7. Tegan #2
“Why? That I like reading romance?”
“Reading period. I haven’t met a man who’s into it, and I love to read. Contemporary and urban romance are my jam.”
“That’s wassup. I might have to read you a bedtime story one night.”
I tucked my tongue into my cheek and bobbed my head. “You just don’t stop.”
“What?”
“Making your intentions known.”
“I told you that I was coming behind you.”
“You did.”
“How did you get into baking?” he asked.
“I was always fascinated with baking since I was four. My dad’s mom used to bake all the time, and I loved the sugary sweetness that came out of her kitchen.
Even more than that, I loved the magical moments between her and me when we would spend time in there.
She would tell me all about her childhood and growing up in the fifties and sixties.
I treasured those times. My Nonni taught me everything.
I always knew that I wanted to bake for a living.
What about you? How did you get into barbering? ”
Our food was served, and we paused long enough to thank the server, say grace, and sample each other’s food.
“Where were we?” he asked after we finished sampling each other’s food.
“You were supposed to tell me how you got into barbering.”
“I was an artist, good at drawing, and good at creating designs in people’s heads since I was a teen. When my father told me that I had to get my own job since I didn’t want to go to traditional college after high school, I went to barbering school.
“We were expected to go to college, and my parents felt like I was rebelling.
They allowed me to follow my own path; they just wanted me to do something productive.
They stopped giving me money. I did great for several years, but then in my mid to late twenties, the money was pouring in, my reputation was growing, and I was being called to cut hair on movie sets.
“It went to my head after a while, and I started going down the wrong path, drinking, smoking, and wilding out. The movie set calls dried up, and shit went to hell when my boss slash mentor’s girlfriend’s brother started working there and stealing from them.
“Nobody believed that the kid would do such a thing, and since I had been smoking more and drinking, missing appointments, coming in late or not at all, it was easy for everyone to believe it was me. I was in my head about not getting the movie gigs anymore, because I thought I was heading somewhere with that. I learned the hard way that everything isn’t for everyone.
There was a purpose for my life, and it wasn’t in the entertainment industry.
“Unfortunately, it took some time to figure that out. My behaviors were changing, and I was fired and lost my friend and mentor. My granddad still believed in me even when the others were disappointed. He was wealthy, but he didn’t believe in handing out freebies.
He believed that you had to earn everything you had, and he told me, ‘Now that you’ve hit rock bottom, Son, there’s nowhere to go but up from here. ’
“He gave me odd jobs to work to earn some pocket money. I worked hard for him for a few years, and he noticed that. When he saw me saving, and I opened my shop and bought a house that I flipped and sold, he invested even more in me. Before he passed, he added me to his will, giving me rental properties, some money, and some blue-chip art investments. He gave my older brother commercial properties.”
I paused while eating and asked, “What are blue-chip art investments?”
I listened as he explained the difference between blue-chip and red-chip. The blue-chip were stable investments by established and prominent artists, whereas red-chip were riskier investments and usually less-established artists.
He told me that his collection included a couple of pieces from Jean-Michel Basquiat and Mark Bradford, one item from David Hammons, but several pieces from Kerry James Marshall. He has pieces from less notable artists, as well, which impressed me.
I was learning that Harlem was more well-rounded than I noticed before, and I liked that, because it spoke to his maturity and stability. The trouble that he had gone through earlier was reassuring because I felt he learned his lesson, and it was unlikely he would go down that path again.
No one knew about his investments besides his parents and siblings, because he didn’t trust people. I felt honored that he had shared that information with me.
“Why do you think that you can trust me enough to share this information with me?”
“I don’t know. There’s something about you, Baby, that speaks to my soul. I’ve got a feeling about you that won’t ease up.”
“What kind of feeling?” I asked.
“That you’re my wife.”
“Wow!” I choked and grabbed my water glass to take a few sips. He patted me softly on the back, and I dabbed the water droplets from my lips.
“You good?” he asked.
“I don’t know. You and this honesty and intentionality is . . . new.”
“Refreshing?”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure if I would call it that, but I didn’t know what to call it. “Did your siblings get an inheritance?”
“Yeah, different things, but he took care of us the way we needed it individually. I used mine to build myself stronger because I knew that I would never want to let my granddad down.”
Harlem reached across the table and rubbed a thumb over my cheek and smoothed my tears away. “Why are you crying, Baby?”
“I think that it’s so beautiful to see the grace of God in action. Your life story and your parents is just that.”
He smiled weakly and then changed the subject. “Are you ready for your launch party?”
“I am. It’s funny you asked that. I was just thinking about that as I was leaving the shop earlier.”
“Baby, I’d like to see you again.”
“As much as I would like that, Harlem, maybe now isn’t the best time because of everything I have in front of me with opening a new shop.”
“I don’t know what part of applying pressure that you don’t understand, but I said what I said, and I’m not letting up. I’ll give you a little space at first, but I’m not going anywhere, beautiful.”
My heart rejoiced at his proclamation.