Thursdays in Savannah

by Olivia Gaines

  He clung to her tightly, almost afraid to let her go for fear the magical spell would be broken. It wasn’t his best performance, but he was past gone. Even if he was only hers for just one night a week, he would take it, for now. If behind these closed doors they could create a world for just the two of them to be safe and enjoy one another, he would.

  Savannah disengaged first, lowering her legs to the floor. “I assume you liked the lingerie?” she asked, looking down and realizing he had ripped the panties.

  “Sorry, I will replace those. I just can’t seem to get my fill of you. I just ... aahh damn.” He kissed her once more and found himself needing her again. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up the stairs, kicking his pants off as they went. What Jesse truly needed was a bed to take care of round two.

  Chapter Six

  Forty-five minutes later, the two descended the stairs hand in hand, feeling pleased, satisfied, and very hungry. Jesse created a quick marinade for the steaks as Savannah placed the rolls on a pan to be placed in the oven. She washed the lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and cukes before carefully slicing the vegetables for the salad. Then she placed the grill pan upon the eyes of the stove to get hot for the steaks. She handed Jesse an apron since he stood at the stove adorned only in blue boxers, which he admitted he had recently purchased to turn her on.

  As she sliced the tomatoes, she looked at the magnificence of his body and needed to know if she too, was sharing him with somebody else. “Jesse, do you belong to someone?”

  The meat sizzled as it made contact with the grill pan. “I’d like to belong to you,” he said under his breath.

  “Is that so?”

  “A man walks in the door after a hard day’s work, you greet him in that red sexy number, then make dinner, cook him breakfast, and pack him a lunch for work the next day! Who wouldn’t want to belong to a woman like that? What is it you want, need, or I can give, so that I can belong to you?”

  Savannah laughed. “What I could use is a new car. Mine is 10 years old and has an attitude problem.”

  Jesse flipped the steaks. “How do you like your steak? And what kind of car do you want?”

  “Medium well and a C-class would be incredibly nice.”

  “What color?”

  “Sapphire Gray Metallic, four doors, for the kids and the dog of course.” She smiled as she gazed up at the ceiling.

  “How many?”

  She looked at him as she went to the cabinet and handed him two plates. “How many what, cars?”

  “No, kids. How many kids would you like to have?” he asked as he plated the perfectly cooked beef cuts.

  “At least three. I think that’s a good number. It is just my brother Jerwane and me and sometimes, I wish there was a third party you know, to referee. What about you?”

  “There are three of us. I’m the oldest.”

  Savannah uncorked the wine and allowed it to breathe while she sat the salad bowls on the table. Jesse blessed the food and cut into the steak. It tasted like manna, considering how hungry he was. His appetite was only heightened by the two rounds of acrobatics in bed with such an amazing woman. If there was a means to discern what had gone awry in her relationship with her soon-to-be husband, it was none of his concern. It was well understood by him, his psyche, and his overzealous penis, she was not his to keep. Something in her relationship was broken and he was the temporary fix. If anyone thought long and hard enough, there was always an obvious answer to any problem. There was definitely a gap in her life that she was currently allowing him to fill. The man she was engaged to was very stupid to be missing out on what he was so happily enjoying. The selfish side of him wanted more than the two helpings he had been served. He wanted access to the whole pantry, but it wasn’t his kitchen he was eating in. It wasn’t his table he was eating at and he had not even paid for the food on which he feasted. However, in his defense, he had been invited inside to share the meal. No one could blame him if he gulped down everything presented to him.

  He felt like he was addicted.

  Jesse thought about the poor fellow in the parking garage that she had sprayed with cayenne pepper. Had he been given a serving and was that the end result? This was only his second dose, but after the first, he had his schedule rearranged to ensure that on Thursdays he was free by five o’clock and somewhere on this side of town, if not in this complex. There were so many burning questions, but this was only his second invitation. In the morning she could have a change of heart and end all of this just as quickly as it had begun. Maybe, if he understood the woman, he could understand what was driving her and why he was here. If it became clear to them both or voiced by either, that would be a place to start a conversation. In the interim, he planned to be back next week and the week after and the week after that. But first, he had to open a dialogue.

  “Savannah. What do you do at the university?”

  She explained that she was a doctor of letters and an instructor at the College of Sciences. “Really, I fancy myself as nothing more than a research technician with a small stream of alphabets behind my name. My research focuses on African Americans with high blood pressure as well as the metabolic disorders in the modulation of mitochondrial protein phosphorylation by soluble adenylyl cyclase which ameliorates cytochrome oxidase defects.” Jesse’s face went blank and his jaw dropped. Who the hell had that problem? What the hell was that problem? Did she just curse me out in science? His face was registering all of his thoughts, which caused her to smile a bit.

  “It sounds impressive, but honestly, that and two bucks will get me a pack of hotdogs,” she said and she pierced a carrot.

  “Are you one of the top people in your field?”

  “Yes, but at the end of the month, after student loan payments on the overpriced alphabet, this mortgage and utilities, I barely have enough wiggle room left over to feed myself, hence the 10-year-old car.”

  Jesse attempted to process the pieces of the puzzle Savannah had carefully supplied, telling him something he couldn’t put his finger on, but yet, subtly understood. He was eating her food. She had bought them steaks. This was not purchased by her fiancé. “When is the wedding?” he asked with more than just curiosity.

  “Valentine’s Day, next year,” she said slowly as if she were giving him a deadline to do something as she made eye contact with him.

  “So, either I have a year, or I have a year.”

  Savannah had no idea what that meant and allowed it to roll off.

  Jesse stayed the whole night with her again and held her close after making love to her once more. In the morning, she fed him a hearty bowl of oatmeal with apples, brown sugar and raisins and handed him his lunch as he made his way toward the door.

  It would be seven more days before he would feel her beautiful skin against his again. The way she responded to his touch, his directions, and how she freely gave of herself in bed started his blood to boiling. A week was too long. He pulled her in close and kissed her in a way that made them both want more. “Aahh damn,” was all he said when seconds later, she found herself straddling him on the couch for one more round before he left. Jesse could not seem to get his fill of her.

  Addicted.

  Next month, he would probably be the poor bastard in the parking garage, holding his nuts and crying after being sprayed in the eyes and mouth with cayenne pepper. In the interim, he was going to hold on to every moment with her. Somehow he managed to eventually get out of her apartment while she headed upstairs for a quick shower and found herself running late for work. In her haste, she nearly forgot her lunch. She opened the fridge to find an envelope, in the same colored stationary as his business card, braced against her pink DNA-stranded lunch bag. She opened the flap and pulled out $300 in cash along with a note scribbled in a bold male script:

  “For the lingerie, dinner, breakfast, lunch

  and some wiggle room for the month.

  You have the number.”

  -Jesse

  “Dam
n,” she said aloud. She was in trouble, because she was really starting to like Jesse Orison.

  Chapter Seven

  March

  It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Savannah dressed in a new pink tea dress that she had purchased at Steinmart with some of the money Jesse had left for her. Three hundred dollars may not seem like a lot of money to many, but when you live paycheck to paycheck, $300 is a windfall. She and Darwin never discussed money and unless it was a large expenditure like her car’s maintenance, he never offered her any. He paid for what he felt she needed and gave her jewelry and gifts on the appropriate occasions. He seldom concerned himself with her day-to-day living. Funny, she mentioned it once to Jesse, who eyed the empty plate and realized she spent extra to cook him a steak dinner and left her money. Thoughtful.

  Savannah parked her Ford in guest parking at the Mountainbrook Country Club instead of using the valet service. One, she was embarrassed about her car, and two, she didn’t really have enough cash to properly tip the valet. While she was in Steinmart, she had found a nice pair of matching sandals on sale for ten bucks and she thought she would get those as well. Her one designer bag was the basis for the dress of choice, and she entered the country club in a good mood.

  The mood was soured by Darwin’s mother, who first complimented the dress, then systematically picked apart everything she wore, including her lack of nail polish. Darwin’s sister came to her rescue saying, “Mother, really, must you be so harsh?”

  Cassiopeia Finney Lockett was a moderately attractive woman who had married a white man of money and power, whom she never saw. He traveled extensively and refused to give her his seed to create children. Occasionally he would show up for dinner. It was well known through social circles that he married her as a tax shelter and to keep other women from trying to trap him into marriage. The only thing Henry Lockett liked more than fast black women was fast money. Savannah smiled at her for coming to her rescue against her mother, but inwardly, she cringed at the irony of the whole scenario.

  Cassiopeia was a constellation and a Greek goddess, known for her unrivaled beauty. This woman was a small gas giant, with bad skin, flawed diction, and a fondness for flavored vodka. She often smelled like cotton candy and booze. She did love to shop and Savannah had been fortunate enough to be the recipient of Henry’s platinum card. The soon to be sister-in-law had given her a pair of gold hoop earrings, price tags still on, and a pair of very high heeled designer shoes that were not fit to be worn in public. Jesse did appreciate those last month though. Cassiopeia also gave her an overcoat she so desperately needed.

  A lack of the basic necessities can make a woman change how she feels about herself. Financial compromises to personal integrity can be replaced with a desire for personal gain. Savannah was tired of struggling financially. This said little for the conversation she was fraught to stay focused on. She drifted back into the conversation to find they were discussing white doves.

  “I don’t want doves, Mrs. Finney, they do tend to poop when they are flying and I would hate to have my guests hit with bird droppings,” Savannah told her.

  “Nonsense dear, the doves will be released out the side door of the church, it will be grand, trust me.” Mrs. Finney patted her on the arm and continued the conversation about daylilies.

  Savannah objected, “Daylilies are very pricey out of season and February is out of season.” Once more she was overruled and she began to itch. The itching turned to stinging and stinging turned to burning. Her face felt like it was on fire.

  Cassiopeia’s eyes grew wide with concern, “Oh my God! Are you having an allergic reaction?”

  Savannah’s hands flew to her face, which was now very warm. She rummaged through her purse and found a compact and opened it. She jumped with a small scream as she peered into the mirror to find she had broken out in hives. Mrs. Finney wanted to ensure her son’s soon-to-be wife did not make a spectacle of them all and encouraged her to use a side door.

  “Please forgive me, but I must leave.”

  Neither of her future relatives rose to see her out or even bothered to see if she was okay. The valet walked her to her vehicle and she cranked up the car, overcome with the need to get away from those two women. She drove a short distance and began to hyperventilate. She pulled her car into a private drive and grabbed her phone.

  She punched in the number and he answered on the second ring. Her breath was quick and shallow, the tears had started to flow and what came out of her mouth was pure gibberish.

  “Savannah? Are you driving?” Jesse had just come down from the roof to meet with his cousin Bart about a project they were working on and asked his cousin to wait a moment.

  She muttered, “No.”

  “Good, sweetheart, tell me what you see in front of you.”

  “I see a tree, Jesse. A pine tree.”

  “Good, my lovely, focus on the bark. Notice the detail of the bark and think of all the little lives that tree is supporting. Slow breaths, okay, you have to slow your breathing.”

  He stayed on the phone with her until her breathing had evened out. His face was laced with concern as he went to his truck to pull out his tablet to check his schedule. What can I reschedule if need to get to her?

  “I’m sorry, I just had a panic attack or something, I am so sorry to have bothered you, I just dialed ... the phone.” The tears were wiped away as her head leaned against the steering wheel.

  “It’s okay, but the question is, are you?”

  “I’m good. Thank you, I really mean it.”

  The line got quiet as she broached the subject of Thursday. This week was not a good week, since her Aunt Flo was visiting and she suggested he should not come over. For a second, Jesse experienced a moment of panic. His heart rate increased and his eyes darted left and right, then he started to breathe hard. He wanted back into her home. Bart reached for him, but he held up a hand indicating he was okay. He wanted back into her arms and he was not going to allow her to get away so easily. Jesse wanted to belong to her.

  In a hushed tone, he whispered into the phone. “There are other things we could do, you know. I enjoy being in your company, and this doesn’t have to be about sex.” He held the phone and waited. He was still uncertain of what this was; he just wasn’t ready to let go of any of it yet.

  “What are you suggesting we do to occupy ourselves?”

  “Well,” he said. “There is still that tube of Astroglide.”

  “I’m hanging up on you,” she told him as she found herself smiling and enjoying his deep throaty laugh on the other end. Since being with him, she found herself smiling more often.

  “Do you play chess, Savannah?”

  Savannah was very pleased to know that he didn’t mind spending some time with her outside of the bedroom. It emitted a warm and fuzzy feeling on her insides. This was only heightened when she confessed to being on her high school and college chess teams.

  “Well, set up the board and be prepared to bring it, Science Girl,” he told her with some intentional goading.

  “You need to brace yourself, Tool Boy. You’re going to get sacrificed.” She paused for a minute, thinking about how calm she felt now in comparison to five minutes ago. “Which is your favor?”

  Jesse was silent for a minute. “I am starting to enjoy the idea of having my own black queen.” He got quiet when he heard her voice catch. “I will be a few minutes late, but I should be there by 6:15. If anything changes between now and then, you have the number.”

  He hung up again. Savannah wished he’d stop doing that and at least say goodbye first.

  Sunday after church, Darwin inquired about her outburst at the country club. After politely explaining to him it was an outbreak and not an outburst, he still reprimanded her like a child. Instead of having dinner at her mother’s, he decided he would treat them to dinner at an all you can eat buffet. “Your mother tends to really like these kinds of places,” he told her as he ordered from the menu and they trudged
to the bar.

  He invited her back to his place, but when she informed him of her condition, he drove her home instead. She invited him in and asked if he would like some coffee and maybe play a game of chess with her. Darwin scowled at the sheer suggestion that he spend an evening playing board games.

  It was unfair to make the comparison between the two men. In her book they were both using her. The saving grace was one she enjoyed and the other she had learned to stomach. If she were able to take the better traits from them both to make one man, her life would be grand.

  Chapter Eight

  It was a nice quiet week and it somewhat troubled Savannah that without Darwin at her heels, she was more relaxed. Because things had gone so well in the lab, she left early to head home. She made a quick stop at the grocery store, and picked up a whole chicken and a bottle of white wine. As soon as she arrived home, the bird was quickly washed, seasoned, stuffed, and placed in the oven at precisely 4:30. She tidied her kitchen and dining area, and set up the chess board. An idea popped into her head and she quickly ran up the stairs to check the guest bathroom. Got it!

  The condo was simply decorated in a French Country theme. It was the simplest and most efficient means to make old furniture look antique and charming. The few pieces she had, she painted or used sprays to patina pots. One wall in the living room was accented with a French Country blue paint and adorned with a canvas that she had smeared color on so it looked abstract.

  The Essex couch, the focal point of the room, was a hand me down from her boss, who, after two children, realized a white couch was not doable. The coffee table she made from the do it yourself section at Lowe’s. It was finished off with some decorative trim and careful staining. The matching end tables she also made herself. The dining room set she had found on Craigslist from a woman who was leaving her husband and needed a quick sale. With the help of her brother, Jerwane and his truck, she picked up the pieces for $250.00. The spare bedroom was her old furniture from her mom’s house and her bedroom set was the first new pieces of furniture she had purchased. The mattress was not low end, but it wasn’t the highest end either. It slept well and she was happy with her place. Everything in it was paid for and belonged to her. The condo and her education were her only debts. It was a nice feeling.