The Face In The Mirror (3 page)

n

At 5:30 the next morning, he kissed me awake. “Hey, I’m gonna go home,
shower, and change. I’ll be back to take you to your car early enough that you
don’t have to explain why you’re with me.”

Not that I cared. “I’ll see you around eight,” I said, and snuggled back into
the covers. After he dressed, he crawled back on the bed beside me. He pressed
his lips to mine and then whispered in my ear, “Renie, remember this.”

Did he seriously think I’d forget? The sex was better than when we first
married.
After he left, I lay there for a while remembering so many years ago when I
first met him…

It was the fall of 1993, and I was at Granny’s for the weekend. “Doesn’t
look like you’re making much progress,” Granny said as she entered the front
room upstairs where I should have been washing windows. I was staring out
the window, watching the young man she’d hired as he mowed her grass. He
wore a t-shirt that hugged his chest, and I was in awe of the body it encased. I
never knew a sweaty guy could captivate me as much as he did.

“He’s cute, Granny.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” she said and came to the window to look.
“Fibber,” I laughed. “Who is he?”
“He’s my friend Alecia’s son. You know her from my church. He’s a nice

boy, Renie.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Oh, I’ve been checking him out. I’ve got some things around here that I

think he might be interested in,” she said, and then quickly added, “helping me
with.”

There was a knock at the door. I flew out of the room and down the stairs
to the screen door.
“Hey,” he said. I could see him checking me out; I was sure giving him a
good look. He had the most amazing single dimple on his cheek. He was the
prime example of what I thought a man should be. He. Was. Beautiful.
“Hey, you,” I replied, noticing how cute he really was – up close.
“Miss Ella said she had another project for me. Who are you?”
Before I could answer, Granny was there beside me. “Mitchell, I see you’ve
met Renie, my granddaughter.”
“Renee,” I said and laughed, correcting her.
“I like Renie. It’s different. It’s nice to meet you. Miss Ella, what’s next?”
“Lunch. Renie, open the door and let him in. Don’t just stand there
staring,” she laughed, and turned to walk toward the kitchen. “We’ll discuss the
next project while we eat. Renie, pour some lemonade, please. I know it’s warm
outside, but I sure like a good bowl of homemade vegetable soup.”
Sheepishly, I opened the door, embarrassed now that Granny had called
me out for staring at him, but my goodness, I couldn’t bring myself to look
away. He was tall. I’m tall, but he was taller. I felt my mind drift away to
thoughts of a hug and how I would fit into his arms. His hair was wavy, longer,
and though he was sweaty I wanted to reach out and touch it. He made me
think of a picture of Apollo, ‘the beautiful God of youth’ that I’d seen in Greek
mythology.
“That sounds really good.” He was speaking to Granny, but he was
watching me, and I liked it. And I was absolutely captivated by him!
While we ate, we all talked. Mitchell and I chatted about school. He was a
freshman at the local community college, so I guessed he was eighteen or
nineteen. I was a sophomore, two months away from my sixteenth birthday.
Whenever there was a break in our conversation Granny participated in what I
suspected was an underhanded inquisition.
After lunch, Granny sent him to clip some bushes and me back upstairs to
finish the window I’d been moving the dust around on earlier.
The next two times I went to Granny’s, Mitchell was there, and every time
after that I prayed that he would be. I was falling in ‘like’ and I could hardly
wait to see him each next time I visited.

n

One Saturday in late September, Mitchell was at Granny’s raking leaves that
the big old sycamore tree had littered throughout the yard. I was wearing a pair
of giant gloves he gave me to keep my ‘pretty hands’ from getting dirty. As I
bagged the piles of leaves he’d created, Mitchell stopped and leaned on the
rake.

“Wanna go to a movie tonight?”

I stopped and stared at him. He was the best looking guy I’d ever met. I
was in some kind of serious ‘like’.
“I’d like to, but I don’t think I’ll be allowed,” I said with a pout. “I can’t
date until I’m sixteen and that’s not until next month. I don’t know if Granny
will let me.”
“You know she set all this up,” he said, and the most beautiful smile spread
across his face.
“All what?” I asked innocently.
“Us. Both of us being here at the same time, all the time. My mom grills
me like an interrogator when I get home from here. ‘What’d you do today?’
‘Was Miss Ella’s granddaughter there?’ ‘Are you gonna ask her out?’ He
chuckled, and the sound made me pause, remembering the past couple of
weeks.
A minute or so passed and finally, he said, “Hello? Earth to Renie?”
“Sorry, I was thinking about what you said. I don’t know your mom, but
Granny is a sly one,” I laughed. “Let’s go get a drink.”
“Wait,” he said, “you didn’t answer me.”
“I will.”
“Will what?”
“Answer you,” I said.

We went inside and Granny was making sandwiches. “I made chicken
salad, and sweet tea. You’ve been working so hard, you must be starving.”
We washed our hands and sat down to eat. After a few minutes, I looked at
Granny and asked, “Do I have to ask my dad if I want to go to a movie with
Mitchell tonight?”
“I’d like to say that it’s OK with me, but you know how your dad is.” She
thought a minute and finally said, “How about this. Mitchell can go pick up a
movie, and you and I can make popcorn. When you are ready to start the
movie, I’ll go to my room and read.”
Mitchell jumped in before I had a chance to say a word. “I think that
sounds like a plan, Miss Ella. I’ll run home to shower, and grab a movie on the
way back. Do you trust me? About choosing a movie, I mean,” he said
nervously, and the grin on Granny’s face lit up the whole room.
“You win,” I told her.
“Win what?” she asked.
“The matchmaker award,” I said, and Mitchell looked up, laughing.

True to her word, Granny disappeared to her room with a big bowl of
popcorn and Mitchell and I sat on the sofa to watch
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
.
“The guy at the video store said you’d like it. Chick Flick,” he grinned.
“But what about you?”
“I think I’ll like it because I’m sitting here beside
you.
”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. It was awkward, but I could tell he liked
it. I know I did.
We laughed through the movie and when it was over, he said he had
another one. “Let’s just talk,” I said, and went to get us fresh sodas.
He told me about school and his dreams. He was studying general
education now, but wanted be an electrician and would continue with that
schooling after he graduated with his AA degree. He worked part-time after his
classes at a local electrical business to learn the trade, as well.
I was just a sophomore. I still had almost three years of school left. I didn’t
know what I really wanted to do when I graduated – only what I didn’t. I told
him about my mom and dad, both attorneys, and my older brother, away at
college, planning on law school. “I have no desire to follow the family career
path. I think I want to cook!”
“Cook what?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested.
“Everything! I want to make cakes, bake cookies, and learn how to make
the best omelet in the whole world! I love omelets! I just want to learn it all!”
“Then that’s what you should do,” he encouraged my excitement.
“Oh, I’m sure my dad will pooh-pooh that idea and make me take
something for a ‘real career,’ but I
will
learn to cook, and I’ll be good at it. It’s
my dream.”

We saw each other every Saturday, and we always watched a movie on
Granny’s sofa with her in the other room. We both got a little braver every
time we were together, but Mitchell always set our limits. “I can’t do anything
to piss off your dad, Renie. I want to see you, so I won’t jeopardize that.”

For my birthday in October, my mom wanted to have a sweet sixteen
party. I wanted none of that. I wanted cake, a few friends - and Mitchell. He
came dressed in nice slacks and a crisp, freshly ironed blue chambray shirt, and
I was absolutely over-the-moon smitten. He was so handsome. No, back at that
age we didn’t say ‘handsome’, good-looking boys were cute! And oh my
goodness was he
cute
!

I now knew what being in his arms felt like. We were a perfect fit; when he
hugged me, my head tucked perfectly on his shoulder, and I loved the way it
felt to be right there – the best place I could ever imagine - in Mitchell’s arms.

I’m 5’9”, and according to my dad, ‘lanky’. I hated that word, but he used it
all the time, and I always wondered what he meant by it. It came up at the
party.

“Mitch, I try to get her to play basketball with me and Derek, but she won’t
do it. She’s too girly, but she’s tall and lanky enough that she should be out
there on a basketball court somewhere.”

“Dad, I have no interest in basketball, so please stop. What the heck does
lanky mean anyway?” I mumbled.
He heard me and proceeded to tell me in front of Mitchell and everyone
else. “You’re tall and thin, Renee, and you’ve yet to fill out in all the right
places. When you do, I’ll stop calling you lanky,” he laughed, amused with him
self, and then said, “You know what I mean, Mitch?”
I was mortified. What girl wants to hear her dad talk about ‘filling’ out in
front of a new boyfriend? “Nice, Dad,” I grumbled and walked over to where
Granny and Mom stood, looking displeased at the exchange as well. My friend,
Ashley came over as reinforcement, too.
It was late. I was still pissed at my dad, and my friends were starting to
leave. It had been a fun evening, minus the ‘lanky’ encounter. Mitchell came
over to me. “Want to go for a walk or something after everyone leaves?”
“I’d like that.”
Half an hour later we were sitting by the pool, talking. “Thanks for staying
a while,” I said. I slipped my shoes off and then sat on the edge, dangling my
feet in the water. I was wearing a dress, and as I noticed Mitchell staring at my
legs, I smiled. The water in the pool was heated and felt warm. He took off his
shoes and socks, rolled his pant legs up, and joined me.
He slipped his arm around my shoulder and snuck a kiss. “I won’t want to
leave when they tell me I need to,” he laughed. “You know your dad is just
aggravating you. I don’t think you’re ‘lanky’. I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve
ever met. You’re beautiful, Renie. Your eyes sparkle like nothing I’ve ever seen,
and I can’t stop looking at them. They tell a lot about you.”
“Like what?” I asked, blushing.
“Like you’re soulful, passionate and strong. At least that’s what I see.”

I realized, through those memories, what a terrible mistake I’d made…
Mitchell dropped me off at my car and I drove off, driving around for a
couple of blocks before I returned. I pulled my car into the parking lot and
turned the engine off just as Midge arrived.

“Hey there, doll,” she said. “You look much better than when I left you
last night.”
At her words, I worried that she could read my face and know what I’d
shared with Mitchell the night before. It appeared that she was more intent on
getting inside, and I was relieved. I didn’t know what I felt, or what the
encounter meant, so I didn’t want to have to explain it yet.
“Is your dad coming?”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” I replied in a snarky tone. “Maybe Roxanne will
go into labor and my dad will spend the rest of his life remembering that the
baby was born on the day of my mom’s funeral.”
“Renee,” she said, and tried to sound scolding, but a moment later we were
both laughing.
“Is Mit-chell coming?” she asked, again drawing his name out for effect.
“I believe he is coming with Alecia,” I said and took a seat to wait.

n

Everyone began to arrive for the service. My dad and my brother did not. I
didn’t care. The fact that they were not present would be remembered by all of
those who did attend. Mitchell and Alecia arrived. When I looked up and saw
him, I worried what it would feel like seeing him after the night before. But all I
felt was good.

Afterward, Midge had everyone back to her place for lunch. It was lovely -
everyone reminiscing - telling his or her tales and memories of Mona Faye
Webster Ridgeway. My uncles kept us laughing, and it was a good feeling. I saw
Midge out of the corner of my eye, watching every time Mitchell came close to
me, and I smiled, because I was happy he was there.

Later, he came to me and hugged me. He allowed his hand to remain on
the small of my back, and as he did, he leaned and spoke softly in my ear. His
breath on my skin excited me. “I gotta go. Could we have dinner later in the
week?”

“Call me,” I said and he took his phone from his pocket. I gave him the
number and he dialed it. My phone was in my purse in the other room so no
one heard it ring, but I know Alecia saw the exchange.

“Hey, did you know the last four digits of your number spell LOVE? 5683.
Check it out,” he said with a wink, and turned to go. “We’ll talk soon.”
n

Saturday when I woke it was overcast and dreary, my mood much the
same. I stayed in bed until noon. I didn’t have the energy for much more. Even
though I still had two days to prepare myself, I dreaded the thought of going
back to work. I was wary about dealing with my mom’s affairs. But more than
anything, I hated knowing that she would never be on the other end of the
phone for me to share what was going on in my life.

My phone rang just after noon. I looked, and it was the number I’d saved
as Mitchell’s.
“Hey there,” he said when I answered. “I just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m glad you did. I honestly just got out of bed a little while ago. I’m worn
out,” I said warily.
“How ‘bout a pizza?”
“How ‘bout tomorrow?” I asked. “I don’t want to get dressed.”
“I can deal with that,” he chuckled.
“I meant that I showered, and put on clean pajamas. I’m not naked.” I said
it jokingly, but I knew it made him think. I thought a moment, and finally said,
“Extra cheese, no meat.”
“Deal. Is five OK?” As he spoke, I heard pleasure in his voice and felt a
smile cross my lips.
“Oh hell, if you come that late I’ll just go ahead and get dressed.”
“Are you saying you want me to come now?” he asked, his words teasing
and light.
“If you want. If you don’t, five is good,” I replied and tried not to sound as
happy as I felt.
“I’m on my way. We’ll call for delivery later.”