Crossroads

by Nikita Lynnette Nichols

  Charles rang their doorbell at exactly five o’clock p.m. When Amaryllis opened the door, Charles couldn’t utter a word. He made an attempt to speak but couldn’t. Amaryllis was flawless, and she’d always been able to render a man speechless at the sight of her beauty. She watched as his eyes scanned her from head to toe, slightly pausing on her cleavage.

  It was at that moment that Amaryllis realized that she had made a poor choice in what to wear that evening. The way Charles gazed at her breasts made her extremely uncomfortable. She knew that look. It was the same look that he gave her when they were fornicating awhile back.

  “Wow, you look amazing,” he said.

  “Um, Charles, can you give me about five minutes? I need to change.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to give you any mixed signals.”

  Amaryllis disappeared inside her unit without inviting Charles inside. She made him wait in the hallway while she rushed to her closet to find a more suitable blouse.

  Bridgette came into Amaryllis’s bedroom and saw her throwing different blouses and tops on the floor. “Is the date over already? What are you doing?”

  Amaryllis grabbed a white loose-fitting top off the rack and studied it. It was long enough to cover her butt. “This ought to do.”

  Bridgette didn’t understand. “Your outfit is cute. Why are you changing?”

  Amaryllis quickly took off the bustier and put on a more comfortable bra. “How can I expect Charles to treat me with respect if my clothes tell him that I don’t really want respect?” She slipped the white blouse over her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was pleased. “That’s perfect.”

  Amaryllis returned to her date in the hallway and found him leaning against the wall.

  “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Charles. I’m ready to go now.”

  Charles glanced at her white blouse. “Why did you change?”

  Amaryllis started to walk toward the elevator. “Because I needed to.”

  As he walked behind her, Charles saw that her long blouse hid her voluptuous behind from his view.

  Amaryllis pressed the button for the elevator.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything like that before,” he said. “It’s conservative, and I like it.”

  “Charles, you talk a good game, but I still ain’t giving you any booty. So, you can just chill with the phony flattery, okay?”

  That wasn’t the response Charles was expecting. She had offended him. He grabbed both of her hands and turned her toward him, then looked into her eyes. “Why did you have to take it there? Can’t you just relax and allow me to be a gentleman? I don’t want any booty.”

  “Oh, really? Well, I couldn’t tell by the way you were sopping me up with your eyes when I first walked out the door.”

  “You had on a sheer blouse. Did you really expect me to act like I couldn’t see through it?”

  The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside.

  “You know, Amaryllis, it really doesn’t matter what you wear because you’re naturally beautiful.”

  She smiled.

  “I really wish you would allow me to treat you like the queen you are. Can you do that for me?”

  Amaryllis looked deep into his eyes. He was so unlike the Charles she was used to. Back in the day every time they got together, they ended up in a bed somewhere. She wondered if it was possible that Charles was sincere. She had to constantly remind herself that she too had turned her life around.

  “Okay, Charles. I gave Bridgette my itinerary, and I gave myself a curfew. I want to be back here no later than ten o’clock. If I’m not here by ten zero, zero, Bridgette is gonna come looking for me. And when she finds us, all heck is gonna break loose. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that she’s crazy. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t wanna make me miss my curfew.”

  Amaryllis was impressed at the white stretch limousine waiting for them outside. “My, my, my. Charles, this evening is looking promising so far.”

  “Well, you kinda hurt a brotha’s pride on the telephone yesterday when you said that I couldn’t afford you. So I had to come correct and show you what Sir Charles was working with.”

  The driver opened the door for them. Once they were seated, Amaryllis looked at Charles. “Honey, you can’t afford me. I could’ve hired a limo just like you did.”

  Charles reached under the seat and presented Amaryllis with a dozen red roses.

  “I personally went to the flower shop and handpicked these one by one. They’re fresh.”

  Amaryllis smiled and took the bouquet from his hand and sniffed the roses. “They’re lovely, Charles. Thank you.”

  The driver got behind the wheel and asked Charles for their destination.

  “Ruben, my man, wherever the little lady’s heart desires.”

  Ruben positioned his rearview mirror so that he could see Amaryllis’s face. “Where to, beautiful?”

  Amaryllis sniffed the roses again and looked at Charles. “You can’t afford me.”

  “Answer the man’s question, Amaryllis.”

  She smiled, still sniffing her roses. Her eyes never left Charles’s eyes as she answered Ruben. “Take us to Rush Street.”

  Every citizen of Chicago knew that one of the most expensive steak houses in the city was on Rush Street. It was now time for Charles to put his money where his mouth was.

  Chapter 11

  Charles wined Amaryllis at Gibson’s Steak House with a bottle of Cristal that came with a price tag of $250. He also dined her with steak, lobster, and crab. Amaryllis got a big kick out of Charles feeding her from across the table where he sat. Not only did she enjoy dinner, but the conversation was equally enjoyable, if not more enjoyable.

  From the moment Charles pulled out her chair and sat her down, he made her laugh. Not once had he directed their conversation to a sexual topic. When Amaryllis excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, Charles stood with her. He couldn’t help but notice men’s heads turn in her direction as she passed their table. Amaryllis walked by a booth in which two women were sitting. Charles saw that they too admired Amaryllis as she sashayed by their table. Amaryllis didn’t know that even in her loose-fitting blouse that hid her voluptuous butt, she was stunning.

  When she returned to the table, Charles stood and pulled out her chair again.

  “Aren’t you the perfect gentleman,” she complimented him as she sat.

  Charles sat in his chair. “I’m just doing what a man should do.”

  Amaryllis paused before she spoke, but she needed to get something off her chest. “Charles, I owe you an apology.”

  “For what?”

  “I came hard at you earlier this evening. You complimented me on my blouse, and I fired back that you weren’t getting any booty. I’m sorry for that. That was out of line.”

  “Well, you know what? I get it. I get that you’re trying to do the right thing. I get that your guard is up, and it should be. You are beautiful, Amaryllis. I mean beautiful. You should’ve seen the heads that turned to watch you walk when you went to the bathroom. And I think it’s great that you’ve turned your life around. You inspire me to turn my life around too.”

  Amaryllis’s smile lit up the dining room. The thought of her being an inspiration to anyone was mind-blowing. “Aw, that was a sweet thing to say, Charles.”

  “I mean it, Amaryllis. Being with you, like this, is good for me.”

  “What do you mean ‘like this’?”

  He leaned his upper torso over the table so that Amaryllis could hear every word that was about to come out of his mouth. “What I mean is that I dig the new Amaryllis. Your past is my past; we used to fornicate like forty going north. We had some good times, and I enjoyed every minute of it. And I’ll even be honest and say that I don’t apologize for what we did because I loved it. It felt good. But being with you tonight shows me that you and I can enjoy one another’s company without taking it to
the sheets. And I know that if I want a relationship with you, I have to be on the same level of understanding and spirituality as you.

  “And I’m getting there. I’m getting there, Amaryllis. Do I want to rip your clothes off right now? Yeah, I do. It’s a struggle for me to contain myself. But I want to have a relationship with you. And you’ve made it clear that in order for me to do that, I gotta change my life too. So, let’s do it. Let’s do it together. Let’s talk this talk and walk this walk.”

  Amaryllis didn’t know what to say, but she loved the words that were coming out of Charles’s mouth. To hear him say that she inspired him to become celibate felt good.

  Charles admitted that he was digging the new her, and truth be told, Amaryllis was beginning to dig the new Charles too.

  “Okay,” she said, “let’s do it.”

  Charles smiled and picked up his glass of champagne. He held it across the table. “Here’s to new beginnings.”

  Amaryllis met his glass halfway with her own. “To new beginnings,” she smiled back.

  The waiter placed the bill on their table, and Charles quickly snatched it up. Amaryllis was no stranger at Gibson’s; she knew what the bill was going to look like. She watched as he took five one hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and lay them on top of the bill for the waiter to pick up. She examined his face, but Charles was calm, cool, and collected. Her eyebrows rose when she witnessed him place a fifty-dollar bill in the waiter’s hand as they were leaving the restaurant.

  In the limousine, Charles complimented Amaryllis on her beauty again. “I just can’t get over how beautiful you look tonight. How much did it cost you to get your hair and nails done?”

  “About ninety bucks.”

  He took his wallet from his pocket, pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill, and held it in his hand for Amaryllis to take. “For your trouble.”

  She looked at the money, then into Charles’s eyes. “Is this where I’m supposed to say, ‘Thanks but no thanks’? You know I don’t turn money away.”

  “Absolutely not. I’m offering to reimburse you for the cost of your hair and nails.”

  Amaryllis took the money and put it in her purse. “Thank you.”

  Ruben adjusted the rearview mirror and looked at Charles. “Where to?”

  “What’s your pleasure?” Charles asked Amaryllis.

  “You can’t afford me.”

  Charles exhaled. “Here we go with that again. Amaryllis, are you enjoying the limo ride?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you eat well?”

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  “Was the conversation great?”

  She thought about Charles’s lovely words. “I’ll admit that you held my interest.”

  “Are your roses fresh enough to your satisfaction?”

  Amaryllis picked up her bouquet from the seat and admired them. “Uh-huh.”

  Ruben sat in the front seat rotating his eyeballs from side to side, watching them in the mirror.

  “I promised you yesterday that I was gonna take you shopping. And I meant it.”

  “Charles, I have expensive taste. You better quit while you’re ahead.”

  She lowered her head into the bouquet and allowed the scent to tickle her nose. Charles placed two fingers underneath her chin and turned her face toward his own. “What’s your pleasure, Amaryllis?”

  She swallowed hard. Again, as she spoke to Ruben, she kept her eyes locked on Charles’s eyes. “Ruben, I have to be home in two hours. Get me to Oakbrook as fast as you can.”

  The limousine pulled away from the curb. Charles grabbed Amaryllis’s hand and held it all the way to their next destination. Amaryllis felt like Cinderella, happy and excited to be in the company of a man who was pulling out all the stops for her happiness. But unlike Cinderella, Amaryllis knew the limousine she was riding in wouldn’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight.

  Amaryllis saw it hanging the moment she and Charles walked through the revolving doors.

  “Good evening. Welcome to Zola’s Furs,” they were greeted by a saleswoman.

  Mesmerized, Amaryllis ignored her and walked to the back wall. She stood underneath a grey Chinchilla poncho and looked up at it in awe. She was so engrossed in the beauty of the coat she didn’t hear the saleswoman approach her from behind.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Amaryllis didn’t turn around. “Yes, it is.”

  “Would you like to try it on?”

  “Yes.”

  Amaryllis moved aside as the saleswoman lowered the coat. She helped Amaryllis into it, then stood back and admired her. “A beautiful woman deserves a beautiful coat,” the saleslady said.

  “I agree,” Charles responded.

  Amaryllis twisted and turned in the coat for five full minutes. Charles came and stood next to her. “By the way you’re posing, I take it that you like it.”

  “How much is it?” Amaryllis asked the saleswoman.

  “The price is inside the coat.”

  Amaryllis removed the coat and looked at the price tag. Her eyes grew wide, and she almost stumbled into Charles. He peeked at the price tag. Amaryllis searched his eyes for a reaction, but Charles didn’t give her one.

  The saleswoman looked at her wristwatch. “The store is closing in ten minutes. Perhaps you can come back tomorrow?”

  Charles looked at her. “We’ll take it.”

  Amaryllis’s mouth went dry. “Charles, I don’t really expect you to buy this coat for me. It’s way too expensive.”

  “Why did you bring me here then, Amaryllis?”

  “To prove to you that you couldn’t afford me.”

  Charles opened his wallet and gave the saleswoman his Visa gold card. “Wrap it up with a big bow.”

  Amaryllis stood still while the saleswoman took the coat and walked away. “Charles, you’re crazy.”

  “Yes, I am. But for you.”

  At the counter, the saleswoman gave Charles the receipt to sign. Amaryllis looked at him and smiled. “You still ain’t getting any booty, Charles. I don’t care how much money you spend.”

  Her smile confirmed to Charles what he already knew. Amaryllis was joking with him. They had already crossed that booty bridge.

  “What can I get for a forty-dollar bouquet of roses, a three hundred fifty-dollar limousine ride, a one hundred-dollar cash gift, a five hundred-dollar dinner, and this coat?”

  Amaryllis looked into his eyes. “A hug, a thank you, and a kiss on the cheek.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  Amaryllis thought about something. “You know, Charles, if you ever got angry with me, you can easily take this coat back because you have proof that you bought it. So, legally, it’s yours.”

  “That ain’t never gonna happen, but what’s your point?”

  “How much does it cost to have my name embroidered inside the coat?” Amaryllis asked the saleswoman.

  “Thirty dollars a letter.”

  Amaryllis did the math. “So, to get ‘Amaryllis Theresa’ embroidered costs about five hundred bucks?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Amaryllis looked at Charles. “I want my name in this coat just in case you decide to do tha fool and try to take it back. I want the heifer to know that it belonged to me first.”

  Charles frowned at her. “What heifer, Amaryllis?”

  “Any heifer.”

  For the second time in one night, Charles withdrew five one hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and placed them on the counter.

  The saleswoman gave him his receipt. “Thank you, Mr. Walker. The coat will be shipped to Ms. Price’s address within two weeks.”

  Amaryllis and Charles exited the store and headed back to the limousine. Her thoughts took her back to the days when she and Charles were hot and heavy. Just like tonight, Charles had always spent money on her. But Amaryllis would always thank him with sex. As the limousine drove them back to her condominium, she silently prayed that everything Charles had said to her earl
ier that evening was true. She prayed that he wouldn’t go back on his word.

  The enemy spoke to Amaryllis. “You know good and well that you can’t keep your legs closed where Charles is concerned. He spent a lot of money tonight. Nothing has changed. You’re a fool if you think he won’t expect you to repay him.”

  “Shut up, devil.” Without realizing it, Amaryllis had spoken out loud.

  Charles looked at her. “Huh?”

  “Nothing. I was just mumbling.” She knew better than to allow the enemy to take her thoughts there. That was exactly what her ex-boyfriend Randall told her to watch out for.

  “Beware of destiny preventers and dream killers. Folks are going to come at you and remind you of the things you used to do.” That was another bit of advice Randall had given to her when she stopped by his church after her trip to Las Vegas.

  Thinking back on Randall’s words, Amaryllis had made a decision. She decided that she was going to believe in Charles just as she expected him to believe in her. Surely the two of them had come full circle. Old things were passed away, and Amaryllis was looking forward to the new things ahead.

  They arrived at her building, and Charles escorted her to her door. Just as Amaryllis slid her key into the lock, Bridgette yanked the door open. “It’s two minutes after ten. You couldn’t call?”

  Charles spoke first. “I’m sorry, Bridgette, it’s not Amaryllis’s fault. I tried my best to get her here before ten o’clock.”

  Bridgette looked at her friend. “Are you all right? You want me to cut him?”

  Amaryllis laughed, and so did Charles. “No, Bridge. Take the butcher knife out of your pocket and put it back in the kitchen drawer. I’m all right, and thank you for having my back.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked Amaryllis while glaring straight into Charles’s eyes.

  “Yes, sweetie, I’m sure.”