18
“I’m so glad today is Friday,” Afrika said to Asia as they crossed the campus on their way to the W. G. Pearson Cafeteria.
“Me, too,” Asia said. “If we didn’t have to cheer tomorrow, I could sleep until noon. So what’s up with tonight?”
“You said we were going to some pizza joint. I hope you don’t mind that I invited Keith along.”
“Naw, but that’s going to make it a threesome, and I’m the third wheel. Deon has football practice and can’t come. Anyway, I get this funny feeling Keith doesn’t like me.”
“Why would you think that? And for the record, you’re never a third wheel. If it makes you feel better, we can pretend that Keith is taking the both of us out.”
“It’s all right, Nikki. I don’t need a man to complete me, even though Deon and I are getting along quite well.”
“I wasn’t trying to imply you did. I want you to be comfortable with the arrangement because we’ll be three friends out for pizza and enjoying each other’s company.”
“Okay with me.”
“Who cares what other people think anyway?” Afrika asked. “We’re individuals with independent thinking. We must rise beyond the childishness of high school and act like the adults we’re destined to become.”
Asia scrunched up her face until her mouth was twisted into some abstract art form. “Did you learn that in Psychology 101 or are you one of those reincarnated beings that have returned to earth to set the Generation X population straight?”
Now it was Afrika’s turn to look at Asia in amazement. “Look at us. All this mumbo jumbo because we talked about going out for some pizza—with Keith.”
“I know. Silly, huh?” Asia said with a grin.
“Yep. Let’s worry about lunch first.”
The girls headed into the cafeteria. Afrika pulled out her Eagle card and gave it to the cashier to swipe.
“I’m sorry, your card is declined,” the cashier said, handing the card back to Afrika.
“Declined?” Afrika asked. “I used it yesterday. I have a meal plan.”
“Well, baby, there’s nothing I can do. You need to check with the business office.”
“Would you mind trying again?” Afrika pushed. “I don’t understand this.”
An ugly frown formed on the cashier’s face. “Give me the card,” the cashier said in a gruff voice. Afrika passed the card to the lady with a glare on her face. “Declined,” the cashier said again. “Next.”
“Nikki, I’ll pay for your lunch. There has to be some explanation. Please swipe it twice,” Asia said to the cashier, who still had an ill look on her face.
Afrika rolled her eyes and twisted her foot. She put her card in her backpack and walked with Asia to get her food in silence.
“There’s got to be some explanation,” Asia said again.
“You’re right. But what pisses me off more is how that woman looked at me like I was trying to get in free. I have a meal plan for the whole semester. I’ve eaten in here every day since I arrived on campus. They’re going to fix this today.”
“Well, let’s go eat now. You can take care of that after lunch.”
MIMI PRIMPED IN THE BATHROOM MIRROR, FINALLY DABBING HER lips with a burnt-orange lipgloss. With her rat-tail comb, she lifted her hair a little in the center, brushed her sides down, and then patted her lips together one last time. Mimi seemed pleased at the reflection in the mirror that smiled back.
She let out a sigh as she walked from the bathroom into her bedroom and took a quick spin in front of the floor-length mirror. Several outfits lay across the bed as Mimi contemplated what to wear. First it was a cute summer dress, and even though it was October, it was still warm outside. But she dismissed it. Then she thought a nice salmon-colored pantsuit would do, but that might have been too much. It was only a casual lunch with an old friend. Finally, Mimi pulled out a cute pumpkin-colored chemise that hit just above the knees—enough to show off a little leg, but not so much that his mind would wander while they were having a heart-to-heart conversation. The scoop of the neck showed enough cleavage to make him want a second helping. Mimi was pleased.
Lunch with John was to be a catch up session about old times, Mimi told herself. Nothing more, nothing less, except she warned him that she had to discuss a personal matter with him that was part of her past. Mimi looked forward to their meeting, although having to break her lunch date with Brenda was more difficult than she had anticipated. Clearly, Brenda was annoyed but mostly pissed off because Mimi had waited until the last half of the last minute to tell her. And Brenda hung up without saying goodbye.
Mimi dismissed her phone call with Brenda and concentrated on her lunch date. She grabbed her purse, locked the door, and went into the garage and got into her car. She eased out slowly, let the garage door down, and looked around. She didn’t like the idea that Victor had been lurking around her place sight unseen. Seeing no one, she drove out of the subdivision and headed for Applebee’s at Brier Creek.
The restaurant wasn’t very crowded as the lunchtime crowd had come and gone. It was five minutes to two when she arrived, and when she entered, she saw John sitting in a corner, looking dapper in a white woven short-sleeved shirt, his bald head shiny under the light that hung overhead. He waved to her with what looked like a newspaper, anticipating her arrival.
John stood up as Mimi reached the table, kissed her hand, and then sat down after she took her seat.
“A perfect gentleman,” Mimi said, and then smiled. “And you smell good, too.”
“For a perfect woman,” John said, taking snapshots of Mimi with his mind for later viewing. “You look fabulous.”
“Thank you.”
They made small talk until the waiter arrived. They ordered sweet tea and grilled-chicken salads, and continued their conversation.
“So you were married?” Mimi asked.
“You don’t waste time, I see,” John said. Mimi smiled. “Twice. You didn’t know either one of them. I could never do it right; my mind was always on you and the promises we made to each other.”
“John, you’re telling a big, fat lie. I probably wasn’t gone two minutes before you dismissed me and were on your way to your next conquest.”
“No, I beg to differ. It was five minutes.” They laughed. “At any rate, I moved on with life. My first marriage was to a girl that I went to high school with. We dated off and on, kept in touch, and when I finished college, I got my first job with a pharmaceutical company, got married, and had a son whose name is Julian. He’s attending Xavier…wants to practice medicine.”
“Good for him. And what about your second wife?”
“Well, she was my rebound bride. My first wife had an affair with another guy who also went to high school with us. She left me for him. At first, I was devastated. I was truly in love with that woman, Mimi. I thought it would last forever, but apparently I was wrong. So Deborah, my second wife, scooped me up, baggage and all. It was destined for failure. But I’m a better person today. Don’t think I’ll do the marriage thing again.”
Mimi smiled and looked away, letting go of some faraway thought.
“So what about you, Miss Setrine Allen, better known as Mimi, the girl with the golden voice?”
Mimi dropped her head momentarily, then brought it up and smiled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you decided to get married. I’ve often thought how life with you would have been. Don’t get me wrong; I do love my life now. After leaving Central, I went to Virginia and finished my degree at Hampton. That’s where I met my husband, Raphael. He was an ROTC cadet. We got married in the winter of my sophomore year and I became Mrs. Setrina Bailey. Raphael was commissioned as an Army officer right out of college and immediately, I became a military spouse. We have one daughter, and her name is Afrika.”
“Different, pretty,” John said. “I like that. So did you ever do any singing? I thought for sure you were going to record on some big record label and give Whitney and Mariah a run for their money.”
“I…I thought about it, but my life as an officer’s wife was somewhat demanding.”
“Hold up. Had your husband not heard your voice? Girl, you know you had some pipes on you. Any man who’d stand in the way of you realizing your dreams is a fool.”
“No, it wasn’t like that at all. Raphael was behind me, if that’s what I had wanted to do. At first, he was a little reluctant, but I had the green light. I was offered a contract with Arista Records… but I turned it down.”
“Mimi, were you on drugs? You could’ve been living large.”
“I have everything I need—a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. I dote on them.”
“That’s why I liked you,” John said, staring at Mimi as if he’d just discovered who she was. “You were simple but elegant. You didn’t need a lot to make you happy. Now, I would’ve pushed you into that recording contract. And, Mimi, you would’ve had ten platinum records hanging in the den by now. But this ain’t about me.
“So besides being a mother and an officer’s wife, what else did you do? What was your degree in?”
“My degree was in elementary education. I taught elementary school for a while, but later, when my husband moved up in the ranks, I stopped working. It was somewhat taboo for an officer’s wife to work. You supported him and the wives of his command. I was busy volunteering for this and that, and believe it or not, I rather enjoyed it. Plus, I had Afrika to take care of, and when she went to school, she was involved in everything from A to Z.”
“Sounds like a cozy environment.”
“It agreed with me,” Mimi said and smiled. “And I love my husband.”
John seemed to soak in Mimi’s words as he went from talkative to quiet. Then he spoke. “So what was it you wanted to talk to me about that couldn’t wait?”
Mimi knew John was reacting to her statement about being in love with her husband. Saying it out loud was protection from herself. This man was so handsome, sitting in front of her. It wouldn’t take much for her to jump to the side of the table where he sat and rub his head. She pushed back the thought. “Umm…”
“Two grilled chicken salads,” the waiter said. “Sorry, I forgot your teas. I’ll bring them out right away.”
“No problem,” John said. Turning to Mimi, “I guess you were saved by the bell. But you’re not leaving this restaurant until you tell me what’s on your mind.”
Mimi looked at John thoughtfully. “Okay.”
“Let’s eat.”