Pink & Patent Leather (11 page)

“
Sister Pink, I really need you to hear me. What happened tonight will never happen again. I won’t be a part of committing adultery. I’m a holy man, an upright man.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Blah, blah, blah!

“We need to pray together, Sister Pink.”

If this man didn
’t stop this!

“
Will you pray with me?”

I wanted to tell him no, that all of my prayers had been answered. But I had to show him wh
at kind of wife I was going to be. So in the most submissive voice I could muster, I said, “Yes, Malik, I will pray with you.”

“
Okay. Are you sitting down or are you on your knees?”

I almost laughed out loud. Did this man really want me on my knees? Didn
’t he remember what had happened the last time I got on my knees?

“
Do you want me to kneel down?” I whispered.

There was a moment of silence, a cough, and then, Malik said, “
No, no, no. You can sit up...if you want to.”

That
’s what I thought, I said to myself.

Malik started praying, “
Father God...” and I strolled back into the kitchen.

As he prayed about forgiveness and the evils of temptation, I recorked my bottle of wine, put it back into the refrigerator, and then returned to the living room. I returned t
he magazine to the rack, fluffed out the cushions on the sofa, then turned out the lights. By the time Malik said, “Amen,” I was tucked away in my bed.

“
Amen,” I said, just a moment after he closed out the prayer.

“
Thank you, Sister Pink.”

“
You’re welcome,” I said sweetly, though I was rolling my eyes all over the place.

“
Well, goodnight. And may the Lord forgive us both.”

With a sigh, I clicked off my phone and stared at the screen for a moment. The devil was really trying to make this hard, but
Satan had picked the wrong one. I was not going to be defeated. I was not going to be denied.

Slipping down beneath my satin duvet, I clicked off my bedside light. Tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow was another plan. Plan C would be in full effect.

For the last two nights
, I’d slept like a baby.

And both mornings, I woke with a song on my heart. This morning, just like yesterday, I was smiling when I rolled out of bed and onto my knees. As always, I kept my morning prayer short. God kn
ew what I was going to pray before I did.

“
Thank you, God, for all the blessings, especially the one you’ve given me with Malik. Amen.”

As I moved toward my bathroom, there was an extra pep in my step. Maybe it was because I
’d made it past Plan B and now, I was headed to Plan C. I wasn’t happy that I still had to manipulate this situation, but that was going to change soon. Malik and I would just have to go all the way. We’d have to consummate our relationship and then, it would be game, set, match!

There w
as just a single thought going through my mind as I showered quickly. How was I going to get Malik alone again? I didn’t quite have that answer, but I knew it would come to me. Like yesterday, I was out of the door in less than an hour compared to the almost two hours that it always took me to get ready. I was movin’ and groovin’. I was happy.

I wondered if I
’d always be like this once Malik and I were together. Would his love always keep me upbeat like this?

The sun was shining and even the traffic was lig
ht as I drove to the office. It wasn’t even eight-thirty when I pulled up into the parking garage. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d been to work this early. I’d even beat Amber to the office.

But nine o
’clock sharp, Amber bounced into my office. “Hey, girl.”

“
Amber!” I snapped, as I looked up from the spreadsheets on my desk.

“
Oh, sorry,” Amber said in a tone which made me believe she wasn’t sorry at all. “Anyway,” she said, keeping her voice stiff and professional this time, “I wanted to remind you that you have a ten-thirty meeting.”

“
Thanks,” I said, looking back down at the Profit and Loss statements I was studying.

“
And also, your mom is on hold. Should I put her through?”

Why didn
’t Amber start with that? My mother was on the phone? Was she calling me from Fiji?

“
Definitely!” I said. “Put my mother through.”

Seconds later, my phone buzzed. “
Hi, Mother! Are you in Fiji?”

“
No, sweetheart, we’re home.”

I frowned. “
Home?” They’d just been gone a week. “Why did you come back early?”

“
It was such a long flight,” my mother said, ignoring my question. “And we are just exhausted.”

“
Okay,” I said slowly, wondering what was up.

“
But Fiji is a beautiful place and I hope you get to go there sometime.”

Just when I was about to ask my mot
her what was up, she told me.

She said, “
I’m calling because your father wants you to come to dinner tonight.”

My stomach flipped, doing somersault after somersault as I wondered why in the world would my parents want to have dinner tonight? If they were s
o exhausted, why couldn’t this wait for tomorrow night?

In my head, I went over my movements through my father
’s office. I was very careful when I was there on Monday when I got the keys and last night when I returned them. My parents were so meticulous, I made sure that everything was in place.

“
So, dinner at seven,” my mother said. It was a demand, not an invitation. That’s how it always was with my parents.

“
Yes,” I said as a formality more than anything else. “I’ll be there at seven.”

“
And not a minute later,” she said.

That was her good-bye. A moment after that, I heard the click. Before I had returned the phone to its holder, I was shaking. And not with good anticipation. I was nervous. But then, I began to think that I was making too much out of thi
s. Maybe it was just that my parents couldn’t wait to see me. Maybe they’d bought me some wonderful gifts. Or maybe one of my brothers had come to town and they were going to surprise me at this dinner.

There was really no way for me to guess. So what I ne
eded to do was just get my attention back to work. I needed to get these reports done.

It wasn
’t as hard for me to concentrate as I thought it would be. In fact, having something else to concentrate on helped to keep my mind off of the dinner.

But when I t
urned the reports in, my mind was free to wander again. It was just noon and I wished that it was already seven so that I could already know why my father had demanded my presence?

My plan had been to start another project and keep working through lunch, b
ut then, I thought that maybe getting out would distract me. I definitely wasn’t hungry, but maybe a little retail therapy would help.

Right as I picked up my purse, Amber buzzed me. “
Hey, girl,” she said.

I shook my head, not even bothering to say anythin
g this time.

“
That fine-ass Xavier is on the phone. You want me to put him through?”

“
Yes,” I said a little more enthusiastically than I expected. I’d just vowed the other day to stay away from X. But seeing him right now was exactly what I needed. He would be able to take me away from the anxiety I was feeling. So, I picked up the phone. “Hey, X, how you doing?” 

“
Great! I’m downtown just finishing up with a client and I’m not too far from you. How about lunch?”

“
I’m not really hungry, but you up to going for a little stroll?”

“
That sounds good to me. Come on down,” he said, mimicking the host of
The Price is Right.

The smile that he put on my face was genuine and the pep that I
’d felt in my step this morning was back. I slapped on my sunglasses right as I walked out of the building and then, I almost took them off so that I could get a better look at Xavier. Amber was right. His ass sure was fine. He stood there in a pinstripe navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a pink tie. I grinned.

He was handsome, and so professional, but that tie, really set it off.

“You look great,” I said as we hugged.

When he stepped back, he looked me up and down. “
But I don’t look anywhere as good as you.”

“
Thank you, sir,” I kidded him.

As we began walking up 12th Street, Xavier took off his jacket and swung it over his shoulder. “
I have a meeting later,” he explained. “Don’t want to get too sweaty.”

I chuckled. “
I thought you were too cool to sweat.”

He laughed, then said, “
I missed you at Bible Study on Tuesday.”

Instantly, my pre-Bible-study meeting flashed through my mind: Malik, his office, the taste of him.

“Yeah,” I said. “Remember, I told you that this was going to be a crazy-busy week at work?” I kept my eyes looking forward, not wanting Xavier to look at me that closely.  He could always read me and if he was able to see into my mind right now, I don’t know what he would think.

“
But, you’re not busy today.”

“
What?”

“
Today,” he said. “You’re not too busy to get out for lunch.”

I k
new he’d said that because he didn’t believe my excuse for missing Bible Study. All I said was, “I just needed a little break.” Then, I added, “I was glad that you called.”

Through my peripheral vision, I could see that Xavier kept his eyes straight ahead,
too. I guess he didn’t want to look at me either. I guess he was afraid of what he might see.

He didn
’t look at me, but he held out his hand and right away I took it. I reveled in the comfort of what was so familiar. It felt so good. We walked that way, together, saying nothing for a couple of blocks. Then, I told him, “I’ve been summoned home.”

Now, he looked at me and when he frowned, I smiled.

“Nothing bad,” I said, hoping my words were true. “My parents are back from their trip. My mom called this morning and said that I have to be there at seven o’clock sharp!” I was trying to make light of the demand that I’d been given to come home. “I’ve been called to the big house.”

Xavier laughed. “
You always make it sound like you’re an inmate and your daddy is the warden. Girl, I’ve seen that mansion where you grew up.”

Xavier had been to my home only once. The day after we arrived back in D.C. and my parents had not been welcoming at all. Thank God, X hadn
’t taken that out on me.

He said, “
You grew up in a wonderful place. You’ve been blessed.”

“
Yeah, I have been,” I said.

“
Yup. So many of us never grew up with both a dad and mom who loved us.”

I tilted my head as I looked up at him. “
I know that, but thanks for that. Sometimes I really do need that reminder.”

We went back to our silent stroll, turning right on H Street.

“Hey,” Xavier said, stopping and then looking up. “Let’s stop here and I’ll grab a quick sandwich.”

We stepped into the small sandwich shop that was fill with the noon-time crowd. Xavier ordered a turkey breast on wheat, while I ordered chicken noodle soup.

“As hot as it is woman, that’s what you want?”

I nodded, and tried to laugh it off. But the truth
was, I didn’t really want to eat a thing. I was just hoping that the soup would settle my grumbling stomach.

As we sat, we chatted. He told me about the wrongful death case that had been all over the news.

“Do you think that cop will get away with it?” I asked about the policeman who’d shot a sixteen-year-old boy who attended Suitland High School.

“
Not if we can help it. I’m the junior attorney, but we’re all putting in long hours. What’s going on with you?” Then, he clarified, “What’s going on with you at work?”

“
Nothing as exciting and meaningful as what you’re doing, but I hope to be the first junior editor promoted.”

“
You always want to be first,” he kidded me.

“
Isn’t that one of the things you like about me?” I asked.