Abide with Me (43 page)

It was the first Thursday of the new year. Basil carefully placed his black leather jacket on the coat rack, then rubbed his two hands together and blew his warm breath on them before taking his seat.

“It’s cold out there, Doc,” Basil said as he looked around the office. Today the small space didn’t appear drab and depressing as it had on previous visits. Basil noticed the winter sun beaming through the windows, flooding the office with a natural light.

“How were your holidays?” the doctor asked.

“They were cool. I spent Christmas Day with Campbell and Cade. It was great. My little sister can cook. I mean, she cooked all this food, and I helped Cade play with a lot of the toys I bought him. It was a good day,” Basil said, smiling a slow half-smile.

“So you decided not to go and see your father?”

A thoughtful frown crossed Basil’s face as he said, “He kinda made the decision for me. He went to the Bahamas with one of his lady friends. But he’s not off the hook.”

“You still haven’t told him what you think?”

“Not what I think! What I
know
. And I’ll tell him when the time is right. Now I’ve got my entire future ahead of me and I’m only going to deal with the past when it’s absolutely necessary. I can’t let what my father and uncle did go without mention, but I’m finally getting a grip on my life. I’m not going to let them or the past ruin it,” Basil said firmly. “Now I’m going to make choices that come from my own strength and not from what other mofos, including my family, might think or feel.”

“Are you and your nephew still getting along great?” the doctor asked. He had decided to change the subject to something more pleasant.

“Yeah. Kids are so amazing. And he’s already enriched my life more than all the mofos I’ve ever met put together. I guess children having a way of doing that,” Basil said.

“You could say that,” the doctor responded.

Basil plopped his left leg over the arm of the chair, then folded his arms over his chest and posed a question to the doctor. “So, Doc, are you gonna miss me while I’m gone?” He had a mischievous little boy’s glint in his eyes.

“Where are you going?”

“Aw, I forgot to tell you. I’m going to take some time off,” Basil said.

“Are you leaving town?”

“Yeah. I forgot to tell you … my little nephew is helping my love life. You should see the way honeys react to me when they see me with Cade. I mean, not that I needed any additional help, but this is a whole new pool of women,” Basil smiled.

“So you’ve met someone?”

“Yeah, I did,” Basil said.

The doctor looked at his watch, then said, “Do you want to tell me about the person? We still have a little time.”

“Sure. This sister is slamming. I mean, she’s beautiful and smart and even though we haven’t hit the skins yet, I know it’s going to be tight. She smells so good. And the way she carries herself. I mean, she’s not like anybody I’ve ever met. This one might be my soul mate,” Basil said confidently. “I was drawn to her like she was a candle and I was the flame,” he added.

“Where and when did you meet her?”

“It hasn’t been that long. We met Christmas morning. I was at Rockefeller Center with Cade, practicing our skating, while Campbell was cooking. You know, Cade and I are getting pretty good at this skating thing,” Basil laughed. “Anyway, she was up by the Christmas tree, but I saw her checking me out. I smiled at her and she smiled back and waved like she knew me.”

“She wasn’t on the rink?”

“Not immediately. I guess she was visiting the Christmas tree. My first reaction was to pick Cade up from the skating rink and run up and find out her name. But I guess that’s one of the changes in me. I mean, I wasn’t only thinking about myself. Cade was having a great time and so was I.”

“How did you meet her?”

“She came down to the rink. I kept looking up toward the tree, hoping she was going to come back. Every now and then I would look up when Cade had skated off by himself. Now one of my eyes was on him at all times, but maybe every other minute or so, I’d look up to see if this beautiful lady had returned.”

“So did she?”

“Well, I got to speed this story up, ’cause I’m getting ready to meet her after I leave here. Cade and I kept skating. He would fall sometimes and so would I. Cade had fallen again, and I was bending over, holding his hands, kinda guiding him along, when this lady skated up next to us and asked if she can join us. Right as she skated up to us, she fell and I picked her up. When I touched her hand, I felt a
wonderful energy. Her smile was so beautiful and she had on this beautiful but politically incorrect mink coat and a pair of diamond studs in her ears that just paled next to her smile. When I said sure, she slipped her arm in mine and we just skated for over an hour. She kept falling, but I just think she liked the touch of my hands. Neither one of us were wearing gloves. Cade liked her, especially when she suggested we get some hot chocolate.”

“Well, Basil, I’m happy for you. Is that why you’re leaving town?” The doctor noticed how Basil’s face lit up when he mentioned his nephew.

“Yeah, she’s an actress. A Broadway actress. And even though I said I wasn’t going to date someone in show business, well, never say never. But she’s in this musical that’s going to London and she asked me to come over and see her. So I’m thinking maybe I need to get away for a little while, and then go deal with my father. I’m determined to make this year better. And why shouldn’t it be? I got my sister and nephew and I got a new lady in my life,” Basil said in a totally satisfied tone. “Who could ask for anything more?”

“So Campbell, Cade, Basil, and …” The doctor paused, allowing Basil to complete the sentence.

“Yancey,” Basil smiled. “My new lady’s name is Yancey Braxton.”

Under the canopy of a deep and endless blue sky, Raymond sat alone with his thoughts in an empty football stadium. The air was thin and sweet-smelling as a light snow fell and dissolved as it hit the ground. The stadium lights glistened through the cascade of soft snowflakes.

So much had happened during the fall, and now winter had brought Raymond even more questions than he had answers. Although his father’s health had improved, he and his mother had discussed bringing in a full-time nurse to help take care of him. Mr. Tyler was at about 50 percent of his former self. Raymond was also debating what to do with his relationship. He and Trent had enjoyed some good times since their Chicago reunion, but there were times when Raymond would look at Trent and wonder if there were any more secrets. Could he really trust him? Finally, there was his career, or rather lack of career. Raymond’s firm had offered him his partnership back, but he didn’t have a burning desire to practice law or enter politics as Lisa had suggested.

So he sat on the wooden seat and watched the last of daylight drain out of the clean winter sky. Suddenly Raymond saw a man walking across the field at the fifty-yard line, heading in his direction.
Where did he come from
, Raymond thought, and was this stranger about to end his much needed solitude? The man was moving fast, almost at a magical pace, and within moments, he was standing directly in front of Raymond.

“What are you doing up here all alone? Feeling sorry for yourself?”

Raymond looked in the man’s face and was shocked. It was his best friend, Kyle. The sight of Kyle was so sudden and overwhelming that Raymond felt as though his heart had stopped, but a few seconds passed and he could feel himself breathing again.

“Kyle,” Raymond said as he stood up and hugged his friend. “What are you doing here? I thought you were dead.”

“That’s what you get for thinking,” Kyle laughed, hugging his friend back.

Raymond couldn’t believe what was happening. Had he finally gone crazy? He started to cry almost uncontrollably, unashamedly as he whispered in Kyle’s ear, “I can’t believe it’s you. I’ve missed you so much.”

Raymond felt every muscle in his body tighten as he tried to keep from trembling.

“That’s okay, baby boy. You can cry,” Kyle whispered.

A few minutes later Kyle pushed Raymond back softly and said, “Sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”

“Tell me what happened. You were dead. I saw you,” Raymond said in disbelief.

“Now, chirl, you know an old gay diva like me ain’t gonna never die,” Kyle said. Dressed in all white he looked almost ten years younger than when Raymond had last seen him. Kyle’s caramel skin was perfectly smooth and his brown eyes seemed to glow, as though an incandescent mist surrounded him.

“If you didn’t die, then where have you been?” Raymond asked.

Kyle rolled his eyes skyward and said, “You know, I was going to tell you this story about how I was a human guinea pig for some of the new AIDS drugs and that a cure is on the way. Well, that’s partly true. A cure is on the way, but the Kyle you knew and loved didn’t survive this round.”

“What are you saying?”

“Raymond, this is a dream. But I am still the Kyle you knew and I can help you. Some of this you’ll remember, some you won’t,” Kyle said.

“So are you some kinda angel?” Raymond asked. He grinned to himself. The Kyle he knew sure wasn’t an angel.

“Maybe,” Kyle said coyly, just the way he used to flirt with a stranger at the Nickel Bar.

“You don’t
look
like an angel. You look like my friend. You look good, at peace, restful,” Raymond said.

“What did you expect? You wanted me to have some
Touched by an Angel
glow?” Kyle teased.

“But you seem so real,” Raymond said.

“Of course I’m real. And, as fellow angel sister Sylvester would say, ‘I’m mighty real,’ ” Kyle laughed.

“You look and sound like the Kyle I knew,” Raymond said.

“And that’s what you should think. Now close your eyes, baby boy, and let me do the talking. And this time listen. I sent you a letter I hoped you’d refer to when you needed it. But you always were hardheaded. I even called to warn you about this judge mess.”

“That was you who called me?” Raymond asked. His body went from cold to warm within seconds while Kyle simply nodded his head and said, “I should have just said, ‘Don’t go there, chirl’ … then you would have known it was me. But at the last minute I decided to use one of my deep man voices.”

Raymond grinned, but his smile was tight with fear. This really was Kyle. Dream or not, who else would know about the letter he had received after Kyle died? Raymond closed his eyes and still didn’t know if he was in a dream. With his eyes shut tightly, he saw a beautiful white house with a green swing on the porch, an evergreen wreath on the door, and snow everywhere. Then he heard Kyle’s voice again. It sounded both comforting and musical.

“Raymond, life will hold many more surprises for you. And it will never be perfect. First of all, don’t worry about your father. In a couple of months, he will be back to his old semi-evil self. Good as new. Now, don’t expect this little close call with death will change him. But know that he loves you and Kirby the same. Don’t you try and handle him either, leave that to your mother. Now let’s move on to Trent. There is good and bad news there. He loves you deeply, but you’ve got to loosen up or he’ll stray again. Remember what I always told you, most men ain’t good for nothing but slangin’ and taking dick. His love is genuine, but keep your faith in our heavenly Father and yourself. Don’t worry, you’ll never be alone. You still look good and got your pullin’ power.”

Even with his eyes closed, Raymond felt Kyle close to him.

“Now, I know you worry about your little brother, but he’s on his way to becoming quite a man. Don’t you get jealous because before you leave this earth, more people will know Kirby Tyler’s name than that of Raymond Tyler, Jr. Kirby has and will continue to learn from your example. I know you’re worried about Nicole and Jared and if their marriage will survive. I don’t really know the answer to that, ’cause they got their own people looking after them. I do know Jared will get the child he wants, even though it might not be in the conventional way. And Nicole’s going to make great strides with her career that are going to surprise even her. She’s got one of Satan’s assistants after her for something really stupid. But this chile, Yancey, will not
succeed with her plans. Miss Thang will learn the hard way that when you sleep with the devil, sometimes you get fucked. And the next time when the devilette shows up in the form of a friend, Nicole won’t be so easily fooled.”