Déjà Vu

by Suzetta Perkins

  Tambourines were clicking and people were clapping their hands as the praise singers led the first part of the service. But Angelica couldn’t keep her eyes off of Margo and Malik. Margo looked well in her white-knit suit with ostrich feathers around the collar. Too much for Angelica on a Sunday morning, but any other day of the week, watch out.

  The music was uplifting, but Angelica wasn’t feeling the glory of the Lord. In fact, the good feeling she came with had all but evaporated. Angelica had been there all of thirty minutes, and while she had spotted Margo, no one even knew she was in the sanctuary.

  “If you are visiting with us for the first time, will you please stand,” the announcer said.

  Angelica looked around her to see if anyone was going to get up. Before she knew what she was doing, Angelica was on her feet.

  “I’m happy to be here today, even though I’m no stranger to your church. My name is Angelica Barnes, and I feel blessed to be in your midst,” Angelica lied. “Pray for me.”

  Angelica sat down. When she felt brave enough, she looked up into the shocked faces of Malik and Margo. Margo turned away when she realized Angelica was looking her way. Yes, Angelica had surprised Margo good. Margo probably felt guilty for not coming to see her.

  The friend Angelica came to see did not come to church. Angelica felt robbed. She needed Margo, but Margo didn’t wave or acknowledge her presence. Margo’s utterance of forgiveness that last time she saw her meant nothing, and the pain stabbed Angelica in the heart. The pastor was in the middle of the sermon that Angelica didn’t hear, and eventually she got up and walked out. Neither her soul nor her longing would be fed today.

  Angelica hurried to her car and began to back out.

  “Oh,” Angelica said, stepping on the brake. She rolled down the window to see who had walked into her path.

  “Hello, Angelica.”

  Angelica stared in disbelief. “Malik…I could have hit you.”

  “You weren’t going that fast.”

  Angelica couldn’t believe this handsome, muscle-bound man stood next to her car calling out her name. She tried to pick her lip off the floor, but those dreamy eyes were to die for.

  “I’m glad I didn’t hit you,” was all Angelica could say.

  “When did you get back in town?” Malik asked, walking up to the car window.

  “Earlier in the week. My brother came down from D.C. to help me get on my feet.”

  “So why Third Baptist?”

  “I’m desperate to change my life, Malik. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I’m going to do with the rest of it. I want a new start, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be than right here.

  “To be honest, Malik, I missed Margo. I missed my friend dearly. I know I’ve caused a lot of heartache and grief, but Margo is the one good thing that has happened in my life. I wanted to be where her spirit was because Margo always had a calming way about her that made me feel safe.”

  “It’s good to see you, Angelica,” Margo said. No one saw her come up.

  Angelica turned off the car and got out. She tried to speak, but she was having difficulty letting the words come out. Finally, she found her voice.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Margo. You’re one of the reasons I came here this morning, and the other is that I need Jesus.”

  Margo smiled. “Come here.”

  Angelica fell into Margo’s outstretched arms and hugged her. She squeezed Margo and held on tight until Margo pushed back gently.

  “I was surprised, no, shocked to see you standing in the sanctuary this morning. It was like déjà vu. Do you remember when we first met at my real estate office? It was that kind of moment.”

  “Yes, it was a moment I’ll never forget. I met my best friend there.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “I won’t hold you up.”

  “Where are you staying?” Margo asked.

  “I have a place not too far from here. My brothers sold my house, and I’m using the proceeds to help me get started again. I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do. Nobody’s interested in hiring a felon.”

  “I’m sure there’s something out there for you,” Malik said, offering nothing more.

  Malik was so fine and every woman’s dream, but Angelica felt his disdain for her. She had no idea why he felt as he did, but it no longer mattered. Anyway, the last she heard, Toni was his woman.

  “Well, I hope it won’t take long for me to find it. How’s Toni?”

  A frown replaced concern. Malik dropped his head and then looked up at Margo for reassurance. He blew air from his mouth and prepared to speak.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Angelica asked before Malik could speak.

  “You wouldn’t have known. Toni and our unborn baby were killed in a car accident almost a year ago.”

  Angelica drew her hands to her mouth. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Malik. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see her, and…”

  “It’s okay, Angelica. When you mentioned Toni’s name, it was like reliving that tragic day all over again. Toni and I got married four years ago, and we were living our lives to the fullest. We were going to have a family,” Malik reflected, “but our dreams…my dreams ended tragically. If it wasn’t for Margo, I don’t know what I would have done; she’s why I joined the church. You said something earlier, Angelica, about Margo having that calming spirit. She was the person I went to in my hour of need.”

  “Margo, what would we do without you?” Angelica asked.

  Margo smiled. “It’s nothing but God, because if it wasn’t, I can’t begin to tell you where I would be and what I’d be doing.”

  Angelica didn’t want to know. This was her cue to leave, and somehow Angelica knew that although she had settled down into her new condo, eventually she would have to lose this town.

  “Maybe we can get together sometime,” Angelica said.

  “I’d like that,” Margo said. “How about this week?”

  Angelica wasn’t sure, but she said yes anyway.

  5

  Fresh plants made the condo come alive. It had taken three days to make the place feel like Angelica, and now she sat back and smiled at what her magic had done. Her brothers were coming down for the weekend, and she wanted everything to be in order before they arrived.

  Angelica brushed the back of her head and rubbed her neck to release the tension she was feeling. She looked at the phone several times before gathering enough courage to pick it up. She couldn’t bring herself to dial and hung up the phone.

  Walking away, she suddenly turned back and dialed the numbers quickly before the voice in her head instructed her to hang up. On the first ring there was an answer, and Angelica was petrified.

  “Hello.”

  “Margo, this is Angelica. Just calling to see how you’re doing and perhaps interest you in lunch.”

  There was some hesitation in Margo’s voice. “Sure. I’m on my way to show a house, but why don’t I pick you up? We can eat after I’ve finished showing the house, and we can catch up on the past five years.”

  For Angelica, there was nothing much to tell. She was surrounded by prison bars, unable to touch, smell, or look into the faces of those who meant something to her.

  “Okay. That will be fine.”

  “Give me some directions, and I’ll be there in a few.”

  Angelica gave Margo directions and hung up the phone. She went from room to room, picking up pillows and straightening up things so that everything would be in place when Margo arrived. Nerves started to replace the calm she felt when the day had started, but it was only Margo, the one person she could talk to about anything.

  “Maybe I should call and cancel,” Angelica said aloud. “No, that’s the coward’s way out.”

  With her hands on her hips, Angelica stopped short. Images of Malik crowded her head. Were he and Margo having a thing in Jefferson’s absence? She could love a man like Malik—a strong and intelligent man. Her head was confu
sed. One minute she was thinking about Jefferson, the next Malik. But Malik was available and unattached, or so it seemed. Somehow, Angelica would have to find a way to ask Margo about it.

  Angelica’s head jerked at the sound of the doorbell. She couldn’t believe Margo was already here. The mirror on the wall said she was a sharp-looking diva, and Angelica ran to the door before Margo rang the bell again.

  “Hey,” Margo half whispered. She wasn’t sure if a hug was in order.

  “Hey, yourself,” Angelica replied. “Come on in. It’s not much, but it’s home. I would have called you to help me find a place if I wasn’t in such a hurry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Commission isn’t everything.”

  Angelica wasn’t sure if that was a slight or an attempt to make light of things in their awkward moment.

  Margo glanced around the condo. She nodded her head in approval and stopped to pet the plants. “Nice place. Have you found a job yet?”

  “No, I’m looking,” Angelica lied. She was going to enjoy getting up late and watching the news stories, the soap operas, and Oprah. When the time came for her to look for work, she would.

  “Malik has an opening for an office assistant at his computer store.” Angelica perked up then thought, Funny, Malik hadn’t mentioned it yesterday. “He is so talented,” Margo continued. “He builds computers for his customers, and he makes good money.”

  “Is Malik dating, again?” Margo frowned at her. “With Toni’s tragic death, I thought he might be…”

  “Lonely?”

  “Did I say something wrong? I’m not interested in Malik, if that’s what you think. I’m so out of the loop, and…”

  “I’m sorry. I’m a little overprotective when it comes to Malik. He’s like a brother to me and I tend to react irrationally sometimes when it comes to his well-being.”

  Tell me anything, Angelica thought to herself. Margo knows she wants to hit that; everyone else does, including me. No man in five years or at least she’s pretending like she’s had no one. Like a brother—humph.

  “I’ll give Malik a call to see if the job is still available.”

  “I think we should go. I’m supposed to meet this couple in twenty minutes to show the house. If you want, I can take you by Malik’s while we’re out.”

  It wasn’t what Angelica had in mind, but it might be the right introduction for the start of her new life.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  It was amazing to watch Margo create a thing of beauty, taking her clients on an Alice-in-Wonderland adventure as she shared all the wonderful intricacies and secrets of the homes she showed. It was almost as if she had a magic wand in her hand and, with a tilt of her wrist, she would have the client clinging to her every word, glancing about the room as Margo waved the wand because the client didn’t want to miss any attribute that Margo thought most worthy of description. Angelica would have bought every house Margo showed if she had the money to do it.

  Margo had a bite, and it was about to be her lucky day. A smile crossed Angelica’s face as she watched the husband and wife go back and forth until they finally settled on the house they wanted. Life was all about decisions—especially the right ones.

  Margo cruised down Bragg Boulevard. Bottoms Up, The Dollhouse—Angelica cringed. Memories of a time she would rather forget flooded her mind. Her best friend Margo had no idea she used to pole dance for a living. That is where her ex-husband Hamilton found her, giving it up to a pole because it was the easiest money she ever made.

  They fell into their seats at the restaurant. After placing their orders, there was an awkward silence. Angelica tapped the table lightly.

  “Look, Angelica,” Margo said. “Let’s try and relax.”

  “I’m all for that. I want you to know, Margo, that…”

  “There’s no need to rehash bitter moments.”

  Angelica placed her hand over Margo’s. “Margo, Jefferson and I did not have a relationship. I had gone to warn him about the hit on his life. I’m guilty of turning my back on Hamilton and Jefferson with the mob boss.”

  “Why, Angelica?”

  “I know I was selfish. Hamilton had degraded me to nothing. Every detail of our bitter divorce was in the newspapers, and when Santiago approached me offering a life of grandeur and enough jewelry to keep a sister happy for life, I fell for it. I can’t say that I was proud of what I’d done, but I waited too late to redeem myself.”

  “That’s quite a story, Angelica. I want to believe you, but it’s past tense.”

  “But, Margo, if we are to get past this, I need you to know the whole story—the truth.”

  “I’ve forgiven you.”

  “Yes,” Angelica sighed. “I don’t take that lightly. But Margo, you and I…you and I were more. We were friends. You were the first real friend that I had.” Margo smiled. “It’s sad. I know that it took thirty-eight years of my life to finally meet someone I could totally confide in and feel that they would lay down their life for me.”

  “I would have, you know. What about you, Angelica? Would you have laid down your life for me or taken mine from me?”

  Angelica released her hand from Margo’s. The truth hurt. While Margo had forgiven her, the wound was still there.

  “All I can say, Margo, is that I’m sorry.”

  “Have you told me everything? I do want to believe that, but let’s have lunch since it has arrived, and we’ll discuss this later.”

  The waitress placed their meal on the table. Angelica fingered her food and stifled a tear. She felt like a stranger with her best friend.

  “How’s Jefferson?”

  Margo laid her fork on her plate and looked into Angelica’s eyes.

  “Jefferson is doing fine. We are working through our issues.”

  “You know he was on his way back to you when I told him about the hit,” Angelica added quickly. Margo stopped chewing her food and stared at Angelica. “He told me he had made a mistake with Linda, and that you were the best thing in his life. He loved you without a doubt, and he had to make you understand.”

  Margo sighed. “It would have been nice if he had told me himself.”

  “He thought that he might not get the chance to tell you.”

  “I’m glad to hear this.” Margo began to choke up. “Angelica, I have loved Jefferson from the first day I met him. We were a team; we were one. There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for him or he for me. I don’t know what went wrong, but I still love him and always will.

  “I bore this man four beautiful children whom we have nourished and given the best years of our life together so they would be good people. It was the family I always dreamed I would have. Things happen in life, but I wasn’t ready for Jefferson’s indiscretions and illegal activities. Linda was one thing but you, my best friend, are another. I couldn’t digest it, but I hope you’ve been upfront with me today. You’ve paid your dues, and now I’m looking forward to the day Jefferson comes home.”

  “I pray that you and Jefferson will heal from all that has happened to you.” Angelica looked up and smiled at Margo. “Thank you for giving a girl a second chance.”

  “We still have a long way to go on our friendship, but welcome back, friend. Now let’s eat.”

  Angelica smiled again and squeezed Margo’s hand. She had her friend back.

  Malik was busy explaining the ins and outs of the computer system his customer was picking up. When he looked up, his eyes shifted between Margo and Angelica. Surprise registered in his eyes, and he lifted a finger and mouthed one minute. Malik helped the customer take the computer to his car and returned.

  “So, what brings you two to SuperComp Technical Solutions?” Malik asked, directing his question at Margo.

  “Angelica is in need of a job,” Margo began, “and I think you told me you needed office help.”

  It was soon clear to Angelica that, while Malik might have an opening, she wasn’t going to be the recipient of it—Malik’s body language said
as much.

  “I do, and I’ve already interviewed a few ladies for the job.”

  “What if I donated my time?” Angelica spoke up. “It’ll keep overhead down.”

  “It’s not that, Angelica.”

  “It’s because I’m a felon. Is that it, Malik?”

  “Okay,” Margo interrupted. “Bad idea. We’ll go.”

  “When can you start?” Malik asked.

  Margo smiled.

  “Tomorrow,” Angelica said, not wasting another precious moment.

  “The hours are nine to six, and don’t be late. If it works out, maybe we can think about permanent.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  “Margo, what you fixing for dinner tonight?”

  Angelica looked between the two of them. She knew there had to be something going on.

  “Malik, there isn’t going to be any cooking at my house tonight. Angelica and I are going shopping and we’re not sure what else the night holds.”

  “Nine o’clock,” Malik said to Angelica.

  “Gotcha, brother. I will be here on time.”

  There was something about Malik that Angelica couldn’t put her finger on. He always deflected her advances, even when he was a serious, single bachelor. He was Jefferson Myles’ best friend, but that could not have been it. Angelica was sure Malik didn’t want her around, but she planned to be all up in his face.

  6

  Angelica was up early. She was like a schoolgirl in love. The thought of being with Malik for eight or nine hours excited her. Maybe Fayetteville had something to offer after all.

  She picked out a lime-green, lightweight suit. The skirt hit an inch above the knees, and the jacket had a fly-away collar that buttoned just below her cleavage. She found a pair of two-anda-half-inch heels so she could look up into Malik’s eyes. It was going to be a good day. She could feel it.

  Malik smiled when he saw Angelica standing at the front door, waiting to be let in. She smiled back and moved away from the door so he could let her inside. His cologne was intoxicating, and she fought the urge to run her hands through the curls in his hair.