by Mychea
“Maybe tomorrow. Tonight I need to be alone.”
I knew what that meant. It meant that he was about to go and drink his sorrows away at the bar in the basement.
My thoughts turned to Emeri. I wonder how she is feeling. The thought of losing my mother made me cringe. I don’t ever want to think about anything-bad happening to her. I felt for Emeri. I had given her the cold shoulder when I showed her to the guest room earlier. As I make my way out the kitchen and up the stairs, I decide to go in and check on her. She probably needs a friend more than anything right now.
I softly knock on the door before entering.
“Emeri, are you awake? May I come in?” As she was coming out of the guest bathroom, I noticed that she had red streaks on her face and puffy eyes. Crying was definitely taking a toll on her face.
“I’m awake. I was getting ready for bed. What’s up?”
“Nothing serious, I just wanted to talk with you to make sure everything was okay. If I gave you the wrong impression about me earlier, then I want to apologize. I was not trying to be rude.”
“Oh, I didn’t think that you were rude…more cautious, if anything, which is completely understandable, considering this crazy situation.”
I step all the way in the room and sit in a chair placed in the corner that faces the bed.
“I was wondering if you were up for talking.” I asked her.
She looked uneasy for a second, as if trying to decide if that would be a wise decision. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Okay.” Then she plops down on the king-size bed. I took the opportunity to delve into her life and find out some things about her.
“Well for starters,” I begin, “what was it like growing up for you? Did you ever think about my dad and what life could have been like?”
She hesitates for a minute while she ponders my question and her answer. To me, it felt like she was taking an eternity when, in all actuality, it probably was not more than a few seconds. I did not think the question that I had asked her was that difficult, but on the other hand, I had not grown up like her either, so I wait until she gathers her thoughts. My mother always used to say, “Patience is a virtue.”
“Well,” she begins slowly, “my life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I mean it wasn’t a fairytale like yours.”
I look at her incredulously and wonder what fairytale she thinks I live in. I opt to keep my mouth shut and let her continue.
“My Mama had to struggle for everything that we had, and seeing her go through that, I tried to do everything I could to make life as easy as possible for her. I was a good student, I didn’t talk back and whatever she needed me to do for her I would do with no questions asked.”
I could see her eyes watering up again and feel for her.
“It just seems like her life, our life, was so hard,” Emeri continued. “I mean my grandparents didn’t lift a finger, not once, to help, and they lived about two blocks away from us. I guess they were trying to teach my mama a lesson for getting pregnant by a Black guy. It’s not like she could just give me back, or I could somehow disappear or something.”
She looks down at her fingers.
“Sometimes I wish that I didn’t exist for my mama’s sake. Her life would have been so much better without having me be such a burden on her.”
I move to the bed and take her hand in mine.
“You know what I bet?” I ask. “I bet your mom’s life was that much richer, and better, because you were a part of it. I find it hard to believe that you were a burden on her. As a mother, I do not find it possible, no matter the circumstances of how you got pregnant. You were probably the light of her life and loved unconditionally by her. That’s what I bet.”
She looks me over, removes her hand from mine and says, “No offense Naima, but you grew up like a princess. You have no idea what I went through as a child.”
Okay, I had had it with the whole fairytale and princess accusations.
“You know Emeri,” I say as I go back and sit in my chair. I eyeball her from head to toe. “My life wasn’t all sunshine and flowers, as you seem to think. I got pregnant with Namiyah when I was 16-years-old. Sixteen honey, okay. That ain’t no ball game or no part-time job. My parents did not give me any breaks. I had to quit the cheerleading team, go to night school and get a morning job to help offset the cost that my parents were paying for my baby. It was a mess. Then right after I turned 18, I married my kids’ father and took on the responsibility of being a young mother and a wife. So don’t sit there and think my life was some walk through the damn clouds, because it was not.” I say looking at her with a newfound hostility.
She is looking at me, unsure of how to take what I said. Then she shrugs as if to say ‘whatever.’ I remind myself that she is about 23 or 24. It looks like and that shrugging is a typical response for her age group when they are not sure of exactly what to say.
There is awkwardness in the room, hanging over our heads now. Shoot, I am at a loss. I am not used to this whole sister thing. As the oldest, I felt that it was my responsibility to say something. I imagine that is how other sisters handle things.
I roll my eyes to the heavens and sigh. “Emeri, I wasn’t trying to make it seem as if your life wasn’t hard because I’m sure it was. To you, my life appears privileged because I grew up with both parents. How about we call a truce and agree to disagree?” I stand up and look down at her with a slight smile. “You’re the only sister I have and I would prefer for us to get to know one another. We have the rest of our lives to have arguments. What do you say?” I ask as I stick out my hand for her to shake.
She glances up at me, stands and does the unexpected. Ignoring my hand, she enfolds me into a hug.
“To be honest Emeri, I always wanted a sister,” I tell her as I wrap my arms around her and stroke her wild hair. “I have always wanted someone that I could talk to and have in my corner for life in general, especially now that my best friend and I are no longer speaking. I need someone to help fill that void. So I for one am very glad that you are here.”
She backs out of the hug and looks at me and for a split second, it seems as if she has a look of indifference in her eyes, but then she gives me a bright smile. Maybe it was her nervousness about this whole crazy situation. In her position, I would probably be nervous too.
“I’m glad that I’m here too, and here’s some news for you. I always wanted a family and you’re just an added bonus to the package deal.” She smiles at me again, and at that point, I felt a chill go down my spine. Something about Emeri seems too sincere, almost as if she were not real. If that even makes sense.
Damir 17
Pulling into Naima’s parent’s driveway, it feels like an eternity has passed since I last saw her. I’ve been so concerned with Amber and this whole pregnancy thing that I’ve had to put Naima on the back burner a little. It was just until I could sort things out in my head, and find a way to tell her about my situation.
I wasn’t even out of the car good before I hear Namiyah screaming at the top of her lungs from the second-story window, “Mommy, Mr. Collins is here!” Kids are hilarious.
When the front door openss, I was expecting to see Naima, but the vision that stood before me must have been a mirage. There is no way God could create a creature like this and not keep her in Heaven with him. No way. I have never seen anyone with a presence that commands your attention the way that hers did.
I must have been standing there with my mouth hanging open because she was starring at me as if I had lost my mind.
“Hi, I’m Emeri. You must be Damir. Naima has told me a lot about you.” She tilts her head to the side and gives me the once over. “Why don’t you come in?”
That was all she said and I knew immediately that my attraction to this woman was dangerous. I did not know who she was, and I did not care. What I did know was that she was a force to be reckoned with.
Once I enter the house, Naima came into the room looking like the sunshine
on a rainy day. Still, I could not help but wonder about the young woman that opened the door.
Much to my surprise, Naima strolls up, grabs me by the hands and pulls me into the sunroom.
“What’s going on?” I ask her.
She looks at me. “You will not believe the chaos that is going on in this house,” she whispers.
“What kind of chaos?” I ask her, “All seems fine. Your kids are doing the usual noisy thing, your mom is in there cooking dinner, and your dad is off doing whatever your dad does. So what is the problem? It seems relatively normal to me,” I tell her.
“Nothing is normal,” she says and sighs a little. “Mom and Daddy are not speaking. I don’t know if you noticed, but a stranger answered the door.” She shrugs her shoulders and continues, “well more or less a stranger.”
“I’m confused. Did I miss something?” I ask her as I grab her by her waist and bring her to stand in front
of me.
“Men,” she sighs exasperated “You guys are so unobservant. Didn’t you notice Emeri?”
If that was not the understatement of the year, I do not know what was. Did I notice Emeri? How could I have missed her?
“Damir. Hey, hello, Damir?” I must have zoned out because Naima was waving her hands in front of my face.
“Oh, sorry, I must have spaced out for a moment.”
“Damir please focus,” she says as she pushes me down on the chaise and sits next to me. “Emeri is my half sister. My Dad had an affair a while back, and last night she just popped up on our doorstep. Isn’t that crazy?” Naima is looking at me like a crazed woman.
“What?” It was taking a moment for my brain to process what Naima was saying. So Naima and Emeri are sisters. Damn. “That is crazy.” I was saying when we heard a bang, a boom, and a thump, followed by a scream.
“MOMMY! Kalani fell down the steps!” Namiyah shouts at the top of her lungs.
“Oh Shit! I’ll be back!” Was all I heard as Naima ran out the room.
So Naima and Emeri are sisters. Go figure. Naima’s dad sure did produce some beautiful daughters.
“So, you’re the enigmatic Damir that I have heard so much about. Well aren’t you sexy?”
I turn at the sound of the sultry voice and stop cold. There, in a silky floor-length, lavender robe that is open to show off a perfectly proportioned, nude body stood Emeri. There were no words. My body reacts immediately.
“It would seem that you are happy to see me,” she says as she glances at my pants, and shuts the door to the room. She slowly closes the distance between us.
I did not have to look down, I knew to what she was referring. I could feel it.
“What are you doing?” I ask, finally able to find my voice.
“I’m going to do for you what Naima is afraid to,” She says as she picks up my hand and places it on her flat belly. “You want me don’t you? I could see it in your eyes when I opened the door.”
What the hell is going on here? And why couldn’t I stop it? Emeri has me hypnotized. I pull her close as I place one of her nipples in my mouth and suck gently. I could hear Emeri moaning above me, and that slowly jolts me back to reality. I had to be losing my mind. Naima was somewhere in the house.
“I can’t do this,” I say as I gently, but firmly move Emeri away from me.
“Oh, you want it,” She says as she reaches for my pants. She undoes the top button and pulls down the zipper. “Just relax and let it happen.”
She gets down on the floor and proceeds to give me the blowjob of the century. I knew that there was no point in fighting her. I was a goner.
“Hey, I’m sorry I had to leave you in here to fend for yourself,” Naima says as she comes into the room with a pretty banged-up Kalani on her hip. “Mister Kalani here had a pretty bad fall, didn’t you Punkin?” she asks him. He nods in affirmation, rubs the bandage on his forehead. He then lays his head on her chest, and closes his eyes, lucky baby.
“Emeri told me she came down to chat with you. Interesting girl isn’t she?” Naima asks as she fixates her hazel eyes on me.
Interesting was not the word I would use to describe Emeri.
“Uh, yeah she’s something” was all I could muster up to say.
“Something isn’t the word. Sometimes I get a strange vibe from her, as if she’s walking around with a sense of entitlement. It could be me; I’m not used to this whole sister thing. It’s so new to me.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine what you and your family must be feeling.”
Naima eyes me intently. “Damir, are you okay? You seem a little weird.”
“Everything is fine. I’m just trying to take it all in,” I tell her, though in actuality, I was trying to get myself together. Emeri left the room about two minutes before Naima walked in. I was trying to get my heart rate back to normal.
“What are you guys doing?” Speak of the devil. In walks, Emeri in a pair of jeans and a fitted sweater. Seeing her, even in clothes, made my body react all over again. I wanted to feel what it would be like to take in all of her and discover all her body’s inner secrets. Suddenly, I feel as if I am suffocating. I had to get out of the presence of these two before I become undone.
“Maybe I should go,” I say, shifting my eyes away from Emeri and ignoring her question.
“You’re going to leave? I thought we were going out.”
I look over at Naima, with a sleeping Kalani in her arms, and wonder what I am to do. I promised to take her out. Now I feel guilty about what has transpired between Emeri and me, and for wanting to take it far beyond what happened in this room not too long ago.
“You should stay with Kalani. He has had a pretty rough day and probably needs his mom. I think I will make my way home and work on some things.”
“How about I get Kalani all squared away, and then come keep you company a little later on this evening? How does that sound?”
She was not letting me off the hook easily. She was going to have a day with me.
“That sounds good. Come over when you are all done here. I’ll be home.” I walk over and kissed her forehead. “Nice meeting you Emeri,” I say without looking back. Once I was finally out the front door, I could breathe again.
What the hell happened to me in there? Emeri was trouble, I could tell. She smelled like trouble, looked like trouble, and had a sexual aura that screamed trouble - and yet there was no way I could stay away from her. No way. Lord help me.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I contemplate how I am going to break the news of Amber’s pregnancy to Naima. She just called to tell me that she was on her way over, and for the life of me, I could not put two whole thoughts together in my head.
Hearing the phone ring snapped me out of my self-induced pity party. I answer on the third ring.
“Hello?” I say into the receiver.
There was shallow breathing on the other end, but no response.
“Whoever this is, I’m flattered as hell that you called to breathe on my phone, but I have other things to do at the moment.”
Just as I was about to hang up, I heard, “D, I’m here don’t hang up.”
D? What the hell? No one has ever called me that, except my baby sister Alanna, and that is how I wanted it to stay.
“Who is this?” I ask, cursing myself for answering the phone without checking the caller ID first.
“This is Emeri.”
Emeri, what in the hell?
“Emeri, how did you get my number?”
“I got it out of Naima’s cell before she left. I figured you might be missing me, so I wanted to give you a call.”
What in the world, have I gotten myself into? Everything about Emeri screamed crazy. Look at all that had taken place between us, and I had just met her today.
“Emeri, what happened between us this afternoon was a mistake. I am dating your sister. I take responsibility for whatever part I played in leading you on, but nothing is going to come from it. Do you understand?” I ask her.
“No Emeri, I do not want to play hard to get. I do not want to play games period. I do not want to do anything to hurt your sister. I had a weak moment and lost my head. That is all. And I would prefer that you didn’t call me D. No one calls me that. No one.”
“You don’t want to hurt the princess?” She snorted on the other end of the line. “What about me? Why is she better? She is the one that grew up with the family I always wanted. Why does she get to have everything?”
What the hell kind of psychological issues does this girl have? And why am I the one she thinks will play therapist with her?
“I don’t have an answer to your question, and I would like to recommend that you see someone about your issues. As much as I appreciate your call I must go now.”
I hear her sobbing softly.
“D, didn’t you like what I did for you earlier? You seemed to like it.”
The doorbell rings at that moment. Naima has arrived. Thank goodness. This crazy conversation was getting the best of me.
“Emeri, it was a weak moment, nothing more. I have to hang up now. Take care.” I hang up the phone without listening for a reply.
Making my way down the steps to the door, I begin to wonder what I am going to do about Emeri. How could I possibly have a problem with someone I have only known a few minutes? I look out the peephole. Shit. Could my day get any worse?
I open the door.
“Amber, this is certainly an unexpected surprise, what are you doing here?” I ask her as I lean in the doorframe. I have no intentions of letting her inside.
“I came to talk to you face-to–face,” she says shifting her weight. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“I hadn’t planned on it,” I tell her. “Once again, what are you doing here? What do you have to say to me that you couldn’t say over the phone?”
“I wanted to see you Baby. I missed you.”
“Amber, you see me at the doctor appointments,” I pointedly remind her. “I check on you all the time, so let’s cut the bull and get to the real reason you decided to pop up. I have plans this evening and I don’t really have time for your games today.”