She summoned for her father to help her out of the bed. “Daddy, you’re strong.”
Iesha laughed. “You only weigh a buck-o-five.”
“Watch it, now. You do want to live to get married, don’t you? Speaking of which, have ya’ll set a date?”
“Not quite. We were waiting until you recovered.”
“Well, I’m recovered. When’s the wedding?”
“Sometime next year. We’ve got a lot of learning about each other to do.”
“I don’t understand how y’all do things these days,” Mr. Brown said. “Y’all be engaged for years.”
“Me and your daddy got married in a day.”
Charity said, “That’s because you went to the justice of the peace.”
“And we’ve never looked back,” Mr. Brown said, patting his wife on the behind.
“Get a room,” Iesha blurted.
They continued talking until the nurse came in with Charity’s discharge papers and explained them to her. Her father helped her into the wheelchair and wheeled her out of the hospital. On the way to her father’s van, she noticed the wooded lot on the hospital’s lawn. There was a single white picnic table in the middle of a landscape of trees. She kept her eyes on the area. It seemed like she’d been there before.
CHAPTER 27
WHEN TERRENCE HELPED IESHA OUT OF THE CAR, she gripped his hand tightly and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Honey, you sure you’re ready for this?”
Terrence opened his trench coat and wrapped Iesha in it. “I’m fine,” he assured her. “Nervous, but fine.” He bent down to kiss her on the lips.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. The kids are going to love you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am right.” This time she kissed him fully. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“School’s out,” he whispered, interrupting the kiss.
Iesha turned around to see children filing out of the building. She turned back to face him, “What are you doing?”
Terrence was using the rearview mirror to smooth his hair, his light beard, and goatee. “Trying to make a good first impression.” He smoothed his coat with his hands.
“They’re seven and nine, honey. Candy will get you a lot farther than your handsome face.”
“You should’ve told me,” he smiled. “I would’ve stopped by the store.”
“Too late.” She pointed. “Here they come now.”
Iesha took a few steps ahead of Terrence to meet her kids. “Hey, guys. Did you have a good day in school?” They both nodded but their eyes were fixed on Terrence. “Good. I have someone I want you to meet. Remember I told you about Mr. Terrence? He wanted to come and meet you. Say hey.”
“Hey,” Raquan shyly muttered from where he was.
Sha-Lai was a little more animated as she waved.
“Hello. I bet you’re Raquan,” Terrence playfully said to Sha-Lai.
“Noooo. Sha-Lai.”
“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful young lady.” Sha-Lai blushed. Terrence turned to the boy who was practically attached to Iesha’s leg. “You must be Raquan?” he asked.
Raquan nodded slowly.
“Give me five, man.”
Terrence seemed to relax when Raquan slapped his hand.
“He’ll warm up to you,” Iesha promised. “He’s a little shy.”
Iesha was surprised to hear Raquan speak. “You gone marry my momma?”
“Quit asking stupid questions,” Sha-Lai scolded. “Momma already told you that.”
Terrence bent down to talk with them. “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you two about. I wanted to know if it was okay with you.’’
Sha-Lai and Raquan looked at each other and giggled. Sha-Lai shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Momma?”
“Guys, Mr. Terrence is so sweet. Look at him, he’s cute. He’s smart. He loves God. He makes me happy. I want to marry him.”
If the sun had shone as bright as the kids’ smiles, the temperature would have gone up forty degrees. Terrence knelt before Iesha. “Ms. Iesha Brown, will you take me to be your husband, to love and to cherish?”
“I will,” she agreed.
“Sha-Lai, will you take me to be your stepfather?”
She covered her uneven-toothed grin with her hand. “I will.”
Even Raquan was eagerly awaiting his turn. “Raquan, will you take me… to the skating rink, and fishing, and to the beach?”
Raquan laughed. “Yes.”
“And will you take me to be your stepfather?”
“Yes.”
“Good, ’cause this cement is cold.” Terrence stood up. “Group hug?”
They huddled and hugged.
Iesha began to sing the Barney song about loving and being a family.
“Momma, you’re embarrassing,” Sha-Lai said, breaking the hug to look around for witnesses.
“Quick, Sha-Lai. Get in the car before anyone sees you.” Terrence opened the car door for her to jump in. Raquan slid in behind her.
“Y’all be careful. Don’t mess up Mr. Terrence’s car.”
“Shhhh,” Terrence lightly whispered to her. “Leave them alone.”
“Okay,” she said, getting into the passenger seat. “You remember that.”
Iesha could not describe the way she felt if she tried. She was finally participating in the family life she had been observing. In the past, whenever she saw fathers with their children, driving their families, or a man and a woman holding hands, she got overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness; with Terrence, her longing was over.
She stole glances at him as he drove to her house for dinner. This was her best Valentine’s Day ever. To show him appreciation, she offered to cook for him her best dish—spaghetti. A part of her was ashamed of her meager governmental housing, especially since Mama Lorraine always called it nasty. But she knew that Terrence would not criticize her.
“Do we need to stop by the store for anything?” Terrence asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“No, I got everything I needed earlier.”
Sha-Lai spoke up from the backseat. “I want something from the store.”
“Yeah, can we get some bubble gum? Please, Momma. Pul-leeze.”
“Don’t nobody want no bubble gum, stupid.”
Iesha could feel her blood rising. “Come on, guys, that’s enough. Sha-Lai, what have I told you about calling your brother names?”
“Sorry,” she halfway apologized.
Terrence turned into a convenience store parking lot. “That was nice for you to apologize, Sha-Lai,” he said.
“What are you doing?” Iesha asked.
“Going to get some bubble gum and a treat for Sha-Lai for apologizing.”
Iesha looked back and saw the smile on Sha-Lai’s face. “No, that’s what she’s supposed to do. She shouldn’t have been calling him stupid.”
“Well, I’m here now. You can just give it to them later then.”
“No, neither of them have done nothing extra special that they should get a treat.”
“I don’t like going back and forth in front of them,” said Terrence. “Maybe we should do this some other time.”
“I think that’s a good idea because I don’t want you to feel like you have to buy their affection.”
“I’m not buying their affection, I’m just buying bubble gum.”
“Let’s just go on to the house, please,” said Iesha, trying to be as civilized as she possibly could. She didn’t want the drama queen to come out.
“I think we agree that this is not a good time to talk about this,” Terrence said.
Iesha just turned her head and looked out the window. He doesn’t want to get me started. The rest of the ride was silent. Not even the kids spoke. Iesha wondered what the silence meant. She lied to herself thinking that if he no longer wanted to marry her that she was okay with it. She wanted to let him know that she was okay but being weak was not her style. She rolled her eyes at her tho
ughts. I am not going to be a doormat. She sat reservedly in her seat with her arms crossed until they got to her house.
She got out of the car before Terrence could make it around to open the car door for her.
“Honey, are you okay?”
Iesha opened the door for the kids and without looking at him said, “Uhm hum.”
“You sure?”
She did not want to be like this but she didn’t know how to act otherwise. “Look, Terrence, I said I was okay.” She slammed his car door shut and walked before him to the porch. Please, God, help me, she pleaded.
“Let me get that for you,” Terrence offered.
She had never noticed how loudly the storm door squealed until he pulled it open for her. It irritated her even more. “What do you think I did before you got here?” she asked him. “I’m not some weak woman who needs rescuing. I take care of my own chaps, I open my own doors, I cook my own food, I cut my own grass, and I can even do my own oil changes. So, if you think I’mma turn into one of those prisses who don’t do jack, you got another think coming.”
When Terrence didn’t respond, she went into the house. With an attitude, she said to him, “Welcome to our humble abode. It’s not much, but there are a lot of people living in big, fancy houses and are miserable. But we have a home here and we are happy.” Sha-Lai and Raquan were just as quiet as Terrence. Iesha knew she must’ve been making a fool of herself. “Kids, go to your room. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” She did not have to tell them twice, they were gone before she closed her mouth.
“Well?” she asked, trying to provoke a response from Terrence.
“Well, what?”
“Well, aren’t you going to talk to me?”
“I want to talk to you but I don’t want to argue with you.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“For starters this is the first time I’ve been inside your house. Are you going to show me around?”
She softened. “There’s really nothing to show, but if you want to see it, I’ll take you on a grand tour.” She knew he must’ve been glad to see her smile. As quickly as she could, she walked him through the house. She wasn’t expecting any compliments since she never received any. They ended up in the kitchen. She washed her hands and pulled the half-baked spaghetti casserole out of the refrigerator. Terrence washed his hands in the sink, too. Together they cut up the ingredients for a salad.
By the way he approached her, she knew he was treading lightly. “Honey, I hope you don’t really believe that I think you are a weak woman. Because don’t. I open doors for you and pull chairs out for you because that’s the way my father taught me. That kind of a lifestyle is a compliment, not an insult. And so is what I want to ask you. This is not meant to demean you in any way. Would you be okay with you and the kids moving into my house?”
Iesha could have jumped for joy but she couldn’t let him see that. “Move into your house? Do you have enough room for me and two kids?”
“Honey, this is all predestined by God. I remember when I found my house, I didn’t know why I felt led to buy such a big house, but I loved it. And I believe by faith that you will too.”
“I can’t wait to see it. It seems so weird that we’re engaged and I haven’t been to your house or met your parents.”
“Well, we have had some things happen to slow us down a bit. Do you want this cut up too?”
Iesha looked in the bowl of lettuce, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and carrots and decided that they had enough cucumbers. “No, but you can butter that bread over there.”
Within a matter of minutes, they were all sitting down for dinner. Iesha was proud of the kids, who were well behaved. They didn’t fight. Sha-Lai didn’t ask a lot of questions, and Raquan ate like he had some sense. She was impressed with how good Terrence was with them. He didn’t tire of their conversation and he balanced his attention among the three of them. She felt an urge to apologize to him and to let him know she appreciated him.
After dinner, Iesha sent the kids to their rooms to get ready for school tomorrow and to take baths. She led Terrence to the living room and they sat on the couch. She flipped through the television channels. “Do you like The Jamie Foxx Show?”
“I watch it sometimes.”
“There’s nothing else really on. Do you want to watch it?”
“Girl, just being in your presence is enough for me.”
She blushed and turned toward him. She pulled her legs up on the couch and let them rest behind her. “I need to apologize to you.”
“No, you were right. I was trying to buy the kids’ affection.”
“But that doesn’t mean I can talk to you any kind of way. That was disrespectful.”
“You gone make me fall in love with you even more.”
Iesha could hear the shower running. That meant Sha-Lai was showering. Raquan only took baths. As long as there was a new person in the house, Raquan would stay in his room from shyness. She put her hand on Terrence’s chest. “That’s what I want you to do.” When he did not refuse her touch, she pushed herself up on her knees and eased backward into his lap. She slid her body down on his so that she could rest her head on his neck and shoulder. He cradled her and planted warm kisses on her cheek and neck. Her heart was beating as fast as her breathing rate. She pushed herself up on all fours and turned to face him. She did not care that they were not married, they would soon be. Neither did she care about the kids being in the house. She wanted to know what else God had in store for her. She put her hand under his shirt.
“Baby,” Terrence panted. “We can’t do this.” Iesha tried to kiss him again. He blocked her tongue with his. “I know you love me. You don’t have anything to prove. We will not go into our marriage under a curse.”
Iesha wasn’t sure about what he was talking about, but she rested her head on his chest. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He patted her on the head and kissed her forehead. “Just promise that when it’s my turn of weakness, you’ll be strong enough to stop me.”
“You better pray about that one.” Iesha scratched her head and said, “So you’re really going to make me wait?”
“You’re the one who wanted to wait.”
“Well, yeah,” she admitted. “We have to plan a wedding, reception, honeymoon. I need a dress. We need someone to take pictures. Not to mention bridesmaids and groomsmen.”
“Would you be okay with a small, private ceremony? With just family and a few friends?”
“Yeah.”
“You just get a dress and, believe me, my mom will handle the rest. She used to do weddings. She still has all the decorating stuff. We’ll ask her when we visit this weekend.”
“Okay.” She laid her head back on his chest.
She noticed a change in Terrence’s facial expression. “What?”
“I think we’d better wait that year out.”
“Now, you get me all excited and change your mind.”
“No, you were just talking about the kind of wedding you wanted and I downsized it. If that’s what you want, that’s what you should have.”
“Ahhh, that’s sweet.”
“And besides,” he said slyly. “We can’t get married without premarital counseling.”
“I was thinking about that.”
“Do you mind if I call my pastor tomorrow and set something up?”
“Oh yes, please do.”
This time when she plopped her head on his chest, Terrence said, “Oh, no. I need to go home and take a cold shower.” He stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
As if she was trying to make sure he dreamed about her, she kissed him in a way that he should remember for a long time.
Chapter 28
EMMITT WAS GLAD FOR THE PEACE HE FINALLY HAD. The phone had stopped ringing and people had stopped coming by. He needed to clear his mind. It had been a week since his mother’s funeral and he was more distracted by his meeting Emmitt Chambers and by Chari
ty’s hospitalization than he was about his mother’s death. Everything he knew and believed about himself was a lie. He was even lying to himself about Charity. He loved her and he wanted her back. He went to his closet and pulled down a footlocker. He sat opposite the opened chest on the bed.
He remembered the day before Charity left home, she’d come home from work and found him on the back deck cooking on the charcoal grill.
“You’re cooking?” she asked. He knew that she was surprised because they had both stopped cooking and weren’t even communicating at that time.
“Yeah… our wedding pictures.”
Charity walked back in the house and momentarily returned with two picture frames. “Oh, you forgot these.” She took the photos out of the frame and threw them on the open fire.
He’d tried to stop her, but he didn’t want her to discover he was lying. Knowing what time she would be getting home, he set some newspapers on fire and told her that he was burning their wedding photos. Those photos along with their wedding video were stored in the chest he was now looking through. He opened the handmade, white lace-covered photo album. He observed how tenderly he had held her taking their first dance. The picture of them cutting the cake and laughing made him laugh too. He remembered Charity daring him to smear cake in her face. They looked so happy in the pictures. How did we let it get so bad?
In the family photos, he recognized that his mother looked happy for them. She proudly stood by his side in some, and lovingly stood by Charity in others. He touched the photo as if he could touch his mother. Life is too short. You never know when it’s your time. Before he thought about what he was doing, he reached for the phone. He wanted to talk to Charity and he wanted another chance. He dialed her number but hung up before it could ring. Wrestling with his thoughts, he dialed the number again, but hung up before he could get an answer. He almost dropped the phone when it rang in his hand.
“Hello?”
“Emmitt? Were you trying to call me?” He was too startled to speak. “Emmitt?”
“Huhm,” he cleared his throat. “I’m here. I was just…”
“Are you okay?”
“Charity, we need to talk. There’s a whole lot of things I need to tell you—”
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