Beautiful

by Kiexiza Rodriquez

  ***

  In record time, for her, Tierra stood at the entry-way to the kitchen. She was dressed in a faded blue jean skirt that stopped just above her knees, a pink and white striped sweater that hugged her waistline and swayed off one shoulder. Her thick legs were covered in white knee-high boots. She wore a silver 24’ necklace with a pink crystal heart at the end, a matching pink crystal bracelet and a pair of pink crystal heart earrings to complete her ensemble. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the aroma of her secret scent, a mixture of Avon’s, Goddess and China Musk oil flowed from her body.

  Tierra bought complete outfits when she shopped. That’s just how a Diva did things. You shop head to toe, so she convinced herself. She would never buy an outfit without the matching shoes, purse and accessories.

  “What’s an outfit without the right accessories?” she told Mozella Robinson, owner of Allezom International, when she was interviewed two years ago. “An outfit is only as good as the accessories you match it with. The wrong accessories can ruin even a $1000 hook up or make a $100 one, look like you spent $1000 on it. “

  “Damn, baby girl! I told you you’ve grown up!” Qu exclaimed, choking on his drink, when he finally noticed her.

  “Shut-up boy, you’re crazy,” she smiled, walking over to him, punching him in the arm. “So, thanks for lunch. I’m surprised that you remember what I like to eat from there,” she continued, picking up a chicken finger off the plate Qu made for her and taking a bite of it. “How have you been? It’s been so long since we’ve talked. I want the unofficial, official scoop,” she grinned, catching a piece of the battered fried chicken tender as it fell from her mouth. She leaned over the counter taking another chicken finger off the plate, and held it up towards him, pretending it was a microphone. She was ready for the inside scoop.

  “Things are OK, I suppose. I know one thing though; I’m not going another second without getting one of your infamous hugs. I miss those the most. Now, get your butt over here!” he demanded, sneaking a bite of her pretend microphone.

  Tierra smiled. She missed him so much. He was so silly, and someone she totally trusted. Hugging him was like a picnic in the shade on a sunny July day. Beyond Wonderful! She walked over to him from her side of the kitchen island and reached up on her tippy toes. Even with the added three inches from her heels on she was still too short to easily get her arms around his neck. He leaned down and the two lost friends embraced, sealing their reconnection. Tierra took a deep breath, trying to be inconspicuous as she took in his scent. Yup, he still smelled the way her mother told her a man was supposed to smell, GREAT!

  Qu lingered in their embrace and wrapped his hands tightly around her, lifting her up off the floor. It seemed as if he didn’t want to let go.

  “Um, Qu?” Tierra said tapping his arm, feeling a little odd in his lingered embrace.

  “My bad, I didn’t know I had a time limit,” he teased.

  “Yeah, yeah, so back to the topic at hand, don’t think you’re getting off that easily sir. I’ve been reading about you lately. Things should be going really well for you. What brought you back here, not that I’m not overjoyed to see you? How are your parents?”

  “Ok, dang! I thought you left your job with Ms. Anisa years ago.”

  “Just answer the questions sir!” she laughed.

  “First of all, Mom and pops are doing fine. I just saw them a little while ago, they said hi. Next, I’m here because I needed a change from that label in Cali. Things weren’t working out there for me anymore. The politics became more important to them than signing people with any real talent. I never got into this field for the publicity. I just love great music and discovering hot new artist. That’s what gets me high. And as for your third question, I don’t know anything about what all your magazines are saying. You know they say what they want to. Now, what about you?”

  “Well, since we last spoke I was promoted to Director of the MM&E Department at Baxwell Enterprisez. I’ve had my share of interviews and features in magazines, but no covers yet. And lastly, mom is good,” she lied, not really knowing how her mother was, since she rarely spoke to her.

  “What? You must have made them cats over there really mad. I saw those dude’s faces when I came through before I left, last year. They definitely hated on you. I guess you’ve proven that you have what it takes, though, not that I ever doubted that you had it in you.”

  “Yeah, I guess. It’s just hard, ya know? It’s crazy pressure. They are always waiting for me to fail. Like if I don’t land every single account, it’ll prove Mr. Baxwell made a mistake. Even though none of them were making even half the quota that I make, not then and definitely not now. But I can feel their evil stares as soon I step off the elevator…” Tierra’s thoughts trailed off, she had never revealed to anyone how she really felt about being the only woman in an executive position at Baxwell, or all the pressure she felt it put her under. She realized at that moment how much she really needed her best friend.

  “Well chica, all I can tell you is to just keep doing what you love, and as long as you love what you’re doing, then don’t worry about them cats. Now, if any of them get out of hand…” he said standing to his feet, slamming his right fist into his left palm.

  “Easy Tiger… don’t worry, I can handle them,” she smiled, sliding a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

  “I have no doubt that you can, but you know where I am if you need a tag team partner,” he smiled lifting his hand, as Tierra jumped up to high five him.

  “Ok. So, tell me, how did you and Vito hook up as partners? That’s got to be a story all itself.”

  “Well, we were both at this event at the Basketball Hall of Fame. One of my artists was performing, and V knew the athlete being honored. So I’m doing my managerial thing, and he’s checking out all the ladies, as usual. You know Vito.”

  Tierra nodded in agreement, rolling her eyes, with a frown on her face.

  “That’s when we see each other and it’s like Yo dawg, where you been, what’s up…you know how we do. We start talking, and I tell him how I’m not feeling the label any more. He tells me how his business is picking up, but, he had to let go of his head A&R rep. Funny thing was, he let go of his A&R for the same reason I wanted to leave my company. They couldn’t tell real talent if it walked up and spit in their face. Some woman who was sitting next to us was ease dropping looked up and said, ‘sounds like you two should work together’.

  “Ahh man,” Tierra said, knowing where this was about to go.

  “Yup, you know Vito. His butt was about to say something real wild to her. I could see it in his eyes. So I stepped in his line of sight and turned and led him in the other direction. That was the beginning of our business relationship. I went back to my label, and put in my two-week notice, used the vacation time I had built up, and went home to VA to finish up some things I was dealing with concerning mom and pops. Vito hooked me up with his real estate agent, so while I was at home, she was looking for a house, condo, or something for me this way,” he explained.

  “Vito is too funny. I was really happy, yet surprised when he signed the last group that I sent his way.”

  “You know good and well that you have a great ear for music and talent. He loves those guys. They’re going to be my first assignment once I’m officially on the label’s payroll. Right now I’m just getting a feel for the city and ViFlaa, ya know? There’s a lot of paper work to go over and what not. That was part of the reason I went home and not straight here…” his words trailed off.

  “So how long have you been in town then?”

  “Um, less than a week. I’ve been catching up with Vito, getting settled into my new place. Ya know I had to furnish it and all that. I love it though, it’s up on a hill,” he paused, before continuing. “When did you speak to your mother last?”

  “Honestly, it’s been a little while,” she admitted. “I mean she’s been calling me something fierce lately, but I’ve been really bu
sy. Where is this lady of yours, and when can I meet her?” she asked changing the subject. “I mean what kind of woman leaves a man like you all alone with another woman? She teased

  Qu remained quiet. He raised his eyebrow, and puffed his lips slightly.

  “Don’t look at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about sir,” she began. “I read about you two a while ago! You know Anisa still sends me a copy of the magazine every month. I saw the two of you together in… oh man, what’s it called… you know Danielle’s magazine. So-Fhy Magazine, that’s it. Chick had a big ole’ rock adorning her finger…” Tierra said, wiggling her ring finger around. “It didn’t really look like an engagement ring, but they said the two of you were engaged and today pretty much anything can be an engagement ring. She was older than I thought you’d go for. But then, you always were mature for your age, so I guess it makes sense. Don’t you dare try to tell me you’re not engaged either. Danielle and Anisa can’t both be wrong!” Tierra smiled, feeling sure of herself as she continued eating her lunch.

  “Ti, I’m not engaged!” he insisted.

  “What? Come on Qu, what’s the deal? Don’t tell me that chick left you? She’d be hella stupid to leave a man like you. Shoot, you lucky we’re so close, or I’d be after you myself,” she giggled taking another bite of her food.

  She looked over at Qu, who was awkwardly quiet and still. A somber and pale look had seized his once vibrant face. He wasn’t smiling or commenting on any of her remarks about his fiancée. She stood up and walked over to where he was sitting on a bar stool and turned him to face her.

  “Peanut Butter, what’s going on? You look like I just punched you in the gut.”

  A single tear slowly flowed down his cheek and he quickly rose from his stool, brushed past her and walked out the room.

  “Where is the bathroom in this place?” he yelled, his voice cracking as he spoke. He spun around, and waved his hands, avoiding eye contact with her. “Why you buy this big place, Tierra? Where the hell is the bathroom?”

  She paused, the Cuban in her blood boiling as she was about to tell him about himself. But she could hear the hurt behind his words and paused. She walked over to him, took his hand in hers, and turning him towards her with her other hand. Though he wanted to resist, he followed her lead, his face now soaked like he unexpectedly was caught in a sprinkler.

  When you looked at Qu, you’d never think he was an overly emotional man. Style wise, he could hang with the best of them. He had a casual yet stylish sense of dress. Physically, he was very well built, chestnut complexion, eyes a shade of green so deep they looked fake, and skin smooth like silk, not an imperfection anywhere. He towered over Tierra’s short stature, at about 6 foot 5 inches with braids that fell well just below his shoulders. He was a man’s man, but, catch him on the right day at the right time, and you might get a glimpse of a whole other side of Aquarian Skeene.

  Tierra always thought of him as one of the most handsome brotha’s on the planet, besides her father, that is, who passed away when she was ten. His mother hated it, but when he turned thirteen he stopped cutting his hair. He told her if Samson’s strength was in his hair, how we know God even wants us to cut our hair?’ He was good for some smart remark like that back then, sarcastic, yet respectful. He had his father to teach him how to be a man, unlike their other friends. Those lessons stayed with him as he matured into an adult. Church was a chore at first, but eventually grew to truly love the Lord and became what Tierra thought a true Christian man would be like.

  Tierra left the whole church thing alone shortly after her father’s death, to the disappointment of her mother. She hadn’t stepped foot inside a church for nearly 18 years. But in that moment, with her best friend in the midst of something seemingly heavy, to her surprise she thought, ‘God give me the words to be a help to him.

  She led him to the living room where they sat on her white Helmsley sectional. As soon as Tierra released his hand, Qu immediately covered his face.

  “What happened, Qu? We go back too far for you to be in this much pain and not tell me what’s going on.”

  She slid closer to him on the sofa and looked at him empathetically. He sat still, and Tierra sat quiet, patiently waiting for him to speak. But, if he didn’t talk soon, she was going to call her girls, and they were going to find this woman, whoever she was that broke his heart, and break her into a few million pieces.

  “Listen, if you don’t want to talk about it… we don’t have to.”

  She ran her fingertips across the brim of Qu’s brown multi-colored Fedora hat that he wore in his usual pretty boy tilt. She removed it and sat it on the table in front of them. When she touched his chin, she felt his body jump, before he removed his hands and faced her.

  “If you want, I’m here to listen. If you want to just sit, we can do that too.”

  Qu continued to sit silently, and then he stood up, walked over to the window and looked out. He took a deep breath, wiped his face with his hands before opening his mouth to speak. Then he began slowly, “Her name is Beautiful.”

  “Like that girl in ‘You Got Served’?

  “Yeah, only she uses one L not two, like that character did.

  “Hmm, well you know I always thought that was a cute name,” Tierra interrupted, and then realized she cut him off. “I’m sorry, please continue.”

  “It’s ok. Funny you said that, because that’s exactly what I told her when we met.”

  “You brought me up on your first meeting? Qu, no wonder she left your ass,” she smiled, hoping to lighten the tension in the air.

  Qu smiled “No, you don’t understand. Over time she heard lots about you, she couldn’t wait to meet you.”

  “Really? So, why haven’t I heard about her?”

  “Well, seeing as we’ve been out of touch for about a year, and I’ve only officially known her for about three months, that would explain why, but she already liked you so much. I think you two would have really gotten along well. She was supposed to come here this week with me to meet you. Actually, she was the one that picked out your dress and accessories.”

  “Damn, the girl has got great taste. So what happened? Why didn’t she come down?”

  He hesitated, and forcibly swallowed before he continued, “About three weeks ago, while I was back home, she came with me to my parent’s house for their anniversary,” he started as moist droplets began to run down his face. He put his hands up in the air, stood to his feet and shouted, “Why God?!”

  Tierra rose and gently guided him back to the sofa and kneeled in front of him as he sat down.

  “Listen, you don’t have to say anymore. I’m so sorry, me and my nosy self.”

  “Ti, she’s gone, she wasn’t my…” he stuttered, “she was… and now… she’s gone!”

  He was crying and talking at the same time, huffing, and inhaling deep between incoherent sentences. It was all but impossible for Tierra to fully understand what he was trying to say.

  “She went back to her hotel,” he began again, calming himself down. “We had forgotten my mom’s & dad’s present. I tried to get her to let me go. Mom told her not to worry about it. But, she told the both of us, ‘Today is your anniversary and today you’ll get your present’ and insisted on going to get it.”

  Qu continued to gather his thoughts and composure as he continued: “I called her on her cell phone. It was taking longer than it should have for her return and I was driving mom crazy worrying about where she was at. When I finally reached her, she said she was about five minutes away, coming down that back road by the farm… Then I heard her horn, a scream, and a loud noise, and then… nothing. Nothing but the horn.

  Tierra closed her eyes. Her soul paused in disbelief. The picture Qu was painting of Beautiful was completely opposite of what Tierra originally thought. Her heart ached at the thought of what Qu had to be going through. She hoped this story wasn’t going to end where it seemed to be going. Her own breathing was labored, as she focus
ed on Qu’s words and began to construct a vivid picture of events. She even remembered the dirt road that he mentioned Beautiful was on, when he last spoke to her.

  Her emotions poured out as she began to silently weep with him. His chest was rising and falling faster with each breath, she noticed as she looked up at him. His heartbeat was actually visible through his shirt. She sat on the floor at his feet and laid her head on his knee, as tears flowed from her eyes, while he finished.

  “The line went dead. And… and I kept calling her phone, but it went right to voicemail. Chamani burst through the back door, huffing and puffing. She said there was an accident down the road. My heart dropped… I knew it was her!”

  Qu began to rock back and forth on the sofa. The look of sorrow on his face was gut wrenching and heartbreaking. The tears rained down, like a monsoon from his reddened eyes. His voice was cracking and beginning to sound hoarse, as he spoke. Tierra’s hands were shaking. Her body was trembling and a feeling of helplessness came over her. She reached for his hand and slipped her fingers in between his.

  “I couldn’t move fast enough… I could hear sirens… and I guess I never heard mom screaming my name… and poor dad was no match for me as he tried to hold me back when I saw her car. I just fell… I fell on my knees Ti. Her car… that road was so dark… it was raining and Mr. Peter’s damn dog! The officer said she must have swerved, and…” he couldn’t get the rest out, and Tierra didn’t need to hear anymore. She knew the rest. It was exactly as she thought. He just sat there, eyes red, body trembling, rivers running down his face.

  Tierra pulled herself up from the floor and went to the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. Returning to the living room, she grabbed a black hand towel from the half bath and sat the glass on the table. She sat on the sofa next to Qu and wrapped him in her embrace, cradling his head with her hand. ‘Why Qu’ , she thought? Why do bad things happen to such good people? She knew the pain of losing a loved one. She lost her father. It’s an unbearable pain, and it’s unfair. Releasing her embrace, she turned and used the towel in her hand to gently wipe his tear soaked face. She took a deep breath while Qu sat in a daze. It appeared he was looking at her as she dried his tears, but she knew his thoughts were far away.

  “Qu, I’m so, so sorry for your loss,” she started, looking deep into his eyes. “I won’t say I know how you feel. I just know you have to be hurting bad right now. Please tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it!” she paused, not wanting to be insensitive. But she needed to ask one question. Cautiously she continued, “You said, you’ve been here about a week and you went home about three weeks ago, so… when did…?”

  Qu looked directly in her eyes. He knew he made the right decision in opening up to her. And he knew what she was trying to ask. He took a long deep breath, slowly exhaling before answering her question.

  “Beautiful was in the hospital for a few days before she died. They expected her to die within a few hours of arriving. But she held on for nearly 48 hours. I stayed right at her bedside every day, her hand in mine. She was so badly bruised from the accident; it pained me to see her that way. It’s both ironic and sad that-that was the first time I laid eyes on her parents, as she laid on her deathbed,” his words trailed and became mumbled again as he tried to finish. “She was unconscious, except for one brief moment. She opened her eyes, squeezed my hand and locked me in her stare, and though it was hard for her, she said, ‘I love you, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I loved you. Finish what we started. Go and see Tierra, before it’s too late! “Then she looked around the room, smiled at everyone, closed her eyes and… was gone.”

  Now Tierra was really puzzled. “What? Why would she say that?” she turned to Qu, her eyebrows high arched.

  Qu straightened himself up on the sofa. He leaned down and picked up the glass of water off the table, took a sip, and then another, before answering her question. “Ti, I always felt bad that you and I stopped talking after I went to Cali. We were always close. I was your Peanut Butter, you were my Jelly,” he smiled a little. “And, Beautiful knew that; she couldn’t wait to meet you and bring us back together. She would say that she couldn’t wait to share that bond with you. She wanted to thank you for being my friend. With her last breath, she told me to thank you for her. I kissed her, she smiled, and that was that,” he was trying to be so brave. But there was no way for him to hold back the emotions that were held back behind his eyes.

  Tierra, equally had tears falling down her face. She couldn’t believe someone she never met would think so highly of her, to mention her on their death bed? That’s like beyond weird. She was honored, confused and sorry she never had the chance to meet the love of her best friend’s life. While Qu took another sip of his water, she stood up to get herself a drink. Water was just not going to cut it. She needed something a bit stronger, so she mixed her a glass of mango juice and Bacardi Melon.

  She sat down, took a big sip from her glass, then placed it on the table and leaned back on the sofa. She guided Qu’s head over to her lap. It had been years since either of them used each other for a shoulder to cry on. It felt good to be able to provide some sense of comfort for him. She ran her hands over his braids, feeling the wetness on her thighs as tears fell from him. She took a deep breath and thought, ‘Sorry I never had the chance to meet you Beautiful, and thank you for sending him back to me.”

  “Qu,” Tierra started, “Beautiful sounds like she was a wonderful woman. I’m sorry I missed the chance to meet her.”

  “Me too. You two would have been good friends.”

  After they both calmed down, they talked all night, catching up on their careers, their family, and Tierra’s lack of a love life. Qu teased her about still being single and reminded her of the house full of children she used to say she was going to have, and the daughter named Mercedes. Tierra reminded Qu how he equally loved that name. They laughed, and it felt good to be with someone she trusted again. They talked until they fell asleep on the sofa, Tierra curled up on Qu’s chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

  PB&J was back, and she wasn’t letting them escape each other again… ever. She hated herself for not being there for him in his time of need. But she would be right there, available for him from now on.

  She promised him that, as she drifted to sleep.

  Time to face the music!