Commitment (96 page)

“Your husband is cute,” Tracy said as though she’d j
ust arrived at the realization.

She sat next to
Riley
, her
chin resting on
her
shoulder.

They found the article and flipped through the photos first, remarking on how Dawn had managed to make everything look dreamy and ethereal, conveying the impression that Riley and Shawn were cocooned in their own otherworldly s
pace.
At the time
that
had been
pretty accurate.

“Wait!”
Tracy said when Ri
ley turned back to the article. “Let’s get really comfortable.
I’m thinking wine.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Fine.
Let’s have some wine.”

“And some cheese maybe.
D’you have brie?”

“Let’s go see what’s in there.”

The kitchen had seen significantly more
use recently than ever before.
She and Shawn were just as likely to cook or order in as they were to go to the trendy restaurants
around the city.
Together they’d started exploring the world of home-cooked meals that
did not involve eggs or cereal.
Shawn
clearly
had no interest in the actual cooking, but he’d been a good sport about watching The Food Network,
Riley’s
new television
obsession, and offering reviews of her sloppy culinary attempts.

“Ohmigod, you
do
have brie.
”
Tracy
said
as
she opened the fridge.

“And wine too,”

Riley held aloft a bottle of
ridiculously expensive chardonnay Chris had brought over a couple nights ago.

They settled on the sofa once again, heads together, dri
nking wine and reading quietly.
The article began:
“One might expect many things when invited into the upstate sanctuary of rapper K-
Smooth
and his new wife, but tranquility would not likely be high on the
list.
But that’s what I found.
K
-
Smooth
, the preternaturally composed lyricist was e
ven more so in the Arcadian colleg
e town where he and his wife have
retreated to escape the spotlight in
the wake of his legal troubles.
Perhaps even more striking is his demeano
r when Riley Gardner is nearby.
In his wife’s presence,
K
-
Smooth
isn’t just composed, he is positively serene.”

The rest of the article went on to describe the house and the town, Riley’s
reaction to questions about the sexual assault charge (
“guarded,
a hint of
anger just
beneath
the surface of her carefully measured words”)
,
Lorna’s thoughts about Shawn
(“as flawed and arrogant, noble and
beautiful a man as I have met.
And so
precious to me.
So, so precious.”
) that brought tears to Riley’s eyes, and finally
as a close
,
Darnell’s observation in his own voice that
“K
Smooth
might do well to consider, the next time someone tells him to ‘keep it real’, that all he need do is look at his new family. Now,
that’s
real.”

“Whoa,” Tracy said.
“What did you think?”

Riley nodded.
“It was
fair.
I’m fine with
it.”

“Are you kidding?
Did you guys pay him off or something?”

“I would have if I’d thought of it.”

“You should call Brendan and
Shawn and tell them about it.
Where are they?”

Riley looked at her. “You’re not slick.
Brendan’s with Shawn all
day today.
They’re promoting the Virginia shows
and mixing the new stuff.”

“Just because I’m curious about him doesn’t mean I want us to get together,” Tracy said defensively.

“I never said you did.”

“So is he seeing anyone that you know of?”

Riley
shrugged.
“How would
I find out something like that?
If he were, I’m the last person he would let that information slip to.”

“Well if he’s
serious about someone
, he wouldn’t care if you knew,” Tracy said with forced casualness.

“Well, he hasn’t brought anyone over here for d
inner, if that’s what you mean.
And
I haven’
t heard Shawn mention anything.
But I’ll be sure to keep you posted.”

“You don’t have to.
I’m . . .”

“Just curious.
Yes, so you said.”

Tracy laughed.
“He’s such a
good guy.
I just wish
. .
.”

“It’s hard,” Riley said, sympathetic now. 

Tracy nodded, then brightened.
“Okay,
so what’s the plan for tonight?
It’s Friday, we’re young; one of us is free and single . . . let’s go do something
.
”

“Hav
en’t been to Harambe in awhile.
How ‘bout that?”

Tracy groaned.
“I was thinking dancing but they do have jazz on Fridays, so maybe we can stop by there and see what’s up.”

“And if it’s boring, we can go salsa dancing in Washington Heights.” Riley suggested.

“No
w you’re talking,” Tracy stood.
“So lemme go home and we’ll plan to meet up around nine-ish?”

“Sounds good.”

Shawn arrived home just as she was getting ready
.
He was sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a beer as when she walked into the kitchen in her bathrobe and she
was momentarily
start
l
ed, not expecting to see
him
.

“
Hey,
”
s
he noticed the bag from their favo
rite Thai place on the counter.
“You’re home early.”

“Might as well
get some sleep before tomorrow.
Not sure how I’ll like sleeping in a hotel again after all this time.”

He was scheduled to leave on an early flight to Virginia with Brendan, and would be leaving around
five
a.m. for the airport.

“
I could come with you,” Riley said idly, peeking into the sack from
Jasmine
Garden
.

Shawn looked up.
“You want to?”

She shrugged.
“Why not?
But tonight I’m going out with Tracy, so I’ll be dead on my feet in the morning.”

“I’ll carry you,
” Shawn said.

“Well with an offer
like that . . .” S
he reached over took a sip of his beer before heading back into the bedroom. 

When she emerged from the bedroom to leave later, she found Shawn on the sofa with the magazine, reading Darnell’s article.

“Forgot to tell you it came.”

“Did you read what Lorna said?”

Riley nodded and
briefly touched
the s
ide of his face.
“Yes.
I did.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

“It is.
I’ll be back by about one or so, I think.”

Shawn tossed the magazine asid
e and pulled her into his lap.
“Where you
two headed
?”

“Tracy wanted to go dancing, and we’re stopping in at Harambe f
irst.
You want to come?”

Shawn laughed.
“No thanks.
Don’t talk to any boys.
See you later.” He playfully
smacked
her rear end as she walked away.

Tracy was waiting for her outside Harambe where a line had begun to form, but they got in right away, since Vince the bouncer
recognized them as regulars.
As they walked by, Riley very clearly heard a
girl in a white mini-dress stage-whisper to her friend, “K
-
Smooth
’s wife.
So I guess she doesn’t have
to wait like the rest of us.”

Tracy obviously heard it too because she turned to shoot the girl a withering look.

“Don’t worry about it,”
she said when they were inside.
“They don’t know we’ve been coming here since before it was legal for us to drink.”

“
I know,” Riley said.

They found a table near the stage where a jazz trio
was warming up.
A waitress came over to take their drink order and Riley leane
d back, looking about the room.
Several eyes were on her, and she tried not to
assume that it was
because they knew who she was.
But of course they did.

Shawn’s troubles had become the biggest story in Black America so just about everything about them, including a few unflattering pictures of her
had become part of the public domain.
 

“So I decided to fly to Virginia with Shawn tomorrow,” she said conversationally.

“Great.
What’s in Virginia?
Besides the show, I mean.”

“Don’t know,”
Riley shrugged.
“
Just going along for the ride.
And Virginia Beach
is supposed to be interesting, right?
”

“You think maybe you should consider going back to work?” Tracy asked carefully.

Riley
looked at her.
“
Soon enough, I guess.
”

“You seem bored
but
at the same time, reluctant to . . . I
don’t know.
Leave Shawn alone, I guess.”

Riley leaned forward.
“What
do you
mean
exactly, Tracy
?”

“Don’t get all crazy on
me.
All I’m saying is
you took time
off to offer moral support.
And n
ow it seems like he’s got this.
I mean, he’s back at work, he’s getting out there and you’re just
on the verge becoming kind of
co-dependent.”

Riley leaned back and took a breath, swallowing her first, defensive
reaction. 

“I’m just saying;
it’s okay for you to go back to being separate people now.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and they both had something to occupy the
mselves with for a few moments.
And then, just as she was poised to speak, Riley looked up and noticed a familiar pai
r of eyes from two tables over.
Brian.
He smiled when she met his gaze,
and stood, striding toward her.
Tracy followed her gaze and leaned back, arms folded.

“
Brian
,” Riley said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Sit down a while.”

He pulled out a chair and sat next to her, turning to Tracy
and then leaning in to kiss her as well
.

“
Brian,” Tracy said her voice flat.
Then she muttered something about the Ladies Room and left them alone.

“She mad at me?” Brian asked.

“No. I guess she . . . sees that it’s not a good idea. Y’know, you and me being . . .” Riley let her voice trail off into silence.

“So,”
Brian
s
aid.
“Mrs. K
Smooth
.”

Riley nodded.

“
I was sorry to hear about his trouble
,”
Brian
said
, looking at her, his eyes sincere
.
“Mostly I was sorry because of you
.”

“
Thank you,
”
Riley said. “I appreciate that.”

Brian seemed not to know what else to say. He kept glancing over at his table where a pretty young woman with long auburn hair waited along with a couple.