Chapter 7
7
J a’vari:
“Ja’vari, everything okay?” my lil situation, Vanessa, questioned, touching my forearm as I looked around the crowded restaurant. I was back in the states in Las Vegas, with a few people from my company, on a business trip. It was our first night there. Vanessa was one of my coworkers that I slid with a time or many. We weren’t official, and she was too comfortable. I’d been honest from the start, but I thought she thought she could make me want something I didn’t. “Ja’vari?” She snapped her manicured tipped fingers in my face, pissing me off.
“Yeah,” I replied simply, my eyes still scanning the restaurant. Tonight’s dinner wasn’t a business meeting, so I didn’t have to be formal, which meant I was half ass paying attention. When I had lifted my glass, a waiter passed by, and at the same time he did, a distinctive familiar face crossed with him. By the time he moved, I no longer spotted the familiar face I’d thought I had. I was now searching the huge restaurant to see if I was tripping or not. I hadn’t been back in America since 2020, and Vegas had been my first stop, not Virginia, so spotting that familiar face was almost impossible.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We’re about to order another round of drinks, and you haven’t said anything.” Vanessa caressed my arm. It was ten of us at a table—only two couples, three women, and three other men—and out of all the available men there, Vanessa chose to bother me. I wasn’t interested, and she knew that, so I didn’t get the need to continue pressing.
I stood from my chair, looking to the waitress that stood near us. “I’ll take another Old Fashioned.” I started walking away.
“Hey, where you going?” Vanessa questioned as if I owed her an explanation. Chuckling, I ambled away from her. I didn’t know what the hell she thought this was.
Walking the restaurant at an even pace, my eyes jumped slowly around each patron. I didn’t want to miss one single face. I walked and searched, and it seemed that no one resembled Radiance. Turning my back, I’d almost given up until I did a 180. That same waiter that had blocked my vision before was the reason I had missed her this time, but when he moved, my eyes zoomed in on her. Her beauty still shined, and she lived up to her name, Radiance, with long, natural red hair, a perfect oval face, slanted, dark brown eyes, a slender nose, full lips, and a small beauty mark decorating the side of her left cheek. Radiance was beautiful as ever. I had envisioned and dreamed of her many times over the years, but tonight, she was actually in my presence.
Something told me to just walk away and pretend I didn’t see her and live life as we had the last few years. I also had a small voice telling me to go make myself known. I listened to the small voice. Lifting my foot, I headed her way, and everything moved slowly. Radiance couldn’t see me, but once I was near the table, Santia looked up, and our eyes locked. Santia’s eyes looked as though she had seen a ghost, and I could tell from her expression that she was trying to warn Radiance, but it was too late. I was already too close.
“Ja’vari St. Clair, is that you?” Santia’s father, Edward, questioned, looking up at me. All eyes were now on mine.
“One and only.” I smiled, shaking his hand and embracing him once he stood. I greeted and hugged everyone. I was even introduced to Santia’s fiancé before my eyes landed on Radiance. She sat with a beautiful baby in her lap, trying her best not to look my way. “How you doing, Radiance?” I smirked.
Radiance seemed to swallow hard, her eyes lifting to mine. “Ja’vari,” was all she managed when the baby in her lap whined, prompting me to drop my eyes to her. She was a beautiful little girl. She had very little of Radiance’s features; however, she did look like someone I knew… me.
I looked between Radiance and the baby before my eyes settled on Radiance. “She yours?” I found myself asking.
Something happened in Radiance’s eyes. I couldn’t explain it, but I saw it. She even looked to Santia for a second as if she had the answer. “She is.” Her voice cracked. As if on cue, the baby girl began to giggle and kick her chubby legs and reach my way as if she knew who I was.
Is she mine? Am I supposed to take her because she is reaching for me? I didn’t know what to think or do, so I found myself standing there stupidly as the baby reached my way. Radiance avoided my eye contact, and everyone else looked our way.
“Um, excuse me.” Radiance quickly stood, adjusting the baby in her arms, before hurrying away from the table, damn near pushing me to the ground as she brushed past me. We all watched her rush to the bathroom.
Shifting my eyes back to the table, I looked to Santia, and she kind of shrugged, seeming as though she felt bad for me and wanted to say sorry. I got the message without the words. “I um… I’m going to get back to my table. It was good seeing you, Mr. Sanders.” I shook his hand. “You too, Mrs. Sanders.” We hugged. “Good meeting you, Carlo.” I shook his hand. Looking to Santia, I didn’t speak right away. It was so much I wanted to say with so little words. “Santia, congratulations again.” She only nodded. I lingered until I finally found movement in my feet. Running into Radiance wasn’t on my bingo card, and seeing she had a baby was definitely mind-blowing.