This Can't be Life (16 page)

“You are more than welcome. Let me show you to your room. I figured we could go out to the beach and watch the sunset,” he smiled, rising from the table. I rose and began to clear the table of the empty dishes.

“Don’t worry about that. You don’t have to lift a finger while you’re here. Just relax and let me wait on you.” He grabbed my hand and led me into the house and up a staircase that began directly in the middle of the living room. It was one of the most beautifully built staircases that I’d ever seen. It was positioned directly in the middle of the house with skylights directing your way up the incline in the shape of large stars.

“The staircase was made from a 1,000-year old pine tree that was found in
British Columbia
by underwater loggers,” he said. At the top of the landing was a circular hall that overlooked the living room. To the right, were shelves built into the wall with hundreds of books. To the left were beautiful paintings. We veered toward the paintings and I got a glimpse of the signature on one that read Malachi Edmonds.

“You painted this?” I asked in astonishment.

“Yeah, but I don’t get a chance to paint much any more. Do you like it?”

“Wow! Yes, I love this. It’s beautiful. It’s a sun, setting into the ocean. The colors are wonderful. Did you do this here?” I stood mesmerized, staring at the painting.

“Yup, right outside that door. Let’s hurry so you can see the real thing,” he replied as he kissed my cheek softly and opened a bedroom door to the left of the painting.

“You can get into something more comfortable if you like or just freshen up. It’s up to you. Meet me at the stairs at
3:00
sharp?”

“I sure will,” I agreed wholeheartedly. I couldn’t wait to watch the sun set on such a beautiful day with such a beautiful man...who doesn’t believe in God. I remembered sadly.

I walked inside of the room and noticed that my bag had been placed on top of an all white canopy bed that sat adjacent to a large picture window. I opened the window and took a moment to breathe in the scent of the beach and listen to the waves. I grabbed my bag, pulled out a pink strapless sundress, and decided to freshen up by taking a quick shower. I rubbed my body down with Hydrating Body Gloss by H20 Spa, slipped on my dress, and headed out the bedroom door, shoeless.

As I walked out of the room, I was surprised to see a mass of pink and white rose buds scattered neatly on the floor. I followed its path down the staircase, out of the French doors, through the patio and its wooden gate, and along the beautiful beige sand. Enjoying the feel of the warm sand and rose petals on my bare feet, I walked toward Malachi who was sitting on a blanket staring into the ocean.

“Were you expecting someone else?” I asked, with a small grin on my face, as I sat down next to him. It seemed as if I caught him off guard.

“No, not at all. Wasn’t expecting you to be on time. You know how y’all women can be,” he commented, nudging me with his elbow playfully. “Would you like some wine?” he asked, pulling a bottle of chilled Pinot Grigio from a wicker basket. I accepted the half-filled glass as he began to pour himself one.

“You are so beautiful. And what are you wearing? It smells really good and fresh?” he asked playfully, sniffing my neck, almost causing me to spill my drink.

“Goodness, thank you. I’m glad you like it,” I laughed. “But I’ll never tell you what it is. Wouldn’t want you going out buying my scent for some other woman in the future, now would we?” I replied, smiling.

“Hopefully, you’ll be the woman in my future. So we wouldn’t have to worry about that, now would we?” Malachi replied, placing his arm around my waist.

“Who knows?” I responded, blushing. We sat in comfortable silence for a while just listening to the waves and looking deep into the ocean. Neither of us wanted to kill the moment with meager words that couldn’t possibly match the serene calm of the ocean.

“I want you to know, Talise, I’m not a closed-minded man. I really am open to all aspects of life. I’ve prayed and prayed and begged for guidance, but got nothing. There are some parts of me that believe and there are other parts of me that question and doubt. I’m really working on that, and maybe you can help me. If there is a God, maybe he brought you to me because he knows my heart and he knows that I’ve been yearning for a family of my own. I hope what I’m about to say doesn’t scare you away, but I’m really feeling you. It’s like I’ve known you forever,” he said, taking a nervous sip of wine.

What Malachi had just said to me didn’t need a rebuttal. I scooted in closer and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt like something was connecting me to this man, something beyond me and beyond him. It was a feeling that I’d never experienced before, which made me believe that we were brought together for a reason. I knew that, before all was said and done, he’d believe in God and his son, Jesus.

Deon

Sometimes, we shouldn’t put too much energy into why things happen and just be happy that it did. I know that God was watching out for me because the last person I expected to run into was Byron Boyd.

Every year, I play in the
Midsummer Night’s Dream
weekend charity fundraiser All-Star basketball game. It’s hosted by Barron Davis and Paul Pierce and is something that I enjoy doing before going home to
Atlanta
for the summer.

I was running a little late to the
Staples
Center
because traffic was heavier than usual. Once there, I hurried and got suited up while I talked on the phone with Simone making plans for us to have dinner after the game. Simone and I had spent the previous night hanging out at my place babysitting Tyson. We had a drink with Nichelle and her date before they left to see a Tyler Perry play at the Kodak Theatre, then Simone and I ordered Chinese food and spent the rest of the evening playing video games and watching movies with Tyson. The relationship she was forming with Tyson and Nichelle, two of the closest people to me on the West Coast, made me care for her even more. Tyson’s approval meant a lot to me, but Nichelle’s meant even more.

I had been spending as much time with Simone as I could. She was still very guarded, but every time we hung out, she seemed to be letting her guard down more and more. I was curious to know why she pushed men away like she did and was determined to get past the wall she had up. I wanted to know what happened in her past that made her so distrustful of men. It was always like only part of her was with me. Even during sex, I could tell that she wouldn’t let me all the way in. She would never completely let go. I knew, or at least hoped, the time would come when she would feel that I was with her because I liked her, not because I wanted to use her or wanted something from her. As a professional athlete, I was usually the one with my guard up, trying to make sure women weren’t trying to use me. Now the roles were completely reversed and, to be honest, I liked it.

Being with Simone was effortless. Unless I was a complete fool and a horrible judge of character, I really believed that she didn’t have any ulterior motives. I could usually spot a gold digger from a mile away, and I didn’t think Simone was that type of woman. So, when I came out of the locker room and saw Byron talking to a reporter, I instantly knew that this was fate. I’d been asking God to reveal to me what I needed to know about Simone, and I tell you, the Lord works quickly sometimes.

Byron had just wrapped up an interview and smiled in my direction when he noticed me.

“Hey, man. What’s good?” I asked, giving him dap and a swift hug. Byron and I used to be pretty tight back in college. Everyone thought it was kind of weird for a football player and basketball player to be so close, but we just clicked from day one. It was a shame that we really didn’t keep in touch after we graduated, but it was all love every time we saw each other.

“Everything is cool, man. Getting ready for this season to start so I can get that ring this year. I didn’t know you were playing, man.”

“Yeah, every year. You playing?” I asked, joking. Byron wouldn’t step foot on a basketball court after one of his teammates in college tore his ACL playing basketball. He lost his football scholarship and never got the chance to play again.

“Yeah, right, man. Ain’t enough contact in your sport,” he replied, intentionally bringing up memories of the long debates we’d had over which sport was the best.

“You know you spent many nights after games in pain wishing you would’ve played basketball, or maybe even golf. You know how you used to complain about your aches and pains all the time. Don’t front, man!” Remembering all the times he’d be all covered in Icy Hot, limping to the cafeteria, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“Okay, you still got jokes, D. Ain’t nothing changed with you. I see you still Mr. Funny Man,” he replied, laughing, surely remembering when I used to jones on him about his Icy Hot cologne. “I got your message, too, man. I’ve been intending on getting back with you, but I’ve been crazy busy. I bet you want to ask me about Simone, huh?” he asked, in a serious tone.

“Yeah, I need to know if there’s something I should know. After the conversation you two had at The Cheesecake Factory, I’ve been real curious. We’ve been chillin’ for a while now and I knew I could get the real deal from my boy,” I replied.

“Oh, she didn’t tell you what happened, huh?” he asked rhetorically, looking angry. “There’s definitely some shit you need to know about her ass, but it’ll probably take this whole damned game to tell you all the shit I went through with that bitch. Meet me back here after the game. We can go eat and drink and I can give you the low down. But now you better get your ass out there and warm up with your team. I’ll be waiting for you after the game.”

I ran onto the court and began doing lay-ups with my teammates for the day. All the while, I was playing over and over in my head the serious tone of Byron’s voice and the angered look on his face when he spoke of Simone. I had a strong feeling that I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear, and was more than anxious about what Byron was going to say. My gut was telling me that it was going to ruin every good thought that I’d ever had about Simone Johnson and that I was going to have to move on without her.

Simone

I was on my way to see Mommy Miles when I decided that I’d call Deon and leave him a voicemail wishing him a good game. After thinking about what Talise said at Benihana, I owed it to myself to at least be open to the idea that Deon may not be out to hurt me and that he may be the truly genuine person that he portrays himself to be. I wasn’t expecting him to pick up so, when I heard his deep voice resonate through the speakers in my car, I was caught off guard. We chatted for a while as he suited up for his game, laughing at Tyson and talking about the animated movie we’d watched with him the night before. We made plans to see each other for dinner since he was leaving for
Atlanta
early the next morning. I was looking forward to seeing him and planned on telling him about what happened between Byron and me.

After getting off the phone with Deon, I dialed Mommy Miles to see if she needed anything before I got there. I really wasn’t ready to deal with this situation, but when I awoke sweating from that sick ass dream again, I decided that I was going to go talk to her about it. I was praying that she knew someone that could help me.

As I turned onto the tree-lined street, I was taken aback, as I always am, by my many memories of growing up here. I might as well have lived here full time because this was home to me.

When I pulled into the driveway, I was surprised to see Daddy Miles putting a suitcase in the trunk of his SUV. I was suddenly overcome with emotions when I saw that he was actually moving some of his things out of the house. I parked in front of the house, jumped out of the car, and ran up to him and buried my face in his chest, as I cried.