waffle House and get something to eat,” I answered with as nonchalant a tone as I could feign.
“True, true, I feel you on that,” Raoul answered apparently buying my cover story. “You still thinking about old girl?” I became nervous concerned that he had overheard my conversation with Toya.
“Who are you talking about?” Raoul laughed.
“Who you think nigga, Shannon. That whole thing today still on your mind huh?” I exhaled. Shannon was the furthest thing from my mind but I would agree to anything to keep Raoul from deducing what I was really up to.
“Yeah, you know how that goes. I’m just trying to sort things out.”
“Well take your time, dog, I’ll be here chilling.”
“Alright man I’ll holla in a few.”
“Pick me up a cheese omelet.”
“I got you,” I returned and hung up. I sat on the side of the road and thought about my actions. My phone call with Raoul had snapped me out of my irrational state and back to what little sanity remained. I looked around at the houses all dark in the interior and laughed out loud. Damn, a woman sure can make a sane man act like a frigging lunatic. I did a U-turn and headed back down the two-lane road towards the interstate.
I thought about the last time I had made a covert trip out to Toya’s house. It was shortly after my move to Charlotte. Toya and I had plans to meet for lunch at Manndal’s. Toya showed up wearing a pair of oversized shades covering a bruise on her swollen right cheek. I didn’t ask her about the bruise and she chose not to offer an explanation.
After lunch I escorted Toya to her car and followed her to Pinehurst, the suburb outside of Charlotte where Toya and her husband had recently bought a home. I waited until she had entered the house before I slowly drove away. The twenty-minute drive home felt like three hours. All I could think about the entire way was the bruise under Toya’s eye. I spent that night in bed thinking about her, curious of what she was doing and wishing I were there at her house right then to hold and protect her.
The next morning I walked out of the door wearing a jogging suit, a pair of sneakers, and carrying a cup of coffee. I climbed into my truck and started driving. I figured with the traffic heading back towards the city, I could make the drive to Pinehurst, handle my business, and be at the office by nine-thirty.
That evening I got a call from Toya. She could barely contain her excitement as she relayed how she had arrived at home after work and found that her husband had packed up and left. I didn’t say much during the conversation. It wasn’t until the end of the phone call when she told me she would bring my bracelet to lunch the next day that I grasped that she knew what I had done. I didn’t even realize that I had lost it.
Initially I feared she would be angry with me for interfering in her marriage, but when she ended the conversation with “I love you,” I knew that I had done the right thing. She had not said that to me since we were kids. I remember lying in bed that night, staring at the ceiling as the words endlessly echoed in my head.
Toya never asked me what I had done and we never discussed the incident. I met her for lunch the next day and we continued as we had done before. I think I saw Toya’s now ex-husband one time after that. We were on course to cross paths until he recognized me approaching, quickly hung his head and scampered to the other side of the street. I guess my grandfather was right. A good ass whipping does leave a lasting impression.
I had passed the exit for the Waffle House and was barreling towards my downtown apartment when I remembered Raoul’s cheese omelet. My cover story would have been compromised had I returned without his omelet so I grudgingly turned around and headed back towards the interstate. I glanced at my watch. It was almost three a.m.
At the Waffle House I ordered Raoul’s omelet and since I was now actually hungry, scrambled eggs and sausage links for me. By the time I returned to my apartment it was after four. Raoul was sitting on the sofa flipping through the channels on the television. I handed him the bag from the Waffle House and headed into the kitchen.
We ate our breakfast in virtual silence. After we finished eating I headed up the stairs to the loft and flopped onto my bed. I laid there thinking about Toya, confused regarding a course of action. How could I get her back? It was clear from our brief conversation at her house that afternoon that I’m sorry and I love you aren’t going to cut it. She practically ignored me and went off on her date with Malcolm. I sighed, closed my eyes and rolled over onto my side. So many thoughts were swirling around in my head and it was apparent I was going to have a difficult time falling asleep.
Chapter 13
Raoul and I were over at his house preparing to watch some college football. I grew up a Miami Hurricanes fan and today the Canes were going up against Notre Dame, who just happened to be Raoul’s favorite team. We had a friendly wager going between us. The loser had to wash the winner’s vehicle for a month. I was pretty confident the Canes would come out on top. Notre Dame had been subpar the last couple of years and Miami was finally back from their lowly NCAA probation years. Low by Hurricane standards I should say. When you dominate college football for over two decades winning five national titles in the process, finishing 7-3 and going to some second-rate bowl game every year isn’t going to cut it. But I was happy to proclaim that the Canes were back and ready to kick butt through the new millennium.
My third Heineken was just about halfway empty. It was three minutes into the third quarter and the game was pretty much over. The Canes were thrashing the Irish 42-3. Raoul was pissed off cursing at the television screen. He had been pacing the floor since Miami went up 14-0 on a 94-yard pass for a touchdown.
My ongoing instruction of how I preferred my Jeep to be hand washed in a counter clockwise motion and dried in a clockwise motion, along with a long list of tedious car washing instructions was only infuriating Raoul further. I was having a blast. Raoul was ticked off and I was pushing the hell out of his buttons.
Miami had just returned an interception for a touchdown to push the score to 48-3 when my cell phone started ringing. Raoul kicked the back of his sofa and started cursing at the screen in Spanish. Touchdown Jesus wasn’t doing a damn thing for my boy and the Fighting Irish. I reached over and grabbed my phone off of the coffee table.
“Hello.”
“Kalem?”
“Hey Toya, what’s up?” Toya exhaled her frustration. I had no idea if she was frustrated with her work or with me.
“Nothing much, I’m trying to finish up here at the office before heading home. I’m sooo tired.”
“Damn, working hard on a Saturday; better you than me.” I stood up and glanced at the television to check the score. Noth
ing had changed so I headed down the hall to the guest bedroom, shut the door and sat on the side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” Toya asked.
“Watching the game.”
“Miami and Notre Dame?”
“Yep.”
“Dang, I wanted to see that game too. Who’s winning?” I tssked.
“C’mon now, who do you think?” I answered as if insulted by the implication that Notre Dame could be viewed as having a chance against the Canes.
“Miami?”
“Damn right, 48 to 3.”
“Ooh, I know Raoul is pissed off right now,” Toya laughed.
“Oh, that fool is out there throwing a temper tantrum. You should see him.”
“I’m jealous,” she said. I paused briefly before responding.
“Yeah, I’m jealous too.”
“Jealous of what? I’m here at work slaving on a Saturday, missing the game while you’re over there relaxing, probably drinking a beer. Please, you don’t have anything to be jealous about.”
“What about Malcolm?”
“What about him?”
“Do I need to be jealous of him?” Toya was silent. After a prolonged pause she spoke.
“Kalem, Malcolm and I are just friends.”
“Friends?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes friends. We’ve been out a couple of times, he’s a nice guy, but we’re just getting to know each other and why am I explaining myself to you anyway.” The words came out of her mouth all together like one long ass run on sentence.
“I don’t want you to explain anything about you and Malcolm; I just want to know where I stand.” Toya snickered.
“I don’t know, Kalem, where do you stand?” Her cynicism towards me was evident and understandable. It was beginning to feel as if I was beating my head against a steel wall. I couldn’t seem to make any inroads with Toya. My window of opportunity with her was closing faster than Deion Sanders on a wide receiver running an out route.
“Toya, I tried to tell you how I felt yesterday at your house, but you just blew me off. You acted like you were worried that your man, friend or whatever he is would see me.”
“If I didn’t want you at my house I would have told you not to come. And furthermore, I don’t appreciate the smart remarks about Malcolm because it’s really none of your business if he is my man or not.” I could sense her growing annoyance. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. The last thing I wanted to do right then was to further piss her off.
“Well, I meant what I said to you yesterday. Every word of it.” Toya didn’t respond. My frustration resurfaced. I stood up and walked over to the window next to the bed. “Were you even listening to me yesterday?”
“Yes, Kalem, I was listening and I heard every word you said. But that’s all they were, words. And words just aren’t good enough.” I was defeated, deflated and dismayed. I buried my face in my palm. She had taken the fight out of me. I glanced out of the window at the water in Raoul’s backyard pool and sighed. The stillness of the water calmed the volcano of emotions threatening to erupt from within me.
“Toya, what do you want from me? Tell me what I have to do,” I begged. After a brief silence she softly responded.
“Kalem, what I want, you’re not willing to give.”
“What Toya? Tell me?”
“Look, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait, don’t hang up,” I pleaded.
“I’ll talk to you later.” Her tone communicated her determination to end the conversation and the futility of my pressing her to continue.
“Whatever!” I said and hung up. I paced angrily back and forth resisting the temptation to throw my phone against the wall. That wouldn’t accomplish anything but to inconvenience me and cost me money, of course adding to my frustration in the process. I took a deep breath and exhaled before opening the door. When I walked back out to the living room, Raoul was sitting on the sofa sulking. Miami had scored another touchdown to go up 56-3. I slid into the space next to Raoul. We sat next to each other sulking. Raoul over the game and me over Toya. During the commercial break Raoul turned to me.
“You know I ain’t hand washing your truck don’t you? Fuck that, I’m taking that bitch right over to the detail shop down on Madison.” I was barely listening, and didn’t give a damn whether he washed my truck or not. “Sorry ass Irish. I should disown their punk ass getting beat down like that. At home in South Bend at that. That’s fucking unacceptable!” I managed a smile. Although I was distracted by my problems with Toya, I managed to clear my thoughts long enough to gloat in the royal spanking the Canes were putting on the Irish. Raoul got up and headed towards the refrigerator. “You want a greenie?” Heinekens are referred to as greenies in the Virgin Islands and some other Caribbean islands.
“Yeah, hook me up.” In the midst of my thoughts of Toya I suddenly became curious about Josh and made a mental note to give him a call later that evening. Raoul returned from the kitchen with two Heinekens and handed one to me before plopping down on the sofa. I took a sip. It was ice cold and unbelievably satisfying. I held the bottle in my hand and glanced down at the label. I couldn’t believe how good it was. Raoul took a sip of his brew.
“Whooo, now this is some good shit! This is how a brew is supposed to taste.” I reached over and gave him a pound. “Oh, check this out, dog,” Raoul said sitting up abruptly on the sofa as if he had just remembered something important.
“What’s up, dude?”
“You remember that chick, Vanessa, who I brought to your office a while back right?” He asked with a smile, I nodded. “Well one of her homegirls coming in town today. She trying to hook up. What’s up nigga you with it?” I shook my head.
“Hell no, I’m not trying to be hooked up with anyone right now.” Raoul sucked his teeth.
“Damn, nigga, you still tripping on Shannon. You need to get over that shit man this chick is bad to the bone.” I hesitated.
“She’s bad?”
“Fine as all outdoors,” Raoul returned with a smile. I eyed him with a combination of suspicion and intrigue.
“You’ve seen her before?”
“I saw a picture, but I’m telling you the babe is stacked.” I took another sip of my Heineken. “Where’s she from?”
“Cali nigga! San Diego. This some west coast pussy, King. I’m about to make you a bi-coastal playa,” Raoul said with a laugh. I joined him in laughter. “So what’s up, you down?” I thought about it for a few seconds. An image of Toya hugged up in the movie theater with Malcolm popped into my head. I took another swig of my brew and answered.
“Yeah, I’m down, when are we hooking up with them?” Raoul’s mouth coiled into a Machiavellian grin.
“They on their way over,” he said and burst out laughing. I just shook my head. This fool just took for granted that I would say yes, and told this chick to come over before even consulting me. Raoul is a trip.
“She better be tight, cause if she’s not I’m in the wind.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Fool, I’m serious. I’m not going to sit here and babysit a mongrel.” Raoul burst out laughing.
“Trust me, dog, she’s tight work. Just chill out I got you hooked up. You goin be thanking me before the day is out,” he assured me. I settled into my chair and took a sip of my now lukewarm brew. As I focused in on the game I began to feel anxiety about being set up. My preference would have been to be somewhere chilling with Toya. She’s probably out somewhere having a blast with Malcolm. I felt jealous and fought hard to resist the urge to call her back.
I had been pummeled like a punching bag the last couple of months catching beat downs from females left and right. Shannon, the female cop who gave me all of those tickets, Toya, and even Stacey’s stank ass. Granted I brought some of it onto myself but that does not mean that I have to like it. I reached over and used the keypad to recline the chair. Hanging out with someone new may just be the perfect outlet
for relieving some of the stress I was experiencing.
I finished off the last of my brew and set the empty bottle on the floor next to the chair. Then I folded my arms across my chest and closed my eyes. A power nap before Vanessa and her girl arrived would be a great start to the evening, if I could just relax enough to fall asleep.
It seemed like less than five minutes after I had fallen asleep, Raoul was waking me to tell me that the Vanessa had called to say that they were a couple of minutes away. I shook the sleep from my eyes and glanced down at my watch. I had been napping for over an hour and thirty minutes. I stood up and walked down the hall to the bathroom.
The cool water on my face snapped my lethargic being back to life. I goggled some mouthwash and smoothed out my moustache with my fingers. It probably wasn’t the most ideal time for me to agree to being hooked up, particularly since I had no intention of getting seriously involved with anyone new. I had just one female on my romantic wish list and that was Toya. But my boy needed some backup, and I am the best backup man in the business. Well at least I used to be.
As I was walking out of the bathroom Raoul came strutting into the living room followed by Vanessa and her, DAMN…fine ass friend. Homegirl was tight. Stacked from head to toe. I paused in the shadows of the dark hallway and took in a full view of Vanessa’s girl. Her skin was dark-chocolate and appeared silky smooth. She had her hair cut low and faded on the sides, with a little bit of wave action.
Now I like women with long hair but baby girl was sporting the hell out of the low do. She wore skintight red leather pants, a black spaghetti strap blouse, and black pumps. Raoul took notice of me standing in the hallway and waved me in. I stopped gawking and started walking towards them.
“Vanessa you remember Kalem,” Raoul said as I approached. I reached out and shook her hand.
”Nice seeing you again, Vanessa.”
“Nice seeing you too…King,” she returned with a laugh. Raoul and I joined her in laughter.