Houston
A WEEK LATER
School was out for spring break and there was no better time to take Teaghan up on her offer than now.
Malone hadn’t gotten into any trouble before the break.
However, I was still forced to worry if this break would bring it out of him.
I feared getting comfortable and Malone acting out again.
There was a little doubt due to him still talking about this deal of me getting a girlfriend.
I was ready to make the phone call to Teaghan but couldn’t locate the card.
No matter how hard I was searching it seemed to have vanished.
“Dad, you are going crazy?”
At home, he was the golden child, the perfect kid.
Always willing to help out, respectful and typically entertained with researching facts about anything that popped into his head.
It confused me that he wasn’t that chill at school.
That’s why I was going crazy needing to locate her card and make him an appointment.
“Have you seen that card?” I asked Malone as his legs swung from the tall chair that sat at the island.
It was Monday and it was our day to be lazy and chill.
It was an important day for us. After school, we hung out and kicked it like men.
But today my mind was racing struggling to figure out what the hell I did with her contact information.
“You told me not to play with your credit cards anymore. I promise I didn’t have it.”
“Nah bud, the nice lady at your school gave me a card and I need to find it,” I answered looking in the cramped laundry room. I felt stupid for not putting it in a safe place. Right now I had the balls to make the call and I couldn’t be sure if it would stay long.
“Haven’t seen it.”
“What did I have on that day?” I asked, knowing Malone would recall. He also had a photographic memory. All you had to do was show him something once and he would never forget it
“Black jeans, grey long john with three buttons and those black boots with the holes in them,” he called off without much thought.
As soon as he finished his statement, I located the pants.
Pulling them from the dryer I found the card.
Leaning up against the equipment my chest flattened with conquest. The card was faded and destroyed from the wash cycle.
This may have been the only chance I had at getting to her.
I couldn’t remember if she named her office or if I would be able to find it from searching her name in the directory.
The school was closed so the option of calling them to get it was out.
‘Maybe this was a sign or something,’ I thought, ‘hell nah,’ I
brushed that off quickly. My intuition could have been tripping from the lack of use.
She was too beautiful to carry bad juju.
I convinced myself that it was impossible for that to be the case.
Grabbing my phone I started with the only place I knew may yield results.
Facebook. Everyone these days had a social media account.
And if she didn’t that was even better for me since I was so private and uninterested in everyone knowing my every move.
As I started to search, my business line rang. I was tempted to ignore the ringing phone because my staff knew I was off for the week. Yet with running shit it was imperative that I sucked it up and made sure things were still running smoothly in my absence.
“What’s up?”
“Houston, please don’t hate me but we have a job and no one on the schedule is trained for plumbing issues. Is there any way possible you can do it?”
Things had been moving so wild in my life that I forgot that a new plumber needed to be hired.
The search for Teaghan LeJune would have to wait.
My reputation had to stay upheld in the community.
Business was next in line of importance for me.
It was how I provided. Without a way to put food on the table, I was nothing.
Working with my hands and starting something I enjoyed filled the void of her passing.
Even as a child you could find me in the garage with my dad, Sheldon McGraw.
We would rebuild, paint and knock off the things on my mom, Linda’s, honey-do list with ease.
It was a blessing to have a trade. I had a degree, but nothing compared to having a trade that would always produce income.
Once I finished school, I started Four Corners.
Lending a helping hand was my specialty and pride and joy.
Not to mention I was one of the only companies to offer as many services as we did.
Four Corners could be said to be a one-stop shop for all home improvement needs.
Eventually, I wanted to branch out and open a hardware store.
My dreams were way bigger than unclogging sinks and toilets.
It had been placed on the back burner for now, but it still burned inside of me like endless incense.
“Send me the details, I’ll get right on it but after that don’t call me,” I said stepping from the laundry room with her torn and destroyed card in my hand.
I shook my head because now my thoughts were consumed with Teaghan again.
A sharp pain hit my heart and I couldn’t speak her name.
It was normally Leslie’s name I called on when I was faced with adversity.
I was ashamed of the butterflies Teaghan managed to activate after five minutes of being in my space.
I wondered what Leslie was thinking of how consumed my mind was. Having her on my mind but saying my wife’s name felt wrong on many levels. I just couldn’t disrespect her like that. Leslie was still my wife and thinking of another woman and speaking of her existence felt like a fuck boy move.
Failing to realize that thinking of Teaghan had nothing to do with Leslie would always hold me back.
Dating and finding love wasn’t going to replace her, it would make love special.
I had a second chance to love again and show someone new all that I wanted to share with Leslie.
It was never about replacing her but as Malone suggested, getting that feeling back.
A feeling I missed and wouldn’t speak on.
A feeling that would bind and pull my life together in every aspect.
“Perfect, I promise not to bother you after this. Check your email,” my assistant Leland advised. I knew that probably
wouldn’t happen, but I didn’t say much. I just handled what I had to handle. I would cuss and fuss about it later.
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
Luckily, I always kept my supplies close.
If not, I would have declined and passed on the job.
I grabbed Malone and we reluctantly took off for the town of Rambleton.
It was about thirty minutes away, and there wasn’t much traffic on the road.
It was still quite early, so we made it in no time.
Of course, the questions that I lacked answers to started the minute his seat belt was buckled but it made the drive bearable.
Honestly, Malone made life bearable in all aspects.
Whenever depression tried to creep in, I remembered that had it not been for her I would be all alone with my sorrow.
There was no way I would have survived her passing if I didn’t have Malone to live for.
“Malone, my bad I know it’s our day, but I got a job to do.
I need you to be on your best behavior,” I spoke as we pulled up to Mothering Medicine.
It was a small medical practice, obviously.
The building was placed perfectly in the heart of the city.
Lush trees were scattered and getting their color back.
The parking lot only held two cars and a closed now sign was lit up in the front window.
We exited the car with his agreement of behaving and not getting in the way.
Knocking on the glass door, a nice shapely woman came to the door, “Please say you are the plumber?”
“That’s me. I’m Houston and this is Malone.
What seems to be the problem?” I asked stepping inside the building.
Lavender paint covered the walls. I could smell incense burning.
The velvet seats added a nice touch, but it seemed out of place for a medical practice.
Without speaking on the décor I proceeded inside further as who I came to know as Missy explained that all the toilets and sinks were clogged, and they had to shut down for the day.
“Missy, is that the plumber?” I heard from a distance.
It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see her slanted eyes, I remembered that sedative voice.
I knew it was Teaghan before I laid eyes on her.
Fate was doing what it did best… bringing completion to what seemed impossible.
She rounded the corner in her dark denim blue jeans, giving me a full view of her wide hips.
Logo t- shirt tied in the back and Toms on her feet and she still looked amazing.
Her hair was in a low ponytail, but she was still a sight to behold.
My insides started turning topsy turvy once we finally locked eyes again.
It felt like this was my first time seeing her.
Yet with the second encounter, I was still wondering who she was?
And how it was that I hadn’t crossed paths with her before now.
I cheered inwardly because it confirmed that she didn’t have bad juju after all.
“Yes, girl and he has a cute little helper. Do you want me to take him to the issue?”
“Thank you Missy, but I can take Mr. McGraw from here,” she smiled and extended her hand as if we hadn’t met before. Granted, this was under different circumstances, but still enough to make me thank God for minuscule miracles. Miracles that may not have happened if this wasn’t destined to happen.
“It’s Houston,” I corrected.
“Alrighty then, I’ll be up front finishing the rescheduling.”
I was on natural high as I followed her to the back of the building.
Her suit gave no indication that she had an unforgettable body.
Solid and stacked to the heavens. Her hips swayed in her tight jeans and she looked so comfortable in her chill clothes.
All I could do was follow and try not to trip over my own damn feet.
I was drooling like a dog staring at a steak behind her.
“Thank you so much for coming out on such short notice, Houston. This is the worst week to have issues. It’s spring break for God’s sake,” she thanked me as she continued to lead me to the break room.
It was massive, and I was impressed with her establishment.
The entire building had character and matched her vibes perfectly.
The breakroom had black girl magic all over the walls.
Song lyrics from influential black women, quotes from influential movies and creatives.
Whenever I walked into a room, I tried to pinpoint things that could be improved, but so far I hadn’t come up with anything.
The same could be said about Teaghan…she was a masterpiece.
“It’s no problem, do you believe in fate?” I asked exposing myself for a minute. It wasn’t something that I normally did but with the way her body moved in the hallway I had no choice but to show my hand and reveal my cards. Hopefully, she took the bait.
“Of course I’m a woman. Fate is what a girls dreams are made of. Why?” she asked with a smile.
I pulled the card from my back pocket and smiled.
This was sheer luck that my business got the call and we didn’t have anyone to handle this issue but for me.
Without that luck, I doubted I would have found her or even had the nerve to call.
I played a good game. I would have held the card in my mind and probably backed out even with it still being intact.
“I washed the card, and it’s ruined. I didn’t know how I was going to find you to make his appointment,” I replied slipping my hands back in my pocket. Malone kicked me softly and I ignored him. He didn’t want me to find some girlfriend, he wanted me to make Teaghan my girlfriend.
“Oh,” she responded with a disappointed expression.
Her lip tucked, and her hand went to her back pocket.
I wanted to tell her that it was more than that, but I didn’t, too much had already been said.
Of course, I was happy to see her for far more than an appointment but with saying that I would be admitting that I was ready to throw myself back in the dating pool.
Right now, I was only interested in sticking a pinky toe in to check the temperature.
“Is this the problem area?” I asked cutting the stiffness in the room.
Rubbing my low cut I smiled because that ‘oh’ meant I had been on her mind also.
That was a relief because it had been a good minute since I took off on the pursuit of a woman.
I was probably just as rusty as the pipes I was about to check out.
But her body language let me know I wasn’t that far off.
“Yeah, I think it started in the kitchen and jumped over to the bathrooms and then the rooms. I don’t know. It’s a mess. Forgive me in advance for the mess you may encounter.”
“Cool, I’ll start here. Don’t worry, I’ll get it right,” my admission carried a lot of weight because I was speaking on more than just the plumbing issues of her building.
I would get it all right if she was interested.
Better yet, if I would stop playing games and admit to myself that I was interested.
If we didn’t get together, it would be no fault of hers.
She leaned up against the door jamb as I rolled up my sleeves and started to remove the needed tools.
She didn’t have to wait on me, but I also didn’t mind her watching me put in work.
I grabbed my neck at that filthy thought.
I was acting out of character and ashamed that she had me out there like that.
Lusting over women wasn’t something I was proud of. In total, I’ve had 4 girlfriends in my lifetime, but I would add her to the roster with no reluctance. Images of her swollen lips grazing mine, the cuff of her ass in my hands all made for a beautiful picture that I wanted to capture.