Games (6 page)

Since he’d been in Arizona, he’d been working on getting his spiritual life back on track. He prayed every day and read his Bible. He attended bible study with his mother and stepfather and watched the Word Channel whenever he could. When he drove his Rav4 around Phoenix, he blasted his favorite gospel CDs and when he went to sleep. But all of that didn’t remove her memory from his mind or his heart.

Brian did notice that he wasn’t the least bit interested in other women, like the other day when he walked to
Cold Stone Creamery.  While he sat on the store’s patio eating his ice cream, he didn’t notice the young lady eyeing him from the next table. When he didn’t respond to her flirtations, she boldly approached him.

“Would you like some company?”

Brian gave her a quick once-over and without any regard said, “No,” and continued eating. Looking dejected, the young lady walked slowly back to her table. 

Brian wore a pair of shorts and tank top when he accompanied his mother to the grocery store on yesterday. When Alysse turned down the opposite aisle, a bold woman approached him. “I would love to wrap my legs around you and ride off into the desert night,” she said and held out a card with her number on it. Instead of being flattered, Brian was offended. He didn’t say a word to the woman, just took the card and tore it up right in her face then handed the pieces back to her. His craving for sex was satisfied. What Brian wanted was love from Shay.

Shay sat Indian-style on her bed reading over lecture notes.  Since her arrival at Harvard four weeks ago, her days were consumed with studying and more studying. The accelerated Masters and Teaching Credential program was only a year in length. That left little if no time at all for recreation. She was glad, because it kept her mind off home. She’d taken a year off after completing her undergraduate work at Stanford and it took her a minute to get back into the flow and organization of a full schedule.

Added to the stress, was the fact that this was her first time living so far away from her mother and the Simone family. While at Stanford, Shay lived in the dorms, but that distance was only an hour drive from her mother’s Blackhawk estate. Her aunt Angie lived near the college. During her first week in
Cambridge, Shay called home every day. Now she had so much work to do, she limited her calls to the weekend.

Overall, she liked the
New England atmosphere. Surprisingly, Cambridge was a major metropolitan city similar to Oakland and Berkeley. Massachusetts Avenue, or as the locals call it, Mass Avenue, reminded her of Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue with its many multicultural gift shops and street vendors. One could find everything from clothing to exotic art on the street corners. On a real good night, one could even find the kind of candy that would help you stay awake and study all night.

The mixture of cultures impressed Shay. Whereas the Bay Area was mostly populated with minority groups like Hispanics, Asians and African Americans like herself,
New England was filled with West Indians, the Irish, Puerto Ricans and Haitians. Each group had their exclusive area, yet everyone coexisted peaceably together.

On Sundays, she opted out of church services, attempting to dodge God’s wrath for sleeping with Brian again after she vowed not to. She didn’t pray anymore since she thought God had turned a deaf ear. Her Sundays were spent in her apartment studying or reading in Harvard Square.

Engrossed in her reading material, her cell phone rang three times before the disco ringtone caught her attention. She read the caller ID then smiled.

“Hey, Uncle.” It was her closest uncle, Jonathan Simone. He was only fourteen months older than her mother and after Shay’s father died, Jonathan made it his responsibility to look after his niece.

“How are you doing, baby girl?” he asked in the voice Shay always thought similar to James Earl Jones.

“I miss you guys, but I’m adjusting.”

“I’m proud of you for taking on such a challenging program.”

Shay sucked her teeth. “Thanks, but I hope I didn’t bite off more than I can chew. It’s a little tougher than I expected. I’m not going to give up though.”

“You can’t give up, you’re a Simone and—”

“Simones don’t give up,” she helped him complete one of the many Simone- family slogans. The Simone family was a very close-knit and loving group. Her French- born grandfather, Carey Simone, Sr., whom everyone affectionately referred to as Papa,
and her African-American grandmother, Ana Simone, had been married for fifty-three years. Together, they raised eight children. Her uncle Jonathan was the fourth born and her mother, Julia was number five.

Forty years ago, Papa founded the Simone Company
and turned it into one of the most sought-after architectural and construction businesses on the West Coast. The Simone family was just as wealthy in family values and love as they were in money and possessions. Papa
and Ana taught their children and grandchildren to always place God and family before anything material. Because of their strong faith in God, all of the Simone children were successful and always gave to others.

“I know, Uncle, there’s no way I’m leaving here until I’m finished,” Shay declared. She then asked him about his family.

“Your aunt invited Alysse and Mark over to the house on yesterday.  They showed us the pictures from Brian’s graduation.” Jonathan practiced criminal law in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Shay knew what was coming next and she tried to steer her uncle into a different direction. “Brian wants to be a criminal defense attorney, maybe you can mentor him?”

Jonathan understood his niece well. “That might be possible if he moves to Arizona. Shay, I didn’t see you in any of the pictures, what’s going on?”

“That’s the day I left for
Cambridge. I left early so I could get to the airport in enough time to make it through the security checkpoint.” She hoped he bought her excuse. He didn’t.

Jonathan, along with the rest of the family
, recognized from day one, Shay and Brian were stuck on each other. If she left early, it certainly wasn’t because of an airplane schedule. The family’s private plane would have taken her anywhere she wanted to go. A pregnant pause followed. Jonathan didn’t press further. “I’ll be speaking at a conference in Boston next month. We’ll get together then. In the meantime, if you need anything, all you have to do is call.”

Shay pumped her fist in the air in celebration of the reprieve. “I know, Uncle, thanks.” She talked to him for a few more minutes then asked to speak to his daughter, Taylor. She and Shay were the same age and had grown up more like sisters than cousins.

“What’s up, cuz? How’s New England treating you?”

“Everything’s fine. You should come up during winter break?” Shay suggested.

“I just might do that, if you promise to hook me up with a couple of them fine Harvard men.” Taylor laughed.

“Girl, I’ve been so busy with classes, I haven’t had time to notice if the men are fine or not.”

“If you weren’t busy, you still wouldn’t have noticed,” Taylor asserted.

Shay twisted her face. “What do you mean by that?”

“Everybody knows you only have eyes for Brian.”

Shay knew her cousin spoke the truth, but since she was already a sinner, she lied. “That’s not true; Brian and I are only friends.”

“Yeah, and I was born yesterday. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Shay; Brian does look good, especially since he shaved his head. Lucky for you, you’re my cousin. If you weren’t I might have to fight you for him,” Taylor teased.

Shay needed to end this conversation. Just thinking about how good Brian looked made her instantly think of how good he made her feel. Shay didn’t want to think about that anymore. “Hey, cuz, I have some things I need to take care of. I’ll call you later,” Shay said then quickly ended the call.

Chapter 13

“Hey, folks,” Brian called when he entered the Blackhawk estate. He found his father and stepmother in the eat-in kitchen with Josiah. Brian greeted them by hugging his father and kissing Julia on the cheek.

“We didn’t expect to see you today,” Julia said. “Are you hungry?”

Before he could answer Julia reached into the cabinet and began making him a plate.  Brian didn’t object. He, like his father, loved Julia’s cooking. Her candied yams, cabbage and fried chicken were among his favorites.  Today she topped the meal off with pineapple-coconut cake.

“Bi-an, Bi-an,” little Josiah called to him from his highchair.

“Hey, little man.” Brian lifted his younger brother from his chair and tickled him. Little Josiah’s giggles echoed throughout the kitchen.

Brian eyed his father watching their play and wondered if Reggie’s current thoughts were the same ones he’d voiced on numerous other occasions. Reggie wore his pride in his sons in the broad smile that showed nearly all of his pearly whites. Brian and Josiah were nineteen years apart with different mothers, but they looked so much alike. Josiah was a shade lighter than he and Brian, but everything else was the same, right down to the left dimpled cheek.

Julia set a heaping plate of food and a glass of lemonade on the table and Brian dug right in without saying grace.

“So what’s going on?” Reggie asked when Brian took a swig of lemonade.

“Nothing much.”

“Are you nervous about law school?”

“Not really. I’m looking forward to the distraction,” Brian answered his father without thinking. He didn’t want his parents to know how much he really missed Shay. Brian kept eating, hoping they’d missed his comment.

They hadn’t. Julia gave Reggie a sideways glance. Reggie shook his head, which was an indication to leave the subject of Brian and Shay alone.

“So, have you talked to your mother lately?” Julia asked. “Jonathan told me she and Mark came for a visit in
Scottsdale.”

“Yeah, my mom told me about it. She’d take a trip across country to show off my graduation pictures.”

“She’s proud of you and so are we,” Reggie said proudly.

“I understand, but it’s still embarrassing,” Brian said before biting into a fried chicken leg.

“If you think she’s doing a lot now, wait until you finish law school.”

Except for an occasional comment, Brian focused on the decreasing mound on his plate. When he helped himself to a second serving Reggie and Julia watched with amazement. The plate Julia had made for him was loaded. They were used to him eating a lot, but this was excessive even for him. “Brian, when was the last time you ate?” his father asked.

Brian thought for a moment. “Two days ago.”

“Why haven’t you eaten in two days? Are you sick?” Julia asked and at the same time placed the back of her hand against his forehead.

“No, I just haven’t had much of an appetite lately,” Brian answered without realizing the implication.

This time Julia didn’t look in Reggie’s direction. “Brian, have you spoken to Shay lately?”

“No,” Brian said and quickly filled his mouth with cabbage.

Julia started, “Maybe if you’d call her—” but abruptly stopped at the sound of Reggie’s fork clanging against his plate. She ate the rest of her meal in silence.

Shay stretched and let out a long yawn. She’d been studying three hours straight.  Her neck was stiff and her shoulders tired. Her lower back ached and she was hungry. The clock beside her queen-sized bed read 10:00 P.M.  She still had time to make her weekly check-in call to her mother.

“Good evening, Pennington residence.”

At the sound of Brian’s voice, Shay nearly dropped the phone. She didn’t expect to hear his voice, and certainly didn’t expect for it to be so soothing.

“Hello,” Brian greeted the caller again.

Shay took a deep breath. “Hello, Brian,” she said. “I didn’t expect to hear your voice.”

“I dropped by for dinner. I’m watching
Barney
with Josiah while the folks are out taking a swim. Is everything all right, you sound tired?”

She smiled slightly at his concern. He hadn’t heard her voice in weeks, but he immediately knew she was exhausted. “I am, but that’s to be expected with this program.”

Brian listened as she gave him the highlights of her short time in Massachusetts.

“I missed you at my graduation, Shay,” Brian finally said when she was finished.

“What are you talking about? I was there. I have your picture to prove it on my dresser.”

“Shay, you know what I mean.”

She did know. “Brian, I couldn’t say good-bye to you again,” Shay answered honestly. Shay wanted to tell him that she wanted to start over with him. She wanted to say that no matter how much she studied, she couldn’t get him out of her mind or her heart. She missed his smile and his laugh. Shay wanted to say how incomplete her life was without him. She wanted to say how her heart ached whenever she thought of how much she loved him. Instead of saying what was in her heart, she asked, “Are you seeing someone?”

The question enraged Brian. “How could you ask me that after what we shared at
Emery Bay? That was only eight weeks ago. A month ago, you feared you were carrying my child and now you want to know if I’m seeing someone? Why would you ask me something like that?”