When we were done and spent, I remained in position, catching my breath. I paced myself so that when I stood upright, I could go straight to washing up and then doing what I needed to do to get ready for my mother’s visit. But Zane had other ideas… better ideas.
“Sit down,” he told me.
“Zane,” I attempted to protest. “You know we have to—”
I stopped my sentence when I noticed him grab my washcloth from the rack inside the shower. He wet it, then lathered it with my Shea Butter Dove and walked over to where I sat. There he bathed me, from my neck on down to my feet. He stood me up, washed my back, and down my buttocks and legs. When he was done, he turned on the showerhead near where I stood and kissed me while the suds washed away.
“I’ll let you wash your face because I know you do that separately,” he told me.
I couldn’t do anything but smile when I took the cloth from him to finalize my shower.
On my way out of the enclosure, I walked over to his side and kissed along his back. “Thank you, baby. That was so sweet. I appreciate you.”
“I appreciate you too. I’ll see you out there.”
31 | Giselle
I was posted in the driveway when my mother drove up and parked her champagne Mini Coupe. Although her car windows were rolled up, with the air conditioner likely running, the vibration from her loud music could be felt from where I stood. I watched her pull her visor down, check her appearance, then cut her engine. She stepped out wearing a yellow linen, flowy jumpsuit. Her accessories were her signature yellow gold, and her long hair was pulled up into a bun on top of her head.
She walked toward me with a huge smile on her pretty face. What was weird was that I looked nothing like my mother, but that my daughter came out my spitting image. My mother was darker than Skai and I. She was coffee with a single shot of creamer. Her eyes were slightly slanted, and whiskey-colored. Naturally arched brows, with full, pouty lips. She also had hair that cascaded just past her bra strap, that she always wore up, and away. ‘Foxy’ is what my mother was referred to in her day, and it was what she still considered herself to be.
Truthfully, there wasn’t a damn person that could argue against it.
I pulled her into a hug the moment she reached me. “You look so pretty, Mama.”
“Thank you, baby. You do too. This little off-the-shoulder blouse is adorable. I always liked you in coral. And your ponytail is really cute.”
“Thanks Ma.” If only she knew that it was in a ponytail because the shower cap had malfunctioned, and derailed my original plans. Due to that misstep, now, my edges laid smoothly, thanks to some EcoStyler. The rest was pulled into a tight bun with a few spiral curls dangling from my temples.
“So, is it just the three of us?” my mother posed, as we made our way through the courtyard and to the front door. “This is beautifully designed,” she complimented of the entertainment area just through the gate.
“It’s just us three. Zane is excited to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
We stepped inside the entrance, and I saw the glint of approval in my mother’s eyes. She liked the house. But would she express that approval, or would she find ways to dissect what could have been different? That part of the story was yet to be told.
“Hello, Mrs. McCall,” Zane greeted, coming from the direction of the bedroom. He had presented himself well, and looked good enough to eat. He was dressed in stylish grey slacks, a tucked navy-blue button, with a black belt, and a pair of dark-blue suede Madden Frenzzy’s. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Miss Cicely’s eyes locked on Zane as he drew closer. Head to toe, she was sizing him up. Something else, I thought to myself. With her initial assessment locked in, she casually threw me an approving eye, then turned back to finish weighing in on Zane.
“It’s a pleasure,” my mother commented, extending her hand to shake. Zane, instead, kissed her hand. “Charming. I like that.”
After several minutes of small talk, the three of us congregated in the kitchen. I was nervous for her to see what the spread was. I watched her as her eyes scanned the area—looking for her approval. When I saw her eyes light up at the spread in front of her, I was finally able to relax.
“All your favorite foods, Ma. And Zane helped me.”
“Did you, now?” she asked, her smile the biggest I’d seen since she arrived.
“I did. Would you like a glass of wine?” Zane asked, moving to where the drinks were.
“That would be great. I’ll let you pick.”
“Have a seat over there, Ma. I’ll fix your plate and then we can all sit down and uh, eat.”
“Okay. And you see I got this flowy outfit on, so homegirl did not come to eat cute. Fill that thing up!”
We all laughed as Zane brought my mother her wine, then joined me at the stove. I handed him my mother’s plate of food, and then had him come back for his. Before long, we were all seated and saying grace before diving in.
Two glasses of wine later and a nice little dent in her plate, my mother addressed Zane. “So, Zane, this here is a lot of house for a single person.”
“I agree, Mrs. McCall.” He looked over at me and winked his eye. “That’s why having your beautiful daughter here with me works out so well. She helps fill it up nicely.”
“And so how long are y’all planning to play house?”
“Mama!” I shot, warmed over with humiliation. “What are you—”
“It’s okay, baby…” Zane interjected.
“Baby, huh?” my mother stated. “We’re already there?”
She was doing so well in the beginning. What the hell?! I couldn’t believe that she came in with guns blazing. It was inappropriate for a Sunday dinner. I would rather have had her meet him on FaceTime, like I did with his parents. If I had known she was coming over with the energy she was displaying, it would have been on FaceTime for damn sure. Definitely not in person! The only thing I could do in the moment, was eat. I refused to get into a debate with her about how rude she was being. It would go nowhere real quick, so I remained quiet.
“We’re for sure already there,” Zane replied. “She’s my baby.”
“And what do your parents think about that?”
Got damnit, lady! She was barely touching her food, at this point! Too busy interrogating the man that I may not have after today! Doing way too much!
“What do you mean, what do they think?”
“I mean… do they know she’s black? Have you dated black before?”
“Mama, seriously?” I put my utensils down on the plate so hard that a loud clanking noise rang in the air. “What are you doing?”
Dismissively, she leaned over to look at her phone, then looked over at me and snapped out a response. “I’m getting my questions answered. Relax.”
“You can’t be serious. How am I supposed to relax? Zane, I am so sorry about this.”
“Baby… it’s really—”
“Zane, am I making you uncomfortable?” she asked, dismissing me completely from the equation.
“I’m not uncomfortable at all. I just don’t want Giselle upset. You good?” he asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders, but kept my mouth shut. All I could think about was the verbal battle that she and I were going to have when this was over. I got that she wanted to have answers, but the way she was going about it was, to me, disrespectful.
“I’m okay.”
“Good. So, in answer to your question, Mrs. McCall, my parents know that Giselle is African American. And no, I have not been in a relationship with a Black woman before her.”
My mother shot me a look, but I was already bearing down on her by that time. It was a glare of disbelief, and mortification.
“Hmm. I find that peculiar.”
“You shouldn’t. Your granddaughter is the one that initially set us up. There was nothing suspect about this union. It came from the best of places. What we have is healthy. It’s filled with mutual
respect. We communicate about all things, life. We talk about what makes the other happy, and that’s how we approach this relationship that we’re building. Her race has nothing to do with that. Who she is as a person… has everything to do with that.”
“As long as y’all know that not everybody is going to be on board with this relationship. From everything I’ve seen in my life, it’s not a road easily travelled.”
“And that’s why it’s our road to travel. Hers and mine. As long as the pavement on the road we’re building is solid, there’s nothing anybody on the outside can do to shake that.”
“And everybody doesn’t have to be onboard, Mama. We’re not out here trying to please anybody. Not out here trying to explain what we have… to anybody.”
“Is that why we’re eating in? Because you’re not trying to explain to anybody?”
“What are you talking about?” I shot; my anger fully surfaced.
“Public. Have y’all gone out in public together?”
I pushed my plate away from me and off to the side. In my blind rage, I briefly caught Zane’s eyes on me. I know that he probably wanted to say a lot, but out of respect for me, refrained.
“I swear to God, I’m so confused right now. What is your problem? Why did you agree to come over here to meet him, if this is what you were going to do? Why?!”
“Me asking whether or not y’all have gone public is making you become this irate, Giselle?”
“No! You coming in his house being this disrespectful is what’s making me irate. And don’t dare act like my anger isn’t justified. I feel ambushed right now! All of this stuff that you’re bringing up could’ve been discussed beforehand. In a more appropriate setting. This ain’t it, Mama. This is not it.”
“I’m trying to make sure that you are not putting your entire self into a situation like the last one, only to come out on the wrong end of—”
“Okay, okay. That’s enough,” Zane spoke. “Mrs. McCall, with all due respect, I treat your daughter with nothing but the utmost respect. I’m not here to do what the last man did to her. It takes a special kind of asshole… excuse my language… to deliberately wreck a person’s life. And I’m not a special kind of asshole. The person she was with before is the one who lost out. He lost, and now I get to win. If your goal was to come and make sure of that, then I guess we can call it a day. The vibe that we intended to set, is now dead. Giselle’s lost her appetite, I’m not really in the mood for food myself, and you’re not really onboard with your daughter’s choice. With everything that far gone, and kind of screwed up—”
“We might as well call it a day,” I added.
Sudden laugher filled the air. Zane and I looked at each other, then almost simultaneously, our eyes dragged to my mother’s. “Did you get all that, baby girl?”
“I did, Grandma! Priceless!”
“Wait.” I stood from the table. “What the hell?”
“I so wish I coulda been there!” My mother, finally having released on her laughter, picked her phone up off the table, where extra laughter was emitting from. I was livid. I didn’t see humor in any of the bullshit. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Zane, but then… “Zane you were good too!” Skai exclaimed.
“Zane!”
“I’m sorry, baby!” Zane apologized. “They roped me in. I’m so sorry!”
Moments later, I was still the only one not laughing. Truthfully, I wanted to slap the hell out of all three of them.
My mother slid her chair back, then stood and made her way over to me with open arms. “Come here, Giselle.”
I shook my head and took a few steps back before she could reach me. “Oh no, lady. That’s not happening.”
“But it was all in fun. I promise. Your daughter was the ringleader.” She looked over at Zane. “And your man… whom I adore, by the way… was a willing participant.”
“I can’t with any of y’all. Skai, this was not funny at all.”
“Chile, she was ready to put her Mama out the house!” my mother roared.
Skai’s laughter kicked up a notch. “Mama, I’m so sor—”
“Oh no. I don’t wanna hear from none of y’all. Payback is a bitch. And Zane, you’re gonna feel it more than them.”
“Uh-oh!” Skai shrieked.
“Now, that’s just wrong. I was just being a good sport,” Zane defended, coming over to hug me.
“Oh, but nooo,” I said, retreating. “If Cicely didn’t get a hug, you ain’t either. All of y’all are on some form of punishment. Think I’m lyin’? Watch…”
32 | Zane
We were going on an hour since Giselle’s mother had left, and she still hadn’t spoken two words to me. After we both walked her mother to the car, we had come back inside. Giselle went straight back to the bedroom, changed into a pair of lounge shorts and a tank, then went straight to cleaning the kitchen. To bring home her point of issuing me the silent treatment, she had even gone so far as to tuck her iPod into her back pocket and put the earbuds in her ears. The volume was so loud, I could hear it from where I stood watching her from the deck outside the kitchen. I did feel bad for the joke we played on her. But at the time, I thought it was a good idea. Skai had asked, and I obliged—blindly. Had I known it would put me in the dog house, I would have opted out of the charade.
Outside in the dark, I leaned against the backing, staring inside at Giselle as she washed the dishes. She hadn’t turned around once to see where I was. Before tonight, the only other time that she and I had any kind of dispute, was before that shooting happened at her neighbor’s house. Since that incident, we had been inseparable. I wanted us to remain inseparable. And even though her neighbor was in the clear, I didn’t want her there. Not unless I was going to be there with her. That was just too close to comfort. And too close to her. I couldn’t have that. I needed to always know that she was safe from harm. That meant her being with me.
When my cell vibrated on the ledge of the deck, I sat my glass down to pick up the device. To my surprise, there on my screen, was Giselle’s twin smiling at me.
“Is she still mad at you, Zane?” Skai asked before I could even greet her.
“You know her a little better than I do. What do you think?”
“Man. That is not how it was supposed to go. I’m sorry. I just thought she would laugh right with us. I didn’t know I would get you in trouble.”
“Me either. I thought it’d be innocent enough. Your grandmother is just a great actress, I guess.”
Skai laughed. “Yeah, that. And Mama was already on edge thinking my Grams would come over there being who she always is—with no filter. But on a happier note, my Grams really likes you.”
“I like her too. I look forward to getting to know her better.”
“But right now, we have to get stuff right with you and my Mom. Because she can hold a grudge. Where is she? I tried to call her a little while ago.”
“She’s in the kitchen, cleaning it spotless… with her iPod blasting in her ears.”
“Oh boy. She’s tuning you out. That’s crazy. I wish I wasn’t way out here. I’d come over there and make her talk.”
I laughed out loud. “Does that even work? Seems like she needs a cooling off period.”
“That too,” Skai laughed. “But I know how to get her talking. It’s a daughter thing,” she chuckled. “You’re going to have to come up with your own ways.”
“Tuh! Just leave me out on the curb, and run me over twice, Skai,” I kidded.
“All jokes aside Zane, you’re not mad at me, are you?”
“No, we’re good. Don’t worry about it. Seriously. She’ll be fine. I’m giving her this time to herself, and then I’ll get a conversation out of her when she’s done. She turned down my help. But when she’s finished, there won’t be anything else for her to run off to.”
“Okay. Well, thanks for being a good sport. Let me know how it goes.”
“Will do…”
At the end of my call with Skai,
and right on time, Giselle was shutting down the kitchen; turning off lights, fans, and all that.
“Giselle!” I called out to her. “Come here so we can talk.”
“Not really in a talking mood right—”
“I’m in a talking mood right now,” I insisted. “Going to bed pissed isn’t an option. So, we can talk now or later. It’s up to you. But we will talk tonight.”
She glanced over her shoulder, then turned all the way around to face me. “Excuse me?”
“What am I excusing, Giselle? Your behavior? Because that shit expired.”
“What?!” she spat, her voice rising.
“You heard me, Giselle. You’ve held on to an attitude for something that was all in fun, for hours now. That’s juvenile. We can talk about it like adults, or we can not talk at all. Up to you.” I slid the screen over and stepped inside the house. “It was a joke that didn’t go over well; that literally, each of us has apologized profusely for.”
“It was in poor taste, Zane.”
“I disagree. But at the end of the day, it’s about how it made you feel. Hence, why you received apologies. All sincere.” I took steps toward her to close the huge gap of space between us. The anger oozed off of her. But I was determined to get this issue out in the open and put it to bed once and for all. “Let’s go outside and talk,” I suggested. “It’s still nice out.”
She hesitated for a few seconds before removing the iPod from her pocket and placing it, along with the earbuds, on the countertop. She breezed past me, beyond the deck, and out to the sofas near the fire pit.
She plopped down into a seat, then crossed one leg over the other. “I’m not upset anymore, Zane. I just—”
I moved forward until I stood over her… smiling. “Even if you were, it’s okay.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, arms folded across her chest.
“You…”
“What?”
“You asked what I was doing… You.”
By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. In one fell swoop, I had her laying on her back, and her shorts off. Which took no effort, since they were as thin as the wind.
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