Tommy Gabrini: The Grace Factor (16 page)

Grace pressed the
end call
button inside her Audi too, and
continued to drive home.
 
A part of her
questioned her decision.
 
After being
with a man like Ed, she would be a fool not to question every decision she
made.
 
But the greater part of her knew
she was making the right move.
 
It kind
of threw her for a loop when they slept together after all those years,
something that carried a heavy burden all its own, and he didn’t follow up to
make sure she was okay.
 
He didn’t even
phone to talk about it, or even to talk to her at all.
 
He phoned and talked with Destiny.
 
But that lack of care with her heart bothered
her.
 
What did it portend for their
future, should she decide to go down that road again with Tommy, if he was
already inattentive to her needs?

And for him to just call her on such
short notice, and then become abrupt when she wouldn’t drop her plans and go
out with him, bothered her too.
 
Did he
think she was desperate?
 
Did he think
jumping back into a relationship with him wasn’t a major deal for her too?
 
He was a catch, and she knew it.
 
No doubt about that.
 
But did that mean she wasn’t?

But then her phone rang again.
 
When she saw that it was her friend Shameika,
she smiled and quickly answered.

“Hey, Meek.”
 
Grace and Shameika met last year, at a
gathering of doctors’ wives, and they hit it off immediately.
 
They’d been fast friends ever since.
 
“What’s up?”

“What’s up with you?” Shameika
asked.
 
“It’s been a few days after the
funeral.
 
I wanted to make sure you were
still holding it together.”

Grace smiled.
 
“Thanks, friend.
 
But I’m good.”

“Who would have thought, when we met
at that doctors’ wives party a full year ago, that a year later neither one of
us would be a doctor’s wife?”

Grace laughed.
 
Shameika’s divorce was final a couple months
ago.
 
Grace helped her through the pain,
and she was there for Grace now.
 
“Shows
you how quickly things can change.”

“Yes,” Shameika said.
 
“In an instant.
 
So where are you?”

“Heading back to town.
 
Desi’s spending the weekend with my mother.”

“Oh, that’s good.
 
Want to do something tonight?”

“Do something?
 
Like what?”

“Like wherever.
 
You’re a free bitch now.
 
Let’s go where the free bitches go!”

Grace laughed.

“I’m just playing,” she said. “But
why don’t you get out of the house, Grace?
 
Some of us are thinking about getting together and going out on the town
tonight.
 
You come too.”

It had been a long time since Grace
went out on the town.
 
And maybe it would
be nice to just hang out with some of her girlfriends for a change, with no
pressure, with no wondering if a relationship was going to work out.
 
But that wasn’t what she wanted to do
tonight.
 
“Not tonight,” she said.
 
“But I may feel differently tomorrow.”

“Just want some
me
time tonight?”

“Something like that,” Grace said.

“I completely understand, girl.
 
I can be that way sometimes too.
 
But then I think about all those women Lester
cheated on me with, and how he hated that he had to give my longsuffering ass
alimony, and I have to get out.
 
I refuse
to be alone.
 
So I understand.
 
But if you change your mind, please do not
hesitate to call me.”

Grace smiled.
 
“I won’t.”

But just as Grace and Shameika were
saying their goodbyes, a call waiting appeared on her car’s screen.
 
When she saw that it was Tommy again, she
finished her call with her friend, and answered Tommy’s call.
 
Two calls from him in the span of
minutes?
 
She was impressed.

After Tommy ended his call with Grace
the first time, he started to go into the meeting and was going to forget about
their conversation.
 
But he couldn’t
forget it.
 
He found himself lingering at
the conference room door, with his hand on the knob without turning it.
 
He wondered why she wouldn’t change her plans
for him.
 
Had she changed her mind about
having a relationship?
 
They hadn’t
exactly decided anything yet.
 
But did
something change?
 
Did some other joker
lay a claim on her while he was
taking it
slow
?
 
It had been two weeks.
 
There were probably a ton of men who knew
what a catch Grace was, and taking it slow with her was the last thing on their
minds.
 
But the thought of another man
coming in and grabbing Grace before he had a chance to reach out his hand to
her, scared the shit out Tommy.
 
Could he
lose her again before he even had her?
 
He moved away from that conference door, and phoned Grace again.

“What kind of plans?” he asked as
soon as she answered the phone.

Grace felt as if she had missed
something.
 
“Excuse me?”

“You said you had plans tonight.
 
What kind of plans?”

It wasn’t exactly his business, and
Grace probably would have said so to any other man.
 
But Tommy was not nor ever would be any other
man.
 
“Plans,” she said.

“Do these plans involve a man?”
 
Tommy couldn’t believe he asked that
question, but he had to know.

Grace couldn’t believe it
either.
 
She frowned.
 
“A man?
 
No, Tommy, they do not involve a man.
 
Why would you ask that?”

“Whatever plans you have tonight,
cancel them.
 
I want to take you to
dinner.”

Grace was pleased that he at least
was willing to call a thing a thing now: he wanted to take her out.
 
And there was a time when she would not have
hesitated one iota.
 
She would have all
but thrown herself at Tommy.
 
Book and
champagne be damned!
 
But she had to take
the long view this time around.
 
If they
were going to make this work, it had to be on her terms too.
 
“I don’t want to cancel my plans,” she said
to him.
 
“I’m not free tonight.”

Tommy was surprised by her
response.
 
He fully expected her to
cancel her plans without question.
 
Especially since this was his second phone call to her!
 
But she stuck to her guns.
 
She had plans, and she was sticking to
them.
 
A part of him was pissed.
 
He really wanted to be with Grace tonight.
 
But another part of him respected her
response.
 
Because it put him on
notice.
 
Because it made him realize that
she was no longer that reliable Timex that took his licking and kept on
ticking.
 
She was a Rolex now.
 
To get her, he was going to have to work for
it.
 
To be with her was going to cost
him.
 
“What about tomorrow night?” he
asked.

Grace smiled.
 
Bingo!
 
“Tomorrow sounds good,” she said.

Tommy smiled.
 
It sounded good to him too.
 
“I’ll pick you up at eight.”

They said their goodbyes, and ended
the call.

But Grace’s joy was just
beginning.
 
Because she felt she handled
it right.
 
She handled it on her terms
too.
 
She felt she was handling her brand
new life, her brand new freedom as Shameika would call it, just about right.

But before Grace could get with
Tommy, she had to get rid of Shameika.
 
It was Saturday night.
 
They were
in Grace’s bedroom.
 
And Shameika wasn’t
feeling any outfit Grace tried on.

“Wait a minute,” Grace said as she
stopped applying her makeup and looked at Shameika through her dressing table
mirror.
 
“Why are you involving yourself
with which outfit I plan to wear?
 
Didn’t
you come over here to borrow a purse?”

“I have the purse,” Shameika
responded gleefully.
 
She was lying
across the bed with the expensive Gadino bag, a purse Tommy purchased for Grace
years ago, by her side.
 
“And don’t
worry, I’ll take superior care of it.
 
You’ll have it back tomorrow.
 
But
it matches my outfit perfectly.”

“I agree,” Grace said, and then
smiled.
 
“But that still does not explain
why you’re still here.”

“Don’t even front,” Shameika said,
smiling too.
 
“You know exactly why I’m
still here.
 
You still haven’t told me
who you’re going out with.
 
Who’s the
lucky guy, Grace?
 
I promise I won’t tell
a living soul.”

“Ha!” Grace said with emphasis, as
she continued to apply her makeup.
 
She
and Shameika both knew how preposterous such a promise actually was.

“I’m serious,” Shameika said.
 
“Just tell me who is he!”

Grace wasn’t thinking about
Meika.
 
She knew her too well.
 
If she was to tell her that her ex-husband
was going to be her date tonight word would spread around to their village of
friends faster than a wildfire.
 
And
Grace wouldn’t hear the last of it.

“Grace, come on,” Shameika said.
 
“I’m serious.”

“What you need to be serious about is
getting up out of here.
 
I’ve got to
finish getting dressed.”

“You should be glad I’m here,”
Shameika said, giving up on any hope of getting Grace to spill the beans.
 
“From the look of your selection of outfits,
you should be thanking your lucky stars that I decided to stick around.
 
Because you need help, girl.”

“I need help?” Grace asked.

“Yes!” Shameika responded.
 
“All of these grandma clothes!
 
I have a nice body, I know I have a very nice
body, but your body is slamming, Grace.
 
If I had a body like yours, I’d be wearing the shit out of clothes, you
hear me?”
 
Grace laughed.
 
“I would be throwing down!
 
But you dress like Mother Teresa or
somebody.
 
All prim and proper.
 
No skin showing anywhere.
 
Men like skin, honey!”

Grace glanced at Shameika through her
dressing table’s mirror.
 
Shameika was a
woman in her thirties, but since her divorce she’d been dressing as if she had
rediscovered her teenage years, with everything tight and pulled and
revealing.
 
Her taste and Grace’s taste
were worlds apart.
 
“I appreciate your
input,” she said, “but I think I can manage.”

“And why are you putting on makeup
before you put on your dress?”

“That should be obvious,” Grace said,
applying very sparse eyeliner.
 
“It’s a
pullup.”

“Oh, right.
 
You put on so little makeup anyway, it
probably wouldn’t have mattered either way.
 
And what do you mean it’s a pullup?
 
What’s a pullup?”

“The dress I’m wearing tonight,”
Grace said.
 
“All I have to do is pull it
up.”

But Shameika was confused.
 
“What dress?
 
You haven’t picked out an outfit yet.”

Grace smiled.
 
“Wanna bet?”

Shameika was surprised.
 
“Which one?
 
I haven’t given my stamp of approval on any of these so-called clothes
you’ve got lying on this bed.
 
Which one
are you going to wear?”

“Meek!” Grace said, knowing her
friend was stalling for time.

“Okay, okay,” Shameika said as she,
and the borrowed Gabino purse, got off the bed.
 
“Dress like a nun all you please.
 
But I’m telling you, if you expect to keep a man’s attention and not end
up alone, or if you do wrangle him, not end up in divorce court, you’d better
bring it.
 
Show some skin, Grace.
 
Men like skin!
 
I’ve had more dates since I divorced Lester
than I had since I was a teenager!”

Grace was doubtful of her
causation.
 
“And you think this renewed
attention is all because of how you dress?”

“For the most part, yes,” Shameika
responded.
 
“Why wouldn’t they want all
of this? They look at this cleavage, bam!
 
They look at this ass, bam!
 
They
look at this face, bam!
 
And I’m talking
young dudes too.
 
Oh, they love them some
Shameika.
 
I’m having the time of my
life, girl.”

Grace smiled.
 
Shameika had a very messy divorce.
 
She was glad to see her over it.
 
She stood up and gave her friend a hug.
 
“And I’m happy for you,” she said as the two
friends embraced.
 
“You deserve to enjoy
your life.”

Shameika smiled.
 
Most people didn’t get her.
 
They didn’t seem to understand her type of
energy at all.
 
But Grace did.
 
Grace never judged her.

And when they stopped embracing,
Shameika’s concern turned to her loyal friend.
 
“What about you, Grace?
 
Aren’t
you worried now that Ed’s gone?
 
It’s
going to be different, I can tell you that myself.
 
Especially financially.
 
I earn a good living, but Lester’s and my
income together made for a fantastic living.
 
I don’t have that anymore.
 
Especially when his alimony payments run out in a year.”

“It’s different, yes, but I’m fine,”
Grace said.

“I know you own Trammel, but that’s
never been a company that turns huge profits.
 
No trucking company in this economy does anymore.
 
But aren’t you going to need all of that extra
income Ed used to bring into this household?
 
Doctors make the big bucks.”

Not when they had a struggling
practice, they didn’t, Grace thought.
 
“I’m okay,” she said.

“You mean you’re okay because you get
Destiny’s child support?”

“I don’t even touch that money.
 
It goes straight into a trust fund for
Destiny.”

“A trust fund?” Shameika was
confused.
 
“Come on, Grace!
 
Tommy Gabrini is that child’s father.
 
She won’t need any trust fund from you.”

“Well, just in case she did,” Grace
said.
 
“She’ll have it.”

“But what’s going to take up the
slack then?
 
No Ed money.
 
No child support money.”

“I get a sizeable alimony,” Grace
said.
 
“I’m good.”

But Shameika was even more
confused.
 
“You get a sizeable
alimony?
 
In my best Gary Coleman
imitation:
what you talking ‘bout, Willis
?”

Grace laughed.

“But for real, girl,” Shameika said,
serious again.
 
“What alimony?”

“Tommy pays alimony.”

“But you were married!
 
He continued to pay you alimony even after
you married Ed?”

Grace nodded.
 
“Yes, he did.”

“You were able to get that kind of
divorce settlement?
 
Where your ex pays
you alimony even after you married somebody else?
 
Who is your attorney?”

“No,” Grace said.
 
“It wasn’t like that.
 
Tommy wasn’t supposed to pay alimony at all.
It wasn’t in the divorce decree.
 
I
didn’t even ask for it.
 
But even after we
separated and before the divorce, he would send me a check for Destiny’s
expenses, and a check for my own expenses.
 
He just started paying it.”

Shameika could not believe her
ears.
 
“He just started paying it?”

“Yep.”

“Are we talking a few dollars thrown
your way, or real money?”

“Real money.”

Shameika was doubtful.
 
“I know you, Grace.
 
What is our definition of real money?”

“He gives me ten thousand a month,”
Grace said to her friend.

Shameika’s eyes became so comically
bigger that Grace had to laugh.
 
She
loved Shameika’s lack of airs.
 

“TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS?” Shameika
responded.
 
“Your ex-husband pays you TEN
THOUSAND DOLLARS in alimony long after you guys divorced, and even after you
married another man, and even though he didn’t have to pay you a dime?”

When Grace nodded, Shameika shook her
head and gave Grace another hug.
 
“I’ve
got to give you your props, lady.
 
You
must be living right.
 
Or you were
putting it on him right.
 
You have got to
be doing something right!”

Grace couldn’t help but laugh.

 
“Now I’m leaving,” Shameika said.
 
“I’ve got my tea for the night!
 
Hell, for all eternity!”

They both laughed.
 
“But I’ll be real good to go if you would
only tell me who your date could possibly be.”

“Bye, Felicia,” Grace said with a
grin and Shameika, laughing, left the bedroom.
 
“And lock the door behind you!” Grace yelled after her.

“I’m going to leave it wide open!”
Shameika jokingly yelled back as she made her way downstairs.
 
But unlike her threat, she did lock the front
door as she headed out.

She smiled grandly, however, when she
saw Tommy’s Ferrari driving up.
 
And when
she saw him, it all clicked.
 
Tommy was
Grace’s date!
 
Had to be!
 
What man would pay his ex-wife alimony that
he didn’t even have to pay in the first place unless he cared something
powerful for that woman?
 
And now that Ed
was out of the picture, it made picture perfect sense to Shameika.

But it still floored her.
 
She didn’t see this coming!
 
She didn’t know Grace while Grace was married
to Tommy, but she’d heard of Dapper Tom Gabrini from way back.
 
She’d heard he was a mobster with style who
had a thing for the black chicks.
 
She’d
heard he was a nice guy on the surface, but an animal in bed.

She met him for the first time when
he came to Grace’s house to pick up Destiny.
 
And Shameika couldn’t lie: she wanted him, sexually, for herself.
 
What hot-blooded woman wouldn’t?
 
She was newly divorced and especially horny
and she would have loved to go a few rounds with that badass Italian.
 
But she respected Grace too much.
 
She wasn’t losing the best friend she’d ever
had over some man, she didn’t care how great he looked, or how great he could
do her.
 
She kept her distance.

As he pulled up, she walked down the
stairs and toward his car.
 
He pressed
down his passenger side window.

“Hey there, OG!” She was jovial, as
she always was with Tommy, when he pressed down the window.
 
She leaned in against his window frame.
 
“Long time, no see.
 
How are you?”

Shameika’s enormous breasts met
Tommy’s gaze first.
 
But it was her good
humor that he liked.
 
“I’m good,
Shameika.
 
How are you?”

“Better now that I see who Grace’s
mystery date is tonight.
 
I’m so glad
Grace is getting out of this house for a change I wanna dance a happy
dance.
 
I was worried about her for a
minute.
 
I tried to get her to go out
with me just last night, but she wouldn’t do it.”