Forgivin' Ain't Forgettin' (12 page)
He felt a strong impulse to laugh at Cassidy’s frown. But he kept a straight face and pulled a container of cocoa from the cupboard. It would make a nice treat, since Brandi loved anything chocolate. “Then I have good news,” he said. He took the mug from the microwave and stirred in the cocoa.
Cassidy uncrossed her arms and appeared relieved. “Thank you for deciding to use the third-floor bathroom instead of mine.”
“When did I decide that?” He stood in front of her, the mug of hot chocolate between them. Lowering his head and voice, Trevor leaned in close and said near Cassidy’s ear, “My good news is that I’ll always knock first. That way you’ll have plenty of time to grab a towel if you don’t have that T-shirt handy.”
Shock turned to fury on Cassidy’s face. “Move,” she ordered. When he didn’t budge, she seemed to deliberate pushing past him, but realized this might jar the cup, risking burns for one or both of them. She squared her shoulders and retaliated with words. “Anyone with a third of a brain knows not to give a child who can’t sleep chocolate milk. The sugar and the caffeine in the cocoa will simply make her fidgety.”
Trevor lowered his eyes to the hot chocolate before returning to Cassidy’s faultfinding gaze. He thought she looked sexy in her scarf, and for a moment, he thought about pulling it from her head just to see what she would do. Cassidy’s neck-cradling, ankle-shading robe also appealed to Trevor in a way he hadn’t expected. The cottony-looking garment, colored in the blue family, gave her the appearance of being wrapped in a piece of twilight-time sky. But right now the stare “Sky” was giving him was anything but heavenly. The woman’s pupils were pitchforks. Not wanting things to get out of hand, he stepped aside, careful not to step on Sky’s pretty polished toes.
“There’s one more thing,” Cassidy said, her tone still tetchy. “In the future, I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from walking around like that.”
He squinted in confusion. “Like what?”
“Naked,” she said sharply, and hurled a glare of disapproval toward his bare chest.
He taunted her with a grin. “This isn’t naked for a man. In order to be naked”—he tugged on the waistband of his sweatpants—“I’d have to take off—”
“That’s enough, Trevor,” she scolded, and turned away.
He chuckled and followed her to the top of the stairs. “Don’t forget you promised to tuck my daughter in, Sky.” He rumbled the nickname much deeper than the other words.
Her voice snapped through the air with the spunk of a whip. “What did you call me?”
Finished teasing Cassidy for now, he gave her a dense stare and strolled away. He found Brandi nestled between the sheets, Sammy tucked in on one side. “You were almost asleep. Maybe we should save this for morning,” he suggested, setting the cocoa on the stand beside the bed. He didn’t know if it was myth or fact that sugar made kids hyper, but if Brandi were to drink something now, she’d be peeing the rest of the night.
“I was not almost asleep,” his daughter whimpered, rubbing droopy eyes with small fists.
“You looked just like a sleeping doll to me.” Cassidy positioned herself on the edge of the bed. “I have an idea. Why don’t I tell
you
a sleepy-time story?”
Tired from a demanding workday and from being up so late, Trevor was thankful Brandi acquiesced without tears, pouting, or additional whining. He eased the cup of untouched cocoa off the table and returned to the kitchen. He washed Brandi’s mug along with the things he and Cassidy had dirtied, confounded by the magnitude of his attraction to Cassidy. Only one other woman had ever stirred him like this. “Brenda,” he whispered, hoping that when he fell asleep, his darling wife would meet him again in his dreams.
C
assidy!” A quartet of girls from the neighborhood squealed and ran toward her.
Cassidy smiled at the seven- through eleven-year-olds. Their skin tones ranged from the darkest of chocolate to French vanilla.
“Look at my necklace,” one said after hugging Cassidy. She pointed to the rope of bright beads around her neck. “I made it myself, and I’m making one just like it for my mom.”
“It’s beautiful,” Cassidy exclaimed. The smallest of the girls continued to hang on to Cassidy. Crumbs circled her mouth, and some of them were sticking to Cassidy’s coordinating cotton shirt and pants. Accustomed to having crumbs and marker stains and snot from runny noses rubbed into her clothing, Cassidy continued to grin.
The girl smiled up at Cassidy. “I’m going to make you a bracelet.”
“You should put lots of pink in it,” her friend recommended, “so it’ll match her outfit.”
The girl beamed in agreement. “I’ll have it ready for you when you get home.”
The girls dashed back to the steps of the house where they’d been sitting, and Cassidy walked to the corner, increasing her pace until she reached the speed she wanted to maintain. A swift walk three times a week was her prime method of exercise, and although Germantown had its share of unkempt properties and streets, a walk through the area was especially rewarding on sunny afternoons like this one. The predominantly black, predominantly working-class neighborhood was a city within a city, and there was much to appreciate if you took the time. Within a ten-block radius sat several elite private schools and a host of historic house museums. One of her favorites, located on the same street as Charity Community Church, had once been a stop on the Underground Railroad. A lively shopping district comprised of numerous thrift and antique shops stretched up and down Germantown Avenue. Cassidy often frequented the thrift stores, on the lookout for scarves and hats and mittens she would give out during the winter to students who were without.
Today Cassidy stopped at the bank, the post office, and the produce market. She weaved through the heavy volume of Saturday shoppers, past the farm-fresh eggs and around a huge ring of fruit and vegetables. She ended up in front of a display of jarred preserves, boxed baked goods, and see-through canisters packed with nuts.
“Ah, Cas-si-dy, how are you?”
Cassidy always smiled at the way Gabriel divided her name into syllables. “I’m fine, Gabriel. And you?”
He laughed, his baritone thundering over the countertop. “As long as the Father above affords me breath, I have no grievances. What will you have today?”
“The usual,” she requested of the sturdy black-bearded Amish gentleman in the straw hat. He opened a plastic bag and scooped from a well of almonds. Remembering that Brittney and Brandi were staying at the house, Cassidy quickly changed the order to a half pound, more than enough to share, and better for them than the sweets their father provided.
“Anything else?” Gabriel twisted a tie on the almond-fattened bag.
“A quarter of walnuts and quarter of pistachios . . . unsalted.” She would have a broader offering in case the sisters didn’t like one or the other. “I don’t see Beatrice today,” Cassidy mentioned while waiting.
“There’s a good reason for that.” He boomed, “My wife is going to make me a father this winter. She had morning sickness today and couldn’t make it.”
Cassidy was sure she’d never seen Gabriel smile so. She congratulated the proud father-to-be, elated for anyone who found joy in the prospects of parenting.
“How awful,” Lena was saying as Cassidy entered the kitchen, returning from her walk. There was an open container of strawberry yogurt on the table, and the spoon in Lena’s hand was poised to dip.
“What’s so awful?” Cassidy dropped her bag of nuts on the kitchen counter.
“Mother Vale was telling me how she isn’t feeling the best. She’s unsure if she’ll be able to go out this evening.”
Cassidy sat at the table with Odessa and Lena. She checked Odessa’s forehead for warmth. Cassidy couldn’t recall the last time Odessa had something as mundane as a cold. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“Well . . . yes . . . there is something you may be able to help with.”
Cassidy expected to be asked to run an errand or heat some soup. Waiting for instructions, she began removing the pink and purple bracelet her young neighbor had tied on her wrist. The beaded jewelry was cutting off her circulation.
“I was scheduled to sit for Trevor’s girls this evening,” Odessa said.
A smile filled Cassidy, and she flaunted it on her face. “I’d be happy to take care of the girls. Brandi and Brittney are extremely nice.” Cassidy remembered their father and could think of nothing pleasant to say about him, or his overactive cat, in the corner right now, chasing her tail.
“That’s not what I need you to do,” Odessa clarified. “You see, originally, Trevor’s sister, Penny, was supposed to go with him to a banquet tonight. But just after you left, she called and said she was still sick. So Trevor invited me to go with him.” Odessa yawned, and the wrinkles in her face bunched. “Certainly, I suggested he go with someone closer to his age. I even told him I could fix him up with one of the sisters from our church. But he insisted I was his choice, that I deserved a night out on the town. I think that was very sweet of him.” She looked at Cassidy, as if waiting for her to agree.
Lena gave her vote. “That
was
sweet of him, Mother Vale.”
Odessa smiled. “Yes, I do think—”
Cassidy’s voice cut in, “Can we stick to the main street, please?”
Odessa shrugged. “Like Penny, I won’t be able to attend this evening. I simply don’t feel up to it. So I thought youcould accompany Trevor in my place. It would be so sad for him to go alone,” she said with graveside soberness.
“Amen,” Lena punctuated, and bit back a smile.
Cassidy tossed her tablemates a glare as potent as the lingering aroma of the breakfast bacon Odessa had oven-fried.
“Trevor most likely would have had Brenda by his side, but . . . well . . .” Odessa’s voice disappeared.
Lena guided a spoon of pink to her mouth. “It must be difficult to do things solo, after you’ve adapted to doing them as a couple.”
Cassidy considered herself as humanitarian as the next person, but why should she be the one to pay the bill for Trevor’s singleness? Gathering her jumbled wits at the same time that she cooled a rising temper, she succeeded in speaking without a trace of the hysteria roaring within. “I’m sure Trevor could get one of his girlfriends to go with him.”
“Trevor doesn’t have girlfriends,” Odessa piped, seemingly without doubt.
“That’s not the way it looked last Friday night. I saw Trevor holding Rave, right outside this house.” Cassidy had told Lena the following day. Odessa looked as skeptical as Lena had. “I know what I saw,” Cassidy argued. “Rave was stuck to Trevor like an adhesive strip.”
Lena licked her spoon clean. “Maybe the woman just looked like Rave. Anyway, Rave doesn’t seem to be all that interested in Trevor anymore. Remember, she admitted as much at Brenda’s funeral. I didn’t believe her then, but she really does seem to have her sights set elsewhere.”
“Lena’s right,” Odessa said. “Trevor hasn’t dated Rave or anyone.”
Cassidy held her mouth open. She finally formed the words. “You mean you’ve been all up in the man’s love life?”
“I told him you weren’t seeing anyone, either, and it wouldn’t be a problem for you to go with him tonight.”
Lena howled with amusement as Cassidy blurted, “My personal affairs are none of Trevor’s business.” She pushed away from the table but remained in her seat, her arms crossed in rebellion as she drummed her fingers just above her elbows. “What makes you think he would wantto go with
me
?”
Odessa’s response was matter-of-fact. “He said it was fine with him.”
Anxiety stewed in the pit of Cassidy’s stomach, and she bit on her thumbnail as the memory of last night burned on her brain. The pores in her skin had tingled with responsiveness the moment Trevor pried his hand between hers and the cup. Cassidy had wanted to be furious with him for taking such a liberty, but anger had not come, and she had pondered why until falling asleep. “What about you?” she addressed Lena. “An evening out with Trevor would be a dream come true for you.”
“Girl, you ain’t wrong. I would love to take this tour of duty. But I have a date with Dondre tonight.” Lena winked.
“I would make a much better babysitter than a . . .” Cassidy didn’t know what to call it. An escort . . . a date . . . a companion. These terms all left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Pastor Audrey’s Natasha will be doing the babysitting,” Odessa said.
“There you go.” Cassidy clapped once. “Natasha could go with Trevor, and I’ll watch the kids.”
Lena frowned. “Natasha’s only fourteen.”
“A big one,” Odessa incorporated, “but only fourteen.”
Cassidy knew that, but she was grabbing at every straw. She sighed, in dire need of some sensible excuse, because she was going down fast. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
Lena popped to her feet. “If we get started now, we’ll have time to hunt for something at the mall.”
Cassidy stayed defiantly put. She gazed steadily across the table at Odessa. Her aunt’s features were overcast and distant, and Cassidy began to wonder if Odessa was feeling worse than she’d admitted. Maybe Odessa really did need her. It was only right for her to be there when her aunt was in a crisis. Odessa had made so many sacrifices for her over the years, never with complaint. Not once had Odessa scolded her for giving up her Tilden scholarship and returning to the city with no explanation other than she missed home.
Cassidy gave the matter more thought. Time alone with Trevor could prove advantageous. She still wanted to tell him how much she hated the way he was always sneaking up on her and how much of an irritant his early morning shower singing was and that she’d appreciate it if he’d leave the toilet seat down, in addition to a list of other complaints she’d cataloged in her head.
“Okay,” she decided. Determination held Cassidy’s face firm as she strutted from the room. “I’ll go with him.”
L
ena hugged Cassidy. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be a perfect night.”
Cassidy thought about it.Ona perfect night, she would be spending this tranquil, dusk-colored evening sprawled on her bed, absorbed in a good sci-fi read, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. On a perfect night, she would be barefoot as a newborn instead of jammed into black high-heeled footwear. She had to settle for size 81/2 shoes because the store was out of 9s and they had run out of time.