Over the Hedge

by Minerva Vesta

  After a few minutes, Crystal responded, “I don’t want to be alone.”

  My heart clenched with the sound of her despondent voice. In all my life I would never think my sister would feel this way. If someone told me those words would ever leave her mouth, I would have quickly told them that they were a liar. Crystal was bold and in your face. Yet, she seemed to be hiding behind some insecurity I wasn’t aware existed.

  Tears came to my eyes.

  “Oh, Crystal, you are never alone. Even if things don’t work out with Brian, you always have your family. Being single is just being without a partner; it doesn’t mean you are alone. If you feel like you’re forcing this marriage, then you’re sacrificing your ultimate happiness just to keep the title of Mrs. Rivers. I love you, Crystal. I love you, I love you, and I love you. Your parents love you. Your friends love you. If it’s not Brian, then there will be a man out there that loves you too. But, don’t you ever feel like you are alone in this world,” I said vehemently.

  No matter how much I felt like being single was a burden, I have never once felt alone in this world. Sure, I felt lonely at times because I was ready to experience love with a man. But, I always knew I had my family, and I hoped Crystal would feel the same way too if her marriage with Brian ended.

  “Crystal, do me a favor. Whenever you feel like you need to be reminded of how important you are in someone’s life, please give me a call. It breaks my heart knowing you think being single means you won’t have anyone in your life,” I pleaded.

  “I don’t want to burden you, Lashawnda. You’ve got your own life to live.”

  “Okay, that’s it. We are going out tomorrow night. Stacy will be in town, and I think it’s necessary for us to have a girl’s night out,” I replied, authoritatively.

  Stacy Randall was the third person in our trio. We spent all our time together. We were inseparable. So inseparable that Daddy often referred to his bad luck for having not two but three daughters. Stacy was raised by her single-parent mother who often worked more than one job which caused her to spend a lot of time at our house. Even when the family went out of town to visit relatives, she was always invited. Stacy and I attended college together, but after graduation, she moved to Philadelphia for a position as a tax accountant for a prestigious firm. We still got together for at least one major trip a year.

  “What about Sean? Don’t you think you should be spending time with him before he goes out of town?” Crystal asked.

  Crystal was correct; Sean would be leaving town—he’d be gone for a week to attend a research forum on new advancements in genotyping for cancer-related disorders. I was going to miss him very much. This would be our first time apart since we started dating, but our plans would have to be put on hold. Sean was just a man, but Crystal was my sister.

  “Nope. I’ve known Sean for four months now. I’ve loved you for twenty-four years. I won’t be one of those women that ditches her family because of a guy. You need me right now, and if Sean doesn’t understand that, then he isn’t the man I think he is.”

  “Yeah,” Crystal exclaimed. “I’m so excited! I miss us hanging out like we used to. This is going to be even more awesome because Stacy will be in town. When is her plane landing?”

  “I’m picking her up at seven o’clock Saturday morning,” I answered. “I think we should go out and have dinner before we go dancing. The last time I went out with you guys, I was so intoxicated. I only had two drinks, and I blame it on my empty stomach, or the bartender was slipping something in my apple martinis.”

  “Girl, you were more than just intoxicated. You were drunk off your ass,” Crystal chuckled. It was the first time they had seen me drunk. I was a little wild and not at all my usual reserved self.

  “Whatever. You and Stacy were drunk too,” I retorted, shaking my head in remembrance of that crazy night. “Oh—Before I forget. I think I’ll invite Jenny from the office too. “

  “Really? I didn’t think you guys hung out,” Crystal said.

  “We have lunch together often at work. But not as much since Sean and I have been dating. I’ve been eating with him. I saw her the other day, and she pointed out that she felt neglected. This will be a good opportunity for us girls to go out and have a good time,” I said.

  “Alright. Let me get in here and get some of my chores done.”

  I ended the conversation with Crystal with plans for us to spend Saturday night and all-day Sunday at our parent’s house. I called Sean to tell him about the change in plans but ended up getting his voicemail.

  “Hey, you. It’s Lashawnda. I’m sorry to do this to you, but our plans for the sleepover will have to be rescheduled to a later date. My little sister is going through some stuff at the moment, and I really want to be there for her. Call me back when you get this.”

  I hung up the phone and went looking for Fat Bastard so I could put him on the scale. I’ve been vigilant about what he’s been eating. There should be no reason for him getting bigger. I pulled the scale from underneath the bathroom sink and continued my search for F.B. I found him curled up on my bed with his paws flattened against my pillow and his tail swishing back and forth. Our eyes met, dark brown and yellowish green caught in a duel of wills. He must have sensed I was up to something. The moment I approached the bed he vaulted onto the floor and scurried out of the room. In a vain attempt to catch him I dropped the scale on my foot. Hot searing pain shot up my body as I collapsed on the bed howling in agony.

  “Ow!” I gripped the sheets and squeezed my eyes tight against the pain. “Jeez that hurt!”

  I rolled to the end of the bed and pulled my foot up on the footboard. There was a small bead of blood on the top of my foot. I wiped it away revealing a small cut that wasn’t too deep. The jingle of F.B.’s collar made me look up to see him standing in the doorway eying me. He cocked his head to the side as if questioning why I was making so much noise.

  “I guess that’s Jesus calling again.” I shook my head and flopped back down on the mattress. F.B. joined me, curling his girthy body against my side. One of these days I was going to go an entire twenty-four hours without an accident.

  CHAPTER 16

  SEAN

  I was laying on the gymnasium floor, legs spread out, feet flat on the ground, winded and gasping for air. I came to the local gym with Brent to play a pick-up game of basketball. Either I was out of shape, or I just got hustled by a bunch of guys that played on the pro level or in college. I ran almost ten miles daily, but the way these guys were calling shots and taking fouls made me feel out of shape. Truthfully, the physical exhaustion on my body was something I needed to keep my mind off of a particular young woman I’d been spending all of my time with.

  Since I told Lashawnda about my need to wait on pursuing a physical relationship, I felt like she was doing things to tempt me. She wore shirts that showed off her cleavage. One Sunday I went to her house and she had on a pair of very short shorts that showed off her thick rounded thighs. She knew how much I loved those thighs. Even the day before when we went out for milkshakes, she kept pulling her straw out of the glass and licking the frozen treat from it. Her eyes were full of mischief like she knew exactly what she was doing to me.

  I was losing my patience with my promise to give her time. I wanted her with a ferocity I had never felt before. When I told Brent about my dilemma, he laughed and said I had two choices. I could either kick up the self-satisfaction to twice daily or be a real man and take Lashawnda to bed.

  Stupid me made the situation worse by asking if she would sleepover at my place. Lashawnda had been so excited about our plans. I thought I might have imagined the disappointment I saw when I told her I just wanted to hold her through the night. It must have been a mistake, because there was no way she would have been expecting us to be there yet…right?

  Or was she? I was falling hard for this woman. Everything I did was with her in mind.

  Sex was on my mind. Sex was always on my mind when I was with her. That
was something I would never deny. But was Lashawnda as ready for it as I was?

  Shit.

  I groaned as I rolled off of my back onto my feet. This whole dating thing was great, but I was continually second guessing my every move. I valued Lashawnda and didn’t want to fuck anything up.

  I walked over to the bleachers and grabbed my gym bag off the floor. My cell phone light was blinking to indicate a missed call. I saw it was Lashawnda and she had left a message. I listened to her apology for having to cancel our sleepover because of family matters. When I tried calling her back, I got her voicemail.

  “Hey, pretty lady. I got your message. It’s not a big deal. I understand. I know how important family is to you. I hope everything works out for your sister. Call me back. Bye.” I ended the call and threw the phone in my gym bag. The screen lit back up, and I thought it was Lashawnda calling, but it was my mom.

  “Hello.” I said, sitting down to get comfortable for my conversation.

  “Hi Sean, it’s your mother.” Sandra Colcord’s voice was that of a stereotypical southern woman. It had been a week since we last spoke, and I couldn’t help but smile into the phone at the sound of her voice.

  “You sure about that?” I asked playfully.

  I always gave her a hard time when she said those three words like I didn’t know who she was. Hell, I could freely and proudly admit I was a momma’s boy. She was my girl. She raised me all on her own. Besides the guys, I always knew I had someone to count on; someone that had my back no matter what. Now, I could add Lashawnda to that list.

  “Always the comic. Listen, smarty pants; I was making sure you knew who it was. I didn’t want you to confuse me with any of those women that are always hounding you. And, while we’re on the subject—”

  “Ma, we were never on the subject,” I interjected.

  “Like I was saying…I got a call from a young lady looking for you the other day. I didn’t realize you had started giving out my number,” she replied. “I’ve had one too many instances with these women trying to get close to me just to get close to you.”

  “Not my fault, Ma.”

  “Yes, your fault. If you didn’t go through women like you went through socks, I wouldn’t have to screen my calls.”

  “My bad, Ma. That was the past, remember?”

  “I never understood you not dating in high school. Remember how I had to ask your grandfather to talk to you about the birds and the bees?”

  “Very awkward time in my life.” I nodded.

  “Yeah well, being a single mother of a male child was very challenging at times. Conversations about bullies, girls, and sex didn’t come easily. You were such a sweet boy, though. You came home after spending time with your grandfather and gave me a big hug. Do you remember what you said?”

  The guys in the background were laughing at some story Brent was telling them. I shook my head at his antics. I pressed a finger to my free ear to drown out the noise.

  “Yeah, I told you not to worry about me because I was working hard to become a good man, so I’d be able to take care of you.”

  “You did. Oh, Sean, you were so big even then, but you were always my little boy.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I chuckled listening to her get all emotional.

  I was sixteen years old at the time of that conversation. Brent, Ian, and Jackson were a significant part of my life. They were the first real friendships I had, and it gave me a chance to figure out who I was. But, seeing how the guys reacted to my mom and spending time at our house made me cherish our relationship even more. Brent and Jackson had some pretty crazy parents. Ian had lost his parents to an unfortunate accident. In the end, Sandra Colcord became a mother to three more boys and never complained about us constantly wrecking the house or emptying the fridge. Knowing how much she loved and cared about all of us, I promised to always take care of my mother. A promise I hoped I was living up to.

  “Is giving out your mother’s number the new way for you boys to blow women off?” Her tone switched just that quick from being sugary sweet to pure acid.

  “Mom, I’ve never given anyone your number. You can blame that on the white pages or the internet.”

  “I kind of wish you would,” she mumbled.

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind. So what’s new with you?” she asked.

  “I’m good…really good.” I hadn’t told her about Lashawnda yet. I wasn’t sure how everything was going to play out, but I was starting to feel at ease about our relationship. After the talk we had about my past, I didn’t feel nervous about her rejecting me for the way I used to treat women. “Okay. How good is really good? Because I can tell that you’re keeping something from me.”

  “Ma. I’m great. I just met a girl, and we’ve been dating for a few months now.” I pulled the phone away from my ear as her high pitch scream assaulted my eardrums.

  “Oh, my goodness, sweetheart! I’m so happy for you! What’s her name? When do I get to meet her? Is she pretty? How does she feel about children? Can she cook? Does she have a career?”

  “Ma!” I yelled into the phone unable to get a word in with her excited chatter. “Calm down so I can answer your questions. Her name is Lashawnda Price. You can’t meet her until she wants to meet you. I don’t want to be too pushy. She is absolutely gorgeous; got the prettiest eyes and lips I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how she feels about children because I haven’t asked.”

  “Aww, Sean. I’m so excited. Where did you meet this girl? I know I’m asking lots of questions, but you have no idea what this means to me.” I could tell she was doing her best to get a hold of her emotions.

  I went about telling her all the details of how my relationship with Lashawnda had progressed up to this point. Obviously, I left out some of the more intimate details.

  “You kissed her before even asking her out?” She hooted in laughter. “Boy, if you ain’t just like that daddy of yours. Just goin’ straight for what you want.”

  “Yeah, well, I thought I messed things up.”

  “Baby, you sound about as happy as when I bought you your first science kit. So how does it feel?”

  “It feels really good, Ma. I feel good knowing she’s in my life,” I said thinking about what a future with Lashawnda would look like.

  “Well, you better be good to her. I want to hear you smiling like this for a long time to come. Don’t be too bossy. I know how stubborn you get when you don’t get your own way.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” I saw Brent walking over to the bleachers with his gear in his hand. “I’ve got to get going.”

  “Okay. Tell that boy, Brent, he owes me a phone call.”

  “I will. Love you.” I hung up as soon as Brent threw his body down on the seat next to me. Hell, I should have given him the phone. He’d been talking mad shit about Lashawnda and me taking things slow. I’m sure a few tongue lashings from my mother would straighten him out.

  “Why’re you looking like someone just pissed in your cornflakes?” Brent asked, rifling through his gym bag for a water bottle. He was drenched with sweat and was sucking down water like it might go on ration.

  “I guess they kind of did,” I replied, shaking my head; hoping to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “I won’t be spending Sunday night curled up behind Lashawnda like I planned. She just called to cancel. Apparently, her sister needs her.”

  “Oh man! That does suck,” Brent said, hitting me on the back with false sympathy. “What does her sister look like? She got a fat ass? You know I love a good ass on a woman? Maybe I could keep her company while you and your girl continue those adolescent make-out sessions.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and started walking out to the car.

  Yeah, I wanted to have sex with my girl. I was desperate for it. But, this guy could at least give me some moral support for trying to do things the right way. My attitude was probably too abrasive right now, but it was tough having a sexy woman I cared for in my arms, unable to go further
than first base in the last three months. Honestly, I pray for that woman’s safety once I get my hands on her. I had plans to decimate that sweet naked body of hers.

  “Come on, man, it was just a joke. Don’t get mad.” Brent’s footsteps sounded behind me. “It’s not my fault you’re not man enough to handle your business.”

  “Shut the fuck up, bro.”

  Brent slid into the passenger seat of my truck. “Look at the bright side; you don’t have an excuse to not come out with me and the guys.”

  I hadn’t planned on going out, but with Lashawnda occupied with her sister, maybe it was a good idea to get out of the house.

  “Yeah, I’ll roll with y’all. But I’m warning you…no funny business.”

  The last time he had a whole shit load of a mess to clean up from our fishing trip with those girls. Jackson and I ended up hanging out the entire weekend while Brent and Ian had to entertain them, which I’m sure neither one of them had complaints about. It just sucked because it was supposed to be a guys only weekend. I prayed nothing crazy would happen. Hanging out with the guys was always fun, but when alcohol was involved, anything was possible.

  CHAPTER 17

  LASHAWNDA

  Stacy, Crystal, and I were fresh from the salon and cooped up in my old bedroom at my parents’ house. We planned on getting dressed there before heading out. It was reminiscent of us doing the same thing before high school dances and house parties back in the day.

  After picking up Stacy from the airport, we went shopping for our night out on the town. Plus, I wanted to pick out a few new things to show Sean when he got back from his expo. We spoke daily, but I wouldn’t be able to see him this weekend and all next week while he was away for business. I felt guilty about canceling our little sleepover, but I was relieved when he told me his friends were in town and were planning to get together.