“I heard you.”
“I know, but why does that scare me to death?”
Smiling, she didn’t say another word.
When dessert was done, they gathered up the plates and silverware and placed everything back in the basket.
“I should get you home,” he said. “You have a lot to do in the morning.”
“I know.” The school opening was scheduled for tomorrow, but she didn’t want the evening to end. “Can we do this again?”
“Anytime you like.”
Silence rose up between them and their eyes met in the dark. When he leaned over and kissed her gently, it felt natural and right. As the kiss deepened, they drew each other closer, and the soul-filling emotion Bernadine had been so reluctant to embrace took hold. Finally, reluctantly, he eased away. She was left with her eyes closed and her heart racing. “You’re a very good kisser, Mal July.”
“That’s in my genes too.”
She chuckled softly. “Start the truck.”
So he did.
When they arrived at her house, the porch light was on. Lights were on inside the other homes in the subdivision too, but as far as she could tell, neither Roni nor Lily were standing on their porches trying to be nosy. He got out and came around to hand her down. Once she was on terra firma again, he held on to her hand and walked her up the steps and to the door.
“I had a good time, Mal.” And she really did. His holding her hand felt good too.
“Thanks for going.” He gifted her with one last lingering kiss that left her shimmering. “See you in the morning. Night, baby girl.”
“Night, Mal.”
After leaving her on the porch, he drove away and Bernadine watched until the taillights of the old Ford disappeared into the night.
Inside, she found Crystal curled up on the couch watching a cooking show. “Did you have a good time?”
“I did.”
“Did he kiss you?”
Bernadine cut her a look.
Crystal smiled. “Just kidding.”
Bernadine took up a seat beside her, all the while thinking about Mal and his bone-melting kisses. “Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Nope. Just been plain old boring Henry Adams, but while you were getting dressed for your not-a-date…” She grinned. Bernadine grinned back, and Crystal continued, “Eli came over.”
“What did he want?”
“To talk. I told him I’m going to start charging people for all this advice.”
She chuckled. “What kind of advice did he need?”
“He had more of a question at first. Wanted to know if I was mad about Nikki passing. I told him I was, and that’s when I figured that he was all angry and stuff because his mom had passed too.”
“I was wondering if that had something to do with his bad attitude.”
“It does, but he’s taking it out on people and I told him that dissing everybody just made him a jerk.”
“How’d he react to that?”
“After I broke it down like that he seemed okay with it. Not that I really cared because it was the truth.”
Bernadine wondered if Crystal knew how special she was.
“Then I told him how much it helped me to have you to talk to about my feelings and stuff, and that he might try talking to his dad.”
“Great advice. Do you think you got through to him?”
She shrugged. “Who knows, but at least he wasn’t acting like a jerk. Said he had talked to Tamar some and I guess she made him feel better. He said she told him that when the people we love die, they can still watch us and guide us from heaven. Do you think that’s true?”
“I don’t know, but I like it.”
“Me too.”
Bernadine then told her about the decision she’d made surrounding Nikki’s interment. Crystal twisted around so she could see Bernadine’s face.
“You’d go to the burial all by yourself?”
“Yeah. Somebody should be there when she’s lowered into the ground.”
Crystal was silent for a few moments. “I’ll go too, then.”
“You sure? I’m okay going alone.”
“I know, but if you can go, I can too. She was my mom.”
“Thanks, Crys.” She gave her a hug. “Nikki’s spirit will probably like having you there.” Bernadine turned her loose. “I’ll let you know when everything’s arranged.”
“Okay, but what kind of family doesn’t want to be bothered burying their own blood?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they have their reasons.”
“I didn’t want to go because I thought it would just make me sadder, but you’re right. She shouldn’t be alone.”
Bernadine leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “You are a sweetheart.”
She brightened. “Trying to learn from you.”
“You get an A for this lesson.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m heading to bed. Are you going to the ribbon cutting for the school in the morning?”
“Yep. I still feel down but being in the house by myself only makes it worse. Seeing Amari and Preston today made me feel better, which is pretty wack, but hey?” and she shrugged.
“Then how about we go to the Dog for breakfast first.”
“You just want to see the O.G., don’t you?”
“No, I want to see a plate with breakfast.”
“Whatever you say.”
Bernadine yanked gently on one of Crystal’s Crayola yellow braids. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night, Ms. Bernadine.”
“Night, baby.”
Mal decided he’d had a real good evening with Bernadine and was looking forward to more. The kisses weren’t bad either. When he walked into his small apartment attached to the back of the D&C, Otis Miller was chilling in the living room on a mattress on the floor.
“How’d your picnic go?”
“Real good. You doing okay?”
“Yep. Just watching the ball game. Cards are up by two. Seventh inning.”
“You have dinner?”
“Ms. Rocky let me eat at the diner. Told me I could have three squares a day on her until I get my check. She told me about the school thing in the morning too. Thought I’d go check it out, if there’s time after I’m done with breakfast cleanup.”
“Good. You can meet Ms. Brown. She’ll be paying your salary over at the school.”
“This the lady you went out with tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“You all tight?”
“Getting there.”
“I wish you luck, then.”
Mal grinned. “Thanks.”
“By the way, thanks for all this. That truck driver sure knew what he was talking about when he dropped me off and told me to look for work here. He said you all were good people.”
“Glad we could help you out. I’m going to put this leftover food in the fridge. Help yourself if you want. Plenty of pie left.”
“Might just do that. Thanks.”
After storing the remaining food, Mal walked back in and said, “I’ll see you in the morning, man.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Ray heard July’s door close and he grinned. He was sitting real pretty at the moment. Tomorrow, if everything worked out, he’d get to meet Bernadine Brown. He wondered what she looked like, not that it mattered. She could look like a toad’s butt if the money was long and green. He wasn’t worried about July having a previous claim either. If he decided to pursue her romantically, country boy July wouldn’t stand a chance against the game of an ex-pimp like himself. Now he’d settle for just meeting her. After that, he’d lay low, check out the landscape, and go from there.
CHAPTER 17
On Saturday morning, Bernadine and Crystal drove over to the Dog. The place was bustling. On the jukebox, Undisputed Truth was warning anyone who’d listen about the dangers of backstabbing “Smiling Faces,” and Bernadine moved unconsciously to the beat while she an
d Crystal waited to be seated.
Crystal said, “Looks like everybody had the same idea.”
Bernadine agreed. Trent and Amari were sharing a booth with Preston and the colonel. Lily and Devon were eating with the Garlands and Zoey. In the back she spotted Tamar sitting with Agnes, Genevieve, Eli and his dad, and in the booth behind them, Leo and Marie. Bernadine was not happy. Granted she didn’t want Leo back in her life, and yes, Marie was a grown woman capable of deciding on her own who she wanted to be with. But Leo! Bernadine didn’t understand that, or why Leo was sniffing around. Surely he wasn’t trying to make her jealous, but if he was intent upon making her angry, he was doing a fine job.
She saw Malachi weaving his way expertly through the packed place with a coffee carafe in his hand, pausing here and there to freshen people’s brew. Memories rose of last night and she smiled inwardly while wondering how soon they could get together again.
The hostess Kelly hurried over. “Sorry to keep you waiting. We’re short on staff, so I’m hostess and doing tables. This way please.”
As they followed her to the now empty booth in front of Trent and his party, Kelly looked back and asked Crystal, “How old are you?”
“Be sixteen soon.”
“If you want to make some money waitressing, we could sure use you.”
Bernadine watched Crystal consider that. They took their seats, and Kelly left to bring coffee.
“What do you think of me working?”
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your schoolwork, I don’t have a problem with it.”
Crystal paused for a moment to wave to Zoey across the room. “Be nice to have my own cash when we go shopping.”
“I like the sound of that.”
She smiled. “No. Sometimes, I want to buy stuff for you, but I don’t have any money. I have my allowance, but not money I made on my own.”
“That’s sweet.”
Kelly returned with coffee. They gave her their breakfast orders and continued their conversation.
Behind them, Barrett Payne was looking skeptical at the idea Trent had just proposed. Edwin Starr was on the jukebox growling his way through “War!”
“Isn’t that more of a woman’s thing?” Payne asked.
Trent shrugged a bit. “I suppose, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put our own spin on it.”
“A fathers’ support group?”
An enthusiastic Amari broke into the conversation. “Yeah. You could all have tee shirts with your names on the back and on the front it would say…” He paused to think for a moment and then, nodding his head rhythmically, said, “Dads Incorporated.”
A surprised Trent declared, “I like that, Amari.”
“Yeah,” Preston said. “Dads Inc. I like it too.”
Amari added, “You all could meet, have a good time, and learn how to be good dads together.”
Trent chuckled. “Guess we have a name.”
“I guess.” Barrett’s skepticism could still be heard. He glanced over at Preston, who turned away to the window, but not before Barrett saw the disappointment in his eyes. Realizing belatedly that as far as Preston was concerned, he’d screwed up by not being more open to the idea, he tried to make amends, “How about we ask Garland too? And from what I’ve been hearing from Preston about Eli, Jack could probably use a cold one and a pat on the back once a week as well. So let’s include him, if he’s willing.”
Seeing the way Preston smiled in response touched Barrett inside in a place that seemed to want the boy’s approval. He didn’t know what to call it, but he knew it was there.
Trent nodded. “We have a deal.”
Malachi brought Bernadine and Crystal their plates. Walking with him was a thinly built, dark-skinned man she didn’t know.
Mal set down their food, saying, “Bernadine, want you and Crystal to meet Otis Miller. He’s working here at the Dog, and Crys, he’ll be working at the school too.”
“Nice to meet you,” Bernadine said pleasantly. She’d been looking forward to being introduced.
Crystal said, “Pleased to meet you.”
He gave them a nod. “Nice meeting you ladies too.”
Bernadine had a strong feeling that she’d seen him before. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
“I don’t think so, ma’am. I’d remember a classy lady like yourself. People used to tell me I favored Ike Turner, though. Maybe that’s it.”
Bernadine searched his features. “Maybe.”
She glanced over at Crystal, who replied, “Not to be disrespectful or anything, but I know I’ve never seen him before.”
He smiled.
Bernadine shook herself free of the sensation. “Sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“No problem, ma’am. Let me get back to work. Again, nice meeting you all. Enjoy your meal.”
As he walked away, Bernadine still had the feeling that she knew Otis Miller from somewhere, but she let it go, thanked Mal, and she and Crystal picked up their forks.
Ray went back into the kitchen and began rinsing the dirty plates for their trip to the dishwasher. So now he knew what his pigeon looked like. She was a big girl. That made it easier because all of the heavyset women he’d charmed in the past had been insecure because of their size, and therefore open to any kind of affection they could find. Bernadine Brown probably fit that same category, seeing as how she was with Malachi July. She wasn’t bad to look at though, which also made the job easier. Nothing worse than having to do the do with an ugly woman. As for Crystal, her Goldilocks-looking weave was even worse in person, but she favored Nikki so much, the only thing missing was a crack pipe in her hand. That she didn’t know Ray from Adam was a big plus; he wouldn’t have to worry about her messing up his plans. However, since he didn’t see a girl like her being happy way out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe she’d be willing to help him with the fleecing in exchange for a cut. Right now, anything was possible. He just had to play his cards slow and right.
The ribbon cutting drew most of the town’s core residents, along with dignitaries and visitors from Franklin and many of Marie’s former students from places like Kansas City, Topeka, and St. Louis. Bernadine noticed that Leo hadn’t left her side and that Marie was actually introducing him to people. Mind-boggling. She wanted to march over there and toss him out into the street. Seeing as how the street in front of the school was filled with people, and that causing a ruckus would get her tossed into the street by Tamar et al. for ruining the event, she took a deep breath and tried to put Leo out of her mind. It was hard. “Okay, everybody, I think we’re ready to begin.”
Folks began to quiet, and when she had their attention, Bernadine said into the mic, “Would all the Henry Adams students, Mayor Trent July, Marie Jefferson, and Mr. James please join me here.”
She was standing in front of the school’s steps and the crowd was spread out around her. Some of the attendees were taking pictures with cell phones and digital cameras. Others like Lily were holding video cams. Bernadine spotted the CNN crew in the back filming as unobtrusively as they could with all the equipment mounded around them. They were shooting yet another installment on the town’s progress and she didn’t mind. Their reports had generated quite a bit of interest over the past year from corporations wanting to do sponsorships and high-tech firms wanting to use Henry Adams to test out everything from wind turbines to the plant-based solar cells that were on the roof of the new school.
The people she’d requested came forward, and once they were all assembled, she handed the mic to Trent. He began by welcoming everybody, then talked about the significance of the day. “A school defines a community and this new school represents part of the phoenix the Henry Adams community has become. I know the Dusters are proud of this building, our students, teacher, and the woman this school will be named for. Let’s cut the ribbon.”
A long blue ribbon stretched across the steps and anchored on each side to an idle orange backhoe. Bernadine handed each participant
a pair of kiddie scissors and on Trent’s count of three, they all made cuts.
Wild applause followed, and the kids smiled widely. Lily moved in closer so she could get a shot of the kids with their scissors in one hand and their other hand holding high their piece of ribbon.
The reception followed. Siz had outdone himself. The huge buffet inside the cafeteria had everything from crab cakes to fancy asparagus to nachos and a large variety of desserts and fruit.
Bernadine worked the crowd, pausing here and there to say hello, then made the mistake of greeting Franklin’s mayor, an elderly old snake named Riggins. Since his election last fall, he’d been pestering her with his ideas on how Henry Adams and Franklin could work together to uplift the region. Everything he proposed would either cost Franklin no money or her plenty, or be of more benefit to Franklin alone, like the pitch he was making to her now about folding the new Henry Adams school into Franklin’s aging school district.
“Of course,” he said with a mouthful of shrimp, “with Henry Adams only having six students our school board would naturally oversee curriculum and dispense the budget.”
Bernadine was so outdone she almost asked him if he thought she was crazy, but instead she said quietly and distinctly, “No.” And moved on.
On the other side of the cafeteria she found Trent standing with Colonel Payne, Amari, and Preston. All had piled-high plates.
Bernadine said, “Nice short speech, Trent.”
“Thanks, I didn’t think folks were here to hear me.”
Amari asked, “Dad, do you know those people Ms. Marie is talking to?”
They all looked over.
Trent said, “That’s the Clarks. They live in Franklin. I went to school with the dad before he married Colleen, his wife.”
Preston asked, “The girls their daughters?”
“Yeah. Leah, the one in the green dress, is the oldest. The younger one is Tiffany Adele.”
Amari said, “She has two names?”
“Apparently. Her parents have always called her by both.”