Second Time Around

by Darrin Lowery

  “You mean Bobby and Whitney.” They both laughed. “Well, Gucci never asked me what I did for a living. I never told him, either. We were kicking it this one night, I will never forget; it was a Thursday. Well, he said he was flying back to Philly, so we said our good-byes and I thought he went to the airport. I went to work.”

  “And what happened next?”

  “He saw me on stage at the club. He saw me getting my paper and I guess his heart was broken after that.”

  “He didn’t know at all? I mean, he had no clue?”

  “None. His boys brought him there before they went back to Philly. His boys knew, I guess. They clowned him because he had real feelings for me. You know how you men get about your pride and shit. He started cursing at me and calling me everything but a child of God. He threw money in my face and walked out. We talked a few times on the phone after that. But each time ended up with him calling me a ho. I don’t play that shit.”

  “So you all broke up?”

  “Yeah, we broke up. A few years after that, he blew out his knee. To support him, I started bringing my son to the shop.”

  Darren cut off the water and dried off.

  “Can you start the water again for me?”

  Darren started the shower again as Karen brushed her teeth.

  “Let me ask you something. If he asked you to leave that life, would you?”

  “If he made enough to support me. I have a mouth to feed at home.”

  “But if he did, you would have left the life?”

  “Yeah. I don’t do this shit because I want to. I do it because I have to.”

  “Okay, then, what’s the plan?”

  “Plan, what plan?”

  “You can’t do this forever. You have a nice body and the implants are amazing, but you can’t do this forever. What is your plan, long-term?”

  “Are you asking me to leave the life?”

  Darren laughed. “Uh, no. I’m asking you what are your plans for your future and your son’s future.”

  “I’ve saved away a little money.”

  “And what was the plan? Real estate? Are you going back to school? Seriously, what do you plan to do with the money? How much do you have saved?”

  “I don’t know you well enough to tell you all that.”

  Are you fucking kidding me? You slept with me on the first date, and you just pissed in front of me! Darren thought.

  “I was just asking,” he said.

  “I have about fourteen thousand saved.”

  “Not bad. So what was the plan?”

  “I never really had a plan other than saving money.”

  “Really?”

  Karen’s voice trailed off as she stepped into the shower.

  “I always thought some man would take care of me.”

  At least she’s honest, Darren thought.

  “Because you’re pretty?”

  “Because I’m pretty and I have these implants. Hell, I’m a nice woman, I know I am.”

  “I’m not disputing that.”

  “Then why do you sound so disappointed?”

  “I don’t know that I’m disappointed, so much as I’m surprised. I mean, you’re pretty. You have a nice body. But that doesn’t guarantee anything.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to see that.”

  Karen continued to shower. Darren admired her from the shower. He wasn’t thrilled that she and Gucci had slept together, but that was a discussion for another day. His thoughts were about Korie and then about Stephanie. To hell with them both, he thought. Stephanie was a ho hands down, and Korie? Korie probably was sitting somewhere fat as hell with a bunch of babies. Karen? Well, Karen was here. She was real. She was a bit rough around the edges, but he began to see her in a different light. He thought to himself that maybe they should try and see where things might go. That didn’t mean marriage or that he would be her steady boyfriend or anything. He did think, let’s see where this might go.

  He turned his cell phone back on and headed to the master bedroom to lay out his clothes. As he turned his cell phone back on, he had a message. It was from Vaughn, inviting him to the black creativity ball. Vaughn was sponsoring it this year and it was being held at the Field Museum of Natural History in six weeks. It was a fund-raiser where a lot of Chicago’s African American elite hung out each year. Deals and connections were made, and it was a great place for Darren to expand his practice. He called Vaughn immediately.

  “Hello?” Vaughn answered.

  “Vaughn, it’s Darren, I got your message. I’ll be there.”

  “Good. Good. I have a lot of people that I think you should meet.”

  “Great! Great. How was Tokyo?”

  “It was amazing. I closed the deal. I’m heading to a meeting now with my board of directors. Sorry I had to cancel our meeting. I initially wanted to meet with you the minute that I touched down, but I had to bring my chief advisor up to speed on everything. Anyway, I’m headed to the office. I plan to fire a few people on my board of directors and remind the remainder who the boss of the company is.”

  “Are you firing them because they are incompetent or firing them because you are pissed off?” Darren went right into clinical mode.

  “Probably the latter. But I can do that.”

  “But is it the right thing to do?”

  “Sometimes in business, Darren, there is no right or wrong. It’s just business.”

  “This sounds personal, though.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes contrary to popular belief, business can become personal. At least on my level it can.”

  “Okay, well, if you are sure about this.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Besides, I didn’t become me by second-guessing myself. I called you to invite you to the party and maybe a game of golf, not an impromptu session.”

  Both men laughed.

  “Okay, then. I guess I will see you there.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  “Okay, thanks, man.”

  Business, it seemed, was looking up. Darren smiled to himself at the endless possibilities. Just then Karen stepped out into the bedroom naked. She smiled at him and he smiled at her.

  “So what’s next?” she asked.

  “I was thinking we should hit the gym.”

  “The gym? Okay.”

  “Or . . .”

  “Or what?”

  “Come here.”

  They kissed. He grabbed her ample behind and they kissed for minutes on end. He went to retrieve a condom and smiled to himself while looking at the vision of loveliness in front of him. He decided to pause and ask her a question.

  “If I wanted to take you somewhere where you had to dress up, would you let me buy the dress?”

  “Hell, yeah!”

  “And could you refrain from swearing the whole night?”

  “Um, yes. I think I could do that.”

  “Then I think we should go shopping later . . . after.”

  “After what?”

  “Come here and find out.”

  They didn’t make it to the gym or the mall that day. They had six weeks until the ball, so they had time.

  Chapter Twenty

  Over the next four weeks Karen curbed her swearing and Darren took her to places she had never been before. Karen had breast implants that cost several thousand dollars, a 2,000-dollar weave, and she still shopped at cheap bargain stores. Her idea of fine dining was the neighborhood chain restaurant.

  Over the next four weeks, Darren showed her a whole new world. They ate at the finer restaurants, they went to Six Flags Great America, and to all the Chicago museums. They hit a few plays, concerts, and movies. She was still a bit rough around the edges, but she was real.

  He never asked her to stop working at the club. He wasn’t feeling her like that yet. But the more they went out, the fewer days she worked. It got to a point where her self-esteem elevated to a point that she didn’t want that life anymore. She applied for regular jobs, but no one was calling. The
places that did call weren’t offering enough money. The fact that she even considered leaving the club, however, spoke volumes about her character. It spoke volumes of the woman she was now aspiring to be.

  Darren offered her money from time to time, but she declined. Karen didn’t want to be dependent upon him. She made her paper, but she also looked into bettering herself. When it was obvious that she couldn’t get the job she wanted, she looked at possibly going to City College during the day. She decided that she would major in business.

  More and more Karen began to look like a celebrity. Dating Darren elevated her from makeup at drugstores to M•A•C makeup. She went from beauty salons in the hood or someone’s basement, to beauty salons downtown. She even got her son’s hair cut at the same places that she went.

  Darren took her to see a licensed cosmetologist who gave her tips on hair care, makeup, and skin care. Shortly after that, Karen saw a dietician, a personal trainer, and she began jogging. They each took better care of themselves and for Karen, many of the things that she did were lifestyle changes. They were changes for the better. Just as he did with Korie, Darren tried to show Karen that there was more to the world than the simple things that they knew.

  Over the next few weeks Karen became Darren’s new project. Initially, he thought she would just be something to do, but the more he became involved, the more he liked her. Again, she was rough around the edges, but she was real. What he thought they were beginning to have was real.

  They were a couple. Darren came to like Karen a lot, and she quickly fell in love with him. Darren had to admit they looked good together. After a few shopping sprees, personal training sessions, and a makeover, Karen went from being this cute woman who looked like a stripper or porn star, to a woman who could model for a magazine.

  With each change that Karen made, people around her began to see her not for who she was, but who she had the potential to be. Men hit on her before, but now that she was turning her life around, more professional men took notice of her. Even at the club she began to see bigger tips, just by waiting on men and giving them a few minutes of conversation. The tips were still nothing compared to the money she would have made doing lap dances, but the money was enough for her to get by. At this point she was just waitressing.

  Karen began using better skin care products. She began using skin care renewal and new moisturizers. She learned to take a soft toothbrush and brush her lips, to exfoliate them to make them softer. She learned other beauty tips such as using concealer for the not so obvious blemishes in her skin. She even decided to lose the weave and work on her own natural hair and take better care of it so it would grow. To help it grow, she had her natural hair braided.

  Friends of Darren suggested that she see a dermatologist. Many of these women were the wives of prominent Chicago businessmen, and they too once walked the path that Karen walked. They too were at one point at a crossroads where they wanted to look their absolute best, only for them money was no object because of the men they dated. Karen listened to their advice and took everything to heart to look better for Darren.

  She was told that a dermatologist could look at her scalp and help with treatment and advice on hair-care growth. Karen learned that fungus on the scalp is a common problem with women of color, which can cause dryness, flaking, and shedding. She learned that this is a common reason that some black women with long hair can cut it, and the hair seems to never grow back. She began taking better care of her hair and scalp and also bought high-end conditioners and shampoos. It became obvious to her that men love a woman with a long mane and Darren was no exception.

  Karen took exceptional care of herself and Darren took her to places she had never been before. They saw The Color Purple starring Fantasia, they saw Lyfe Jennings and Common in concert, and they even went to the gospel fest in downtown Chicago. Karen began reading more; she became more and more interested in world events as she progressed in school, and although the topic never came up, she wondered what it would be like to be married to a man like Darren. She knew that she shouldn’t even consider such a thing because it had only been a short time since she began seeing him, but she wondered exactly how far things could go. She also wondered what kind of father or father figure he would be. Shortly after that, she stopped taking her birth control.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Darren and Karen quickly became an item. What was supposed to just be a physical affair turned into much more than either anticipated. Darren figured that he was rebounding whereas Karen felt she found the real deal. They had pretty good physical chemistry, they looked good together, and more than anything else Darren wanted to expose Karen to new things and she wanted to experience them. The longer they dated, the better she became as a woman. She went from dancing at the club to serving drinks and although it didn’t pay as much money, she was happy. For the first time in a long time, she was happy.

  Karen reconnected with her mother. When her mother found out that she was going back to school and doing her best to leave the club entirely, she was more than willing to offer her help. She was more than willing to babysit Jacob, her grandson, more often. Generally when asked to babysit there was always some feedback. Now that her mother saw she was trying to change her life, she didn’t hesitate to help.

  Darren wasn’t sure if he was ready to be a father or a father figure, but he did know that Jacob needed support, and he did his best to shape Karen into the woman that she needed to be to support her son.

  Darren explained to Karen that it was not wise for him to meet her son. Karen explained that she and Jacob were a package deal. Darren explained that was fine, but also explained that a woman should not have any and everyone around her child unless she was sure the relationship was serious. After a few weeks, Darren and Karen had yet to define exactly what it was that they were doing. They had dinner, dates, a host of fun and a lot of sex, but nothing was definitive yet.

  Upon returning to the United States, one of the first things that Vaughn did was phone Darren and tell him how well things went in Japan. Securing the deal with the Japanese eased the anxiety of his shareholders, and Vaughn felt like he was back on top of the world. He asked Darren to meet him at the golf club so they could hang out. Darren assumed it was an impromptu session where Vaughn was perhaps seeking validation. It seems that Darren’s office had been replaced with the golf course or Vaughn’s home.

  Vaughn and Darren met on the golf course. Vaughn was a powerful man with great responsibilities. By the same token, he was enjoying himself. He was enjoying being in love; although he wondered at what cost. The two men met on the course and discussed the millionaires’ life over drinks.

  “So how have things been?” Darren asked.

  “Good. Good.” Vaughn nodded with approval as he drove his first ball.

  “Hmn. Well, they can’t be too good.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because we’re out here. What’s on your mind, Vaughn?”

  “Love. Love is what’s on my mind.”

  Laughing, Darren asked, “What’s wrong with love?”

  Darren hit the ball and drove it quite a few yards.

  “There’s nothing wrong with it. At least, not on my end.”

  “But you’re worried about your shareholders and board of directors.”

  “Yeah, I am. I mean, I love my woman. She is . . . what can I say? She’s amazing. She makes me smile and she makes me feel alive again.”

  “Then again, my question is still the same. What’s wrong with that?”

  “My subordinates. They make me feel guilty.”

  “Guilty, why?”

  “Money. It all revolves around money. I can admit that I’m distracted. I’m on top of my game, however. I mean, the company makes money hand over fist.”

  “Then, what’s the problem?”

  “I could be making much more than I’m making now. I know this, and my board of directors knows this. So do my shareholders. I closed a deal the oth
er day for a hundred million dollars for the company. I could have closed it for a hundred and ten million.”

  “I’m not sure that I understand. I mean, what’s ten million dollars to a billion-dollar corporation?”

  “That’s just the thing, Darren. Rich people are like drug dealers.”

  Vaughn hit his ball and drove it just as far as Darren drove his.

  “How so?”

  The two men walked to the next hole with two caddies in tow. They stopped where their balls landed and Vaughn began to explain.

  “A major drug dealer in the hood will kill you over twenty dollars. In the end, twenty dollars means nothing to the dealer financially, but it’s the principle of the thing. Wealthy men became wealthy by watching every dime, by watching every nickel. The difference to some of the men on my board is no different than that of a drug dealer on any corner in the ghetto. Closing that deal for a hundred million when it could have been a hundred and ten million means the same to my board of directors as if I could have given them each ten million dollars, as if I had taken ten million dollars from them. What if I were to write you two checks right now, one for a hundred thousand and one for ten million. I mean, really. If you had a choice right now for me to write you a check for a hundred grand or ten million right now, right here on this golf course, which one would you take?”

  “The ten million, of course.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of what I could do with ten million dollars. Ten million dollars could significantly shape my future. For these men, I’m sure ten million is nothing.”

  “On the books it’s nothing. In reality, to them, it’s everything. To them, not closing at a hundred and ten million means that I’ve lost my edge.”

  “Okay. That’s what they think. What do you think?”

  Vaughn kept his eye on the ball and drove in the next putt. It was good on his next attempt.

  “I don’t know, man. I mean, sometimes I wonder how much money is enough. I mean really. How much money do these men need? That’s what I keep asking myself. I’m in love. For the first time in a long time, I’m in love and I feel good about myself.”