Abide with Me (23 page)

“And the other candidate.”

“A white guy who now works at Smith Barney. This kid is about twenty-six years old. Went to Brown undergrad and got his M.B.A. from Harvard. Sharp as a tack and great references and I got a good feel about him,” Jared said. “I’ve interviewed him three times and he seems cool for a white guy.”

“So what’s the problem? Doesn’t sound like you could go wrong either way,” Raymond said.

“I don’t know. Pick the wrong one and it could affect how my superiors look at me when it comes to my next promotion. Connie has her fans, but there were some problems with her last supervisor.”

“What kind of problems?”

“When I asked her about them, she said racism and sexism. Her former boss refuses to discuss it with me, probably because I know the firm is worried about a lawsuit. If I don’t offer the white guy the job, I might be accused of the same thing. Not sexism, but racism,” Jared lamented.

“What’s in her employment file?”

“It’s vague. You know, I wonder, if she wasn’t black would I even be considering her?” Jared said.

“How so?”

“Let’s just say if the situation were reversed on a couple of levels. Say it was Jackson Gates, the white guy, who had the problems with a previous supervisor, then I would probably have already eliminated him,” Jared said.

“Hey, boy, you know you’re fair. What are you worried about?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m worried one day I’ll look around and I’ll be working for Jackson Gates,” Jared laughed.

“The way things are going these days, you could be working for Connie as well. That is, if you were just an average brotha, which we both know you’re not. So I say go with your gut,” Raymond suggested.

“I got another problem only you can help me with,” Jared said with a serious look on his face.

“What’s that?”

“How do I get the white folks and some of the snotty black folks to stop asking me what Chinese restaurant I work at when I’m dressed down and carrying food for my wife and me?” Jared laughed.

“Just start taking orders, but get their money first,” Raymond teased.

“That’s a great suggestion!”

“Hey, and you can make some extra money for Jared Jr.”

“If that ever happens,” Jared said quietly.

“Trust me my brother … it will.”

“Have I told you how glad I am you’re here?” Jared smiled as he stepped down from the top level of the steam room.

“That’s the first time today. And I’m always happy to hear it,” Raymond said.

“You ready to get outta here and grab something to eat?” Jared asked.

“I’m done, but don’t you remember? I’ve got to meet Peaches in an hour,” Raymond said, lifting his body from the slippery tile.

“Ain’t this kinda late for business?” Jared said as he pushed open the glass door.

Raymond followed close behind and said, “You know Peaches ain’t business.”

“I know, but my mama would be in bed by this time,” Jared joked. He walked over and took a clean towel from the attendant.

“Peaches ain’t your average mama,” Raymond laughed.

“And you know it.”

“You want to go with me?”

“But you guys are discussing business, right?”

“Now, how much business you think I’m gonna be talking with Peaches after a couple of drinks?” Raymond laughed.

“In that case, I’d better pass. I’ve got some work to do and I don’t want to miss Nicole’s call after her show tonight,” Jared said.

“You’re really in love, aren’t you, my friend?” Raymond asked as he placed his towel on a brass hanger and opened the shower door.

“You need to ask?”

Raymond glanced at the peaceful look on Jared’s face and said, “That
was
a dumb question, my brother,” as he walked into the shower.

Raymond could hear the clatter of dishes and voices as he reached the top steps of Peaches and Enoch’s apartment on the top floor of Cuts ’n’ Cobblers.

The door was open, so Raymond walked in and saw Peaches talking on the phone and attending to several pots and skillets on the stove.

“Puddin’, I got to go. I ain’t got time for yo’ mess. My baby just walked in the door. Oh yeah, don’t forget to play my numbers,” Peaches said as she hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?” Raymond asked.

“So what did that crooked asshole say?” Peaches asked Raymond as he pulled out a chair at the small dining room table in the kitchen.

“Don’t I get a hug or something first?” Raymond asked with his arms open.

“Yeah, baby, but you the one who pullin’ out the chair. Don’t worry, Peaches saved you some supper,” Peaches said. She gave Raymond a hug around his waist. “Um, you smell good, baby. Got on some of that expensive cologne.”

“Thanks, Peaches. Where is your man Enoch?”

“Who said he was my man? He’s down there cuttin’ heads. You know he got his regulars who always come late,” Peaches said while pulling out a pan filled with pork chops covered with onion-filled brown gravy. On the top of the stove was a pot of spaghetti and another one with green beans and mushrooms.

“That food smells good,” Raymond said. He pulled out a yellow legal pad from his leather bag.

“You know it’s good. Look who cooked it,” Peaches said as she set a chipped plate in front of Raymond. She placed a paper napkin and a set of mismatched silverware on the side.

Peaches’s kitchen was a cheerful blend of function and down-home comfort. Sheer Swiss dot curtains covered the lower half of the windows that reached from one end of the wall facing the street to the other end. Enoch had attached a redwood planter to the outside of the middle window so Peaches could plant an herb garden. He had also built the floor-to-ceiling knotted-pine shelving on the adjoining wall according to Peaches’s specifications. She kept the shelves stocked with every kind of can, bottle, box, and bag of food she needed on hand to create what Enoch called “her magic.”

The only thing that seemed out of place was the huge white refrigerator that took up almost one whole wall by itself. A calendar for the Good Shepherd funeral home, a broom, sponge mop, and the folded-up ironing board shared the wall with what Peaches had called a
“monstrosity” when it was first delivered. But she was beside herself with joy that Enoch had spent so much of his hard-earned money on her birthday present. While the fancy new refrigerator happened to have all the features that Peaches had pointed out in the mail-order catalog she kept alongside her bed, the real selling point for Enoch was the automatic ice dispenser on the outside of the door. It pleased him to no end to fill glass after glass with crescent-shaped ice cubes to demonstrate the feature to friends. In fact, Enoch had changed his favorite place at the table, from the chair facing the stove to the chair facing the big, shiny refrigerator, where Raymond now sat.

“I have some good news and bad news,” Raymond said.

“I don’t wanna hear no bad news. So give me the good news.”

“I didn’t talk to the alleged asshole, but I spoke with his lawyer. He is interested in selling the place. To the highest bidder. So that means we got a shot. But from what I get from his attorney, he knows what a prime piece of real estate this place is. A group of investors, fronted by an African-American law firm, is buying up every inch of Harlem. You were right on the money when you said Harlem is hot again.”

“I sho hope that’s the bad news ’cause you know I can’t afford no whole bunch of money,” Peaches said as she slid a pork chop onto Raymond’s plate with a plastic spatula.

“I looked at the lease and had another lawyer friend look over it. All they have to do is give you ninety days’ notice of their intent to sell the place. It doesn’t matter what this guy’s father told you or Enoch.”

“Did you ask ’em why they want us out? Enoch’s been here since the beginning of time. It’s got to be my kids.”

“No, I didn’t bring that up,” Raymond said as he stuck his finger in the gravy and then put the tasty sauce in his mouth.

“Then you ought to, ’cause I tell you that’s why they tryin’ to get us out of here,” Peaches said, pulling a tin of homemade rolls out of the oven.

“I know you said that, but what makes you so sure?”

“ ’Cause once, the mutherfucker who owns the place came over with his ugly ass to pick up the rent, and I was having a cup of coffee with Miss Kitty and he acted like she had leprosy or sumthin’. His father wasn’t like that. And you know I know prejudice when I sees it. I was raised in the South and he acted like some of them crackers I used to run into when I was a little gal.”

“Peaches, I got to ask you before we proceed. How much money do you think you can come up with, say, for a down payment?”

“How much I’m gonna need?”

“Depends on what kinda loan I can get.”

“Are they gonna wanna check my credit?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can forget that.”

“So your credit’s not good?”

“That’s one way of puttin’ it.”

“What about Enoch?”

“You’ll have to ask him. I do let him keep some of his bizness.”

“Are you interested in buying this place?”

“Yeah. This is my home and what kinda fool question is that?” Peaches asked as she lifted her green and white apron over her head. She folded it neatly and sat down beside Raymond. Peaches’s face was full of concern as she prepared her own plate.

Raymond took a bite of the moist pork chop and a sip of the lemonade Peaches had prepared.

“Let me see how much they want for this place and then we can pool our resources. I can talk with Jared and Nicole, and we’ll do what we can to make a decent bid. I think Jared said you had a nice little nest egg with your investments. So all is not lost.”

“It better not be, ’cause if I have to give up my shop and my kids … well, it ain’t gonna be nuthin’ nice,” Peaches said. Then she finally sat down to enjoy her magic.

After spending most of the day dealing with Peaches and her pending housing problems, Raymond decided to spend the evening returning phone calls. First he called Lisa, who had left several messages for him in Seattle. He looked at the clock and realized that it was almost five in the Pacific Northwest and figured she was still at her office. Lisa picked up after a few rings.

“This is Lisa Lanier.”

“Lisa, Raymond Tyler returning your call.”

“Raymond! It’s great hearing from you. How is everything in New York?” Her voice was full of a teenage girl’s excitement.

“It’s coming along. It’s great hearing from you also. Have you got some news for me?”

Lisa was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Well, honestly, I don’t know if you’ll consider this good news or not.”

“Don’t tell me there are more problems.” Raymond was fearful that Lisa had discovered more secrets about Trent.

“Not really. I just wanted to run this suggestion by you. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not so certain I would do this,” Lisa said.

“Do what?”

“We were talking about your nomination in the staff meeting the other day, and I was letting the senator and some of her top advisors know where we stood. I told them the NAACP was backing down, but if we promised to consider what’s-his-face for the next opening, maybe they would go away quietly.”

“What did the senator think about that?” Raymond asked.

“She didn’t say anything, but one of her advisors, and let me just preface this by saying he’s a good ole boy, Seattle style. He asked if you’d be willing to disassociate yourself from Trent and make a public statement to that effect.”

Raymond went into a shocked silence. He reached for the remote control on the nightstand, clicked on the power button, and instantly hit the mute button and flipped the channels. He finally settled on VH-1 when he saw a Janet Jackson video and restored the volume.

“Raymond, are you still there?”

“You’ve got to be kidding, right?”

“This wasn’t my idea. Trust me. But I had to at least bring it to the table. Besides, there is still no guarantee that the Senate is going to even bring your nomination up this session.”

“I understand, Lisa. But let me make one thing perfectly clear: I will not be making any public declarations about Trent and my relationship. What I decide to do will be a personal and private decision,” Raymond said firmly.