Chapter 9
EARLIER
“W ho was that young man that dropped you off?” my father asked as soon as he walked into the house behind me.
“A man dropped you off?” my mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.
I turned around and looked at my father in disbelief. “Daddy, you are so messy. Why would you ask that out loud?”
He laughed. “I mean, you didn’t come home last night so we assumed you stayed with Shirah. Now I know different.”
“Who was it?” my mother asked, sitting on the couch with what I knew was her morning tea.
I sighed. “Benjamin Davis. He’s just a friend. We went to school together. He was at the reunion. After Shirah practically ditched me for his best friend, we went to get something to eat. Since it was still early, we went back to his place, watched a couple movies, and talked until we fell asleep.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, Ma. That’s it, that’s all.”
“I just want you to be careful, baby. This thing with you and Ellis is still fresh.”
“I know, Mama. I came here to clear my head about Ellis and my situation, and I’m doing that. Again, Benny is an old friend… sort of. There’s nothing going on there. We literally just hung out and fell asleep on the couch.”
She raised her hands in mock surrender. “Okay. Well, is he nice? Does he live in town, or did he come in for the reunion?”
“He’s… nice enough. And yes, he lives here. He owns the Off the Wall tattoo shop.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, smiling. “You know I was thinking about getting a tattoo. Is he good?”
My eyes narrowed. “Mama, what do you know about a tattoo?”
My father scoffed. “We aren’t that old, Willow. We can keep up with the times.”
I laughed. “If you say so. But yes, he’s amazing. I might book a session before I leave. Anyway, I really want to shower and get out of these clothes. I’ll talk to y’all later.”
I gave both of them a hug and a kiss before disappearing upstairs to my room. Immediately, I began stripping out of my clothes and headed for the shower. While it warmed up, I wrapped my silk press and secured my shower cap before washing my face. Just as I picked up my phone to put on some music, a FaceTime call came through from Shirah.
“Oh, don’t call me now, ho. You ditched me for Jordan last night, so we have beef.”
She laughed loudly as she fell back into her sheet. The smile on her face paired with this radiant glow said she was freshly fucked.
“Don’t do me like that, Willow. I told you I miss hunching on that man.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, you did sleep with him?”
She smirked. “We didn’t do much sleeping, baby. Whew, chile! It brought back memories. Anyway, where did you dip off to?”
“Oh… I uh. I left with Benjamin.”
She shot up in bed, clutching the sheets around her breasts. “You left with Benny? And did what? Friend, did you fuck him?”
“What! No! We got some food and went back to his place to talk about everything that happened. He told me all about Tierra and his daughter.”
“Did you see a picture? Isn’t she adorable?”
I smiled. “She’s precious.”
“He’s such a good daddy. That man loves his baby.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he had a kid?”
“It wasn’t my place. I know I play around a lot, but some things are off limits. That wasn’t my story to tell.”
I nodded. “I get that. Anyway, we just watched movies and talked until we fell asleep on the couch.”
“Wait a minute! Ho, are you just now getting home?”
“Ugh, yes. Again, nothing happened.”
“Nothing? Like at all? No touching, kissing, a little rubbing up on each other?”
“No, Shirah. He was a perfect gentleman. It was nice.”
“Hmmm… let me find out.”
“There is nothing to find out. We were friendly, but not that friendly.”
“Whatever, Willow. Don’t act like you didn’t see the way that man’s eyes trailed you from head to toe last night. He was giving you that come hither look.”
I laughed out loud. “No, he wasn’t, Shirah.”
“He was. Jordan saw it, too. But it’s cool. Don’t believe me. Jordan said bitches don’t go to that man’s house, yet you spent the night. That says a lot. See, now I need to call him because he would have told me you spent the night by now. Benny picked him up from here.”
“Don’t go telling that man our business!”
“Now you two have business? See what I mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “Bye, Shirah. I’m getting in the shower. I’ll call you back.”
She cackled as I disconnected the call. I had to shake my head because I knew she really was about to call and gossip with that man about me and his best friend. Finally turning on some music, I stepped into the steamy shower, allowing the water to engulf me.
As I basked in the warmth of it, my thoughts drifted back to last night. Benjamin had a lot going on, but I could tell he was trying to make the best of things. I didn’t agree with him trying to force Tierra to be a mother, but I understood why he felt the way he felt. Charlie was his baby, and he wanted the best for her.
My thoughts then drifted to our time together after our discussion. I enjoyed myself. He talked more than I expected him to with how quiet I remembered him being. The most surprising thing was how funny he could be when he relaxed. I think he needed last night as much as I did.
Just free time to enjoy the company of someone who didn’t remind you of where you were going wrong in life. Ellis hadn’t crossed my mind a single time and I was grateful for that. I still wasn’t sure what the fate of our relationship would be when I got back home, but I prayed my time here gave me the clarity I needed.
* * *
LATER THAT NIGHT…
Sometimes, all you need is some time alone with yourself.
After spending the morning with my parents, I took a nap and decided to take myself on a little date tonight. Since I was a kid, Rose Haven had been doing this thing called movies in the square. I used to go with my parents or Shirah’s parents all the time as a kid. When we got older, we went by ourselves.
When I checked the website and saw that it was still a big thing, I borrowed my dad’s car and went to the store to get everything I would need for the night. I bought snacks, the fixings to make me a few small subs, a blanket, and a beach chair to sit in because the last thing I needed was something crawling on me as I sat on the ground.
The sun had just set when I pulled into the parking lot. Hopping out of the car, I grabbed my picnic basket and chair before heading to find a spot. The place was already filling up, so I made haste in securing a preferred location. With my blanket spread out, I set up my chair and got comfortable. Digging into my basket, I pulled out a wine cooler, popped the cap, and took a sip. I smiled to myself, thinking this was going to be a good night.
“Daddy, hurry up before the movie starts!” I heard.
It made me giggle because it was the same line I used on my parents many times when we got here later than I wanted to be. When I turned my head to see where the voice came from, my eyes widened at the sight of Benjamin carrying two chairs, a blanket over his shoulder, and a large cooler. Next to him was his daughter.
She was even more beautiful in person. Her thick ponytails reminded me of my hair as a kid. I used to love for my mom to put them all over my head with colorful beads on the ends. Benny’s eyes met mine and he paused momentarily. He looked from me to Charlie, before making his way over.
“Hey, Willow,” he said.
“Hey, Benjamin.” My eyes drifted to his daughter, who looked at me curiously. “Hi, beautiful.”
She blushed. “Hi.” She looked up at her father. “Daddy, who is this?”
“Baby, this is Willow. She’s an old friend. Willow, this is Charlie.”
I extended my hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Charlie.”
“Nice to meet you. Daddy, she’s so pretty.”
I blushed. “Thank you. You are just as beautiful, honey.” I poked her tummy, causing her to giggle. “I love your hair.”
She beamed with pride. “Thank you. My daddy did it.”
“Well, he did a beautiful job. I used to wear my hair just like this.”
“He could do your hair,” she said matter of factly.
Benjamin chuckled. “I think Ms. Willow is a little too old for this style, baby.”
“But you do other stuff, Daddy.”
I laughed at her trying to plug her father in as my hair stylist.
“I’m sure your daddy would do a great job, but I’m okay,” I said, taking a sip of my wine cooler. “Why don’t you two join me? There’s plenty of space… I mean if you’re okay with that, Benjamin. I don’t even mind sharing my snacks.”
I opened my basket to show them what I had.
“Please, Daddy?” Charlie begged, pulling on his hand. “She’s got the good snacks.”
Benjamin shook his head. “You and these snacks, lil’ girl.”
“Don’t be a party pooper, Benny,” I jested.
“Yeah, Daddy. Don’t poop the party.”
He chuckled. “Fine. Slide me one of those sandwiches.”
I grinned as I dug into my picnic basket while he set up their blanket. Charlie made herself comfortable in the chair next to me while Benny sat next to her.
“You want one of my juice boxes, Ms. Willow?” Charlie asked.
“No thank you, baby.”
“You feeling okay, Charlie?” Benny asked. “You never share your juice boxes. You just made Uncle Jordan pay you for drinking one this morning.”
I laughed as she said, “Because he didn’t ask first.”
“She has a point,” I agreed.
He rolled his eyes. “I guess. You gon’ share with me?”
Charlie frowned. “You have your funny juice, Daddy,” she said, pointing to the beer in his hand.
I stifled a laugh as he looked at her in disbelief.
He shook his head as he took a sip of beer. “It be your own kids.”
The projector lit up as the opening credits rolled. After ensuring that Charlie wasn’t allergic to anything, I passed each of them a turkey sub. Benjamin shared their mini bags of chips and we settled into the movie.
Tonight’s movie was Shrek. Even at my big age, I loved this movie. Charlie was in giggles as I quietly recited the lines. Clearly, she had seen this more than a few times because she recited a few scenes with me.
“Remind me not to take y’all to the movies,” Benjamin said with a slight smirk.
I waved him off. “So, you aren’t enjoying our acting?”
“Yeah, Daddy,” Charlie agreed, putting her hands on her hips.
“Y’all aren’t about to double team me all night.”
I kissed my teeth. “Charlie, we can enjoy the movie without your daddy being a sour patch.”
Much to my surprise, she got up and made herself comfortable on the ground between my legs. She rested her head against my stomach and tuned back into the movie. For a moment, I just stared down at her before looking over at Benjamin. He was just as perplexed as I was.
I half expected him to tell her to move, but he didn’t. Instead, he stood and moved his things to my blanket. I snickered.
“Feeling left out?” I jested.
“Whatever, man.”
I playfully poked him, causing him to grin. While him smiling seemed to be an occasional occurrence, I loved his smile. It was beautiful, and I wished he would do it more often.
We settled back into the movie with Benjamin occasionally joining in reciting the lines. It was nice to see him let his hair down, relax, and just… be.
By the time we made it to movie number two, Charlie started yawning. Halfway through, she found her way into my lap and curled up in my arms. My heart swelled at the cuteness overload.
“I can take her,” Benny said, reaching for her.
“She’s fine. I wouldn’t dare move her. She’s such a sweet girl, Benjamin.”
“She’s a’ight.”
I playfully slapped his arm. “Don’t do my new friend like that.”
“Your new friend?”
“Oh, baby, we’re locked in at this point. I’ll come see you just to see her.”
“Who said you can come back to my house?”
I scoffed. “How rude! I shouldn’t be surprised. Shirah did say Jordan said you don’t allow women in your space.”
“See, there y’all go with that gossiping. I knew you spoke with her when Jordan asked me about you staying over. I had to tell him fifty times that it wasn’t like that.”
“It was the same thing with my parents. That was awkward.”
“I bet. I guess it’s hard to believe we could actually be just friends. I mean, you have a whole man?—”
I cut him off. “I don’t have anything. While I’m here, I’m a single woman.”
“And when you leave?”
I couldn’t answer that right away. Honestly, it depended on what I came home to. Either Ellis was going to make the necessary changes or we would be right where we were when I left.
“Don’t think too hard,” Benjamin said. “It’s not my business anyway, right?”
I gave a nervous smile. “Right.”
Deciding to try and focus on the movie, I turned back to the screen. Still, my thoughts drifted. They drifted so far that I didn’t realize when the movie was over until Benjamin stood to gather their things.
“Damn, that’s gonna be a walk,” he mumbled.
“Y’all walked here?”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect her to fall asleep.”
“I can take you home. I have my dad’s car.”
“I appreciate that. If you give me the keys, I can put most of this stuff in, then come back for Charlie.”
I nodded toward the basket. “Inside pocket. Click the alarm and it will bring you to the car.”
He reached in and grabbed them before packing up his things and what he could carry of mine. While he was gone, I looked down at a sleeping Charlie and smiled. How could anyone not love her? It was clear why he went so hard for her mother to be a part of her life. I prayed that Tierra would get the help she needed and give this baby the love she deserved.
Benjamin returned and took Charlie from my arms. I gathered my chair and blanket, then we made our way to the car. It took about five minutes to get from the square to where he lived above the shop. I helped him get their things inside and unpacked his cooler as he laid Charlie down for bed.
“Thank you again,” he said upon returning to the kitchen.
“No problem. It was my pleasure.”
He stared at me for a moment before speaking again. “Thank you for being welcoming to Charlie. I don’t play about my baby, so I don’t have her around women at all. She seems to like you.”
I smiled. “I like her, too. You’re doing an amazing job with her, Benny.”
He gave a scratch to the back of his head. “I’m trying, man.”
I grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re killing it. Trust me.”
I offered him a hug… one that lingered for a moment before he hugged me back. I felt comfortable in his arms, and it was the strangest feeling. Awkwardly, I pulled away.
“I should go,” I said, clearing my throat.
“I’ll walk you down.”
We left the apartment in silence and took the stairs down to the ground floor. He stood at the door and watched until I was safely in the car. With a final look back, I waved at him and pulled off with a slight smile on my face.