“All right. I’ll pick you up at seven or eight, whichever you prefer.” He held the keys away from her reaching hands.
“Eight’s fine.”
He handed her the car keys.
“I’ll walk you to the car,” Amari offered. She had no choice but to agree. She didn’t say a word to him all the way to his Escalade. She got in and closed the door and drove away without glancing in his direction.
Chapter 28
Amari arrived at the Davies house a few minutes before eight. It felt like a date to him, and he was nervous. He had planned the whole evening out, and it had put a dent in his bank account. Still, the excitement and butterflies made him feel like a little kid. The sun was getting ready to set but it was still a warm, perfect evening, perfect for his plans.
He stepped out of the car and tapped the limo driver’s window.
“Will be back shortly,” he said.
He rang the doorbell and Philip Senior opened it.
“Hello, son,” he greeted him, and then winked. That said it all. Philip was happy that he and Raven were moving in a more positive direction.
Amari had just sat down when Raven walked in. Amari immediately stood up, glancing in her direction. God only knew how much he loved her. She had dressed simply in a knee-length cotton dress. She had lost weight, he suddenly realized. She looked so small and vulnerable as she walked towards her father and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’ll be back soon, Dad. Amari and I just need to talk.”
“That’s all right,” Philip said. In a way he was glad Clare wasn’t home. She had a meeting with Esther and her youth group. She might have said something to spoil the evening which seemed calm, considering.
“Good night, Dad.”
“You kids have fun,” Philip said, but the look Raven gave him told him not to be too hopeful. She walked ahead of Amari towards the door and Amari ran to open it as if he was a hotel bellboy.
When she stepped outside she was surprised to see the black stretch limousine parked in front of her parents’ home.
“What’s going on?” she asked, turning to Amari questioningly.
“I didn’t have my car so I got this instead.”
He could tell that Raven was about to say something, but he could see her make the decision to remain silent. He had counted on that. He didn’t know what he could’ve done if she had refused to go in the limo.
Once they were settled into the car, the driver left the Davies’ driveway smoothly and then, after a few minutes, entered the freeway.
Raven looked out the window, but didn’t say anything for a while. He watched her profile, loving the fullness of her upper lip. He knew she had questions as he sat opposite her. The limo reminded him of their wedding night. He wondered if she remembered, too.
“Would you like a drink?” He held up a bottle of white wine for her view.
“Where are we going?” she asked instead. Amari replaced the bottle.
“I thought dinner on the lake would be good,” Amari said. He wished he could figure out what she was thinking, but she wasn’t giving much away. He couldn’t wait till they got to their destination. He hoped she would be impressed. “First, I wanna say thank you for coming out with me.”
“That’s fine.” She waved his thanks away like it was a fly.
“I’ve missed you.”
They looked at each other. His eyes were sincere. She wanted to believe him, he could tell.
“This is hard, Amari,” she said.
“It’s me. I feel like I’m making you nervous. Like you are with a stranger.”
“I don’t know. I thought I knew you, but I was wrong.”
“You were not wrong about me, baby. I’m still the same man. I just made a horrible mistake.”
She didn’t disagree with him. They arrived at the lakefront.
“Come on.” Amari reached for her hand but she shook her head and made her way towards the door. She got out and stood on the tarmac.
He gestured towards the railing. In the distance she could see a white boat that shimmered on the water. She gazed at the water as Amari talked to the limo driver. He came towards her.
“I thought we were just gonna talk,” Raven said.
“We are. But I wanted us to talk in style.”
“Okay.”
He helped her onto the boat. “Is this a good idea? You know I can’t swim that well.”
“Then don’t get in the water. Stay on the boat,” he said, and then added, “You can wear a life vest.”
She shook her head. Amari seemed prepared for every argument she could come up with to avoid getting on the boat with him. She realized she was wasting her breath. She allowed Amari to lead her on. She held his hands for support, but as soon as she felt steady on her feet she pulled her hand away. A man in a black vest handed them a tall glass of champagne. Raven took it then stood looking at the water.
“We’ll take off in a few minutes,” the captain announced.
“Thank you,” Amari said. There were two chairs and tables on the deck and Amari noted the ice bucket and cheese and fruit platter. He was glad that everything had been taken care of.
“Whose boat is this?” Raven asked.
“I rented it for the evening,” Amari said. “So for now, it’s ours.”
The sky looked beautiful as the sun was now making its way down. Amari liked how her skin glowed in the fading light, how lovely she looked, though he was seriously concerned about her weight loss. Still, she looked more fragile to him. So different. She liked it on the boat but she wasn’t going to say it, he knew. In their two years of marriage they had hardly fought, and their first major fight was so difficult that he had no idea how to get things back on track with her.
The boat ride was about twenty minutes, and then they stopped in front of a white beach house. A table was laid out for two on the terrace.
“The house is ours for the evening,” he said, pulling the chair for her. She looked towards the lake as she sat on the padded garden chair. The boat was still there waiting. Raven sat down and, before she finished pushing her chair in, their favorite chef, Kenneth Wallace, brought out appetizers.
“Here you are,” Kenneth said, putting a plate of salad in front of her.
“Kenneth.” She smiled and hugged him. “You cooked tonight?”
“Yes, Mrs. Thomas. I hope you enjoy what I have for you this evening. We’ll start with this fresh garden salad with feta cheese and fresh fruit. After that I’ll bring you your main course, which is an orange salmon with tender sweet potatoes and wild rice. For dessert I’ve prepared for you a peanut butter cake with cream and walnuts.”
“Wow,” Raven said. “My mouth’s watering.”
“I’ll bless the food,” Amari said once Kenneth left. Raven put her head down and listened as Amari began to pray. “Father, we thank you for this beautiful day. We thank you for forgiving our sins. Father, tonight we pray that you bless our food and our time together. Bless my wife, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Raven said. She smiled at him. “This is a surprise.”
“I wanted to impress you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know.”
She picked up her fork and took a bite of salad. “Mmmh. Good.”
“I know. It’s got great flavors. Don’t know how he does it, but Ken knows how to throw it down.”
“He does.”
“Do you remember what he made for our first Christmas dinner?”
“Oh, yes. I wanted to lick the bowl he baked in. I’ve tried to learn, but my stuff never comes out quite as good.”
“It does, Ray. I think you’re a great cook.”
“You’re just saying that because you want to…” She almost said it. She used to tease him. When ever he would compliment her she would say to him, “You are just saying that because you want to get me to bed.” She almost said it, too. He would always respond, “I can get you to bed without saying a w
ord.”
It was strange how much had changed.
“I do.”
He looked at her. His eyes were intent and focused on her. He could see the change come to her, a feeling she couldn’t hide. He could read the desire in her eyes, but he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy or maybe even possible to get her back into his arms again.
“Those days are gone,” she said instead and looked away from him at the water. Just then Kenneth brought in the next course. It was delicious. The first bite melted in their mouths.
“So how’s the center? Is Jalen still there?”
“Oh, yes. He’s still there.”
“That’s good. I know he will do well.”
“I haven’t seen Esther in a while. How is she?”
“Fine.”
Amari had no idea how difficult talking actually would be because of the elephant in the room. He couldn’t talk about the movie, he couldn’t even ask her about work because she was on leave of absence because of him.
“And you?”
She chewed her food slowly, regarding him. After swallowing she responded.“Fine. A mess. Fine.”
“What can I do?”
Before she could answer, Kenneth brought out the dessert. “Here you go. I got the coffee started.”
“Thanks, my man. I know it was short notice.” Amari stood up and shook his hand.
“It’s all right. You two enjoy your evening. I’ll take off now.”
Kenneth left.
“He doesn’t need the boat?” she asked.
“No. You can come here by road or boat. I thought the boat might impress you a little.”
She smiled. It was nice to see her smile. It was like a glimmer of sunlight from gray sky. She took a forkful of dessert. “It’s good, but I’m full.”
“I’ll finish it.” Amari took hers and polished off both their desserts in short order.
“We can walk on the beach if you like,” Amari said. “Then we can come back for coffee.”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t we be getting back?”
No, no, Amari thought, but instead said, “If you like. I just want to walk this off and have some of Chef Wallace’s coffee.”
The walk was quiet, companionable, but Raven cut it short as she thought she had been bitten by mosquitoes.
“I didn’t exactly come prepared for a night on the water,” she said.
They got back in the house. It was very sparsely furnished, but with warm and inviting colors. The kitchen held the aroma from Chef Wallace’s cooking and the brewing coffee. Amari poured their two cups then left to go upstairs. He came back with a tube of ointment.
“You sure know your way around this place,” Raven said when she saw what he held. It was anti-itch cream.
“Do you want to put some on?” Amari asked and touched a spot on her back. “You seem to have a bump here.”
“No thanks.” She jumped at his touch and put the coffee down. “I think it’ll be fine.”
“I just wanted to help,” he said.
“Amari, this is very awkward for me. I don’t know if I’m ready to be talking to you.”
“If you don’t talk to me you’ll forget how we felt about each other.”
“Did you forget? I mean when you…did it with Lexie?”
“No. I made a huge mistake.”
“Is she the only one? I mean, how do I know you are not making a fool of me every time you are on the road?”
“Because of this,” Amari said, and reached for her hand. He put it on his chest. “Listen.” His heart was going so fast he knew she could feel it. “Just look at me and tell me you don’t see that I am not lying. That I regret hurting you more than anything else in my life.”
She moved her eyes from his chest, where he captured her hand in his big strong fingers. She really looked at him and she knew he was sincere just as her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t want to be a fool, but she was already melting. She had been trying so hard to hate him, but all she felt was love for him. He saw the tears before she broke down into sobs.
“Amari. I don’t know what to do,” she cried, and he pulled her close, holding her tight against him. She hit his chest gently. “I’m angry, but I miss you so.”
“I miss you, too. I love you. I love you. Tell me you still love me, even a little.”
She nodded and he captured her mouth, tasting her tears on her full lips. Their emotions were high and she knew the moment he kissed her that she was lost. It was a hungry kiss that brought her into contact with Amari’s desire for her, sending fireworks through her body.
He stopped briefly and looked in her eyes, questioning, wanting to make sure that she was sure.
“Are you ready?” he asked and she nodded as a lone tear trickled down her face. She wanted this man and she was surprised by her desire. It went beyond logic as she surrendered to him and felt like she was coming home. They moved together towards the bedroom, kissed, held each other, removed buttons and flopped on the bed. Once his shirt was off it felt incredible holding his strong body again, feeling his hands all over hers. She sighed and listened while he told her he loved her, drank in all his love and desire as they took each other high and higher, until the explosion of stars rendered them both crying out loud with release. Afterwards they collapsed into each other’s arms, bodies languid and all the tensions of the past few months released into the air. She wanted to forgive her husband. She needed him. They would make it work!
Chapter 29
After the few days with Amari, cold hard life came back. Two pieces of news just took her back from the clouds and set her back to harsh reality. To say she was angry was an understatement. It went beyond anger and disbelief. She was being reckless, she knew, but she just couldn’t help it.
“How long does this thing take?” Raven asked, her cellphone in one hand and the other holding the steering wheel.
“It shouldn’t take long. As soon as Amari signs the papers, then your marriage will be over. I still wanted to talk to you about counseling. Amari seems to think that your marriage can be saved.”
“No!” Raven screamed and made a quick turn in front of an oncoming red sports car. The car honked at her and the man in the car waved a fist at her. Raven barely registered him.
She had spent three days with Amari at the lake house, making love, talking, planning their future, but the moment she got back home to reality everything had fallen apart in stunning proportions.
“I never made love to Lexie. It was sex, and all it did was show the worst of me that I never want to see again. That weakness is what I am ashamed of. I take full responsibility, but I also want to forget about it. I always knew that God would never let us be tempted without providing an escape route. It was there, but somehow I was so relaxed I didn’t take it.”
She had listened to him, they had cried. She had screamed. It seemed that as hard as they tried to move on, Lexie was in bed with them. Now she understood why physical intimacy was so powerful. The joy and closeness it had given them was now being destroyed because he had shared what she thought was purely hers with somebody else. It was more than betrayal, it was sacrilegious. But forgiveness and love had won. Or so she thought.
If the tabloids had made her angry before, the article in Challenge had fueled her fire to volcanic proportions. Amari and Raven had gone back home after the idyllic three days by the water. She was excited to start over with Amari, and when they got to their house they had planned a second honeymoon together. They’d looked through the internet at exotic destinations like Bora Bora, Cancun and islands that she had never heard of. It was delicate but beautiful, being back together. Maybe the feeling could have lasted all week if she hadn’t decided to go to the hair salon to get her hair washed and styled. Something fresh and new, to get her going with her new life with Amari. When she arrived at the hair salon she was surprised to find Candice there.
The hair stylist, Justine, was very happy to see her. Luckily she didn’t bring u
p anything about Amari or the tabloids, so she took a seat by the washing basins. Then everything fell apart.
What made it worse was that Candice had brought the magazine to her when her hair was wet by the basins, the salon full of women she knew. “Hi, Raven,” Candice said. “I see your husband’s in the news again.”
“He is?” Raven asked and received the thick fashion and beauty magazine Candice held out to her.
There were many things that made her heart stop. First the cover had Lexie, looking innocent and sexy at the same time, holding her stomach and a knowing smile on her face. The teeth seemed to mock her. Each one of her pearly whites spoke to her jabbing her and biting at her nerves.
The bold shout line on the cover read LEXIE
PREGNANT.
That moment in that hair salon was the lowest point in her life. While Candice watched her face, Raven turned the pages and went to the article as if she was seeing a horrible accident in the street and was unable to look away. The big, glossy photographs were mainly of Lexie with her glowing, semi-transparent skin. There was one of her and her costars for her last movie, A Lot Like Silence. Amari stood there next to her, his arms around her.
They made such a good couple that bile rose in her throat.There were too many people watching her to allow the tears to fall, or to run away. If Candice or any of the clients and stylists in the salon saw, it would be all over the city. They would talk about how Amari had hurt her and left her for the stunning actress and how she had cried in the salon like a baby. It was better she swallowed the bitter pill and deal with the discomfort later, in private.
“Interesting,” Raven said, closing the magazine and handing it to Candice. “But I brought a book to read.”
I should leave, Raven thought, I should just get up and walk out. But she knew that she would not give Candice, or whoever was watching, the satisfaction of seeing her run.
She sat on the chair and opened up the book about missionaries that she had been reading. More and more leaving the country for a mission trip seemed attractive. Candice couldn’t say more as it was her turn to get her hair shampooed, but the conversation turned to cheating spouses in no time. Nancy, who swept the hair from the floor and cleaned the salon, was very vocal in her assessments of men.
Show Me the Sun Page 18