“Maybe I should.”
It was the last bit of conversation she remembered. His arms swooped beneath her knees and back. Rodney draped her arms around his neck and he carried her out of the room.
Syeesha drifted in and out of consciousness. She wanted to tell him to put her down, but sleep pulled at her in a willful game of tug-of-war.
Moments later she felt the comfort of her new bed. The jacket slipped from her shoulders. Her lips moved to protest. Words were uttered, but they were distant and garbled.
She felt his finger graze her shoulder then slide down the length of her bare arm. He gently pushed her to the side, pulled down the duvet and wrapped it around her body.
Syeesha let herself completely succumb to her unconsciousness, but not before wondering if she had just let a golden opportunity pass. Or averted an inevitable disaster.
***
Chapter 31
As Jade stepped onto the hotel’s elevator, she realized that she was ravenous. Tonight she would order a steak. And a good wine. And then what? Two nights she’d been at the hotel and she was getting a little restless. She hadn’t called Syeesha because she hadn’t wanted to distract her from her mission. When she’d attempted to call Rodney, she’d gotten his voice mail. She’d let him know she was attending a wedding—working it, actually—so she would be busy getting the soon-to-be bride and her family all dolled up for the dinner, wedding, and reception, and all the professional videos and photographs that would accompany the three-day event. She hadn’t heard back from him.
In truth, Jade was on the west side of town at the London. A self-imposed vacation. She’d cleared her calendar and now she had more time to think about her increasingly dire situation than she wanted. Rodney had bought an apartment without telling her. It was under the name of a trust, in his name alone. Jade surmised that it was only a matter of time before the door was officially closed on her marriage. And then where would she be? Without the prestige of being Rodney’s wife and the access it gave her, Jade wasn’t sure she had the skills to cope with being a divorcée getting by on just a few thousand a year. A divorcée with a couple of million in the bank and her own company was a much more palatable option.
Jade stepped off the elevator. She had a reservation for one at Gordan Ramsay and she hoped she could get a seat in a dark corner of the restaurant.
“Jade? Jade Jackson?”
Jade turned, wondering who could possibly be calling her by her maiden name.
“Don’t you recognize me?”
Jade tried to place the face. The woman was about her age. Her brown eyes were shrouded by heavy makeup and her caramel complexion was peppered with freckles. Thick, black hair was twirled into a complicated updo, formal enough for a black-tie affair. A black pantsuit covered the extra thirty pounds of weight on her frame. Jade noticed a crease down her sleeves. A telltale sign that she’d washed and ironed the suit herself. The stark red lipstick she wore clashed with the heavy black eyeliner she wore around her eyes.
A woman her age should know better.
“Lydia . . . Collins, right?”
“Girl, I haven’t seen you since nineteen–“
“High school. I remember. And it’s McCann now.”
“I know that. I’m sorry. What are you doing here? Don’t you still live in the city?”
“I do.” Jade looked around fruitlessly for an escape. “Just relaxing and wanted to get away but not too far away.”
“Woman like you can afford to go to France for the weekend. I love seeing you in the paper. Home girl makes good. That’s what I think every time I see you.”
Home girl is clinging to a life that’s slipping away.
“Thanks, Lydia. That means a lot. Are you checking in?”
“Already did.” She sighed and looked around. “Going to find something to eat. I can barely afford to stay here, much less go to these fancy restaurants.”
“What do you mean?”
Lydia hooked the cheap metal strap of her handbag around her shoulder.
“I always wanted to stay at the Ritz and I promised myself one day I’d save up enough so that I could splurge for my fortieth birthday. Well . . . this is my fortieth birthday.”
Jade furrowed her brow. “But this isn’t the Ritz.”
Lydia shrugged. “No, but it’ll do. Turns out the rooms I could afford at the Ritz were all booked up and this place was substantially cheaper. But at three ninety-five a night it still ain’t a bargain. Bet you’re staying in a big-time suite.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “How much are they?”
“Umm . . .” Jade stammered. She had no idea. “I got a deep discount.”
“That’s how you big-timers do it.” She shook her head and smiled as if that confirmed previously held knowledge. “Well, I won’t waste any more of your time.” Lydia looked around the hotel. “I was wondering if there’s a Red Lobster on this side of town. I’d hate to find I got all dressed up for nothing.”
There was an innocence about her that Jade found refreshing. It wasn’t just that she was middle-class and ignorant about how the other half lived. There was something pure about her old classmate that both surprised and confounded Jade. Exploring that suddenly seemed more intriguing than worrying about her own issues.
“Lydia, how ‘bout I buy you dinner? I was just on my way to the hotel’s restaurant.”
Her face lit up then quickly dimmed.
“I couldn’t intrude on you and your husband.”
“He isn’t here. It’s just me.”
Lydia covered her lips with her hand. “Are you two . . .?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m just taking a little vacay. Come. Let me treat you.”
Tentatively, Lydia followed her into the restaurant, clutching her purse tightly beneath her arm. After they were situated, she read the menu. “Good Lord.“
“I’m treating, Lydia. Please. Order whatever you like.”
Lydia shook her heard and folded the menu.
“You order for me. I can’t look at these prices.”
After Jade ordered the seven-course meal, she sipped her wine and silently cursed herself. What was she thinking? She had absolutely nothing in common with this woman who was as invisible in high school as she was today.
“This is turning out to be a very nice birthday. Boy, wait ‘till I tell Leonard about this?”
“Your husband? Wait, you don’t mean Leonard the Skynnard?”
Lydia guffawed. Patrons looked at her. She didn’t notice.
“Girl, don’t let him hear you call him that!”
“Is he still a hundred and three pounds?”
“Chil’, please. He’s made up for those days. He’s close to two twenty.”
“He was such a sweetheart, though. You two married?”
Lydia seemed to relax. “Never. But we’ve been together for twenty-three years.”
“Why haven’t you married?”
“Why should we? He ain’t going nowhere and neither am I.”
When the waiter arrived, Lydia stared at the food on her plate. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s an amuse-bouche. It’s an hors d’oeuvre.”
“Looks like fish.”
“It’s salmon.”
“It looks raw.”
“Taste it.”
“Is this all I get?”
“It’s a seven-course meal.”
“This counts as a course? If they’re all gonna be this small we might as well go to Red Lobster now and save ourselves the calories. Not that this is gonna take up much space on my thighs.”
Jade laughed.
“I used to feel the same way but I guess over the years I kinda got used to these restaurants.”
“Um-hmm.”
Lydia slipped the fish into her mouth and chewed. “Tasty. But not as tasty as the fried catfish I make at home.”
“So do you and Leonard have kids?”
“Four. All boys. Calvin and Melvin are twins. Sevent
een.”
“Graduating soon.”
“Yeah. I’m so proud of them.”
Her face beamed with an internal light so warm Jade could’ve sworn she saw a glow around her.
“And your other two?”
“Jason is fourteen and Marcus is four.”
“Four?”
“An accident. But a blessing, nonetheless.”
Their plates were removed and another set before them.
“Some help here, please?”
“It’s like an eggplant and artichoke salad.”
“This is the wimpiest-looking salad.”
“It’s not really a salad.”
“It’s not really much of anything, is it?”
“So your boys will be off to college later this year, right?”
“Leonard and I don’t have that kinda money. My boys enlisted in the army.”
Jade watched as Lydia’s mind drifted for a moment. She sighed heavily, shook her head, then finished her course in two bites. Her eyes wandered about the room. Jade wondered what she thought of these rich people who lived lives she’d never be able to imagine, with limitless black cards and custom-built jets at their disposal.
“Twenty-three is a long time to be testing the waters.”
“Leonard’s a keeper. No doubt about it. I don’t know. We just never saw the need to be married. Love isn’t defined by a piece of paper. I cherish my independence and so does he. It’s a mental thing, I guess. Knowing that you can walk out the door at any moment but also knowing that you never would. In the beginning, I needed to have that option. Now it doesn’t matter so much.”
“Rough start?”
“We were young. That’s our excuse. We both played the field but we were like magnets. Could never get too far away from each other.”
The third course appeared before Jade even realized their dishes had been removed, so enraptured was she with Lydia’s humdrum life.
“What do you two do for a living?”
“I own a beauty shop and Leonard owns a plumbing company.”
“That’s great, Lydia,” Jade said genuinely surprised. “You’re both business owners.”
“We do all right. Not rich but not poor. I tell you, girl, I love being my own boss. Nothing like it. I’d rather make a little and be in charge of my own life than to make a lot and let someone else have control. I’m not beholden to no one. And I’m happy, Jade. Not rich and famous like you. But just plain happy with my life.”
Jade was too stunned to respond. She played with her food, glancing over at Lydia, whose cheeks were so plump that it looked as if marshmallows had been stuffed inside her jaw. Instead of seeing a woman who’d lost control of herself, Jade wondered if she was looking at a woman who’d let herself slip into a state of pleasure that she’d never known.
“If you’re so happy, Lydia, why are you here by yourself? Why not bring your husband along? The room would’ve cost the same.”
“Honey, if you had four kids at home then you’d know that the best present a woman can get is two nights of peace and quiet.”
Jade chuckled while watching Lydia poke her fork into her food.
“You want to go somewhere else?”
“Yes, but you’ll still be charged for this food.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jade raised a hand and beckoned for a waiter. “Check.”
“Tell you what. Since it’s my birthday, why don’t we go to a little place that I love? And it’ll be my treat.”
“We’re all dressed up, so why not?”
If anyone had told Jade the day before that she’d be spending an evening with Lydia Collins, she would have rolled her eyes. But she found that she liked the woman’s company. Twenty minutes later they were sitting in a booth at Tick Tock Diner on Eighth Avenue.
Jade picked up the sticky menu and marveled at the eight pages. “Jesus. Looks like they’ve crammed an entire grocery store onto this menu.”
“Just get the waffles and hot chocolate and ignore the other stuff.”
“It’s eight o’clock in the evening.”
“I know. That’s the fun of it.”
“And that’s sugar. Carbs and sugar,” Jade said. “Carbs and sugar at night.”
“That’s the Jade I remember from high school. Track team standout even though you’re five foot nothing. Debate team. Always dressed to a tee despite being as broke as the rest of us. Prim, proper, and determined. That’s what I remember most about you. You had this seriousness about you that was unshakeable. Like your whole life depended on being the best.”
Just as Jade was about to close the menu, the waitress appeared.
“You ladies decide on a drink?”
Lydia spoke up, “I’m going to have the waffles with a hot chocolate. And pile the cream high on the chocolate. Don’t skimp.”
“We never skimp. And how ‘bout you, miss?”
“I’ll have the same.”
“Really?” Lydia lifted a brow as though daring Jade to stick to her order.
“Really.”
The waitress collected the menus and began to walk away.
“Ah, miss,” Jade called.
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Lydia said.
“Yes?”
“Can you add strawberries and whipped cream to the waffles?”
Lydia’s eyes lit up. “Make that two.”
“Fuck it,” Jade said. “I’m gonna live a little.”
“Yes, you are.” Lydia smiled. “Because after this we’re going dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“Yep,” Lydia said. “That way you won’t have to rush to the treadmill at the hotel to burn all those damn calories like I know you’re planning on doing.”
Jade laughed. “I guess mothers really do have a psychic ability.”
“One step ahead, Jade. The secret to surviving motherhood is always being one step ahead of the game.”
***
Chapter 32
“You cannot be serious?”
“Here.” Syeesha handed Tanya some newspaper. “Let’s wrap the frames in these.”
“Well, are you serious or what?” Tanya took the picture of Syeesha’s mother from her bedroom wall. “Is that blog post about you?”
There was no way she could worm her way out of answering the question, but she might as well give it a go.
“There is nothing special about my life, Tanya. Figured I’d give it some spice by writing about a friend.” Syeesha moved behind the screen in her bedroom. So many books she loved. A few clothes she’d left behind. She picked up an oversized New York fire department T-shirt. Jade would never allow this in her apartment. Syeesha held the T-shirt up to her body. It seemed like it belonged to another woman.
The six-inch nude pumps, Diane von Furstenberg minidress with plunging neckline, and sparkling gold bangles halfway up her arm were now her normal attire. Whereas her hair used to be kept in a neat ponytail at the nape of her neck, today it was straightened within an inch of its life and hung down her back. Her metamorphosis into a temptress was complete.
“Is this friend letting her apartment go so that she can move into the lion’s den?”
Syeesha was glad she was behind the screen so that Tanya couldn’t see her pause.
“I’m not sure what my friend is doing. However, I have to move my stuff because my lease is expiring. I consider myself a lucky girl to have been invited to stay in my boss’s crib for awhile.”
“So what about your friend?” Tanya taped up the box of photographs. “Is she really gonna do it?”
“Would you blame her if she did?”
Syeesha unloaded an arm full of books into a box. Her clothes were already in plastic bins. She’d just carry them down to the truck as is.
“Listen, don’t get me wrong. I think the details are great for a blog. People love blind items. Traffic is increasing. And I can tell from the comments that folks are anxious to know who this rich couple is. But I hope you remember
that they’re powerful people, Sy. I don’t want to see you get hurt over a blog post . . . or for some quick cash.”
“I’m not going to get hurt, Tanya, and do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t about me.”
“Who’s the rich woman?”
“She hasn’t told me.”
“You described her.”
“I did?”
“Said something like she’s a pint-size vixen, cloaked in diamonds, Dior, and desperation.”
“I wrote that?”
“You wrote that.”
“Huh. I always hated alliteration.”
The room was almost completely packed up. Until Syeesha could figure out a better plan, everything was going into storage. Thanks to Kiki, she didn’t have very much to move except her bedroom stuff and a few items from the kitchen. Nothing a small U-Haul couldn’t handle. She was so glad to be rid of the place. Though her future alternatives weren’t nearly as bright as she’d led Tanya to believe.
Tanya stood up, wiping dust from her hands. “Just be careful,” Tanya said. “And for God’s sake, don’t do anything stupid.”
***
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Jade yelled after Lydia. She’d disappeared into the back of her salon. While Jade waited in one of the salon’s chairs, she loosened the protective apron around her neck. She felt as if she were about to choke. It didn’t help matters that she still had the dull ache of a hangover from last night’s partying.
Lydia had taken her to a nightclub. When Jade had seen the name gloriously lit up in bold fluorescent letters, she had wanted to hop back into the cab.
The Fat Black Pussycat.
“How does a working mother of four know about a place like this?”
“I have lots of girlfriends, girlfriend. Every now and then a woman needs to let her hair down.” Lydia had tousled her hair, now brushed free of her updo.
Despite her misgivings, the Caribbean music had pulled Jade inside. Once inside, Jade had bought the first round of shots.
“Happy birthday, Lydia.”
A guy at the end of the bar had winked at Jade. He had made a move as though coming toward her. Discreetly, she had shaken her head. Turned away. Blushed.
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