The waiter completed writing down the order and picked up their menus. He walked away from their table and Jeremiah checked his guest to see her reaction. "Well, how did I do?"
"If you must know... I'm impressed. Now I'm most certainly curious as to just how closely you have been watching, everything you chose for me, I order often, it's my preference, should I be worried?"
"With me? Never. I ordered according to what I see. You look like you take good care of yourself. I imagine you to be someone who would indeed eat what I've chosen."
Deidre picked up her water and took another sip, setting it down she stated, "Seems to me, either you're one hell of a lawyer with incredible insight to people and how to read them, or you have an article of my clothing bugged... so... which is it?"
"Certainly not the latter. I must say, my powers of perception are pretty right on. Emmm, nice song..." He commented suddenly to the song playing, Peabo Bryson's, 'I'm so into you.' "... so tell me Deidre, what type of music do you like?"
"Pretty much anything that tickles my ear. My ex - listened to quite a variety of music, lots of Rhythm and Blues, some Jazz, and I ummm, grew accustomed to all types of music... so, I agree - this is nice."
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking?"
Deidre took a really deep breath, thinking about whether she wanted to share that or not, but then figured, what the hell did it matter. Shawn's life was in Wisconsin with Sylvia, and it was time for her to begin a life of her own.
"What happened? Hmmm, oooh lots of things. For one, I was blind... maybe refused to see what was going on right before my eyes. Basically, my parents tore us apart, and I - let them."
"Is that regret I hear?"
"Ye-eah... it is. But... its over... he's gone on with his life and appears to be very happy. He's due to remarry soon... and ummm, has a child on the way with his future wife."
"You two have a daughter together, correct?"
"Yes... she's with him. For good reason, he's an exceptional father... that's all he's ever wanted to be, a father of many children."
"And you... not a many children kind?"
"No... we had one together, and to be honest... I didn't do that one very well. Don't get me wrong, I love her... she's beautiful, here... here's a picture of her, she's absolutely breathtaking... wait 'til you see her." Deidre bragged going into her purse for her wallet, she opened it and passed him a picture of her Angela.
"Wow... you're right... she's stunning. And I take it... this is your ex?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm, should I beware of the fact that you're carrying around a picture of him?"
"Well, you might note its a family portrait that we took together when Angela was three, I just haven't been able to part with it."
He handed her the wallet back.
"She's very much like her father."
"Yes she is."
"I take it his future wife is good with children then... for you to just give her up to live with them?"
"I've only met her a few times, but... I know Shawn... for him to be head over heels as he is for her, there must be something special about her, and after seeing her - I think she's more his type."
"Why is that?"
"Shawn has a thing for... black people. He always has. There was a really good friend of his, that he mentioned a lot when we were married, he was black... had been killed some years back. Shawn was forever attached to his family... he ummm, would go and get his grandmother... his friend's grandmother and treat her to dinner now and then at our house or would take her out. If we argued and he would take off... I always knew that there with her is where I could find him. Him and my daughter."
"Whoa... he sounds like a seriously deep kind of man. So I take it... his future wife... is black?"
"Yes she is. I often wondered how long it would take him before he went for a black woman... there were many times when we were married, that I wondered why he'd chosen me as his wife, when everything about him had been - oooh... black curious, sympathetic, moved and often angry by injustices done to them. It was only a matter of time."
"Is that why you're sitting here with me? Perhaps your way of testing to see what the big deal is?"
Their appetizers came. They both sat back letting the waiter place them carefully before them.
Deidre unfolded her napkin and placed it into her lap, "This is positively wonderful, thank you for your wise choice." Deidre complimented as Jeremiah sat back and stared at her a moment, watching as she gracefully sampled the mushrooms, "Mmmmm, heavenly..." She moaned in appreciation.
"Well?"
"Well what?" She asked.
"...testing to see what the big deal is?"
"I didn't know there was supposed to be a big deal. I had nothing planned for this evening. You invited me out after our encounter, staged or not, and here we are. I'm not looking for nor expecting anything beyond this... neither should you." She answered, then ate her asparagus, Anita Baker was on, "Oh now I love her music, what's her name? I forget, its been a while since I've listened to her." Deidre asked.
"Anita Baker, songs - 'Been so long'." He answered.
"Good song, Shawn had this album and I played it all the time. So much in fact, he got sick of it."
"Em." He made the sound, leaning over to enjoy his oysters.
"So... you know so much about me... what's going on with you?" Deidre asked.
"Nothing much to tell. I work too much. I spend too much. I want too much. And I got this crazy feeling... that I just might be wanting you."
Deidre sat back and looked across the table at him. The two sat for moments just staring.
"That might not be such a good idea."
"Why?"
"Because my life is in a nice little mess presently and to be honest, I'm rebounding right now... so, I need to recover from that first."
"The ex?"
"Yeah."
"He must have been some kind of man."
"Yeah... he was... and should I somehow find myself in another relationship, that man... will have one hell of a slot to fill. Its not right to put someone through it."
"I guess so, if you say so. But... he couldn't have been all that - after all... he walked away and left you. So he's either missing something here -(Jeremiah tapped is head)- or he wasn't meant for you. In which case, if the latter is true... the next man, will more than likely exceed all expectations, simply because... you'll be looking for the one... that's meant to be for you. Good luck in that... may you find him." He said, digging into his half shells.
Deidre smiled thinking, 'Good answer... good answer.'.
Across town...
"Wha's up Mr. Reynolds? You ain't got to walk man, hop in... I'ah give'yah a ride home."
"Ain't nuttin' wrong wit' me boy I can't walk... walkin' keep a man alive... can't get use to ridin' all the time."
"Yeah but you a ways out, come on Mr. Reynolds - you can walk later. Get in." Maxwell called, pulling over to open the door of his mercedes. Although reluctant, Mr. Reynolds shifted his bad hip around using his cane and eased into the waiting vehicle. Maxwell climbed out and trotted around to the other side closing the door and went back jumping in his ride with a smile on his face for the old man.
"How's thangs for you Mr. Reynolds? You still watching your old cowboy and Indian movies?"
"All the time, you ain't watch nan' yet has yah? You bes' min' my words boy... keep yo' eyes open. I'm tellin' you the truth, white man strike when you lease expect. Been mighty quiet round here lately... ain't much happenin'. It ain't miss my notice though... I go on my walks all the time... I been seeing me a car drivin' round in the mornin' - 'cause I be up early. White man drivin' it - he just driving in and out... like he tryin' to figa' somethin' out."
"When was this?" Maxwell asked.
"Early in the mornin'! When yah'll ass be out cold after up half the night actin' goddamn fools - all that loud ass music! Smokin' dat dope... tha's how shit sneak up on yah'll ass - boy you
shortin' yo'self!"
"Yeah yeah yeah... back to this car you seen... white man... how many times you see'im?"
"Last few mornin's now. He stop a few times lookin' at the cars yah'll drivin'... I'm tellin' you... white man up to somethin'... yah'll best beware... somethin' bout to happen... and I get a feelin'... i's 'bout to happen here. That way... you stupid as nigga's get to take the blame... you mark my words boy... you mark my words."
Maxwell drove onward quiet - he wondered himself about that. Two of his homies mentioned seeing something similar. They too felt uneasy, he would talk to them today... tell'em keep their 2-way radios on them for the next few days... they usually only messed around with them for fun, but this time... he thought it might be good to leave them on. Maybe Mr. Reynolds was right, something might be about to go down... and if it did... the hell if they were going to be sitting ducks to it.
At The Restaurant...
"Now let me get this right... you're going to leave your family finance and banking business to open an herbal clinic?" Jeremiah asked in disbelief.
"Yes... why is that so hard to believe?"
"There's no... real money in it."
"There's more things to life than just money. Money is not the fix all do all."
"Maybe not, but you can't do all or fix all without it. Its the mainstay of man's existence."
"I disagree... I think its the major corruptor of man. Greed is responsible for so much suffering, almost every plight of man where suffering has been inflicted on small nations or great, greed has been the seed, at its door - wrongs or injustice can be laid. Especially in the case of health, food and nutrition."
"How so?" Jeremiah asked.
"Consider this, what better way for the rich to maintain their hold on power and riches while keeping the poor poor... than by starving them. By feeding them inferior crap that cripples their powers of reasoning, scattering all focus and concentration, depleting the brain of vital nourishment so that it can never balance. Failing to produce the important chemicals that assist the human mind to work at its best, so all they do, feel and face is frustration, aggression and hostility. Followed by acts that has been pinned to them as their cultural trait. In Africa... black people are starved of any food or nourishment, here in America... they are starved of nutrient. Starvation is starvation. You ever dieted and felt the jitters, shakes, instant anger and impatience it brings on when you're not eating enough? Well imagine if every day of your life, that was all you ever felt? What I've observed, is that the food they are given, which is all they can afford, is filled with sugar, flour and food coloring. Decorated rice slop. You ever notice that crap food, junk food in particular is cheap and plentiful? Very filling? While not offering the body anything substantial to function and build on. Black children, and for that matter, any impoverished child - period... they don't lack intelligence, they lack food. Real food... food for the healthy developing mind. I have a dream, of establishing a basis to prove this. As a matter of fact, other's have done so."
"Hmmm, I'm trying to think back to the kind of diet I was raised on. I suppose I was fortunate, my mother grew all of our food, and we lived off of cheap sardines, lots of fish... never any junk food, it wasn't allowed. The lady we ended up with as well, fed us pretty much the same way. Green vegetables and meat all the time... again, no junk food. So ... I think that lies in the hands of the parents, society is not to blame for that."
"Are you kidding me? Surely you're not serious. The change in society and the family arrangement has made it so that mothers can no longer be at home to feed their children. Don't you know that your circumstances are far different from the majority. Across America, the majority of poor single mothers don't have the necessary means to feed their children right and is not around half the time to see that they eat right if they could. So what is there left to consume? What is readily available and cheap? Corn chips, macaroni and cheese, tortilla chips, potato chips and ramen noodles! That's not real food! But its all that is often available to them. And the mothers themselves while pregnant cannot eat right, then they give birth and must go through post-partum. The brain cannot chemically adjust and many start suffering from paranoid psychosis and I'm telling you, its because of the food... or lack of it. Important oils, important minerals, important nutrients have been leached from them early on, if they ever had them at all, and especially during pregnancy. Afterwards, because it is so lacking and not immediately replenished, the brain begins to malfunction, and they start imagining things, horrific things... and they start killing." Deidre sat back certain of what she had observed.
"Interesting... I've never really given it much thought to be honest with you."
"Well most people don't! They derive more pleasure from making statements of,that's the way they are. I totally disagree, because any race of people, act the exact same if they are mentally and physically starved of vital nourishment. If the government focused on reversing the ill effects of commercialized process foods and made real food more available to poorer cultures, I believe the crime rate and acts of domestic violence would drop by as much as 35%."
"Well you're obviously very passionate about it - I fear that this undertaking is going to cause you more frustration than reward. However it would be interesting to see if what you say is true."
"Well, I have a means to at least start setting it up. I'm just trying to think of how to best go about it. That is my dilemma, and breaking away from my parents entirely."
"I have to say that I admire your desire to formulate a fix from the nucleus up... you have a long road ahead and a mighty task before you, but I'm all for it. Did you enjoy your dinner?"
Deidre smiled, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry for going on and on like that. Yes, I enjoyed it very much."
Jeremiah signalled their waiter. "Check please." He brought it to them with Jeremiah handing him his Diners Club credit card, the ticket was brought over for him to fill in the tip, after doing so, he placed his card back in his wallet.
"Care to walk a bit... the evenings still young."
"Sure, why not."
They walked out of the restaurant, slowly strolling down Figueroa street towards Olympic Blvd, chatting comfortably about this and that. Neither aware of the eyes watching them, Deidre completely oblivious to the events unfolding around her.
Chapter 69
Crystal was on the phone with Victor. Angela and the boys were running around the house making a nice racket, Mundo was in the basement with a couple of his friends arranging the music and mixing it for Shawn and Sylvia's wedding, and Shawn and Sylvia were out to dinner with his friends that came in for the wedding. She knew she should be studying, but all she could think about was her husband. Despite her mother's advice, she called him. She couldn't just sit and wait for him to contact her, what if he decided not to contact her at all? No, she couldn't do it. So she took the phone off its perch and walked into her mom's bedroom and closed the door from the kids making such a racket.
"Hi Natalie, can I speak with Victor please?" She'd asked, receiving a moment of silence before finally hearing her say, "It's for you... Crystal. Don't be long, we don't wanna be late." She heard her caution him.
"Yeah?" He stated hesitantly, she could tell he was reluctant to speak with her.
"I umm, hadn't heard from you - since... you know... and um, I just thought I'd call... to see what's going on?" She swallowed, nervously - feeling her stomach flutter.
"I've been working, and sleeping."
"Oh... Isaac was wondering when you were coming to get him, and Darren?"
"I'll keep them for you tomorrow while you're at your moms wedding."
"Keep them for me? Are they not yours as well?"
"Is this going to end up as an argument? If so, lets save us both the bother."
"No... I didn't call you to argue... I'm just saying, God Victor... give me a break here, this is not easy for me."
"I imagine not... you staying with your mom now?"
&nbs
p; "Yeah... how'd you know?"
"I went by the house yesterday, it was empty."
"Oh... why?"
"To see the boys."
"Why didn't you call my cell phone?"
"Its no big deal, I'll see them tomorrow."
"I miss you - Victor - I -..."
"Don't Crystal... lets just leave it okay."
"I don't wanna leave it. I love you... and I'm sorry... I ... I just wanna-..."
"Crystal... its not gonna work. I've been thinking about it, nothing but in fact - I came so close to coming home yesterday... I'm glad you weren't there."
"Oh nooo, its not too late, I can move back... our rent is still paid for the month."
"No... we need to be apart from each other a while. I don't know... maybe my parents were right, maybe... we shouldn't have -... I don't know - this is not easy for either of us."
"What are you saying? Are you saying that you regret being with me?" Crystal asked feeling her chest grow tight.
"I - look... its too much... too soon... let's just give it a rest, see how things go... that's all I'm saying. I'll pick the boys up in the morning."
"Well don't rush off the phone."
"I have to, we're going out to dinner."
"Oh... I see... with who?"
"My mom, dad, some old friends of theirs."
"Oh... well... do... do you still love me Victor... do you?"
There was silence, "I need to go." He finally said.
"Just like that... its over, you can just dismiss me like nothing."
"Of course not! Don't do this Crystal! Don't make me out to be the bad guy here! My saying to you that I still love you isn't going to change anything! I loved you with all the love I could give, and look at us now. I tried to hang in there, I tried to help, I tried to give it time... look... I gotta go."
"Yeah... okay... see you in the morning." Crystal couldn't breath past the boulder size stone in her chest.
"Okay, have them ready... I'll be there at 8:00."
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