18. Tegan
TEGAN
FORGIVENESS – ONE MONTH LATER (MID-MAY)
Life had been good for Harlem and me. We spent a lot of time together whenever we weren’t working, and we did our best to align our schedules without making it unfair for our employees.
More often than not, Harlem scheduled his clients around my schedule so that I didn’t have my employees working all the time or the worst shifts.
When we weren’t shopping, working, or visiting our families, we were hanging out at his house, making love. I loved being at his home more than mine because it felt homely, welcoming, and like him.
His three-bedroom, four-bathroom home had an open concept kitchen and dining room. It wasn’t as boxy as my Craftsman-style cottage. You could see from the kitchen to the dining room and into the living room, making it comfortable when you were cooking and entertaining guests.
He had cleaned out his two-car garage to make room for my car so that I didn’t have to park in the driveway whenever I was over.
We spent more time in his master suite, which took up the entire third floor, than we did in his living room, man cave, or family room on the main floor.
The second floor of his home had two guest bedrooms that were seldom used.
I was sitting in my office at the bakery, teaching Hollis about business management. “No, you have to think about more than just payroll and inventory, Hollis. There are taxes, insurance, vendor relationships, marketing and promotion, and so much more.”
“Man, you and H-Town make it look easy, Miss T.”
Allowing Hollis to volunteer had been a great idea. Things were working out wonderfully with and for him. I had seen a drastic change in his attitude and demeanor. He had shown an interest in becoming a business owner and was always full of questions.
“Thank you, Hollis, but I promise it’s not.” I laughed. “What exactly do you want to do with your future? I mean, if there were no barriers.”
He sighed, rubbed his hands together, and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. I could see the gleam in his eyes, and I knew that whatever he was about to say, he was passionate about.
“I want to open a sports shop on this strip, specializing in novelty sports items and sportswear.”
“That’s exciting, Hollis, and it would be a great idea because we don’t have anything like it in this community, and yet the stadium and arena are only five miles away. You would definitely have a consumer base.”
“Yeah, I’ve been researching that, but it’s just a dream,” he replied, waving his hand and sitting up as the gleam in his eyes disappeared.
That created an ache in my heart. So many of our young people thought their dreams were foolish or gave up on them because it was a long shot, and they didn’t have the support to make it happen.
“How about this? Let’s make a pact that after you finish school, and you continue working part-time with Harlem, I will help pay for you to go to technical school and get a degree in business management, if that’s what you want to do.”
“Miss T! For real? Are you serious?” His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Very.”
“Man, I would love that. Man, Miss T, you’ve made my day,” he declared, jumping up and running around my desk. I stood, and he hugged me. I patted his back, and when he stepped back, I saw the emotion in his eyes.
“All right. There’s work to do, and it’s almost time for you to go to the shop. Let me get back to finishing payroll.”
“A’ight, Miss T. I promise that I won’t let you down.”
This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; Harlem and I had discussed investing in Hollis’s future if he kept going down the right path. We knew what it felt like to have no one to believe in you and then have just a little support to get you going.
While we didn’t know what the specifics of that investment would look like, just talking with Hollis revealed exactly what we needed to do. I wanted to speak with Harlem about it, but I hadn’t seen him all day.
I stared at the computer screen and pouted, because I missed him desperately. Just the feel of his arms wrapped around me, his lips on my forehead, my jawline, my lips, my neck, my breasts.
“Whew!” I sat back in my chair and chuckled. That line of thinking wasn’t going to get payroll finished.
I pushed back from my chair. I had another day before the deadline to complete it, and my mind wasn’t on it right then.
There was nothing like a little retail therapy to cure what ailed me. Going to the mall would give me a diversion from missing my baby, and it would get my thoughts in order to complete the payroll tonight.
I grabbed my purse and keys and headed to the front.
“Hey, boss lady. Where are you heading to?” Naina asked, looking up from where she was rearranging the pastry counter.
“I’m heading to the mall to pick up some things. I’ll be taking an extended lunch break. If you guys need anything, just call me,” I declared as Thérèse came out with a large cake for a customer who stood waiting at the counter.
It was a beautiful birthday cake for her daughter’s sixteenth birthday. I loved that we had been getting all types of specialty requests, even wedding cake tastings.
“All right. I’ll see you later,” Naina declared.
“Bye, Tegan,” Thérèse called out.
“See you, ladies.”
I breezed out of the pastry shop, hopped into my car, and headed to the mall with a lightness in my heart.
I had just left out of the mall, where I had picked up a few items for Harlem, when I heard a familiar voice calling my name in the parking lot. I slowed up and turned around but immediately wished that I hadn’t.
It was Carl walking toward me with the brightest smile, like we were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while but missed each other dearly.
“Hey, Baby. How are you?”
Although I should have turned and ran or told him to kiss my behind, I didn’t.
“Life couldn’t be better, Carl.”
“I heard you have your own shop. Things must be looking up for you, beautiful.”
I crossed my arms over my breasts when he lowered his eyes to them, and I nodded. “They are, Carl. I have to go. I’m late for an appointment already, but I wish you well.”
I turned and walked away, but he grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me back. It stunned me, but not enough to not try and free myself, but he refused to let go.
“Listen, Baby, we broke up on bad terms. I never wanted that for either of us. I loved you too much to ever hurt you, but it seemed like I did. Back then, I was in a bad place, and I just want to explain what happened back then and ask you to forgive me. I know that I was wrong, and I never meant you any harm. Things just got bad.”
“Carl, I’ve forgotten all about you until this point. You’re not even a thought in my life. So, there is literally nothing to forgive.”
“Oh, you’re feeling yourself like that?” The sneer on his face told me something cruel was coming.
“No. I’ve just gone on with my life, and I’m happy with where I am in life. I’m not about to risk that peace on the past.”
“Who held you down when you didn’t have shit, Baby?” Carl grabbed my hand and clenched his teeth.
“Not you. Let me go, Carl!” I shouted, jerking in his hold.
“It’s funny how easily people forget when they think they’ve got a little something.”
“Let me go or I’ll scream to the top of my lungs that you’re assaulting me,” I warned when his grip tightened.
“I’m trying to explain to your hardheaded ass. Would you just listen?” he asked in a harsh tone.
Before I could respond, I heard Harlem’s voice behind me. Where in the hell did he come from?
“Nah, nigga. You’re the one who needs to listen. She said leave her alone. Get ya hands off my woman before you have problems you ain’t ready for.”
“Who the fuck is you?” Carl asked, sneering at Harlem.
“I’m her nigga. Who the fuck are you?” Harlem placed his arm around my midsection and pulled his gun out. He aimed the gun at Carl and pulled me free from Carl at the same time.
Carl lifted his hands in the air and backed away.
“That’s Carl,” I whispered to Harlem, who chuckled.
“The nigga who lost a woman because he didn’t know what to do with her, now you wanna be sniffing after her . . . for what? You thought she was on the come up, and you wanna ride her coattails? Ain’t gon’ be none of that shit around here.”
“Is that what you told him? Always playing the victim. Baby, you ain’t shit,” Carl declared.
Harlem pushed me behind him and placed his body as a barrier between Carl and me.
He passed his gun back to me and stepped closer to Carl.
I tucked his gun in my purse, and Harlem yoked Carl up and slammed him against someone’s car so fast my head spun.
In a calm voice, he declared, “From what I hear, you’re the one who ain’t shit.
She’s worth more than the air you breathe and every dollar in this world, nigga. ”
I reached out and grabbed his arm when he lifted it. “Harlem, he’s not worth it. Please, let’s just go.”
“Nah, niggas like this don’t learn easily.”
He snatched his arm free of my grip, and Carl flinched and tried to curl into a ball.
Mall security rolled up at that minute, and I knew someone must have called them when they saw Carl accosting me.
“Nigga, you’re lucky. Don’t let me see you on these streets and my woman ain’t around. Ain’t a security officer or a cop gon’ be able to save ya ass,” Harlem warned.
“Everything okay here?” the security officer asked as Harlem took a step back.
“It’s all good,” Harlem replied and stepped back.
Carl nodded, wiped the sweat off his face, and replied, “Yeah, we’re fine. Just joking around.”
Harlem wrapped me in his arms, kissed the top of my head, and checked on me.
“You good, Baby? Did that nigga do anything to you?”
“No, he didn’t. What are you doing here?”
I was still partially bewildered by Carl’s behavior and stunned by Harlem’s sudden appearance.
“I was checking on a little business venture here at the mall. My afternoon is free, so I was about to head over to the shop so that I could see you. You good, though?”