Rituals for Love (9781476761893) (7 page)

“Davis had to get back to Brooklyn.”

“You're being
really
understanding, and I love you for it. In the future, I'll be more mindful that you may have plans that don't involve me.”

“When I gave you the key, I told you why. There are no parameters for its use. Now you can keep making a big deal out of nothing, but that's all I'm going to say about it.”

“Fine, I'm done.”

“What I do want to talk about is your offer to make something to eat. I'll take you up on that.”

I grabbed a couple of the beer bottles while Cain grabbed the bucket and we went to the kitchen. “What do you have a taste for tonight?”

“Anything you want to make.”

I looked in the fridge to see what was on hand. “How about a steak salad?”

“Perfect. I'm going up to take a shower. I'll be back in a few.”

I took out the vegetables for the salad and started the preparation. Cain patted me on the ass as he passed me by. I shook my head. He could say what he wanted, but I felt awkward. I saw the expression on Davis's face when I came in. It was a mix of surprise and the look kids got when their parents came home too early and interrupted a good time with friends. As a rule, I wasn't big on drop-bys. I preferred to announce my arrival. There had been a few times when I was in the area and decided to visit Cain without a call. However, I didn't have a key and had to ring the doorbell. That was the big difference. Lesson learned. He may not have minded; but I did. And since he didn't have a key to my house, I wouldn't take liberties that I had not yet granted. Which raised the question, was I obligated to give him a key now? I wasn't a fan of pop-ups. If I'm at home alone, I do alone-type things. Sing at
the top of my lungs, run around naked, talk shit on the phone with my girls, and a million other things I may not want someone to walk in on. Oh, I had definitely violated. If I were entertaining Bria and Milan, and Cain walked in unannounced, I would've been a little annoyed. I would drop it, since he said it was fine, though that was the last time I'd place either of us in that situation.

Cain entered the kitchen in a pair of jersey lounge pants and a tank as I was removing the rib eye from the grill pan. “This needs to rest a bit before I slice it. Do you want a glass of red wine?”

“I'll get it.” Cain poured the wine and handed me a glass. He gently tapped his against mine. “Smells good in here.”

I grabbed a couple of salad bowls and filled them with the chopped romaine, tomatoes, carrots, charred corn kernels, red onion and crumbled blue cheese. I sliced the steak and arranged it atop the salad, before drizzling it with an herb vinaigrette.

I carried the salads to the table and sat across from Cain. “Bon appétit.”

Cain took my hand in his. “Bless the food and the cook. Amen.”

“Amen.” I chuckled. “I always know how hungry you are by the length of your grace. Obviously, you're starving.”

He was already stabbing his fork through a piece of steak and romaine and lifting it to his mouth. “Uh-huh.”

We ate in silence for a moment while Cain devoured his dinner. “There's more on the counter.”

“I was about to go investigate.” He took his bowl and helped himself to another serving.

“When you come up for air, I want to talk about our plan for Genesis.”

“I can't help it if I love your cooking. Go ahead, you have my undivided attention.”

“I'm still in shock that you bought the building. What else have you done?”

“I'd like for us to visit my lawyer this week to file our paperwork to incorporate the business, get our tax ID number, and file for our licenses and permits. I want to put things in motion. Let me know if Wednesday morning will work for you. And next week, we have a meeting with the general contractor to discuss the space. We need to talk building codes, zoning, the layout, timeline and, most importantly, cost.”

“And you and I need to discuss financing. Are we looking for investors? Are we considering business loans?”

“Right now, none of the above. I'm putting up the financing.”

“Cain—”

“Hear me out. The great thing about our situation is that we both know what it takes to start a business. I'm blessed to be in a place where I have many profitable ventures and have done well for myself. We don't need to borrow or get any investors at this time. I own the building, but you and I will be equal partners in Genesis.”

“How can we be equal partners if I'm not providing any capital? I don't think it's a bad idea to get investors.”

“I'm not against investors. I have investors for a few of my ventures. However, we don't need them right now.”

“I have savings I can invest.”

“I wouldn't recommend or feel comfortable with you diving in to your savings. Babe, let's not make this about money. We wanted to start a business together and we're doing that. It's going to take hard work on both of our parts to make it successful. My having the resources to launch this company doesn't diminish the fact that it's
our
company.”

I knew that Cain and I were in two entirely different tax brackets,
but this felt foreign to me. When Bria and I launched Rituals, we had financing, invested our own money, and our parents were investors. It didn't feel right that I wouldn't be contributing financially to Genesis. I didn't feel right having him bear all of the financial risk. I was used to working hard for the things I wanted. At that moment, I sort of felt that everything was being handed to me. I wanted our partnership to be balanced.

“Okay, let's meet with the lawyer on Wednesday. And let me give some thought to what you said about financing.”

Cain nodded. “I'm looking forward to working with you, partner.”

I smiled. “You better be.” I ate the last bite of my salad. “I'm going to wash the dishes and then head home.”

“You're not staying?”

“I was here all weekend.”

“What's one more night? Besides, you're already here.”

“Not tonight, babe.”

“All right, but leave the dishes. I'll take care of them.”

“You don't have to tell me twice.”

Cain walked me out to my car. “Thank you for dinner.”

“You're welcome. I'll call you when I get home.”

We kissed goodnight and I got in my car to leave. I rolled down the window and blew him a kiss.

“Love you,” he mouthed, as I backed out the driveway.

As I cruised to the parkway, I spoke out loud to my hands-free, voice-activated system. “Call Omar.”

The phone rang four times. I reached to disconnect the call. “Well, hello.” His voice filled the car.

“Hey, Omar, how are you?”

“How are you is the question. It's been a while.”

“I'm good.”

“To what do I owe this call?”

“I wanted to invite you to dinner at Rituals. I need some financial investment advice and would love to pick your brain.”

“I'm there. Just tell me when.”

“Tomorrow night at eight?”

“I'll see you then.”

I
waited as my pop took his swing. Not bad for a senior citizen. He had been my golf partner for years. I had taken Jade a few times, but she wasn't into it. My pop and I could spend all day on a course. My brothers didn't play, so these were moments that I got to share with Pop all alone. We were on the seventh hole. We'd take a break after the ninth for lunch and then resume our play. I enjoyed these times with my father. He was my best friend. After my mother passed, when I was sixteen, we hit a rough patch, but once I got my head on straight we were closer than ever. I learned how to be a man from him. A good man. Hopefully one day, a great man.

“Thanks for coming to play on such short notice, Pop. I wasn't in the mood to sit in an office today.”

“I'm retired. I didn't have any plans for today.”

We carried our bags to where Pop's ball had landed so he could take his next shot. Running five miles a day kept him in shape. Playing a round of golf every once in a while gave me an opportunity to keep my eye on him, to make sure he was doing okay, and determine whether he appeared to be in good health. And, right then, he was putting a hurting on me. He sank his shot.

“Are you paying attention?” he asked.

“Yes, I saw.”

“And what did you learn?”

“That you're a good golfer.”

“You're never too old to be schooled.”

I laughed. “Got it.” My pop could trash talk with the best of them. I let him have his moment. If it were me leading, I would do the same.

We walked to the next hole with Pop puffing out his chest. “How's my girl, Jade?”

“She's great, Pop.”

“You've been together a while now.”

“A year.”

“And?”

“And what, Pop?”

“Are you going to marry her?”

“What's with the questions?”

“I'm just asking.”

“I see,” I said with a laugh.

“You know I'm not getting any younger. None of my sons have settled down yet. It would be nice to have some grandkids.”

“So you want me to get married just to give you grandkids?”

“No, I want to leave this earth knowing that you're happy with a family of your own.”

“You plan on going somewhere soon?”

“Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, Cain.”

“I know that.”

“You love her, don't you?”

“Yeah, I love her.”

My dad put his arm around my shoulder. “I knew I wanted to marry your mother the moment I met her.”

“That was a different time.”

“Maybe it was, but love is the same. I saw it in her eyes, in her
smile, heard it in the tone of her voice when she said my name. She had me hooked from the very beginning.”

We treaded across the grass, slowly, taking our time to get to the eighth hole. “I feel that way about Jade.”

“I don't need you to tell me. I can see it.”

“What did you think when I canceled the annual barbecue this year?”

“I was surprised. I look forward to spending time with the young people every once in a while.”

“But did you think I canceled because I was in a relationship?”

“Why on earth would I think something like that?”

“I don't know. Just something my boy said to me.”

“Well, did you?”

“No, Pop, I didn't.”

I told my pop about my conversation with Davis. I explained that he felt my relationship had changed me.

“That's what relationships do. You're not going to be in the same place for the rest of your life. People mature and grow. Unfortunately, that's a problem for a lot of young men. They want to stay single and live their lives like bachelors. But when you find a woman that's worthy of more, you have to give it to her. You can't spend all your time running the street with the same knuckleheads.”

“Running the streets, Pop?”

“You know what I mean. Hanging with the brothers all the time, while the sisters are at home waiting on you. Change is good, son. Especially when there's a good woman behind it. Davis needs to find himself a woman. He'll have less time to worry about you and yours.”

“Why didn't you ever get remarried, Pop?”

“It's complicated. I was devastated when I lost your mother.”
He hung his head, removed his cap and then replaced it. “When your mother died, I didn't know how I was going to make it without her. I had you three boys to raise and be strong for when all I wanted to do was be alone somewhere. But when you're a parent, you don't have that option. I couldn't run away. I had to put you and your brothers first and make sure that you were all right.”

“You definitely straightened me out when I was cutting school and staying out late.”

“That's exactly right. When you're raising a young black male that can easily fall into the wrong way of life…those kids come first regardless of what you're going through. So I focused on raising you kids and coping with the absence of your mother. I wasn't interested in any woman taking her place. You know it took me a long time to even look at another woman. It was about five years before I even went on a date. After all these years, none of the women I date compare.”

“Pop, you mean to tell me that you haven't met a nice lady that you could see spending the rest of your years with?”

“No, and that's why I'm telling you that if Jade means to you what I think she does, then you better marry that girl.”

“And we've come full circle.”

My pop playfully punched me in the arm. “I told you you're never too old to get schooled. Don't pay attention to Davis and his nonsense. If you have changed, it's for the best.”

“All right, old man, stand back.” I took a swing at the ball. It soared, falling a few feet from the hole. If I continued to follow my pop's example, I'd only get better.

W
hen Omar entered Rituals, I was standing at the hostess station to greet him. Deep dimples came along with the smile he flashed at me. I walked around the desk to hug him—he bent down and I went up on tiptoe.

“Still gorgeous,” he said, as he pulled away from me. “Looking good and smelling nice…”

“Oh, stop it.”

“I'll try, but you don't make it easy.”

“Behave, Omar.”

He put a hand to his heart and slightly bowed. I supposed that meant he would try. I led Omar to a booth in the corner. More than one head turned when we passed through the dining room. It was understandable; he was a handsome brother.

Once we got settled, Omar started grinning at me again. “Every time I come here I'm more impressed with you.”

“It's not just me.”