22. Corinthians
Corinthians
“Iwas worried about you flaking on me, and I had to go out of town,” Melissa said as she sat in the chair in front of me. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I told her, then went back to reading my emails.
I wasn’t upset that she had a last-minute trip and had to see her grandmother.
I didn’t want to go out anyway, so it was better than me having to cancel on her at the last minute.
“I ended up taking on a few new clients and was dead tired by the time I was finished.”
“So, you are going to come out this week when I work then?” she hopefully asked, and I shook my head.
“Oh, come on, Corinthians.” She reached across the table and grabbed my wrist. Even though her grip wasn’t tight or aggressive, I quickly pulled my wrist from her grasp.
Melissa's face twisted, then she sighed. “My fault, I forgot you don’t like to be touched.” She put her hands in her lap.
“I just really want to make up for not being here to celebrate you!”
“It’s fine,” I told her again, and this time I gave her a small smile so she would know I didn’t feel any negative feelings about being touched or her not being around.
“And I really don’t have the time. Everything is moving so fast right now.
I have to start interviewing barbers, buying equipment, and I’m still taking classes. ”
“And you can do all that, but you also need to take a moment for you,” Melissa said. “Just a quick one. You can even bring your sister and her friends along if you want someone else to keep you company when I have to walk away and work.”
“Psalms is not going to a bar,” I laughed. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Joshua is in town.”
“The mysterious boyfriend?” Melissa asked, and I nodded. “Your sister has a man before you?”
“Yes.” Psalms dating took everyone by surprise. She wanted to keep her relationship private, and we respected her wishes even if we didn’t like it.
“Goodness, I want to know the details on her secret relationship so bad,” Melissa laughed. “I know that man is fine because your sister is.” She smiled.
“Let it go, Melissa,” I said, shaking my head as I continued to work. She started to say something, but I looked up at her and locked eyes with her. “Let it go.”
“Okay,” she laughed and put her hands up in surrender. “Are you going to come out anyway? Maybe one of your other cousins can come? I still haven’t met any of them yet.”
“No,” I denied, shaking my head. Even though we were friends, I still had a hard time allowing her to meet my family. Protecting them meant keeping outsiders at a distance. Melissa’s smile dropped, and I sighed. “I will come alone.”
“So, you’re going to come?” she excitedly asked, and I nodded. “Oh yes! We are going to have so much fun.”
I nodded, not really thinking too much about it.
I wasn’t going to have fun, but I was going to try to relax for a little while.
I knew once I opened my shop, I would be busy.
I went back to work while Melissa talked about something I had no interest in.
Every once in a while, I would nod or mumble something to make it seem like I was listening.
“Oh, did you hear about the fires?” Melissa asked, and I looked up at her, confused. “The six fires last week. I saw it on the news. They started right outside of Turner Row. Six whole damn blocks went up in flames.”
“Why?” I hadn’t watched the news but heard my grandparents talking about it.
“No clue,” Melissa answered with a shrug. “Nobody was arrested or anything, but it's millions in damages.”
“Probably an insurance scam,” I replied. “Those houses are old, worth a lot of money. Rich people problems.”
“Aren’t you one of the rich people?” she laughed, and I shook my head. “Ma’am your granddaddy is the Pastor Gabriel DeCorte. The only church that rivals y’all’s is the Kilmores’. You are, in fact, one of the rich people.”
“My granddaddy’s money isn’t mine,” I told her. “What he built is his and Madea’s. They don’t hand us a damn thing.”
“I will never understand that.” Melissa sat back and crossed her arms. “If I ever had a kid, I would make sure they never struggled for anything.”
“We don’t struggle,” I told her. “We just aren’t handed anything. Each of us is required to work for everything we want. Will they help? Yes, but they won't hand us a damn thing.”
Melissa's phone rang, and she pulled it from her purse. Whoever was calling her made her smile instantly. “Hold on, this is my newest boytoy. I met him last week, and he’s been playing hard to get. I’m surprised he’s calling right now.
” Melissa said, holding up her finger. She answered the phone with a smile on her face.
“Hello, lover.” She stood and walked away from the table.
I turned my attention to the TV in the corner of the room, picked up the remote, and unmuted it. I wasn’t a fan of SportsCenter, but I would watch every once in a while in case they mentioned Mercy’s name.
“Kansas City Kings owner Pyrite Stone has vowed to bring sports back to Kansas City. He’s looking to expand into a few different leagues, and the one that has the world on the edge of their seats?
Seeing if KC will get its own WNBA team.
The league has already expanded into a few cities, and their lineup for the next few years has been announced.
Pyrite said that he is in talks to get KC a team by any means necessary, and if his track record is any indication of what he can do, then KC will be announcing their team soon,” the sports anchor Emrick Lancing laughed.
“And I, for one, can't wait to see what he has in store. There are a few players that could call KC home. Especially the rookies in the league.”
“Who do you have in mind?” his cohost, Shai David, asked. She was one of the few lead women sports anchors on during primetime hours.
“Oh, I can name a few, but I’m going to keep the names close to my vest for now,” Emrick laughed. “I just know I have a superteam in my mind already.” Shai laughed and shook her head.
I put the TV back on mute when they started discussing football. I didn’t care about that, so there was no reason to listen. Melissa came back with a big smile on her face.
“Alright, now back to you,” she said. “I have to go back out of town to visit my new friend, so let’s do next Tuesday. It’ll be slow.”
“You are going out of town with Mr. Hard To Get?” I asked, and she nodded. “You don’t even know that man.”
“So?” she replied. “I want to see him; he’s fine as hell, and I know he has money.”
“If you say so,” I said, shaking my head.
“Listen, I am just enjoying my life right now. No commitment or concerns. I treat niggas the same way they treat us. Like we are replaceable. I’ll get what I want from him, get paid, and then move on.” She shrugged, then stood. “I will see you next week. I’ll call you when I make it.”
“Be safe,” I told her. I wasn’t going to lecture a grown woman about what she was doing. This wasn’t the first time that Melissa had mentioned using a man, and it wouldn’t be the last. I couldn’t beg someone to take care of themself.
After she was gone, I went back to checking my emails. I had to get to the shop a little later, but for right now I was going to enjoy the peace of being alone.
“Excuse me?”
I looked up to see a woman standing in front of my table. She was pretty, but her eyes were haunted. Her short hair framed her face perfectly, and her full lips shone as if she’d just freshened up. I knew I’d never seen her around before, but there was something familiar about her as well.
“Yes?”
She adjusted the black bag on her shoulder, and that’s when I noticed the bruise on her wrist. It looked like cuff marks.
“I work at the hospital,” she said, pointing towards the windows.
There was a hospital not too far from campus.
“Are you a nurse there? Or another program?” she looked down at my computer and then at my book bag.
“No, neither,” I replied, shaking my head.
She nodded then stepped back. Her dark eyes narrowed as if she were trying to figure out if I were lying, then she smiled. “You just look so familiar. I was studying and looked up and saw you and couldn’t place your name, but I definitely know your face.”
“Sorry,” I shrugged, not having more to say. I didn’t work at the hospital and hadn’t been there in years.
“Well, I’ll figure it out one day,” she replied with a soft laugh. “It was nice meeting you…” she hesitated for a moment as if she were waiting for me to give her my name.
I wasn’t.
“Maybe,” I agreed, then turned back to my computer. The screen was black, but that didn’t matter; I was ready for our conversation to be over. Something about this woman felt off. Her eyes held as many, if not more, secrets than I was holding on to.
***
“Madea!” I called out my grandmother's name as I walked into the house.
She and Granddaddy were empty nesters and had taken that title to heart.
Each of us had walked in on them naked more than once, and now we made sure to call before we came over and announce that we were here before walking past the front entrance. “Madea!”
“Girl, stop all that yelling,” she laughed, coming from the kitchen. “I’m in here.” She waved me in. I closed the door behind me, kicked off my shoes, and walked down the hallway that led to the living room. Pictures were lining the walls of everyone over the years. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” I told her, walking behind her into the kitchen. “Are you cooking?”
“No, your granddaddy is taking me out to dinner,” she said, shaking her head. “I was just in here straightening up.” She went to the sink and started rinsing off dishes. “You look like you have something on your mind; what’s up?”
“Nothing,” I denied, shaking my head. “I told Granddaddy I would stop by this week, and I was in the neighborhood.”