Tell Me You Love Me (10 page)

One Sunday every month, the Calhouns got together for a family dinner. Tyanna and her sisters gathered at their parents’ place in Fort Lauderdale. It wasn’t the home they’d grown up in, but rather a place that spoke of the success her parents had achieved over the years. Located in a gated community off ritzy Las Olas Boulevard, this new house boasted six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an impressive backyard that bordered one of Fort Lauderdale’s many canals. There was also a dock for a boat.

On these family occasions, her mother cooked, and if the weather was good, her father barbecued. Tyanna, Lecia and Charlene always brought side items like potato salad and collard greens and sweet-potato pie.

After meeting Wendy at the gym to rehearse their workout routine, Tyanna had gone by the grocery store and picked up containers of coleslaw and potato salad, as well as some wine.
Before each of these Sunday dinners, she told herself, she’d cook something. But when the time came, she either overcooked the potatoes or just couldn’t be bothered. Lately, she just couldn’t be bothered. And why stress herself when she could simply pay for it?

She was the first to admit that she knew she’d never win any
Good Housekeeping
prizes. Oh, well.

Tyanna arrived at the community’s security gate. She knew George, the security guard who worked there—had known him for a few years now—but he could never simply let her through. Policy required that he always call her parents to get approval to give her entrance to the community.

She rolled down her window as George stuck his head out of the booth. “Hey, George.’’

“How are you today, Tyanna?’’

“Hungry.” She smiled. “That’s why I’m here.’’

He returned the smile. “Give me a second to call your parents.’’

Tyanna watched him slip back into the booth and pick up the phone. He chatted briefly, then hung up. A moment later, he stuck his head out through the booth’s window again. “Okay, Tyanna. Go ahead.’’

Tyanna edged her car forward as George opened the gate. She drove through the neighborhood, admiring the lushness of the various estates.

Minutes later, Tyanna arrived at her parents’ sprawling house and pulled into the semicircular driveway. She parked her Acura behind Lecia’s BMW. In front of Lecia’s car was Charlene’s Jeep.

Yep, the gang was all here. Again, she was the last one to arrive.

Oh, well.

Once out of her car, she retrieved the items she’d bought from the backseat, then made her way to the front door.

Like she always did, she tried the door first. It opened, and she walked inside.

Laughter filled the air. It sounded as though her family was in the dinette off the kitchen. She headed in that direction.

Seeing her mother, Tyanna smiled. “Hi, Mommy.” Even though she was an adult, Tyanna still addressed her parents the way she had as a child.

“Hi, baby,” her mother said, walking toward her and wrapping her in a hug.

“Hi, Lecia.’’

“Hey, Sis.’’

“Where’s Charlene?” Tyanna asked.

“In the backyard with Michelle and your father.’’

Tyanna nodded. She began to place the items she’d brought on the table, but her mother said, “Bring the food on out to the back. Your father is barbecuing.”

“Mmm. Smells like his famous ribs.’’

“Of course.’’

Lecia slid open the screen door so Tyanna could pass. Tyanna stepped onto the back patio.

“Hi, Daddy,” she called. She placed the potato salad, coleslaw and wine on the large glass table. With her hands free, she gave her father a hug and a kiss.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Smells delicious, Daddy. I can’t wait to taste one.” Tyanna turned around. She headed toward Charlene, who was carrying Michelle around the perimeter of the pool.

“Hi, Charlene.”

Charlene smiled and wiggled her fingers at Tyanna, her other hand wrapped around her daughter’s back. Tyanna saw that Michelle was sleeping.

“Shh,” Charlene said. “I just got her down.’’

Tyanna gently ran a palm over Michelle’s hair. “She’s such a little angel.’’

“She wasn’t a while ago.” Charlene scowled playfully. “She was fussing a lot. I’m gonna bring her inside.’’

Tyanna couldn’t help beaming at her niece as Charlene walked away with her. It was amazing how much Michelle was looking like her father more and more each day. As sad as it was, Michelle was helping to keep David’s memory alive. What a tragedy that he hadn’t lived to see his beautiful daughter’s face.

As Charlene disappeared into the house, Tyanna’s mother and Lecia came outside. Tyanna met them at the table, which was set up beneath a large awning.

“What do you need me to do?” Tyanna asked.

“Lecia is setting the table,” her mother said. “Why don’t you bring out the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge, as well as some glasses.’’

“Sure.” Tyanna made two trips to the kitchen to retrieve both lemonade and glasses.

“Oh, Mommy,” Tyanna said. “Remember that business proposal I told you Wendy and I had come up with?’’

“The fitness video.’’

“Yes. Well, we heard back from Ronnie Vaughn’s office, and he’s interested in getting a demo tape from us.’’

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” her mother said.

“That’s really great news,” Lecia added.

“Thanks. I have a big favor to ask you and Daddy. Wendy and I are trying to get it together fairly quickly, and we were hoping we could use the house next Sunday for the video shoot.’’

“You know I’ll do whatever I can to help. I’m sure your father won’t mind. Right, Byron?’’

Tyanna’s father was approaching the table with a platter of ribs. “The backyard?”

“Mmm hmm,” Tyanna replied. “It’s pretty. We’ll have privacy.’’

Byron nodded. “Sure.’’

“What’s the event?” Charlene asked, stepping outside. She carried a tray of fried chicken.

“Wendy and I have the go-ahead to send Ronnie Vaughn a demo tape.’’

“Ooh, that’s fabulous.”

“Yeah. And we want to shoot the demo tape here, next week.” Tyanna turned back to her father. “I don’t anticipate we’ll take more than a few hours. And there’ll probably only be a handful of people here.’’

“Whatever you need,” Byron said.

“Thanks, Daddy.” Tyanna wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.

“No problem,” he replied. “Besides, you know that if your mother says yes, I can’t say no. Isn’t that right, Roberta?’’

She flashed him a saucy smile.

“All my girls like to gang up on me.’’

“That’s because we’re always right.” Lecia grinned at him.

“You see what I mean?” He shook his head.

Lecia giggled, then kissed her father on the cheek. “Oh, you know we love you. And we especially love your ribs.’’

“Exactly,” Charlene chimed in. She was already sitting at the table. “Can we eat already?’’

There was a chorus of agreement as the rest of the family settled at the table. Tyanna volunteered to say grace, then everyone dug in.

“Anyway,” Lecia said. “I’ve been ignoring his calls. I don’t understand the man. One minute, he wasn’t paying me any attention, now he can’t stop calling.’’

Charlene chuckled. “Isn’t that the way it always is? Just when you’re no longer interested…”

“I thought Martin was a very nice man,” Roberta said.

“I’m not saying he isn’t nice. He’s just not my type. I’m not sure I’m ready to be dating, anyway,” Lecia added.

Roberta looked at her with sympathy. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t let what happened with Alan turn you off to dating. We were all wrong about him, but there are other nice men out there. Other dedicated doctors—’’

“I’m not sure I want another doctor in my life.’’

“Your father and I have been very happy.’’

“I know,” Lecia said. “But as it is, I work so many hours….” She shrugged.

“This is your last year of residency,” Byron said. “You’ll get through it.’’

Lecia had no doubt she would get through it. The question was whether or not she wanted to. She had gone into the medical field because her parents had encouraged her to do so. Strongly encouraged. She had done everything they thought was best for her, including marrying Alan. But there was something missing in her life. In her heart, she didn’t believe medicine was her passion, no matter how good she was at it.

“I know,” she said. “I’m just not sure it’s the best thing to be paired up with a man in the same boat as I am. When I think about having a family…two people who work so many hours…”

“We managed,” Roberta said. “You will too.’’

Tyanna watched the expression on Lecia’s face and wondered if something was going on that the family didn’t know about. She got the feeling that Lecia was unhappy about something, but she hadn’t talked to her about it.

Was she no longer interested in becoming a doctor? Tyanna wouldn’t be surprised. Growing up, Lecia had always been creative. She liked to paint, to write stories. So when she’d gone to medical school, no one had been more shocked than Tyanna.

But Lecia was the oldest, and Tyanna knew she’d felt the most pressure from her parents to succeed. Charlene was a respected teacher, yet their parents still felt she’d fallen short of her potential.

Tyanna knew that she herself had totally failed in their eyes. “You’re not doing anything with your degree,” her father used to complain. Tyanna had learned how to block out the criticism. The way she saw it, she had one life to live, and she may as well do what she liked.

“What about you, Charlene?” Roberta asked. “Did you get a chance to go on a date with Theo?’’

Charlene shook her head. “Not yet. And quite
frankly, I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I’m happy with my family as it is—just me and Michelle. But I thank you for introducing me to him.’’

Roberta sipped her wine, then nodded her understanding. “Of course. You’re still grieving.”

Tyanna grabbed a napkin and wiped barbecue sauce from her fingers. It was then that she noticed the table had gotten quiet. Slowly looking up, she found everyone looking at her.

“What?” she asked.

“What about you, sweetheart?” her mother asked. “Have you met anyone nice?’’

“Oh. No.” Tyanna quickly looked away, once again concentrating on cleaning her fingers.

“You don’t seem so sure,” Roberta said.

“I’m sure.’’

“So something else is going on?” Roberta raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “You seem…preoccupied.”

Tyanna had not planned to tell her parents about Sheldon’s return, but now she found herself wondering what the big deal was. It’s not like she and Sheldon were involved again. She had nothing to hide.

“Actually,” Tyanna began slowly, “there is something I haven’t told you. And the only reason is because I know how you all will react.” She took a deep breath, then announced, “Sheldon’s back in town.’’

Everyone stopped eating and looked at her.

“I knew you would react this way, all sur
prised. Concerned. But there’s really no reason to be.’’

“You’ve seen him?” her mother asked.

Tyanna paused before saying, “Yes.’’

“Oh, no,” Lecia said.

“I’ve seen him, but…that’s all. He showed up at the gym and we talked.” They didn’t have to know he had been in her apartment.

“Why?” Charlene asked.

“He wanted me to know he was okay.’’

Her mother guffawed. “Oh, wasn’t that sweet of him.’’

“He…” Tyanna wondered how much of the story she should tell her family. “He told me some stuff. The reason he left me so suddenly. It’s a long, convoluted story, but apparently his brother was murdered and he was trying to catch the killer. That got him into trouble, and he had to get out of town. That’s why he took off the way he did.’’

Her father finally spoke. “That’s what he told you?’’

“In a lot more detail, yes.’’

“And you believed him?” Lecia asked.

Tyanna faced her. “Not right away. I did some investigating, and I learned that what he’d told me was true. Believe me, I was as shocked as anyone.’’

“So what does this mean?” Her mother gave her a pointed look. “You’re not planning to get back together with him, are you?’’

“Oh, no.” Tyanna chuckled lightheartedly to
put their minds at ease. “But we’ll talk from time to time, I’m sure. I guess I just wanted to let you know.’’

The family was silent as they continued to eat, and Tyanna sensed their worried glances even though she kept her gaze steady on her plate. Sometimes she hated being the youngest one in the family. Everyone seemed to forget that she was no longer a baby—hadn’t been for a long time. She could take care of herself.

And she resented the fact that they seemed to think she wasn’t capable of making her own decisions. If she wanted to see Sheldon, that was her business.

“By the way,” her mother began, as if on cue, “I met the nicest resident last week. He’s very well-mannered, Tyanna. And very cute. I might invite him over for dinner one of these days.’’

Brother
, Tyanna thought. “I don’t think I’m well suited for a doctor.’’

“You never know.’’

Tyanna gave her mother a weak smile. She knew her mother had long given up on her getting a respectable career. The best she could hope now was to marry her off to a respectable man.

“I’ll agree that life is unpredictable,” Tyanna said.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Charlene agreed.

Once again, everyone fell into silence. The silence hung over them as they finished their dinner.

An hour later, Tyanna simply wanted to leave.

Maybe it was the fact that her family had continued to look at her with concern and ask questions about Sheldon, or maybe it was her rebellious streak. She knew she had one, and when challenged, she almost always did the opposite of what was expected. And right now, knowing that her family wouldn’t want her to see Sheldon suddenly had her wanting to see him.

Not only that, but during the rest of dinner, there had been comments here and there aimed at Sheldon. Nothing explicitly demeaning, but that was the sense Tyanna got. The talk had ventured to people who didn’t have a degree in this day and age, and while her father hadn’t specifically mentioned Sheldon, Tyanna knew he was talking about him. It peeved her to have her family continue to talk down about him in that way, proving that they had never liked him to begin with. She took the criticism personally. They were giving her no credit for being able to choose a decent man to spend her life with.