” Siri exhaled with relief.
“It sounds as
if you are developing feelings for this man, ” her
mother probed.
“Mommy, the
minute I saw him standing on the side of the stage, my heart stood
still. At first I thought it was just the atmosphere of the
night … .it was so sensually charged wasn ’ t it
Siri? ”
Siri thought
back to that night. “ Mmm-hmm, more than I
would ever say. ”
“But then later
that night we talked for hours, until the sun came up and the
connection was unmistakable. I have not had a decent
nights ’ sleep since. He called about a week ago and said
he was having a hard time getting me off his mind. I want to
believe him, but you know me. I have to play it cool, take my time,
and make sure this is what I want. Jason said he ’ s not in
this for a game, he wants a serious relationship. I want to be sure
before I make a commitment to him, you know what I mean
Mommy? ”
Siri smiled at
her sister ’ s revelation. She
knew she would see the two together again, it was written on both
of their faces. Then her experience from that night came to mind.
She closed her eyes and allowed the memory of
Silk ’ s hands roaming her body to play blissfully, his voice
caressing her soul like a soft violin and his lips, oh those lips
kissing her in places she never would have imagined. Her toes were
still tingling. When she opened her eyes her mother and TK were
staring at her with questioning glares. She cleared her
throat.
“Well, ” Kerri smiled, “ It seems
my daughters had quite a night. Siri came home that morning with a
renewed zest for life and it seemed you came home with something as
well. ” She looked at Siri who was the spitting imagine
of her father with the dark cocoa brown skin, cool black eyes and
wavy black hair that stopped below her shoulder blades. Then there
is TK who was a mirror of herself. With her light mocha skin with
huge brown eyes and long straight black hair that reached her
waist. Physically, her girls were beautiful. She did all she could
to keep them grounded and teach them the importance of real love in
their lives. All she wanted was for each of them to experience the
love she had had with their father. “ You know, in 1976, no
it was ’ 78, I was at Montclair State College at the
time. ”
Siri and TK
looked at each other and rolled their eyes as they recognized the
signs of a lengthy sermon on the horizon. “ Mommy if this is
going to be a Heathcliff Huxtable moment, I have to go take a
shower. ”
“You will do no
such thing. You will sit here and listen until I finish
talking. ” Kerri turned away and continued her
story.
Siri looked at
TK who mouthed, “ I am so
sorry. ”
Siri replied
mouthing back, “ I will get you for
this. ” They both sat and listened.
♪
The private jet was at the airport fueled
and ready for the short trip to Richmond. Eric was downstairs in
the limo waiting. It seemed he was more anxious about this trip
than Jason, which seemed impossible.
At thirty-two,
Jason was ready to settle down and the woman he wanted to make a
permanent part of his life was in Virginia. A satisfied smile
creased his lips as he remembered the twenty six year old
photographer with the eyes of an angel and the looks of a goddess.
Nothing had entered his mind for the last two weeks without her
face preceding or following. The night they spent together remained
prominent in his mind. They talked about his daughter, who meant
the world to him, and her mother who he simply wanted to choke half
the time and stomp the other half. He told her about their living
arrangement and explained his reasons for living in the same house
with his child ’ s mother. He thought
she would have walked away, but she did not. She stayed and
listened without judgment or question.
Walking down
the stairs that led into the east wing of his house Jason could
hear the giggles before he reached the room. Peeping inside the
room decorated with teddy bears and space ships,