Ladies Listen Up (13 page)

“So the only question is, what are we going to call the column?” she said, sounding really giddy.

I paused for a quick second, and as the whole idea of me doing this set in, it came to me just like that.

G
irl Talk
magazine sent me a confirmation e-mail that they were going to put me up in the Omni Berkshire Place in midtown. I had no idea where it was exactly, but it sounded really nice. When I at looked the pictures of the hotel on the Internet, I was impressed; when I saw what they charged for a room, I almost shit my pants. One night was almost four hundred dollars, which was close to half the monthly mortgage on my duplex.

I sat at my desk looking at the e-mail over and over. There was no denying that my chest was poking out. I was finally the
somebody
I’d longed to be. This huge magazine was actually giving me a column and paying for me to come to the Big Apple. It wasn’t like I didn’t feel rewarded teaching the little ones, or special because of my ability to reach them. But to be honest, I felt ordinary most of the time in that classroom, no matter how many kudos I received from my colleagues and parents.

My eyes kept going over the screen until finally I was convinced
that I was indeed headed for New York City to sign a contract and iron out the particulars of my column. I didn’t even realize that I was smiling at the screen like a maniac until I looked up to see Lanelle almost at my desk. “I hope that’s not porn,” she joked.

“Hey,” I said. “Nope, not this time.”

“Hey to you.” She was wearing a grin that showcased her dimples. I noticed the deep bronze lipstick framing her smile. “Listen, I wanted to ask you a question about this huge test that we have to give in two weeks. I got a bulletin about a workshop that they are giving. I was wondering if you think I should enroll so that I’ll know what I’m doing.”

“Nah, don’t waste your time. I’ll walk you through it. It’s just some more of the residuals of Bush’s No Child Left Behind bullshit. Too much testing, not enough teaching.”

“Oh, so I see you have an opinion on it.”

“Hell yeah. You’ll see. Once you’re in here…in the trenches long enough, you’ll get pissed at some of the policies the boards and the bureaucrats hand down. They want big-budget results on no-budget investments. Not a one of ’em could last two days with most of the kids. Being asked to do the shit they think is so easy.”

“I hear you.”

“But enough of that. I’m in a good mood. I’m headed to New York City. I got something really big brewing.”

“Hmm, sounds nice. I love New York.”

“Really, you should come along. I leave on Sunday, be back Monday.”

Her face showed surprise either at my invitation or at my nerve for inviting her. But I was on a roll, so I figured what the heck. “If I should go, where would I be staying?”

“At the Omni Berkshire Place.”

“And where would
you
be staying?”

“The same.”

“The same hotel, or the same room?”

I laughed. “I could request a double—or a cot.”

She frowned. “I don’t think so. Nice try, but usually a guy asks me out on a date first before he tries to get me in a hotel room.”

I paused for a moment and realized that she just might be interested. I hadn’t even worked my way up to prying into her business, but her response made it obvious to me that she didn’t have a man, or one that she was serious about.

Even though my life had been hectic enough lately without romance, there were quite a few things about her that made me want to at least get to know her better. She was smart, definitely attractive, and ambitious. Not to mention the walk. The more I saw it, the more I loved it. She was slightly bowlegged but still managed to walk gracefully in her heels.

I couldn’t say for sure at this point, but she seemed to have some decent morals. I would have loved to show her around New York, though I didn’t know one street from the next. Something about the whole notion of wandering around the greatest city in the world seemed romantic and I could have laughed at myself for even thinking about it in that kind of way, mainly because I’d always been romantically deficient.

One thing was for sure: I didn’t have the funds to spring for another room, so I came with “Well, I’ll tell you what, Ms. Harris. As soon I get back, how about we hang out and have a drink or get a bite to eat?”

“I
hang
out with my homegirls. Is that what you want to do,
hang
out?”

Though she’d made what I’m sure she considered a stand, my grin showed nothing but confidence, because if she cared enough to even try, I had her already. “Let me correct myself and be a little more clear. How about I take you out on a date?”

“Well, I normally don’t go out with anyone I work with. However, since this is a temporary assignment for me, I’ll give it some thought. When you come back from New York, I’ll give you my answer.”

Playing hard to get almost pissed me off. “Fair enough.” I laughed at her. “You let me know.”

Jacob sat nervously
in the rear of the coffee shop. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was almost seven-fifteen. She was late and he took it as a sign that he should go. He grabbed the cup of cocoa from the table and took what would be his last sip. He stood up, put his Norfolk State baseball cap on, and prepared to head out the door. As if fate was intervening, up to the front door walked a fine sistah, dressed in a purple-and-black, skintight Puma workout suit. She also sported a light jogging jacket that barely covered a third of an award-winning ass, which caught Jacob’s eye. He scanned her up and down quickly before he realized the woman he was looking at he already knew well.

As they were about to pass each other she smiled. “Jacob, what’s happening?” It was Alicia.

“Hey, Alicia. How you doin’?”

“I’m good. Just about to head to the gym.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you worked out.”

“Jacob, come on now. I’m fast approaching the big three-oh. If the years don’t get me, gravity will. I gots to keep it tight.”

Jacob nodded.
Some kickboxing lessons might be good as well,
he thought as he remembered her getting slapped on her wedding day. “I feel you.”

“So what are you doing out this way?” she asked.

“Just stopped in for a quick drink of…and I had to meet someone, but…” At that very second he saw Elise heading toward the entrance. “But it was nice seeing you. I gotta run…tell everyone I said hello…” Then, almost midsentence, he bolted in Elise’s direction.

“Oh…kay, Jacob. It was nice seeing you,” Alicia said, and then watched intently as he ushered what looked to be an extremely young girl out the door before she could make it in.

“Change in plans,
you have a car, right?”

Elise was thrown off by the way Jacob was acting. “Yeah, why?”

“Just follow me,” he said as he headed for his car.

He pulled off and she began to follow him in her gold Pontiac. He headed down Route 1, wondering were he was going, then down Greenbelt Road. He pulled into the parking lot of a Bennigan’s, but panicked when he saw what looked like a familiar family walking across the parking lot. He needed someplace discreet.

He looked back and Elise was on his tail as he’d instructed. He thought about the library in Old Greenbelt, but reasoned it was too public. Kids from his school might show up there. Five minutes
later, he had found a secluded location. They needed to talk and he couldn’t take any chances on being seen.

He hit the button on his garage-door opener and signaled for Elise to drive by him and pull her car inside. As she pulled past him she smiled and his heart skipped a beat.

What the hell am I doing?
he asked himself as he parked in front of his garage. He sat in the car for a moment thinking about what could possibly come of the situation. Still, he wanted to hear what she had to say, especially if she had some information that could change his whole life.

He climbed out of his car and looked around before he slipped into the garage. Once the garage door went down, he opened Elise’s door for her. “Thanks, such a gentleman,” she said, trying to cut the tension that they both felt building.

“C’mon.” Jacob led her in through the garage door then to the small rec room behind the garage. There was thick beige carpet and a butterscotch-colored couch and chair in the room. When Jacob offered Elise a seat on the couch, she sank into it and couldn’t help but let out a telling “Ahhhhhhh.”

“Comfy, right?” Jacob asked.

“Oh my gawwd, it feels so soft. I love it. Your place is really nice. Who painted?”

“I did. Actually, a friend of mine helped out, but I didn’t hire anyone.” Jacob’s walls were all toffee-colored except for one wall, which was done in bronze suede paint. “It was time-consuming, but I like it.”

“Yeah, it’s really nice. I did something similar in my place. I didn’t have anyone to help, though.” She smiled yet sounded as if he should have pitied her.

“Your place?”

“Yeah, Mr. Marsh, I have my own place. That’s one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about. I just didn’t have anyone else that I could come to.”

Jacob took a seat at the opposite end of the couch and looked into Elise’s eyes. “Listen, I want to say something…” He paused.

“It’s okay, Mr. Marsh…”

“What’s okay?” He had no idea what she was talking about.

An understanding look appeared on her face. “Mr. Marsh, I know you want me. It’s okay. It’s normal.”

“Say what?” Jacob’s heart began to beat faster. Had it been that obvious? Even if it had become obvious, he would have never reacted or told a soul. But now here this young lady was in his house, laying it all out on the table.

“I may be young, but I’ve seen a lot in my years. You’re a man. I’m a woman. I can feel it and I’m not offended by it and I don’t think you’re a pervert. Without even talking to you, I’ve felt a certain energy between us. Maybe you just wanna fuck me. Then again, maybe you wish you could get to know me better. Maybe you lie awake some nights wishing that I was older or that we’d met under different circumstances.”

Jacob’s silence affirmed everything she said and he just shook his head and looked down. She reached for his hands. “Mr. Marsh, it’s okay. Seriously. But that’s not what I came to talk about. I’m not trying to complicate your life. Actually, I’m here to help you if I can.”

He looked back up. His voice was now shaken. “Help me?”

“Yeah, but you got to let me take it from the top.”

Jacob nodded and Elise leaned back. Then she asked, “Do you have anything to drink?”

“Yeah, I’ve got Sprite, apple juice, and maybe some iced tea.”

“Can I help myself?” she asked as she stood up.

Puzzled as to why she wanted to get it herself, he still said, “Sure.”

A few minutes later, she walked back down the steps with two wineglasses and a half bottle of Joel Gott Zinfandel. “I took a sip upstairs. It was delicious, so I hope you don’t mind. We’re both uptight and could use a sip. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Jacob was ready to laugh at himself now. “Sure, why not? I have a minor in my home; one of my students, no less. Of course I want to give her some Jesus juice like Michael Jackson. Next, I’ll break out the porno.”

She laughed. “That’s funny as hell. But don’t sleep. I might like that.”

Jacob couldn’t believe that he was actually laughing with this girl. There was something very womanly and mature about the way she carried herself. She didn’t seem like a little girl trying to play grown. Instead, her demeanor seemed natural, as if she’d navigated herself in many an adult situation before. He accepted the glass of wine that she’d poured for him. He wondered if she’d like it. It wasn’t your everyday bottle of wine.

“Nice,” she said, taking another sip.

“So, Elise. Let’s get down to it. Tell me what’s on your mind. From the beginning, as you say.” She was now fiddling with the remotes and in a matter of seconds she had his DirecTV on and tuned to the smooth R&B music channel. She took her seat and this time she kicked off her Indian tapestry boots. Jacob thought they were really cute on her. With her two braids, she had the whole Native American thing working overtime.

Anthony Hamilton was playing on the television. As she sipped
Elise began to sway her head back and forth to the beat. “All right, Mr. Marsh,” she said as she killed the first glass and reached for the bottle. “You remember I told you I was from Indy?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was in Indy, but that’s not where I’m from originally. I lived in Baltimore most of my life—until I was thirteen actually. That’s when my mom died of HIV. She was an intravenous drug user for years, but she did manage to get clean for the last four years of her life. She was good to me. She had a problem, but she did her best. I never knew my dad. When my mother passed, her sister sent for me. She lived in Indianapolis. At that point I had no choice but to go. I had begged her to let me stay with my best friend, Tiffany. Tiffany’s mom had okayed it, but my aunt insisted I come. When I got to Indy, I realized real quick why she wanted me out there so badly.”

Jacob was listening, already captivated by her tale. “Why was that?”

“She had three kids, all girls, and she needed a babysitter. From the day I got there, she tried to make me feel like she was doing me a favor, but one thing for sure, for all the things my mother did wrong, she didn’t raise no fool. I became a cook, a cleaner, and I practically raised those kids for three years. The one good thing that came out of it, I became the best hair braider in Indy. By the time I turned sixteen, I was making five hundred on a slow week.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, but how much of that do you think I got to keep? My aunt began hitting me up for money left and right. It got to the point that I would only do braids when she wasn’t home so that she couldn’t keep track of how much money I had.”

“So how did you wind up here?”

“Tiffany. She brought me back.”

“So you guys stayed in touch while you were gone.”

“Actually, we didn’t. Her mom got my aunt’s number and called me one day.” Elise’s eyes began to tear up. “She called me to tell me that she had been doing really well and that they’d moved from Baltimore down to PG County once her job transferred her to a new store. She managed a Victoria’s Secret store.” Jacob was silent as he watched tears begin to roll down her cheeks. “She had bought Tiffany a car for her sixteenth birthday. A month later, Tiffany was in an accident on the parkway. She died, driving back from Baltimore, after going to visit her boyfriend. She fell asleep.”