Jaded Hearts (18 page)

Drew was in love with John's neighborhood.
Central Park West was one of the most coveted hoods in the city and
he couldn't believe that
The
Central Park
was just across the street. I never really paid it any mind, but
John had to be doing extremely well to afford this zip code. Who
was I to talk with my rent as high as it was? He shot me a sly grin
as I used John's spare key to get into the building and led the way
to the second floor.

His awe increased at the elaborate
ornamentation of the interior of the building, and he was almost
speechless when we entered the apartment. I heard the shower turn
off and told Drew to get comfortable as I walked to the bedroom to
see my sweet-face. John was only half dressed with a pair of
drawstring khaki cargo pants. He tried but failed to control his
excitement at seeing me. His grin was cool, but the bulge in his
pants gave him away. I walked into his waiting arms and kissed the
lips I'd been missing for two days. I had to force myself to pull
away from his half-naked freshly cologned body.

"I missed you Sweet-face!" I teased.

He cringed at my choice of nickname.

"I missed you too; so much so that I'm going
to ignore that horrific name you just called me. I should be
calling you that."

I wiped my lip-gloss off as I drank in his
handsome face. The unfiltered look of happiness that flowed from
his eyes made me warm on the inside. He patted me on the butt and I
stepped back to let him finish getting dressed.

"Baby you're never late. Hurry up; I want
you to come meet my other baby,” I said as I walked out the
room.

I left him admiring me as I went back to the
living room. I know I looked great. My hair was left curly since I
wasn't in the mood to deal with any humidity today. Besides, John
loved to play with my curls. I put the sides up in a tortoise shell
clip and let the rest hang down my back. My accessories were gold
to match my heels.

Drew was more than comfortable on the couch
drinking a Heineken and watching another episode of the cartoon we
had been watching all morning.

Must be a marathon.

I pulled out my phone to check in with
Donna.

Me: Heyyyy

D-awesome: Hey Mama. The Mr. and me are on
our way out now

Me: OK, me and my men are leaving the city
now

D-awesome: Oooh, did you add to your
collection?

Me: Hush your face.

D-Awesome: Woman please you have a museum.
All the greats! Lol

Me: LOL

John walked in as I put my phone up.

Winning!

He looked edible with all white Polo shirt
and tan leather loafers added to his outfit. He walked over to
Drew, who stood up to shake his hand.

"Wow, you guys look like twins! Did you
match because you thought someone would miss the resemblance?"
 Drew laughed and shook his head.

"Not at all, but great minds do think
alike,” he answered.

We turned to go and at the same time they
both put on the same aviator shades.

*

The ride to Englewood, NJ was about twenty
minutes by way of the George Washington Bridge.  It was a rare
opportunity for John to drive his black on black Escalade.

We arrived at Vivian's mini-mansion just as
the food was being set up. I could see why so many people chose to
commute into the city. You could take the same money you paid to
live in a fifteen hundred square foot apartment and live in a house
three times the size. Jackie was out front giving the caterers
instructions looking as bohemian as ever in a multi colored tunic
and cream-colored shorts. Her wild curls were restrained in a high
ponytail. She sauntered over to us with a larger than life
smile.

"This is the freakin best day ever!" She
shouted.

She hadn't seen Drew in almost two years
since he was out of town her last visit to Florida. They hugged
like goofy school kids. We had all been super close growing up
being so disconnected to the rest of our family. She gave John a
quick hug and then wrangled me into her arms as we walked up the
driveway to the house.

"Come on guys, let me show you around,” she
offered.

The house was nothing less than I expected
from Vivian. I remember back when we lived in a brownstone in
Brooklyn, she always said she was going to live in a big dream
house one day.  The floors where all hardwood and the décor
were mostly muted neutrals with splashes of mauve and sage thrown
in for color. We had very similar tastes. There were five large
bedrooms. Three upstairs and two down. The tour ended on the patio
that led to the large backyard that included a pool. There were
enough tables and chairs set up to accommodate one hundred
people.

I never did see the guest list.

A short while later Donna arrived with her
husband Alex and her younger brother Victor. She looked fantastic
outside of her work attire in a yellow sundress that was fitted at
the top and flowed out at the waist, and her uniform bun was loose
and straight tucked behind her ears. Her husband Alex was a
handsome Dominican man who was ten years her senior. With her
espadrilles on they were about the same height at 5'9.

Now her brother was another story. I felt
John's hand tighten reflexively around mine as the introductions
were made. Victor was a tall dark chocolate treat. He had to be at
least 6'4 because he made John look short. He had very slanted eyes
that made him look like he was always smiling. I caught him trying
to steal furtive glances at me when he thought no one would notice.
 After all the acquaintances were made the men set off to help
set up the game tables at Donnas' request.

I walked into the house to seek out the
person of honor who was still getting dressed. Jackie followed me
inside and we headed up to the master bedroom. Vivian was sashaying
around in a silk robe with her hair piled on top of her head.

"It's about time you got here! I need help
getting dressed,” she cried.

She gave me a double cheek kiss and pulled
me into her huge walk in closet. Jackie wandered to the mirror to
rearrange her hair. She was used to this and had stopped being
jealous of my closeness to Vivian years ago when she announced that
she was a free spirit, and we were too boring for her to waste her
fashion genius on.

I helped V decide on a blue and white
striped off the shoulder blouse and white Capri pants. While she
got dressed I joined Jackie.

"So I'm dying to hear about flower-gate.
John has had your apple bottom on a tight leash."

She groped my butt exaggeratedly. I smacked
her hands and sat on her lap.

"Jacks, I don't know if I'm coming or going,
I swear."

I told her the entire story about the
flowers at the door and the aftermath.

"I don't understand why Jules would send you
flowers without a note, or a call. This just isn't like him. I even
asked Eddie what the deal was but he was uber tight lipped about
it."

Eddie?

I just shook my head.

"I'm clueless, and I thought JB was going to
blow a freakin gasket he was so wound up. Girl it was cra-zy,” I
replied.

I spared a majority of the x rated details
in the presence of Vivian. Jackie didn't care.

"More like blow your back out. That man was
gonna drill his name into that ass! Who's your daddy? Say my
name!"

She made a vulgar gesture to accompany her
reenactment. She spanked my butt, and exclaimed in such a fit of
laughter that I couldn't help but join in, even though I was
mortified.

"Come on Jackie! I swear you suck so hard
you should get paid for it!" I joked.

She pushed me off of her lap in her
amusement.

"Oh Please. Suck these!"  She
teased.

I shot her the bird as my aunt expressed her
disdain.

"Girls! Enough! My God, what's wrong with
you two?" She huffed.

Her words were stern but she laughed along
with us.

"So you and John are getting serious then?
That's good. Make sure you put Jules in his place." She still
wasn't team Julian. But Jackie was on it.

"Where? Between her legs?" She quipped.

I just gave her the evil eye and Vivian
shook her head. "Oh c'mon!"

*

Back downstairs the party was underway. Most
of the guests arrived between 1:30 and 3:00 pm. John was at the
spades table with Drew and a few other men with a stack of money
already up for grabs.

Men!

I made him a plate of brown stew chicken,
and oxtails over rice and peas with a side of mixed veggies and
potato salad.  He looked as if I had brought him buried
treasure.

"You're the best, baby, I was starving over
here,” he praised.

I leaned over and gave him a light peck on
the cheek as the other men looked on in admiration, and whispered
in his ear.

"I need to keep your energy up for later
Sweet-Face. Furthermore, now these guys are going to be messed up
in the game wondering how you got to be so lucky."

He grinned and rubbed my back just until he
hit the border of my behind.

"Baby you're awesome, but call me Sweet-Face
again and were going to have a problem,” he threatened.

And with that, he smacked my butt, and I
jerked up in surprise and a fit of giggles.

The party reminded me of back in the day
when I came to visit New York during the summers. DJ E was perfect.
He started off with an 80's mix of Frankie Beverly and Evelyn
Champagne King then moved on to Bob Marley and now he had the women
doing the Dollar Wine.

Cent. Five cent. Ten cent. Dollar!

This was a basic staple at any West Indian
party. I joined Jacks with the one thing we had in common. Dancing.
We had always made it a point to learn all the dances and master
them. If we got on the dance floor we took center stage. She was of
course flamboyant and I was technical but sexy. She used to call me
the smooth operator.

I let my island girl loose and enjoyed a
long Soca set. I wound my waist as instructed by most of the songs.
Then we waved our invisible flags to the carnival tunes. I noticed
a few guys had gathered near the dance area and one in particular
was paying extra attention. Victor. I didn't make eye contact with
him because I knew he was trying to get my attention.

No way.

If John freaked out at flowers, I didn't
want to see what a tall bald black man would do to him.

The music switched to Reggae and DJ E gave a
shout out to all the BK crew.  

Uh Oh!

I was normally reserved but for some reason
Reggae made me act up. I moved my waist and hips to the beat and
did all my tricks that made me look like a belly dancer. I snuck a
quick peek at John to see him gazing at me. I also noticed that he
wasn't the only one.

I saw Drew head toward us when Willie Bounce
came on. The three of us stayed up all night practicing this dance
when it first came out back when Bogle was killed. He was dancer
from Jamaica responsible for most of the dances we learned in the
90's.

You swing one arm forward and step with the
other foot!

Vivian even got down with us, and a few
people from work. This was the most fun I'd had in forever!

After I danced my little feet into
submission, I went to grab myself a plate and sat with Donna. She
had been at the spades table for most of the dancing.

"Girl; that man is in love with you. OK!
Caller, do you hear me? In. Love. He almost lost the c-note he bet
up on the table staring at you while you were dancing, which was
McNasty if I may say so. I would never guess you could move like
that. Then he spotted Vic staring at you and almost threw his cards
in. My goodness!" She dished.

She fanned herself like an old lady. I
looked over at John who seemed to be in a heated round of bragging
or betting, I couldn't tell, and I smiled.

"What do you mean 'move like that'?" I asked
incredulously

"I mean, Ms. 'I'm oh so proper and such a
lady', that I would never guess you had all that freakiness going
on behind the scenes." She shook her head in pretend shock. I
laughed.

"Hey.... A lady in the streets!" I
joked.

The party went on into the wee hours Sunday
morning. Most of the neighbors were at the party or had been at
some point so they didn't care. We turned down the music since
anyone who was still there were either playing cards or playing
dominoes. I was doing the latter with Donna, Drew and Vic who was
showing us how to play a version called Pollo Pequeno. I was
currently in the lead and he wasn't too thrilled about it since it
was my first time and all.

"Beginners luck,” he pouted.

"Awl, I know we don't have a sore loser on
our hands. Didn't anybody tell you? It's hard to beat a Jamaican at
dominoes! Pollo or no Pollo,” I bragged.

"Oh. OK. So what is it easy to beat a
Jamaican at?" He dared.

"I wouldn't be a Jamaican if I told you
that,” I winked at him and he grinned.

"I like confidence in a woman." Vic
announced.

Someone was flirting.

"So do I." John stepped into the convo.

Someone was jealous.

He pulled up a folding chair and sat next to
me as I played. Donna flashed me a knowing glance.

"I did hear men find confidence
attractive... Like bees to honey,” she hinted.

I could have killed her.

Note to self, Donna turns into a gremlin
after midnight!

"Yep cause honey is oh so sweet." John just
played into it.

All Victor could do was shake his head in
agreement and defeat. Drew laughed out loud at that.

"I beez in the trap. Bee beez in the trap!"
That was Drew, always with a rap song....

By 3:00 am I was tapping out. Since it was
so late, and there were more than enough rooms, we planned to sleep
over. We said our good nights and I lead John up to one of the
guest bedrooms. In his usual fashion he undressed me and bathed me
in the spa inspired shower. I crawled into bed like a little girl
who was up way past her bedtime. John snuggled up behind me.