Who Said It Would Be Easy?

by Cheryl Faye

  Sarcastically, Jamilah responded, “Yes, ma’am.” Smiling apologetically at Darius when she realized that Sabrina had not even taken his coat, she added, “Let me hang up your coat, Darius.”

  “Oh, thank you.” Rising to remove his tan cashmere overcoat, he handed the garment to Jamilah, who immediately noticed how elegantly his brown tweed suit covered his tall frame. When he unbuttoned his suit jacket, she could see that his white shirt was crisp, as if freshly ironed. A beige and brown “power” tie was knotted expertly at his neck.

  After hanging his coat in the closet near the front door, Jamilah then picked up Sabrina’s fur coat from the chair and hung it up, as well. Before taking her seat again, Jamilah asked, “Can I get you anything? Something to drink? Some ice cream maybe?”

  “Oh, no, thank you, Jamilah. I’m fine,” was his reply.

  You most certainly are, you gorgeous hunk of… Secretly ashamed of her lustful thoughts, she asked, “Is it really very cold out?”

  “Yeah, the hawk is out in full effect tonight.”

  Chivalrously, he waited for her to sit back down before he did the same. Mmm, Mama raised him right, she thought. Seated again, Jamilah picked up her bowl ofice cream, assumed her former position and resumed eating. Silence ensued for the next few minutes until she spoke.

  “Do you want to watch something else? I’ve already seen it a dozen times, as I’m sure you’ve guessed from Brie’s remark. I can turn this off.”

  “No. Actually, this is one of my favorite movies,” Darius commented.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I’ve seen it about five times myself. It kind of takes me back. Me and a couple of my college buddies used to sing together. We did a few talent shows while we were in school,” Darius admitted.

  “Really?” Sitting up straight on the couch, she placed her bowl on the glass-topped coffee table and turned toward him. “You know, I used to sing with my cousins when we were little. We never did any talent shows, but we put on plenty of shows at family gatherings.”

  Laughing, Darius guessed, “The Supremes, huh?”

  “The Parsonettes.”

  Puzzlement covered his face.

  “Our last name is Parsons.”

  Nodding with understanding, he responded, “Oh.”

  “Hey, what are you two talking about?” Sabrina inquired as she returned to the living room. Dressed now in red silk lounging pajamas, wearing red satin stiletto mules with her hair pulled over one shoulder and fresh make-up, Sabrina looked stunning.

  Jamilah noticed that Darius was immediately taken in by her friend’s appearance.

  Sitting next to him and draping one of her long slender legs across his lap, Sabrina listened as Jamilah said, “Darius was just telling me that he used to be in a singing group when he was in college.”

  Cooing in his ear with slight envy, she remarked, “Is that right? You’ve never sung for me.”

  Jamilah blushed, but not as deeply as Darius did, she noticed. Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, she grabbed the remote control and turned off the television before picking up her bowl and heading out of the room.

  No one noticed her departure.

  Entering her spacious bedroom and turning on her bedside lamp, Jamilah sat on top of the multicolored goose-down comforter that covered her queen-sized bed and finished what was left of her ice cream.

  “How come I can’t meet a man as fine as that,” she murmured in her solitude.

  Placing the bowl on the nightstand and rising from the bed, she walked over to the full-length mirror that hung on the closet door and gazed at her reflection. I’m no beauty like Sabrina, but I look good enough.

  Two inches taller than Sabrina and full-figured, Jamilah, however, was by no means fat. Healthy, that’s what her mother called her. Her size sixteen hips had turned plenty of men’s heads and her ample bosom had captured many men’s undivided attention. Beautiful, blemish-free, pumpernickel brown skin was her covering. Her nose and mouth were small and more European-looking than African in their structure. Many times had she been told that the slant of her eyes was very sexy. Shoulder-length culture locks were worn like an Afrocentric crown.

  Maybe if I was a little slimmer… She suddenly frowned. “What am I thinking about? There is nothing wrong with me.” Turning in a huff and walking back to her bed, Jamilah picked up the book she was currently reading from the nightstand and propped herself up against her fluffy throw pillows to read.