Chapter 11
Nydia sat on the bench seat next to Lamar as he tied the laces on his running shoes. His stay had been cut short when a text from his airline informed him all Sunday evening flights into Atlanta were canceled because of the National Weather Service’s prediction of severe thunderstorms in the area. He’d called the airline and changed his reservation to a late Saturday night flight.
“How long is your layover in Atlanta?” she asked.
“Ninety minutes. I’ll probably get home a little after sunrise.”
Their post-breakfast Saturday stroll turned into an extended walking tour of East and West Harlem before they returned to the apartment and spent the afternoon eating popcorn and laughing hysterically at Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween. The text appeared on Lamar’s phone just as the credits were rolling across the screen, preempting their planned dinner on City Island.
“Call or text me once you touch down.”
Lamar stood, bringing Nydia up with him. “Of course. I’m sorry about our dinner, but I promise to make it up to you.”
Nydia held on to his hand. “Don’t apologize, Lamar. There will be other times when we’ll go to City Island.” He’d made reservations at the Lobster Box, which was one of her favorite restaurants on the quaint fishing enclave at the tip of the Bronx. “Perhaps we’ll be able squeeze it in when you come up for Christmas. I hope I’m not getting ahead of myself.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I’m assuming because the kids have that week off from school that you’ll be able to take time off from your job.”
A hint of a smile tilted the corners of Lamar’s firm mouth at the same time he winked at her. “Not to worry, cariña. Every year we close the office on Christmas Eve and don’t reopen until the day after New Year’s. The partners rotate being on call in the event of an emergency, so I’m available this year.”
Her eyes lingered on his chin before moving up slowly to meet eyes that reminded her of cat’s-eye marbles. They were so oddly beautiful in a mahogany-brown face with undertones of copper and rosewood. “If that’s the case, then I’ll put together an itinerary for the kids and ask for your input before I finalize anything.”
“Just what are you hatching in that beautiful head of yours?”
Nydia lowered her eyes. Men had called her pretty and linda pequeña mama, cute little mama, but never beautiful. And with Lamar she did feel beautiful whenever he stared at her, and more importantly, she felt protected. She’d dated Danny for three years and never during that time had he ever defended her when his friends or family members made comments about her, nor did he make her feel safe. Nydia wasn’t looking forward to becoming intimately involved with Lamar; she was forming an easygoing friendship. He could be someone she could call and ask to accompany her to soirées as her plus-one once she moved to New Orleans.
“I’m still thinking.”
“About what?”
“Whether to take the girls ice skating at Rockefeller Center. My nieces have their own skates, but then there’s your daughter.”
“Don’t worry about Kendra. I’ll make certain she has a pair of skates, even though she won’t have much use for them in New Orleans.”
“I wasn’t talking about skates because we can rent them, but whether she’ll be able to stay up on the ice.”
“Kendra will hold her own with your nieces. She may fall down a few times, but she’ll get up and try again until she’s skating along with the others.”
“What about her daddy?”
“I’ll sit and observe.”
Nydia’s eyebrows lifted questioningly. “You don’t skate?”
“I can skate, but I’d rather play chaperone and eat roasted chestnuts.”
She smiled. “If that’s the case, then you have a co-chaperone. I’d also like to buy tickets to a Broadway matinee. I want it to be a girls’-only outing. We’ll see the show, and then go out for dinner.”
“Which shows are you thinking about?” Lamar asked.
“I was thinking about School of Rock, Aladdin, or The Lion King. Personally I’m partial to The Lion King because of the music, costumes, choreography, and stunning sets.”
“Have you seen it?”
“No, and neither have my nieces. So I want it to be a surprise.”
“I’m going to ask one thing of you.”
Nydia’s expression changed, and she held her breath for several seconds. She didn’t know why, but she felt Lamar was going to say something that would set her on edge. “What is it?”
“Please let me pay for the theater tickets.”
She remembered him saying he was willing to pay for the girls’ outings and she’d figuratively bitten his head off. Nydia realized she had to compromise or she would end up debating every decision with Lamar. She nodded. “Okay.”
Lamar blew out an audible breath. “Thank you. Send me the details once you select the date, time, and seats and I’ll order the tickets.”
Nydia let go of his hand. “I’ve been running off at the mouth when you have to pick up your rental and drop it off at the airport.” Going on tiptoe, she brushed her mouth over his. “I can’t thank you enough for running interference for me.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, Lamar pulled her close. “I’ll do it again anytime you need rescuing.”
“Let’s hope this is the last time I’ll need you to rescue me from something that resembles a scripted reality show.”
Lamar stared at her from under lowered lids. “You’re right about that.” He angled his head and pressed his lips against hers in a surprisingly gentle kiss. “Try and stay out of trouble until we see each other again.”
She nodded and took a backward step. “Go before you miss your flight or you’ll be forced to check back into my humble bed-and-breakfast.”
He laughed as he picked up his carry-on. “I do recall the management offering chicken and red velvet waffles along with mimosas for Sunday brunch, so the next time I check in I hope they’ll still be on the menu.”
“Of course,” Nydia said, as she unlocked the door and opened it. “Goodbye, Lamar.”
He shook his head. “It’s not goodbye, but later.”
Nydia knew he was right. She’d planned to return to New Orleans the first week in October to set up the protocol for managing the finances for the inn, and she was looking forward to seeing Lamar again before returning to New York.
“Luego.”
Lamar winked at her. “That’s better.”
Nydia watched him as he made his way down the staircase and disappeared from view. She had spent a little more than twelve hours with Lamar, yet it felt longer because they’d shared breakfast, toured the rapidly gentrifying Harlem neighborhoods, and laughed until their sides hurt when watching a comedy in which some scenes were definitely over the top.
And aside from an unexpected misunderstanding, Nydia felt they were temperamentally suited to each other. She’d always found herself the outspoken one in a conversation, but it was obvious she had met her match with Lamar Pierce. He might not have been as volatile as she could be, but he also wasn’t restrained when it came to saying what he thought and felt.
She closed and locked the door. I like him, Nydia whispered. She liked Lamar enough to count down the time when she would see him again.
* * *
“Why can’t they let it go!?” Nydia shouted at the television as footage of Lamar kissing her filled the screen. It had been three days since she and Lamar were waylaid by the reporter and her cameraman.
The reporter stared directly at the camera. “I suppose we now have our answer why Nydia Santiago won’t marry singing sensation Danny Ocasio, because it appears she’s already taken. Danny’s rep says he’s totally devastated to know he’d dated a married woman for three years and not once during that time had she given him a hint that she was married. I suppose Danny can now close the chapter in this book featuring his former muse. This is Renata Joplin, reporting from—”
Nydia picked up the remote and turned off the television. She did not want to believe Danny’s people were garnering more than their fifteen minutes of fame. Her cell phone chimed a programmed ringtone. “I know why you’re calling me, mija.”
“Why they still messing with you, chica?” Jasmine asked.
Pulling her legs up under her body, Nydia shifted into a more comfortable position on the sofa. “I keep telling myself that I won’t get upset, but every time I see or hear something about me and Danny, I’m ready to go to his sister’s apartment, call him out, and pound on him with a baseball bat. I thought he was better than this, Jasmine. We weren’t the perfect couple but—”
“What couple is?” Jasmine interrupted.
“You and Cameron,” Nydia stated emphatically.
“We have our days when we can’t see eye to eye on anything.”
“It’s the hormones, mija. After you push out your little son or daughter everything will be easy like Sunday morning.”
Jasmine’s laugh came through the earpiece. “Is that still your favorite song by the Commodores?”
“You know it is.”
“Now, back to you and what the press is calling your mystery man. Do they know it’s Lamar Pierce?”
Nydia’s body stiffened in shock as she stared at the darkened TV screen. She hadn’t told anyone, not even her mother, about the man who’d come to New York to run interference between her and the newshounds.
“How did you know?” she asked Jasmine, once she’d recovered her voice.
“Chica, I’ve seen Lamar enough to recognize him even with a cap and sunglasses. It was when I saw his wedding band I knew for certain it was him. It’s rather unique because it’s made with tri-color.”
Nydia agreed with Jasmine about Lamar’s ring. The band was designed in white, yellow, and rose gold. “I had no idea he was coming to see me,” she admitted. She told Jasmine about Lamar’s phone call, his promise to surprise her, and the fact he’d become her surprise.
“It looks as if you’ve found your knight in shining armor,” Jasmine teased.
“What I found is a good male friend.”
“I think he’s more than a friend, Nydia. The man looked as if he’d been shocked by a surge of electricity when he first saw you. And I’ve been on the receiving end of men staring at me like that. Next month will be a year since I met Cameron at Hannah’s wedding, and you were the one who talked about him liking what he saw. And you were also the one who encouraged me to go out with him, and now I’m his wife and carrying his baby.”
“You’re definitely getting ahead of yourself, Jazz.”
“Am I, Nydia? I’m willing to wager every penny I have in the bank that you’re going to get involved with Lamar, marry him, and give his daughter a little brother or sister.”
Nydia laughed. “You’ve never said you’re a bruja, and that means you’re going to lose that bet because I’m not going to marry a man who isn’t willing to let go of his past.”
“Why should he, chica? His daughter is a constant reminder of his late wife, and it would be selfish of you to try and pretend she hadn’t been in Lamar’s life.”
Nydia closed her eyes and then exhaled an audible breath. Jasmine had misinterpreted what she meant about Lamar’s past. “Do you really think I’m that insensitive? I wasn’t talking about his late wife, but his wedding band. And I’d never have the audacity to ask him to forget the woman he loved enough to marry and have a child with.”
There came a beat where Jasmine remained silent. “I’m sorry, Nydia. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Forget it, mija. I know I can be a little too outspoken for some people, but I know when not to say something.”
“Have you asked Lamar why he still wears his ring?”
“No, and I won’t ask. He’s mentioned his daughter, but is mute when it comes to his late wife. I’ll listen if he wants to tell me about her, but I won’t add to the commentary.”
“Does he know about you and Danny?”
Nydia grunted under her breath. “Yes, he does. He asked, and I told him everything.”
“What did he say?”
“He did say if he had been there when I was blindsided he would’ve gone gangsta and clotheslined Danny so he’d never sing again.”
“Co-ño,” Jasmine drawled, drawing the word out in two distinctive syllables.
“That calls for dos coños,” Nydia said, laughing.
“It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch because they usually don’t let you know when they’re coming for you.”
“I don’t want anyone to come for Danny. He’ll get his for using me to enhance his newfound superstar image. I wouldn’t be so pissed off with him if he’d told me what his publicist had planned.”
“Would you have gone along with a fake engagement?”
Nydia shook her head, and then realized Jasmine couldn’t see her. “Hell no! However, I wouldn’t have been opposed to granting an interview about how much Danny had sacrificed to realize his dream. I would’ve poured it on real thick about how he was a wonderful boyfriend and I never had to concern myself with him cheating on me. I’d end it with while he was concentrating on his singing career, mine was going in a different direction so I had to make an adjustment in my life that did not include Danny.”
“All of that is true, but the reality is during your three-year relationship you’d stopped seeing him because he refused to get a nine-to-five.”
“I’m certain word will eventually get out why I broke up with him. East Harlem isn’t that big, and everybody knows something about somebody.”
“Speaking of gossiping, now that you told me Lamar’s fluent in Spanish we can’t whisper about him in Spanish if he’s around.”
“The way we sometimes do with Cameron.”
“Cameron seems oblivious when I speak to my mother in Spanish or Tagalog.”
“Do you plan to talk to your baby in Spanish or Tagalog in addition to English?” Nydia asked Jasmine.
“I plan to have Titi Nydia teach him or her Spanish, while I’ll assume the responsibility to speak to them in their maternal grandmother’s native tongue. It’s an asset nowadays to speak more than one language.”
Nydia smiled. “That means whenever I babysit my godson or daughter I will speak Spanish to them.” She paused. “I know you don’t want to know the sex of your baby beforehand, but what do you want—girl or boy?”
“I really want a girl, because then I can share girly things with her.”
“Like shopping until you drop?” Whenever she and Jasmine got together it was invariably to have dinner and shop, whether for shoes, beauty products, or a small item to enhance the beauty of their bed or bathrooms.
“Bingo!”
Nydia heard a beep indicating she had another call. “Jazz, it’s my mother on the other line. I know she’s calling about my so-called mystery man.”
“Before I hang up, you have to tell me if Lamar is a good kisser.”
“Yes. Bye, mija.” She tapped the phone icon. “Sí, Mami?”
“This has to stop, Nydia! People are blowing up my phone here at the shop talking about seeing you on television kissing some man in the street.”
“I know, Mami. It’s not what you think. I’ll explain everything when I see you.”
“Cuando is eso?”
Nydia knew her mother was upset whenever she mixed English with Spanish. Isabel wanted to know when she would see her. “Later. I’ll come by after you close.”
She ended the call and buried her face in her hands. Her mother wanted it to stop, while Nydia wanted to know when it was going to end. Hopefully this would be the last time she would have to talk about Danny to anyone. He was her past, and even if he were the last man on the face of the earth, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. He had caused her enough pain and suffering, and they weren’t even married.
Nydia lowered her hands, got up, and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the water in the tub, adjusted the temperature, and added a generous capful of lavender bath crystals; she lit several of the candles lining the top of the vanity, stripped off her clothes, and then stepped into the tub. Soft moans escaped her parted lips when she lowered herself into the steaming bubbles. Beads of moisture quickly dotted her face.
She’d planned to fly down to New Orleans in two weeks, but this was the first time in her life that Nydia could recall wanting to escape her hometown. As she lay in the tub, eyes closed, she wondered how much longer she had to put up with being portrayed as the duplicitous woman who had taken advantage of a man who’d given her all of himself.
Nydia opened her eyes when the water cooled, and the bubbles disappeared. Reaching for a bath sponge, she washed her body and then stepped out on a thick absorbent mat. After drying off, she wrapped the towel around herself and walked on bare feet to the bedroom and went through the ritual of slathering a scented cream over her body before slipping into underwear, a long-sleeved black polo and jeans. She opened a drawer in the double dresser and retrieved the sheet of paper with her flight information.
In that instant she decided to protect her family and take back control of her life. Unconsciously she had surrendered her will to Danny the first time he’d asked to take her out, but it would end now. It took twenty minutes to book an earlier flight and pay the fee for changing the ticket.
Retrieving her cell phone, she tapped Jasmine’s name for a text message:
Please reserve a room for me. I’m coming in Friday night. I made arrangements for ground transportation. Will ring you when I arrive at the hotel.
She didn’t have to wait for Jasmine’s response.
Jasmine: Is everything all right?
Nydia: Everything’s good. I just decided to check out of this insane asylum earlier than planned because I need a change of scene.
Jasmine: Good for you! I’m going to tell Hannah and Tonya you’re coming in. I’ll have Cameron reserve a suite.
Nydia: Luego, mija.
Jasmine: Luego chica.
Nydia didn’t know why, but she felt as if she had been reborn. Now she knew how Tonya felt once she’d decided to break up with her on-again, off-again boyfriend and move to New Orleans to operate her own restaurant: completely free.
* * *
Nydia rang the bell to Isabella’s Tresses and waited for her mother to unlock the front door. Once the footage of Lamar kissing her aired, her cell phone mailbox filled up with calls from family members asking who the mystery man was. The blinds moved slightly and then the door opened.
Isabel pulled her in and quickly locked the door. “Come in before anyone notices that I’m still here. I keep telling my customers that I don’t work beyond closing time, but some of them just don’t get it. If I don’t draw the blinds and turn out most of the lights, they keep ringing the doggone bell.”
Nydia took the broom from her mother’s hand. “Let me sweep up for you.” She slipped her cross-body bag off her shoulder and placed it behind the receptionist’s station. She’d come after closing to avoid encountering her mother’s regular customers, who were so nosy that nothing was verboten.
“Thanks, mija. It’s been nonstop since I opened. Two of my stylists called in sick.”
“Sit down, Mami, and I’ll finish putting everything away. By the way, what happened to the woman you hired to clean up after you close?”
“I fired her today.”
Nydia stared at Isabel. “What happened?”
“I caught her stealing supplies, so I had to let her go.”
“I can’t believe she begged you to give her a job so she could have a little extra money to buy Christmas gifts for her kids, and she repays you by stealing.”
“What can I say, mija? You just can’t help some folks. Luis has promised to come by every night to help.”
“If you want I can clean up for you tomorrow.” She had yet to tell her mother she was leaving in a couple of days.
Isabel waved a hand. “That’s okay. Luis isn’t so busy he can’t help me.”
Nydia pushed the broom under each station and swept up clumps of hair. “How’s he doing with his fishing outings?”
“He and his buddies are still going out on their boat a couple of times a week. It’s become their man cave on the water.”
“That’s going to end soon, because football season starts next week,” Nydia reminded her mother. She had learned from a very early age that football was the most important thing in her father’s life, second only to his wife and children.
“It’s a good thing it’s not the type of boat where they can install a television, or they’d be out on the water in below-freezing weather with their frozen eyeballs glued to the screen. Enough talk about your father and football. Now, what’s up with you and this so-called mystery man everyone is calling me about?”
Nydia rested the broom against a wall and sat facing her mother. She told her why Lamar had come up from New Orleans and why he’d decided to kiss her. “I was just as shocked as the reporter, but apparently his ruse was successful because she assumed we were married when she spotted his wedding ring.”
Isabel’s jaw dropped slightly. “You’re involved with a married man?”
“No, Mami. Lamar is a widower.”
“If his wife is dead, then why is he still wearing his ring?”
“That I don’t know.”
“He hasn’t told you?”
“No, because I haven’t asked. Lamar and I are just friends.” Isabel’s expression spoke volumes. She didn’t believe her. “What’s the matter?”
Isabel held up both hands. “Maybe I’m missing something. You’re telling me this man—who just happens to be your friend—flies up from New Orleans to stage, as you say, an intervention.”
Nydia scrunched up her nose. “I’d like to think of it as interference.”
“Okay, he decides to pretend that he’s your boyfriend and/or your husband so that the reporter can tell viewers that you rejected Danny’s proposal because you’re involved with another man. And he agreed to do this because he’s your friend?”
“No, Mami. He didn’t agree to do anything.” Nydia knew she had to spell out everything for her mother or she would question her ad nauseam. Once she was finished explaining, Isabel appeared satisfied with her explanation.
“That was very nice of him.”
“That’s because he’s very nice.”
“What does he do for a living?”
“He’s an engineer.”
“Nice,” Isabel said softly. “At least he has a lot more going for him than that pendejo you wasted your time with.”
“Danny isn’t stupid, Mami. He did whatever he had to do or not do to get over. I told you last year it was over between us, and now it’s his time to move on—without me. This past week has been a horror, so I decided to change my travel plans.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Friday.”
“Is the bed-and-breakfast open for business?” Isabel questioned.
Nydia shook her head. “No. Hannah had planned for a late-October or early-November grand opening, but things are going a lot slower than anticipated.”
Isabel stared at her reflection in the wall of mirrors facing the half dozen stylists’ chairs. “You know I’ve always wanted the best for you, mija, and even though I’ve never interfered in your life once you became an adult, this is one time I can’t remain silent.”
Nydia sucked in a lungful of air, held it, and then exhaled an inaudible breath. When living at home she had acquiesced to her mother’s authority and their role as mother and daughter, but once she moved out they’d become more like good friends.
“What do you want to tell me?”
Isabel met her eyes. “It’s not what I want to tell you, but what you should know.”
“I’m listening, Mami.”
“I’ve watched you grow up, and for some reason you always felt as if you had to be tough and in control of everything. I don’t know if it comes from having two older brothers and you wanted to keep up and compete with them. Joaquin and Nelson have settled down with their partners and children, and for some reason you just can’t get it right when it comes to choosing someone to share not only your life but also a future. You have so much going for you, yet you get involved with men who aren’t worthy. And I’m not talking about education.
“You came to me devastated when you’d discovered the professor you were dating was married. And when I tried to tell you the signs were obvious that he had someone in his life, you accused me of not wanting you to be happy. When a man puts off answering his voice mail until he’s alone, that’s a clear indication that he doesn’t want you to hear him talking to a woman. And when you found a woman’s underwear in one of the dresser drawers, you believed him when he said they belonged to his sister. It was only when his wife showed up unexpectedly that it became a reality for you.”
“Please don’t remind me, Mami,” Nydia whispered. It was a scene branded into her memory like a permanent tattoo. Three people were not only surprised but shocked that early Sunday morning when her lover’s wife walked in to find her husband and a much younger woman in bed together.
“I guess you could say I was young and stupid.”
“No, Nydia. You were young and impressionable. He was older and more experienced than you, which you found exciting. You wait years before dating again only to go out with someone who is the complete opposite of your professor when it comes to intellect. I kept asking myself what was your attraction to Danny Ocasio other than his looks and talent. After a while I realized you’d stayed with him because you controlled the relationship. You had your own apartment while he lived with his sister. And remember you had two college degrees and you were a CPA, compared to his high school diploma, and that afforded you greater earning power, and Danny resented this.”
“How do you know this?” Nydia asked.
“I could see the resentment in his eyes whenever you and your brothers talked about something that went completely over his head. I don’t have to be a bruja to predict that he would’ve proposed marriage, paraded you on his arm for a while before photos of him with some half-naked putas were splashed over the pages of supermarket tabloids. Of course you’d break the engagement and he would be free to screw any woman willing to open her legs for him.”
“You’re right, Mami,” Nydia admitted, and then told her mother what Milagros had told her about what her ex overheard: Danny bragging about her taking care of him until his big break, and then he could have all of the bitches he’d ever want. “That’s when I knew we could never have a future together.”
Isabel smiled. “Good for you.” She sobered. “Now that you’re going to move to another state, I hope you are going to be a lot more discriminating when dating again.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. It hasn’t been a year since I broke up with Danny, and I have a rule to wait at least a year before dipping my toe back into the dating scene. Remember I have to adjust to a different climate, and I’ll be busy setting up an accounting program for the inn, along with continuing to do the payroll for the three restaurants. The owners have convinced their employees to let me prepare their tax returns next year. Of course I’ll charge them half of what they would pay other accountants.”
“You have a lot on your plate.”
Nydia nodded. “I know. But I like being busy.”
“Make certain you don’t become a workaholic like your mother.”
“I won’t. How many more years do you intend to stand on your feet cutting and blowing hair?”
“Three. I’ll turn fifty-seven in November, and before I celebrate my big six-oh I’m selling this place to the first person who comes close to my asking price. You mentioned cutting hair. Do you want me to trim yours before you leave?”
Nydia released her hair from the elastic band and combed her fingers through the thick, loose curls. Since she’d been downsized she had let her hair grow until it was only inches above her shoulders. “Cut it, Mami.”
Isabel lifted her eyebrows. “How short do you want it?”
“I’ll leave that up to you.” She trusted her mother to give her a style that required minimal upkeep.
“Don’t get up. I have to get my comb and scissors.”
Minutes later Nydia stared at her reflection in the mirror while her mother wet her hair with water from a spray bottle and then sectioned her hair. Isabel wielded a pair of scissors like the pro she was as strands of dark brown curls fell on the cape covering her clothes.
If she was going to have a new job in a new city, then she wanted a new look. Nydia had told herself she wasn’t running away but starting over. It had taken her thirty-three years to finally get her professional and personal life in synch. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror.
It was now mid-September, and she planned to return to New York to join her family for Thanksgiving, which gave her two months to adjust to not waking up to the sounds of vehicle traffic and the wail of sirens from first responders. Once she vacated the apartment she would not have to concern herself with venturing out in sleet, snow, and below-freezing temperatures. The exception was visiting her family during the Christmas season.
Her smile grew wider. She never could have imagined the day she was downsized from Wakefield Hamilton that she would become an innkeeper.