by Lacey Legend
“Should I sleep in a guest room?” Diamond asked, unsure where they stood.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Baptiste said, returning to his chair.
As he sat down again, Diamond was filled with sadness as well. He was still wearing his suit from that day. He didn’t have the peace of mind to change. His tie was loosened and askew, and the two top buttons of his shirt were open. Baptiste’s hair was also disheveled.
“Alright, then,” Diamond said, turning and walking towards the stairs. The house was silent and dark. She made her way down the hall to the master bedroom, where one light was illuminating the entire vast space. She was so exhausted she couldn’t bear to change her clothes or wash her teeth. She merely lay down in bed and stared at the ceiling, willing herself to sleep. Funny how when one was so exhausted, they couldn't manage to do the one thing that their body needed most.
She looked over at the clock. It was 3 am. Diamond then looked over at Baptiste’s empty side of the bed. Was he still down there drinking? Was he never going to come up? It was killing her.
“That man torn up,” Bernice said, sitting in the darkness in a distant chair.
“Mama, I gotta sleep. Please,” Diamond said, putting a pillow over her ear.
“You ain’t gonna sleep. You too shook up. So is he.”
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t even try?” Diamond asked.
“What you gonna do, lay there and count sheep?” Bernice said with a laugh. Diamond threw the pillow off her ear and turned towards the ceiling again. She placed her hand on her chest.
“I wish that he wouldn’t stay down there,” Diamond said.
“Honey, that man ain’t coming within five feet of you till you apologize.”
“Till I apologize?” Diamond said in exasperation.
“Yah, apologize! He not trying to cage you in, he trying to protect your black ass. And when he do that, you go on and get yourself into trouble. His nerves get all in a tangle and he get scared. Then you come on back and he tell you he love you, and you say you tired and go to bed. Shoot . . .”
“Okay, okay. I get the point.”
“No, I don’ think you do. That there is a good man. He ain’t trying to do what Malik did to you. He tryin’ to get you out of this mess, you see?”
“Yah, I see,” Diamond said, rolling onto her side. “So what should I do?”
“You know somethin’?” Bernice said, standing and becoming indignant. “I ain’t gonna tell you what to do. Cause not only am I dead but I’m tired of havin’ to give you advice all the time!”
“Mama . . .” Diamond protested.
“Nah, here’s what it is. I’m getting all relaxed up there in heaven. Every day they be serving barbecue and I’m all the time listenin’ to Marvin Gay, getting my grove on, and the second that I relax something goes on down here wit chew and I gotta get up off my ass, and leave my barbecue, and come down here and tell you what’s what.”
“I’m sorry, okay,” Diamond said, finally sitting up in bed.
“No, you gotta figure this one out for yourself cause I can’t worry about you all the time. You gotta get yo head together, make the right decision, and live happily ever after. That’s about all that I gotta say to you,” Bernice said, exiting the room.
“Mama!” Diamond protested. “Shit,” she said, falling back into bed.
She needed to consider things. Her mama had a point. She had relied on Bernice’s advice at every time, but it was time for her to figure out some things on her own.
Diamond finally took off the dress that she had been wearing all day, and wrapped a robe around her body. She exited the bedroom and made her way down the hall and stairs, returning to where Baptiste still sat, asleep in his chair.
“Baptiste,” she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Baptiste,” she said again.
She startled him, and he jumped, throwing out his hands.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“Go to bed,” Baptiste said.
“I’m not going without you,” she said.
“Go, I’m staying here.”
He turned from her, and Diamond’s heart sank. She walked over to another chair that had a blanket resting on it. She picked it up and unfolded it, returning to Baptiste and covering him in it.
He finally opened his eyes and Diamond was met with that pained expression again, then he turned away one more time. Diamond took the empty glass that rested beside him and walked to the kitchen, placing it in the sink. She would have to sleep alone that night, that much was clear. She desperately wished to have Baptiste beside her, but he was clearly punishing her in some way, and sending a message.
She walked back up the stairs, clutching herself.
Once Diamond was back in bed, it wasn’t long before she drifted off into a tortured sleep. If disobeying Baptiste meant that she would never have him by her side again, then she was going to have to find a different way. She and Baptiste were going to need to find common ground in order to move forward.
*******
“He has cancelled his meetings for the morning,” a servant said the next morning as Diamond was still lying in bed.
“You serious?” she asked. It was unheard of for Baptiste to do such a thing.
“Yes, he’s down in the kitchen reading his paper. At least we finally got him to get out of that suit,” the servant added, her brow knit.
“Okay, I’m coming down,” Diamond said, throwing on her robe again.
When she entered the kitchen, what she saw was something entirely new. Baptiste was sitting in the little breakfast nook. His hair was tousled and he was wearing a pair of jeans with a white T-shirt. It was like a completely different man; one she had never been introduced to before.
“Good morning,” she said softly.
Baptiste looked up from his paper to see Diamond in her robe. It pleased him immensely, but he’d shown no signs of pleasure. He looked back down at his paper and took a sip of his coffee.
“Did you manage to sleep?” Diamond asked.
“Yes,” he said curtly.
“Did you have breakfast?” Diamond asked sweetly.
“No.”
Diamond turned to the main part of the kitchen, where a few servants lingered, polishing silver.
“Did he ask for anything?” she whispered to them.
“He said that he wasn’t hungry, Mademoiselle,” was the response. Diamond shook her head at this and turned back to Baptiste, where he still was submerged in his morning news. “I got this, thanks,” Diamond said, shooing the servants away.
Diamond and Baptiste were finally alone. She opened the fridge and took out the eggs and sausage. She also found a crusty loaf of bread, butter, and a jar of marmalade.
She got to work at a leisurely pace, cracking each egg and putting their contents in a bowl. She added milk, salt, and pepper, then whisked it all together. Every so often, Baptiste would look up from his paper again to see what Diamond was doing, then he would disappear again.
Diamond was not able to win Baptiste’s full attention until the sausage was cooking on the griddle. The smell of it was so marvelous that even a man at Baptiste’s level of anger could not ignore it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Diamond responded.
“You don’t have to make breakfast.”
“I want to,” she said.
It was not long before Diamond had two plates filled with scrambled eggs, perfectly brown sausage, buttered baguette, and a few red ripe berries. She carried the plates over to the table and Baptiste finally closed his newspaper, gently folding it.
“Thank you,” he finally said, exhaustion still in his voice.
“It is my pleasure,” Diamond said with a smile.
They ate in silence for the first few moments, but then something in the mood seemed to revive Baptiste, and he was finally able to speak.
“I’m still angry,” he s
aid softly.
“I can tell.”
“But I’m not just angry at you, I’m angry at myself,” he explained.
“Why are you angry at yourself? It’s me that screwed it all up.”
“No, it was stupid of me to think that I could control you in some way.” Baptiste took his hand and placed it on top of Diamond’s. “You don’t deserve to be controlled. I was merely trying to protect you—”
“Yes, I see that now. I was just tired and upset last night,” Diamond said, grasping his hand tightly.
“No, just let me say this,” Baptiste said, the anger returning. “I’m sorry . . . but I just need to say this. I will do my best to protect your interests at all times, but you’re not my property, you’re not my possession, and I can’t control you. It was foolish of me to think that I could.”
“It’s alright. I do understand.”
Baptiste pulled his hand away and continued to eat his breakfast. Diamond couldn’t tell if he was still angry at her, or just beating himself up inside. She didn’t want either of those things.
“This is delicious by the way.”
“I can make a mean breakfast,” Diamond said, bringing a fluffy bite of egg to her lips.
“But there is a staff that can do this for you,” Baptiste reminded her.
“I know that. I just, wanted to do it myself. It seemed like you didn’t want to hear what I had to say, so I decided to talk to you in a different way.”
“You can talk to me with this language as much as you like,” Baptiste said, his face finally breaking into a smile. That smile warmed Diamond’s heart like nothing she had seen in days. It lit up the room, more than the warm sunshine that poured through the windows.
“There’s one more thing,” Diamond said, getting up from the table.
“Where are you going?” Baptiste replied, not liking to see her walk away.
“I’ll be right back, for crying out loud!” Diamond protested. “I’m just going to the fridge.”
“Alright, sorry,” Baptiste relented.
Searching through the fridge, it didn’t take much time to find exactly what Diamond was looking for. She pulled the cake box out and found a little stand in a cupboard. She placed the cake on the cake stand and carried it over to the table.
“Now, I can’t even pretend like I made this,” Diamond said, putting it in the middle of the table.
“Jaques is an artiste,” Baptiste said with a smile.
“Yes, he is,” Diamond added, taking a bit of frosting on her finger and bringing it to her lips.
They were sitting across from one another at the table, and Baptiste folded his napkin and put it on his plate. He got up and moved to the chair that was directly next to Diamond. Baptiste touched the cake with his finger and got an enormous dollop of frosting. He turned towards Diamond and brought the frosting to her lips. She opened her mouth, feeling his finger gently come inside, and she sucked on it, tasting the delicious chocolate frosting on her tongue. Baptiste’s finger lingered in Diamond’s mouth. She enjoyed the smoothness of it, and watching the hunger and pleasure in Baptiste’s eyes.
Diamond wanted to try for herself. She reached over and got more frosting on her finger, bringing it to Baptiste’s mouth. At first he smiled, then he parted his lips and allowed Diamond’s finger to enter. He sucked on her finger, first gently then hard. He ended it all with a little bite.
“You!” Diamond protested. “Give me back my finger!” she said with a laugh. Baptiste took her finger out of his mouth but still held onto it tightly.
“You mean this finger?” he asked playing.
“Yes, give me that back!” she cried.
“I'm afraid that’s impossible. You’re going to have to come back and retrieve it at a later day,” Baptiste said.
“Well, I ain’t going nowhere as long as you got that finger.”
“Then I guess that it is meant to be. You won’t go anywhere. This is my finger now.”
“Oh, I see how it is. You think that if you being playful then you ain’t being possessive,” Diamond said, still teasing him.
“On the contrary, Mademoiselle. This is my finger now, and that means that you can’t go anywhere, then it’s not my fault. I tell you now, you can go wherever you choose. Just don’t take my finger with you.”
The tension was perfectly broken. Both Baptiste and Diamond were laughing and smiling at one another, warmth emanating from them. It was then that Diamond understood that what Baptiste wanted from her was nothing like Malik wanted from her. Baptiste had merely been trying to cage her in order to set her free.
Chapter15
“I’m glad to see you out and about again, Mademoiselle,” Jaques said, melting four sticks of butter.
“Yes, it’s a risk that I’m willing to take,” Diamond replied.
“He has not been found?” Jaques said, his voice becoming concerned.
“No, I’m afraid not. Officer Dubois seems to be on the mend, though. And that’s all that really matters right now.”
“Your safety matters as well,” Jaques said, lifting his brow.
“Well, Baptiste and I had a talk about that.”
“And what did he say?” Jaques asked.
“He said that he trusts me. He would like to keep me with him at all times, and he can’t do that. So, he simply said, he trusts me.”
“That was very courageous of him. I’m sure he’d like to lock you in a room,” Jaques said with a laugh.
“You think that’s a joke but you’d be surprised,” Diamond replied.
“And how are you feeling?” Jaques asked, adding cocoa to butter. The smell was now intoxicating, and filling the entire kitchen of the chocolaterie with the most delicious fragrances.
“I’m better. Still scared, of course. But I can’t live in fear of Malik. He hasn’t shown his head in a few days, so my hope is that he ran off. Hard to tell. The police are still searching for him, security is tight at the Laurent estate, and I have a feeling that everything is going to be okay,” Diamond explained.
“And you have a bodyguard,” Jaques said, naming the elephant in the room.
“And I have a bodyguard,” Diamond said with a laugh, turning to the man in a black suit with dark glasses who lingered in the corner of the kitchen.
“He looks like he could use some chocolate,” Jaques said humorously.
“I definitely think that guy needs some chocolate,” Diamond replied, noting the bodyguard’s serious expression. It was like the man was made of stone. He had a speaker in his ear, and every so often he would bring his hand up to the speaker as though listening to some secretive, mysterious commands on the other end.
“Monsieur, would you care for some chocolate?” Jaques asked.
“Non.” The reply was so deep and monotone that Jaques didn’t need to ask again.
“Well, anyway. That was the little concession. I can have my freedom, as long as Pierre is by my side.”
“It seems like a sound plan to me,” Jaques replied.
Just then there was a little ring in the front of the shop, indicating that the door had been opened.
“I’ll check, you stay here,” Jaques said, wiping his hands and exiting the kitchen.
Diamond lingered in the kitchen for a few more moments, smelling the delectable liquid chocolate and looking to Pierre, stifling a laugh. She could be walking around that kitchen naked and the bodyguard would not flinch.
“Quelle surprise,” she heard Jaques’s voice say, and she went to the front of the shop to see who it might be.
“Bonjour,” Clement said with his customary vinegary tone.
“Clement!” Diamond said with enthusiasm. This was far too much good humor for Clement to be greeted with and he scowled.
“I am here for more chocolate,” Clement said, getting straight to the point.
“Then, you have come to the right place,” Jaques replied.
“I want more of those framboise.”
“The rasp
berry bon bons,” Jaques replied, nodding his head up and down. He never forgot what each and every one of his customers ordered or received from his shop.
“Yes, that is all,” Clement said, clasping his hands behind his back and waiting impatiently for his order to be fulfilled.
Just then, Pierre came out of the kitchen as well and stood sentinel behind the counter.
“Who are you?” Clement scowled.
“No one,” Pierre said darkly. At this, Clement merely shook his head in wonder.
“Clement, are you sure that you don’t want to get something different?” Diamond asked, wishing that he might try new things.
“Non. I do not like different. I like framboise.”
“Alright, but how about you try some of these vanilla cremes as well?” Diamond said.
“Did I not say it clearly enough before?” Clement asked.
“Right, sorry,” Diamond replied sheepishly.
Jaques fulfilled the order quickly and handed it over the counter, while Clement greedily took it in his hand. Pierre watched all of this from behind the counter, as though there might be a bomb in that box. Diamond found the whole interaction to be very humorous.
“Have a good day, then,” Jaques said.
“What is the cost?” Clement said, shock on his face.
“For you, Monsieur, gratuit,” Jaques said with a smile.
Clement looked at Jaques, then at Diamond, and lastly, at Pierre. It was as though he was searching for an answer from each face. All he received were two smiles and one blank expression in return.
“Merci,” Clement said, making his slow exit from the Maison du chocolat. They all watched him, each step seeming as though it carried the weight of the world. Finally, reaching the door, Clement turned one last time. “C'est la plus belle chose que quelqu'un ait jamais faite pour moi.”
With that, Clement exited the door and was gone, back to his strange and wonderful world inside Le Petite Fleur.
“What did he say?” Diamond asked.
“He said, This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” Jaques replied.
Diamond didn’t know if it was everything that was going on in her life, all the twists and turns and heartache, but for some reason what Clement said brought a little tear to her eye. She brushed it away and cleared her throat.