Games (12 page)

When he released her and softly brushed her lips with his, Shay had tears in her eyes. Jason must have assumed she was crying because of how much she cared for him. She did in a casual
-friend kind of way, but those tears washed her cheeks because for the first time she realized that Brian was the only man she would ever want to touch her.  She did more than give Brian her body; she had given him her heart. Crossing this bridge would be much harder than she had anticipated.

“Happy Thanksgiving
!” Brian was half-asleep, but when he heard Shay’s voice on the phone, he sat straight up.

“Shay, is that you?” he wanted to make sure he wasn’t dreaming about her like he’d been doing lately.

“Who else would it be?” Her soft voice sent feather-like touches down his muscular biceps.

Due to Brian’s wandering childhood, the holidays were very special to him. A time he cherished with
the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas Eve. Shay knew this and made every effort to make sure he enjoyed every holiday. Her voice was the first sound he heard every holiday, birthday and special event. 

Brian felt a tug at his heart. “My Shay, always looking out for me.”

“Brian, I’ll always look out for you. You’re special to me.”

“I thought you forgot about me. You know, threw me away like old clothes.”

“Why, because I didn’t come home for Thanksgiving?” she asked, “Is it because I’m talking to you through telephone wire and not there with you?”

“That and because of our last conversation. You know I’d rather hold you in my arms instead of this cold telephone.”

“I’d like that too,” she admitted.  “Brian, I’ll never throw you away.”

Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Why, Shay? Why won’t you throw me away?”

Her quivering voice was just above a whisper. “Because I gave you my heart. Don’t you know that?”

The declaration overwhelmed Brian to the point it took him a minute to align his thoughts and gain control of his voice. Shay took his silence for rejection. By the time he’d steadied his voice enough to speak, she had hung up. He attempted to call her back, but was greeted by her voicemail.

Brian stopped mid-stride when he recognized
Shannon standing next to his RAV4.  He had been avoiding her persistent telephone calls since she pulled that stunt at his parents’ house. Now there was no way he could avoid her.

“What do you want,
Shannon?”

“I need to talk to you,” she whined.

Brian unlocked the car and sat his laptop in the back passenger seat. “You and I have nothing to talk about.”

“Brian, I don’t think you’re being fair to me.”

Brian twisted his face incredulously. “Shannon, you disrespected me and my parents and not to mention Shay. Whom you don’t even know, and I’m not being fair?” Brian reached around her to open the driver’s side door. “Playing the victim won’t help your case.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Think about it, Brian, if you’d been forthright with me about Shay, I wouldn’t have had to draw my own conclusions.”

“I told you, what happens between Shay and me is none of your business.” Brian jumped into the car, closed the door and to his surprise, Shannon started crying.

“Brian, I’m sorry, I just wanted to know everything I could about you. I want to be a good friend to you.”

“
You
want to be a good friend to
me
? Shannon, you don’t even know me.” He started the engine.

B
etween sobs she answered, “I know I have only known you for a short period of time, but I know you’re special and if you give me a chance, you’ll see that we can be good together.”

“
Shannon, listen to me very closely. You and I will never be anything but friends—if that.”

“How do you know if you won’t give me a chance?” she sniffled.

His visual head-to-toe inspection confirmed his thoughts. While the skin-tight leggings and low cleavage would have been a turn-on to some, for Brian the outfit was distasteful. “Shannon, I just know.”

High-pitched
sobbing erupted. “You don’t think I’m good enough for you! Why?”

He handed her a tissue from his glove box. “
Shannon, that’s not what I said.”

She blew her nose loudly. “Th
en why won’t you give me a chance?”

Brian wasn’t used to women crying in front of him and wanted her to stop.

Neither did he want her to get the wrong impression of him. He knew firsthand what it felt like to have people look down on you, because of economic status and living environment.

“
Shannon, I can’t have a serious relationship with you, because you’re not a Christian,” then added hesitatingly, “and because I’m in love with someone else.”

Shannon
wrapped up the crying routine. She had all the information she needed.

“I see, so you are in love with Shay. Well, maybe you can help me become a Christian. I can start going to service with you on Sundays. I promise I’ll dress like a respectable lady,” she
stated hopefully.

“
Shannon, you can become as devout as Mother Theresa, but you still won’t win my heart.”

Shannon
was fast on her feet, like rejection was nothing new to her. “No, I won’t, but at least I’ll have your friendship and respect.”

Brian shifted the gear into reverse. “Whatever,
Shannon.”

Before he completely pulled out of his parking stall, she called after him. “What time shall I be ready on Sunday?”

“Ten o’clock,” he yelled back.

Shannon
had a wide smile on her face on her way back to the admissions office. Everything was going to be just fine.  She could fake the church thing long enough to get Brian into her. By her calculations she had until the summer to help him get over his infatuation with Shay. All spring she’d break him down until his sweet Shay was nothing but a distant memory.

With just two weeks left before Christmas, Alysse flew in from
Arizona to visit Brian. Alysse hadn’t planned the trip, but her last few conversations with Brian had left her with a bad feeling. Brian sounded lonely to her. She figured his disposition was due to Shay’s living in Massachusetts. After she arrived and observed that he’d lost more than a few pounds, Alysse knew the problem had to be deeper than mere loneliness. Her baby boy was in love and he missed his woman.

Alysse worked in the kitchen while Brian took a shower.  She’d gotten up early Saturday morning and went to the supermarket. She was on a mission:
If she had to cook nonstop, Brian was going to gain his weight back.

“Mrs. Green, you’ve got it smelling real good in here,” Todd said as he entered the kitchen.

“You look like you could use some home cooking too.” She looked up and down at his tall thin frame. “Don’t they teach you to eat in medical school?”

“Yes
. It’s just hard sometimes to find regular solid meals,” Todd answered.

“It must be hard in law school too, because Brian has dropped at least one waist size.”

Todd smirked. “Mrs. Green, I think Brian’s weight loss is due more to matters of the heart than his food intake.”  Todd gave Alysse a knowing look. “He hasn’t been the same since Shay left.”

“That’s what I figured. I can’t wait for her to come back.”

“Me neither,” Todd agreed. “His mood swings are becoming unbearable.”

“Smells good, Mom.” Brian kissed his mother and joined Todd at the table. “My mood swings aren’t that bad,” he said to his roommate.

“It’s about time you came out of hibernation,” Alysse scolded.

“It’s only ten o’clock, Mom.”

“Brian, I know you miss Shay, but if you don’t eat, there won’t be anything for her to hold on to when she comes back,” Alysse teased.

Brian’s chocolate cheeks burned. “Mom, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I’m your mother so don’t play with me. You know Shay loves holding onto your tall, dark, used-to-be thick self. I’ve seen the two of you together, feeding each other and holding hands like you’re scared you’re going to lose one another.”

Todd laughed, but Brian remained silent.

Alysse continued.  “And you know you like them hips and those long legs she has.”

“Alright, Mom, you win. You can stop now.” Brian conceded because hearing his mother describe Shay’s physical attributes made his mind go places it shouldn’t. Brian had made up his mind; he was not going to have sex again. Not until after he married. In his heart he prayed it would be with Shay, but this morning he couldn’t think about that.

Alysse—never the type of mother to allow her child to tell her what to do—continued to talk and pile food onto the platter at the same time. “I like Shay. She’s everything I want for you. She’s smart, clean and pretty. She can cook, but most importantly, she respects your mother. You don’t find that too often these days. Julia has done a good job with raising her.” She placed the huge platter of pancakes, sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs on the table next to the pitcher of orange juice. “I hope to take care of myself when I’m older, but just in case I need some help, it’s good to know that Shay has been raised to respect and care for her elders.” Alysse set a plate in front of Todd and Brian. “I’ve been watching the Simone family. All of them grandchildren treat the adults with the utmost respect, even the adult grandchildren. And they all address Mark and I as Mr. or Ms.”

Brian piled his plate. “I’m glad you like her. I like her too.”

Alysse smacked her lips. “Boy, there you go playing again. You’re in love with her, that’s why you can’t eat. You miss her.”

The doorbell chime spared Brian a response.

“Are you expecting company this morning?” Alysse asked, removing her apron.

“No, it’s probably someone trying to sell magazines or something.”

“You stay here and eat; I’ll take care of it.”

The persistent unexpected guest pressed the doorbell again before Alysse managed to open the door. “Can I help you?” she asked, holding the door open.

“I’m here to see Mr. Pennington.”

“I’m sorry, but he’s eating breakfast. Is there a message I can give him?”

“No, there isn’t a message you can give him, but you could run along and tell him Shannon is here to see him.”

Alysse gripped both hands on the heavy oak door and squeezed. As a rule she didn’t tolerate disrespect.

“Did I speak too fast for you? Let me try it again.” Shannon spoke to Alysse like she was a two-year-old child, “GO-TELL-MR. PENNINGTON-THAT-SHANNON-IS-HERE TO-SEE-HIM. Now!”

Alysse slapped her hands on her hip. “Little girl, I will hang you from that light pole by that bad hair weave of yours, if you don’t get out of my face!”

“Who do you think you’re talking to like that?” Shannon rolled her neck.

“The question is, who do
you
think you’re talking to?”

“The maid, the hired help,”
Shannon yelled.

Alysse stepped back. “Come back on Tuesday, that’s the day Brian puts the trash out.” With that she slammed the door in
Shannon’s face.

Alysse stormed into the kitchen. “Brian, who is
Shannon and why is she here to see you?”

Brian washed down the pancakes with a gulp of orange juice. “What are you talking about, Mama?”

“Some little skinny girl with a bad hair weave just mistook me for a maid.”

The doorbell chimed once again. Brian abruptly left the kitchen and went to the front door.

“Shannon, what are you doing here? How did you know where I live?” She moved her mouth to answer, but he tossed another question. “What did you say to my mother?”

Shannon
’s mouth fell open. “Your mother? Oh…Um.”

Alysse stepped in front of Brian and pointed her finger in
Shannon’s face. “Let me tell you something. I am not a close friend with Jesus, like Brian’s father is. Me and Jesus are just getting acquainted and I haven’t learned to turn the other cheek yet. If you ever disrespect me again, I promise you, Jesus will have to save your life.”

Shannon
didn’t say a word, just lowered her head.

“Do you understand?” Alysse yelled.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” Shannon’s voice was so low, Brian couldn’t tell if she’d responded or not.

“Did you hear what my mother said?”

This time Shannon nodded her answer.

“And why are you here?” Alysse demanded.

Brian didn’t say a word; he knew not to interrupt Alysse when she was angry.

“I’m here to see Brian,”
Shannon’s voice quivered.

Alysse looked her up and down. “What do you need to see my son about? I can look at you and tell you’re not a classmate.”