“Excuse me for being so blunt, Karen, but the military is no place for a young black male.”
“Is there anyplace in this world for a black man? Young or not?” asked Karen. “This is the photo gallery.”
Melanie walked around the room slowly.” No, not for one who is afraid to pursue his dreams,” said Melanie.” But just the opposite is true if a black man is determined to pursue his greatness. The operative word is determined. Look at Mr. Murphy, he’s a prime example of what can be accomplished if you’re not afraid to live your dreams. Does Damien have a mentor?”
“A mentor. Why does he need a mentor?” Karen asked.” He has a father. This is the most recent wing to the gallery.”
Melanie was thoroughly impressed. The photo journalist position she had in D.C. did not compare. “You have got to open your mind. Black male children need as many positive role models as possible in their lives. Here you are working for one of the most powerful black men in this country, soon to be in this world when I finish helping him build his empire, and you haven’t asked him to mentor your son.”
“I can’t. He won’t,” said Karen.” Mr. Murphy is a busy man. He doesn’t have time for Damien.”
“Ask him, Karen. Ask him today,” Melanie insisted.
“I’ll ask but I already know the answer.”
“Just tell me the answer after you ask the question,” Melanie said.
“Well, that completes our tour. Everett Paris is scheduled for an eight o’clock shoot in the morning. If there’s anything I can assist you with, please let me know,” Karen said.
“Thank you, Ms. Livingston, you’re quite the professional.” Melanie shook and held Karen’s hand.” There is one more thing.”
“Yes.” Karen loosely held Melanie’s hand.
“Ask Mr. Murphy for a raise. You deserve it.” Melanie walked into her office, closed the glass door, and turned on her intercom.
“Hello. This is Karen in the photography department. I’d like to schedule an appointment to meet with Mr. Murphy today.” Melanie thumbed through the executive manual and smiled.
“He has a ten-minute opening available if you can come right now. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until Friday.”
“I’ll be right there,” Karen said.
Melanie heard an unfamiliar voice so she clicked on her viewer. There was a delivery person at Karen’s desk with three-dozen yellow roses.
“For me?” Karen said jokingly.
“If your name is Melanie Marie Thompson, they’re all yours.” He smiled. Melanie zoomed in the camera. His two front teeth were missing. She frowned, and then laughed. The flowers she had delivered to herself had finally arrived.
“Well, that’s not my name,” said Karen.” But she’s in her office. It’s the last one on your left. Wait. Do you know who sent them?” Jada walked up to Karen’s desk.
“Compliments of a Mr. Wellington Jones.” The delivery guy smiled wide and made his eyes bulge.
“Really! I knew he couldn’t stay mad at me forever.” Jada jumped up and down. Tears rolled down her chocolate cheeks.
“If your name is Melanie Marie Thompson, they’re all yours.” He nodded once.
Melanie cried out with laughter. Jada ran into her office, picked up the phone, and furiously punched in Wellington’s number.” How could you send her flowers to wry job?” she demanded into the receiver.
“Flowers? What flowers?” Wellington paused.” Look, I have a broker on one line and a client on the other. I’ll have to call you back.” Wellington hung up.
Melanie greeted the deliveryman at her door.” Oh, for me! My goodness. Who sent such lovely roses? And so many.” Melanie slipped him a fifty for his troubles and winked. He winked back and smiled.
“Thanks, but you’re evil. You know that?”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Melanie said.
“Karen, can I see you in my office for a moment?” said Jada.
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
Melanie meticulously arranged the flowers and listened.
“Karen, I probably shouldn’t tell you this but—”
“If you probably shouldn’t tell me—”
“Melanie is a friend of the Jones family and very well liked by Mrs. Jones.”
“She’s a very likable person,” Karen responded.
“Anyway, “Jada continued.” Initially, she was visiting for a couple of weeks. Then returning to D.C.”
“I love D.C.,” Karen said.” Did she graduate from Howard?”
“Look, Karen, if you don’t want to hear the story, let me know.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right,” Karen said.
“I’m not sure how she knew about this job or who helped her get it, but I want you to check her file and let me know.”
“This is better than the soap operas. But you’re asking me to risk my job and compromise my integrity. I can’t do that. Not even for a friend. Sorry. I thought you were going to tell me something.” Karen returned to her desk. Melanie was satisfied with Karen’s response so she turned off the recorder.
“Sensations Communications, this is Ms. Livingston.”
“Hello, Karen?” Melanie’s ears perked up.
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess,” Karen said.” This is Mr. Darryl NBA Williams.”
“The one and only.”
“Where have you been?” Karen asked.
“You know the season has started, so I have very little free time on my hands. But I always have time for jada. Is she in?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Hi, baby. How are you? I’ve missed you so much I just had to call and hear your voice,” Darryl said.
“I’ve been doing great,” Jada responded.
“How are the wedding plans?” Darryl asked. Melanie was surprised.
“Everything is going along as planned.” Well, she didn’t lie, thought Melanie. But she didn’t exactly tell the truth either.
“That’s cool. So can your number one fan take you out to dinner or is that still off-limits?”
“Let me think about that and I’ll call you back next week,” Jada said.
“Next week?”
“Please, Darryl. I have a lot on my mind right now. I promise I’ll call you.”
Jada hung up, picked up her purse, and walked out.” Karen, I’m leaving for the day. Send my calls through to my voice mail.”
“Will do,” said Karen.
Jada arrived at Wellington’s by six-thirty that evening and tried her key.” Damn. He was serious about changing the locks.” Before she could put the keys back in her purse, Melanie opened the door.
“Hi, Jada. How can I help you?”
Jada brushed past Melanie and entered Wellington’s office.” Wellington Jones, I need to speak with you right this minute.”
Wellington’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. His backhand waved in the air like he was sweeping crumbs off his collar. Jada interlocked her arms, extended her left foot, tilted her head, and waited. She looked over her right shoulder. Melanie was nowhere in sight.
“I apologize, Mr. Gray, can I call you back in five minutes? I have an emergency I need to take care of immediately. I promise. I’ll call you back in five minutes tops.” Wellington pressed the disconnect button and slammed the phone.” Are you crazy? You are interfering with my livelihood now and I’m not going to accept this! Mr. Gray is one of my largest investors.” Wellington stood directly in front of Jada.” Now you have a choice—you can either wait until I finish working with my clients, or you can leave.”
Teardrops clung to the edges of Jada’s eyelids. She couldn’t believe he was the same person she’d met last year.” What has happened to us, Wellington?” She placed her hands on his biceps. His body felt wonderful. Her pussy pulsated once. She shivered. She missed her man.
“Look, just give me a few minutes and we’ll talk.” Wellington smiled and stroked Jada’s cheek.
Jada walked into the living room and sat on
the couch. Melanie was lying on the chaise watching the world news.
“I’m about to prepare dinner.” Melanie grinned.” Will you be joining us?”
It was a good thing for Melanie she was pregnant because, as angry as Jada was, she would have turned that scene into the WWF championship. “Thanks, but no thanks,” Jada said softly. It was strange. Jada used to feel so comfortable at Wellington’s. Now she felt like an intruder.
Wellington walked into the living room.” Hi, my Nubian Queen.”
Jada looked around the room like an owl. He couldn’t have possibly been talking to her. And he had better not have been speaking to Melanie. Was this the same man who’d yelled at her moments ago? “I haven’t heard you call me that in a long time.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s long overdue. Let’s go out for dinner so we can talk.”
“I’d like that.” Jada refused to give Melanie the satisfaction of looking in her direction. Wellington opened the door.” Here’s your key.” They laughed.
“How does Pier 39 sound?” Wellington suggested as he placed the key in Jada’s ignition. She refused to leave her car at his house.
“Excellent choice.” Jada reflected on the beautiful moments they had shared at the pier. They would sit for hours and watch the seals. They secretly fed the seagulls. They would have lengthy discussions about what they could see on Alcatraz Island through the telescope. Then they would ride over on the boat and try to find what they saw. A quick laugh escaped her lips. Jada remembered how Wellington gave her a horseback ride and galloped around the carousel. He was her stallion. People stared. They didn’t care. Wellington kept trotting until the carousel stopped. Jada could hear the sista with the British accent.” How much to ride that one? He’s sexy.” Wellington mimicked, “Closed to the public, miss. You’ll have to get your own.”
“We haven’t been here in a long time,” Jada said. She held Wellington’s hand. They strolled along the pier.
“Yeah, I remember the first time I brought you here,” Wellington responded.” You were wearing your blue jeans and that sexy scarf with the African design that you wrapped around your breasts and you wore a matching head wrap. That was sexy.”
“I didn’t realize you noticed such details.” Wellington didn’t respond. He didn’t have to. Jada tasted the same bittersweet lump in her throat. Wellington walked in complete silence until they entered the restaurant.
“Mr. Jones, we were able to reserve your regular table by the window,” said Ralph.” It’s good to see our favorite couple.”
“Thanks, Ralph,” Wellington said as he flipped him a twenty. They were seated at their table overlooking the bay.
“Diamond, I remember almost everything about you.” Wellington picked up the conversation as if it had never ended.” But I don’t ever remember you acting so irrational.” His dreamy eyes drooped.
Jada backstroked in her pool of emotions.” I’m not irrational.” Her emotions began to discount her intellect.” Well, maybe you’re right. But it’s not my fault. It’s all because of Melanie. She has manipulated our relationship. I started feeling like I was losing my soulmate,” Jada rambled. She desperately needed Wellington’s love and understanding.
“Maybe I was wrong about us being soulmates,” Wellington said. His eyes seemed to look straight through Jada.
Suddenly her emotions took a dip in the pool. She frantically dog-paddled to stay afloat.” What are you talking about? How can you doubt our love?” This wasn’t the Wellington Jones that Jada used to know.
“Here’s the bottle of Dom you ordered, Mr. Jones,” said their waiter, Dominic.” Would you like to sample and give your approval?”
“No need to sample, Dominic,” said Wellington.” You can pour the lady a glass and I’ll have one too.”
“Certainly.”
“Wellington. I’m waiting for a response.”
“Jada, I thought we were soulmates, but then you changed on me. I saw a side of you I’d never seen before. I didn’t realize you had such an awful temper. You always seemed so peaceful. Jada, this was the first authentic challenge to our relationship. And your actions proved you didn’t trust me. When I tried to open up to you, you slapped my face and ran out the door. When I called you, you hung up on me. When I went to sleep, you turned my house into the Hunan Garden.”
Jada looked out the corner of her eye. Her lips curled.
“I’m serious, damn it! This is not a joke,” Wellington continued. “You didn’t try to meet me halfway. I made a mistake. I was honest enough to share that with you. I’m not perfect and I don’t try to be. I told you that the first time we went out. And now that you’re ready to talk, am I supposed to be ready too? Look, I still love you. I’ll always love you. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to get married.”
The wind escaped Jada’s lungs. She had been hit below the belt. Jada’s heart sank to the bottom of the pool. Every time she gasped for air, she swallowed water.” Wellington, how could you do this to us?” Her salty tears plopped into her glass of champagne. The bubbles fizzled.” It’s your mother, isn’t it? She’s telling you to do this. Cynthia never has liked me. If she tells you to jump, you ask how high.”
Wellington remained calm.” Leave my mother out of this, Jada. I’m warning you. When are you going to take a long look in the mirror? You have yet to acknowledge you’ve played your part.” Wellington’s dreamy eyes grew stone cold.
“So I guess you are going to marry Melanie!” Jada shouted.” Is that what you brought me here to say?”
“Actually, I just wanted to see if we could have a heart-to-heart talk. But I do respect Melanie. At least she’s woman enough to admit her mistakes. It’s not her fault she got pregnant. I’ve accepted my responsibility. And I do have an obligation to make her a decent and respectable woman. I don’t want to bring children into this world out of wedlock. Jada, I’m hurting. I’m in pain, and I admit, I am confused. Look, I’m sorry all of this has happened, but I want to do what’s right.”
“Sorry! You’re sorry! You’ve got that right, you really are sorry.”
“Should I bring you the check, sir?” Dominic whispered.
Wellington stood. He placed one, two, three one-hundred-dollar bills on the table and handed Dominic a fifty. Then he strolled out like Denzel Washington.
When Jada got outside on the pier, Wellington was nowhere in sight. She heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Ms. Tanner. Mr. Jones asked me to give you your keys. Here is your validation. Do have a good night,” said Ralph. Jada’s heart felt lifeless.
When Wellington arrived back at his home, he noticed his Jaguar had been wrecked. He shook his head and walked inside.” What happened to my car?” he asked Melanie.
“I reported it. I told the police I didn’t recognize the car or the driver, but it was definitely Jada. Poor thing, she should calm down before she suffers a heart attack and dies.”
“I’m starving,” Wellington said.
“I’ll cook you something. What would you like?”
“Well, let’s just say it’s already cooked.” Wellington flicked his eyebrows twice.
Melanie raced upstairs to Wellington’s bedroom. He playfully chased her. She stripped off all their clothes. His lust escalated. Wellington stroked his penis. There was no response. He desperately needed to release his frustrations. He stretched his dick as far as he could. It snapped back like a rubber band.
“Suck it for me?” Wellington asked. Melanie bowed on her knees. There was no response. He pushed back and pulled harder. His penis wouldn’t expand.
Finally, Melanie said, “Look, you have a lot on your mind. Relax and let me take control.”
Melanie massaged every muscle in Wellington’s body. Then she slid his seven-inch dick inside her. She squeezed him from top to bottom. Wellington moaned with relief when he felt the other two inches add on.
“Don’t move. That’s my spot,” Melanie said.
Wellington’s head ex
panded like an overstuffed sausage ready to burst through its skin. Melanie rocked back and forth and rolled her hips in a grinding motion.” Oh, that’s my spot. Don’t move,” she repeated. Wellington felt Melanie hit her G-spot again and again. He licked his finger and rubbed it along the shaft of her clit.
“I’m cumming!” Melanie yelled.
Wellington stroked her clit faster. His fluids shot off in her like Fourth of July fireworks. His body went limp with gratification.
Melanie continued to grind as she licked and sucked her own nipples. Wellington reached for the little black box on his headboard and opened it. Melanie was so excited she didn’t wait. “Yes! Yes! I will marry you.”
Chapter 13
Jada spent the next month wondering: Was it her fault? Was Wellington to blame? Melanie? What could she have done differently? She slouched on her sofa. Her eyes wandered aimlessly.
Jada’s heart ached. She didn’t deny she was still in love with Wellington. But at what point would she get over him and at what cost? She had already lost twelve pounds. With each passing day neither her migraines nor her nausea would subside. Jada faintly heard the phone rang. She had turned the volume down to its lowest.
“Hi, baby, this is Mama. Are you keeping your appointment with Dr. Bates today? I’m really concerned about the migraine headaches you’ve been having lately.”
“Yes, Mama, I’m going to keep my appointment and Candice is going with me. How’s Mr. Hamilton?”
“Oh, Robert is fine. We went to the movies yesterday,” Mama laughed.” I really do enjoy his company. If he gets any funnier, we’re going to have to put him on Comicview.”
“I’m happy for you, Mama.” Robert made Mama feel young again.
“You know I spoke with Jazzmyne last night. She said she’s willing to talk with you and Wellington.”
“Wellington would never agree to talk with Jazzmyne.” Jada wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk with Jazzmyne or Wellington. Jada selected a gold sarong and tied it about her waist.
“Well, she has a way of getting information and people don’t even realize it,” Mama said.” She said if you preferred, she could go to Wellington’s house. Talk with him. Then come to your house. Just think about it. If you decide you want her help, let her know.”
Soulmates Dissipate Page 14