Pink & Patent Leather (13 page)

“
Yes,” my mother said. “In fact, Sara Wallington’s son is about to get his doctorate. Maybe I’ll give her a call.”

Did my mother think it had really come to
this? That I needed her to set me up on a date? Did she think that what had happened with me and Malik was like that? A game that I could play today and stop tomorrow?

All I wanted to do was get out of there. I didn
’t need to say anything else, and I certainly didn’t want to hear another word.

“
Well,” I said, slipping the strap of my purse back onto my shoulder. “I’m going to go now.”

“
Go?” my mother said as if she were surprised. “But you haven’t had dinner.”

Was she kidding? They had just berated me, she
had just slapped me and called me every kind of fool. And I was supposed to just sit down to dinner as if this hadn’t happened?

“
Sasha, we want you to stay.” My father came closer to me and I swear that if he touched me, those tears I was holding back were going to fall. “Stay,” he whispered. “Have dinner with us. We want to tell you about our trip.”

See, the thing about my parents was that they didn
’t realize that I was grown. Yes, they could tell me what they wanted, but they couldn’t tell me what to do. They couldn’t make me stay for dinner, and they couldn’t make me stay away from Malik, no matter what they thought. But since my cheek was still stinging, I kept my thoughts to myself. All I said was, “I’m sorry, Daddy, but I have to go.” I gave him a quick peck on his cheek. And then, I did something that I had never done before. I walked out of the room without giving my mother a hug nor a good-bye.

I moved quickly, hoping that I would be out of the house before the shock of all of that wore off on my pa
rents. But just as I put my hand on the front door knob, I heard my mother call, “Sasha.”

My mother had been right. I was raised to be respectable and that meant that I didn
’t disrespect my mother. So when she called my name, I stopped. By the time I turned around, she was right beside me.

With a deep breath, she took both of my hands into her own. “
I’m not sure how all of this came about,” she said softly, “but I’m telling you, baby, you have got to stop whatever you were doing. You’ve got to give this up.” I looked down, but she lifted my chin with the tips of her fingers. “You’re a smart, beautiful girl and you’ve always made us so proud. Don’t turn around now. Don’t give in to the ways of the world. Stand strong in your faith and wait for God to send you your mate. Because your man is out there. The man has been chosen for you.”

I froze. Those were the same words that God had spoken to me. So my mother
did
know. But if she did, why had she just acted that way? Was it all just a show for my father?

But the
n, she said, “So, you’ll forget all about this foolishness with Pastor Stroman?”

I nodded because my mother was right about one thing
—I was smart. And I wasn’t about to say or do anything so that she would slap me again. So, I hugged her and said, “Yes, Mother.”

When she leaned back, she was smiling. “
So, you’ll stay and have dinner.”

“
No.” I turned around and walked out of the house. Without looking back, I knew my mother was still in the doorway. Even when I got in the car, I didn’t look back. I kept my eyes straight on the road until I pulled out of the long driveway. Only then, did I look in the rearview mirror.

“
I don’t care what they say,” I told myself. As I aimed my car toward home, I was more determined than ever.

To the rest of the
world, it may have seemed as if I’d given up, but I was just buying my time. The most successful people in this world had patience, I was about to start acting like Job.

I behaved as normally as I could. When I
’d left my parents’ house on Thursday, I called them when I got home the way I always did. And, I even chatted with my mother when she apologized again for slapping me.

“
I was just so surprised when you admitted it,” she’d said. “I hope you never give me a reason to do that ever again.”

“
I won’t, Mother,” I said, meaning that. There was never going to be a time, ever again, when I was going to put myself in the position where my parents were so angry that one of them wanted to hit me.

On Friday, I spent a normal day in the office and
on Saturday, I returned to the scene of the crime. My mother once again summoned me to dinner (though this time, it felt like more of an invitation.) And this time, both of my parents met me at the door with hugs and kisses, nothing like the way I’d been greeted on Thursday.

It would have been a wonderful evening with my parents, talking and laughing and looking at all of their photos from Fiji. I say
would have
been because although there was a smile on my face, my heart was very heavy. I was being kept away from the love of my life, when all I wanted to do was move forward and be with him.

I hadn
’t yet figured out my next step, hadn’t yet determined what my Plan C was going to be. One thing was for sure, it was going to have to be a military-type covert operation because now that my parents had been drawn in, the stakes were higher.

I still couldn
’t believe that Sister Stroman had actually called my parents. While they were in Fiji! As God as my witness, I was going to make that chick pay. Before, all I was going to do was take away her husband. But now, not only was I going to take Malik, but I was going to figure out something that would make her so sorry that she’d had the audacity to mess with me. Before, I was going to be gracious and let her even continue coming to Grace Tabernacle. But now, she would be lucky if I let her live in the DMV area.

But as much as I wanted to plot my revenge, I couldn
’t waste my time thinking about Sister Stroman. At least not right now. All of my energy had to go into Malik...and how I was going to handle church this morning. All eyes were going to be on me, of course, though Malik’s eyes were the only ones I cared about. But it seemed that my parents were being extra cautious about me. So cautious that I guess they weren’t going to let me out of their sight, which is why my mother had just called me, I suppose.

“
We’ll pick you up, Pink,” she said lightly, though I could hear that wasn’t a suggestion, it was another one of her commands.

“
Pick me up?” At first, I had no idea what my mother was talking about, but then it hit me. She wanted me to ride with them to church. Really? I hadn’t done that since they’d given me my own car when I was sixteen.

“
Yes,” my mother said as if her question was the most normal question in the world. “This way you’ll save money on gas...”

Save money? Really? Saving money was the last thing that my mother cared about, so was I really suppose to believe this? Was I not suppose
to recognize this for what it was—a way to keep me close and away from Malik?

There was no way I was going to debate this with them. Never again. I wouldn
’t say another word about my man...not until we were together and then, there would be nothing they could say.

“
Okay, Mother, that sounds great,” I said as if I really meant that.

For now, I
’d go along with this program. Let my parents—and Sister Stroman think that they’d won.

So, I told my mother that I would be ready, and then, I dressed, taking particu
lar care in what I wore. I’d have to dress conservative enough for church—and my mother. But, I needed to be provocative enough so that Malik would notice, and remember. Maybe I wouldn’t have to come up with a plan. Maybe Malik would take one look at me today, would realize that our souls were meant to be tied together, and would be as tired of waiting as I was. Maybe he would stand at the pulpit and confess his love for me and declare God’s plan for us so that everyone would know and we could move on.

My p
arents were already waiting when I went down to the lobby of my building, as if they wanted to make sure that I didn’t slip away and go to church on my own. As I sat in the back of their Bentley, I chatted as if my heart wasn’t pounding. As if I wasn’t nervous about seeing Malik for the first time since we’d been so intimate.

In the church parking lot, my stomach jumped a little when I saw Malik
’s car already parked in his space. My parents didn’t say a word as we all slipped out of the car, then I walked in between them as we made our way toward the church. As my father opened the doors for me and my mother, he said, “I’m going to the office to see Pastor Stroman.” He glanced at me as he said that, like he was waiting for me to say something.

I stared blank
ly, not saying a word.

“
Go ahead,” my mother said as she turned her cheek to the side for my father to kiss her. “Pink and I will go in and take our seats.”

My father kissed me and then, my mother took my hand. Yes, literally, she took my hand like I was a
child, like she wanted to make sure that I didn’t run away, and she led me into the church where the praise team was already standing up and rocking the sanctuary.

My mother led me to the left side, the second row, right behind Sister Stroman who was alre
ady in her seat. As I slipped into my seat, I glared at Malik’s wife as she turned around and squeezed my mother in a hug. With my eyes, I shot daggers at the back of her head, but when she faced me, I gave her a smile.

And she gave the same fake smile bac
k to me.

I went back to shooting those daggers when she turned around and I kept on, even when my father joined us. But once, Malik strutted out onto the altar, my eyes were only on him.

Just like always, he took my breath away when I looked at him. But I was really affected this time because all I could think about was Tuesday. When I’d held him and tasted him and pleased him. I saw that scene over and over in my head. I remembered his moans and his groans and the way I’d made him scream out in pleasure. I remembered the way he’d looked at me when I revealed my nakedness (as much as I could) to him.

All I wanted was to do that again.

Even when Xavier stood to greet the guests, my mind was still on Malik. But then, Xavier went over the church announcements.

“
And, finally church, this coming Saturday, will be resuming the Single’s Ministry.”

I sat up straight as “
Amens” rang through the sanctuary.

“
As Pastor Stroman announced last week, Sister Sasha,” he paused and glanced at me, “and I will be heading that up and we look forward to the first meeting. This Saturday at three o’clock.”

“
You didn’t tell me that, Pink,” my mother said as she patted my hand with approval.

I wondered when she thought I should
’ve told her about that. Was it before or after she’d slapped me?

“
I think that is such a great idea,” she whispered.

All of a sudden it was a great idea that I was doing something with Xavier? My mother must have forgotten that she didn
’t like X. But, I guess he was far better than Malik.

I spent less than two s
econds on that thought, though. My mind was spinning. To this point, I didn’t have any idea how I was going to get back together with Malik, and now, I had it. I couldn’t wait.

This Saturday at three o
’clock.

It was if God Himself
had spoken.

That
’s all I could think as I sat in the back seat of my parents’ Bentley still mesmerized by the entire church service. If I hadn’t heard the announcements myself, if I hadn’t listened to the sermon, I wouldn’t have believed it.

I really wan
ted to dash home and just let everything that had happened seep into my spirit. But I couldn’t because Mother had insisted on having brunch, and since I wasn’t driving, I had to do what my parents wanted. Although it was really all right with me. I was hungry, famished, and nearly bursting with joy. My love had heard from God and he poured out God’s word as though it was meant for he and I alone.

“
Let’s go to the Howard Theatre,” my father said as we pulled out of the church parking lot.

“
That would be delightful,” my mother said. “I just love their gospel brunch.”

As my parents chatted about how much they both loved all the renovations that had taken place at the theatre, I tuned them out, though if my dad had glanced in the rearview mirror to look at me, h
e would have never noticed. There was a huge smile on my face. It was the same smile that had been there since Xavier had made the announcement about the Single’s Ministry and had given me this idea. And then, my smile had just continued straight through Malik’s sermon. His message was even better than the sign that I’d been given from Xavier.