BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (101 page)

"Okay, so, is Sheila and Vivian's friend black too? This Sylvia?"

"Yep, she is."

"And how did they meet? Sylvia and your uncle?"

"She lives in Wisconsin, lives right across the road from my uncle, that's how they met. My uncle went bonkers over her, and - soon, they were married."

"Oh my goodness, so what is it with your family, they got a thing for black women or something? Because now, your father is marrying Vivian."

Paul smiled as he leaned against her kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his chest, he suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to flirt with her, and answered to her surprise, "Yeah, I guess we do - have a thing for black women, there's something about'em." His eyes were dead set on her. The look that came over her, made him blush and look to the floor, glancing back up, he smiled, "For instance, I think you're real pretty, how old are you by the way?"

Taken so by surprise at his sudden flirtatiousness Jackie cocked her hip, putting a hand on it, "Your mama never told you, not to ask a woman her age?"

He grinned, blushed and shrugged.

Taken by his infectious grin and charming personality, she grinned back and was honest, "I'm thirty-one years old, if you must know."

"You don't look it, if you don't min' me saying it. You look more like, well - twenty-something." He complimented honestly.

Now Jackie blushed, smiled, shaking her head, "Emmm em, I see now I'm gonna have to be careful with you here, lil'o'boy."

"No boy ma'am, and - I ain't so little; bigger than you. Taller, and weigh more I'm bettin'."

She had to stop herself from almost fanning her face, as her temperature rose. She didn't know what it was about the boy, it must have been too long since she had a man, because he was turning her on. Which was totally unusual for her, because she wasn't attracted to white men, especially no
"lil'ol'white boy"
. "Yeah well, anyway - you were telling me about your father and uncle."

"And 'bout the fact that they both like black women?" He asked, his eyes once more suggestive. Paul couldn't believe how he was behaving, but there was something about her; he even felt himself stirring, a definite tingling that made him realize she was arousing him; the fact that he was being flirtatious, didn't help matters any.

Jackie had to take a deep, but subtle breath to get her barrings clear and on the right track. She thanked goodness her kids were in her room watching TV, she didn't allow them in her living room - that was off limits. "Yeah, that - I believe you were saying." She returned, trying not to look at him as she cooked, she needed to force her mind to what she was doing and not look at him anymore, because those eyes, those soulful brown eyes, were getting all into her head, and other places as well.

"My grandmother I'm thinking, she's the reason."

That made her look, "Your grandmother?"

"Yes ma'am, she feels that every now and then, well - how can I say this? Well, that no matter what the race, there comes a time when they need to bring in new blood, to keep things from getting too concentrated. She doesn't think it's healthy to be too much of one thing, says it causes problems, so - white blood needs to occasionally bring in black blood, or whatever else there is besides white. Black, Asian, Indian, the same - she says every so many generations, we need to bring in new blood to correct what may be going wrong. She says, it keeps the family, healthy, strong and beautiful. That's what she says."

"Your grandmother said that?!"

"Yep, she did. She didn't want any of her kids, to marry white. I have three uncles, and two aunts. My uncle Derrick, his wife is Puerto Rican, a somewhat dark one, if you didn't know her, you'd think she was black. Then my uncle Shawn, married Sylvia, she's his second wife. His first was white. My dad, always dated white women, my mother being white, my other two brother's, their mother is white. But then, he met Vivian and he's gone for her, man, and I mean gone!" He smiled.

"Wow, what an interesting family you have. And that Vivian, she's beautiful, but I must admit, I was surprised to see him with her, she's so dark."

"My grandmother's crazy about her!" He informed her.

"Boy you know you are blowing me away with all this, I didn't even know white folks like what you describing, even existed!"

"Yeah we do exist, not all white people are bad; prejudice, idiot, assholes! Excuse my language," He apologized immediately.

"You 'bout summed it up and I agree, no apology needed." She replied, a sardonic look about her.

"Yeah, well, there are some cool white people believe it or not." He grinned and then winked at her, surprising himself and her. Shaking her up, she broke the slow weaving of their inner essences from taking place between them to ask, "You said you have two aunts, what did they marry?"

"White. Regardless of what my grandmother wants, I suppose what will be, will be."

"Yes, I suppose so," She thought out loud and then pointed out, "Since you only have until nine, shouldn't you get busy?"

Paul stood from the counter, "Yes ma'am, you're right, I best get busy."

"And you will be eating! Because I know you couldn't have had time to eat, it's nothing fancy - frying some pork chops, making some broccoli, macaroni and cheese, some corn bread, I hope that's okay with you."

"Sounds good to me, you sure there's enough?"

"I'll make sure there is, you're not gonna be working your butt off here for me and then not get fed. So, go get busy, I'll call you when dinner is done."

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted her smartly and turned to get his tool belt on and then head for the basement. He had everything he needed, having picked it all up earlier after taking care of her car and fixing her lawn mower. He hadn't cut her grass yet, but he would do that first thing tomorrow morning. He was just glad that he'd been able to fix it, by the time he had - he'd decided to leave, pick up the extra things needed via instructions of his grandfather and then it had been time to get Vivian. With his tool belt strapped to his narrow hips, he checked along the basement foundation where the wall with the house settling, had pulled away. With his note pad, he did his measurements along the wall, marking the widths needed for the wood he'd be using for wedge stabilizing that would be used to anchor the floor boards he'd place along with insulation.

As he worked, his mind went from what he was doing; to
her
. He could hear her upstairs talking to her kids. Gently fussing at her son for not doing his homework before watching TV. Hearing her as she communicated with him, made Paul smile, thinking back to times as a young boy with his own mother. There were many good times growing up with her he could reflect on. Yet, the moment he'd turned eighteen, she'd literally said to him on the day of his graduation,
"Today, marks a new beginning for you. Time for you to go out there now, and learn what it means to be a man. I'm not gone be one of those mother's trying to hold on to you. Frankly speaking, I can't stand them kind of mother's and I made myself a promise not to be one. From this moment forward, we can be friends, but - you don't need no mother smothering you. I've raised you well, did the best I could with you. Now - don't you go crazy out there forgetting what's important in life! You gonna make some mistakes, but that's all part of it - becoming a man. After today, I want you to start thinking towards being your own man, making your own way in this world and don't be worrying about me, I'll be just fine, you understand?"
She asked, straightening his tie, smoothing his short cut hair.

"Yes ma'am, I understand."

"And, don't be too soft hearted Paul. Please know, that everyone that smiles at you - aren't true to what you see. People smile for all kinds of reasons and they aren't always good. And please, guard your heart - don't be so quick to give it, and when you do - make sure - she's deserving, you hear me? 'Cause you're a good person Paul, you've been a good son to me, and you're gonna make some young woman, a damn good man, but - be sure. Get some experience first, have a few flings..."
She winked up at him, making him blush and grin.
"You're due, you've been good all this time - and it can't hurt to bed a few here and there, you sure got the equipment to-..."

"Mom!"
He had exclaimed making a face turning away from her, red as could be.

"Well you do! That's one thing your daddy sure did give you! You bes' be glad too, like your grandma Gert says and it's true, hung-..."

"MOM! Enough, I know I know... jeez mom, I don't like it when you talk about that!"
He grumbled turning away to finish gathering his things to head off.

She only grinned at him, winking as she often did.

Paul shook his head from the reflection back. And now, in Jackie's basement, his thoughts went towards wondering about her. She wasn't a classical beauty, but she was feminine, and plenty, pretty enough, with glowing, smooth brown skin. Eyes full of mischief and sparkle, a perfect mouth, lips so full, as he'd seen on black women, plenty full enough for him. Her figure was solid, firm, rounded, curves aplenty, pert and enticing. She had nice shapely legs, full hips and buttocks, a real nice rear, high - perfect as far as he could see. She had nice boobs as well, not too big, again, just right. Paul felt his mouth water at the same time he broke out in a cold sweat, feeling his genitals stir, in fact they were throbbing, he could feel himself getting an erection just thinking about her, wondering what it would feel like to touch her, maybe even, kiss her? He swallowed the growing moisture in his mouth, his heart starting to pound as his mind began playing a scene of him going up there. He would look at her, let her see him looking, he wondered if she would know, that he was feeling things? She was thirty-one years old, she had two kids already, so that meant she knew things. A man had made love to her, kissed her, touched her, done all the things to her, he wondered about. He shook his head, realizing that he was daydreaming instead of getting on with his work, the reason he was there. He closed his eyes, he felt heavy down low, throbbing, getting hard.

"Oh Jesus!" He muttered, "Come on, not now - not now! I gotta get my mind off of her, think about something else! Think about what you're doing, you moron!" With steeled determination, he fought his thoughts of her, his daydream that was trying to slip into a fantasy. He had to repeat to himself, over and over again, "She's a mother! She's a mother! Two kids, she's a mother! You do what you come to do, and get your mind off of anything else!" He grappled with it and made himself get on with what he was doing in the basement, prepping her wall, jamming it with wood blocks, tight and secure; the way his grandfather had instructed; once all were in place, he would drill a bolt through them to fasten them to the concrete wall and add a bracket to the floor they were wedged against from below. He would use them to anchor the insulation in place he would run along the wall to block any cold air transferring upward once he went upstairs and cut the new floor board to fit in the open slot, which would also be secured to the wedges he put into place.

Once more he smiled and listened as he worked hard to finish as much as he could that night, her little girl was questioning her about him. "How come that white man here again, mama?"

"He's fixin' stuff baby, so we won't be cold this winter."

"What he fixin'?" She asked more specifically.

"The floor baby, this way heat don't go off everywhere and the cold can't come in this winter."

"Oh," she answered and then a little space of silence and next, "That mean I can't come get in yo' bed when it's cold mama?"

"You won't need to, 'cause you gonna be nice and warm in your own."

Hearing that made Paul nod his head in agreement, that's the reason he was there. He would make sure of it, that they would be nice and warm and secure. More conversation ensued as he finally had to put on his safety goggles and turn on his drill, which prevented him from hearing anymore from them. He made quick work of it all in the basement and then gathered his things and made his way back up the stairs. Coming out of the basement, her son turned from the kitchen table to look at him. Paul smiled at him, winked his eye at him but carried on. The young boy was impressed with his tool belt, he was dying to talk to Paul, but his mother wouldn't let him bother him and besides, he wasn't quite done with his homework yet and it was kind of hard. Jackie enrolled him in the summer courses to help him get ahead, he had only two subjects for the summer, math and english - they were the toughest, so a summer with them would help him get ahead for the normal school year.

From the room, Paul listened in more as Jackie struggled to help her son with his math problems. Unable to resist, Paul came out of the room, walked to the table where they sat, and looked at what he was doing. "Mind if I help? I know that like the back of my hand." He once again volunteered.

Jackie looked up and smiled, "Would you mind? I have never been good at this, I can eventually figure it out, but I'm not getting it tonight."

Paul knelt on the floor beside him asking, "Explain what you're trying to figure out?"

Jackie stood and walked back to her stove, listening as Ronnie explained the problem, what he didn't understand and then, Paul - showing his age, using young slang lingo went into total agreement involving her son right away and then into how he learned to master the problem. Because he wanted to get more done in the room, he invited her son to bring his books and homework in the room where he was working to guide and assist him as he needed. Ronnie was eager to go. He laid on the floor as Paul went back to work, stopping to answer him, direct him, but letting him figure it out once he gave key clues and reminders.