A Man's Appetite (9 page)

“I was too focused on getting back at him, this morning. I was acting in a negative way and I could’ve lost him in an instant.”

Rhonda’s eyes began to fill up.

“I just don’t understand this crap. Why does this have to be?”

              “Remain positive, Rhonda. There is no guarantee on anything. Just have faith in your husband. Have faith in his recovery and have faith in the vows he made before God.”

“Yes, but….”

Rhonda was unable to speak and burst into tears. Marla wrapped her arms around Rhonda and comforted her. The sounds of the heart rate monitor beeped in the background as Marla consoled Rhonda. At the moment, there was no thought about anyone’s significant other sleeping around. In fact, Marla and Rhonda were disgusted with the entire situation because now someone’s life had been in danger. Rhonda managed to pull herself together and have a seat. Marla sat next to her and watched as the staff, patients, and visitors constantly walked pass Jimmy’s room. For a moment, there was silence. Marla was at a loss for words and instead gave Rhonda some time to herself. Eventually, the silence became too awkward.

“I never knew it was packed like this in a hospital”, said Marla, attempting to break the awkward silence.

              “All the time. I work in this environment, so I see it every day.”

“There are these many people in need of assistance and care on a daily basis?”

              “Yes. At the same time, you got your addicts and homeless people that come in to get a night’s rest.”

“Huh?”

              “Yeah. For the most part, a hospital has to accept someone that needs assistance. So, you have people that walk in and claim to have some illness in order to get a bed to lay on. The staff checks them in and runs test, while the individual gets some rest.”

“Wow. How often does that happen?”

              “Every day. You have some that are wise enough to plan their visit. They arrive at a time, when patients receive a meal from the cafeteria. So, some get a meal and a bed to lay in.”

“How do they pay for it?”

              “They don’t. You do.”

###

Reggie is co-owner of Island Cuts. Along with two other barbers, Stace and Mel, he rents a section of a strip mall for his barbering business. Island Cuts is a dream that Reggie had for a number of years. After putting in his time renting a barber chair at various locations, he managed to build his clientele and start his own barber shop. The partnership made the transition easy for Reggie and a huge success. Island Cuts is also the place where Reggie met Stephanie. Stephanie needed her eyebrows arched and randomly chose Island Cuts. It was a slow day and Reggie was the only one cutting hair on that day. As Reggie took his time producing the perfect arch, Stephanie was mesmerized by Reggie’s light brown skin and lime green eyes. A general conversation began, and the rest is history.

All three of the barbers were at the barber shop today, making money. They each had a customer sitting in their chair. As usual, a hot topic had to be going on, like most barber shops. The topic on today was the comparison of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. As each barber forcefully gave their opinion, the door of the barber shop chimed as Angie walked in. For a moment, the men got silent to greet and recognize Angie as she took a seat near Reggie’s chair. Since mainly men visit a barber shop, it was always a pleasure for the men to see a woman pass through. After every barber said hello, the men continued to talk about the Bryant and Jordan discussion. At the same time, Reggie placed his focus on Angie.

              “Are you here for a specific barber?”

“You, if you don’t mind.”

              “That’s cool. What would you like done”, asked Reggie as he continued to work on his current customer’s hair.

“Just my eyebrows.”

Reggie took a glance at Angie’s face. He looked again and stepped back from his customer’s head.

              “I never forget a face. Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“Not sure”, said Angie with a worried smile.

              “It’ll come to me.”

Reggie went back to cutting hair, as Angie pulled out her cell phone to text Stephanie.

              [Angie: I think he knows who I am]

[Stephanie: What did he say?]

              [Angie: He never forgets a face.]

[Stephanie: I bet.]

              [Angie: lol]

[Stephanie: What did you say?]

              [Angie: I just played it off as if I didn’t know him]

Reggie glanced over at Angie a few more times as he continued to barber. A little time passed and Reggie finished his client’s hair. After being paid, they shook hands and said goodbye. Reggie grabbed his ‘cutting cape’ and popped it a few times to get rid of any hair. “You’re up next”, said Reggie, while looking at Angie. Angie put her phone away and quickly got out of her seat. After she had a seat in the barber chair, Reggie placed a fresh neck strip and the cape around to begin his craft.

              “What are we having, again”, asked Reggie.

“I just need my eyebrows done.”

              “Which one”, asked Reggie as he pointed at examples posted on the wall.

“I guess something like number nine.”

              “Number niiiiiine. Let’s see what I can do.”

Reggie twirled Angie around in the barber chair, so that they both were facing the mirror. He grabbed her head with both his hands and looked at her in the mirror. “Nine is a good choice.” They both laughed. He let go of her head and walked over to grab his clippers and changed the blades for the right one.

              “Have you ever been in this barbershop?”

“No.”

              “What brings you to this barbershop?”

“Just out and about and decided to get my eyebrows done.”

              “I see.”

Reggie started his clippers and got close to Angie to focus on her eyebrows.

“You have beautiful eyes”, said Angie.

              “Thank you.”

“I bet you hear that all the time from your significant other.”

              “No. Actually, it is becoming rare. I guess for some people, the love eventually fades away.”

“You deserve better.”

              “Don’t we all?”

“Yes. I share the same boat.”

              “Relationship problems?”

“In the past. It seems as if the task gets harder and harder, after each relationship you get out of.”

              “Tell me about it.”

“You’ve had your share of relationship problems?”

              “More than I can count.”

“You seem like the heartbreaker. Handsome, hard worker, appealing….”

              “Ha. It hasn’t always been me. Like now, I don’t understand where the change in my current relationship is coming from.”

“Sometimes, you have to determine when to leave.”

Reggie turned off his clippers, stood back, and looked at Angie.

###

Tina lied across her couch on her back, wearing only her white, silk bra and crimson red skirt. The living room was lit by the television, which was showing a movie being played on the DVD player. A bottle of champagne, partially full, sat on the living room table. For the most part, Tina’s place was clean and neat. Along with the bottle of champagne were a few pieces of mail, magazines, and newspapers. Outside of those items, her living room was in order. The downside to Tina was that she is only clean when company is visiting. If someone were to explore her entire house, they would find the areas that Tina uses to house all of her trash and junk.

This evening, Tina had company and was doing her best to provide a presentable and enjoyable atmosphere. After a couple of minutes of laying on the couch and waiting on her male guest to return from her kitchen, Tina became frustrated.

              “What are you doing”, she yelled.

“I can’t find what I’m looking for”, he yelled back from the kitchen.

              “Forget all that fancy crap! You’re killing the vibe!”

“You need to learn patience!”

              “And, you need to learn how NOT to turn a girl off!”

He quickly closed the refrigerator door and rushed into the living room.

              “What do you have?”

“Syrup”, he said with a sly grin.

Tina drove up to the front door of T and C Incorporated. The sun was rising and shining beautifully across the entire area. She put the car in park and sat still, waiting. She was at work a lot earlier than usual. Actually, she is normally late for work. If she didn’t have a close relationship with Angie, she would be fired from her job a long time ago for her constant tardiness. Today was a lot different, because Tina did not want to be seen by anyone. Sitting in the passenger seat, Tony looked over at Tina with a confused look.

“What are you doing”, he asked.

              “I’m letting you out at the door.”

“Why?”

              “We can’t walk in together. So, I’ll let you out here and go park.”

“Whatever”, said Tony as he prepared to lean over and kiss Tina.

              “No. Not in public. Especially, not at work”, said Tina as she blocked Tony’s kiss with her hand.

Tony shook his head and got out of the car. As soon as he closed the passenger door, Tina sped off and found a place to park. She decided to park and sit in the car for a while. “I’ll give him time to go to his cubicle.” She decided to increase the volume on the radio and scan through the six programmed buttons to find something worth listening to. As Tina allowed each programmed station a ten second limit before changing, a burnt orange Lexus parked next to her, on the passenger side. She glanced to see who had pulled alongside her, then took another, much longer view after noticing the beautiful, unknown vehicle. Since the windows were tinted, it was impossible for Tina to see who was driving the car. Not being able to see who was in the vehicle, Tina decided to sit in her car for a little while longer in hopes of seeing the driver get out. This would have been one of the few days that Tina had made it to work on time, but instead she would rather be nosey and see who was driving the immaculate Lexus.

Thirty minutes had passed and the driver had yet to get out of the vehicle. At the same time, T and C Incorporated’s staff had made it in and began working. Meanwhile, Tina continued to roam through her radio channels while watching the stranger from the corner of her eye. She decided to check her mobile phone for any messages or emails. As soon as she began to browse her cell phone, the unknown individual got out of the Lexus. In shock, Tina quickly powered off her cell phone to see who the person may be. It was a tall, slim, middle-aged, white male wearing a navy blue suit. He exited the vehicle, holding only a slim, leather notebook. The sound of the car doors locking twice went off, as he walked towards the building’s entrance. Tina quickly got out of her vehicle and fast walked to the entrance, in hopes of meeting the stranger at the door. “I may not know who he is, but I know he has money”, Tina thought to herself. Just as the male was exchanging hands with the notebook to open the door, Tina kindly interrupted.

“Allow me to get that for you.”

              “No. I should get the door for you. I have to be the gentleman.”

“So nice of you, but I could have gotten it”, said Tina as she waited to walk in.

“I’ve never seen you here at T and C. Are you a visitor?”

              “Somewhat. I’m a client of Angie’s and I was supposed to meet with her, this morning.”

Tina started thinking to herself, “Angie will not get first dibs on this one.”

“Okay. Well, I’m Angie’s assistant, Tina. And, you are?”

              “Walter.”

Tina extended her hand and shook hands with Walter.

“I can take you to her office. It would be my pleasure.”

              “Great. I don’t think Angie has ever told me about you.”

“Shame on her.”

They both laughed, as Tina finally walked in and Walter followed. “I bet she hasn’t. That snake”, Tina said to herself. As they approached the front desk, Tina reached and placed her hand on Walter’s back to bring him beside her. Once they got close enough to the front desk, Tina informed Fay that Walter had a meeting with Angie. Tina continued her conversation with Walter as they walked towards the elevator.

“So, what is the name of your company?”

              “Fred Rodgers.”

“The steel company?”

              “Yes. It actually was started by my grandfather. I’m the third generation owner.”

“Nice. You and your wife planning to pass it on to your son?”

              “Wife?”

“I’m sorry. I mean girlfriend.”

              “Neither.”

“Really? I’m shocked, as handsome as you are.”

              “Thank you. And yes, I’m learning to adjust to the single life.”

“I know what you mean. It is a struggle to find someone, nowadays.”

              “You’re single?”

“Yes. For some reason….”

They were interrupted by the elevator door opening.

“….it is difficult to find a smart, handsome gentleman these days.”

They approached Angie’s office and Tina decided to make her move, before opening Angie’s door.”

“Well, here is Angie’s office. I hope everything goes well for you.”

              “Thank you. I believe it will.”

“Good. I work right over here”, said Tina as she pointed to her area on the floor.

“Maybe if you have free time, you can stop by before you leave. We could meet up for a drink or quick bite. You seem like cool people.”

              “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. What’s your name, again?”

“Tina.”

              “Okay, Tina. Nice meeting you.”

They shook hands, once again and Tina opened Angie’s door.

“Angie…. I mean Ms. Waters, I have Walter here to see you.”

Angie stood to her feet with a disturbed look and came from behind her desk to greet Walter.

                                          “Thank you, Tina.”

As Tina walked to her area, she was a little upset by Walter’s response. “I can’t believe him. He didn’t even remember my name. So much for that one.” As Tina walked to her desk, Tony was busy chatting on the phone and didn’t notice Tina walking by. Although Tina saw Tony yapping on the phone, she was not concerned. She was still frustrated about not exchanging numbers with Walter. She had a seat at her cubicle and started going through her mail.

“Good morning.”

Tina looked up and realized Marla was standing over her.

              “Good morning. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you there.”

“A lot on your mind?”

              “Always.”

“Something you need to talk about?”

              “No.”

“Okay, as long as it doesn’t affect your work.”

              “Trust me, it won’t.”

Marla didn’t say another word and walked away. At the same time, Tina watched Marla walk away and rolled her eyes. Marla approached Angie’s office and prepared to knock. “She’s busy”, yelled Tina. Marla didn’t look towards Tina. She decided to walk away and try later on. Tina’s loud voice caught Tony’s attention. He left his cubicle and walked toward Tina’s desk. Not looking up, Tina asked, “What do you want, Tony?” Instead of walking towards Tina, Tony walked past her. At the same time, Walter had just left out of Angie’s office and approached Tina. Once Walter reached her desk, he stood and watched her continue to go through her mail.

“I said, what you want”, asked Tina as she finally looked up and saw Walter.

“Oh my goodness. Walter….”

Tina quickly got out of her seat.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you standing there.”

              “Yes. You had me worried for a minute. I started to think you had a twin. I thought, this can’t be the same beautiful lady that escorted me in.”

Tina began to blush from embarrassment.

“Yes, it is me. I do apologize. My mind was somewhere else.”

              “No need to explain. Look, I have to run. Before I go, I wanted to invite you over to my place for dinner.”

“That would be great. When?”

              “Possibly, tonight. It all depends on how long my day lasts. Let’s do this. Give me your number, I’ll give you a call later this evening.”

“Sounds great.”

Walter quickly pulled out his cell phone as Tina told him her phone number. The entire time Tina and Walter were talking, Tony walked past a few times, unknowingly to Tina or Walter.

              “And, what’s your name again love?”

“Tina. T-i-n-a.”

              “Gotcha.”

Walter flashed a sly grin, placed his cell phone back into his pocket, and quickly walked away. Tina’s attitude changed and a huge smile appeared on her face, as she returned to her seat.

# # #

Michael was busy at work, sitting at his desk going through numerous bills and comparing the numbers. With his back hunched over and constantly scanning the documents, Olivia snuck up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. “Olivia, will you stop”, asked Michael without even looking up. Olivia quickly stood back and began to giggle. Olivia was a beautiful, 22-year old, Hispanic, full of energy and fun. With a light, bronze skin complexion and hair down to the middle of her back, Olivia could easily pass for a model. Instead, she was a part-time secretary for the company. Although her English wasn’t perfect, her looks easily made up for any mistakes that she may make.

Michael continued to confirm and edit the documents as fast as possible. As Michael sat at his desk, going through paperwork, Olivia peeled a piece of yellow post-it that was sitting on a desk nearby, balled it up, and threw it at Michael.

“You’re so mean”, said Olivia.

              “Oh yeah”, asked Michael as he looked out the corner of his eye.

Michael quickly rose out of his seat, ran toward Olivia, and stood over her with a devilish grin.

“You bad bad man, you”, said Olivia as she lightly tapped his chest with her fingers.

              “I’ll show you bad.”

Suddenly, Michael’s cell phone began to ring. Michael stepped back and pulled out his cell phone. The touch screen read, ‘Marla’. Michael selected to ignore the phone call and placed the phone back in his pocket.

              “So, you want to see bad”, he asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working”, asked Olivia.

              “You asked for it”, said Michael as he grinned.

“At the sound of the beep, please leave your….” Marla hung up her phone, instead of leaving a voice message for Michael. She assumed he was busy at work and decided to call him at a later time. She ignored any assumptions of what Michael might be doing and chose instead to start going through her large stack of paperwork. For the most part, Marla was happy to be back in her field of expertise. The only difference was that she had to manage a handful of people, versus only being managed by someone else. It may be more headache, but the pay was definitely rewarding.

After the way the relationship ended with Maverick’s, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to start over again. To be honest, Marla thought her career would go downhill. Either Leonard didn’t say anything negative about Marla or Angie didn’t bother calling Marla’s previous employers. Whatever it was, Marla managed to get another job and ultimately, another chance. Ever since that awkward departure from her previous job, Marla had not laid eyes on any of the staff she used to work with. If it was left up to Marla, she would never have to see either of them again. Each for their own personal reason.

Just like Angie, she was off into her own world. As she sat at her desk, she began thinking about her experiences at Maverick’s and how it took a toll on her life. The worry, the guilt, and disgust that came along with her attempts to find love was devastating. Although she wasn’t quick to wear her emotions on her sleeve, she still looked down on herself for what she had done in the past. But, she knew it wasn’t healthy to keep her mistakes over her head for the rest of her life. Somehow, the wounds were still fresh in her mind. As always, it was Junior that kept her together. If nothing or no one else, she had to stay strong for her son. In many ways, he became the gel in her life. Whether it was dealing with people on the job or having issues within her marriage, she fought through it all by having Junior in her life.

              “Marla?”

“Oh my goodness. Angie. I am so sorry.”

              “Don’t be. Are you okay?”

“Yes. For a moment, I forgot where I was. I have a lot on my mind.”

              “You’re not letting this ‘cheating situation’ get to you, are you?”

“No. Not at all. Just thinking about some things. How long have you been standing there?”

              “I just got here. I wanted to see if you could keep an eye over things for a little while.”

“Sure. Is everything alright?”

              “Yes.”

“How did the meeting go?”

              “Walter”, asked Angie as she burst out in laughter.