Show Me the Sun

by Miriam Shumba

  There were weekends where they never left the bedroom, satisfying their desires for each other’s bodies. Raven had a new respect and awe of God, now that she was married. He had created sex so that husbands and wives could enjoy each other. And she enjoyed Amari so much, he was fast becoming her favorite pastime.

  “You asked for it,” he threatened and got out of bed and grabbed her wrist with one hand and pulled her on top of him with the other hand.

  “Hey, Thomas,” she protested, gazing into his dark, soulful eyes. “Make love to me.” Amari was very happy to comply.

  Much later, as they lay in each other’s arms completely naked and relaxed, she asked again, “Now that you can think straight, tell me about the movie. Did they sign you on to be the star?”

  “Not star. I’ve a fairly big part, but I’m definitely not the star.”

  “That’s exciting,” Raven said. “You and Lexie Hart in the same movie.”

  Amari shifted positions but kept his hold on her body. “She’s a very accomplished actress now, if her awards are any indication, and on her way to becoming a producer. My agent says she wanted a certain look for this role and mine seemed to fit. I don’t know about the acting part, but we’ll see.”

  “After the screen test, then what?”

  “Then I’m off to L.A,” Amari said. “Will you come with me?”

  “I can visit,” Raven said, snuggling closer to him and running her hand across his strong chest. “I was hoping this summer we could go to South Africa on a mission trip.”

  “I know but this…it’s what this new talent agency does for you. Raises your profile and endorsement deals. If this movie thing comes together, we may have to postpone the trip to South Africa. Maybe we could do the mission trip next year,” he said. “If we are not having babies,” Raven agreed, kissing his chest. He pulled her closer and began kissing her again. Raven had been full of wonderful surprises as his wife, and most of them were in his bed.

  Their two-year marriage was still in the honeymoon phase and Raven’s heart still skipped when he walked into a room. The effect he had on her when she first saw him could still be felt when she was caught off-guard. Even though he evoked such powerful emotions Raven could still talk to him about anything, laughing late into the night as they joked and teased each other.

  Raven still had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, but something did bring her back to earth, like learning some of his annoying habits. She didn’t like the way he spent so much money on the latest technology. He wanted all gadgets and shoes. They definitely had different spending styles. They also enjoyed different movies and food. And she still could not get used to the social aspect of his job. Public appearances and events still stressed her out. She hated being scrutinized and photographed and talked about, but Amari managed to wipe away her insecurities.

  She also had to get used to being talked about, especially at Calvary Worship. For years she had stayed hidden in the shadows of her sisters and her father’s church, but now she was easily recognized, especially if she was with Amari. It was still nerve-wracking for her to walk into the church and have so many people turn and look at her. Amari was the one who convinced her to attend church when she would rather stay home and hide.

  Another change that came with her marriage was her relationship with Candice. The problems started just before her wedding. Candice didn’t want to talk about her wedding, complaining, “All you want to do is talk about your wedding. There are other things in life, you know.” And then there was the big outburst she had endured after Charles was caught cheating on her. Candice wouldn’t return her calls after that and declined being one of the bridesmaids and eventually didn’t even come to the wedding.

  However, she was happily married to the man of her dreams now and her best friend’s jealousy would not ruin it. Now she had to adjust again. This whole movie business was new to her. With Amari, life would never be boring.

  * * *

  “Lexie!” Renata Stevens cried in shock. “How on earth will you explain to the media why you posed nude for that trashy website?”

  “That was a long time ago, and that’s your job, Renata,” Lexie said, holding her script while sunbathing on the deck of her stunning Malibu beach house. She had the confidence of a woman who knew she had a perfect body and face. She knew that the camera loved her and America and the rest of the world adored her.

  Lexie Hart was every bit the movie diva that magazines portrayed, but in the past few years she had been trying to clean up her image with the help of her new publicist, Renata Stevens. It hadn’t been an easy job. Lexie’s past was as sordid as anyone’s imagination could conjure, and cleaning it up needed all the vacuum cleaners and cleaning companies in California. She had done it all and was still doing more. But Renata could make even a former bank robber look like a saint. It was all part of the Hollywood image making and smoke and mirrors that she specialized in.

  The reasons people’s opinion had changed were walking towards them right now, dressed in matching designer swimsuits.

  The six-year-old girls were Lexie’s foster kids. It had been a drastic move. After a video of her in compromising positions with a married actor, Lexie had fostered the orphans, Madison and Morgan, to change her image. Their mother had died a year after giving birth and the children had been going from foster home to foster home for four years. Now they were with Lexie Hart. The media was eating up her new role as mom as if she was the first woman to ever foster kids. They were calling her a role model and hailing her as the savior of lost little girls.

  The public loved the fact that she had actually taken children that were from the United States and not decided to go overseas to save the children there. And of course black children were the most difficult to place in homes so Lexie and her move to foster the kids had made her a new Mother Theresa of sorts. Renata tried to talk about Lexie and the twins in the magazines as much as possible. She had planned interviews and appearances all to magnify Lexie’s good heart.

  Now, because of Renata, it was as if Lexie’s past had never happened. Under Renata’s guidance Lexie had become the most gracious woman to ever walk the face of the earth. Even her wardrobe was more sedate. And Lexie ate up her new image with her caviar and exotic fruits.

  “Mommy. Can we go in?” Madison asked, standing close to the pool. Lexie barely glanced at them and nodded.

  “Where is their nanny?” Lexie asked, tossing her recently dyed wavy brown hair. “You know I can’t watch them and focus on my tan.”

  “She’s coming,” Renata said, walking over to adjust the floaters on the girls’ elbows. They looked so cute, with their curly hair tied up in a high ponytail. Renata knew that Lexie didn’t see their cuteness even though they could pass as her kids. She saw them as a necessary evil, and she would keep them as long as they served their purpose. Renata hoped that Lexie would fall in love with the girls eventually.

  “Are you going to swim?” Madison asked again. She was the leader of the two. Morgan was very quiet and just followed her sister around like a shadow.

  “Not today,” Renata said and added silently, I just got my hair done, no use ruining it with chlorine and goodness knows what other germs are lurking in that water.

  “Come, Morgan. Let’s go to the stairs. Don’t be scared. Remember I be right here,” Madison said, sounding like an adult. The tone gave Renata shivers and she was glad to see the nanny, a chubby, cute Mexican lady who spoke very little English, walk towards the girls with their towels and other water toys.

  “Madison’s so grown,” Renata said, sitting back under the huge umbrella. The view from where she sat was breathtaking. She could hear the waves on the private beach and Lexie could certainly afford it.

  Lexie had been in the movie business for a long time even though she was only twenty-eight. It was more than her incredible curvaceous body that sold movie tickets. There was something magical that happened on the silver screen when Lexie was on it. Her
almond-shaped eyes had the power to hypnotize both young and old alike. She wasn’t pretty, or even beautiful. But she was explosive in her sensuality. Everything about her spelled sex, and America was crazy about sex. It had to be in every commercial, every movie, every story and Lexie could sell anything with her body and face. In fact, she had topped the “The most beautiful woman” list several times and the new one, “The Sexiest Body” on Entertainment News. The awards and accolades never stopped coming and Lexie still strived for more.

  “I don’t know how to talk to her. Like a child or an eighteen-year-old or eighty-year-old,” Lexie said, putting her script down and chewing on her perfect full lips. Renata looked at the title of the of the script Lexie was reading, A Lot like Silence.

  “How’s the reading?” Renata asked. “Could this be an Oscar nomination?”

  “More like BET awards,” Lexie said. “I like the story. It’s simple enough. Boy meets girl, but girl chooses money over true love and realizes in the end that the boy was the only one who meant anything.”

  “You know you are the only one who could pull off the life of Catherine Dison.”

  “Do you think Amari Thomas will test well for screening?” Renata watched Lexie sigh deeply and folded her arms on her full chest.

  “He doesn’t have to do much. He’s in a lot of flashbacks and his looks are perfect for the role. Arresting eyes, mysterious demeanor and chiseled strong body. Of course, it helped his case more because his agent is very good friends with the director and producer. I’m looking forward to meeting him, though.”

  Renata watched the faraway look in Lexie’s fiery eyes.

  “He’s married, you know.” Lexie turned to Renata like she had said something crazy.

  “So? Isn’t everybody? Besides, I’m not going to do anything. I have worked too hard to change my image to do anything stupid. Renata, give me credit, please,” Lexie said.

  “I’m just saying.” Renata looked at the swimming pool. Somehow she knew she would have her work cut out for her when the movie began. Lexie always had a thing for her costars, and they always seemed to have a thing for her.

  Chapter 17

  Raven watched the end credits of the movie The Girl In the Mirror with tears in her eyes. Lexie Hart was a brilliant actress. She had the power to evoke emotion without saying a word. The camera didn’t just love Lexie, it adored her.

  “She was just as good in Brown Eyes last year,” Tahlia said, picking up the bowl of popcorn and taking it to the kitchen. Esther stayed on the couch dabbing at her eyes with her fingers. Raven just let her tears roll down her cheeks silently. Tahlia came back and looked at her sisters with astonishment.

  “You ladies aren’t still crying over that movie, are you? Come on!”

  “It’s sad, Tahlia, where’s your heart?” Esther said.

  “It’s just a movie,” Tahlia told her.

  “It’s based on a true story,” Raven said. “That’s what makes it worse. It’s crazy to think that twin sisters brought up by different parents both end up with abusive husbands. That’s something else.”

  “I know. I’m sad, too, but you don’t see me crying over movies,” Tahlia said.

  “I think it’s because you are a counselor. You’ve heard it all and now your heart is hard.”

  “Raven’s the one who should be crying. That woman’s going to be having some serious scenes with your husband.” Esther and Tahlia looked at Raven. Raven raised her eyebrows at them.

  “It’s just a movie and he’s mainly in flashbacks. Besides, Tahlia, you don’t even know what this movie’s about.”

  “Lexie doesn’t do comedy, I know that for sure. So this movie must be intense and powerful. She stars in mostly dramatic movies and she does them very well,” Tahlia said. “So, doesn’t it bother you that he gets to meet all these Hollywood women?”

  Raven leaned back against her couch. The family room was decorated the way she wanted, it was cozy but chic. That was the room Amari and her liked the most. They usually lay down on the couch reading books or she forced him to do the crossword puzzle with her. On his down time Amari read biographies, and he was reading Nelson Mandela’s for the third time.

  “He meets a lot of gorgeous women. Women have always chased him, so I’m not going to let that keep me up at night. I think Amari is a lot deeper and stronger than that. Besides, if he cheats, I leave, period.”

  “Is that what you told him?” Esther asked, staring at Raven.

  “No, but I know that I’ll never want to share him with somebody else or put up with him seeing somebody else. What about you, Esther?” Raven looked at Esther. Esther took a while to respond like the question was very important to her. Angelo was a very popular man at Calvary Worship and led the choir that was filled with women, and most of them single.

  “I agree with you, though I know breaking up is not always easy. There’re so many women who forgive their husbands. God does want us to forgive.”

  “That’s right,” Tahlia said.

  “I don’t know what I would do,” Esther confessed, her eyes wide open. “I love Angelo. I don’t know if I would just give up on him without a fight.”

  “Angelo is a great man of God and so is Amari. So we don’t have anything to worry about, do we?” Raven said.

  “Amen,” Esther said, raising her hands up to the sky.

  * * *

  Lexie arrived at the studio early for rehearsals. She wore a white summer dress that made her look like an angel. Her wavy dark hair was pinned up carelessly. The media was there as she walked in. Black Entertainment Show wanted to do a sneak peak at the first week of rehearsal for the highly anticipated movie. Her fostering of Morgan and Madison had added to the hype.

  “What’s your new movie about?” a reporter asked.

  “It’s a love story with many twists,” Lexie threw over her shoulder without breaking her stride. “It’s a beautiful story.”

  “Is Amari Thomas going to be in the movie?” another reporter asked.

  “I believe so. We’ll see.”

  When Lexie walked in the meeting room the film crew was already there and so was the director and producer, Mike Stevens.

  “How are you, Lexie?” Mike asked. Mike was a giant of a man with a full beard. He always reminded Lexie of a bear. A friendly bear.

  “Fine. Trying to adjust to being a mom,” she said.

  “Oh. The twins. Giving you trouble?”

  “No. They are great girls. I will bring them to the set one of these days.”

  “We would love to meet them. The media kept saying how much those girls look like you. They could pass for your real kids.”

  “That is wonderful to know. I couldn’t love them more if they were mine. I’m truly blessed, Mike.” The words slipped from her lips like honey, without hesitation.

  “Have you met Amari?” Mike asked.

  “No,” she said. She could see the back of his head as he talked to another man. Mike called Amari, and he turned. The moment he faced her there seemed to be a flash of silence in the room. She had thought he was attractive on TV, but seeing him in person sent waves of electricity through her body. It had been a long time since a man had made her feel this way. Actually, she couldn’t remember ever being this affected this quickly.

  “Amari, I would like you to meet Lexie Hart. She will be playing the role of Catherine Dison in A Lot like Silence.”

  “Nice to meet you, Lexie,” Amari said, reaching out his hand to shake hers.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Lexie said, smiling beguilingly. She wasn’t sure which role to play. The innocent lovesick puppy or the seductress. She could pull both of them off very well. She decided to play nonchalance but with a friendly flare. She didn’t want him to know the effect meeting him had on her. It was better to surprise him later when there was nowhere to run.

  “I’ve seen a lot of your movies,” Amari said calmly.

  “Oh. Which was your favorite?”

  “Brown Eyes.”


  “I was a young kid then. I hope to tackle more complicated roles than that,” Lexie said. “And you? You beat our team in the playoffs.”

  “I didn’t know you were a basketball fan.”

  “Who isn’t? But acting and basketball. How are you going to manage it all?”

  “I’m not hanging up my jersey yet. This came up and I want to see how far it will take me. Acting may be a one-time thing.”

  “I see.” Lexie nodded as she had to change her focus from Amari and turn towards Mike, who was bringing the other actors to meet her. He called the meeting to order and rehearsals began. Amari didn’t realize how grueling acting was until they took a break at lunch and had to go back to work again until 6 p.m.

  “You call this hard? Wait until shooting starts. You might have to spend the night in your seat because you’ll be too tired to walk to your trailer.”

  * * *

  Lexie took a break before the end of the day and went to see Renata.

  “I think I’m in love,” she said.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve fallen in love. I know it’s too early and I’ve just met him, but I love him.”

  Renata followed Lexie’s eyes to the tall man talking to the director. It was Amari. There was quite a buzz of excitement around him. News of him signing up to play the role of Douglas Perrier in A Lot Like Silence had been building for months.

  “Him?” she asked, sitting up straighter. Lexie nodded and tapped Renata on the arm.

  “I have to have him,” she breathed, then sauntered off towards Amari leaving Renata with her mouth open.

  “But he’s married,” Renata finally managed to say, but it was too late. Lexie was already saying something to Amari with her well-manicured hand on his wrist. Renata knew that Amari being married meant absolutely nothing to Lexie.