Layover (18 page)

He smiled and she rolled her eyes. I drove off, headed back to the house. I was confused and really didn’t know what just happened. I left the house this morning with the intent of just chatting a bit with Angela and here I end up in verbal quarrel with Allen’s ex. This is the kind of stuff that only happens to me.

 I began driving down the road and suddenly decided that I was going back to Angela’s. Since she had seen what she did, it would be in my best interest to tell her what was really going on before she started telling what she already knows. At least if I tell her what’s really happening, I can swear her to secrecy. If I tell her nothing then, technically, I can’t ask her to keep anything secret. The question is, how much am I going to tell her?

I pulled up to Angela’s house and sat in the driveway for a minute. I didn’t know what to say to her. Finally, she stuck her head out of the front door.

“Get your ass in here,” she instructed me.

I walked into the house with my head hung like a child in trouble with her parents.

“Look Nya,” she told me as I sat down,” I know this isn’t easy. You can tell me as little or as much as you want. But damnit, girl, you need to tell someone something. I know you don’t have anyone you can talk to about this. I swear, it’ll never leave this room. But you need to be more careful, or I won’t have to tell anyone because everyone in town will already know.”

“Angela, you’re right. It’s not easy. And you’re also right, Allen and I have been acting carelessly. But that’s only because we haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Ny, what the fuck is going on between you two?”

“We’re in love,” I told her, “We’re not having an affair, nothing like that. We are just straight up in love with one another.”

“That’s some serious shit, Ny. And ya’ll are not fucking around?”

“No.”

“Damn, that
is
love. What are you going to do?”

“We want to tell the family, but we think it’s best to wait to make sure the feelings are real.”

“How long are you going to wait?”

“Until Christmas. We figure when we come back here next month for the holidays, we will tell everyone then.”

“Don’t expect a reception,” she prepared me, “I mean, Tootie will be happy, but not everyone else will.”

“I know. I don’t know how Kenny is going to take it.”

“Fuck it, he’ll get over it!” Angela told me, “The important thing is that you do what makes you happy.”

“Yeh, but I hate to hurt Kenny, and especially Lisa.”

“Her ass will get over it too. Ya’ll need to stop worrying about these grown ass people. If they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, you and Allen would have never even noticed each other.”

Angela was right. It was Kenny’s negative and unsupportive attitude that drove me straight into the arms of his brother. We sat there for a while without talking, once again becoming interested in the television show. After about thirty minutes, I felt obligated to swear her to silence about what I told her.  

“Please don’t say anything, Angela. We want to be the ones to tell everyone.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word, but you two better chill.”

“I know, I told Allen.”

“What did he say?”

“He says he can’t help it. He wants to tell everyone right away.”

Angela just shook her head.

“I would hate to be you right now.”

“I know, but I feel much better now that I told someone,” I assured her.

“Ny, I hope you think of me as a friend and not just as that loud, crazy-ass White girl.”

“I do. I think of you as both,” I teased her.

I knew I was going to have to help prepare the meal for tomorrow so we watched the last thirty minutes of the show and I told Angela I would have to get going. I left and headed back for the house.

When I got to the street where my mother-in-law lives, I could smell delicious fried turkey being cooked outdoors. I was a bit surprised because I knew my turkey frying husband was still on the golf course. I was shocked to find, at the front end of the long, winding driveway was Allen. He was decked out in his chef’s outfit, complete with the hat, apron, and mitts. He seemed upbeat and not exasperated, like when I last saw him. I was anxious to know what happened with Akina, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask. I stopped at the driveway entrance.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m frying the turkey,” he informed me.

“Well, it
smells
good, but you’re not exactly Kenny behind the turkey fryer.”

“And he’s not exactly me behind
something else
.”

I blushed.

“What happened with Akina?”

“Not much.”

“Did she try to pin the baby on you?”

“Of course, but as I told you before, it’s not mine.”

“I know, Allen. But how can you be absolutely certain?”

“Ny, I don’t want to get into this right now, but, there are some things about me that you just don’t know.”

“Like what?” I asked smartly.

“Like, I never slept with that girl.”

“Oh, yeh right! Then how is it that she says you fathered her child?”

“We both had too much to drink that night. I passed out.
She
says we had sex, but I don’t remember it nor do I believe her.”

“Why don’t you believe her?”

“Because we dated all through high school and we never slept together.”

“Why not?” I asked, intrigued.

“Because I thought we would get married one day and I wanted to wait until our wedding night.”

“
You
wanted to wait, not her?”

“Yes. She wanted to give it to me, but I thought she was special and I was saving myself.”

I started laughing uncontrollably.

“Stop lying! Are you pulling my leg?”

Allen didn’t think it was funny. He just glared at me. I got myself together and resumed questioning.

“So what happened?”

“I went off to college and I was going to come back and marry her. I found out that she was cheating on me, so I broke up with her. That’s when she got me drunk and begged me to take her back. I told her the answer was no. I don’t remember anything after that, but she says we slept together. I just don’t believe I would do that.”

I was in shock. I could not believe this man was saving himself for marriage.

“So, you didn’t sleep with anyone after that?”

“Lisa was my first.”

“Stop lying!”

Allen was still not amused.

“I’m sorry, Allen, but this is just too much. If this is true, then you are some special person. I mean you’re special anyway, but, damn!”

“Ny, I don’t take sex lightly.”

I can attest to that.

“I know Allen. It’s just that, well, I thought I was the only person on earth who waited until marriage. And the fact that you are a guy makes it that much more special.”

“I know. When Kenny told me you were a virgin, I thought you were pretty special too.”

“He told you?”

“Yeh, he was so proud! He thinks you’re special too.”

“Yeh, right. He sure doesn’t treat me that way.”

“I will.”

I started my car and drove down the driveway into the carport. I was stunned by what I just heard and it must have shown on my face when I entered the house.

“You look like you saw a ghost,” my mother-in-law told me.

“She is in shock because someone took her man’s job as Head Turkey Fryer,” Denise instigated.

I just smiled and went back to my room. I draped myself across the bed and looked up at the ceiling. I was stunned. I always knew Allen was special, but to hear him say that he was saving himself just blew me away. I mean, he is pure. He is untarnished. I can’t help but think about how difficult it must have been for him, being a guy and all. For me, it was easy to abstain. I earned a reputation as being stuck-up very early on and I just ran with it. There was no one deserving enough to deflower me. My parents always put me up on a pedestal and made me believe I was better than everyone else so I never wanted or needed the affections of a boy. I always knew I would wait until I got married. It just makes me sorry I didn’t marry someone more deserving, like Allen. How wonderful it would have been for two people to save themselves for each other and never have been with another person. Instead, here we are two people who’ve only been with one other person and we somehow end up falling in love. It makes me want to give all of my love to him. It makes me want to give him everything - every part of me. I fell asleep thinking about it.

It must have been hours later when I woke up because I could hear Kenny yelling from down the hall. He was cursing and I could hear another voice yelling back at him. I jumped up suddenly and listened to see what the confusion was about.

“And who told this motherfucker to fry the turkey? Don’t nobody want his dry ass turkey!” Kenny whined.

“Who was going to wait for your no golf-playing ass to come home and do it? Some people do want eat
on
Thanksgiving Day!” Allen yelled.

It wasn’t like Kenny and Allen never got into arguments, it’s just that I was especially sensitive to in now since I was in this love triangle with them.

“Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I was going to cook the turkey tonight, idiot!”

“Well, I couldn’t take that chance. You seem too wrapped up in yourself to pay attention to your family,” Allen told him.

“Are we still talking about turkey?” Kenny asked.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you want more than just my job frying turkey.”

I pretty much knew where this was going so I decided to go in the front and see if my presence would calm things down a bit. When I walked in, I was surprised to find that no one was really even paying those two any attention. The whole family was there, but everyone was either cooking, reading, or watching television. No one seemed especially intrigued by the nature of the fight, not yet anyway.

“Oh, really? And what do you have that I could possibly want?”

“My wife, Nigga! You want my wife!”

Everyone was paying attention now. I thought I was going die, I was so embarrassed. Lisa looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Fool, I’ve got a wife.”

“Yeh? Does she know you saw my wife in Denver a few weeks ago?”

Lisa sat up straight and looked at me.

“Nigga, I don’t have any secrets from my wife - unlike you,” Allen yelled.

“Oh, no? Lisa, did you know Nya spent the night in Denver a few weeks ago?”

Lisa shook her head.

“Apparently only Nya and Allen knew.”

Everyone was quiet and waiting for the next exchange.

“If you were more attentive in your house, you would know where your wife is. Nya is my sister-in-law and she didn’t have anyone in Denver she could call except me. If there’s something wrong with that, then somebody please tell me right now.”

“If it was so innocent why didn’t you tell your wife?” Kenny pressed.

“Fool, my wife was out of town. Besides, I tell my wife everything.”

Lisa looked at Allen. She had realized that the time they were speaking of, she was at her parent’s house. She looked at me as if she wanted me to try to explain myself, but I wasn’t saying a word until I heard what Allen had to say.

“Well, I don’t know what you tell your wife, but you must have told mine some good shit because she had the nerve to tell me she had feelings for you!” Kenny screamed.

Lisa was ready to explode. Everyone else took a deep breath. Allen looked at me.

“I can’t help how she feels,” Allen answered.

“No, but how do
you
feel? Go ahead, say it here in front of everyone. Get it all out. If you have feelings for Nya, show her by acknowledging it in front of all of these people, including your wife. If you don’t, tell her right now in front of everyone and end this shit right now! Here’s the thing, though: You can’t lie. You can’t say you don’t care for her now, and then go back later and tell her you do. Nya’s not stupid. She’s not going to let you play her like that. So what’s up Allen? Do you have feelings for Nya or not?”

There was deafening silence. Everyone pulled up to the edge of their chair and looked straight at Allen’s mouth. The words that would come out next would be the ones that would change everyone’s life - or not. I was shaking, but tried not to let my nervousness show. Allen looked at me like he was waiting for me to give him the answers on a pop quiz. I looked at him as if I were saying with my eyes to just tell the truth. It was going to have to come out anyway. This is as good a way as any. I had not realized that my telling Kenny I had feelings for Allen had affected him so deeply. Kenny must have been carrying around that hurt for the past several days since I told him. I thought that after Kenny and I spent the day at the hotel, he had forgotten about me saying I had feelings for Allen. Kenny is smart too. He knows if Allen says the wrong thing, I’ll never speak to him again. And Lisa must really feel that I betrayed her. Here I am telling her to leave her man, and now she must feel that I said that because I wanted him for myself. I tried not to be selfish, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about what Angela said. She was right, Allen and I had a right to be happy. It’s not our responsibility to worry about what others think. Kenny and Lisa had their chance. It’s our turn to be happy. I knew how Allen felt about me but I was really curious about what he would say. He was in a very awkward position. He was under no obligation to answer Kenny’s question, but given that everyone was biting their fingernails waiting for a response, it would certainly go a long way if he did. The last thing I wanted was for it to come out like this, but since we found ourselves in this position, it may as well be now.