by Bailey West
“He said around eight in the morning.”
I stored that information and changed the subject. We laughed and talked some more until I pulled up to her house. I turned off the engine and got out of the truck to help her out. We walked to her front door. I held the screen door open again for her while she worked to unlock the door.
“Thank you again for dinner. I had an amazing time aside from almost passing out from that hot sauce.”
“I had a good time too. Let’s do it again.”
“I would like that.”
She smiled, “Good night, Paxton.”
“Good night, Olivia.”
She turned and entered her house. I waited until I heard the locks engage, then I left.
Olivia
There was a knock at my door the next morning at seven thirty. I thought the repair crew was early. I opened the door and saw Paxton standing on the other side of my screen door. He had a laptop bag on his shoulder a cup holder with two coffee cups in it, and a paper bag sitting in the middle of the cup holder.
“Good morning!” He smiled.
“Good morning, Paxton.”
“Has the crew arrived yet?”
“Ummm, no they haven't.”
“Cool, I didn’t know if stopping for breakfast would make me late but it worked out.”
I cocked my head to the side trying to understand what he was talking about.
“I'm not going to let you sit in this house by yourself with a crew of men you don’t know. I’m going to hang out here with you. I brought my computer so I can get some work done while they are here. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, yes, please come in.” I opened the screen door to let him in. I reached for the cup holder to free his hands. He stepped in and stood to the side then followed me to the kitchen. I put the food down on the counter while he put his laptop bag down.
He was dressed in a black Adidas t-shirt that stretched deliciously across his broad chest and hugged his biceps. He had on matching black Adidas pants and a fresh pair of black shell toe Adidas. I’d never seen him dressed casually, but he looked just as good casual as he did in his suits.
I wish I would have known he was coming, I would have chosen something else to put on. I had on a pair of old jeans and a washed out yellow t-shirt. I had messily piled my hair on the top of my head. I quickly ran my hand up the back of my head trying to make sure all of it was in the ponytail.
Paxton opened the brown bag and handed me a Styrofoam container.
“I ordered you a spinach quiche. There is a side of thick cut bacon for you too. Or you can have the pancakes and eggs.”
“No, the quiche is perfect.”
He pointed to one of the coffee cups, “This is an Americana. I asked the barista at the coffee shop what type of coffee you like, what’s her name?”
“Deborah?”
“Yeah, she said hi, by the way. She told me this was your favorite,” he passed me a large coffee cup.
I was speechless. He moved around and organized things like it wasn’t a huge deal that he’d rescheduled his day to be with me. I’d never been treated so nice by anyone but especially by a man.
“Olivia, are you okay?”
I was still standing in place holding my Americana. I shook myself and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you, Paxton.”
I went into the kitchen and got us some eating utensils and napkins. I passed a fork and some napkins to him. I sat down across from him, at my kitchen table, and enjoyed my delicious breakfast. As we were finishing up breakfast, the doorbell rang.
Paxton stood to answer it. “Let me answer it. I don’t want them to think that you are ever here by yourself.”
I nodded.
“Who is it?” His bass voice boomed as he approached the door.
“It’s the plumber,” was yelled from the other side of the door.
Paxton opened the door.
“Good morning,” I heard a man’s voice say. I couldn’t see him because Paxton filled the doorway. “I was sent here by the owner to fix the plumbing problems.”
“Are you alone or are there more workers coming?” Paxton asked with the added bass in his voice.
“Um, I have a couple of guys in the truck to help me with the other things that need fixing.”
Paxton looked over the man’s head in the direction of his truck. He didn’t say anything for a minute then said, “Okay,” and moved to the side. The older Hispanic gentleman had a look of panic on his face until he saw me, then his panic subsided a bit.
“I can show you where the problems are,” I smiled.
“Okay, thank you, Miss,” he smiled back.
He was visibly shaken by his encounter with Paxton. I showed him around and pointed out the problems that I’d been having with the plumbing. I then showed him the areas of the drywall that needed to be replaced or patched. Paxton followed us around. Every once in a while, the plumber would look over his shoulder to see if Paxton was still there. He was. Paxton maintained a scowl on his face the entire time. I guess if I didn’t know him a little, his scowl would intimidate me. It certainly did intimidate the plumber.
“Okay, Miss, I am going to go and get the tools we need and bring my crew in if that’s okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Paxton answered.
The plumber turned on his heels and walked out the front door.
“Paxton,” I hit his arm with the back of my hand, “you made him nervous.”
“Good,” Paxton rolled his eyes and went and stood at the door watching the crew until they came back in.
The crew quietly went to work in the kitchen first. Paxton unpacked his laptop and set up his remote office at my kitchen table while I sat across from him and worked on my laptop.
“If they are still here at lunchtime, we can order in. What would you like pasta or burgers?” Paxton asked while looking up from his computer.
“Is there a salad option with the pasta?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will take the pasta.”
“Cool.” He focused his attention back on his laptop.
Any questions that the crew had were directed to Paxton. None of them would even look at me. Every once in a while, I would look up from my work to glance at Paxton. His brows were knitted together while he worked diligently on something on his computer. He caught me looking a couple of times and smiled, then went back to work. He’d stop every so often to see what the men were doing. He stepped away from the kitchen a couple times to take a call from his office, but he didn’t go far.
Paxton ordered enough food at lunchtime to feed the crew and us. The crew ate their food on the back patio while Paxton and I ate at the kitchen table.
“What do you enjoy doing? Do you have any hobbies or something you like to do?” Paxton asked while spearing the grilled chicken in his salad.
“I like to dance.”
“What kind of dance?”
“When I was growing up my mother enrolled me in ballet classes at the community center. She wanted me to learn things like ballet so that I would fit into high society. Well, I was at the bar one day doing stretches and heard the bass coming from the modern dance class next door. I peeked in after my class was finished and saw them doing an African inspired routine. I fell in love. My mother was sending me to ballet class every week, and I was going to the modern dance class instead.”
“Did she ever find out you had switched classes?”
“Yes, when it was time for the ballet recital and I wasn’t a part of it.” I laughed.
“Was she upset when she found out?”
“Surprisingly, no. I can’t always gauge my mother’s reactions. Just when I think she is going to flip out about something, she doesn’t. When I think she is not going to care, she flips out. Switching that dance class was one of those instances where she surprised me. I don't have any hobbies, but I love the outdoors, fishing, camping, and swimming. What about you?”
“I enjoy the outdoors as well. I’ve lear
ned to appreciate the outdoors more since I’ve lived here in Texas. I enjoy good music, good food and good company.”
We continued to eat.
“What was it like growing up with siblings?”
“It was interesting. We are all so different but my brothers are my best friends, so we did everything together. Roman and I tried to fly under the radar and stay out of trouble, but Ezekiel broke the radar.”
“He stayed in trouble?”
“He stayed in everything! Trouble, detention, punishment, you name it. It was cool growing up with them, though. You don’t have any siblings?”
“Yes, a sister and a brother but we didn’t grow up together. I know about them, but they don’t know about me. It’s a soap opera, but basically, my mother was the mistress that knew her role and played it well. Since I was the only child she had, I knew things that I probably shouldn’t have known, like my dad had a wife and whole other family across town. He would tell his wife he was going out of town on business, but he was with my mom and me. My mother didn’t shield me from reality. So, I lived in the same town with my siblings but couldn’t speak to them. I could never tell them that I was their big sister and I loved them. I just admired them from afar. My sister is beautiful. We look a lot alike. She’s darker than me, but we have the same eyes and smile. She is a registered nurse. My brother is tall and lanky. He looks a lot like my father. He’s a very accomplished athlete. He’s on the coaching staff at the college he graduated from. I know this type of thing sounds foreign to you since you grew up with amazing parents.”
“I was raised by amazing people, but my mom and dad are biologically my aunt and uncle.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you compared your story to a soap opera. My story is more like a true crime novel. My biological father is my dad’s younger brother. He and my biological mother could not care for me, so my mom and dad stepped in and raised Roman, Ezekiel and me as brothers. They have never shown any difference between us.”
“That’s amazing. Are your biological parents still alive?”
“Yes, Nigel, my father, served some time in prison for attempting to murder Giselle, my biological mother. He’s been out for several years now and lives on a small farm in South Carolina. He’s doing well. Giselle lives in New York. She recovered from her injuries, but she has never been the same physically. Mentally she’s good. Do you still have your parents?”
“Yes, I do. I don’t communicate with my father at all, but my mother still lives in the town I grew up in. She works for a family as a domestic. At this point, she is more like their family instead of their employee. She helped raise the children since birth. All three of the children are older than me so they now have children of their own.”
“Why don’t you have children?”
“I can’t have them. I was pregnant once, and I lost it. Why don’t you have a couple of little Bluettes running around?”
“I got someone pregnant in high school. Not on purpose of course. I was young and reckless. She had a miscarriage early on, or at least that’s what I was told. At the time, I thought that maybe her parents got her an abortion and told us she lost it. Either way, from that point on, I made sure to protect myself. I didn’t want to be the stereotypical black man with two and three baby mommas.”
“The other day you said you aren’t in a relationship because you haven’t found the one. Why not?”
“I’ve been busy starting businesses and helping my brothers. I haven’t had the time to dedicate to building anything with anyone.”
“Is that still the case now?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Mr. Bluette, thank you for lunch,” the head of the crew interrupted.
“You’re welcome.”
“We are going to get back to work now.”
Paxton nodded his head and went back to his computer. I guess our conversation is over.
The crew worked well into the afternoon. They didn’t stop until everything was fixed. They showed me all the completed work and let me test everything out to make sure it worked. Once again, Paxton followed and commented when necessary.
The crew cleaned up everything and left.
“Well, everything looks good. Are you satisfied with their work?” Paxton asked after coming back in from walking the crew out to their truck.
“I am. I’m just happy to have good water pressure in the bathroom. Thank you for staying with me today. It didn’t even cross my mind that I would be here with men I didn’t know.”
“It was my pleasure, Olivia. I’m glad you let me know. I would have been very disappointed to know that you let those men in your house without someone here with you.”
“I guess I’m still learning how to live alone.”
“You have me now, so you don’t have to do anything like this alone, cool?”
“Cool,” I smiled. “I have to repay you for your time.”
“I don’t need repayment. I didn’t do this for you to give me anything. I did it because I want you to be safe.”
“I know, but you should let me make you dinner, tonight if you don’t have any plans.”
“I can’t tonight. I have plans…”
“Oh, okay, I understand.” I interrupted. It was stupid of me to assume that I could just monopolize his whole day.
“I was trying to say that I have plans with my nephew, BJ. It’s my turn to pick him up from school and keep him for the night. My youngest brother is on tour, so my brother, sister and I have been helping out with BJ. If it weren't for that, I would say yes, in a heartbeat. Can I get a raincheck?”
“Yes, of course, you can get a raincheck.”
“What about tomorrow? Are you free tomorrow?”
“Yes, I am. Tomorrow would be great.”
“Cool, what time should I arrive?”
“How about six? Does that work for you?”
“It does.”
He picked up his laptop bag from the table and started towards the door.
I grabbed his giant hand and held it with both of my hands, “Paxton, I know I’ve said this more than once, but you really have no idea how much you being here today means to me. No one has ever adjusted their life for me.”
He raised my hands to his lips and kissed my left hand and then my right hand.
“I’m happy to be your first,” he winked.
10
“Hi, Uncle Paxton!” BJ shouted as he ran into my arms. It was my day to pick him up from school and spend some time with him. Ezekiel had the whole family on a schedule for BJ. He’d been away for almost six weeks. He liked to send text messages to make sure we didn’t forget the schedule. He had his assistant make up a spreadsheet that was color-coded, so we knew our scheduled days. None of us missed our time to pick BJ up. It was my pleasure to spend time with him.
I got him all situated in his car seat and then got in my truck headed to my condo.
“How was school, BJ? What did you learn today?” I asked him through my rearview mirror.
“School was fun. I learned about mathematics. Some people just say math, but that’s the nickname. Like my name is Braeden, but some people use my nickname, BJ. My teacher said that it’s okay if we use the name or the nickname.”
I glanced in my rear-view mirror at him. He was so confident in his explanation.
“There is a lot to learn about mathematics, what did you learn today?”
“We learned about adding and subtracting but mostly adding. Adding is when you put things from one group together with things from another group and make them one group. Subtraction is when you take something from a group and give it its own group.”
“That’s cool, man. Did your apple stay on the tree today?”
BJ’s teacher used a discipline system of a tree and apples. If your apple stays on the tree, conduct wise, you’ve had a good day. If the apple gets placed on the ground, you’ve had a bad conduct day.
“It stayed on the tree ‘cause my Zeke said that I
had to behave while he was away and help my mommy and baby peanut. So, I’m holding it down for him till he gets back.”
I chuckled. This kid is four going on forty. Some of the things that come out of his mouth catch me off guard.
“That’s cool man. What do you want to eat tonight?”
“Pizza!”
BJ and I spent the evening together. We had pepperoni pizza and watched a couple of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. I bathed him and put him to bed. He has his own room at my condo. Whenever we-me, Roman or Nette-pick BJ up we keep him overnight to give Zora a break. She’s pregnant now, so she needs a break now more than ever.
I cleaned up my and BJ’s mess, put his clothes in the washer so Zora won’t have to clean his uniform, then I sat down to relax. The first thing that popped into my head was my day with Olivia. I picked up my phone and dialed her number. She answered immediately.
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I wasn't sleeping, yet.”
“You’re smiling again?”
“I am,” she replied.
“Cool, how was the rest of your day?”
“It was fine. I took a long, relaxing bath now that it doesn’t take fifteen years for the tub to fill with water. Then I ate the rest of my pasta from lunch and watched a documentary about South Africa. Now I’m talking to you. So, it was a great day.”
“South Africa, I’ve been there once or twice. I was in the military for several years.”
“Really? How was Africa?”
“South Africa was not what I expected. Before I went the first time, the only thing I knew about Africa was what I saw on television. You know the kids with the distended stomachs and flies landing on their eyelids.”
“Oh, I know! I never understood how they weren’t going crazy swatting those flies. If a fly gets into my house, I won’t rest until it’s flat under my swatter,” she chuckled.
“Yeah, but the flies are so fast that for the most part they just have you looking like a crazy person swatting at them,” I added.
“I know! It seems like they stay still right until you get up on them and they fly away. I hate that!”
I laughed at the picture I had in my head of her chasing a little fly around her house.