Games (11 page)

While exiting the kitchen, Marcus made eye contact with
Shannon. “What are you doing here?” he asked with a look of disdain.

“I’m here with Brian,”
Shannon answered proudly.

Marcus twisted his face and left the room without saying another word.

“Remember the message you preached this morning,” Angie told Julia as she and Nikki left to set the dining room table.

Once she was alone with Julia,
Shannon tried to mend fences. “Mrs. Pennington, you have a lovely home.”

“Thank you,
Shannon.” Julia tried to smile, but her smile vanished with Shannon’s next statement.

“After dinner, I’ll have my honey give me a tour of the estate.”

Julia didn’t respond, just gave Shannon a blank stare.

“Mrs. Pennington, I’m sorry if I offended you earlier.”

Julia was not in the mood for games and said as much. “Shannon, don’t play with words. Just say you’re sorry for lying about giving the impression that you are in a relationship with Brian.”

Shannon
suddenly realized she was not going to pull the wool over Julia’s eyes with her innocent act. She thought she’d try the straightforward approach. “You’re right. I’m not in a relationship with Brian, but I would like to be. I think Brian is a very loving and sensitive person.”

“That’s very insightful, considering you’ve only known him a week.” Julia’s sarcasm was lost on
Shannon.

“I know a good man when I see one. I
—”

Julia cut her off. “Or do you know a meal ticket when you see one?”

Before Shannon could respond, Reggie walked into the kitchen. “Is everything all right in here?” he asked nervously.

“Everything is just fine. Shannon and I have just reached an understanding on where we stand with each other.” Julia gave
Shannon a half-smile and left the kitchen.

Wow!”
Shannon gasped twenty minutes later when she walked into the formal dining room. While Reggie said grace, she scanned the room and admired the elegant setting. By her estimation, the mahogany dinner table that seated twenty people easily and the matching buffet server and cabinet must have cost at least one-hundred-thousand dollars. The beautiful tiered crystal chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling was the focal point of the room. It hung perfectly over the center of the table. At her family gatherings, she ate on paper plates, but she didn’t see a piece of paper anywhere. The dinner plates and flatware that rested on the ivory scalloped-edged lace tablecloth were lined with fourteen-carat-gold trim.  So was the stemware. On the floor was the plushest carpet her feet ever felt. The ivory color gave the mahogany set a more regal look. “I would love to live here,” she almost said out loud.

Shannon
observed how the people around her interacted with each other, especially the married couples. Mike and Angie were very affectionate with each other. So were Tyrone and Nikki, holding hands while Reggie said grace. Even at the dinner table Reggie held his wife’s hand and kissed her on her face. 
I want that
, Shannon thought.  Shannon looked at Brian with renewed determination, but he was busy playing with Josiah. Just as Shannon was about to sit down next to Brian, he put Josiah’s highchair next to him. Marcus and Craig were unsuccessful with holding in their laughter when Shannon’s face fell. With her head held high, she sat in the seat next to Josiah.

Halfway through dinner,
Shannon decided to take a fishing expedition. Since Brian refused to tell her anything about Shay, she opted to see what she could learn from the family.

“Mrs. Pennington, where did you learn to cook like this? This food is delicious.” Truthfully,
Shannon really did enjoy Julia’s food.

“My mother taught all of her daughters how to cook,” Julia answered with forced politeness.

“That’s wonderful. I bet you can’t wait for a granddaughter, so you can pass your skills on to her.” Shannon smiled at Brian.

Julia didn’t respond to her last statement, instead hurriedly stuffed collard greens into her mouth.

Shannon continued, “Is this the first time Brian has brought one of his special friends home to meet the family?”

Brian dropped his fork. “
Shannon, mind your own business.”

The rest of the family all exchanged looks.

“Shannon, you’re the first female Brian has
brought
here,” Julia finally answered. 

Shannon
smirked at Brian. “I must be more special than that Shay girl.”

Shannon
, too caught up in the moment, didn’t notice the adults had stopped eating and were now staring at her.

“
Shannon, what do you know about Shay?” Angie asked calmly, almost friendly.

“I told you my relationship with Shay is none of your business,” Brian reminded
Shannon through clenched teeth.

“No, let her talk. I want to hear what she has to say,” Julia responded setting her fork down and placing her elbows on the table.

Shannon gave Brian what she thought was a triumphant smile, and then proceeded to sink to the bottom of the ocean. “I don’t know anything for sure because Brian won’t tell me much. He keeps her a secret like she’s some goddess or something. But my guess is that she wasn’t good enough for Brian. She certainly wasn’t on the same level as Brian and the rest of the family, that’s why you never met her.  She didn’t have the ability to appreciate his intellect, like I do. That’s why he’s with me.” Shannon smiled proudly.

“Shannon, you’ve just committed suicide,” Marcus said, shaking his head. The other men hurriedly stuffed their mouths, like they were pretending not to hear or see anything.  

“So,” Nikki began, “you don’t think this Shay person, as you call her, is good enough for Brian?”

“And you are?” Angie jumped in.

Shannon
couldn’t respond to their questions, because when Marcus made his comment, she remembered that he’d referred to Shay as his cousin at Dave and Buster’s.
Uh-oh
, she thought.

“Let me handle this,” Julia said to her sister and best friend. Reggie bowed his head in prayer.

“Shannon, you give yourself way too much credit. You’re not special at all and you’re not too bright either. LaShay Hampton is a very intelligent young woman, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Stanford and is now working on her Master’s at Harvard, so you see she and Brian are very much on the same level. The reason Brian has never brought Shay home to meet us is because this
is
her home and we are her family. You, on the other hand, are an unwanted guest and I would appreciate it if you would leave.”

The dining room was completely quiet. Even Josiah was still.

Shannon held her head down as Brian stood and waited for her to get up. Before she could leave the room, Julia stopped her. “Let me give you some free advice. Don’t ever talk bad about someone to his or her mother; you’ll lose every time.” Shannon’s confusion must have showed on her face, because Julia explained. “LaShay Hampton is my daughter.”

The entire ride back to her apartment, Brian didn’t say one word to
Shannon.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that Julia is her mother,”
Shannon pleaded.

“Get out of my car,
Shannon. I told you Shay was none of your business.”

“What about us?”

“Shannon, there is no us. Good-bye.”

She knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere with Brian at that moment, but tomorrow was another day. She had all night to figure out how to get back into Brian’s good graces. “Good night
, Brian,” she whispered and closed the door.

He drove off before she made it to the door of her apartment building, not caring if she was safe or not.

Shay gave herself one last look
-over before she answered the door. She took her time admiring her toned body in the full-length mirror, knowing the visitor wasn’t anyone but Jason and he would wait for her all night.  Since they’d shared dinner three weeks ago, they’d begun studying together and had gone to the movies a couple of times. Jason was easy to talk to and when she wanted company he was always available.  An attraction to Jason was still missing, which made him a safe replacement for Brian. She could enjoy his company without an emotional attachment. 

Shay missed Brian so much at times she would cry herself to sleep, aching to be near him. It wasn’t the sex that she craved.  She missed the friendship they’d shared since the day they met. Whenever something good happened in her life, Brian was always the first person she would call after her mother. He was always excited for her and encouraged her in everything. If she were down about something, he would do little things like cook her favorite meal or take her on a drive up the
California coastline just so she could take her mind off her problems. On a few occasions, she’d dialed his number to tell him about her progress in the program, but changed her mind on the first ring. It was better this way. If she were going to recover and move on with her life without Brian as the center, it was best to go cold turkey.

“I wished I’d realized how much I love you, before I messed everything up,” she mumbled to his graduation picture she kept on her nightstand while outlining his face with her fingertips. Jason buzzed again.  Shay set the picture of the man she loved down and went to open the door for his substitute.

“Hey, you. You look nice tonight,” Jason referred to her black pantsuit.

“Thank you
. Let me get my coat.” Shay turned away from him.

She grabbed her coat and reached for the doorknob, but Jason restrained her. “The movie doesn’t begin for ninety minutes. Can you and I talk for a moment?”

She shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the couch. “Sure,” she said as she sat down and crossed her legs.

Jason rubbed his hands together and unsteadily looked around the room, like he was afraid to say what was on his mind.

“What’s on your mind, Jason?”

Jason took a deep breath and exhaled into his cupped hands, like he was trying to warm them. “LaShay, we have been going out for three weeks now and I really enjoy your company. I would like to start a relationship with you.”

Shay mentally slapped herself for being foolish enough to encourage Jason’s interest in her. Sure she enjoyed his company, but in no way was she ready to have a relationship with him or anyone else. “Jason, I have to admit that I enjoy spending time with you, but I’m not ready for a serious relationship.” She hoped to sound empathetic, consoling even.

“Why not? Is it because I’m not the tall and dark type? I mean, we enjoy each other
’s company.”

Brutal honesty spilled from her lips. “Emotionally, I’m not ready to handle a relationship right now. And besides, Jason we are on two different paths. You’re going back to
Chicago in less than a year and I’m going back to California.  I don’t do well with close relationships, so long distance is completely out of the question.”

“So you’re worried about us separating after we graduate?”

Jason hadn’t understood what she’d said, so she tried a different approach. “Jason, if you and I were to have a relationship it wouldn’t be what you expect.”

Jason’s facial expression turned upward. “What do you mean?”

“For starters, I will not have sex until I’m married. Nor will there be any sexual “favors” or feeling me up.” He would back off now. Jason wasn’t ready for this type of commitment, so she thought.

Jason sat there as in thought for a moment. “I figured you were a virgin, by the way you interact with me and other males.”

Shay’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Never mind,” Jason waved his hands, “I’m up for the challenge, if you’ll give me a chance.”

I don’t believe this!
Shay wanted to scream. Why did Jason Alexander have to be the one noble man left in Massachusetts?

“Look
, Jason, I don’t think this is a good idea. I have old scars and I don’t want you paying for my past mistakes.” Thoughts of Brian returned. “It may turn out bad for you and I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jason held her hand. “I’m a twenty-seven
-year-old man; I can take care of myself.”

Shay’s hot gaze bore into Jason long and hard.
Maybe it won’t be too bad. He’ll probably lose interest in a couple of months anyway, Shay reasoned, tuning out the voice from deep within warning her of the big mistake she was about to make.

“Alright
, Jason, we’ll give it a try and see what happens,” she finally answered.

The wide jubilant grin on Jason’s face said she’d just made him the happiest man in the world. Even still, his quick lift and embrace caught her off guard. An attempt to relax in his arms proved futile. Jason didn’t feel like Brian. He didn’t smell like Brian. He didn’t hold her the way Brian had. She didn’t feel the security Brian
’s arms had always given her. To put it plainly, Jason wasn’t Brian.