“It does indeed,” Shanice responded. Her eyes were on the gold band on her finger.
“Honey, I sure hope to see you guys this summer. I have missed him so much. I can always count on him fixing a lot of the broke stuff around here that ole Wally swears he is going to take care of. Even this morning, with a biscuit in his mouth, he fixed the door for me,” Ellie said proudly.
The woman seemed to have diarrhea of the mouth. She told her almost everything about Man’s formative years, his parents, his farm, and anything else which popped into her head.
“Me and Wally never had kids of our own. When Man found that out, I guess he was about 13 or so, he kind of adopted us as his grandparents. Even after Chris died, he still came up in the summers for a few years, fished, and helped out around the place. I hadn’t seen him in about five years, but every Christmas, he always sends us a little something in the mail,” she said, swatting at her eyes.
“He is so happy now, and I see why. You are good for him. He smiled and whistled this morning as he helped your boy tie his shoes. I know he’s a good father to the kid because he had a good dad. I mean Chris had his short comings as a man, but he was a good father and husband. I know Man is as well,” she said it in a way which was more of a question than a statement.
Shanice’s eyes went back to the ring as she spooned in a mouthful of the eggs. “Yes, he is something special,” she said to Ellie. “I will see what I can do about getting us back up here this summer.”
Ellie moved so quickly, hugged her tightly. “I am leaving this place to you guys in the will. Man has been paying the taxes on it for years for us, ‘cause Lord knows we ain’t made a profit since Poochie was a puppy,” she said. Shanice had no idea if that was a phrase for the region or if there was an actual dog named Poochie.
Rocky and her pretend husband walked through the door with a small fish on a hook along with a huge, shaggy dog, which seemed to follow Man everywhere he moved.
“Down Poochie,” he said to the dog.
Well, that answers that question.
“Mama, look I caught a fish!” Rocky exclaimed.
“That’s great sweetie,” she told him.
“Mama, Pops said we would come back this summer and fish all day long, then take his boat out on the lake, and I could swim and everything,” Rocky spouted.
“Pops?” She said looking at Man. He walked over to her, lowered his head, his mouth within inches of hers, and waited for her to kiss him. Her hand reached up to touch his cheek as she pressed her lips to his. The same magic which ignited them before was still alive. The force pulled at her as it sucked her in to this world he created for them to exist and hide from the ugliness chasing her like a bad dream.
“We have to get moving Baby,” he told Shanice. “Ms. Ellie, I will put it on my calendar to be back this summer. I will try to come before the fishing season starts. Maybe Rocky and I can get a few things fixed around here before the guests start to arrive.”
“Oh, I love you so much Man,” Ellie told him, squeezing him tightly.
“I love you too Ms. Ellie,” he said. The dog barked wanting his attention as well. An old man walked in, saw the hugs, and jumped into the fray.
“I am not going to miss out on the love fest,” Wally chimed in, joining the group.
“Enough, enough,” Man smiled and pulled away from his adopted grandparents. “We have to get going, but I will be back. I promise.”
It took a few minutes to get them all moving, but Shanice understood why he brought them here. He needed her to see a portion of who he really was. The tactic worked. She found herself softening some towards him as they drove, especially after he stopped to nail back a loose railing on the front porch before he left.
“Where are we headed?”
“Ohio, to see the Arch Angel,” he told her.
“I have no idea what that means,” she said.
“I will explain it all on the way,” he told her. “Trust me. I will take care of you.”
“I have no doubt,” she said touching his hand and then stared out the window. She had never traveled. It was something she always wanted to do. The excitement of the morning tuckered out Rocky, who slept quietly on his pillow in the back seat. She rubbed the ring on her finger again but refused to look at her sexy pretend husband.
He referred to me and treated me as his wife.
Rocky called the man Pops.
The Sweets treated him as a grandson.
Can I see this man as my husband? He has done more for me in the last 72 hours than any man has done in my life. Rocky has immediately taken to him which he never does with anyone. He is offering me a life with him.
Shanice looked over at him and gave a faint smile. I have to try. I have nothing else. We have nothing else and nowhere to go, plus Eric wants me dead.
Chapter 12- Don’t Leave Me!
Three hours later, pulling into Dayton, little had been said between them with the air being thick with unspoken desires. The words which needed to be stated were not but hung in the air, trying desperately to cut between the sexual tension that sat between the two. Man drove down a side street and pulled up beside a brick house with a separate building in the back.
“What is this place? Someone else to extol your many virtues?” She asked a little bit snarkier than she planned.
“This is my Aunt Amelda’s home. She lives in the house and has a salon in the small building in the back. I don’t know how to break this to you other than to just come out and say it. You and Rocky are going to need haircuts. Yours will need to be colored,” he told her.
“I understand,” she said softly. She’d worn her locks since she was fifteen years old. They hung down her back and were only trimmed a few times in the past seventeen years. She’d wanted a new look, but now, it was required to give a new appearance. As far as she knew, Eric had never seen a picture of Rocky. She erred on the side of caution and agreed to a much needed hair cut for the boy as well.
The front door opened to reveal a large hipped, big breasted black woman with hazel eyes, grey hair, and no teeth.
“There is my little Man-Mann! Lord, Chile, I was so happy to hear from you! Last week I was telling Esmerelda, my twin, that I hadn’t heard from you in a minute. Then speak of the Devil, you call and here you are. Come on in, come on in. I cooked us up some good food,” she said with her fisted hands tucked into her disappearing waistline.
“Aunt Amelda, this is my wife, Sharon and my boy Benji,” he told her.
“What a pleasure to meet you Sharon. Look at all that hair on that boy’s head. I’m surprised he can even have a clear train of thought,” Amelda said to them. “Come here Sharon and give your Aunt Amelda a hug.”
The woman pulled her into her massive boobs, nearly suffocating her, then she reached for Rocky, who smartly took off running.
“Ain’t no strangers in my house. You two come on in here. Have a seat,” she told Shanice. A bit of confusion hit her as she looked at Man and wondered why he’d changed her name to Sharon. Rocky running away was a plus since it kept her from questioning his name choice.
“Aunt Amelda, I need a big favor. Tomorrow is Sharon’s birthday, and I wanted to do something extra special for my girl. How about I treat her to the works? I mean full blown package with a manicure, pedicure, and how about a fresh style? Sharon, you have been saying you wanted a new look,” he said with such ease. “Auntie, can you hook my Baby up with a fresh haircut, maybe some color, and an easy style?”
“Sure thing Man-Mann. What about that little fella? He could sure use some clippers on that head of his,” Amelda said loudly. Her voice seemed to carry all over her living room space s like some sort of vocal sonic boom. To say that Amelda was loud was a gross understatement. Almost everything she said sounded like yelling. Since she had no teeth to retain the saliva, it flew about like a slobbering dog hanging out the car window with its mouth opened.
“I will be back by the time you finish,” Man said to
Shanice.
“Don’t leave me,” she said as she clung to him, and clutched the front of his shirt with her eyes wide, almost in fear.
“I’ll be back Baby,” he said to her before kissing her lightly on the lips.
“You promise?”
“I promise,” he told her. “I need to take care of a few things. As soon as I am done, I will be back, okay?”
“Okay...,” she said reluctantly and let him go. A new reality settled upon her. She didn’t want him to leave her. Maybe, it was because his Aunt was louder than any human she’d ever been around or it could have simply been because she’d finally realized how scared she was about her current life situation. “Hubby, can I speak to you in private before you go?”
“Of course Sharon,” he said with a sardonic smile as he led her out to the back porch. Rocky, coaxed inside with the promise of fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, took a seat at the kitchen table. Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and green beans were placed on a plate for the boy. Rocky frowned after finding out he had to eat the food first before he could have the cookie.
On the back porch, Shanice, firm in her resolve, stared at her pretend hubby. “I get it. I am at your mercy. Don’t think for one moment that I am unappreciative, because that’s not the case. Seriously though, dude. We have known each other less than four days. And in that time, you’ve screwed my brains out, set my car on fire, have my son calling you Pops, changed my name to Sharon, and introduced me to people as your wife,” she said exhaling breathily.
She wasn’t prepared for his next move.
He kissed her.
He kissed her the same way he had on the front porch that night she allowed him into her apartment and into her bed. He kissed her this way to coax her into letting him permanently into her life. When he finally released her, there were no doubts in her mind that were his intention. He clarified it for her.
“If I need to get on one knee to ask, I have no problem with doing so, but I want you in my life. I want you as my wife. Nothing would make me happier than to wake up next to you every morning before I start my day,” he said kissing her again until she was breathy. “More importantly, based on our Sunday morning, there is a possibility...” His hand went to her stomach and rubbed it in a circular motion.
Man smiled at her in a way that made her heart flutter along with the butterflies in her stomach. He leaned down and pulled her so close, she could feel the excitement in his pants and the thudding of his heart.
“You are driving me insane. The smell of you, the feel of you in my arms, set me completely on fire. All I can think about each time I look at you is the feel of you around me. That sound you make when you are so close...so close to letting go. Good Lord, I am lost holding you like this, Shanice,” he told her. His hands rubbed her back and pressed into her flesh.
The skin on her face was hot.
Her belly felt hot.
She felt hot.
“Stop it, you are trying to distract me,” she said as she pushed away from him.
“No, I am telling you how distracted I am. I want you. That’s the God’s honest truth, but you don’t deserve another man letting you down. Rocky doesn’t need some man in his life who doesn’t plan to guide him into manhood. I will be that for him. I will be the man to take care of you. All I ask is loyalty, and you take care of me in return,” he told her, pulling her back into his arms.
“You are just saying that because you are going to get in that car and leave me and Rocky here with your hair styling, chicken frying Aunt Amelda!” She said with a frown. “It’s blackmail. If I don’t agree to marry you, you are going to leave me here with her!”
“No, that idea hadn’t crossed my mind,” he declared.
“Then where are you going?”
“Well, I had planned to go pick out your engagement ring and a nice wedding band for our matrimony this afternoon. I was even going to get you a nice dress, some shoes for Rocky...”
“Shut up!” She said flatly.
“What?”
“Shut up. I am so overwhelmed right now I can’t even think. And why are you calling me Sharon?”
“My Aunt Amelda gave my wife Sharon Mann a new hair style after she joined her for lunch. She doesn’t know a Shanice Elloh. As a matter of fact, she never heard of her or Rocky Elloh. Aunt Amelda does know Benji Mann, my son,” he said with a wink.
She didn’t know what to say, so she stood there like a moron looking at her feet. It was all happening so fast.
“I feel like I don’t have a choice,” she told him.
“You always have a choice. I am only asking that the one you make... be me,” he said. “I am asking you to choose me.”
She couldn’t help herself, she wanted to know. “What is my other option?”
“I could give you the money I earned for your contract, hand you and Benji your new identities, and let you start over wherever you want to go in the world,” he told her.
“How much time do I have to think about it?” She wanted to know.
He exhaled, ran his hand through his thick black hair, and those blue eyes looked down at her. When she got a chance, she was also going to ask him about the large black women in the kitchen being his aunt. Right now, she just needed to get through the night.
“You don’t have long Sharon. I am going out to buy you something dazzling but subtle to weigh down that ring finger. More than likely, I am going to get something special for you while I am out, and at four o’clock, we have an appointment to change your name and possibly become man and wife. Then tonight, when Rocky is sleeping, I am really looking forward to a very quiet but passionate wedding night,” he said, pulling on one of her locks.
“And if I choose instead to take the money and run?”
“I will go home with my tail between my legs, take a job to kill something to hammer out my frustrations, and go on with my life,” he said. “I want my life to go on with you and my boy Benji.”
He kissed her again in that special way and walked down the stairs of the porch. Watching him walk away hit her hard. She didn’t think she would be able to handle him actually walking out of her life, especially after he’d made such an impact in it during such a short period of time. A day to day life with him could be interesting.
I guess I am getting married this afternoon.
The idea didn’t seem to bother her too much after all.
Chapter 13- Clowning Around
The haircut that Aunt Amelda gave her definitely provided Shanice with a new look. The woman actually gave her a brown faux hawk with blond tips. The manicure turned into a full set of nails, which left Shanice wondering how in the world she was going to wipe her butt. She had to stop her from putting nail tips on her toes.
“Ms. Aunt Amelda, this is too much. Please, these nails are too long. I don’t know of anywhere at home to keep them maintained,” she said truthfully. She didn’t even know where home was for him, but she was certain he didn’t live in the suburbs. “No tips on my toes. I have to wear shoes!”
“Lawd Girl, I am so used to these Hoochie Mamas coming through here that I forget what normal women like,” she said. “I hope the hair is okay?”
“It’s hair! It will grow back,” she said with a half-smile before she looked in the mirror. Besides, how bad could it be? To make up for the nails, which she trimmed down to a normal length and painted a soft pink, she arched Shanice’s eye brows at no cost along with a make-up, or wake-up as she called it. When she looked in the mirror at the finished product Shanice gasped.
Then, she screamed.
Next, she cursed so loudly that Aunt Amelda pulled her blessing oil from the kitchen cupboard and splashed her with it. “You will not blaspheme in this house young lady!” Aunt Amelda yelled louder than she already normally spoke.
“I have every right to curse. I look like a sarcastic guitar player in a rock band! You gave me a faux hawk with blond tips! My eyebrows! This make up! The claws on my hands. I am not
paying for this nonsense!”
“You will watch your tone of voice with me young woman!” Aunt Amelda said.
Rocky, full of shock, ran to his mother’s side with the butter knife in his hand that he tried futilely to use to cut up his chicken.
“Is that child pulling a knife on me? I will beat his curly headed ass and yours too!” Aunt Amelda spewed.
Man walked up on the porch just as Rocky did a karate yell, a thud was heard, and Shanice did a Banzai scream. He opened the door to find Aunt Amelda on the floor as Rocky kicked her in the leg while Shanice was on top of her like she was riding a bucking bull. Pulling Rocky away first, he grabbed Shanice next, and then helped his Aunt to her feet.
“What is going on here?’ He demanded.
Rocky spoke first, “She cut all my hair off and made Mama look like a clown!”
Man turned around to take a good look at Shanice and jumped. “What in the hell?”
“Exactly!” Shanice screeched, going back for the large woman.
“Man! You get that ungrateful heffah out of my house before I kick her narrow butt sixteen ways to Sunday,” Amelda yelled, scrambling to compose herself.
“Hush up you old wind bag before I claw you with my toes,” Shanice spoke.
That comment drew his eyes to her feet.
“Dayum,” he said and burst into laughter. “You really look different.”
All the tears she’d been holding in since she found out he wasn’t Roger, coupled with the reality of Eric wanting her dead, the burned up car, and other items she didn’t want to discuss with anyone came forward. She threw her head back, cartoon style and started bawling like a babe who dropped her lollipop in an ant bed. Aunt Amelda paused.
“Man, what has this child been through?”
“A great deal in a few days Auntie, but she will be alright,” he said trying to get Shanice out of the door before more questions came. “Let’s get moving family.”
“I’m sorry if I made her ordeal worse. You said you wanted a new look for her,” Aunt Amelda contended.
Blind Date (Venture, Georgia Book 3) Page 8