Back to Life (4 page)

“Why?” I asked as I let myself be led to the bar table closest to the stage. 

“I’m going to place you here. Best seat in the house for our live shows.  I had the speakers strategically placed here, here, here and here,” Tyree pointed to four spots in the ceiling. “The sound technician I worked with guaranteed that the sound would be perfect.”

“Why?” I repeated, taking a seat on the bar stool facing the stage.

“You’re my first Richland friend,” he said with a shrug.

“Friend?”
I repeated with light laugh. “We don’t even know each other!”

“Your name is Sahara. You live in Libby Lofts. You
have a great singing voice. You work out. You like open mic nights. And you obviously have great taste in food and entertainment,” he concluded spreading his arms wide gesturing to the lounge.

I stifled a giggle and shook my head, “
And that information makes us friends?”

“Absolutely!” he replied with that flawless smile. “Now you mentioned you wanted food earlier. I’m going to have the bartender come take your order while I go handle the beef between Milton and
Marie. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He started to walk away and then he turned back toward me, “Speaking of Marie, I’m not sure if she told you but the lounge doors don’t open until 8:30pm. The show starts at 9pm.” I looked at my phone,
crap it’s 7:43pm and no one will be up here until 8:30pm. What am I going to do for the next 47 minutes?

As if reading my thoughts, Tyree
declared, “I’ll be back up before your food is here and we’ll have dinner together.” And then he walked off.

A little smile played at the corners of my mouth as I shook my head. A minute later a bartender brought me a menu. Famished, I ordered chicken and waffles. I sipped my water and
took in the art work around the room for the second time.  Each photograph toward the front of the lounge received my full and undivided attention.  I noticed a smaller photograph behind the DJ booth that I hadn’t seen on my first or second look. Because of the angle of the DJ booth, the picture is hidden from anyone not sitting at this table.  I wanted to get a better look but I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to walk on the stage. Looking at the time on my phone (7:57pm), I figured I had time to grab a quick peek. Getting close to the steps that lead to the stage, I saw the picture more clearly.  A forty something man with salt & pepper grey hair wearing a brown suit and a blue shirt sitting beside a little boy with a brown suit and blue shirt on a piano bench.  The little boy was looking at the older man and the older man was looking at the camera.  The smiles both wore were full of love. My heart ached.

“That’s my grandfather and I twenty five y
ears ago,” Tyree began, slicing through the ache and pulled my mind away from the heartbreaking thoughts of my past.  I turned toward him as he positioned himself beside me; his eyes focused on the photograph.  “My grandfather was the best man I’ve ever known and the man I aspire to be. He was an awesome musician and business man.  I keep the photograph right there so that when I sit at my table, I can always be reminded of why I did this.  I also have the same picture in the restaurant.” His eyes shined with love and admiration for his grandfather. He glanced at me and smiled a sad smile. “He passed away a couple months ago. So I honored him and his spirit by naming this place after him.”

“I’m sorry you lost someone who you clearly loved so much. I—”

“Your food is ready when you are sir, ma’am,” the bartender interrupted, placing two steamy plates on the table. The interruption snapped me back to reality. In a moment of sincerity, seeing Tyree so open and vulnerable about his lost loved one. I almost admitted to knowing how he felt.
Get it together Sahara,
I thought to myself as I looked at the ground. Regaining my composure, I looked Tyree in his eyes and finished my sentence in a completely different way. “Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Walking to the table, Tyree reached the side I was sitting on and pulled out my chair. “Thank you,”
I responded in kind. He walked to his side and took a seat.

“
This looks incredible! You can see the flavor,” I said before bowing my head in a silent prayer. Looking up, Tyree’s eyes were on me. I smiled in return, “let’s eat!”

“So tell me about
yourself Sahara,” Tyree said before taking a bite of his crab cake.

After I swallowed my buttery waffle, I replie
d as if he hadn’t said anything. “Tell me about yourself, Tyree.”

“Call me Ty.
And how about a question for a question? That’s fair right?” he bargained with a laugh.

I mulled over it for a bit
as I chewed another bite of food.
I have about 20 minutes before anyone is even allowed in the lounge and 50 minutes before the show starts. If the conversation deviates into territory that makes me uncomfortable, I can just end the game. And I hate to admit it, but there’s something about him.
In my mind, I decided I would indulge my handsome neighbor.
Even if just for the night, spending a little time entertaining conversation with him wouldn’t hurt
, I told myself as I swallowed.

“Sure, why not,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing
miserably.

“You don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want to. I know we don’t know each other. But I am hoping to change that,” Ty said with a smile. “Friends have to know something about each other,” he announced as he raised his water glass to his lips. I tore my eyes away from his mouth and looked at my plate.
What have I gotten myself into? I need to take control of the situation…and of my hormones.

“I’ll go first. You mentioned you’re new in town. What made you pick Richland?”

“My grandfather grew up here and he wanted to return. When I had some success with my restaurant in my hometown of Boston, I knew I wanted to open one in Richland. It just so happened that the year I found the space I liked and all of the pieces started coming together, my grandfather passed away,” he shook his head in disbelief and looked down at his crab cake, cutting another bite.  Before putting the piece in his mouth, he continued, “So how long have you been in Richland or are you from around here?

How can I answer this without answering this?
I asked myself. “I went to school in Charlottesville, VA and I moved here about 6 years ago. What type of music do you listen to?”

“
Hip hop, R&B, rock, classical. I can listen to anything with a good beat or a smooth sound. I don’t really mess with country music though. What about you?”

“I listen to everything.
Including a few country songs. What’s your favorite movie?”

“
Coming to America. You?”

“Coming to America,” I said
smiling at our common movie. “Favorite hobby?”

“
Photography,” Ty answered without hesitating. “Your favorite hobby?”

“Experiencing art,”
I responded immediately. I quickly got into the rapid fire question and answer volley we had going on.  Taking a breath to pop a piece of chicken in my mouth, I thought over one of his answers. “Why did you wait until the day before your grand opening to move into your place?”

“I had movers move all my stuff into Libby Lofts this
past week.  It had everything I needed and I gave the movers directions on how I wanted my place set up. My primary focus for the last few months, but especially this past week, has been on every last details of this place. I didn’t want to deal with moving in and getting settled this week so I stayed at The Four Seasons. I had meetings all week with marketing and finance.  And this morning, I had to find a replacement for one of my hostesses—which is why I agreed to give my head bartender’s girlfriend a trial run—”

“
Marie?” I interrupted.

Ty nodded and continued, “Yeah,
Marie. Very sweet woman—friendly, upbeat—everything you’d want in a greeter to welcome patrons.  But if she continues to mess up the reservation system, I will let her go. Jimmy’s will not fail.” The determination in his voice took me by surprise and made me clench deep in my belly. I shook it off.

“Anyway, I was at The Four Seasons
and I moved the last of my stuff in early this morning so that once this night is over, I can sleep at home in my own bed.”

I nodded, “
Busy man. You seem really active in your business. Some business owners are owners in name only. Did you go to school for business or something?”

Ty fin
ished the last of his crab cake and took a sip of water to wash it down. “I did.” Pointing to himself, he said proudly, “Harvard Business School graduate. What do you do?”

“
Well as of this week, I am the Human Resources Director for the company I work for.” I sipped my water and placed my napkin over the remaining remnants of food.  I glanced up at the DJ as he walked by.

“That’s awesome. Congratulations!”
Ty exclaimed with a huge smile.

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” I smiled at him.
His grin was infectious. It wasn’t lost on me how much I was smiling around him.

Checking his watch, Ty stood and signaled for one of the wait staff to
come collect our plates. “It is 8:30 so I am going to get some things done. It was nice talking to you. But don’t think I didn’t notice I talked way more than you,” he said with a laugh. “Thank you for letting me have dinner with you. I haven’t sat down and eaten anything all day.”

“It was nice talking to you as well, Ty.”
I admitted, keeping my voice light even though I was unsettled by the feelings of disappointment regarding his departure. 
And the inexplicable draw I felt toward him,
I mused avoiding his eyes.  The waiter collected the plates and cleaned the table in no time at all.

Once the waiter had left the table, Ty insisted,
“Dinner is on me. To congratulate you on your promotion.”  I tried to protest to which he dismissed as if I hadn’t opened my mouth at all.

Extending his hand, Ty looked me in my eyes with arresting warmth and sincerity, “So is it official now Sahara?
Friends?”

What can I possibly say to that?
I thought as his eyes implored mine. Nervously smiling, I extended my hand to meet his. “Friends,” I whispered. His smiled widened and the butterflies went off like fireworks in my belly. This was going to be trouble.

Chapter 4
 

So many talented people performed during the open
mic night—poets, singers, rappers.  Every single one of them had a story to tell and an undeniable talent.  The crop of talent in this area was palpable and I was caught up in everything they delivered.  My eyes stayed glued to the stage, not wanting to miss a single moment.  These storytellers stirred something in me.

A
t 11:30pm, the DJ took over and people started dancing.  I was coming down off of the high of experiencing all that unbridled talent. Feeling a little drained from minimal sleep throughout the week, I stifled a yawn and decided it was time to go.  I collected my bag and my phone and hopped off of my chair, shaking out the bottom of my sundress. Making my way to the elevator, I saw a couple people from work, including my assistant, standing near one of the black couches.

Seeing people from work outside of work alway
s threw me for a loop.  It has happened pretty regularly over the last 6 years, especially at grand openings, premieres, and special performances.  Every time, I am polite without encouraging them. I say as little as possible and I quickly leave the situation. I don’t have lunch with anyone. I don’t accept any invitations anywhere.
I’m sure my coworkers think I’m a stuck up bitch,
I thought ruefully as I turned down their offer to join them.  After briefly stopping and exchanging quick pleasantries, I excused myself.

I reached the elevator and hit the button.  I looked over the scene as I waited for the elevator—everyone looked like they were having a great time. I smiled. I don’t know why but s
eeing everything come together made me happy for Ty. I respected hard work and from the way he talked about his business, he put a lot of hard work into Jimmy’s.  I got in the elevator with four other party goers.  The two girls looked a few years younger than me. Pretty girls who looked like complete opposites of one another, but their closeness apparent in the way they had their arms interlocked.  One was telling a story about her boyfriend and they laughed hard with tears in their eyes.  They looked like fun personified. They reminded me of me and Emily.
Don’t even go there,
I warned myself silently as my heart clenched.  The elevator dinged signifying we were on the 1
st
floor.  The doors opened and I let everyone out before me.  Pulling my sweater out of my handbag, I slipped it on before walking through the doors. 

Marie
looked up and smiled brightly, “Sahara! Mr. Barker wanted me to let him know when you were preparing to leave. Do you have a second?”

She didn’t wait for my answer as she picked up the phone.  Feeling as if it would be rude to just leave, I shifted my weight from one leg t
o the other as I waited. A minute later, a door between the entryway to the restaurant and the stairwell to the lounge opened and Ty walked out. 

“Hey! Let me walk you out,” Ty said as he closed the distance between us with a large smile.

“Okay,” I said to him.  Turning to Marie, I said, “Have a goodnight.” And I made a beeline to the front door.

“Goodnight!”
Marie called back to me.

Speeding up to reach the door before me, Ty grabbed the handle and opened it. “Thank you.” I said and stepped out into the cool spring air. 

Ty stood beside me and we both looked out toward the other end of the city.  “This seems like a cool place to live,” he said.

“There’s a good amount of stuff to get into,” I said while moving to the far right, away from the door, as a group of people made their way out of Jimmy’s. 

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Ty said.  We were both still facing the street, looking at the buildings and the lights of downtown Richland.

I stole a glance at him. His profile highlighted by the venue’s lighting display. 
“Yes, I did. The people who ended up performing were amazing!” I said honestly as I looked back at the cityscape.

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself but I wanted to be sure,”
Ty commented, making my face heat up.

“Wait, I didn’t see you after dinner. You were in the lounge?” I asked with apprehension
, not wanting to look at him because I felt a little exposed.

“Yeah.
I was all over the place tonight.  But I wanted to check on you to make sure you were good. And when I saw you, you looked like you were in the zone. I didn’t want to disturb you. Your face looked…I don’t know…content or something,” I heard him as he turned to face me.  I felt his eyes on me but I continued to look up the block, taking in the colors, the sounds, the feel of the city.  The silence stretched between us; however, it didn’t feel awkward.  It felt almost comfortable.  I looked up at him and his eyes were still on me, studying me.

“Are you trying to figure me o
ut?” I joked to break the tension.

Ty laughed, “Yes I am.”
His laughter made me smile. “You’re interesting and you’re kind of mysterious.  I’m interested in knowing more about you. So yes, I am trying to figure you out,” he concluded with an inviting smile.

Flabbergasted
, I just smiled back, saying nothing.
Stop smiling!
I demanded to myself, but there was something about him that just made me feel…good. 

“If you could have dinner with any well-known person in the world, who would it be?” Ty said suddenly. 

“What?” I said reeling from the randomness of the question.

“If you could have dinner with any well-known person in the world, who would it be? It could be a celebrity, president, diplomat, foreign leader, anyone really.”

“Hmmmm…President Obama,” I said, cocking my head to the side.

“You look
ed like you weren’t sure. Who were you debating against?” he asked.

“It was a toss-up between him and Michelle. I love the FLOTUS!” I proclaimed.

“Me too,” he agreed.

“Do I get to ask you a random question now?” I wondered with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” he continued laughingly, “should I be worried?”

“What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?”

“Oh man… I don’t even want to go there!” he groaned playfully.

“Oh no you don’t! You said I could ask you anything so spill it!”

“Okay… but just so we are clear, it’s against our friendship rules for you to bring this up. Ever!” he warned with laugh.

“Spill.
It!” I said with a giggle.
Did I just giggle? What the hell?

“Okay
. A couple of years ago, I was a groomsman in Malik’s wedding. Malik is my best friend Bennett’s cousin. Both Bennett and I were groomsmen.  And let me just put this out there: Bennett is an ass. He is my boy for life but he is an ass. So it’s me, Bennett, and the two other dudes toasting Malik in the smoking room.  Since undergrad, I hardly ever drink anymore, but I told them I’d have one glass to toast this occasion. Malik has been through a lot. And to see him so happy, it made us all happy. Anyway, I don’t know what Bennett put in my glass but it snuck up on me…right in time for the speech.  Sahara, if it wasn’t for the video, I wouldn’t have a clue as to what I said.  Let’s just say, I started quoting Nas.  I might have freestyled a little bit.  And this lasted for 5 or 6 long minutes. Finally, my grandfather came up and put me out of my misery.  Everyone was laughing. Worst. Night. Ever,” Ty concluded with a laugh.

Catching my breath since I had been laughing through most of his s
tory, I put my hands against my chest and felt my heart racing.  I hadn’t laughed that hard in years. It felt good. So for the next 20 minutes, we reexamined the entire reception: did Bennett ever tell him what was in the glass, what was the reaction of the guests, what was his reaction when he saw the tape, etc.  It felt natural and good and normal. Once we finished laughing, I realized we were just staring at one another with huge smiles on our faces.

Breaking our eye contact, I looked past him
toward the door as more people exited.

“Did you drive or do you need a ride home?” Ty asked as we watched a group of twenty-somethings sing “
Locked Out Of Heaven” off key and extremely loud.

“I took a taxi here,”
I replied, looking back at him.

“I
f you are interested in staying for a little while, I could give you a ride home. I’m not leaving out of here until about 2:30am though. This is my baby and I want to see everything through,” he explained, endearing me with his eyes.

I thought about it for a second
before responding, “I should get home.”  Being around him was easy, too easy, and I didn’t need to get too comfortable.
Even though I really want to stay around him
, I realized when the thought flashed in my mind.
For the first time in a week, I had gone a significant amount of time without thinking about the hearing or my past. When I thought about going home to have another sleepless night verses conversing with Ty and warding off the memories, the pain, and the hurt, the choice was obvious. “I should get home,” I continued, “but I think I could hang out for a little longer.” I smiled coyly.

Ty smiled wide as a look of relief washed over his face. “Good,” he exclaimed. Now let me show you around.” Putting his hand on the small of my back, he guided me back to the large doors of Jimmy’s.  The restaurant closed
at midnight so all the activity was upstairs in the lounge.  Smiling at Marie, we passed her and went through the restaurant door.  The restaurant had a beautiful open layout with a variety of tables covered in white linens.  The tables for two lined the wall and each had 4 inch glass vases with white candles floating inside.  The center of the room had a mix of two, four, and six person tables.  At the very back of the room, two large banquet tables that looked as if they could seat a party of ten or twelve. The bigger tables had large glass vases with red roses at the bottom and led lights floating up and down the 20 inch vase. Strategically placed photographs of musicians were around the room. I quickly located the photo of Ty and his grandfather. It was located in the very back of the room, above the large party tables. The exposed brick walls contradicted and complemented the elegant décor all at the same time.  As much as the lounge screamed cool, the restaurant screamed class. “Absolutely beautiful,” I gushed when my eyes found his again.

His eyes gleamed with pride. “Thank you,” he said appreciatively. Before he could say
whatever was on the tip of his tongue, the kitchen door swung open. Milton walked out with a huge smile on his face.

“Everything went better than expected, Mr. Barker! The food was exquisite, the atmosphere electric
. Are you happy? I’m happy,” Milton enthused with a laugh.  Looking from Milton to Ty, both men seemed exhilarated.  The sheer happiness on Ty’s face made me smile.

“Excellent, Milton!
I’m very happy with how this entire night has turned out,” he looked at me as he said it. Looking back at Milton, Ty asked, “Are the kitchen and wait staff still here?”

“Yes, I told them you wanted to meet with them before they left for the night,” Milton said.

“Good. I’m going to show Sahara
to my office and then I’ll be right with them,” Ty informed his restaurant manager before guiding us out of the restaurant. 

Walking ahead of me, Ty swiped and then punched in a code to his office door.  He opened the door for me and
we walked down a short hallway that opened into a lavish office. While it wasn’t massive, the high ceiling gave the visual effect of a room twice its size.    The first thing my eyes gravitated to was the large wooden desk right in front of a tall, stained glass window. The reds, blues, and yellows of the window created abstract art. I had to tear my eyes away from the beauty of it in order to take in the oversized brown sofa to the right side of the room and matching brown wing back chairs in front of the desk.  The filing cabinets were directly across from the sofa, on the other side of the desk.

Stepping around me to get to his desk, he sat in his brown leather
rolling desk chair.  He looked in his top desk drawer and pulled out a remote control. “So…here’s where I’ve been spending my time in Richland,” Ty looked at me expectantly, eyes wide.

“Another mark in the win column,” I said, repeating his early morning words, looking around the room again. My eyes returned to the stained glass window. “This is my favorite thing,” I pointed to the glass. Looking at him briefly, I continued, “The dance floor in the lounge is a close second.”

He sat back in his chair and smiled. “Those are two of my favorites as well,” Ty admitted.  “I’ll have to tell you the story behind them when I get back. Please get comfortable. Here’s the remote to the TV,” he pointed behind me and I spun around
. How did I not notice that?
I thought as he powered on the 40inch flat screen that hung against the brick. 

“A blanket is on the back of the couch. I shouldn’t be too long. I need to speak with the restaurant staff and then check on things in the lounge. 
I should’ve thought this all the way through before asking you to stay. But honestly, I wasn’t ready for you to go yet,” Ty admitted with a shy hesitance. He licked his lips and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.