The Secrets of Silk

by Allison Hobbs

  While waiting for Buddy to return with the doctor, she found herself humming a song. Excitement surged through her, and although Silk tried to occupy her time reading a newspaper that one of the nurses had left behind, she found that she couldn’t concentrate on the newspaper print—not with the melody and the lyrics of one of Smokey Robinson’s songs running through her head.

  Wearing a concerned expression, Buddy walked in with an Asian doctor at his side. The name on the physician’s lab coat, read: Dr. Dongsheng. A funny name that forced Silk to stifle a giggle as the doctor introduced himself.

  Silk accompanied Buddy and the doctor as they walked over to Paulette’s crib.

  “Oh, my God! What’s wrong with her?” Buddy asked, his voice filled with dread.

  The doctor checked the baby’s pulse. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dixon. Your daughter has expired.”

  “Oh, God, no!” Buddy wailed and then hastily made his way over to Pamela’s crib. “Jesus! Why?” Buddy screamed, looking up at the heavens after surveying Pamela’s unmoving body. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my babies,” he lamented while Silk rubbed his back and murmured soothing words.

  “It’s a miracle that your daughters lasted this long, Mr. Dixon,” the doctor said, trying to comfort Buddy.

  Nodding her head, Silk agreed with the doctor. “Let’s go home, Buddy. There’s nothing else we can do for these precious babies.” With the twins out of the way, Silk was in a hurry to get back home and continue waiting for her phone call.

  “If you need a moment for spirituality, the hospital has a chapel on the fifth floor. Some families seek comfort in the chapel,” the doctor said in a gentle voice.

  “That’s a good idea.” Buddy grasped Silk’s arm. “Let’s go to the chapel and pray for the twins’ souls.”

  Silk wanted to slap the dog shit out Dr. Dongsheng for making such a time-wasting suggestion, but she had to grin and bear it. Standing by her grieving husband’s side, she joined him on the elevator that would take them to the chapel on the fifth floor.

  CHAPTER 28

  Getting rid of those money-draining twins had a surprise benefit that Silk hadn’t anticipated. Buddy had life insurance policies on the babies for twenty-five hundred dollars each. Five thousand dollars would improve Silk’s life, and she’d be damned if any thieving lawyer or crooked politician was going to get one nickel of it.

  But she hadn’t banked on having to wage a war against the head honcho at the funeral parlor.

  Speaking in gentle tones, the funeral director steered Buddy toward miniature caskets. Silk was shocked by the price tags on those itty-bitty, little caskets. They cost an arm and a leg!

  The somber-faced mortician made it a point to find out from Buddy exactly how much cash he was working with. Buddy revealed that he had five thousand dollars, and the greedy mortician seemed to be trying to spend up every penny, suggesting deluxe this and top-of-the-line that. He even tried to get Buddy interested in special little kiddy flower arrangements, among other costly funeral expenses.

  Silk took the liberty of asking the cost of cremating the twins. Buddy gasped and the mortician tilted his head, surveying Silk as if to determine if she had lost her mind.

  “You want to break tradition and burn up those innocent little babies?” the mortician asked in a reproachful tone. Shaking his head as if distraught, he walked over to his desk and fell into his seat.

  “Cremation is out of the question,” Buddy interjected. “My children deserve a proper burial.”

  “I didn’t think you’d agree to something so outlandish.” The mortician cast a disapproving glance at Silk. He picked up his pen, prepared to begin tallying up the cost of a double funeral.

  “I’d like to speak to my husband privately. Can you give us a moment,” Silk said to the mortician. The mortician cut an eye at Buddy, as if expecting Buddy to insist that he be allowed to remain in the room.

  “Can we have a moment?” Buddy asked politely, and the mortician stood. He straightened his tie and walked to the door, reluctantly leaving the couple alone in his office.

  Silk clasped Buddy’s hand. “Listen to me, Buddy. You’ve been working so hard, you haven’t had time to notice that your three surviving children are suffering. I try my best to be a good mother to them, but they’re still mourning the loss of their mother. They all had nightmares after seeing her lying in that coffin. Bruce was so upset, he started peeing the bed every single night, but being that you were going through so much, I kept that unpleasant information to myself. Poor Dallas…she cries herself to sleep, crying for her mama. And Myron…he’s quiet and jumpy. He don’t hardly open his mouth to talk anymore. Do you really want to put those poor children through another funeral when they’re not finished grieving over the first one?”

  Buddy rubbed his forehead. “I hadn’t thought about how another funeral would affect the kids.”

  “The twins, precious as they were, were only a few months old, and since the children never even laid eyes on them, why would you make them suffer through looking at their dead bodies? It appears to me that the mortician is trying to spend up all your money. He’s not looking out for what’s best for your children. But I’m with your kids—our kids—night and day. I want what’s best for them. And I’m pleading with you not to make them suffer through another funeral so soon after their mother’s death.”

  “But the church members will gossip.”

  “Did any of those church members go to visit those sickly babies while they were in the hospital?”

  Buddy hung his head. “No, they didn’t.”

  “So, why do you care what they think? When you end up having to cart your three remaining kids away to a children’s mental ward, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Buddy covered his face. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth. They’re not the same, Buddy, but you don’t want to face it.”

  “I did notice they were all sort of withdrawn, but I thought time would heal them.”

  “Time, along with my motherly ways, will heal them one of these days, but you’ve got to stop springing funerals on them. Their delicate little hearts can’t take any more. Now, you need to stand up to that mortician and tell him that we’re not interested in any burial plots, caskets, printed funeral programs, newspaper announcements, flowers, or embalming fees. You tell him that we want those babies cremated for two hundred dollars each and that’s that. Out of decency, he should give you a special, two-for-one deal.”

  • • •

  The Uptown show came to an end after its two-week run, and all the performers moved on to their next gig. Silk never heard from her idol, Smokey Robinson, and it was heartbreaking. Thankfully, Buddy took away some of the sting of lost love when he used the twins’ insurance money to open a new, joint bank account for him and Silk, telling her that she could spend the windfall of money from the twins’ insurance policy any way she saw fit. Silk didn’t know how to write out a check or balance a checkbook, but she sure enjoyed seeing her name printed on the new checks.

  “You’re a wise young woman and I want you to be able to run our household without having to ask me for money every time you need something. You’re an angel in my life, Silk. I’ve been getting hit with one tragedy after another, and I doubt if I could have made it through if you weren’t by my side.”

  Later on that night, when they got in bed, Silk gave Buddy the deluxe version of the special treatment, which drove him to groan loudly and to bellow with such passion, Myron and Bruce ran to the master bedroom and pounded on the door.

  “Daddy! Are you all right?” the boys asked with terror in their voices.

  Buddy cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Everything’s fine, boys. Go back to bed.”

  Silk narrowed an eye at the closed door. She’d deal with those meddling boys in the morning. In the meantime, she had to finish sending Buddy on a trip to paradise that was unlike any other.

  • • •

  S
ilk pressured Buddy to teach her how to drive. Too busy putting in overtime to take her out on the road, Buddy signed her up with the Apex Driving School.

  On her first day of driving lessons, Silk dressed demurely in a shirtwaist dress, but when she saw her young instructor, a young white guy with movie-star good looks, she wished she’d worn something more revealing.

  “Hi, there, Mrs. Dixon,” the blond-haired instructor greeted. “My name is Edward Brenner; you can call me, Ed.”

  “And you can call me, Silk,” she said, offering a provocative smile. Ed gave her a lopsided smile that was sexy as hell. White fellas had always had the hots for Silk, and she wasn’t surprised by Ed’s flirtatious demeanor. Silk never discriminated when it came to her male lovers. Heck, she would have been setting up housekeeping with Nathan Lee at that very moment, if he hadn’t come to the Low Moon on that fateful night, roughing her up and acting the fool.

  Ed took a pack of Parliament cigarettes out of his shirt pocket. “Smoke?” he offered.

  “No, thanks.” She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he shook a cigarette out of the pack. The way Ed slouched in his seat with the cigarette dangling out of his mouth while he steered with one hand, gave him a Rebel Without a Cause persona, reminding her of James Dean.

  “You look kind of young to be a driving instructor,” Silk commented.

  “I’m twenty-five, and I’ve been driving since I was thirteen. My dad made the mistake of teaching me how to drive, and I liked it so much, I used to steal his car keys every night after he went to bed.” Ed looked at Silk and gave her another sexy smile. “You’re in the hands of a highly skilled driver with twelve years’ experience.”

  “I’m impressed,” Silk said and then opened her purse and took out a compact and checked her reflection.

  “You look pretty as a picture. Did anyone ever tell you that you favor Lena Horne? You could be her daughter.”

  “I’ve heard it every now and then. Anyone ever mention that you look a lot like James Dean?”

  “Couldn’t you have thought of someone who’s still alive? Why’d you have to compare me to a dead movie star?”

  “Sorry,” Silk said with laughter. Ed’s sense of humor was appealing. She’d lucked up with her driving instructor. They were going to be spending a lot of time together, and she couldn’t have asked for a cuter or more personable teacher.

  Ed drove out of Silk’s neighborhood and took her to an area where there was less traffic. He pulled to the curb and parked. “The only way to learn how to drive is for you to get behind the wheel. So, let’s switch seats.”

  “No! I’m not ready for that. I need you to explain a few things, first.” She pointed downward to the pedals. “I don’t know the brake from the gas pedal.”

  “I’ll tell you what. You can sit on my lap and turn the steering wheel while I work the pedals. Think you can manage that?”

  Silk scooted over and eased onto Ed’s lap. He immediately popped a boner, and she was immensely pleased. “Are you okay?” she teased.

  “Uh, I’ve been better.” Ed wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, which drew more laughter from Silk.

  Sitting on Ed’s erection, Silk placed her hands on the wheel, concentrating on steering while Ed felt her up, squeezing her breasts, grinding on her ass, and kissing her neck while he worked the foot pedals.

  Ed slammed on the brakes. “I’m overheating, Doll Face. If you don’t do something to cool me down, my engine’s gonna blow.” Ed was red in the face, laughing a little as he groped Silk’s body with more fervor.

  “I don’t want you to blow your engine,” she teased, and then wrapped her arms around Ed’s neck. She planted a kiss on his lips, and said, “It’s been awhile since I’ve had any white cock, and I miss it.”

  Silk’s brazen words caused Ed to turn beet red. “Man, oh man, you’re quite a little sexpot. I’ve never been with a colored girl before.”

  “Well, we’re gonna have to do something about that.” She ran her fingers through his hair.

  “I know a quiet spot, where we can have some privacy. A woodsy area with wild blackberry patches.”

  “I’m game. Let’s go.” Silk moved over to the passenger’s side of the car. Reaching out, she caressed Ed’s erection as he tore through the peaceful neighborhood, leaving a trail of exhaust fumes.

  The idea of making love outside in the open air didn’t bother Silk at all. In fact, she looked forward to it. Lying on the ground and spreading her legs and getting a hard fuck and expert sucking from a horny cracker would be a nostalgic reminder of home. She wondered if Ed could eat poontang as good as Nathan Lee could.

  Her body yearned for good head. Buddy was so terrible at oral sex—causing her nothing but frustration and irritation—that Silk no longer allowed him to stick his tongue anywhere near her vaginal area. And Buddy didn’t put up a fight. He seemed relieved not to have to take any more trips downtown.

  Ed parked the car and took a tarp out of the trunk. He and Silk journeyed into the woods on foot. The scratches she received on her legs from blackberry thorns were worth the discomfort once Ed laid down the tarp and mounted her. He undid the buttons at the front of her dress and yanked the cups of her bra upward, baring her breasts. Heat raced across her skin as his lips brushed against her nipples. At his touch, her flesh burned and tingled. She inhaled sharply, and then cried out with carnal hunger.

  “You’re getting me all hot and bothered. Now, I need you to do something about it.” Her chest heaved up and down with passion as she nudged the top of Ed’s head with one hand and lifted the hem of her dress with the other.

  “You want me to eat your cunt?”

  “Yeah, I want that real bad.”

  Men like Buddy made halfhearted attempts at eating poontang, but a man like Ed put his whole heart into the act, savoring the distinctive taste of pussy like a wine connoisseur. After a while, Silk began pleading with Ed to stop.

  “I can’t take any more. Fuck me, Ed. Please, baby. Stuff that white cock in this here poontang and go to town on it!”

  But Ed wouldn’t fuck her. Ignoring her pleas, he lashed and punished her pussy with his tongue. No amount of begging or bargaining would stop him. Unable to bear another moment, Silk lifted her ass from the tarp and clutched his head tightly between her hands as she felt an orgasm building inside her. With her muscles tensed, she strained and moaned as Ed slurped out her pent-up passion.

  “Are you ready for me, Doll Face?” Ed asked, licking the sheen from his lips.

  Silk gave him a smug smile as she readjusted her clothes. “It’s too late. I told you to get it while it was hot. It’s not my fault that you couldn’t pry your lips away from my sweet poontang.”

  Hurt and confusion clouded Ed’s eyes. “Are you gonna leave me hanging like this?” He looked down at his stiff dick.

  “You better handle your business before you get a case of blue balls,” she said, laughing maliciously.

  “You want me to whack off?”

  “You can do whatever you want as long as you finish giving me my driving lesson.”

  Ed began to masturbate while Silk took out her compact and powdered her nose and put on a fresh coat of lipstick.

  “Can’t you help me out a little bit?” Ed asked in a whiny voice.

  “What do you expect me to do?” Silk replied, irritated.

  “It would help if I could see your cunt.”

  Silk sighed as she stuffed the compact inside her purse. “Okay, but you have to speed it up. I paid for a driving lesson, and I still don’t know the first thing about handling an automobile.”

  “Don’t worry,” Ed said with panting breath. “I’ll give you all the driving lessons you need—free of charge if you open your legs and let me see your cunt.”

  “You got a deal!” Silk pulled her dress up and widened her legs. She pulled her panties to the side, revealing her most intimate part.

  Ed jerked on his dick hastily. “Open it up. Let me see the inside.
”

  Silk pulled her pussy lips apart, smiling broadly as she stretched it open as wide as possible.

  “Christ! Sonofabitch! Goddamn!” Ed bellowed as he ejaculated into the open air.

  Silk couldn’t stop giggling at Ed’s outburst when he shot his load.

  “You’re the best, baby. When can we get together again?”

  “We can do it again tomorrow—after my free driving lesson,” Silk said with smug satisfaction.

  CHAPTER 29

  Rubbernecking motorists and pedestrians gazed at Silk with awestruck expressions when she pulled up in front of the parking meter, driving her brand-new, red, convertible Cadillac with white-wall tires.

  With her hair flowing down her back and wearing a tight-fitted dress, Silk felt like the colored version of Marilyn Monroe as she swiveled her hips, walking along Sproul Street with Dallas in tow.

  “You look beautiful, M’dear,” Dallas said adoringly.

  “And you’re beautiful, too. Now pick up your step so we can make it to your ballet class on time. We don’t want those crackers saying colored folks are never on time. I want you to show those little white girls that you can do those ballet moves way better than their asses can.”

  “Yes, M’dear.”

  Silk walked Dallas inside the YWCA building. “I can’t stay to watch you practice today. After dance class, I want you to go straight to the locker room and change into your swimsuit and get in the pool. You better make sure every strand of your hair is tucked under your swim cap because I can’t deal with any nappy-ass hair, ever again. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes, M’dear.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll be back to pick you up after your swimming lesson is over. Now, go put those no-dancing, white girls to shame.” Silk patted Dallas on the back, urging her to get moving. With a wave of her hand, Dallas proceeded to the room where her ballet class was held.

  Ed had yet to see Silk’s new car, and over the phone, they’d made plans for Silk to take him for a little spin, and to also get into some hanky-panky while Dallas was taking classes at the Y. But Silk changed her mind, realizing she wasn’t in the mood for Ed to be slobbering between her legs.