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Slim got up and began loading his baskets and transporting them to the truck. Gathering the last two baskets, he looked over at Rasheeda, and she gave him a smile that said a lot. He knew that smile, and he knew that look. This time last year, he might have taken her up on her apparent offer. Every man had a type. She was definitely his.
Older and wiser now, he just shook his head as he looked at her one last time as he walked out the door. He had got burnt before by fooling around with a young chick. Never again. He was no longer looking for that type of woman.
***
Joy closed the door to her office, sat down, and leaned back in the leather office chair and tried to focus. Mondays were always busy. Weekend reports, as well as the day’s reports, had to be done. Once she finished that, the schedules for next week had to be written. She didn’t want her daydreaming about the man at the door to cause her to lose time. She tried to get the man out of her mind when suddenly the head housekeeper barged into her office waving her hands as she spoke. She was going a mile a minute, gushing over a man she saw walking towards the laundromat.
Joy’s lips curled up into a smile as she remembered the guy she saw at the door. She knew from Sydney’s description that she was talking about him. He was very nice to look at. The man had to be over six feet tall. He almost towered over her five foot seven inches. He was dark with a close-cropped haircut. Chocolate had always been her favorite flavor for men. ‘A tall drink of water’ as her mom would say.
Thinking about her workload, she shooed the young lady from her office. She had too much paperwork to do. The general manager was on vacation again, which meant not only did she have her own work to do but hers as well.
Even though the encounter was brief, it had left an impression. She thought about how he just stood there with a goofy look on his face. She knew he was checking her out. Her double Ds always demanded attention. She allowed herself to daydream for only a few minutes, then she drove him out of her mind. One disastrous marriage was enough. She looked down at her left hand and gazed at the huge rock she still wore. There was no man attached to the ring anymore. He had moved on and left her without so much as a backward glance. She called the ring her blocker since it made men think twice about asking her
out.
Her best friend and one-time lover, Tristan, begged her to sell the ring and move on. She knew he was right, but she wasn’t ready to even consider another man. She knew dating didn’t have to lead to marriage, but even dating was scary right now. The good-looking man at the door made her second guess her decision. He was tall, dark and handsome just the way she liked them. She hadn’t heard his voice but thought it would be deep and rich just like is skin. However, she didn’t have time to agonize over it. She had work to do.
Joy worked steadily, and the time passed quickly. She let her mind drift a few times, and he was in her thoughts. Never had the sight of a man made her consider a relationship since her ex-husband. Just seeing this man made her want to run after him. That piece of eye candy made her think about all she had been missing.
***
Slim put the last of the laundry up and walked into the kitchen to start dinner. Thanks to his mother and grandmother, he was a great cook. He soon had the apartment smelling great. He turned on the radio and enjoyed a glass of wine. As soon as he got comfortable, there was a knock at the door.
His ex-wife, Tiffany, stood at the door wearing a spaghetti-strapped sundress and heels. Her hair was down the way he liked it. She had it parted down the middle framing her face. She gave him a sweet smile, and he remembered why he wanted her in the first place. Tiffany was naturally pretty. Her skin was the color of smooth cocoa. She even sported dimples. She was as they say a ‘brick house.’ She smiled seductively, letting him know she definitely wanted something.
“Is it true? Did you guys get laid off?” she asked as she walked into the room uninvited. “I have a trip planned this weekend,” she continued.
“You will get your check,” he said evenly.
“That’s not what I want. I want to know if you can watch the kids. My mom can’t babysit, and since you off I was wondering…”
The look on his face silenced her. Slim opened the door and looked back at her without saying a word. She took the hint and walked silently out of the apartment, knowing what it meant when Slim motioned for her to leave.
That’s cool, Slim, she thought as she walked back to the car she’d borrowed. Throw me out. I got something for your ass, she mused bitterly.
Tiffany had another card to play. The girls’ trip would have to wait. She knew how much Slim loved her son and thought she would be able to play on his emotions. Maybe she didn’t have any more influence over him.
On the drive back, Tiffany thought about the past few years. Slim was good to her. He married her when she told him about the baby. He paid the bills and gave her money when she needed it. He was loyal and dependable.
Reggie, on the other hand, was not. She had a thing for him ever since high school. Even though he was with someone else, they would sneak around together the majority of their high school years. After high school, she wanted more, but he didn’t. She thought she was over him until she ran into him at a party. She was dating Slim at the time. She felt Slim was more of a sugar daddy than a boyfriend.
After the party, she spent the night with Reggie with no feelings of guilt. They began seeing each other regularly shortly after that. When she got pregnant, she didn’t know what to do. Reggie was fresh out of jail with no job, and she knew things would be rough. When Slim found out she was pregnant and asked her to marry him, she said yes. Now, she was stuck with two kids and a man that could barely keep the lights on.
***
Slim’s evening was officially ruined. How dare she come and ask him to watch her kids? Kids that he once believed to be his. If you ever want to see a grown man cry, tell him that lie. Slim turned off the oven and took out his casserole. He grabbed his glass of wine then walked over to his easy chair and sat down. Then, he let the events of that dreadful day when he found out the truth replay in his mind.
Slim had gotten off early and went straight home. He opened the door expecting his toddler son to greet him with outstretched arms. Silence met him at the door. Confused, he walked through each room in the apartment. Tiffany’s car was outside, so where could she be?
Assuming she was at a neighbor’s, he started on dinner. The phone rang, but his hands were full, so the machine caught the call. Her friend, Trish’s, voice filled the room. She wanted to know how long it would be before she came to get the baby. Suspicion took over Slim’s emotions as he slid into a kitchen chair. Why would she need a sitter? She’s not working due to being in her final six weeks of pregnancy, and why is her car here if our child is somewhere else? he wondered. He jumped up and went outside to move his truck to the back of the apartment complex. He came in the back door and walked over to the couch and sat down.
Tiffany came through the door smiling. She was talking to someone behind her. She turned around and came face to face with her husband. The look of guilt on her face said it all. Before she could speak or close the door, her lover came up behind her. Tiffany had left her purse in his car. They stared at each other for about a minute. Words were not necessary.
Slim left Tiffany that night. It was in court that he found out his son was not his. The child she was carrying came out looking so much like the other man that Slim didn’t even bother to take a DNA test.
No need to dwell on it, he thought. What’s done is done.
He couldn’t change the past, but in the future, he would choose wisely. That beautiful woman he saw earlier had piqued more than his interest. Maybe that’s what he needed. A nice, mature woman. He put Tiffany out of his mind and ate his dinner. After dinner, he loaded the dishwasher and called it a night.
