What We Learned Along the Way (22 page)

Langston was a naturally charming man. He
could make anything sound romantic, so when he said things that
actually were romantic, Aliya turned to putty. The sound of his
deep voice was like music. She was convinced. She had fought long
enough. She was ready to get married. Langston was a wonderful man
and she wasn’t going to let some silly fear stop her. She was going
to marry him and be the best wife in the world. They settled their
wedding date that night on the phone.

The two months they spent planning the family
reunion had gone by so quickly. It was the night before and Malikah
was going over the list of confirmed attendees. She had read the
long list twice, but one name was missing.

“I can’t find Isaiah’s name,” she said to her
mother as she looked over the list one more time. “I could have
sworn I RSVP'ed for both of us.”

“You did,” her mother said as she fluffed the
pillows on the sofa. “But he isn’t going. He’s not family.”

“What do you mean he’s not family? Adam
wasn’t family the first time he came.”

“Yes, well, that was different.”

“You know, for a mother that’s constantly
asking me when I’m getting married, you really work over time to
break up my relationship. If Isaiah can’t go, I’m not going
either,” Malikah said calmly. She was tired of letting her mother
get her worked up.

“Don’t be silly, Malikah. You’re going. The
whole family is going.”

“No, I’m not. I’ve been sitting aside and
watching you bad mouth Isaiah for months. I’ve had enough! We are a
couple and we’re going to get married.” Malikah tried her best to
sound assertive, instead of scared. Isaiah hadn’t even proposed yet
and she was telling her mom they were getting married. She had to
say something to stand up to her, but no matter how hard she tried
not to argue with her mom, it never seemed to work. It didn’t
matter what her mother said, she wasn’t going to the reunion
without Isaiah.

Isaiah had started working as a personal
trainer and things weren’t going exactly as planned. He had about
twelve clients in all, but only five of them kept regular
appointments. He liked being a trainer, but he missed the
predictable checks and tips from his old job. It was frustrating
when clients would cancel their appointments at the last minute. It
only took a few missed appointments to prevent him from being able
to make his rent.

Malikah tried her best to be supportive, but
she had already spent a lot of money on Isaiah and she wasn’t into
the idea of giving him anymore. She didn’t have a job, because her
parents told her she didn’t have to work as long as she was in
school. They deposited money into her account every month and up
until she met Isaiah, it was enough, but ever since she started
giving him money here and there, it seemed like her account was
always empty. She knew her father wouldn’t mind giving her a little
more, but she didn’t dare ask. Her mother would have a fit if she
found out where the money was going.

Malikah and Isaiah’s relationship started out
like a fairytale, and it still was, for the most part. He was so
sweet and kind and always knew the right thing to say, but his
money problems were really starting to drive a wedge between them.
Sometimes she found herself avoiding him because she didn’t want
him to ask for any money. She felt bad, but it was the only way she
could keep a few dollars to herself.

She thought about asking him to pay her back,
but she figured that wouldn’t be right, at least not with his
finances in the shape that they were in. She decided that once he
struck it rich, she would get all her money back, but until then,
she’d leave it alone.

When they met up at the park at their usual
time, he seemed like he was in an unusually good mood.

“My family is coming to visit tomorrow,” he
said with a big smile. “They’re so excited. Knowing my mom, she’ll
want to cook dinner for you, but I figured we could just bring them
with us to the family reunion. I’m sure there will be plenty of
food for everyone. Your family won’t mind if I bring them,
right?”

Malikah had only met his mom a few times, and
she really liked her. She could tell the feeling was mutual. When
she hugged her, it felt like a real hug, not one of those
I’m-doing-this-because-I-have-to hugs. Even though it took a while
for his fitness-obsessed mother to get used to all 160 lbs of her,
she turned out to be a really nice woman. The family seemed to
really accept her, too. His mother told her that she had never seen
her son so happy, and that anyone that made him that happy was okay
with her.

Malikah would have loved to bring his family
to the reunion, but she didn’t know how her mother would react. She
had already embarrassed her in front of Isaiah. She didn’t know if
she could handle being embarrassed in front of his whole family.
She couldn’t risk bringing them.

Isaiah was ecstatic that their families were
finally going to meet. He knew Malikah’s mother was tough, but he
thought that the wholesome atmosphere of a family reunion was just
the thing to soften her up. Malikah had never seen him smile so
big. She didn’t know how to tell him he wasn’t invited.

“You’re mom wants to cook? That sounds yummy.
I love your mother’s cooking. How about we skip the reunion and
just have a nice, intimate, home-cooked meal at your place? I’ll
bring the dessert,” Malikah said, trying to convince him.

“Oh no, my mom can cook another time. Family
reunions are only once a year. I can’t wait to go. It’ll be
fun.”

“Not really. You’ve been to one family
reunion, you’ve been to them all. Plus, my family’s a little crazy.
Our reunions often end in a drunken brawl,” she lied.

“Sounds like your family isn’t too different
from mine. You know how everyone has that one crazy uncle that is
always drunk.”

“Yea,” she laughed nervously. “But the food
never really is that good. I don’t know what it is about a reunion
that makes everyone forget how to cook. I think it would be so much
better if we just skipped the whole thing and let your mom make
dinner.” Malikah was trying her best to dissuade him without
telling the full truth, but it wasn’t working.

“Nasty food or not, I wouldn’t miss this
reunion for anything. Besides, I need to meet the people that will
one day be my in-laws,” he said with a wink.

Malikah used to like it when he said things
that hinted at them getting married, but now it was just annoying.
She didn’t want to hear another marriage reference until she had an
official proposal and a ring. Trying to convince him not to go to
the reunion wasn’t going as planned. She had to come out and just
say it.

“Okay, Isaiah, I’ve been trying to convince
you to give up on the reunion because—” She took a deep breath. “My
mother said you’re not invited.” She tried to say the last part as
quickly as possible, as if that would make it hurt any less. She
shrunk back and made a scared face and waited for him to get angry.
He didn’t.

The smile quickly dropped from his face.
“Well, good thing I didn’t already tell my family about it. They
would have really been hurt to find out they couldn’t go,” he said
softly. Malikah and Isaiah still had another 30 minutes of workout
time, but Isaiah wasn’t in the mood anymore. He grabbed his towel
and water bottle and started to walk toward his car.

“Where are you going?” Malikah yelled.

“Home. I’m pretty sure you’ll be busy with
the reunion tomorrow. I’ll just call you in a couple days,” he said
while walking. He didn’t even turn around to face her as he
spoke.

Malikah felt like dirt. She felt lower than
dirt. She couldn’t believe how hurt he was. It would have been
better if he had yelled at her. She could deal with anger, but
disappointment was different. The sun was starting to set and
Malikah was left alone on the track. She didn’t want to drive home
immediately and risk seeing her mother, so she just sat on a bench
near a street light.

She thought about what she was going to do
about her mother. It was obvious she didn’t want Malikah with
Isaiah, but she refused to break up with him because of that. She
loved her mother, but she didn’t like her all that much, especially
lately. Her mother had always been on her case, but ever since
Kalimah got married, she had been working overtime on Malikah’s
nerves. One minute she was bugging her about how she needed to get
married, and the next she was running serious interference in her
relationship. There was no pleasing her no matter what Malikah
did.

She had thought before about convincing
Isaiah to elope, but she always dismissed it as a crazy idea. But
now that it seemed like her mother was getting worse by the day,
the idea of eloping didn’t sound as crazy. It was actually starting
to sound like the right thing to do. True, Isaiah was having some
financial issues, but she loved him and they could work through
that. She knew her mother probably wouldn’t approve of a regular
wedding ceremony anyway, so why not elope? At least then she would
have to accept it.

As she sat and thought over the pros and cons
of eloping, the night began to pass her by. Before she knew it, it
was dark outside. She didn’t want to go home, but she knew it
wasn’t a good idea to be alone in the park after dark.

When she pulled up to the house, she could
see light from the TV in her parents’ room coming through the
window. That was a good sign. She knew it meant her mother was
upstairs. Her father never watched TV up there. His eyes were
starting to get bad, so he preferred the big screen in the living
room.

She walked into the house and found
everything just as she had predicted. Her father was watching news
in the living room and the door to her parent’s room was closed,
but she could hear her mother’s voice coming through the crack. She
must have been on the phone.

“Have you seen her lately? She’s getting just
as fat,” she heard her mother say. Malikah immediately assumed her
mother was talking about her. But then she heard a little more.
“I’m surprised she’s still getting starring roles, as big as she
is. I wouldn’t cast her in my movie,” her mother said with a laugh.
Malikah was glad to hear her talk about someone else for a
change.

She turned her attention to her father, who
looked like he was really into the news. Malikah tried to go right
up to her room without disturbing him, but she didn’t even make it
up the first stair before he called her back down. No matter how
much she tried to hide it, her father could always tell when
something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he turned the
volume down.

“Guess,” Malikah said in a voice that he had
heard before.

“Okay, what did your mother do?”

Malikah came back down the stairs and sat
next to her father. “It’s this whole thing with Isaiah. She said I
can’t bring him to the family reunion. He was planning on bringing
his whole family and I had to tell him he wasn’t even invited. Now
he’s mad at me and I don’t know what to do,” she explained.

“You know your mother. I love her, but she
has her issues. Her problem with Isaiah has nothing to do with you
or him. I hate to say this, but your mother is jealous. She sees
the way you’ve grown over the years and how you’ve established a
solid relationship with a nice guy and she’s jealous. She was still
single when she was your age,” he told her.

“But why would she be jealous of me? If
anything, it seems like she’d be jealous of Kalimah.”

“She’s probably jealous of both of you. She
has two beautiful daughters who are growing up and starting their
own lives. She doesn’t know how to handle it. It’s just worse with
you because she identifies with you so much. Don’t worry about the
reunion. Bring whoever you want. I’ll handle your mother.” That was
a relief to hear, but it was already too late. She wished she had
talked to her father before telling Isaiah he wasn’t invited.

There were many things Malikah was supposed
to do the day of the reunion, but she didn’t do any of them. She
was too busy thinking about Isaiah. She wanted to call him, but she
was scared. She didn’t know what to say. Really, there wasn’t
anything she could say. Nothing would change the fact that he had
been rejected—yet again— by her mother.

She wondered what Isaiah and his family were
doing. Probably eating and having a good time. She thought about
popping up at the house, but she figured the usual welcoming vibe
she got from them would be replaced by hostility and
resentment.

There was no way she was showing up at that
reunion. She had to show her mother she was serious, but she had
nowhere else to go. Everyone she could think of was at the reunion.
Aliya and Langston were at the zoo with Harlem, and Mariam spent
all her time at Jihad’s bedside. Now that he had come out of his
coma, their whole family spent every waking hour at the hospital.
She even tried calling Jaime, but she was pretty hard to get in
touch.

With nowhere else to go, Malikah decided to
take a walk through the mall. It still wasn’t her favorite place to
be, but she liked shopping a lot more than she used to, thanks to
Kalimah. She didn’t really have any money to buy anything, but she
figured she would window shop just to pass the time and get her
mind off Isaiah. Walking around made her hungry, so she stopped at
a smoothie cart to get a drink and a soft pretzel. As she sat in
the food court and ate, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“You must really like the mall,” the voice
said.

It sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t
place it. She turned around and saw Muhammad starring right at her
with a big smile. She smiled back, but then felt embarrassed when
she realized she still had a big piece of pretzel hanging out of
her mouth. She quickly wrapped it up in a napkin and wiped the
crumbs from her face.