Show Me the Sun

by Miriam Shumba

  “He might have had an emergency or maybe he’s doing paperwork. Give him a few more minutes, Raven. Don’t back out on me.”

  “I wasn’t,” Raven reluctantly reassured her friend, looking at the hospital entrance as many people walked in and out of the sliding doors. None of them were their “suspect.” This moment reminded her of the many times Candice demanded something outrageous from her when they were little kids. And now ten years later they were still at it, only this time the stakes were higher and Raven liked it even less.

  “I just want to see if my suspicions are true. I’m sure if you were in my shoes you would do the same.”

  Raven knew why she was saying the next thing she did but she did it anyway. Raven had always accepted her role in life as Candice’s shadow, and she said what she did to reassure Candice that she was the winner and Raven the spectator to Candice’s exciting perfect life.

  “I saw a picture of Amari’s fiancé. Well, ex.”

  “What’s she like?” Candice took her eyes off the entrance for a second and glanced at Raven.

  “Sultry. Yeah, that’s what comes to mind. Someone I would expect him to be with.”

  “But he has you,” Candice said, looking away. Raven didn’t like the way Candice said that, hoping for some compliment, but shrugged it off.

  “I still wonder why they broke up,” Raven said, then jumped when Candice slapped her arm.

  “Look. There he is talking on his cell phone. Do you think he’s talking to her?” Raven watched Charles as he walked out of the hospital in khaki pants and a button-down blue shirt. He had put on weight since the wedding, but had turned most of it into muscle. He looked confident in his appeal and success in life.

  “Let’s follow him. Start the car,” Candice breathed urgently, as if Charles could hear them.

  “We can’t follow him. He came out alone. You said you wanted to see if he was seeing someone at the hospital.”

  “Just follow. Go!” Raven started the engine and followed Charles’s dark blue sedan.

  “Not that close!” Candice cried, grabbing the steering wheel with a vice-like grip. Raven pushed the brakes hard with panic and they both lunged forward.

  “You’re making me nervous,” Raven said. “Just calm down.”

  “Follow him now. We might lose him.” Raven realized there was no reasoning with Candice. Her mind seemed to have left her.

  They followed Charles’s car for about thirty minutes, twenty of which were on the highway towards Troy. Charles exited the highway and immediately turned into a hotel parking lot. Raven kept back as he parked.

  “Oh, no,” Candice moaned. “He really is cheating.”

  “He might have a meeting,” Raven said, watching Charles put on a light jacket over his shirt and walk towards the hotel entrance after a furtive glance around.

  “Let’s go,” Candice said, picking up her purse from the floor of the car. Her pretty eyes looked at Raven with urgency. She brushed her beautiful dark hair back with her hands, trying to calm herself.

  “No, Candice. I can’t come in there. I think I’ve done too much already. This was a crazy idea.”

  “Don’t chicken out on me now! Let’s go. I need to know what’s going on,” Candice practically shouted.

  “Get a private investigator or something. Just don’t do this on your own.”

  “Sitting here is wasting precious time. Now I won’t even know where he is, damn it!” Candice got out of the car and slammed the door. Raven remained in her seat, wondering who Candice was. She had clearly lost her mind. She got out of her car and ran after Candice, thinking of how she would explain this mess to Amari.

  Inside the hotel lobby they couldn’t find Charles. They checked every conference room and finally Raven stopped Candice when she wanted to walk on every floor.

  “This is almost ten floors and I have to go. I’m picking up Tahlia. She can’t drive since her accident and Amari is coming tonight,” Raven said out of breath.

  “It’s all about you and Amari, isn’t it? Never mind that my husband could be somewhere in this huge place doing some unimaginable things to someone and you just think of yourself!” Candice said as tears fell from her eyes.

  Raven took a deep breath to quell the anger threatening to engulf her. “I’m thinking of my sister. I must go. You can come with me, or I will have to leave you here,” Raven said, looking at her watch. It was already dark outside and she had had a very difficult day at work, and now this CSI moment had just taken its toll.

  “Raven, please just wait with me. I can’t leave without knowing. I’ll never ask for anything else again. Just wait a few minutes. He doesn’t take that long anyway.”

  Raven shook her head at Candice’s comment and sat on the overstuffed sofa next to her. They sat in silence in the lobby, Raven staring into space and Candice’s eyes glued on the elevators.

  “What are you gonna do when you see him?” Raven asked as a way to pass the time.

  “I’ll think of something. Something he ain’t gonna like, that’s for sure. What would you do if it was Amari?”

  The two women looked at each other. Raven didn’t want to answer. She wasn’t even married yet and Candice was putting those horrible thoughts in her head. No! Amari would never do that, but Candice’s voice continued, cutting through Raven’s denial.

  “They all do, and Amari, well, women line up for men like him. Fine muscled brother with those eyes and all that dough.”

  Raven stood up quickly, “I need to go call Tahlia and…Amari.”

  She walked outside trying to still her thumping heart. Candice was just being her usual insensitive self talking about Amari that way. What did she know about men of God, anyway? Charles never went to church and he never read the Bible according to Candice, so that’s why he was acting up. Amari loved God more than he loved anything and he would not disrespect her. She was so sure of it that she decided to laugh at Candice’s words and banish them from her heart. She dialed Tahlia’s number.

  “Hey, sis, I’m sorry I’m running late,” Raven began.

  “Where are you, anyway?” Tahlia asked, impatience in her voice. She had every right to be mad. Raven looked back at the hotel and froze. Charles was coming out and Candice was already pouncing on him.

  “I gotta go,” Raven spoke into the phone, walking towards the hotel.

  “What’s going on, Ray?”

  “I’ll call you back, T.”

  Raven closed her phone and ran in just as Candice hit Charles with her purse.

  “Where were you? Who was it?” Candice cursed as Charles jumped back from the blows.

  “Candice, it’s not what you think.”

  “Almost an hour in the hotel. Do you think I’m stupid? Huh?”

  The elevator doors opened and a blonde woman stepped out, but when she saw the scene she jumped back in. Candice ran after her and caught the door before it closed. The hotel concierge was making a call and Charles yelled to Candice to stop, but she was already in the elevator.

  “Did you bring her?” Charles challenged, his eyes looking so angry. Raven felt nervous as if he wanted to strike her. She tried not to show her fear. This wasn’t her issue. If only she had just left Candice alone. Raven just shook her head and ran to the elevator, but it closed before she could stop it.

  “Sir, is everything all right?” the man at the front desk asked.

  “It’s cool.” Charles waved him off even though his voice sounded anything but cool. He looked at Raven again, but Raven would not look at him as she punched the elevator buttons.

  Charles turned Raven around to face him and demanded. “What are you doing here?”

  She shrugged off his arm and folded her arms across her chest. “Just talk to your wife. Leave me out of this.”

  “Leave you out? I see you and her sitting waiting for me. What the hell am I supposed to think? Were you spying on me?”

  Raven moved away from him, shouting, “Just watch your tone, Charles. You wer
e the one who was doing something wrong, not me!”

  “But…” Charles was about to rant when the bell rang to signal the arrival of the elevator.

  The gold elevator doors opened and Candice got off, seemingly cooler than before, but the fire in her eyes couldn’t be mistaken. She was ready to kill somebody, and her disheveled clothes made Raven wonder. Maybe the woman who had been on the elevator was already dead.

  Charles turned to his wife. “Candy…”

  “Save your words, cheater. Your woman told me everything,” she spat out, looking him up and down like he was bird droppings on her car.

  “What did you do to her?”

  “I should’ve done something, but she’s up there cowering like the whore that she is. Raven, let’s go.”

  Candice walked past Charles. Charles stood for a minute, not sure what to do. Run after his wife or go and check on his mistress. He chose wisely as he came after Candice.

  “Honey, I can explain. It was a mistake.”

  Candice ignored him and the few hotel workers who had become their audience and stepped out of the double doors. Raven ran by her and pressed the key to open her car. Charles was still explaining but Candice ignored him completely, her head held high. She got into Raven’s car and shut the door on Charles’s words.

  “Just drive,” Candice ordered, sitting back in the seats and folding her arms in front of her chest like a protective shield. Raven reversed and drove around Charles, who kept begging for forgiveness and knocking on the window. Raven watched Charles through her rearview mirror and then turned to Candice. Tears rolled down her cheeks and after a few yards she broke down into heart-wrenching sobs.

  * * *

  Amari put the phone down after talking to his agent. He was always willing to try new things as long as they didn’t compromise his beliefs. Don’t wanna do anything to upset The Main Man Upstairs. He recalled the work he did for one of the leading banks in Europe, a commercial for a bank and one for a chain of new hotels just to add to the few endorsements he had received. He enjoyed acting and found it came easily since high school. Another chance he had to practice his acting chops was when he had taken part in a few music videos for two gospel artists. That was fun!

  His agent asked him if he was willing to try a small part in a movie. Dan Richman and Amari had been working together since he signed with Detroit. Dan was well connected and talked about a new movie starring one of the most successful black actresses, Lexie Hart. Amari had enjoyed a few of Lexie’s movies, but always thought her personal life was like a trash novel. She had done such crazy things he wasn’t sure which was fact and which was fiction.

  His cell phone rang and he picked up after checking the ID. It was his mother.

  “Hey, Ma,” he said leaning back on his hotel bed.

  “Amari. Good game yesterday,” Gloria said.

  “We lost and my shot was off,” Amari complained.

  “Your team is still leading the league. How’s Raven?”

  “She’s cool. Spoke to her earlier. And you?”

  Gloria sighed and Amari knew that there was a storm brewing. “Fine. Just thinking about that wedding of yours.”

  “The Davies have taken over. I think Raven decided to let her mom run the show. Clare’s in charge.”

  “She has no right to do that. What kind of woman is she? I know that traditionally the bride’s family plans and pays for the wedding, but I would have liked to have a small part. You are my only son.”

  “I know, Ma. Don’t worry. In a way, I am glad I don’t have to do much.”

  “Well, I wish I was doing more than throwing you the engagement party.”

  “We didn’t want the engagement party, too. But we are going along with you. I think you’ll find you have a lot in common with Pastor Clare Davies.”

  “I’m not pushy!”

  “But you always get your way.” Amari laughed as his mother grumbled in his ear.

  “Soon I’ll get to meet your future family. So you are sure this time it’s for real?”

  “Yes, Ma. Raven’s the one.”

  “She’s very different from most of your other girlfriends.”

  “I wasn’t in love with most of the other girlfriends. I’m crazy about Raven and I can’t wait to marry her.”

  “Fine. Fine. I don’t want to bring up the past, but Monique’s mother called me the other day. She still misses you and says Monique misses you.”

  “We broke up a long time ago, and that’s better left in the past.”

  “I had to tell them about you and Raven,” Gloria insisted.

  “Good. I’m glad Monique now knows I’ve definitely moved on.”

  “What really happened between you two?”

  “She gave me an ultimatum. Either I set the date or she walks. I never set the date.”

  “Why?”

  “Ma, I’ve told you before. We were from two different worlds. It wasn’t an easy decision, but let’s focus on my life now, and Ray.” Amari heard his mother sigh again. Gloria was still not convinced there wasn’t some other reason why he broke up with Monique.

  To say Monique was beautiful was an understatement. Everybody who saw them together thought Monique and him made the perfect couple. Men and women would turn their heads to look at his beautiful girlfriend. But there was something missing. He had been living with her when he rededicated his life to God. He had just been a Christian in name only without the power or real change in his lifestyle, his ma would always say to him.

  Monique was like a ball and chain preventing him from living a victorious life. He met her when he was out with some friends in the music industry in Atlanta. When she walked in glancing around confidently, hair swinging from shoulder to shoulder, he thought she was the kind of girl that frequented the clubs and would get in without a problem. Even though every guy in the club wanted her she had walked up to him boldly and asked him to dance. And the kind of dancing Monique did was a simulation of much more than that, except they still had their clothes on. Of course he was attracted to her but even though she had been uninhibited on the dance floor when he took her home she hadn’t wanted to sleep with him. She told him that she would want to see him again. And so they had begun dating. She was a good Catholic girl, she had told him.

  “I’m looking for a relationship, Amari. I’m not into casual relationships.” That had been the kind of thing he wanted to hear. So the more he got to know her the more he thought she aligned with his principles, at least the principles he had in theory.

  “So if you are not into casual relationships what were you doing at the club dressed like you are that kind of girl?” Amari had asked her a year into their relationship when they had taken a trip to the Bahamas. She had planned the trip and wanted to celebrate getting to shoot a commercial. She was a student at the time studying theatre and music. Monique, like most beautiful girls, had dreams of making it in the movies, and commercials were the stepping stone she needed.

  “I guess I’ve studied men. You wouldn’t have noticed me so quickly if I had been wearing my thick glasses and a sack, would you?”

  “You don’t even need to wear that tight white dress to be noticed. You always look great.”

  “There are many beautiful girls, Amari. I just had to make myself stand out. But I don’t want to be used by men for one night stands. I’ve been there, and I was tired of having relationships go nowhere. So I still go out to meet people, but with you I just knew you were different. I had read your website and you talked about your belief in God. I knew you were not just into playing around.”

  Amari took this in, surprised. She had done research on him. She had hunted for him like a predator, and she had gotten him. He glanced at her lying on the chaise lounge, her caramel skin glistening from the oil she had applied so her skin could darken. Her bikini left little to the imagination and she looked good, though at times he wished he could cover her up.

  So that was the first problem. She liked to show off her cu
rvy body, displaying for anybody who wished to see how sensual her body was. She wore revealing clothes. As much as he felt proud being with her, he also didn’t think she could be the mother of his children. They fought about how she would dress when he took her to his mother. She had complied to dress conservatively but with bitterness.

  Another problem surfaced. When they met he was not making that much money. He was doing all right, but he wasn’t like the other guys with million-dollar endorsements, so her spending was putting a dent in his account. She wanted to wear designer, Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Coach. There were names of every European designer in their closet. That was the other thing, she had gradually moved herself into his condo. Before he knew it, she was living with him, cooking for him and doing everything a wife does. And the spending continued. Renovating the condo, parties, until they were always fighting about money. She wasn’t spending her money. She was spending his. Then she wanted to get married. Her mother wasn’t happy with the living arrangement, nor was his mother. If he were honest, he wasn’t either.

  “Amari. It’s either you marry me or I walk,” Monique had threatened. In the end she had left him to date a rich Atlanta businessman, but that didn’t last either.

  When he met Raven she was right in every way. She was the missing link, someone who truly shared his values. With her he felt at peace with God. With Monique he had never been at peace, living year after year with her while deep down inside he was tormented. Gloria thought that the main reason he broke up with Monique was because of her ultimatum. The ultimatum had come after he found something shocking in her underwear drawer. A stack of fertility pills. Monique had been trying to get pregnant while he thought she was on the pill. That had been scary, and he really felt like he didn’t know her at all.

  He was looking forward to a life with Raven, but he had to get through the engagement party his mother was planning for them. She complained about the Davies family taking over his life. Now he focused on his conversation with his mother as she continued her tirade against the Davies clan.

  “We are all set then. The party will be at my place,” Gloria concluded. “I still wish I could do something at the wedding. You are my only son and those Davies people seem to be taking you over.”