“You’re so fickle.”
“Me?”
“Yes you, Mr. Pacini. Last I heard, you were in love with an ebony angel. Now you’re in love with a madwoman. I’m jealous.”
He smiled, truly in love with her. Trae would need more than a bag of tricks to keep him away from Ebony. “Why would you be jealous? There’s enough of
the master
to go around.”
“I’m not in love with
the master
anymore. I’ll call him when I’m hungry.”
He covered her body with his, kissing her neck. “And who are you in love with now?” he whispered softly as he entered her, savoring the ecstasy her face showed.
When she could speak again, she replied, “I’m in love with a fallen angel that has smoky blue eyes and a sexy crooked grin.”
He propped himself on his elbows, and they slowly moved together. He wanted to reply, but all he could manage was a low, guttural moan. Soon they spiraled into the heavens together.
* * *
Ebony mixed scrambled eggs into her grits. “I’ll gain a hundred pounds messing with you.” She reached across the breakfast bar for a glass of orange juice.
Richard set a stool beside hers. “My spare room is empty.”
“Most of your condo is empty.” She blew over the spoonful of grits and eggs to cool them. “I don’t usually eat breakfast.”
“I love you, Ebony.”
Every time he said he loved her, her heart jumped for joy. “How did this happen to us, Richard?” She brushed her lips over his. “I love you.”
“I’ve taught you well, Grasshoppa.” He kissed her lightly. “I want you and Crystal to move in.”
The grits stuck in her throat, causing her to choke. He held her hands above her head and patted her back. “You like how I’ve done the bedroom and kitchen. You can design the rest however you want. Crystal will have her own room.”
“Are you serious?” she asked breathlessly. “I mean, we just met.” Her heart floated above the clouds, but her mind snapped her back to reality.
“I follow my instinct, my heart. They haven’t led me wrong yet.” He fed her a spoonful of grits and eggs. “You would have your own master chef. No one makes grits like I do.” He brushed his lips over hers.
She twisted a few braids around her fingers. “If it were just me, I’d say yes, but I have to think about Crystal. I can’t just uproot her from everything and everyone she knows to move in with a stranger.”
He stiffened, frowned. “So now I’m a stranger?”
“To Crystal, yes.”
He took her plate. “Eggs and grits are horrible cold.” He dumped the remains in the trash and began fixing a fresh breakfast.
Still thinking about the offer he had made, she watched him chop green peppers, onions and mushrooms. She wanted out of her neighborhood so bad she wanted to scream
yes
, but she couldn’t use him like that. And then there was Trae. She glanced over her shoulder at the spare bedroom. She didn’t want to lose Richard, but Crystal was her number one priority. She made a deal with the devil to save Crystal, and would give up on true love for her child. She stopped her train of thought. Over the years, she had learned to refocus her anger on the positive. Trae had given her Crystal.
“Ebony.” He held his hand out to her. “I want to teach you how to make omelets.” He positioned her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her.
Placing her faith in him to understand, she leaned against his chest.
“I’ve never had responsibility for anyone but myself. Except for Nonno, I’ve never had anyone to look out for me, then you came into my life.” He kissed the tip of her ear. “You’re right about Crystal. I’ll get this right. Give me time.”
She turned in his arms. “Can I keep you?”
“You’re stuck with me now.” The phone rang. “Hold that thought.” He answered, “Hello Nonno…caller ID, and who else would call at five in the morning?”
Ebony took eggs, cheese and milk from the refrigerator to finish making omelets. Richard told Nonno he had fallen in love with Ebony and planned to get to know Crystal.
“All done,” she whispered.
“I’ll speak to you tomorrow…No, she isn’t here. Me, lie? Never…I’m not romantic; I’m Italian…” He laughed and hung up. “Nonno said to tell you good morning, and he still doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”
“He’s a mess. Do you have any pictures?”
“One. Wait a second.” He got a large manila envelope from his room and handed it to her. “I had this enlarged but haven’t had time to find a frame.” He sat at the breakfast bar and pulled up his plate. “This smells delicious. You trying to take my place as master?”
“Silly.” She opened the envelope and examined the photo. Dumbfounded, she said the second thing that came to her mind. “You two look alike.”
“Nah, I’m the cute one with the crooked grin.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your grandfather is mixed?” Nonno’s light-toffee complexion matched Trae’s.
“He’s Italian. Born and raised in Italy. There are black Italians, you know. My great-grandmother happened to be one of them.” He took another bite of his omelet. “You’re on egg detail from now on.”
“So this is how you knew your family wouldn’t care about me being black?” She’d raked her mind over that question.
“My mother wouldn’t like you if you were blonde.” He continued eating.
“I am a blonde.”
“A
natural
blonde,” he amended with a wink. “She thinks I don’t make good decisions in anything. She won’t like you on general principle.”
“What about your dad?”
“He follows my mother around like a puppy, and both of my sisters are brats. You thought you had baggage. They should change their name from Dubois to Samsonite.”
His last name was Pacini, so why was the rest of his family named Dubois? She watched him finish his omelet, then devour hers. Speaking about his family brought pain and distance into his voice. “They can’t be that bad.”
“I grew up in a fake family. When I’m at my parents’ home, I feel like we’re in a Broadway production.”
Most adults she knew called the place they grew up in home. Richard said “parents’ home” as if he weren’t part of the family. “What role do you play?”
“I’m the black sheep.”
Her brows arched. “Black sheep?”
“Pun intended.” He fed her a bite of omelet. “I don’t act like them. I don’t look like them.” Rambling between bites, he continued. “Heck, I haven’t played ball outside since I left college, so you can’t really tell now. The one time I visited my parents during college, my mother did a triple take.”
He laughed at himself. “I went through my finding-my-black-self stage and tanned extra dark on purpose. I soon learned that it takes a hell of a lot more than a tan and having black friends to be black. It’s safe to say I was a bit confused for a while. Looking back, I was trying to distance myself from my parents any way I could.”
“Why?”
“Just a phase, I guess. My way of rebelling against what I felt they represented.”
Ebony mulled over his words. Was she his way of rebelling against his parents?
“The contrast between you and Crystal is beautiful.” He smiled. “Kind of like you and me. Does Trae play basketball?” She didn’t answer. “Ebony.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She pushed her insecurities aside. “Yes, he plays ball. There’s a gym close by. You should come to my mom’s salon on Saturday. After I fix Skeet and Trae’s hair, they head to the gym.” She combed his hair with her fingers. “Three fingers. You need a haircut.”
He took her hand, kissing it. “It’s cold outside. I grew my hair longer than usual to help keep warm.”
She picked up their plates. “That’s what winter wraps are for. I have studying to do. You can use my truck today if you like.”
Richard parked in front of Ebony’s flat. “I’ll walk you in.” The lookout’s stare annoyed him. He had thought about how to handle the Trae situation all night, and came up with only one possible solution: become the man’s friend—of sorts—until he could convince Ebony to move in with him. Ebony had insisted Trae would change someday, but she thought she could save the world. He loved her fight, but didn’t think she’d win this one.
“Oh, no, you don’t. I have studying to do, and you need to go to work. What did the insurance company say?”
“Are you putting me off?” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly. He wanted everyone in the neighborhood to know she was his ebony angel now. “I can help you study. Biology is my favorite subject.”
Pulling away, she laughed. “My major is computer science, Mr. Pacini. Now stop seducing me and go to work. Buy a car or something.”
“Hand me your phone.” She passed it over. He programmed his numbers into it. “I’ve branded your number on my brain. How about I pick you and Crystal up at five? We can go out to eat, then catch a movie or something.”
“I’d like that.”
He kissed her one last time. “Since you won’t let me seduce you, get out. Go study or something.”
“Okay, okay.” She slipped her hands into her gloves.
“I love you, Ebony.”
“Now you’re not playing fair.”
“I never claimed to play fair. Call if you need anything.” He watched her walk up the stairs, wave and enter the flat. A knock drew his attention.
“What?” Richard asked as he lowered the window.
“Trae done told us to leave you alone.” Meechie’s eyes shifted left, right, left, right. “But, I just wanna shake yo’ hand. I couldn’t stand dem Collins boys. Someone should of smoked ’em a long time ago.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Meechie held his hands up slightly and smiled, revealing severely decayed teeth. “That’s all right, Smoke. I’ll keep it on the low-low.” He moseyed back to his post. “I bet they won’t be stealing no mo’ cars.”
Deep in thought, Richard drove to the new office location. Two and two kept adding up to five in his head. Why did Trae tell everyone that he worked for him? Why would Trae tell Meechie that Richard had smoked the Collins boys? It didn’t make sense for Trae to back off while he pursued Ebony. It didn’t make sense for Ebony to allow the likes of Trae around her child. None of this made sense.
He pulled into the parking lot.
Is this what I have to look forward to?
Images of Ebony standing up for him against Trae flashed before him. Besides Nonno, he’d never felt anyone was on his side. Though they’d just met, he knew in his heart of hearts she’d always be in his corner, and he’d always be in hers. They may not be able to save the world, but they could save each other.
Forcing himself to think rationally, Richard cleared his mind of the nonsense.
There is no benefit for Trae in killing the Collins boys. Meechie must have mixed things up.
* * *
Ebony glared at the answering machine. Trae didn’t want her, so why was he calling harassing her? She loved it when he left town, because she had a few days of freedom.
“Pick up the damn phone, Ebony. I know you’re there,” Trae’s voice boomed through the speaker.
She snatched the cordless phone from its cradle. “And how do you know, Trae? Stop spying on me!” Man, how she wished she could be rid of Trae forever.
“A key ingredient for spying is secrecy. Now what the hell you doin’ comin’ in at eight in the morning?”
“You make me sick.” She lit a lavender tranquility candle and set it on the coffee table. Two chapters worth of index cards and a ton of research promised to fill the majority of her day. She inhaled deeply, counted to four, exhaled. “When and where I come and go isn’t your business. Aren’t you supposed to be in St. Louis?” It was clear he needed to play the protective role to save face, but there was only so much she would tolerate.
“I am in St. Louis. So what’s going on with you and Smoke?”
“Don’t start trouble, Trae.” Universal remote in hand, she turned the stereo channel to a smooth jazz station, wondering how many heads she’d have to braid to buy a surround sound system like Richard’s.
“I’m not. I said I’d back off. I always keep my word, don’t I?”
She kept her anger in check. He had given her Crystal and was a good father, she reminded herself. The reason he wanted the arrangement was to keep her from taking Crystal from him. And he was right. If not for the arrangement, she would have taken Crystal away long ago. She had to stop being angry with him for wanting to be a father.
Dan changed. Trae will change.
“Yes.”
“I don’t want you hurt. His type goes slumming for sex. After he gets his fill, he’ll move on, and I’ll be left to pick up the pieces.”
“Richard isn’t like that. All I’m asking is that you get to know him. I—”
“Yes, he is! They all are!”
“Don’t go projecting your feelings for your father onto Richard.” She covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, Trae. I didn’t mean…I crossed the line.” He was silent. “Please, Trae. I know it’s fast, but I love Richard. Give me a chance to be happy.” Still no reply. “We’ll talk when you come home.”