At Last (6 page)

“Just do it straight back, Boo.”

I felt a chill when he called me that.  Was I his boo?  Did he want me to be his boo? Or was that what he called all girls?

“Alright.”
I replied coyly. I began to braid his hair. My left leg kept on shaking.  I made a mental note to check it.  I had to grip his hair hard because it was so fine in texture.

“I’m not braiding too tight am I?”

“Naw you good.”
  He said turning around a little and looking at me.

“You go to religious school or something?”  He said commenting on my uniform from school.

“Yeah, I go to St. Mary’s.  Where do you go?”

He chuckled a little bit.  “When I do go, I go to Cleveland High.”

“Oh.”  I said continuing to braid.

“How old are you?”

“I’ll be 15 on my next birthday so that makes me 14.
How old are you?”

“17.”

We made small talk a little while longer and before long I was finished.

“I’m done.”  I said handing him the mirror.

He looked at his braids and ran his fingers across his freshly braided hair. “Thanks baby.”  He said standing up and handing me a twenty dollar bill.

I shook my head, “It’s cool.  You’re Rico’s brother. You don’t have to pay me.”

“Naw baby, don’t worry about it.” He said placing the money in my hand and walking back to his bike, “I’ll catch you later.”

He put his helmet back on and rode off.  Every two weeks he would come over my house and I would braid his hair. This went on for maybe two months.  Then finally he got the courage up to ask me out on a date.

I wasn’t allowed to date at the time, so I told my mother I was going over to Missy’s.  She was working nights at the Post Office during this time, so she really couldn’t dispute it. We didn’t go anywhere special, just the movies.  We hardly watched the movie though; we were all over each other.

He was the first guy I ever French kissed and the first guy that ever felt me up.  I laughed a little to myself between the tears as I reflected on our love.

Chapter Four

“So what’s been going on?”  Missy asked me while slipping on lemonade.  We strolled through Somerset Collection.  It was the first time in a while that we actually got to hang out.

She had been really busy, while I’d thrown myself into my work and Taylor since Justin’s passing.  Durran went back to Atlanta shortly after the funeral.  For the time he remained in town though, he was the perfect gentleman.

He didn’t try to get at me on the rebound or anything like that. He never tried to play on my vulnerability.  He was really just there for me.  He checked on me every day.  If he didn’t call, he’d send me a simple text, “Hey Mama, just thinking of you.”

“Nothing much.
I miss you big head,” I replied to Missy hitting her in the head.

“Shut up.”  She said rolling her eyes at me.

I’d always thought Missy was pretty-everyone did.  But it never meant a thing to her. She never acted funny because she was pretty; it never
fazed
her one bit.

When we were growing up I was always kinda awkward looking, but Missy had always been cute.  She’d looked the same since we were in elementary school.

She was short like me, but petite.  Missy was probably a size
four
to my size
ten
. Her complexion was caramel. Her hair is long and she usually wears it in a wrap off her shoulders. Recently, I gave her light brown highlights in the front.  It looked really pretty on her, and set off her eyes.  She had long, thick, pretty eyelashes that anyone would die for.  She never used mascara. She also had a beauty mark on the left side of her face right above her full lips.

She was a make-up artist and a designer.  She owned a boutique in downtown Detroit,
Pure Beauty
.  When everyone else was talking about going away to college,
she was interested in making her own fashions and owning a store.

She’d been creative for as long as I could remember.  We’d ' long talked about going into business together.  It’s really her dream though.  I thought it would be nice, but hair hadn’t been my passion for a long time.  Missy loved what she did.

“You heard from Durran?”  She asked as we continued through the mall.

“Yeah” was all I could give her.  She wasn’t a big Durran fan.  She had been right there with me during Durran’s bullshit. But I must admit it seemed as though she’d gained some sort of respect for him for helping out with Justin’s funeral and such.

“Whatever, you know you talking to that fool every night.”  She said laughing.

“No Missy. It ain’t even like that.” I protested. She gave me the “bitch please.” Look I smiled, “I’m serious. He ain’t pushed up on me or nothing like that.  I’ve talked to him just about every night. He’ll just call on some ‘How you doing’ type of stuff.  He asks me how Taylor’s doing-”

“Oh so he calls her Taylor now?  No more “The baby?” 
Mhmmmm.
  If we were made in his image, then call us by our names,” She said reciting Ms. Erykah Badu sarcastically. I sucked my teeth at her. She knew that was a soft spot for me, “What? You know it’s true.”

We made our way into the electronics store and began to look around.

             
“For the record his does call her Taylor, Miss Smart Ass.”  I said pinching her right shoulder.

“Ouch. You know I bruise easily.”  She said rubbing her arm.

“You deserve it.  You know I couldn’t stand when he used to do that shit.”

“Keish, the male ego is so fragile,”   She said smiling.

“You ain’t shit.  What we doing in here anyway?”

“I need a universal remote to go to the TV in the shop.  I lost the other one.”

“How the hell you lose a damn remote?”

“Easy. Forget where you put it last. Just shut up and help me find one.”

As we walked around the store looking for a remote, I noticed all the TV’s in the store were set on “The Price is Right” on CBS. I kinda dismissed it until it cut to a commercial.

“
Don’t miss the 47th Annual Grammy Awards live for the first time this  Sunday in Las Vegas, with appearances from John Mayer, Prince, Usher, Durran Johnson, Jay-Z, P.Diddy, Norah Jones, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, U2, and many more.”

“Did they just say Durran’s name?” I asked in a daze. I felt like I was losing my mind.  I knew I heard his name.  Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.  He had been on my mind heavy.  Maybe I was just hearing things.

“Yeah, they said his name.”  Missy said walking towards me holding a bag with the remote in it.

“I thought I was hearing things, girl.”

“I guess someone else thinks he’s important besides him huh?”

I sucked my teeth at her, “Why you so hard on him?”

“Keisha, don’t get me wrong, I like Durran.  I really do. He has a good heart.  He’s just so -- what’s the word I’m looking for?  Oh yeah, he can be a real asshole.” She said as we approached the car.

“Yeah that is true, but you can’t say that he’s not talented or giving.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that, but he’s also the furthest thing from humble.  And that’s just not a good look.”

We left the mall and were headed back home, "How’s your Mom doing?" I asked.

Missy was an only child.  She and her mother were super tight. Unlike me and my mother, who at times tolerated each other, she and her mother had a special mother daughter relationship. Missy’s mother, Janice was a principal. She went to Spelman and her father, Matthew who was a lawyer, attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where they met.

After finishing college they got married and they both ended up finding jobs and moving to Detroit. They had been married for nearly thirty years.  I really respected their marriage and hoped that one day that would be me.

"She's good. I was over there last night for dinner. She was going off on me about when she was gon’ get some grand-babies.
Blah, blah, blah."
She put her left hand over her head and kept the other on the steering wheel. I had to laugh.

Janice was always pushing that baby business Missy's way.  And to be honest, I could never see Missy with a bunch of kids on her hip. That wasn't her thing. It wasn't that she was selfish or anything it was just she liked her freedom and the ability to live life on her own terms. Once you have a child it’s no longer about you.

She was a wonderful Godmother to Taylor, but in her words, "I love my Goddaughter, but when I get tired I can send her home. “ But I couldn't help but tease her.

“
Yeah, Taylor need
s a little brother or a sister.”
I smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes and smirked, "Humph, looks like you need to holla at Yvette. I think a cousin sounds even be
tter.”

“Whatever”
We both laughed.

“
Girl, my mother stay on that
kick
heavy like, ‘So who are you dating’ or ‘All work and no p
lay won’t get me a son-in-law’.”

“
Well Missy, when is the last time you went on a date?
”

She was never a dater like that. She'd have these pseudo ass relationships where the dude would be around for grip then all of a sudden he'd be ghost.  Then
her only explanation would be, “
I had to cancel that nigga; stage
five clinger
.”

After our trip at the mall I picked up Taylor from my mother’s went home and
made us dinner.  Taylor and I
laid
in my bed and caught some TV.  Before I knew it she had fallen asleep and I was alone.  I don’t know what came over me, but I pulled out old photos.

Ever since I’d heard Durran’s name earlier, I couldn’t shake a feeling I had.  I smiled as I turned the pages of pictures leading up to my prom.  Durran looked so good in his cream suit. His flashy ass didn’t rent a tux, he went out and bought a tailor made three-piece suit.  He wore a peach tie and handkerchief that matched my peach sequined gown perfectly.

He drove his uncle’s peach Corvette.  We were so fly.  It was one of the best nights of my life but also one of the worst.  That night was magical one for me.  I felt like a princess.  The only let down was that my father wasn't there to see my off but I know he was looking down on me.

The prom was held on Belle Isle at the Detroit Yacht Club. We danced the entire night.  I was having so much fun I’d forgotten that I was pregnant. The only person I
told was Yvette. I didn’t even tell Durran.  I wasn’t sure how to tell him but I knew that I didn’t want to ruin the evening.

Before heading home we cruised around the Isle for a little bit and headed for home.  As we traveled down the freeway a car hit us head on. The last thing I remembered were lights headed towards us and Durran trying to swerve; but it was too late.

When I came to, I was dressed in a hospital gown and my whole body was sore.  My mother was sitting next to me stroking my forehead and Durran was on the other side of the room standing up looking out of the window.  There was a bandage on the left side of his forehead and he was still in his shirt and suit pants.

“What happened?” I asked my mother while trying to sit up, “Ouch, Ouch.”

“Relax baby.” My mother tried to soothe me.  Instantly memories of the crash started to flood back.  I quickly placed my hand on my stomach.

“You all were hit by a drunk driver.” Her voice trailed off a little bit. Durran hadn’t turned around.  He still had his back to us.

“Am I okay? What about the baby?” I asked with my hand still on my stomach. It didn’t once dawn on me that I had been keeping this secret. Then I saw it in my mother’s eyes that the baby wasn’t okay. She just shook her head slowly, “No baby.”

This sadness crept across her face.  I’d never felt so awful in my life. I just fell into my mother’s arms crying and screaming. I didn’t even realize Durran had left the room.

The impact from the crashed caused me to miscarry.  He walked away with a gash to his forehead.  He didn’t
even need stitches.  They had to use the Jaws of Life to get me out of the car.

I must’ve drifted off to sleep because when I came to, the sound of my phone ringing woke me up out of my slumber.  I looked at the clock; it read 2 AM.

“Hello?”  I said half sleep.

“Hey Mama.
  You sleep?”

“Durran, its 2
AM
. W
hat do
you
think?”

He chuckled a bit, “Aww sorry baby, my bad.  I’m in Cali, I didn’t even think about the time change.
How you feeling?”

“Alright.
How about you?”
  I said sitting up before yawning.

“I’m good...
be
better if you were here with me.”