“That’s the same idiot that left the message I’m talking about, and he says he’ll be calling again on my cell phone tonight. Says he has a video of that mad episode you created in your room. Did I tell you I’d deal with you in phases? Phase one was you were grounded for three months, Tina. Ensure you are back home in half an hour, and if you bring that boy with you I’ll squeeze him into the dog’s kennel.”
Tina wished she could go back with Clay...he always offered moral support and always thought on his feet. Besides, she felt that she would be on one side of the morality lecture and her parents would be on the opposite side, and she couldn’t stand those lectures. And her mother’s speaking up for her only made things worse. But she if doubted he’d have agreed to go anyway.
*
“Con?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m just getting to your gate, hun. Haven’t seen you for sixteen hours and it seems like sixteen days.”
Lavida laughed. “Ok, ride right in! Mom is out, but if she comes back at least she will find you here.”
When he rode his highly pimped bike in and was standing at the door, she met him with a smile. Lavida was dressed in a yellow t-shirt that reached her navel and white shorts that reached high above her knees and was barefoot. She had a nice shape but was a bit on the heavier side, being full-figured. Con was smiling, his scarce beard well trimmed around his sunburned white chin and his blue grey eyes shining and his hair cropped short. He was close to six feet tall in contrast to her five feet and two inches.
They didn’t think or plan about it, but they found themselves kissing on the doorstep. Lavida pulled away and laughed. “If my Mom was to walk in right now, she’d get a real surprise. Boys don’t come here much. The last boyfriend who used to visit was my high school sweetheart, five years back!”
“Don’t you know stories about past boyfriends spoil the whole mood?” Con groaned. “Let’s stay focused on the current boy and girlfriend.”
She led him in to the living room.
“Big TV,” he observed. “And great decorations around here.”
“My Mom believes every room should have paintings and flower vases and colors all over. I don’t mind.”
“Why would you? It looks great. I see you were watching a reality show. You like them, huh?”
“Not as much as I like soap operas,” Lavida laughed. Con sat on the couch and she sat on the carpet between his legs, and his arms were on her shoulders. One hand touched her nipple and she slapped it. “You are distracting me, Con!”
“I thought you love it when I do,” he protested. Lavida shook her head.
Just then a car drove in and stopped outside the door. “That’s Mom!” Lavida scrambled to her feet.
“Hey, she doesn’t bite, does she?”
“No, but she doesn’t like surprises either. She would be real surprised to find me at home sitting between the knees of a tattoed white guy she has never met who is my boyfriend!”
“Whoa...at least she would be surprised, not shocked. I ....” he stopped and stood up as her Mom came in through the door and stopped, her eyes on Con.
“Surprise!” Lavida said, hugging her mother and waving towards Con. “Meet my boyfriend, Mom. Con.”
“Wow! Trevor must have put you totally off black men, Lavida!” she said, and laughed. She shook Con’s hand. “You know, if I was to vet you by your name alone I’d have a restraining order taken against you, Con.”
Con laughed. “It’s just short for Connor, Miss...er...Ma’am.”
“It’s OK, you can call me Miss Ma’am,” she said and they all laughed. Lavida thought it was a rather good start. She had not been so sure about her mother’s reaction to Con. Besides, he had some of that bad boy Jamal kind of thing about him. Her mother believed that bad boys were only good for young girls who didn’t know better.
“Well Con, pleasure to meet you. But I will now ask you to excuse us as Lavida and I have something to do,” Lavida’s mother glanced at her watch as she spoke: it was twenty past six P.M.
Con gave Lavida a quick kiss and was gone.
Lavida turned to her mother. “What have we got to do besides making dinner, Mom? I think you probabaly want to give me a talk.”
“Not the kind of talk you imagine,” her Mom said and sat down. “Come and sit, Lavida.”
Lavida frowned. She heard Con’s motorbike start up and could hear it as he rode away.
“You are scaring me, Mom. Is everything okay?” Lavida nervously took the half full glass of fruit juice she had been drinking earlier.
“Remember the day you heard me on the phone talking about ‘love issues and million dollar deals’, to put it in your own words?”
“Yes!” Lavida said eagerly, grabbing her Mom’s hand. “I’ve been wondering what that was all about!” She stared intently at her mother’s face.
“I was talking to your Dad.”
The glass slipped out of Lavida’s hand and fell on the carpet, spilling the juice, but surprisingly didn’t break.
Her eyes were still on her mother’s face. Her mother was vaguely watching the TV as she spoke.
“My Dad!” Lavida spoke at last. “Are you serious?” She picked up the glass and laid it on a coffee table.