Constant Surprises (Wrong Numbers Series) (7 page)

“I love that dress.
Where’d you get it?” Sandy asked.

“There is this little
boutique over in Little Five Points that I love. I got Mom one as well as you,
so don’t worry because I know how you both are about the things I wear.” Amie
chuckled and handed her a bag.

“I swear, you spoil me,
woman, and I love every minute of it too.” Sandy laughed. They both sat down
for ice tea, sandwiches, and salad.

Sandy said, “You know
Roy is back home to stay?”

“Yeah, I saw him at the
feed store today.”

“You did, what
happened?”

Amie laughed at her
friend’s excitement. “Nothing much really, gave him a hug, we talked for a
minute about the restaurant then Dad came and we had to leave. We said our
goodbyes and that was that. Your husband bumped into me, knocking me to the
floor and I hurt my ass.”

“I’ll make sure he pays
for knocking you down like that.”

“Don’t make him suffer,
it wasn’t his fault. But I do have to admit it was nice seeing Roy again.”
Taking a sip of her tea, she noticed a smirk on Sandy’s face. “What’s that look
for?”

“Oh come on, you would
have jumped his bones if no one else was around.”

Amie nearly spit out
her tea. “You need to get your mind out of the gutter, girlfriend. You know
that’s my job to have the sick and twisted mind of a freak.”
 

A cloud of seriousness
crossed Amie’s face.

“Are we in deep
thoughts over there?” Sandy asked, biting into a sandwich.

“Yeah, just thinking
about stuff is all.”

“About Roy, perhaps?
Maybe it’s Roy you’re thinking about and have been forever and ever?”

“I wish you would stop
joking like that, you nut.”

“That, of course, is
Mrs. Nut to you. Just make sure you remember that. You might as well just come
clean, you are still in love with Roy Fulton despite the fact that you’ve put
up the biggest front there is by trying to block him out of your life. That man
is as much of a part of your life now as he ever was. Now is the time to try to
make up for lost time. Go for the gold, girlfriend. I can tell you this, he
just moved into his place. Steven told me he’s going to be at his place all
alone for the rest of the night. If I was you, I’d put on the slinkiest outfit
you have, bring him a welcome home dinner he won’t forget and serve yourself up
for dessert,” Sandy said with a wink.

Amie almost died from
laughter. “I swear, you are insane woman. You have really thought this shit
out, haven’t
ya
?”

“Of course I have, I
want you to be happy, Amie, that’s what I’ve always wanted for you since we
were kids. I know that deep down you haven’t been happy for the longest time.
Roy is your soul mate. I know that for a fact. Do you know while you were away
in college he would get all excited about getting letters from you smelling
like your perfume? He would tell me what an idiot he was for fucking up a
chance to be with you. I agreed with him completely, he was an idiot.”

“Now you know just as
well as I do that we could never be together because of what everybody around
here would have been saying. Our parents would have been laughed out of town,
especially Mom and Dad, no one would have wanted to come to his feed store if they
knew that the half Jap, half nigger would have been dating one of their good
old boys,” Amie said, trying not to lose control of her emotions.

“No one thought of you
like that, Amie, and you know it.”

“Come on, Sandy, you
know when I was in school that I was often beat up by some of the girls. The
boys would throw things in my hair calling it
Brillo
.
Even some of the adults in school or around town wanted nothing to do with me.
I know you didn’t see it all, but that’s what I had to deal with on a daily
basis. The only joy I had was being around you, my parents, Steven, and Roy.
You guys treated me like I belonged, like I wasn’t black or Japanese. I could
be myself with you all, and Roy never judged me for being who I was. It was
just that society, along with everybody in this God forsaken town was scared of
what would happen that caused us to be apart.” Amie took a sip of her tea,
remembering those moments that would have been easier for an average person to
forget. For her, forgetting the past was a battle in itself.

“I’ve changed so much,
Sandy. I’ve seen and done so many things that I don’t think I can go back to
the way I was. I like how I am now. It’s made me much stronger and completely
in control of my life.” Amie grabbed a napkin and dabbed her eyes.

“I can’t imagine how
rough it was for you, especially in a white community,” said Sandy, reaching
over grabbing her friend’s hand. Sandy squeezed it tight as Amie continued to
sob.

Mandy ran over and
wrapped her arms around Amie’s neck without asking why. She held her auntie as
tightly as she could until Amie caved in to the sobbing.

Mona asked her mother,
“Mom, why is Auntie crying?”

“Oh baby, your auntie
and I were reminiscing about when we were kids.” Sandy stroked her daughter’s
red curly hair. Mandy let go of Amie and got a napkin to wipe her tears. “These
girls have a sixth sense about things, I’m telling you. It’s like whenever they
know someone is sad. They always come around to make things better.”

Amie laughed, kissing
Mandy’s forehead. “I could sure use you back home when I am down.”

“No more tears,
Auntie?”

“No more tears,
darling, I promise no more tears while I’m here.”

“Now that we got all
the tears out, I have one question for you, girlfriend.” Sandy stated.

“And what is that, pray
tell?”

“What are you going to
cook him for dinner tonight?”

Amie looked at the
smirk on her friend’s face, took another bite out of her sandwich, and laughed.
“Okay, girls, how would you like to help Auntie cook your uncle dinner?”

Chapter Four

Roy went to check on
the horses later that afternoon; horses had been a solace to him over the
years. The glorious freedom of flying through the open land on the back of a
horse made him feel one with the magnificent creature. There was nothing he
like better. It was his stress reliever.

As a young boy, he
would spend hours in his parents’ barn brushing and tending to the horses.
Sometimes he would end up falling asleep outside a stall—especially if he was
upset over something.

Now he was a grown man,
making something new in his life. And Amie, too, was finally back home—even if
only temporarily. He only hoped that maybe, just maybe, something could be
rekindled between them.

As Roy made his way out
of the barn, a car flew up the road. At first he thought it was his mom
bringing him something to eat, but when he heard the loud music blaring, he
knew it wasn’t Mom.

The black corvette
pulled up and an unsettling pit in his stomach started to form when the door
opened. A shiny red high heel came out of the driver’s side door. It was
followed by a slim milky white leg then another red high heel. Susan stood
there wearing a tight white shirt and a denim mini skirt. Her hair was still
the same long dark brown color with curls at the end. “Roy, oh my God, Roy!”
she exclaimed with a giggle in her voice. She ran over to him throwing her arms
around his neck.

“Susan, what the hell!
What are you doing here?” Roy said in a mixed state of shock and annoyance as
she kissed his cheek. He immediately pushed her off, smelling the liquor on her
breath.

“I heard you were back
in town now for good. I was going to come by yesterday, but I thought it
wouldn’t be a good time to come over with family and all.”

She was right about
that, he thought. None of his family cared for her since the incident at Amie’s
going away party. It was a week after the incident when they broke up and Susan
had been trying to get back together ever since, right up until he left for
Chicago. In weak moments he would go back to her for a night, always cursing
himself in the morning.

“So why are you here
now, Susan?”

“Well, it’s been two
long years without you. I thought you would need some company since you are here
all alone and who better than me to provide it? Didn’t you miss me?”

Roy rolled his eyes. “I
am alone and that’s how I want it for tonight. I plan on having a nice quiet
evening alone, getting a good night’s rest. I suggest you get back into your
corvette and head back to wherever you came from, Susan.”

She was about to speak,
but suddenly change her mind. He was hoping his stern look was the reason.
Looking defeated, she got back into her car as quickly as she came, leaving a
billow of dust and dirt in her wake.

Shaking his head, he
walked inside so he could take a shower. Going straight into the back bathroom,
he turned on the water and tested the water temperature. Taking off his
clothes, he jumped in, feeling the water pelt his tired skin. Damn, it felt
good to be able to shower. Roy didn’t want to get out. He was so relaxed as he
scrubbed himself clean. He decided to stay longer as the steam seemed to ease
his tension.

When Roy got out and
started drying himself off, he heard a car coming from up the road. Lord knows,
he was not in the mood to deal with Susan’s crazy ass again. If she came to the
door, he would tell her to go away and that’s that. Quickly pulling on pajama
pants, he opened the door ready for battle. Instead, he was completely taken
aback. It wasn’t her Corvette coming down the drive, but a truck.

* * * *

Amie had to remember
the correct turn off from Sandy’s instructions on how to get to Roy’s house.
Lord, she must be a fool going to see him like this, having made him a full meal―even
dessert! Sandy did her best to convince Amie to wear a curve hugging black
dress, but Amie decided to just wear something comfortable and chose a pair of
Capri jeans and a red flowing top. Sandy insisted she let her shoulders show.
She felt silly doing all of this just because she wanted this man to love her
like always dreamed. This would just be something of a welcome home
dinner—nothing more.

“Yeah, you just keep
that in mind, sister. Don’t let your emotions get in the way,” she told herself
coming to the dirt road leading to Roy’s.

Amie immediately loved
the quaint house―a beautiful brick ranch style home with a porch the
length of the house. Roy was standing in the doorway. She could see he must
have just gotten out of the shower as his hair was very wet. His chest,
muscular and bare, glistened with droplets of water. God, she thought as she
stopped the truck, why the hell did he come out like that? When she got out she
said with a small smile, “Hey there, Roy.”

“Amie,” he said rubbing
the towel along his wet chest. “What are you doing here?”

“I decided to bring you
dinner and dessert. Sandy said you were going to be home, so I thought maybe
you could use a home cooked meal,” Amie said bringing out a basket full of
food.

Roy smiled at her
offering. “Come on in, I was just getting out of the shower. Do you need some
help?”

“No, I got it. I
wouldn’t want you to get your feet dirty.”

As she walked up the
front steps, he grabbed the large wicker basket she was carrying. He led her
into the kitchen where he placed the basket on the large oak table.

“Let me get a shirt
on,” he said walking into the back.

She started taking
various items out of the basket. Finding the oven free of stored pots and pans,
she turned it on 350 and went into the cabinets looking for plates.

“You look like you
belong in the kitchen.”

Amie turned around. Roy
was wearing a nightshirt that matched his pajama pants. She went into one
drawer then another looking for utensils. Taking out some forks, knives, and
spoons, Amie handed him everything. “Do you mind setting the table while I get
the rest of the stuff out?”

Nodding he started
setting the table for two. She took out several containers and a loaf of bread.
He watched her serve him salad and sliced bread. Roy smiled as she continued
heating up the casserole dish. He was enjoying this moment. He had only dreamed
of being in a domestic setting with her, now his fantasy was becoming a
reality.

 
“Do you know where the cups are?”

Roy didn’t hear what
she had said. He was too busy staring at her beautiful face, watching those
beautiful almond shaped brown eyes staring down at him. God, he thought, how
cute she was when she crinkles her little nose.

“Roy, where are the
glasses?”

“Oh sorry, I don’t know
probably in the cabinet somewhere.” She turned in search of glasses. Watching
her, the only thing Roy could think about was how hot she looked walking away.
Her hips swayed in her jeans that hugged them just right.

She returned with a
pair of wine glasses and pulled a bottle of wine from the basket.

“Do you mind opening it
up while I check on the Alfredo?” she asked. With the pop of the cork, he
poured the wine as she place a casserole dish that smelled like heaven in the
center of the table.