by Xyla Turner
“Senator, how goes it?” Mrs. Aubrey crooned.
“Going fabulously and yourself?”
“Marvelous, dear. You know, Grace and I were just talking about you and the good old times. We miss seeing you at the house. Grace would love for you to come over one day soon.”
“How are you doing these days Grace?” Rich asked, hoping she would get his meaning.
“I’m well, Rich. Doing much better these days,” she replied, getting his meaning.
“That’s good to hear.”
Mrs. Aubrey looked at Grace in shock, “Oh, Grace, stop being so modest.” She turned to Rich and continued, “She’s doing more than well. She just landed the event planning contract for the County Ball. Your father helped her get it, you should come. Grace needs a date anyway.”
Grace gasped, “Mother!”
As they argued, Lisa came back to the table and Rich stood up. “Grace, do you remember Lisa from a while ago? We all had dinner?”
“Ahh, yes. I remember, nice to see you again.” Grace put out her hand to shake Lisa’s, who shook it back.
“Mrs. Aubrey, this is Lisa. We are seeing each other romantically, so if I did go to any balls or dinners, it would be with her. Thanks for the invitation.”
Mrs. Aubrey’s head jerked back in shock. Grace’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. Lisa extended her hand towards Mrs. Aubrey, but the older woman just looked back and forth between her hand and Rich’s face. Lisa put her hand down and returned to her seat. Grace tried to save the moment by saying, “Rich it was lovely to see you again. I’m so happy for you.”
“Happy for him?” Mrs. Aubrey huffed, “He’s slumming with the likes of her over you. Grace, don’t be ridiculous.”
In a flash, Rich had invaded the old woman’s personal space, which made her take a few steps back. “Don’t you ever speak of my woman like that. Who the fuck do you think you are? If anyone is slumming, it was Mr. Aubrey with the likes of a dried up prune, who couldn’t put down a bottle to save her own life.”
Lisa snapped at him, “Richard Wells, this was uncalled for.”
She looked around the restaurant.
“I’m sorry Rich,” Grace said, as she shoved her mother along, who looked too stunned at Rich’s words to respond.
Rich sat back down and noticed that they were far enough away from people that they could not hear. He looked at Lisa in shock. “Did you listen to what she said?” he asked.
“Yes, I heard her, Rich. How could I not hear her? Why did you goad her? You could have played it off like this was a business meeting or something. You didn’t have to go into all of that.”
Lisa cut a piece of salmon and put it towards her mouth. Rich was so angry, he could not even be turned on by her mouth at that moment.
“She was trying to hook me up with Grace again, so I wanted to make it clear to her and Grace, that I was not available. So hopefully that should stop the stupid invitations, the emails and text with pictures of Grace, old pictures of us and all that fake ass shit she is always spouting.”
“All I’m saying is, the woman was blind-sided by that news, which is why she reacted that way. Had she been eased into it, she would have had more time to be fake.”
Rich laughed out loud. “The crazy part about that statement, is that you are serious.” He shook his head. “She insulted you to your face, in front of me and you think I won’t put her in her place. Absolutely not. I will not have that shit if anyone thinks or even – ”
She cut him off. “Then you’re going to be fighting a lot of people because despite what you might think while people may be more tolerant of different races and cultures. They do not always agree with the mixing of them. I don’t care who our President is right now. Don’t get me wrong because this is totally not your fault, but I didn’t feel comfortable coming here anyway. However, that’s a part of your world, so I didn’t say anything because I made a decision to be a part of that world. You don’t have the luxury, Mr. State Senator, to lose your shit because someone is ignorant. I appreciate the gesture, but if you intend to go where you said you are going, you can’t do that by calling old women dried up prunes and alcoholics. Also, because you represent me to when you are putting on the charm and acting a damn fool. I, in the same vein, don’t have that luxury either to lose my cool because I’m a representative for you as well.” She smiled. “Just keep that in mind.”
Rich stared at her as she finished her food while he sat there in utter disbelief. His appetite was gone and he didn’t really know whether to be mad at her passiveness or glad that she was thinking about the future of them being together. He felt stuck in the middle. She didn’t say anymore and neither did he. When she finished, he asked for the check and they rode to her apartment in silence. He could not tell if she was mad at him or not, but he was still trying to determine whether he was mad at her. In any event, he’d walk her to the door and take his cue from here.
As she unlocked the door, he turned when he heard footsteps coming from above. Her brother was descending down the stairs and looked more than shocked to see him standing there. His brother put a scowl on his face and said, “You never answered my questions about your intentions.”
Rich could not believe his luck today. Two run-ins in a row and he didn’t even know if he was awaiting a third one from Lisa. He sighed and said, “I have honorable intentions towards your sister.”
Lisa snapped, “Josh, what are you doing?”
Josh ignored her and said, “What does honor mean in your culture.”
“Rich, you don’t have to answer that, come on.” She motioned for him to come in.
He ignored her and said, “Honor means the same thing in both our cultures.”
Lisa sighed, walked through the door and closed it behind her. Rich internally groaned. There was his answer, run-in number three.
“I doubt that.”
“Fine, if you think I’m here to cause Lisa any harm, you are wrong.” Rich turned to fully face Josh. They were about the same height and had the same athletic build. If it came to a fight, he was not sure who would win, but he would get some licks in.
“I’m still trying to figure out what your intentions are for my sister.” He frowned.
Rich sighed, “Listen, man, I’d marry that woman,” he pointed towards Lisa’s door. “Today if I thought she’d accept. I want her and everything that comes with her. I want us to build a life together. I’m in fucking love and she’s about to chew me out. You signing up to do the same?”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, I came looking for her. She ran from me.”
Josh pondered on this and said, “Her move was kind of out of the blue.”
“I know. She completely cut me off because she didn’t know how to feel about me then, but I’ve lost her before and I’m not letting go. So – ”
“So… what?”
“So, if you are going to give me a hard time, then let’s hash it out now.”
Josh laughed, “My dude, listen. If I’d want to give you a hard time, you wouldn’t be here. You make her happy, I’m happy. But if you think others, primarily my dad, will take kindly to some white boy coming and stringing Lisa along for kicks or his black doll fantasy. You’d better get gone and stay gone or that could be the end of you. For real.”
Rich took a step towards Josh and got in his face. “There is nothing you could do to me to keep me from seeing Lisa.”
“Seriously, you think so,” Josh smirked with one eyebrow up.
“I’d take you on, every time.” Rich looked him straight in the eyes.
“We’ll see,” Josh bumped him as he walked past, “Can’t say I didn’t warn you, white boy.”
Chapter 11: Who is mad at who?
LISA:
Lisa did not know if Rich was going to leave or stay, but at this point she was okay with either. He actually was showing his ass today and she didn’t much appreciate that. He had changed in some ways, but he was still an asshole. She
thought maybe this was a bit too soon for them to try and start a relationship. She wanted to talk about it with him, but if he turned those ‘assholish’ ways on her, they would have a problem. Ten minutes later, she heard the door shut. She assumed it was her brother, but then Rich called out her name. She emerged from her office to see him going into the kitchen to put his untouched food from the restaurant in the refrigerator. She secretly smiled to herself that he was making himself at home. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, hands up at the door post, looking quizzically at her.
“So, are you mad at me or am I mad at you?” he asked.
She busted out laughing, then folded her arms, and leaned on the wall in the hallway. “I don’t even know.” She looked up at the ceiling.
He stayed where he was and said, “Get over here.”
Lisa turned her head to look at him and raised an eyebrow. He raised one back at her and said, “I’m not above spanking that ass, darling.”
Lisa thought, well shit, she was not above being spanked. He started to unbuckle his belt when Lisa started to move towards him, “Only if you promise,” she purred.
“Don’t try to turn me on when I’m mad at you.”
Lisa slowed her pace, made a pivot turn and bent over the couch slowly to grab a tissue and wiped the side of her mouth. Heat was in his eyes when she turned back around to sashay towards him. She stopped about one foot away from him and said, “You’re mad at me.”
“Yeah, I think.” He looked at her lips.
“Well, I’m mad at you. You were an asshole today. That hasn’t changed about you.”
“That won’t change about me.”
“Is that so?”
“What is with you and your brother with the, ‘is that so’ question?”
“I don’t like you being an asshole.”
“Yes, you do.” He smirked. “You may not want to like it, but you do.”
“Rich, I’m serious. What you said to that woman was not cool.”
“Babe, she fucking insulted you.” He banged on the post with both hands and snapped, “I will not stand for that shit. Not in front of my face and damn sure not in front of yours.”
“Then maybe we aren’t ready for this then.” She looked away. “If we can’t handle that and I don’t even know how you managed my brother. Maybe this is too soon. Maybe we should – ”
Before she could finish her last thought, Rich dropped his hands from the wall and started walking towards her with a weird look on his face, “Maybe we should what? Lisa.”
She started to back up but hit the back of the couch. He was in her face. She was not scared, but she could tell he was angry. “Maybe we should what, Lisa?” he repeated.
“Just get to know each other for a little while. That’s all I was going to say, instead of jumping into a big ole’ humongous commitment. Let’s be friends first.”
Rich was one inch from her face. He looked at her with extreme intensity and grounded out, “I will not lose you again. I will not go away. I will not hide you. I will not allow anything that doesn’t involve you and me going forward. I have waited three years and I will not wait even another month. I will fight for you, I will call old bitch’s prunes and cunts if they disrespect you, I will ruin careers and upset lives if someone comes against you. I will not be remorseful, I will not stand idly by as the love of my life has finally come back to me and allow anyone to threaten us, me, her or our happiness. I’ve waited too damn long. I will not just be your friend!”
Lisa looked into his eyes and saw that he meant every damn word and he would not even take it back for her. She reached up her hand to caress his face and said, “Okay, honey, then make sure you keep your boxing gloves on at all times.”
The side of his mouth turned up slightly. She had almost made him smile. “I’ll try.”
She brought her other hand up to the back of his neck and said, “Well, at least keep them in your car.”
“But you are not okay with this?” he asked.
“No, Rich, I’m not.” She kissed him on the lips. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” She kissed him again.
“You should know,” she kissed him on the side of the mouth, “that I can fight my own battles.”
“But what you have to realize,” she continued and kissed him on the other side of his mouth, “is that every battle doesn’t need to be fought.”
“You are a State Senator,” she kissed his chin, “you can’t go around beating up bullies like we are out on the playground.”
“You, my dear,” she kissed his neck, “need to fight fire, with fire.”
Lisa could feel the tension leave his body and his muscles start to relax. “I love how you have my back,” she kissed his collar bone, “but the best way to have my back is by not jeopardizing your livelihood trying to avenge my honor.”
“I don’t care what those people say about me,” she kissed his shoulder, “I care about you.”
“But I care!” He held her still. “I care. I don’t want you to ever have a doubt that I would sit back and idly allow anyone to make you feel uncomfortable. Not when it’s within my power to do and say something about it.”
“I see. I’ve created a monster.” Lisa smiled.
“Only for you.” He kissed her lips, “Just you.”
******
The next week went by in a blur. Rich had her going to his job so he could show her around and meet his Philly staff, then he took her to Harrisburg so she could see the capital and meet his staff there as well. He was so proud and was literally walking with some sort of strut. Lisa would not tease him about it because she was proud that he was proud. Her fear of him hiding her was a complete fabrication in her mind. Her own insecurity. Lisa told him that she could not hang out with him all the time because she had to go job searching. He was under the impression that she would take the promotion at her old job since the Principal had offered. She told him the more she thought about how they ousted her out, the more she realized she didn’t want to work for an entity like that, even if it was not her Principal directly. She wanted full autonomy. Rich told her he could understand that and suggested that she should work at No Fear. She refused that because she didn’t want a handout. He didn’t appreciate that and even said he would interview her. She declined and of course, he was upset.
Her interview on Friday was at Temple University in the Department of Community Development. After she had heard what the job entailed and what was expected of the person in this role, she decided not to pursue it. Lisa was not sure what she wanted to do, but she kept looking. She even started to look at some charter schools. She could become a teacher again, but she didn’t want to deal with the bureaucracy of administration either, but if push came to shove, she would teach again. Rich called her around 3 PM to see how the interview went. She told him and he offered to have her work at No Fear again, which she declined again. Then he said that he would not be coming over tonight because he finally got accepted into a poker game. She assumed he was upset with her again, but let it go. He’d need to get over it because she was not going to bend on this issue.
The next week, Rich wanted to take Lisa to the annual State dinner in Harrisburg. This was a formal event and even though she was nervous, she was looking forward to going. Possibly to meet other contacts and network. The day of the event, Rich picked up Lisa at her apartment. She left his apartment the night before because she wanted to get her beauty rest, but really she didn’t want to ruin her welcome. They had been under each other since they got together, minus Friday evenings because he was now in the Poker Game. He reluctantly let her go, but she promised to make it up to him in a ‘new’ way. His eyes heated at that open wide window thinking of all the possibilities.
The dinner was going great. Rich introduced her to everyone he knew and even those he did not know. He was telling them about how she just graduated and was in the process of selecting a job in Philadelphia. He kept emphasizing the city and not Harrisburg.
Rich was damn-near doing her networking for her. She was flattered, but she was also feeling awkward. She should be helping him. The next time he introduced her to someone, she took over the conversation and talked him up and what he’s done in the city and his projections for the next few years. Rich squeezed her hand, but she kept talking him up. Afterward, he pulled her to the side and asked, “What was all that about?”
“I could say the same thing, Rich.”
“What? Me trying to help you network?”
“Yeah and get me a job.”
“Well, you won’t take the one I’m offering you.”
“Because I do not want your handouts.”
“Fuck, we are not going to argue about this anymore.”
“Fine, then I’m just returning the favor and helping you network as well,” Lisa finished and headed towards the ladies room.
RICH:
Rich’s internal thought manifested itself audibly, “That woman!”
A young lady with a long blue skin-tight dress stood next to him and started to chuckle, “Your girlfriend?”
“Yes,” he smiled back.
“She seems like a piece of work.”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, at least she’s a beautiful piece of work.”
Rich turned towards her and said, “Yes! That she is.”
“If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t let her out of my sight, with these vultures in here.” She smiled and left.
Rich grabbed a water bottle off the table and turned around to find her. The woman was weird, but she had a point. There were nothing but vultures in here and dammit, but Lisa was talking to the main one.
His father.
“Oh, shit.” He muttered to himself.
As he marched over towards her, he saw that Lisa went from politely smiling to drawing in her eyebrows at something he said. Then her face transfixed to outright disgust. Rich damn near ran towards them.
“Ah, here comes Rich now.” His father smiled, but looking very obsequious.
“Lisa, what’s wrong?” Rich tried to read her, “What did he say to you?”