by Edwina Fort
Oh! I didn’t tell you guys I haven’t seen him in three days and that it was killing me inside. Well, because I’d allowed him to talk me into abandoning my responsibility for a night of leisure, I was now playing make up in a huge way.
The really bad part about that is, I didn’t even enjoy myself at the party… Well, except for the rose garden.
Mmmm…I can’t think of the rose garden. Every time I do, a shiver starts in my core, shoots up my spine and into my throat, robbing me of my breath. Yesterday, I was having a meeting with Dr. Ross and a few of the food vendors that agreed to come out for the fair today and one of them mentioned a tea that they make with rose water.
Roses… A vision of him laying me on that bench covered in white rose petals flashed through my head along with the way his big powerful body loomed over me as he relentlessly drove into me and I gasped, clutching my stomach and my desk to steady myself at the same time.
Dr. Ross looked over at me with concern. “Dr. Robinson…are you alright?”
I held up my hand to stay him. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Just a little tired from burning the midnight oil, that’s all…”
WHAT THE WORLD?! Has that ever happened to any of you?
Anyway, luckily when Naphtali called Monday, I was honestly able to tell him that I was up to my elbows in work. Thank God he didn’t push me and simply said that he understood and for me to give him a call when I can.
Well, it was Wednesday, and I was up at the crack of dawn running around Detroit like a chicken with my head cut off. I’d managed to secure a few more employers but honestly it was nowhere near enough. Over the last two months, I’ve had so many doors slammed in my face. As soon as I tell them the people and the community the job fair was for, I received a solid…not interested.
God! It was so frustrating it made me want to pull out my hair! There were so many good people in the Oakwood Heights community, and in most cases, they weren’t given a chance because of mistakes they made when they were younger.
It vexed me beyond belief that young black youths are labeled criminals for doing things kids all over the world did. A group of boys get caught with a little weed, more than likely if they’re a minority, they’re going to get jail time… while the benefit of the doubt is given to other youths with a boys will be boys pat on the back.
You know what? Please don’t get me started on the double standards this county runs on. I would never get anything done and I still had several runs to make before we opened the doors to the fair at nine.
“Free, stop biting your nails. Everything is going to be fine… So what it’s only nine companies here. The people are going to appreciate it, and those that are able, are going to take advantage of the opportunities you fought so that they can have.”
“But that’s just it. I should not have listened to Tucker and gone away for the weekend. I could have gotten at least two more companies. I was wearing Hale Aluminum down. If I had shown up at their place Saturday, maybe with a fruit basket or something-“
“Stop it!” Oaklee said, grabbing my shoulders giving them a good shake. “You did the best that you could do. I don’t know anyone that deserved that magical weekend you had more. Look at you!” She stepped back and gestured at my body.
I frowned, looking down at my silk blouse and jeans. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Haven’t you noticed that since your supposed bully…" she held up air quotes when she said, bully. "Came back into your life, you've abandoned those old-prude-lady tweed suits and that ridiculous bun you’re so fond of? You wear your beautiful hair down now and come to work in flip flops.” She gestured toward my feet. I’d painted sunflowers on my toenails.
“That man has helped you find yourself, ‘cause sista, you were lost. And whenever you stop being a scaredy-cat, you need to call him. As a matter of fact, when I see him again, I’m going to give him a kackle doodle for doing what he did for you. Spoiling you like that… How romantic.”
I blinked at her… Kackle doodle??? Even I didn’t know what the heck she was trying to say.
“Everything is going to be alright,” she continued, rubbing her hands up and down my arm in a soothing pattern. “Listen, we still have an hour and a half before we open the gate to the parking lot. Why don’t you go into your office and have a nice cup of coffee and a muffin… and then just breathe, girl.”
I looked around the parking lot as the vendors and the companies continued to set up their areas. Maybe she was right… I’d barely gotten any sleep last night, and I could really use another cup of coffee.
Oaklee frowned at something over my shoulder. “Who is that?”
I turned to see a huge sleek black tour bus with the word Dyno Tech written on the side of it in gold pulling into the lot.
“Wow! You talked to Dyno Tech?!”
I shook my head completely confused. “No, I didn’t… this must be a mistake.” Oaklee and I walked to meet them, Dr. Ross joined us.
“Hey, is this 3265 Berker Lane?” A young man in a pair of khakis and a blue button-up shirt asked, stepping off the impressive vehicle. A cool breeze greeted us when the doors opened.
“It is…” I said. But before I could ask him how we could help him; he stuck his head back inside the bus.
“This is the place, let’s set up." He turned back to face us. "Where do you want us? Sorry, we're late, my boss just told me about it last night. I had to pull a rabbit out of my ass to get everything prepared by morning. But hey, we're here." He was jotting something down on a clipboard as he spoke.
Because I didn’t want to scare him away, I turned to face Oaklee as if we’d been expecting them the whole time.
“Oak, can you please show this gentleman where to set up their booth.”
She nodded as if it was the plan all along. “Right this way, we have you guys next to Bobby’s Sports Gear.”
I smiled as they passed us, but as soon as he was out of sight, my surprised gaze went to Dr. Ross.
“Dyno Tech??” We both said at the same time.
“Do you think they got our address mixed up with Silicon Valley?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I know a few people in this neighborhood that would be an asset to their company. Ms. Geraldine was just telling me about her grandson that was in his second year down at the city college and was practically running the computer lab there.”
Dr. Ross pointed toward the parking lot entrance. “Oh my God, Free, look!”
I turned to see what was going on and had to clutch his arm. There was a van pulling into the lot with Prime Real Estate written on the side. Behind it was a truck with Amber’s Furniture, behind it another truck… and another, and another.
“There are so many…” I cried, completely floored at what I was seeing.
“How is this happening?” Dr. Ross asked just as surprised as I was.
I turned to smile at him. “I don’t know, but let’s find out after we get everyone set up.”
“Great idea…”
We spent the next hour trying to find a spot for everyone and to help those that needed electricity and Wi-Fi for the presentations get it. I had no time to stop and wonder how this miracle happened. We started out with nine companies…now we had twenty-nine.
But guys, that is not where the miracles ended. It wasn’t just companies that showed up, there were also trucks and vans with portable carnival games. When I talked to the vendors, they said that all the games were free. And for prizes, the kids would win things like backpacks and other school supplies. And if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, the food wagons showed up… Jerk Chicken, Burger Prince, and Chicago Beef Dogs.
Guys… it was all free. Of course, the vendors that I’d gotten to come out wasn’t happy with that because the free food wagons pretty much guaranteed they will be making very little money today. But it was a tough break for them, no way was I turning away free food for my people.
All the
activity was already drawing a crowd at the gate. This thing was going to be epic!
“Free… I know who did this!” Oaklee cried, sprinting toward me.
I smiled, knowing I’d put the right woman on the job. I haven’t been able to get a clear answer as to who was behind this from anyone and didn’t have time to really pry about it before someone was getting my attention for another matter. So, what did I do? You got it, put Oaklee on the case.
When she finally caught up, she had to hold onto the table as she fought to catch her breath.
“It was— it was—”
I wanted to tell her to spit it out already, but the poor child was struggling to breathe.
“Who was it, Oak?”
“Mayor Pelletier’s office!”
“Mayor Pelletier?!”
She nodded, still fighting for breath. “I was talking to that guy over there and he said his boss said the mayor’s son called in a favor. He’s been instructed to hire at least fifteen people for the furniture making company.”
Tucker! This was all because of Tucker!
“Girl, you alright? You look like you’re getting ready to faint,” Oaklee said, eyeballing me.
I shook my head… “No, I’m not alright.” I really wasn’t. I was in such a state of shock, for the first time in my life, my body was operating ahead of my mind.
“Why? Who is Mayor Pelletier?”
“He used to be the Mayor of Aldshore, and he’s… he’s Tucker’s dad.”
“Tucker?!”
I nodded… “This is all his doing. I don’t know what to say to him. How can I ever repay him for this?”
“Well, you can start with a thank you. You’re going to get your chance, he and a few others from your group will be showing up shortly to lend a hand. I put him and Papa C over the dunking booth.”
It was my turn to grasp onto the table. “Oaklee! What?! When did you invite him?”
“Monday. Dr. Ross thought it would be a good idea if some of his clients come out and help. He asked me to call and see how many volunteers we could find.” She shrugged. “So, I thought why not call some of your people too.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I screeched.
“You were busy! I was busy! It kind of slipped my mind till just now!”
“Oak-lee!!!!”
She grimaced. “Don’t look now, but he’s here. And oh, great! He has that bastard Asher with him!”
I turned just as Tucker with Asher in the passenger seat next to him, whipped his truck into the lot, parking it next to my car. Ladies, I don’t know if my eyes were playing tricks on me or what, but when he stepped out of that truck, time seemed to slow down. Because he was dressed in a white tank top, the sun reflected off his beautiful brown muscled shoulders perfectly, causing his melanin to pop in a way that looked like art. He looked like a piece of art that can carry the world on his shoulders.
His gaze came to mine and I inhaled, suddenly remembering the last time I’d laid eyes on him. With that memory, came the quiver in my stomach. With that quiver…the scent of roses.
Something fell to the ground somewhere behind me, breaking the spell. I blinked, looking away from him.
“Dr. Robinson…we have a problem,” the man that ran the Jerk Chicken truck said with a heavy Jamaican accent.
I glanced at Tucker one more time before turning away from him completely. “I’ll be right there.”
For the next hour or so, I walked around in something of a daze, although I was smiling, shaking hands, and talking to everyone, I did so on cloud nine. I couldn’t have imagined this day would go so well. The people of the community were happy. Many of them were leaving with prospects of employment, some had even managed to score interviews.
The children were having the time of their lives, playing games, eating good food, gathering much needed school supplies for when classes start back in the fall. This was by far the best day of my life. And I owe it all to Tucker.
He really came through for me in a major way. Not only had he gotten his father’s office to sponsor all of this, but he’d also gotten his father to make a guest appearance and with him the local news that ran a story about the event, helping to bring awareness to our cause.
Mayor Pelletier spoke to the people for a moment about the opportunities that were available for them and the opportunities he will personally make sure will be available for them in the near future. Apparently, the ex-mayor of Aldshore had his sights set on the White House.
This was going to sound silly to you guys, but can you believe I have yet to make my way to the dunking booth to thank Tucker for all of this? I’ll admit I am a little nervous, I don’t really know what to say to him now that I’ve admitted to myself that I love him. But that wasn’t really the reason I haven’t made my way over there.
Now, remember, I warned you it’s going to sound silly, so please don’t laugh at me. Okay…here we go. I hadn’t made my way to him because I was enjoying his hungry eyes.
Mmmmhhhmmm, you guys heard me correctly. He stood dressed in a pair of name brand black sweatpants, brand new gym shoes, and that tank top looking good enough to lick.
Yeah, I wanted to lick him…really bad.
Anyway, he stood there manning the dunking booth. And of course, he had a dripping Papa C sitting over the vat of water while he handed the little ones the balls. But every time I should happen to glance his way, it was to find him watching me.
There was so much in his glance. He was sorry about scaring me the other night, he wondered if I was pleased with his gift, if I’d forgiven him… but mostly, he thought that I was beautiful. I was such an idiot. Do you guys know how many times I’d caught him watching me the same way in high school? But I was just too dumb to realize what the look meant.
Now I knew… it had me floating on cloud nine, and nothing could bring me down.
“Hey, Dr. Robinson…Isn’t that your ex?” Dr. Ross asked from where he stood speaking with one of his patients not too far from me.
Nothing can bring me down…Except that!
Dillion stood by the entrance scanning the crowd looking for me. Not caring how it appeared in front of Dr. Ross, I ducked straight down.
“Is everything alright?” he asked, startled by my response.
“Shhh! Don’t look at me! Is he looking at me?”
For just a second, poor Dr. Ross was confused and didn’t know where to look. By the time his gaze came back to me, I was gone, weaving my way through the crowd toward our building and my office.
I know this was the coward way to handle this…But I just didn’t want to deal with him right now.
Naphtali
I laughed as Free’s little friend threw the ball with all her might, aiming for the bullseye. Ever since Asher replaced Papa C over the tank of water, she’s been trying to hit it nonstop. This was her third attempt. The little children waiting in line behind her were good and upset. But she didn’t care, there was a fever in her eyes, she wanted to see Asher take a dive.
“Aw, come on, baby! You got to do better than that…” he teased her. “You throw like a whiny girl!”
His words only made her angrier. Because the games were free, she gave her dollars to the kids who waited in line behind her.
“I’ll give you a dollar if I can have your turn.”
“Deal!” The kid would say before snatching it and running away. She was on her fourth child and dollar.
“You going down this time!” she promised.
He opened his arms. “That’s what you said the last three times.”
I shook my head as my gaze sought out Free. She stood across the lot speaking with that other doctor that worked here, who couldn’t seem to keep his f*cking eyes off my woman. Because I was in hot water, I will keep my cool, but I had my eyes on his ass.
Yeah, I was in hot water. I f*cked up! I allowed myself to be ruled by my lower nature and now she hadn’t talked to me in three f*cking days. I wasn’t too upset because I knew for
a fact she’d been busy as hell planning for this event.
During my nightly watch, I haven’t been able to stay away from her, so when she finally passed out from exhaustion, I let myself in her place and sat on the floor at the foot of her bed while she slept. By morning, I was always gone.
But Damn! Y’all don’t know how bad I wanted to pull her in my arms and tell her to stop f*cking worrying about this event, that I would handle it.
My captain has been giving me daily reports on Rau. The mutha f*cka is determined to find his brother’s killer. I was beginning to get a bad vibe about it. I would hate to have to pull Free away from her precious clinic, but if I even get a hint that Rau suspects me of the murder and is now looking for me, I was going to do it. I would stash her somewhere safe, go and take care of that bastard and any other loose ends, and then maybe she could return to her life.
I felt like sh*t. Because I couldn’t stay away from her, I may have f*cked around and put a target on her head. It was cool though… there was no way I was letting her get hurt. I don’t give a f*ck who I had to take out. All them mutha f*ckas can get it as far as I was concerned.
Speaking of mutha f*ckas that needed these hands, Free's lame-ass ex just walked in the lot. My gaze shot to her just as her eyes rounded in fear before she ducked down and hurried to her office.
I wasn’t the only one that had noticed her action. Dillion had as well and wore that geeky ass peeved look on his face.
Grinning, I shook my head. Why the hell didn’t I notice this the other night? I was so blinded by rage, I didn’t see she was trying to shake this dude. But he obviously wasn’t getting the picture that it was over and needed a little assistance.
“Aye yo, Asher!” I called to my boy, who was clearly in love with this chick, who was determined to knock him down a few pegs.
“Yeah!” He couldn’t take his eyes away from her long enough to look at me.
“I’ll be right back, I got to run in the clinic for a minute.”
He waved me away. “Do yo’ thang.”
I smiled as I turned away… I think I will, bro.