Under the Cypress Moon (6 page)

"I know how you feel about my daughter and how she obviously must feel about you.  Just show some respect."  It seemed as though Darius were only trying to protect Shylah, but maybe his feelings had been hurt.  Mark didn't really know.

"Sir, I would never do anything to disrespect you or your family.  You know that.  You're like a father to me."

"Well, I trust you'll take good care of my daughter and you won't do nothin' you shouldn't be doin'."  Darius had an overwhelming sense of right from wrong, of what good men and women should do and not do when they are not yet married, though he and Mrs. King engaged in plenty of just this kind of behavior before they were wed.

"Absolutely, Sir.  I promise you I will take excellent care of Shylah.  I would never intentionally do a single thing to hurt her or cause her pain or disrespect her.  I will do my best, Sir."

Darius, thinking it over a bit, his mouth pursed and a little puckered, showing deep contemplation, finally let out, "Alright then.  You have my blessing, Mark."

The two men shook hands and even hugged briefly.  T.L., watching all of this, smiled and even laughed.  It was funny that the old man came around to their side and even showed some real emotion, understandable emotion, and in front of co-workers.  T.L. was very pleased.  He had his sister and his best friend together, which would hopefully mean a very long and happy relationship, and he had his father's approval of the match.  Things could not have been better.

For Mark, the day went incredibly well.  All that he could think of all day was Shylah, her beauty, and how she had finally granted to Mark everything he desired.  Mark had trouble wrapping his head around the idea of it all, knowing that his greatest fantasy had been almost instantaneously turned to reality.

Mark could not wait for the day to end.  He hoped that Shylah would be easily enticed into having dinner with him or that the Kings would not mind having him to their house for dinner.  Either way, he would get to see Shylah, to talk to her, to likely kiss her and hold her.  Mark felt like maybe he was acting like a woman, so giddy with his feelings, but he didn't really care.  Shylah was all that really mattered right now.  Mark wanted to devote his every waking moment to her happiness, though he did not want to make her feel smothered.  How to accomplish both seemed a conflict, a paradox.

Mark lived much of the day in this fear.  The last thing that he wanted was to scare Shylah away.  Perhaps, one day, they would have been together for so long that continual and lengthy affections would not only not be shunned but would be happily welcomed, but, for the meantime, a fine line had to be maintained at all times, no matter how difficult that would prove. 

To Mark's amazement, however, right at lunch time, Shylah showed up and came straightaway to Mark's office.  "Hey, Baby," Shylah began with a giant smile, as beautiful as ever it had been.  "I thought maybe I could take you out to lunch, if you're not too busy."

"For you," Mark stated, "Never!  It's not really that busy of a day anyway."

Shylah was happy.  She had been worrying about the exact same thing as Mark, that acting too overly affectionate too soon would prove disastrous and scare the man away from wanting to be with her.  It was a relied that he felt exactly the same as she.  They could be as affectionate and goofy with each other as they wished, and it would not cause any harm.

As Mark and Shylah walked toward the door, they were quickly spotted by T.L. and Darius who were also heading out.  Darius, however, could not leave matters alone.  "Where you two goin?"

"Out to lunch, Daddy," Shylah replied.

"You two have been out on one date, and you're already spendin' lunches together and probably gonna be spendin' every moment together you can?  Don't you think this is all goin' fast?"  Darius had a shocked, confused, and even slightly upset manner about him at that moment.

Shylah merely shook her head from side to side, causing both Mark and T.L. to laugh hysterically.  The look on Shylah's face was comical, almost mocking.  Mark had no desire to get on Darius' bad side, especially given their having known each other for so long but also in case Mark would ever have the need of asking for Shylah's hand.  Mark believed in doing thing properly and paying all respect to a woman's father.  However, in that moment, he could not hold back his laughter.

Darius was slightly furious at his daughter's insolence and even at his son's agreement with Shylah, but he knew that he could do little to nothing to bring about any influence.  Defeated in his remarks, Darius walked away, allowing for the others to walk out together.

T.L. planned to wait outside for his father, but felt greatly compelled to speak to his sister and best friend.  "Hey, you guys.  Don't pay no attention to Pop.  He's old and set in his ways.  I think it's great that you two are givin' this a shot.  You have my blessing all the way.  Just don't do nothin' that'll get you two in trouble, ok?"

"Like what," Mark asked.

"I don't know, man.  Don't worry about what anybody else thinks.  This is your business.  As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters, and know I'm really happy for you, and I know Mama is, too."

With that, T.L. walked away, leaving the two others to go about their business.  Mark and Shylah had such a great time together at lunch that they lost all track of time.  Shylah, having no job, and Mark, completely enwrapped in Shylah, did not realize that it was nearly two o'clock and that Mark was supposed to be back at the factory an hour prior.

Mark could not stand to have to leave Shylah, but, after arriving back at the factory, it was clear that he would have to.  Shylah needed to get back home, and Mark had lot of work that he wasn't getting done.  In fact, he had not really gotten enough done that day at all because he could not stop thinking of Shylah.  Every time Mark tried to get something done, the thought of Shylah would pop into his head and cause him to stall.  It was both wonderful and troublesome at the exact same time.

Mark attempted desperately to unwrap his arms from around Shylah's neck and let her go, but he just couldn't.  He tried time after time to walk away, but either he would not let go and would turn back for one more embrace and another kiss, or Shylah would pull him back.  It was too amazing, but Mark wondered how late he would have to stay at work in order to catch up on everything.

It would be worth it, however, if Mark did have to stay late.  He planned to do everything it would take in order to not have to do that, but if he had to, he had to.  Finally, pulling away from Shylah hard, Mark let his fingertips slip into Shylah's, all that held them together.  Shylah got the hint and, with a sad look in her eyes, said, "Ok.  I know you gotta get back to work.  Think of me."

With that over, Mark headed into the building and Shylah, to her car. 
Little did Mark know that Shylah sat there in her car, watching him go inside.  She couldn't bear to leave yet.  She wondered why it was that this guy had such a strange and powerful hold over her, but she loved it.  She wanted more.   It was all that she wanted in the world.  She didn't like the thought of what might happen between Mark and his dad, what kind of trouble Thomas Crady would cause for the both of them.

Neither Mark nor Shylah could concentrate the rest of the day.  Things were moving so fast, but it was wonderful.  Everything reminded one of the other.  Mark could not wait for the day to end, even if it meant leaving lots of work behind.  He hoped that he would still get to see Shylah again.  Seeing her only for lunch just wasn't enough.

Mark did his best to try to avoid Darius the rest of the day.  He knew that he would have to see Darius at some point, but knowing how the old man felt about everything that was going on made things a little too difficult to deal with.  Mark was sure that Darius would one day come around, probably even welcome a proposal to Shylah with open arms, if it came to that, but for now, the ground was shaky, the line fine, and Darius cold.

The next few hours seemed to fly by easily, Mark so consumed with love that little could bother him, yet, at the same time, it all couldn't go quickly enough.  He tried to bury himself in the important tasks at hand and momentarily succeeded, getting quite a bit accomplished but still leaving a considerable amount unfinished for the following day.  When quitting time finally came, Mark decided that he would not stay late, that it really didn't matter enough, and that he still needed to see Shylah again.

Mark's father would beg to differ if only he knew what was going on, given Mark's lack of dedication to the business and, of course, his seeing a woman of color.  Mark didn't really care.  He thought, "to hell with what the old man thinks" and went about his own personal business.  It was a strange yet wonderful freedom that Mark embraced wholeheartedly. 

When the day was over, after a quick freshening up, Mark headed over to Shylah's and picked her up for dinner.  They hadn't discussed the matter, but Mark hoped that it would be alright.  Shylah sure didn't mind.  Things continued this way for some time, day after day, having lunch together and then dinner, sometimes out, sometimes at Shylah's or at Mark's, but every night for more than a week, Mark would bring Shylah home no earlier than ten o'clock, causing great dismay for Darius.  He felt his control over Shylah slipping away.  He felt as though maybe Shylah didn't need protecting anymore, and, deep down, though he was not totally aware of it, Darius did not want his daughter dating a white man, even if it was the guy that he thought of like a son.

To make matters worse, Shylah began to stay the night at Mark's house on the weekend, actually, not seeing her family again until Sunday morning.  It made things very awkward at church, but Mark and Shylah were having the time of their lives and regretting nothing.  This was all too much for Darius.  He thought it all wrong on a spiritual level, though he and his wife had done much the same when they were dating, but that was in their youth, in their intemperance, and it was so long ago that it did not matter.

When Shylah was brought home on Sunday night, having spent two days at Mark's house, Darius knew that he must speak to his daughter.  Waiting up for her when she strolled in at nearly midnight, Darius quickly demanded that Shylah sit down at the table and discuss something with him.  "What do you think you're doin', girl?"

"What do you mean," Shylah asked, very concerned, very confused, and very much not wanting to deal with her father's accusations.

"I mean, you're going out every day and staying out late with Mark.  Mark is a good boy, and I love him to death, but this is all goin' way too far.  You're doin' who knows what, stuff the good Lord don't want ya doin', and you're rushin' this thing with Mark so fast.  It ain't good, Shylah.  You gotta slow all this down or maybe even call if off.  If you hurt Mark, or he hurts you, it's gonna make things real difficult between all us and especially between your brother and Mark.  You want those boys to lose the friendship they've had for over twenty years?"

Shylah thought this over for a moment, but sure that things would be as ok as she had convinced herself that they would be, swiftly stood and shouted at her father, "It'll all be ok!  Ok?"

"And what if it isn't?!"

"I don't know!"  Shylah felt overwhelmed and unprepared for all of this.

"Shylah, I'm lookin' out for you and for Mark.  Don't take what I say too light or too hard.  It ain't meant to hurt either of you.  I just want what's best."

Shylah, feeling a little angry but also wondering if her father might be correct in his assertions, snapped back, "Oh yeah, and what is that, Daddy, for me to date a black man?  You don't want me with Mark cuz he's white?!"

"It's not that. 
You know I don't care one bit about it one way or another.  I don't care that Mark's white!  I got white friends!  You know Larry Donner, Tim Thompson, Johnny Bill Roulle, all of 'em's friends of mine, and all of 'em's white!"  Of course, Darius really did not have much of a problem with most white people in general, and especially, not Mark, except that he did not want his daughter to date a white man.  If his son dated a white woman, it wouldn't be ideal, but it wouldn't be the end of the world, and Darius figured that what T.L. did was his own business, but Shylah was his only daughter and must be looked after.  Part of that was keeping her out of the hands of white men.  He didn't like the idea of black women being taken away by white men or of them intermarrying or having children together.  Miscegenation, in Darius' mind, was plain wrong.

"What am I supposed to do, Daddy," Shylah demanded, afraid.  "I'm in love with Mark!"

"You cannot be in love with a man you've been seein' for a little over a week!  It ain't possible!  You don't love him.  Maybe you love things about him, and maybe you love bein' with him, but you do not love him.  You need to let him down easy and walk away from all this.  Give it some time, and you'll be back to bein' good friends, and you'll meet somebody else."

"I don't want to meet anybody else," Shylah shouted at the top of her lungs, waking up both T.L. and their mother.

T.L. came rushing in, wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt, bleary-eyed and greatly upset.  "Just what in the hell is goin' on here?!  I gotta get some sleep for work tomorrow, and you two are in here shouting!  Me and Mama were in bed.  Don't  you have respect for anybody but yourself, or do you even have that?"  This was not directed at either person in particular.  T.L. felt like maybe both of them lacked the general character to possess respect for others.