by Eboni Snoe
“Not really” was Sasha’s noncommittal reply. “Should I have?” She turned her face to the side, but their closeness remained. “Why did you kiss me? Did you just want to see what I would do?”
“What do you think?” Cay tried not to show that she had surprised him.
“I think a man who truly wanted to kiss me, and make me feel it, would have closed his eyes.” She leaned back on an extended arm and locked into his gaze.
Cay liked the challenge he saw there. Sasha Townsend was a woman with a fighting spirit. In love and in life. “Are you saying that to bait me, so I will do it again?” His eyes sparkled.
A glimpse of a smile touched her lips. “No, I’m saying it so if it happens again you will mean it, and I’ll know it.”
There was a tap on the door before it opened. Olive stood in the doorway with more candles.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Cay. I didn’t expect for you to be in here.” She batted her eyes as she tried to think of the proper thing to say. “I thought, with the power out, that Ms. Townsend would need some candles.”
“She did” —Cay got up slowly— “but I’ve met all her needs.”
Sasha looked at him and wondered if he was aware of the double entendre. She decided he was and had used it for Olive’s benefit.
“Well, I guess she won’t need these, will she?” Olive replied.
“No, she couldn’t be happier.” He looked back at Sasha. “Dinner starts at seven, Sasha,” he announced before he slipped past the housekeeper.
Sasha wondered how much larger Olive’s eyes could get. She didn’t know what Cay Ellis was up to, but she wasn’t going to be caught trying to explain her virtue to anyone. Especially not Olive Knowles, who wouldn’t think that highly of her no matter what she said.
“Well, I’ll be,” Sasha heard Olive say as she turned on her heels and closed the door.
Sasha gazed into the candle flame. “I’ve got to stay the night here at Guana Manor, but I will not be a pawn in the Ellises’ affairs,” she declared. “I don’t know what Cay Ellis’s motives are, but if I’m to play the game I will play it my way.”
Sasha concluded that her reaction to his kiss wasn’t what Cay Ellis had expected. Had she bruised his male ego? The thought made her smile. She had to believe that wasn’t done very easily, and something inside of her rejoiced because she had touched him in a unique way. Perhaps that was why he wanted the housekeeper to think something had gone on between them. But in truth, hadn’t there? a little voice inside her head asked.
Sasha lit two of the candles and the room brightened. She looked at the sky-blue pants set lying across the bed as she thought. Cay Ellis had no idea who he was dealing with. She was certain she could give him whatever he was looking for and more. What Sasha was unclear about was why she would want to.
Sasha could hear the conversation in the dining area before she entered the room. It was a gorgeous setting. The only time she had seen anything like it was on television.
“They say the storm is going to be real bad.” The elder Mr. Ellis patted the table with his hand.
“I hope it doesn’t uproot the trees I had planted in the east garden.” Sherry straightened her napkin. “That garden is nearly perfect.”
“You’ve been working on it long enough and spending more than enough money,” Mr. Ellis remarked.
“Well, you know that garden has been my special project, and getting it just right means a lot to me,” Sherry replied.
“Speaking of perfect” —Mr. Ellis’s mouth widened into a smile— “Sasha Townsend, you look just that.” He tossed a side glance at Sherry. “Come in. Come in.” Mr. Ellis rose from his chair. “You can sit here to the right of me. If that’s all right with you, Cay?”
“Why not?” Cay said with his back to Sasha.
As she walked by him, she could feel his eyes on her. Cay sat at the opposite end of the table from his father, while Sherry sat to Cay’s right. There were two other place settings gracing the table.
“My, my, my, isn’t that a pretty dress,” Mr. Ellis exclaimed as Sasha reached him. He kissed her hand with a loud smack. “We can never have too much beauty in the house, can we, Cay?”
“Never,” was Cay’s reply.
Sasha glanced at Cay before she sat down. She wondered what kind of relationship the two Ellis men shared.
“Baltron,” Mr. Ellis called, “why don’t you give Olive some help with the rest of the food. By the time you both sit down, everything’s going to be cold,” he complained.
Olive came through the swinging door with a large dish. Baltron was behind her with another. “To be honest with you, Mr. Ellis, I don’t feel right eating in here with you all like this.”
“And why not? You prefer eating in the hot kitchen when we have a beautiful setup in here?”
“I like eating in the kitchen. I’ve been doing it for forty years, and—”
“And I’ve been knowing you for longer than that, so it’s not going to hurt a thing for you to sit in here and eat with us,” Mr. Ellis declared, shaking his head. “What is it going to take to get you out of that kitchen?”
Baltron gave him a long look before he sat down.
The food smelled wonderful and it looked scrumptious as well. Olive announced each dish as she removed the lids. Sasha could tell this was a part of the housekeeper’s work that boosted her pride.
“So is all of the food Bahamian?” Sasha inquired.
“Not all of it. The gumbo, conch fritters, and johnnycakes are, but the rest are my inventions,” Olive informed her.
“You should be real hungry, Ms. Townsend,” Mr. Ellis chimed in. “I hear you and Cay had it pretty rough out there.”
“Yes, we did.” She glanced at Cay, who was sitting back in his chair watching in a black silk shirt. There was a handsome broodiness about him. “I have to say, it was kind of scary for a while.”
“I’m glad he was there to help you. Because no matter how it might seem with everything that’s going on, we’re pretty good neighbors. At least, I think we are. I hope you come to believe that.” Mr. Ellis shoveled in several spoonfuls of food. “Hey! Wait a minute! Where is the wine?” he boomed.
“The doctor said you shouldn’t—” Olive started.
“If you remind me of one more thing that doctor said, I’m really going to be sick,” Mr. Ellis warned, leaning across the table with his fork in his hand. “For God’s sake, I fell. Anybody can fall.”
“I’ll get your wine for you, Papa,” Sherry offered, pushing back her chair.
“No, I want Sasha to get it. Is it all right for me to call you by your first name?” he asked.
Sasha tilted her head. “Sure.”
His smile broadened. “It’s good to have a new woman in the house. These blessings are so few and far between.” He looked at Cay.
Sasha could feel their eyes on her. “I’ll get your wine, Mr. Ellis. Where is it?”
“Over there in the cabinet behind the plate with the Chinese scenery. That’s where Olive always hides it.”
Olive rolled her eyes.
Sasha got the wine and gave it to Mr. Ellis.
“Yep, it sure is good to have another pretty woman around here,” Mr. Ellis repeated as he poured the wine, and Sasha wondered about the real reason behind his praise.
Sherry’s utensils clattered as she laid them on her plate. “I’m rather surprised that dress was in the Blue Room,” she said, her eyes like wood.
“It was,” Olive confirmed, “but there was more of it when I gave it to her,” she added in a low voice.
“More of it?” Sherry eyed Sasha.
“I decided I liked it without the pants,” Sasha informed her as she ate.
“Oh. Then I was right.” Sherry wriggled with satisfaction. “I thought that wasn’t Precious’s taste. Precious would never do something like that.”
“Precious?” Sasha repeated the name.
“Yes, Cay’s wife. The one that passed away.” Sherry sat up tr
iumphantly. “You didn’t know you were wearing her clothes?”
“No, I didn’t realize it.” Sasha looked at Cay.
“Cay darling, you should have told her,” Sherry advised him, doe-eyed. “It seems to have unnerved her a bit.”
“I think it would take more than that to unnerve Ms. Townsend. Or am I wrong?” He looked at Sasha as if she were being tested.
“To know I am wearing your dead wife’s clothes…” Sasha stated straight out. “I must admit, I would consider that a bit unnerving.”
“The clothes in the cedar closet were brand-new,” Cay advised her. “Precious never wore them. I bought them as a gift to surprise her. She died before I could give them to her.”
Silence filled the room.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. We need some new life in here.” Mr. Ellis drained his glass as the lights flickered. He laughed. “Even Precious would agree with me.”
“Don’t start that mess, Papa.” Sherry glanced nervously around the table.
“You say that because you know I’m telling the truth,” Mr. Ellis went on. “She wouldn’t agree with some other things that have been brewing around here.”
“Precious wasn’t the kind of person who judged others.” Sherry’s hand tightened on her glass.
Olive put down her fork abruptly. “I remember a time when we weren’t so free when talking about the sperrids.”
“Well, you might not have talked about them, but you, for one, sure did and do believe in them,” Mr. Ellis announced.
“It’s one thing to believe something and another thing to make mockery of it,” Olive retorted.
“I don’t believe any of it,” Sherry proclaimed. “It’s just the kind of thing that uneducated people embrace. I wouldn’t be caught dead upholding that rubbish.”
“Dead or alive, it don’t matter.” Olive hunched her shoulders forward. “Education isn’t everything. Sometimes they educate you away from seeing what’s always been there. That’s how they keep you powerless. They know they can use it against you and you wouldn’t even know it. All the time you’re thinking, My family comes from the right side of the tracks. I’m educated. I’m better than those of you who aren’t like me,” she mimicked. “But in truth, you are ignorant and you don’t even know it.”
Sasha bit into a conch fritter. She could see that Olive and Sherry didn’t always get along.
“That’s the first time I’ve been called ignorant.” Sherry took a couple of sips of water.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Olive remarked.
Sherry’s face tightened.
“There’s a big enough storm brewing outside,” Cay said soothingly. “We don’t need another one in here. I’d like to hear some music instead.” He looked at his father. “How about passing the wine.”
“Now, that’s a good idea.” Just the mention of more alcohol brightened Mr. Ellis’s spirit. “Let’s all have a little, eh?” He picked up the bottle and passed it to Sasha. “Ye-es, things are brewing everywhere. Maybe now I’ll get my son back.” He shook a veined finger in the air.
A shadow descended over Cay’s face at his father’s words.
After the wine had been poured Mr. Ellis proposed a toast: “To resolving the old and creating the new.”
Sasha raised her glass along with the others. “To resolving the old and creating the new.” Sasha’s and Cay’s eyes met over their glasses as she took a long sip and he downed the liquid with ease.
Chapter 6
“If I was my old self I’d show all of you how to appreciate music like that.” Mr. Ellis patted his heart. “With a good-looking woman like Sasha in your arms, there’s no way she wouldn’t feel it, too.” He extended his arms above the table as if he were dancing with a partner.
“I’ve had enough for one night,” Sherry announced, rising. “I’ll see you all in the morning. I hope, after a good night’s rest, I’ll be more appreciated by some of the members of this family.”
“You’ll be fine, Sherry,” Mr. Ellis quipped. “You have a gift for being resilient.” He slurped the last drops of the wine from his glass. “Sweet dreams,” he called. “That is, if that’s still possible.”
Sherry glanced at Cay as she left the room.
Mr. Ellis broke out in his own rendition of “Yesterday When I Was Young” as he poured himself another glass of wine. Olive tried to shame him with her stare but he ignored her.
“You were a little rough on Sherry, Father,” Cay remarked as he sipped his wine.
“Somebody’s got to pull her coattail. She’s clinging so close to yours I don’t think you can find it.”
“I’ll reach it when the time is right.”
“Can I count on you to do that?”
“Haven’t you always been able to count on me?” Cay replied.
“Yes. But things have changed over the last few years. Changed drastically.” Thunder rumbled outside.
“I’m aware of that, probably more than anyone else in this room,” Cay said solemnly, “but I can handle this.”
Cay Ellis Jr. stared at his son, then sat back and declared, “I believe you can. Yes. Yes, I do.” He leaned toward Sasha, placing his hand on top of hers. “Sasha.”
“Yes?”
“All good things must come to an end.” He patted her hand clumsily. “I know I talk a good game, but, sorry to say, that’s all I can deliver at this point in my life. Still there’s something everybody needs to remember.” He looked at Cay. “From the time we’re born, we, human beings, but us Ellises in particular, have our paths cut out for us. It’s only when we try to stray off of that path that we find ourselves in trouble.” He rose from his chair. “Baltron, come and help an old friend up the stairs.”
Silently, Baltron obeyed, and Sasha wondered about the meaning behind Mr. Ellis’s statement.
“Now, mind you, Baltron, this is just for tonight.” Mr. Ellis looked at him from beneath thick brows. “Maybe tomorrow, because my legs are a little stiff from my arthritis and that damned fall. But after that, I don’t want to feel your old arms around me. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for some softer ones.” They walked out of the dining room together. Olive started clearing the table.
“That leaves you and me, doesn’t it?” Cay placed his napkin in the middle of his plate.
“It sure does.” Sasha sat back in her chair. She started to ask Cay what his father had meant, but he diverted her attention.
“Have you ever stood in the middle of an oncoming hurricane?”
“No.” Sasha looked surprised. “And I don’t think I want to.”
“I thought you were braver than that, Sasha.” His voice caressed her name, and he wondered how brave she was. Brave enough to risk her life for love? His stomach knotted at the unwelcome question.
“Brave?” She seemed to be considering the concept. “I’m brave, but I’m not a fool.”
“Neither am I, but I’ve done it before,” he enticed, “and I’m still here to talk about it. Would you like to see me do it again?”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed. “Now?”
“Right now.”
She stopped and listened to the roaring wind. “I’d like to see you try.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“This way.” Cay rose and extended his hand. Sasha hesitated, then slipped her hand into his as they headed toward a dark hall.
“So you changed your mind?”
“Yes. Things change.”
“That’s not always true,” Cay replied softly.
“It’s the only thing I know to be true. I’ve come to count on it,” Sasha stated.
“You don’t know how lucky you are to be able to say that. To believe it.”
“How so?” She was sincerely puzzled.
He picked up a candelabra and handed it to her. “What if I told you certain things have been put upon this family that have not changed for generations…and that I will be dead and go
ne when they do.”
“Sounds rather morbid to me,” Sasha replied. “Like your giving me your…deceased wife’s clothes to wear?”
She watched Cay’s face alter in the wavering candlelight. It was obvious he had not come to terms with his wife’s death.
“I wasn’t trying to be morbid.” He unlocked the double doors. “I wanted to honor you.”
Startled, Sasha looked into his eyes.
“You are more alive than any woman I know.” Cay threw open the doors as a tree of lightning spread across the sky. Sasha was stunned by the sound of thunder that accompanied it. Cay took the candelabra from her and set it on the floor. He walked into the center of the huge hothouse, enclosed in a dome of glass.
“There used to be all sorts of flowering plants in here, but that was a long time ago,” he said above the howling wind and rain.
“I can barely hear you.” Sasha cupped her hands around her ears.
“Then come closer.” Cay beckoned as the lightning continued to light up the sky.
“I’m afraid the glass will break.” Sasha examined the myriad of panes as the storm pounded against the unnatural barrier.
“It’s specialized Plexiglas. Don’t be afraid.” He held out his hand again. “Some things are worth bypassing your fear.”
The thought of standing in the middle of the storm excited Sasha. She wanted to know how it felt. To feel the power raging all around her To be consumed by it, yet remain intact. Sasha imagined that’s how it would be to make love to Cay Ellis.
“Come.” He enticed her with both hands, his figure flickering from the sporadic light. “Come and see how it feels.”
Tentatively, Sasha started forward. The dome grew darker as the lightning subsided and the sound of the storm intensified. As a result Sasha’s ability to see lessened. For insurance, she stretched out her arms to guide her.
Once again lightning lit up the sky, and Cay took hold of her wrists. Sasha’s eyes were wide and frightened when he looked into her face. Gently, he turned her loose.