Chapter 4
When I finally decided to get out of bed, I handled my hygiene, then made my way downstairs. I could smell the bacon, and it had my stomach growling. My mama was always cooking. Even after partying well into the night, she was up with the damn chickens. My eyes didn’t pop open until eight, but I’d stayed in bed until nine.
Seeing the picture of the bouquet Denishia sent had brought a smile to my face. While I was satisfied with how it looked, I knew she would have done a much better job. It wouldn’t have made sense to have her design her own bouquet. I knew she was a one-woman show when it came to that. She had two or three employees that took orders and handled administrative things, but she was the sole designer.
I didn’t know how she found time to put bouquets together with her volume. Whenever I Googled florists in Beaumont, she was the first one to pop up. I had to research her a little bit, because I knew that she was aware of who I was. That was the challenge with getting to know people. They typically didn’t ask as many questions, because they already knew the answers to the get-to-you questions. That made the conversations one-sided like an interview.
Once I got to the kitchen, my mama said, “Hey, sleepy head.”
I smiled. “Good morning.” I gave her a one-sided hug as she scrambled eggs. “You enjoy your birthday party last night?”
“Absolutely! The food was good and so was the fellowship.”
I chuckled. She made it sound like a church service. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
“Anytime my baby is in town is enjoyable for me.”
I smiled and glanced at my phone. I could see from my peripheral that she was all in my business though.
“Are you expecting some news? Almost every time I looked at you last night, your head was in your phone.”
I smiled again as I looked up at her. “I guess you can say that. I was doing research last night and made my pitch this morning.”
“It must be an amazing role since you’re being so secretive about it.”
“It will probably be the best role I ever played,” I said, visualizing Denishia’s beautiful smile and dimples.
“Wait a doggone minute! You talking about a woman?” she asked.
“What woman?”
I turned to see my dad walking into the kitchen with my younger sister following behind him. Great.
“I think your son just shot his shot with a woman,” my mama said.
I rolled my eyes as my sister said, “It’s about time. I was starting to think you were gay.”
I swore, if she were my younger brother, I would punch her in the mouth. My parents started all the way over when my mama had her. She was only seventeen and a senior in high school. I was a junior in high school when she was born. “Shut up, Destiny.”
I wasn’t homophobic, but I’d be damn if I would be in a relationship with some burly ass nigga. That wasn’t my thing. She was always handing out jokes when it concerned me. That was typical of a younger sibling of the opposite sex though. It was like we were close to the same age as much as we argued at times.
“Who is she?” my dad asked.
“I’d rather keep that to myself for now,” I said as I glanced at him. Giving them details about Denishia would end up with me spoiling Mama’s surprise party. “You’ll find out if she gives me the time of day.”
“Well can you tell me if she’s from Houston?” Mama asked.
I smiled at her. “She’s not from H-Tine, Ma.”
She poked her lip out as she put the eggs in a platter. I chuckled as my dad kissed her cheek. “You know she has the fever, son.”
“The fever?”
“Yes. She wants grandbabies. Ever since Jocelyn brought her grandbaby here, that’s all she’s been talking about.”
“Oh. Well ain’t nothing I can do about that right now. While being married don’t assure you won’t have baby mama drama, it seems less risky. So, until then, you gon’ have to sit on ice, Ma.”
She rolled her eyes playfully and huffed. “Okaaaaayyy.”
Going to the microwave, she took something out and said, “I guess I can put you and your father out of your misery.”
When she set that plate in front of me, I wanted to inhale the food. There was an omelet on it with bacon on the side. My dad smiled big. I already knew mine would be packed to the gills with hashbrowns and meat. His was a vegetable omelet. Ever since his diagnosis of high blood pressure three years ago, he’d sworn off meat. He’d lasted a lot longer than I thought he would.
“Thank you, Mama. This looks amazing.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” she responded as she set a plate of pancakes in front of Destiny.
As I enjoyed my omelet, my phone vibrated on the bar top. I quickly picked it up to see Jackie’s number. My excitement dwindled some, because I was hoping it would have been Denishia. However, the picture she sent still made me smile. It was a picture of a couple of vases Denishia wanted to use, and Jackie loved them. I supposed she was seeking my approval.
Those are really nice. Thanks for running it by me.
She sent back a thumbs up emoji. I toyed with my phone for a moment, then opened the thread between Denishia and me. I like those vases. You have an amazing eye.
Before I could lower my phone, she responded. I’m glad you like them. Thanks.
As I stared at the phone, I could feel eyes on me. Lifting my head to confirm my suspicion, I met my mother’s gaze. I smiled and shook my head. “No news yet, Ma. Go take some Tylenol for that fever.”
She laughed loudly. “Shut up, boy!”
While she was distracted, I sent a reply. You’re welcome. I wish I could thank you with dinner, but I’ll bide my time.
I set my phone on the counter and finished off my breakfast, knowing I wouldn’t get a response from Denishia. Maybe her lil relationship meant something to her after all. It was possible I could have misconstrued what I saw. Maybe it was admiration of my career instead of attraction. Naw. She was attracted to me, but she was hanging on to what was comfortable. I was pretty sure about that.
My phone vibrated as I headed back to the room, surprisingly, with a response or what I thought would be a response, only to see a message asking for my email address again. She was deleting our threads. She could have easily scrolled up and got it. I sent it and decided to back off for a bit. That would only be for today though. After responding with my email address, I finished off my breakfast, then headed back upstairs to look over a script for a movie I would be auditioning for in a couple of weeks.
This role wasn’t the lead, but it was a supporting actor role. I would be the lead’s brother. I had yet to see myself in a leading role since the Hallmark movie I did a few years back. It seemed the supporting roles always fit me better. I knew one day, my dream role would slap me in the face, and I couldn’t wait. The years of preparation I’d endured to get to this point were worth every moment. Modeling, commercials, and even being an online trainer were all pivotal steps that helped me break into the industry. They were all stepping stones I didn’t realize I needed until after the fact.
Before really digging into the script, I checked to see if Denishia had sent an email, and she had. Once I opened the attachment and saw the three sketches, my mind was blown. They were all amazing, and my mama would love all of them. I didn’t know how she came up with them so fast, but I was grateful for her efficiency.
Instead of responding by email, I called her. She had to be in the office if she had time to do all this.
“Happily Ever After Floral. This is Jamia. How may I help you?”
“Hello, Miss Jamia. Is Miss Denishia Boswell available?”
“Let me check. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Yes. This is Ezekiel Wheeler.”
“Okay. Hold for a just a moment.”
I called the business line, because I felt like she wouldn’t have answered her cell phone. Since we were talking business and I knew she was in the office, I would be more professional and utilize that line.
“Hello, Mister Wheeler. How can I help you?”
I literally closed my eyes and licked my lips. Her voice drove me insane, and now that I knew what she looked like, it only made things worse for me. “How am I supposed to choose between the designs? They are all amazing, Miss Boswell.”
“Thank you. You don’t have a clue of which one she would like more?”
“No, but I’ll get a second opinion. I just wanted you to know that you are very good at what you do. How long before I have to make a decision?”
“Thank you, Mister Wheeler. Please let me know by tomorrow evening, if at all possible. I need to make sure I have everything I need to be able to pull off either design on next Saturday morning.”
“Okay. Umm… I would really like you and your staff to stay for the party. I already know that it will look beautiful. Maybe you can garner more business since you service the Houston area anyway.”
“Thank you for the invite. I’ll get back with you on that.”
“Okay. I appreciate you.”
She was quiet for a moment, then said softly, “I appreciate you too. I look forward to hearing from you soon… I mean… to know which design you will pick.”
“Mm-hmm. Talk to you soon.”
I wasn’t imagining or misconstruing a thing. She wanted me. She sounded so flustered just now. She wanted to play hard though. That was okay. I had experience with the chase. She was going to find out that I always captured my prey. Instead of calling her back tomorrow, I would let her know of my choice in person. I called the floral shop again to talk to Jamia. I knew she would share whether Denishia would be in the office or not.
“Happily Ever After Floral. This is Jamia. How may I help you?”
“Jamia, this is Ezekiel again. I need a favor.”
“From me?”
“Yes, ma’am. Will Denishia be in the office tomorrow?”
“She will be tomorrow afternoon.”
“Perfect. What’s her favorite food and favorite flower?”
She was quiet for a moment. I didn’t know if she was thinking or if she was hesitant about telling me what I wanted to know. “She loves chicken and appreciates a good burger. She has one or the other nearly every day for lunch. She’s never really expressed a favorite food to me though. I think her favorite flower is the purple magnolia. When she gets them out of Houston for one of our customers, she stares at the bouquet for at least five minutes after she finishes with it.”
“Hmm. Do you know where she gets them from?”
“I’ll have to look up the invoice. I just know it’s in Houston. I know that could be so many places. Can I call you back in a few minutes?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said and giggled.
I ended the call and just thought about her last words. That gave me all the insight I needed. Denishia’s relationship was falling apart and probably toxic at best. Her receptionist seemed to know details that she was withholding. She could run, but she sure in the hell couldn’t hide. Her resist game was gonna have to be A-1 to deny me tomorrow.