She stopped. "Marcus? Oh my! Hey!" she squealed. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. Her fear of being followed melted away and was replaced by excitement.
She leaned on the nearest car to her and took in deep breaths. "I never thought you'd remember that it was my birthday."
"I remembered," Marcus said gruffly. "I know we agreed not to talk, but it's your birthday and I'm extremely happy that you were born."
"Ahh, thanks Marcus." Deidra clutched the phone tighter to her ears. "How is it going with you? Where are you now?"
"I'm in South Africa." Marcus laughed softly. "It's spring here. I'm in the Cape. The plant life here is glorious… really nice."
"Are you serious, spring?" Deidra laughed.
"Yes, it's coming down to summer," Marcus murmured. "The weather is topsy turvy, and so are my feelings for you."
Deidra cleared her throat. "Marcus, remember that little word, Tiffany."
Marcus was silent, and then continued as if he had not heard her, "So tell me about you. How've you been, where are you going? Who are you seeing?"
"I've been okay. Well not really, I am a little paranoid. I feel as if somebody is trailing me. I was just coming from the Psych center to sort out my neurosis but the psychiatrist told me to contact the police, and that is what I am going to do."
"This sounds serious. I hope you get that sorted out. When I asked who you were seeing I meant as in date, you know."
"I am not seeing anybody." Deidra looked around before she got into her car. "Single, I am."
Marcus chuckled. "Okay. I can sleep better tonight."
"Hypocrite." Deidra snorted.
"I know," Marcus laughed, "but I really can't do anything about my hypocrisy till I get home. I have been trying and failing to get you out of my head this past month and it's not happening."
"You still have six more weeks to go;" Deidra said primly, "by then you should have wiped me out."
"But what if I don't?" Marcus whispered. "I can't live like this. I can't live with one woman firmly lodged in my head and heart while living with another. It would drive me crazy."
Deidra blinked away tears after his impassioned speech. "I hope you come to a decision that you can live with. In any case, I am here."
"And that's all I wanted to hear," Marcus said brightly. "I want to know that you are there… my Deidra with the saucy attitude and pretty face."
When Deidra hung up the phone, she called Natasha. She was not as frantic as she was before Marcus' phone call and she calmly told Natasha about her suspicions.
"I'll ask Detective Humphries to look into it." Natasha said after Deidra spoke. It can't be that guy Gilbert Hibbert, he is in jail for ten years… one of my best accomplishments to date. You don't have to worry about him."
Deidra drove to her Integrated Design class, all the while keeping her eye out for the gray car. She didn't see it, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She had classes for most of the day, up until three. It wasn't how she wanted to spend her birthday, but anything would be flat if Marcus wasn't in it anyway.
She headed for the Fine Arts building. The effects of Marcus' call was beginning to wear off and she began to feel fearful again. When she reached the entrance of the building and stepped into the hallway, a slim, tall guy came up to her.
"Are you Deidra Durkheim?"
"Yes." Deidra answered cautiously.
"It's her," he said to a group of guys who were dressed similar to him, in black jeans and white t-shirts.
Deidra started backing away, what was going on? An older gentleman who looked as if he was sleepy stepped to her side with a huge gift basket with a purple balloon protruding from the top. It said “Happy Birthday”. He handed it to her.
The guys, five of them, stood in a group and started humming. Then they started singing the bridge of Toto's “Africa”: “It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you...”
Deidra put down the basket carefully and covered her mouth; she was truly surprised. She recognized the guys now that she wasn't so spooked. They were from a popular singing group, but she couldn't remember their names. They had won a talent contest just last year, on national TV.
Other students were milling around and even some lecturers. The Fine Arts lobby had turned into a showpiece, all for Deidra.
"Happy Birthday, Deidra, from Africa," one of the guys said, when they finished the song acapella style.
Deidra nodded. "Thank you. I am going to have to call Africa and thank him too. This is my best birthday ever."
Chapter Seven
Marcus plugged in his iPod and reclined in his seat in the airplane. He was leaving Africa three days earlier than was scheduled. He was with two of his stable mates from his rack club. They all had the same sponsor. Howard Green, his closest friend at the club, was doing some great things in the two hundred meter races so he was there too, along with Gavin Bandaloo who also specialized in the four hundred meter races.
Their last stop had been in Ghana. They had had a blast there, or as much of a blast as was possible when part of you was not really into the fun anymore. It was as if he was seeing the festivities and the places through a lens…a yellowing lens. He tried to describe how he felt but the only word that came to mind was “distant”. He felt as if he was not all there, and that was because a huge part of him was in Mount Faith, Jamaica; he could not take his mind off Deidra.
He had called her twice since her birthday. One night, when everyone had gone to a party, he had pleaded tiredness, and had sat in his dark hotel room feeling bereft, so he had called. She had been studying for a mid-term, but she had talked to him for nearly three hours.
His next call had been two days ago; he had just wanted to hear her voice. Was it possible for one man to be so smitten? He did not know. It wasn't even lust though he wanted to see how far their chemistry really went, he had an invisible connection that kept him focused on her.
Since she came into his life, all the lights went on. He had barely spared a thought for Tiffany while he was away, except to think of how he could end their relationship without hurting her too much. He sighed loudly.
Howard looked at him and grinned. "That was one hell of a sigh."
Marcus grinned. "I have one hell of a problem."
"It's Tiffany; isn't it?" Howard said wisely. "It's always women. Training and working your butt off in the gym pales in comparison to women and their issues."
"Well, it's sort of Tiffany," Marcus said. He wondered if he should say anything more to Howard. Though he was his friend, he always had a feeling that Howard was not trustworthy.
Howard snapped his fingers. "Another woman, huh? I don't blame you. Tiffany is a sl..." He stopped himself in time.
"A what?" Marcus looked at Howard. He could have sworn that Howard was going to call Tiffany a slut.
"She is just not wife material, all right," Howard said frankly, then jammed his earphones back in his ear and closed his eyes.
"Oh, come on." Marcus pushed his friend. "You can't just call Tiffy a slut and expect me not to ask what you know."
"Forget it," Howard said, opening his eye a slit. "Maybe you should not call her when you reach Jamaica. Show up at home and see who she is entertaining. She is your girlfriend, but she loves company."
"How'd you know this?" Marcus asked suspiciously.
"The grapevine." Howard mumbled, turning his head away from Marcus. "Just rumors. Test the rumors and see if they are true."
Marcus sat back in his chair. Before Deidra, that information would have had him jumping on Howard and trying to squeeze the life out of him. He looked out the plane window and gazed at the puffy clouds. He neither felt angry nor sad.
He was waiting for the news to kick in that his loyal, faithful Tiffany was playing away. The thought had never occurred to him that she would, though she had hinted, several times, that she might.
Tiffany had the gift of making him feel as if he were the center of her universe and he thought that she wouldn't cheat on him. If sh
e were playing away, he would be free. It would be easier to break up with her… easier to move on.
He felt a little bewilderment mixed with relief: bewilderment because of his ego; he had thought that he was in a committed relationship. He felt relief because, obviously, he was free. He could feel a lot less guilty about his feelings for Deidra.
When they exited customs and he was out into the warm Jamaican sunshine, Howard turned to him. "You don't have your car here? Want me to drop you home?"
Marcus nodded absently. They had not really talked for the remainder of the flight after Howard's veiled reference to Tiffany cheating on him.
"Are you okay?" Howard asked when he turned onto his avenue in New Kingston.
"Have you ever had sex with Tiff?" Marcus asked his friend abruptly.
Howard sighed. "I don't kiss and tell."
Marcus nodded. "So, that's a yes."
He looked across to his apartment complex. He could see that Tiffany's car was there and beside it in the guest parking lot was his car. Beside his car was Neil's car.
He gave a bitter laugh. He knew Neil's car because it was a showpiece black Porsche with the very obvious Neil876 licence plates.
So she was getting it on with Neil too, and all this time he had been guilty because he actually found somebody whom he had a connection with and was tying himself in knots because he was trying not to hurt Tiffany's feelings.
Howard clenched his jaw. "Listen man, I don't want to cause any trouble…"
"You slept with my girl," Marcus said, looking at his friend. "That's sick, man. Friends don't sleep with their friend's woman."
"She threw herself at me," Howard said, stopping at the gate. "She's an insatiable nymphomaniac, man."
"You owe me," Marcus growled.
Howard grimaced, "I guess. Anything you want."
"Drop me at Mount Faith." Marcus glanced at him, and with his eyes dared him to argue or say no. "I am going home to my parent's place for a few days."
"Why don't you just go get your car? It's right there." Howard sputtered, "Mount Faith is all the way in the hills man. I miss my girlfriend and my son. I was really looking forward to seeing them."
Marcus scowled. "Drop me at Mount Faith or else I tell Sheena that you slept with Tiffany."
Howard blanched. "That's low. That's real low. Sheena would go crazy; I wouldn't see my son. Besides, it was Tiffany's fault… and it was last year."
"Last year," Marcus breathed, "last year!"
"On her birthday. Remember you went to some event or the other and she was here alone. She invited me to her party. Turns out I was the only person she invited and she was in underwear, and I am a man and she is sexy even though she's an evil witch."
"Mount Faith," Marcus said heavily. "I need to think."
Howard huffed and spun the car around. "It's a good thing I never told Sheena I was coming back today."
Howard sped to Mount Faith in record time. When they reached Marcus’ parents’ house in Mount Faith, Howard looked at him. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Marcus shrugged. "It's off season. I have two obligations to my sponsors in December, to do some ads. I am free till February."
"So you are going to stay up here for all that time?" Howard asked incredulously. I thought you didn't want to come back to this place to stay ever again."
"I'll manage," Marcus said getting out of the car and slamming the door. He headed for the trunk to get his bags.
"You are actually going to leave Tiffany in your apartment with all of your things, just like that and your credit card too?" Howard tried one last ditch attempt to let his friend see sense. "She's not worth it Marcus. You should have just kicked her to the curb today."
"I know." Marcus looked back at him. "I am not in the mood for a fight and hysterics. I just want a break."
Howard nodded. "I get you. I still think you should not have left your car though."
Marcus grinned. "It will give Tiffany something to stew over for a few days, keep her guessing." He heaved his two bags from the trunk. "Drive back to town safely." He closed the trunk.
"Look dude, I am sorry about the whole Tiffany thing."
Marcus waved him off. "I am more mad at Tiff than you."
Howard spun around and drove off. Leaving him to stare at the house where he had indeed pledged that he would never come back to.
*****
Deidra was in the living room with Jessica, who was watching the newest live concert by Khaled, Jessica's favorite artist, and eternal obsession. The surround sound and High Definition picture made Jessica feel as if she were at the concert. She was sitting close to the TV, clutching her chest, and rocking.
"What I don't understand," Deidra said to Jessica, "is how you don't see that this is idol worship. Isn't there a rule or commandment that says ‘thou shalt have no other gods before me?’ He is just a man, a bit too pretty for my taste, but..."
"Shut up," Jessica growled fiercely and turned up the volume some more and moved even closer to the television.
Deidra grinned, and took up the magazine she had been reading before Jessica had barged into the hall like a desperate puppy to get her Khaled fix.
A loud knock on the door had them both looking at each other in alarm. There was a buzzer on the gate, usually strangers did not just walk up to the door and knock. The fact that Deidra had been looking over her shoulder for the past few weeks made her even more jumpy.
"Look through the window and see who it is," Deidra said to Jessica, “and turn that TV down.”
Jessica turned down the television volume and crept to the window to see who it was. She turned back to Deidra, her mouth opened in shock. "It's Marcus."
Deidra's eyes widened. "Marcus is in some country in Africa."
"No, he's outside," Jessica was still crouching at the window.
"Let me in!" Marcus said through the door.
Deidra jumped from the couch and rushed to the door, swinging it open forcefully.
"Marcus?"
"Hey," Marcus grinned at her. She looked ruffled, not a hint of makeup in sight. She was dressed casually, in a jeans skirt and a black singlet top. She looked downright gorgeous. "You are a sight for sore eyes."
Deidra stood at the door and watched as Marcus, as if in slow motion, put down his bags and moved closer to her. Marcus grabbed Deidra in a bear hug, clutching her to him and inhaling her scent. They stood like that for close to a minute. Jessica had even gone back to her spot in front of the TV, rewinding to where she left off.
Khaled was doing a cover on Air Supply's “Just As I Am”. The bridge was playing, “you say you love me just as I am.”
Deidra clutched Marcus to her. She was still in a state of disbelief.
"What are you doing here?" She moved away from him slightly. "How long are you staying? Aren't you supposed to be in Africa?"
"I came back three days earlier than planned. One of our dates fell through, so the sponsors asked us what we wanted to do. We all said, 'come home.'"
Jessica looked over at them and cleared her throat. "Hello, brother."
"Hey Jess." Marcus carried his bags inside the house. "Which room should I use?"
"There are three empty bedrooms," Jessica said to him. "Don't use Kylie's old room though. She still comes over to sleep sometimes. How long are you staying?"
Marcus shrugged. "Couple of weeks."
"Are you serious?" Deidra looked at him in shock. "Why?"
"Because you are here, duh." Jessica said, swinging back round to the television.
Marcus looked at Deidra and grinned. " What she said."
Deidra looked at him with exasperation, "Marcus. I have exams in two weeks. You are going to be a distraction."
"I will help you study." Marcus winked at her. "I guess I am going to have to use my old bedroom."
"Does your mother know you are here?" Deidra asked.
"No," Marcus said, glancing behind him, "but when she finds out, she is going to be ec
static, I am sure. My father, not so sure about that one."
*****
"It feels like Christmas already," Kylie said, looking around the dining table. "I mean everybody is here."
They were in the rarely used formal dining room, around a large custom table that Ryan had gotten made to seat the large family. Most of the chairs were occupied now. Ryan was seated at the head of the table; at the other end was Celeste, who was beaming from ear to ear.
All her children were at home under one roof, as well as and her bonus son, Taj. This kind of meeting was unheard of. Usually Marcus would be absent, but now he was there, eating with the family, laughing and talking with his brothers and sisters and fitting in.
She felt warmth encase her heart. This was what she had envisioned when she started having children, a together family.
She had had to browbeat Micah into coming. He had been in some sort of meeting with Charlene, a girl he was denying that he had feelings for, but Celeste had told him to carry her along because she suspected that some day soon Charlene would be a part of the Bancroft family. It was in the way that Micah looked at her, especially when she was not aware.
She looked at Adrian and Cathy. She had honestly never seen her second son happier. Cathy made him glow. It was hard to imagine Cathy as an exotic dancer. She looked poised and elegant now, and was quite active in the university church. She was the person who told or arranged for someone to tell the children's story every Sabbath.
Avia, her only grandchild for now, she reminded herself, was sitting beside her parents, playing around in her food as usual.
Gareth Beecher, Kylie's beau and soon to be fiancé, turned to her and said. "Mrs. Bancroft, you have a pleased smile on your face."
"Oh, yes," Celeste laughed. "I am just so happy."
"Can I make the announcement now, or should I wait till dessert?" Gareth asked her eagerly.
"Now is as good a time as any." Celeste beamed even wider.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Gareth said, all the little murmurings died down. "I did the traditional thing and asked for Kylie's hand from her parents. Thankfully, they said yes, even though Dr. Bancroft gave me a long lecture about the care of his daughter. The threats are still ringing in my ears."
Practice Run (Mount Faith Series: Book 5) Page 6