A Good Dude (30 page)

“I thought you were off.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” he said.

“What?”

“You got your
other
baby back now, so I get put on the back burner.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Yeah. But still . . . . I told you I wanted to see her today. I got her a gift and everything.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Tino, you never even got
me
a gift.”

“See, there you go running your mouth. I got you something, too.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. What kind of crappy boyfriend do you think I am?”

The microwave dinged. Candace put the nipple back on the bottle and positioned the baby for feeding. Leila took the milk easily and enthusiastically. Candace smiled, happy to be right about what she wanted for a change.

“That’s sweet,” Candace said. “But you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Why didn’t you call me when you got home?” Tino asked. “I could’ve went at lunchtime.”

“I fell asleep. I’m sorry.”

“It’s the
bebita
,” he said. “Already you don’t have time for me.”

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Candace smiled. “You sound like you like that.”

“I think I do,” he said.

“You got something in mind?”

Tino giggled. “We can talk about it tomorrow.”

“All right,” Candace said. “And don’t forget my gift!” She hung up before he could respond.

* * *

Her stepfather called at five to make sure his wife wasn’t crazy and they could indeed catch a plane to Texas. Candace told him it was true. She told also told him about the classes she was taking for her second semester of college. Gerald said he was proud.

* * *

At 5:30 Candace dropped her daughter off at Trisha’s house on her way to work. She made it to the restaurant at 6:02, late for the very first time, and she had the most stressful night ever. By the end of her shift, she decided she would either have to get a new babysitter or talk Trisha into getting a home phone.

Candace didn’t make it home until 12:30 a.m. She heard screaming as she mounted Trisha’s stairs, and it got louder when she approached her friend’s door. She hoped it was Willie acting up in there, but of course it was Leila again. Candace rushed in apologizing. Trisha looked the most frazzled, but Petey and Little Sammy looked pissed off as well.

Trisha handed over the fussy baby as soon as Candace was within reach, and much to everyone’s surprise, Leila stopped crying immediately. She grabbed a fistful of Candace’s work shirt and buried her face in her mother’s chest. She whimpered softly like a frightened puppy.

“Ain’t this a bitch,” Trisha said.

Candace laughed. “Trust me, I’m as surprised as you. Was she crying all night?”

“No. She was earlier, after you left, but I finally got her settled down. She was cool till she woke up at twelve. She’s been going since then.”

“I’m sorry,” Candace said.

“It’s all right,” Trisha said, “but we need to redefine our babysitting arrangements. This might get to be too much to do for free.”

Candace frowned. “I never wanted you to do it for free, Trisha. I thought I told you I would pay.”

“No, I don’t remember that,” Trisha said, but she was clearly interested in the idea. “How much did we talk about?”

“I guess we didn’t,” Candace said. “How much do you want?”

“Can you afford twenty dollars a night?”

Candace made that at one table. “That’s all you want?”

“Yeah, girl. What you work, four, five nights a week?”

“Usually four.”

“That’s eighty dollars,” Trisha said.

“That’s fine.”

“Oh.” Trisha smiled. “I guess we ain’t got no problem then! How was your night at work?”

Candace grinned. She sat on Trisha’s couch and stared into her baby’s eyes. Leila stared back at her. And she looked comforted rather than afraid of her new mom now.

* * *

But the next morning Leila was inconsolable again. Candace changed her, fed her, and held her for hours, it seemed. She found that if she stood, Leila would quiet down long enough to fall asleep. But if Candace sat down, and Lord forbid she put Leila down, the baby would kick up a racket loud enough to wake the dead.

But when Leila woke up after her afternoon nap, everything was fine. She loved her mama. It was as if the earlier episode never occurred. Candace wanted to call the Whitleys and ask if Leila was always like this in the mornings, but she forced herself not to make that call. Whatever the baby was going through was essentially her mother’s fault, so Candace bore the brunt and the guilt.

But it wasn’t an ongoing thing. Leila only had two more bouts of
who are you and where am I?
It only happened in the mornings, and it didn’t last very long. After the third day, Leila knew exactly who her mother was at all times.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Tino came on Sunday bearing the gifts he promised. For Leila, he had the Laugh and Learn Puppy. This adorable stuffed animal sang ten different songs and boasted it could teach baby her ABC’s, 123’s, colors, and body parts. The doll had a huge head and big floppy ears and eight different areas you could squeeze to begin a lesson. The puppy was as big as Leila.

For his girlfriend Tino bought a silver keepsake plate, spoon, and cup set. Candace initially opened the box in confusion, wondering why he would give her dishes. But as she studied the set, Candace knew it was something she would keep forever. There was a monogram in the center of the plate. It read:

Leila Denise Hendricks June 30th, 2010

Candace looked up in surprise. “When’d you get this?”

“I had it for two weeks already.”

“Tino, this is great. I never would have expected anything like this. Maybe from my parents, but not you.”

“I give good gifts.”

“You do. How’d you know her middle name?” Candace asked.

“You told me. I don’t remember when.”

“I don’t use her full name every time I talk about her, do I?”

“No, you’ve only said it once or twice.”

“And you remembered?”

“I remember the first thing you ever said to me,” he said.

Candace called his bluff. “What was it?”

Tino smiled. “I ran up to you after class and said, ‘Hey, your name’s Candace, right?’ And you said, ‘Yeah. How—’ ”

“ ‘How do you know my name?’ ” Candace said. “I remember now.”

“I remember what you were wearing,” Tino said. Candace cocked an eyebrow. “What?”

“Naw, I’m just kidding,” he said. “But do I still get a kiss?”

“Certainly. I’m never throwing this plate away.” She leaned in and pecked him softly on the lips. Tino grinned like he made it to third base. Candace never met a man who was so easy to please.

* * *

On Wednesday Candace went to the Dallas/Overbrook Meadows Airport for real this time. Her parents’ flight came in at noon. Nothing could compare to the joy they felt upon seeing their daughter and new grandbaby waiting at the terminal.

Her father was a tall, confident man. At six feet, four inches, Gerald Hendricks was the tallest person Candace knew personally. He was fair-skinned, the color of butter cookies, and always clean-shaven. He had a strong jaw line and stern eyes. After thirty years in the Navy, dressing neatly was as much a part of his life as breathing.

Today he wore khaki Dockers with a short-sleeved golf shirt. His shirt was tucked in, his belt was braided, and his loafers were without scuffs. His hair was as short and as neat as the day he entered boot camp. Mr. Hendricks had perfect teeth, much like he expected for his daughter, considering all the money he put into her mouth.

Candace’s mom was much shorter than Gerald, but average height for a woman. Katherine Hendricks’s skin was the color of well-aged brandy. At forty-one she was a few years younger than Gerald, but she didn’t look over the hill. Her skin was still as smooth as it was in her twenties. The only thing that gave her away was a few crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes, but they were only visible when she laughed.

Candace’s mom wore a cardigan and dress styled by Dolce & Gabbana. The dress was black, knee length, and form-fitting. The cardigan was black also, and long, about an inch longer than the dress. Katherine Hendricks had dark eyes and full lips. Like Candace, she rarely wore makeup.

Candace ducked behind a pillar and managed to sneak up on her parents as they scanned the terminal for her. She tapped her father on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, sir, you’ll have to wait for your daughter somewhere else,” she said in her snootiest airport security voice.

Gerald turned, ready to raise hell, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Oh, my goodness! Candace!” He threw his arms around her in an embrace that threatened to crush the baby she cradled in her arms. He smelled like Old Spice, the only cologne worth wearing, in his opinion.

“My baby! It’s Candace!” her mother screamed, as if she had no idea who was picking her up. She pushed her husband aside and grabbed her daughter for another bone-crushing hug.

“I missed you, baby,” Katherine said. “I missed you—
I missed you—I missed you!
Don’t you ever go this long without seeing us! You hear? Don’t you
ever
go this long!”

“I won’t, Mama. I promise.”

“Let me see that baby!” Gerald said. He plucked Leila from Candace’s arms and held her into the air. “Look at her,” he said to his wife. “Look at those chubby cheeks. Who’d she get those from?”

“That’s
Candace
,” Katherine said.

“I don’t have big cheeks,” Candace said.

“You did,” her dad assured her. “You must have forgotten your baby pictures. She’s a spitting image.”

“She is,” Katherine agreed.

Everyone smiled at the child, and Leila liked being the center of attention. She grinned brightly, showing off a mouth full of gums.

Gerald held the baby close to his chest. Leila was almost swallowed up in his big arms.

“Come down here, let me see.” His wife bounced with anticipation.

Candace heard her daughter giggling from inside the huddle.

* * *

Candace thought she would ride back into town with both parents, but her stepfather was insistent that they not become a burden during their stay. He rented a car at the airport and said they would get a motel room once they got to Overbrook Meadows. Candace offered to make space for them in her apartment, but her parents were staying until Sunday. Gerald knew all four of them wouldn’t be comfortable in a one-bedroom for that long.