Savory Deceits (3 page)

“Keep your head up, all right.” He said, opening the door. I smiled, appreciating his encouragement.

“I will. Thanks Chris. Good night.” Then, I closed the door behind him, and leaned against it.

“What was that?” I asked myself. Unwilling to explore my feelings, I pushed away from the door, and went into my bedroom.

3

Boom Boom Boom
emitted loud bangs, just outside my front door.

“What the hell?” I angrily sat up, and snatched the covers off, looking at the clock. It was 7:21AM on a freaking Saturday! Getting out of bed, I grabbed my robe, and stomped towards the front door.

“Who is it?” I asked in a huff. No one answered. I then looked through the peephole, and it was completely dark. It was obvious that the person standing there had purposely covered the hole. Instantly agitated, I swung the door open.

“It's about time girl! I was about to break this door down.” She said with a smile.

“Oh my God, Nai! What are you doing here?” I jumped on my sister, nearly knocking her petite frame down with a hug. Naima laughed.

“It’s good to see you too sis. So, this is the place huh,” she said, inviting herself in. Although Naima was three years older than I was, my twenty-six year old, five foot seven frame, towered over her five foot three one.

“Nice. You got taste.” She said surveying the room, running her fingers on the back of my cream-colored sectional sofa.

“Well of course I do. I had a good teacher.” I replied with a wink.

“Well, I try.” Naima said, now touching the crystal lamp, with matching cream shades. She removed her denim jacket, and tossed it on the loveseat. Then, she turned to me, with her hands on her hips, and gave me a quick once-over. “Well, look at you,
Mrs
. Skye. You look good girl.” She said, and I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah right! I just woke up, and look like hell. You’re the one who’s looking like you just stepped off the runway. I love those boots by the way!” I moved towards the living room, and gestured for her to sit down.

“Oh, thanks. You know how I am with my knee-high red bottoms.” Naima said, kicking her heels up as she sat down.

              “When did you get here?” I asked, sitting on the arm of my recliner.

“Well,” Naima began, “my plane landed at six o’ clock this morning, but I stopped to get something to eat first. What took you so long to open the door anyway? What? You got a man up in here already?” She joked, pretending to look around for the culprit.

“Oh, whatever!” I laughed. “Tony has only been gone two weeks, and besides, I love my baby too much, to do something like that to him.” Then, Naima’s smile faded, and she paused before speaking.

“Yeah, I know. I just hope he feels the same way about you too.” She said, and I looked away embarrassed.

“He's changed, Nai.” I said in his defense. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me like that again.” Naima stared at me for a moment, and I could see she still had her doubts.

“Okay. So, what's up? How've you been?” She asked, changing the subject. Grateful for the change, I smiled.

“I've been good. I do get kind of lonely here sometimes, but Chris usually comes over, to keep me company.” I said.

“How is he?” She asked nonchalantly. Naima was not fooling me. I knew she still had feelings for him.

“He's good. I know he misses you though. Every time I bring you up, I see this sad look in his eyes. The same look I’m seeing in yours right now.” I said studying her face. I hoped I was not making a big mistake, by opening up that door again.

“I do miss him,” Naima admitted.

“And he misses you.” I encouraged. I know I said I did not want them to be together, but in hindsight, I rather they did, since Chris was Tony’s best friend. I missed the way the four of us used to hang out, and do things together, as a group. Lately, I have been feeling this weird vibe from Chris that needed to stop, and Naima was the perfect distraction for him. Even though Chris often referred to me as his little sister, that did not negate the fact that on more than one occasion, since Tony has been gone, I felt as though he wanted to kiss me. Chris has been a great friend over the years, and we have an interesting history, but Tony is my husband.

“I’m sure he’d be happy to know you’re here. How long are you staying, by the way?” I now asked Naima. I hoped that she, and Chris, could somehow mend their relationship, so everything could go back to the way they used to be.

“Now, that's my second surprise.” Naima said smiling. “My company, Endless Beauty, is trying to buy this little cosmetics company based right her in Virginia, and they sent me to oversee the acquisition. Once we get it, I have the option of staying behind a while, to make sure that everything’s up and running smoothly, before I head back to Wisconsin.”

“Are you serious? That’s great Nai!” I was ecstatic.

“Yeah girl, I’m hoping they appoint me as the new CEO of that company, so I can see about moving here permanently!” She said, thrilled.

“Oh my God! Shut Up! Are you for real?” I exclaimed.

This was beyond good news, especially for me. Living in Virginia, all alone with no family, was starting to get depressing.

“Yes, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is not a done deal yet. We have to get the company first. My boss offered to set me up in a hotel down here in the meantime, but I told her that there was no need, because I could stay here with you. I hope that’s not a problem.” She said.

“Are you kidding? Of course, it’s all right, Nai! You can stay in the guest bedroom. Maybe this whole deployment thing with Tony won't be so bad after all, since you're here now.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few hours of unpacking, and organizing her things in my spare bedroom, Naima stretched out on my sofa, in front of the TV. It was nice having my sister around again, because I had missed her so much.

“Nai? Can I ask you a question?” I asked, joining her on the sofa. Freshly showered, and wearing her I LOVE PINK Victoria’s Secret pajamas, my sister made herself right at home.

“Sure. What's up?” She said sitting up.

“Do you still have feelings for Chris?” I asked her. Even though Chris made me uncomfortable, I did not want to see him hurt again. I also did not want to get in the middle of their drama, but I just had to know. Naima seemed to think about it for a moment, and I waited.

“Yes, I do,” she admitted. “To be honest, Nena, I never stopped loving Chris. When he first told me he wanted to join the Navy, I panicked. Then after a while, I just dismissed the idea, and thought that he would change his mind. Then, when you told me that, he had signed up with Tony, girl I was pissed. I did not know what would happen to us, so I broke it off. And to this day, I still wonder if I made a big mistake, by letting him go.” She explained.

“Wow, I had no idea, Nai?” I said. I knew there was a possibility that she still felt something for Chris, but I did not know it ran that deep. She rarely talked about the breakup with anyone, and after a while, I just stopped asking.

“Yeah, I was afraid of getting hurt, because he was the only man that I’ve ever let close to my heart. But I miss him so much, Nena.” Naima sat up, and reached for the tissue box on the coffee table. “I know I hurt him,” she continued, “I just hope he can find it in his heart to forgive me.” She finished, dabbing at her eyes. Her voice was a little shaky, and I moved to put my arms around her. Listening to her sniffles, caused my own tears to come forth, but I held them back.

“It’s okay hon, I’m sure he’ll understand.” I encouraged.

“You think?” She asked, pulling away to reach for another tissue.

“Yes. Chris loved you, how could he not understand? And just as much as you’re missing him right now, I bet he’s missing you more,” I said with a smile, and Naima smiled back. “But you have to be the one to make it right,” I continued. “You’re the one who broke his heart. You alienated yourself from him. You never wrote him back, or returned any of his calls. And after a while, he just gave up.” I told her. Naima nodded, finally accepting responsibility for her actions.

“I know. I know. I just don't know what to do now. I really do love him, Nena.” She said sniffling.

“Then don't tell me that. Tell him.”

~CHRIS~

“Hello?” I answered after three rings.

“Hey Chris, it's me…Naima.” I blinked several times at the sound of her voice.

“Naima?” Was this a joke? I took the phone from my ear to look at it, before putting it back. “Wow. This is a surprise.” I said. Then she paused, and I waited, not knowing what to expect.

“Yeah, how are you?” She asked me. How are you? Was she really trying to make small talk with me? Then, I shook my head; she had a lot of nerve.

“Great.” I said, with as much sarcasm as I could muster. There was silence again on the other end. I did not think I would ever hear from her again. In a way, I did not want to either. After all, she was the only woman I let break my heart. Just the mere thought of that made me angry again.

“What do you want?” I asked coldly.

“Well...um...I'm going to be in town for a while, and I would like to see you. Can I come over?” She asked me. Her voice was shaky, and she sounded emotional, but I did not care.

“For what?” I asked, with absolutely no interest in seeing her again. “At this point Naima, I could give a rat’s ass, about whatever it is, that you have to say to me right now.” I hoped that my words cut through her like a knife, the way hers did to me, five years ago.

“Please Chris. I know you are mad at me, and I do not blame you, but please. Can I come over, so we could talk about this? Please?” She pleaded. Was she begging? Who in the hell was this anyway? The Naima I remembered, showed no emotion at all, when she ripped my heart out, and essentially used it as target practice. Ever since then, I have been careful not to let anyone in, or get too close to me, except for…

“Please, baby, I really need to see you.” She begged again. Wow. As angry as I was with her, the way she called me baby, did something to me. Tears now stung my eyes, when memories of the way we were, resurfaced. Her smile, her laugh, and the way it made me feel to hear her say ‘I love you,’ tugged at the absolute core of me. I gave her the best of me, and she threw it in my face. And why? I did not know, but she sure as hell, was going to tell me. She at least, owed me that much.

“Where are you?” I finally asked, feeling like such a punk.

“Nena's. This is where I’ll be staying, while I’m in town.” She sounded relieved, and I paused again, on purpose. Naima waited.

“All right,” I finally said. “I guess I’ll see you later then. Nena knows where I live.” I said, immediately ending the call.

~NAIMA~

“Are you okay?” Nena walked in, just in time for me to hit the END button, on my cell.

“He's still angry with me,” I said, shaking my head. “I could hear it in his voice.” I told her. Then, Nena sat next to me on the bed.

“What happened? What did he say?” She asked me.

“Never mind that. I have to go see him. Can you take me over there?” I asked her. I was determined to make things right again with Chris. I could not let another year go by, letting him think, that I did not care about him. I had to let him know how much I still loved him.

“Sure, I can take you there. Are you sure you’re going to be all right, though?” Nena asked, as if she were debating taking me over there. Backing out now, was not an option for me.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I just have to talk to him.” I said. The thought of seeing Chris again made my heart beat a little faster. I was scared, but also excited to see him again, after all these years. However, it saddened me to hear the resentment in his voice.

“He sounded like he didn’t even want to hear my voice, let alone see me.” I said, and fingered the necklace I wore around my neck. At the end of the gold chain, was a heart-shaped locket, with our pictures inside. I never took it off. Although it was my choice to let Chris go, I could never let go, of the love that we once shared. Many lonely nights, I cried myself to sleep, in my empty apartment, longing for him. How could I have been so stupid? He was like the perfect man for me, and I ruined it. Then, Nena touched my shoulder, jarring me back to the present.

“Hey, it'll be okay. Just tell him how you feel. Tell him what you told me. You ready?” She asked me. I took a deep breath, and nodded.

“Let's go.”

A half hour later, Nena pulled into the parking lot of Chris' apartment building. Then suddenly, my legs felt heavy, and I could not get out of the car.

“Hey. You want me to come in with you?” Nena said, noticing my disposition. I took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“No, that's okay. Thanks though. I have to do this alone.” I replied, touching my locket once more.

“Okay. Do you want me to wait for you?” She then asked. I thought about it for a moment, and then shook my head no.