12. Mariah
Mariah
Iwas up at two in the morning like clockwork, working out, then getting ready for work.
My house was big and cold. I hated that Rosama didn’t want to be with me even though I was doing everything in my power to make life better than what we came from.
I sent him a text as I left the house.
Me: Good morning. I hope you slept well. I wanted you to know that I am going back to work today. If you have time to watch me.
I stared at the message I sent as I walked to my car, checking my grammar, making sure it sounded soft and not like I was doing too much when it changed from delivered to read.
I stared at it a lil’ longer, thinking I was going to see the three dots get a heart or something, but instead, he left me on read.
As I drove to work, I tried to put Rosama outta my head. It was my first day back to work, and I wanted it to be a good one.
When I got to the news station, I was greeted by my secretary, Courtney.
“Good morning, Mariah,” she said, handing me my favorite Starbucks order.
“Good morning, and thanks.”
“Glad to be back?” she asked as we walked to my dressing room.
I nodded. “I guess you can say that.”
After a short walk, she opened the door to my dressing room and turned on the lights, and we both got shocked.
“Wow,” she said softly.
I walked further in. “Where all these flowers come from?” I asked
Courtney was a little speechless. “I am not sure, but I will find out.”
I nodded, and she walked off. Once I was by myself, I looked around at all the flowers, looking for a note or something. I was about to text Rosama and ask him if he sent it, but I knew that wasn’t the case.
A few minutes passed, and Courtney came back to take me to makeup. The ladies were happy to see me, but they acted as if I were fragile. They kept asking me if I was okay, trying not to sound loud around me.
I knew that they all knew what happened, but I didn’t want them to act the way they were. They moved me along quickly, and I went to wardrobe, then walked onto set to see my co-anchor.
“There she is,” Shyheim said as I got closer.
I smiled back. “I'm…here…”
He stood up and greeted me with a hug.
“It’s nice to see you,” he said softly.
I looked up at him after taking a noseful of his cologne.
“It’s nice to see you too.”
I took my seat next to him and chatted with Sammie, the weather anchor, when our boss Leana walked in.
“Good morning, everybody. We are so happy to have Mariah back.” She stopped, and everybody looked at me and started clapping with a smile. “Let’s show her how a family works and be there if she needs anything.”
I smiled back and gave a slight nod. Lena went on talking to everybody else in the room, and I took a sip of my water just as Shyheim leaned over and whispered to me, “Did you like the flowers I sent you?”
I choked on my drink, making everybody turn their attention to me.
“I am okay,” I said softly.
Leana continued talking to them, and I looked at Shyheim.
“All of those were from you?” I asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. I hope they put a smile on your face.”
I smiled. “They did, thanks.”
Leana finished what she had to say and did the countdown, and the cameras turned on. I was nervous to be back, feeling like I might have lost my touch, but I read the teleprompter and smiled, remembering that I wasn’t one of the best news anchors in the city for nothing.
As our segment went on, Shyheim was smiling harder than I remembered, and when we did our little banter keeping the news light and fun, he kept nudging me under the table.
Once we said our goodbyes and the cameraman called cut, the smile on my face quickly went away, and Courtney was right there, handing me a bottle of water as they un-mic’d me.
“So I was wondering,” Shyheim said, making me turn around and face him. “If you weren’t busy, could I take you out to lunch?”
Courtney looked at me, trying to hide her smile, but she wasn't trying hard enough.
“Umm… Sure, let me just go freshen up.”
“Cool, I will meet you at your dressing room in fifteen.”
I nodded and watched him walk off set while Courtney pulled me off.
“Girl!” she said as she pulled me through the side door so we wouldn’t be behind him.
“I know,” I responded. I had a slight smile, not knowing if it was even right to have one.
We walked back to my dressing room, and I plopped down in my chair in front of the mirror.
“I can’t believe he finally asked you out on a date.”
I looked at her through the mirror. “Finally? Girl, what are you talking about?”
Courtney took a seat. “You mean you never noticed? Shyheim likes you, Mariah.”
I shook my head. “Nah, we have just worked together for a few years. He knows I'm married.”
“So,” Courtney shot back. “We have all heard what happened.”
I looked away from Courtney and down at my makeup bag.
“He sent all these flowers… I never got that vibe that he liked me.”
“Well, he made it known while you were gone. I think you should give him a chance.”
I smirked. “And what about my husband?”
Courtney sucked her teeth. “Like I said, he made it known.”
I touched up my makeup, my hair, and changed my clothes.
“How does this look?” I asked Courtney.
“Like you are looking for a new husband. I love it.”
I laughed. “Girl, stop. It’s just lunch.”
“With a man that sent you a room full of flowers. Yeah, okay.”
Before I could respond, we heard a knock on the door.
We looked at each other, then I took a deep breath before I opened it.
“Hey,” he said with a smile. “Are you ready?”
I smiled back. “Yeah, let me get my purse.”
We walked out of my dressing room and out of the building, having a light conversation about all the flowers he sent.
“I guess I overdid it with the flowers?”
I shook my head. “No, I loved them.”
We walked out front of the news station to his car waiting for us. Shyheim helped me in and closed the door. I watched him walk around to his side.
I never really paid attention to Shyheim like that, but he did look good.
He was tall, light-skinned, with waves. He was nothing like Rosama.
We came from the same background families from college, school, and sororities for both of us.
He’s the type of man that my parents always saw me with, but not somebody I saw myself with.
When he got into the car, the smell of the cologne hit me again, making me close my eyes when I took it in.
“What do you have a taste for?” he asked, interrupting my nasty ass thoughts.
“Umm…whatever you pick.”
He smiled with a slight nod.
“So,” he said as he pulled off. “Are you happy to be back?”
“Yeah, it was nice being off and much needed. But home was lonely.”
He looked over at me.
“Your…your husband not at home?”
I shook my head. “No, Rosama haven’t been stayin’ at home since everything happened…” I looked out the window and ended it there.
The silence floated around the car for a bit until Shyheim cleared his throat.
“Well, I am happy you are back. We need you there.”
I smiled and looked back out the window, mad at myself for throwing the vibe off.
After a while, we pulled up to Daniel’s on the Upper East Side.
“You can get us in here? I heard you had to make a reservation way in advance.”
Shyheim parked the car and smiled.
“I have some pull, come on.”
We got out of the car, and he grabbed my hand as we walked across the street. I glanced up at him, and he looked at me as if he was my protector.
Inside, he didn’t even have to speak. We were greeted and led to a table. The vibe inside screamed high-class money. We were seated at a round table with thick white tablecloths and were brought some bread and the menus as soon as our butts touched the seats.
“Have you been here before?” he asked.
“No, but I’ve seen pictures of this place on Instagram and always wanted to come.”
“Well, I am glad that I was able to share this experience with you,” he said softly.
The waitress came back around, and we ordered some drinks. I got some wine. He got an Old Fashioned. Shyheim ordered some appetizers, then our food so that the waitress could leave us alone. Once she was gone, Shyheim moved closer to me and stared at me for a second.
“We have worked together for a while, and I never got in your personal business. Maybe I should have so that you had an outlet, but I want you to know that I am sorry for whatever you been through. Not having you at work…I just missed seeing you.”
Shyheim looked as if he had been holding on to that for a while and was glad to get it off his chest.
“You don’t know what happened?”
He shook his head. “No, people tried to tell me around the station, but I didn’t want to hear it from them.”
“Why not?”
“Because people around there lie, and if I was going to know what happened, I wanted it to come from the person who went through it.”
I nodded. The waitress brought out drinks and appetizers at the right time. I needed a break in that conversation. I took a few sips of my wine and a few bites of the spinach dip, then I turned back toward him.
“I came home from work and found my husband with my best friend, and I tried to kill not only them but myself.” I paused.
That was the first time I said it out loud since it happened.
“Rosama called the police on me, and they admitted me to the hospital. When I got home, he told me that he wanted a divorce… The thing he’s been sayin’ is that we ran our course or some shit. ”
Shyheim shook his head, then took a sip from his glass.
“I am so sorry you went through that. Are you going through the divorce process now?”
I tilted my head at him. “No, I don’t want a divorce. I still love my husband.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So are y’all in counseling or anything?”
I shook my head. “No, he don’t want to do anything. He wants us to be over, but I am trying to fight for us.”
Shyheim went quiet and took a few bites of the dip with bread.
“I hope I am not overstepping, and you can stop me if I am,” he said. “But why don’t you want to be with somebody who will treat you right?”
“He used to—”
“Used to being the key word,” Shyheim said, cutting me off.
I stared at him for a second.
“Listen, Mariah, you are beautiful and smart. You had to build yourself up after something heartbreaking, and you still have love for the person who did it. I hope that…”
He stopped and shook his head.
“What?” I asked. “You been honest, don’t stop now,” I laughed, and he cracked a smile.
“What I want to say might be too much.”
Our food came out. I smiled at it and started to mix my pasta around, ready to dig in while I waited for him to say whatever he had on his mind.
“I hope that I can be the reason that you want to sign them papers.”
My head shot up from my pasta.
“What?”
“I hope that I can be the reason that you sign them papers. I have always liked you, and I didn’t know what was going on, but I had an idea. And even though I hate the circumstances, I thought this might be my chance to get your attention.”
“My attention? My attention for what?”
“To show you that you deserve better, and that I am the one for you.”
I stared at him for a minute, not even knowing what to say, and he could tell that he caught me off guard. All he did was smile and start to cut his steak.
“All I am asking you for is time,” he said softly. “Then you can chose if you gonna keep fighting to be with him, or if you gonna come and be happy with me. Are you cool with that?”
Even though I had no intention of leaving Rosama, he was out with God only knew who. It was no reason why I couldn’t have some fun too. I took a sip of my wine and scooted closer to Shyheim.
“Okay,” I said low. “I will give you a chance.”
Shyheim leaned over and kissed me. I hadn’t been kissed in so long I had to control myself as he pulled away.
“That’s all I need. I got you from here.”