Chapter 18
Nydia peered out the side window of Jasmine’s SUV as Cameron came to a stop along a tree-lined street and parked in front of a building with green-shuttered second-story windows and a fire escape leading from the second to the third story, both with decorative ironwork balconies.
Cameron unsnapped his seat belt, got out, and came around to help her and Jasmine from the car. “I’m going to let you ladies out here and go around the corner to park.”
Nydia and Jasmine made their way through a set of open gates that led into the Toussaints’ courtyard. She recognized the faces of many of the people she’d met a year before at St. John’s family reunion. There were a few others she remembered from the wedding DVD Tonya sent her when she had been unable to attend the ceremony. She smiled when she saw Gage and his older brother, Eustace, manning grills, while folks lined up behind a portable bar where St. John had assumed the role of mixologist. A group of young children had gathered on folding chairs under a red mulberry tree to play with electronic devices while their parents were huddled together in small groups laughing and talking to one another. A DJ was spinning Motown classics.
“I deliberately didn’t have a mid-morning snack because I intend to eat until I burst,” Jasmine said under her breath.
Nydia gave Jasmine a sidelong glance. She was nearing the beginning of her fifth month, and her pregnancy was now obvious depending upon what she wore. “Thank goodness Cameron came with us, because he’ll have to be the one to carry you out.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes at Nydia. “You got fat jokes? I can’t wait until Lamar swells you up and then we’ll see how you look with a bowling ball–size belly.”
She laughed. “That’s not going to happen, because yours truly and Lamar are not sleeping together.”
Jasmine caught her arm. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
Nydia met her dark eyes. “No. We’re friends.”
“You two didn’t appeared that friendly when we were all at Momma’s Place. You were so close together that I thought you were sitting on his lap.”
“We were talking about my teaching Kendra to make pasteles.”
Jasmine pushed out her lower lip. “So you’re really just friends?”
“Don’t look so disappointed, mija. There’s no pressure for us to sleep together. You have to know once we do we’ll both be different people.”
Jasmine nodded. “I know. The night, or I should say the morning Cameron and I made love for the first time I knew then I wanted to be with him. Of course we hadn’t planned on my getting pregnant, but that was something beyond our control.”
Nydia dropped an arm over Jasmine’s shoulders. “I’m glad your daddy’s condoms were defective, or I wouldn’t be looking forward to becoming Titi Nydia.”
“Bite your tongue, chica. Speaking of dads, I see Lamar talking to Evie and her husband. I’m going to get something to eat while you go and talk to your bae.”
Nydia scanned the crowd and saw him. He appeared to be listening intently to something Evangeline was saying. Then as if she’d willed it, he turned in her direction. The smile on his face spoke volumes as he approached her.
Lamar reached for her hands and kissed the back of them. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”
Going on tiptoe, she pressed a chaste kiss on his jaw. “How long have you been here?”
“Probably about thirty minutes. Kendra wanted to get here at the same time as her friends. You’d think they don’t get to see one another at school.” Attractive lines fanned out around Lamar’s eyes when he smiled. “Answer one question for me.”
“What’s that?” Nydia asked.
“When you were their age did you and your friends all talk at the same time?”
Nydia blinked slowly. “You know that’s sexist,” she said accusingly.
He held up both hands. “I’m just asking.”
Something caught her attention, and that’s when Nydia realized Lamar wasn’t wearing his wedding band. The first thoughts that flooded her mind were when and why. “You’re not wearing your ring.” She’d spoken her thought aloud.
Lamar stared at his left hand and nodded. “I should’ve taken if off a long time ago.”
“Why now?”
A mysterious smile flitted over his features. “Because a beautiful young woman with the initials NSS helped me to see life as it is instead of was.”
She stared at the cleft in Lamar’s chin. “I want you to know I never would’ve asked you to take it off. That had to be your decision.”
He nodded. “I know that. But I must confess I had some help making the decision. Cameron told me I had to stop living in the past or I’d lose what was right in front of me. I don’t want to lose you, Nydia, because you’re the best thing to come into my life . . .” His words trailed off when Kendra ran over and held onto his arm.
Nydia swallowed to relieve the tightness in her throat. She didn’t want to believe Lamar had decided to express his inner feelings within earshot of anyone who could overhear him. It was the one time she would have preferred he spoke to her in Spanish. She forced a smile she did not quite feel.
Kendra flashed a wide grin, exhibiting red, white, and blue brackets on her braces. “Hello, Miss Nydia.”
“Hello, Kendra. I like your hair.” A chemically straightened ponytail had replaced the braids.
Kendra pulled her hair over her shoulder. “Thank you. I’ve been wearing braids for most of the year, and I know Miss Ramona is tired of redoing them every week.” She tugged on Lamar’s arm. “Daddy, can I spend the week with Morgan and Taylor so we can practice for our Fall Frolic?”
The words were barely off her tongue when Evangeline joined them. The tall, slender brunette looked very chic in a pair of slim navy stretch slacks she had paired with a blue-and-white-striped off-the-shoulder silk blouse, while many of Tonya and Gage’s guests favored jeans and shorts. “It’s so nice seeing you again, Nydia.”
Nydia returned her friendly smile. “It’s also nice seeing you, Evangeline.”
“I love your dress.”
In deference to the warm weather, Nydia had decided to forego slacks, instead wearing a pumpkin-orange linen sleeveless dress with large patch pockets and a slightly flaring skirt ending at her knees. She wiggled her groomed toes in a pair of strappy wedges. She’d visited a salon within walking distance of the hotel for a mani-pedi.
“Thank you.”
Evangeline turned her attention to Lamar. “If you don’t mind, I’d like Kendra to spend the week at my house so she and the girls can rehearse for the production of the school’s Fall Frolic. My daughters just found out that I was the lead actress in the school’s drama club and that their mother can sing and dance, along with playing the piano. Of course I’ll make sure the girls do their homework and go to bed on time.”
Lamar stared down at his daughter looking up at him. Nydia almost burst into laughter when Kendra affected a sad face. “Okay,” he said after a pregnant pause. “I’ll make certain Ramona packs enough clothes for the week and I’ll drop them off later tonight.” Kendra clapped a hand over her mouth before running away to tell her friends the good news.
Evangeline laughed. “Don’t concern yourself picking her up next Sunday. After church, Daniel and I planned to take them to Momma’s Place for brunch and then to a movie. My parents have changed their regular third Sunday in the month to the fourth for the family dinner.”
Lamar angled his head. “Are you telling me I won’t see my daughter until a week from tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She patted Lamar’s shoulder. “Not to worry. I’ll take good care of her.”
He nodded. “I have no doubt she’ll be in the best care. I just don’t want you to get overwhelmed.”
Evangeline patted her hair. “I can’t get any more overwhelmed than I am now. I keep telling my daughters that they’re going to have me completely gray before I turn forty.”
It was Lamar’s turn to laugh. “You know I’d begun graying in high school.”
Nydia held up both hands when Evangeline and Lamar stared at her. “Y’all are not going to invite me to join your gray-haired club—at least not for a few more years.”
“Wait until you have a couple of kids,” Evangeline teased.
“I still have time before I think of becoming a mother,” Nydia said.
Lamar rested his hand at the small of Nydia’s back. “Are you ready to eat?”
Her smile was as bright as the early afternoon sunshine. “I’m always ready if the Toussaints are cooking.”
* * *
Nydia sat between Lamar and Hannah at one of four long picnic tables Gage and his niece’s husbands had set up in the courtyard. Platters of barbecued ribs, chicken, and shrimp, pulled pork, hamburgers, hot links, and brisket were set on each table along with bowls of potato salad, coleslaw, red beans, rice, deviled eggs, and collard greens. There were alcoholic libations for the adults and fruit punch and lemonade for those under the legal drinking age. All of the children were seated at the same table.
Tonya and Gage had invited Toussaints, Singletons, and Gage’s bandmates from Jazzes, and several of his former colleagues from the local high school where he once had been an artist-in-residence. And judging from the laughter and frivolity among the assembly Nydia knew the gathering was a rousing success.
She stared at Kendra smiling shyly at something Cameron’s nephew whispered in her ear. Nydia estimated he was at least twelve or thirteen, and judging from the way he stared at Lamar’s daughter, there was no doubt he was taken with her.
“What are you looking at?” Lamar asked her in Spanish.
“Your daughter and Evangeline’s nephew,” she replied in the same language. “It appears as if another generation of Singletons is intrigued by a woman of color.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that, because right now Kendra thinks boys are stupid.”
Nydia bit on her lip to keep from telling Lamar that he was in denial thinking that his daughter did not like boys, but she wasn’t willing to tell him because she feared he would go off on the boy. It had been the same with her and her father when she’d mentioned she liked a boy in her sixth grade class. He told her he was going to look for the hapless kid and snap his head off. Of course she didn’t know her father was joking, but it was enough for her to keep her thoughts to herself.
“What are you going to do for a week now that Kendra’s staying with Evangeline?”
Lamar ran a hand down her back. “Spend time with my girlfriend,” he whispered in her ear, still speaking Spanish.
Turning her head slightly, she stared at him. “Can you tell me who this girlfriend is?” Nydia replied in the same language.
Lamar lowered his eyes and his voice when he said, “She’s the only woman here wearing an orange dress. After I drop Kendra’s clothes off at Evangeline’s, I’d like to come to my girlfriend’s hotel suite and hang out there for a while.”
Nydia felt a wave of heat begin at her hairline and move lower and lower until she had to press her knees together to still the pulsing between her thighs. It was as if Lamar had been reading her mind. If they were to make love, then she didn’t want it to be slam bam, thank you, ma’am when he had to get up and leave.
“How long do you intend to hang out with your girlfriend?” she questioned, still speaking Spanish. The gold glints in his eyes shimmered like polished amber crystals.
“I don’t know. I’d like to stay at least a week, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
“What about work, Lamar?”
“I have to go into the office, but there’s always before and after work when I can give you my undivided attention.”
Nydia rested her head on his shoulder. “I like the sound of that. And while you’re at your office I’ll be working on my projects.”
Lamar kissed her hair. “That sounds like a plan. Let me know where you want to eat dinner, and I’ll make the reservations.”
“Okay. Speaking of reservations, I’ve ordered tickets for The Lion King. We have orchestra seats.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing, Lamar. It’s my Christmas gift for Kendra and my nieces.”
“But I told you I’d pay for them.”
“Let’s not fight over money, Lamar. It’s so gauche.”
“I’m not fighting with you, Nydia. You’re the one who’s not working, while you’re spending your money paying for a hotel suite.”
Shifting on the bench, Nydia gave him a lethal stare. She wondered if she’d been a man and a CPA he would have doubted her ability to handle her own finances. “What gives you the impression I’m not working?” Her eyes gave off angry green sparks. “I do have accounts I monitor remotely.” She wasn’t about to tell Lamar that she didn’t have to pay for her suite because Cameron had confided to her that he owned the Louis LaSalle. “And please don’t concern yourself about what I pay for my suite. And furthermore, I can assure you I won’t have to file for bankruptcy because I bought four tickets to a Broadway play.”
Rubbing her back in a comforting gesture, Lamar winked at Nydia. “I’m sorry, sweets, for questioning your ability.”
Her annoyance vanished with his apology as she blew him an air kiss. “I’ll forgive you as long as you don’t forget it.”
His eyebrows shot up. “That tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days.”
Nydia scrunched her pert nose. “How so?” she asked.
“You’re going to say something that will get you in so much trouble you won’t be able to extricate yourself.”
“I’m not worried about that, Lamar. If I get into trouble I can always count on you to rescue me. After all, you are my knight in shining armor. And I have a feeling that you like my sassiness, because you never know what you’re going to get.”
“You’re so right about that,” Lamar said in agreement. “And that’s what I like about you. I’m never bored whenever I’m with you.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things but never boring,” Nydia said, as Lamar stood up and went over to the bar.
Hannah tapped Nydia on her bare shoulder. “I had no idea Lamar spoke Spanish.”
She leaned closer to Hannah and whispered, “He’s a man of many talents.”
“I should say he is,” Hannah whispered back. “And you’ve succeeded where so many women have failed. The man is totally besotted with you.”
Nydia smiled. “Now that’s a word I’ve read about in romance novels.”
“That’s because your life has become a romance novel, where you and Lamar are the protagonists. You’re the heroine who moves from her hometown to start over after a failed relationship. She meets a handsome, devoted single father who is ready to share his life and future with her.”
Nydia’s smile faded as she shook her head. “You’re definitely getting ahead of yourself, Hannah. Lamar and I are just friends.”
“The question is how long will you remain friends? It’s as plain as the nose on your face that the man is falling in love with you.”
“How do you know that? Has he said anything to you about me?”
“I don’t know Lamar that well for him to confide in me. And to answer your question, he doesn’t have to say anything, Nydia. The man looks at you the same way St. John looked at me once we reunited at our high school reunion. And don’t forget Cameron and Jasmine.”
Nydia had to agree with Hannah. St. John had come to the DuPont House to pick Hannah up for their dance lesson, and only someone visually impaired would not have noticed the way he stared at her. And she felt Cameron staring at Jasmine at Hannah and St. John’s wedding reception was akin to a fixation. Nydia liked Lamar, and had admitted it to him, but she was reluctant to allow herself to fall in love with him.
When she’d fallen in love with the college instructor she was still young and impressionable. She was older, more sexually experienced when she slept with Danny, but it was for the wrong reason: loneliness. Now at thirty-three Nydia knew she was more mature, confident, and a lot more cautious than she’d been in the past, and if she did become involved with Lamar, then she knew she would have to guard her heart, because he was everything she’d wanted in a man and potential husband.
He returned with a glass filled with an amber liquid, and recaptured her attention when he rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask, but can I get you something from the bar?”
“Another lemonade would be nice.” It was made with club soda instead of water, the carbonation adding fizz to the beverage.
She stared at Lamar as he made his way to the bar, a secret smile slightly parting her lips. He’s perfect, she thought. The two words summed up everything she thought about the man who unknowingly had allowed her to alter her stance about not dating for a year once she ended a relationship. She’d discovered he was firm and also affectionate with his daughter while sacrificing companionship because his sole focus was taking care of Kendra.
Nydia made certain never to exhibit any indicator of affection whenever she was with the girl’s father. There were no longing glances or unconscious brush of body parts. She was her father’s friend and nothing beyond that. However, she was honest enough with herself to know that her being friends with Lamar could not continue because of her rapidly changing and deepening feelings for the man.
She met his eyes when he returned to the table holding a mug of lemonade, his gaze holding and trapping her in a spell from which she was unable to escape. It was as if he were telegraphically communicating what she was feeling at that time: she wanted him to make love to her. The spell was shattered when Gage Toussaint tapped the handle of a knife against a glass bottle.
Nydia stared at the drop-dead gorgeous musician/chef as he signaled for silence. When she saw him play trumpet at Jazzes during her first visit to the city, she hadn’t been able to pull her gaze away from his large gray-green eyes framed by long black lashes. A palomino-gold complexion, delicate features, and cropped straight black hair with flecks of gray, and a rich baritone voice made him the total package.
“Now that everyone has gotten a little something to eat and drink, I’d like to thank y’all for coming to the second Toussaint family reunion. The first was a few months back when I married Tonya, my beautiful bride and partner. Babe, please stand up so these good folks can see you.” Tonya rose to her feet, displaying deep dimples in her flawless cheeks when she flashed a broad smile.
“For some of you,” he continued, “this is your first time hanging out with the Toussaints, and hopefully it won’t be your last, because those who are friends are now considered family.” He pointed to LeAnn and Paige DuPont. “I don’t know why y’all are looking at each other, because when Hannah married my cousin St. John you became a part of our family.” Gage waited for a smattering of laughter to fade. “Tonya reminds me relentlessly that Hannah, Jasmine Singleton, and Puerto Rican princess Nydia Santiago are her sisters, so that, too, makes them family. Nydia, stand and let everyone see what a Boricua looks like.”
Never in her life had Nydia felt as embarrassed as when Lamar pulled her to stand amid applause and whistling. The blood suffusing her face nearly matched the color of her dress. Recovering quickly, she made the peace sign when she wanted to put her fists to her eyes as she’d done as a child whenever she silently demonstrated payback.
Gage turned to the table with the young children. “Cameron, I see that your nephews have already acquired the Singleton swag with them trying to put the moves on my grandnieces and the other beautiful young ladies at their table.” The entire courtyard erupted in laughter. “A word of caution, young fellas. You’ll have to deal with their fathers if you’re thinking of asking them out in the future. Dads, please stand up so these young dudes know who they have to deal with.”
Placing her hand over her mouth, Nydia laughed until tears filled her eyes when Lamar and more than a half dozen men stood up and glared at the young boys sitting at the table with their daughters. A few displayed fists, which added to the rousing levity.
Lamar retook his seat. “Was that boy really coming on to my daughter?” he whispered to Nydia.
She gave him a direct stare. “If he was, then nothing is going to come out of it because you claim she thinks boys are stupid.”
“Maybe she wasn’t being completely truthful.”
Nydia saw the frown settle onto his normally pleasant features. “Stop projecting, Lamar. You have to learn to trust your daughter.”
He ran a hand over his face. “Raising a son is probably a lot easier than a daughter.”
“Why?” she asked. “Because the only thing you have to tell him is to bag his meat in latex and he can have all the fun he wants with any man’s daughter?”
“That’s cold, Nydia.”
Her eyebrows lifted questioningly. “Is it really, Lamar? A girl is given a litany of dos and don’ts when she goes out with a boy. Don’t let him touch you places that you deem private. Always carry a phone and money so you can call if he decides to dump you somewhere if you’re not willing to put out. Don’t leave your drink unattended because someone may put something in it. Always leave an address or phone number where you’re going in case you don’t make it back home. Don’t ride in cars with strange boys, and please don’t be the only girl in a crowd in case they plan to run a train on you. Meanwhile, do fathers tell their sons that no means no? You can tell them to use protection, but most times it goes in one ear and out the other and they end up with more than one baby mama and on Maury when the results of the DNA test indicates, ‘You are the father’ of at least three or four children from different women they’ve slept with.”
“You really watch that show?”
She nodded. “It’s one of my grandmother’s favorite daytime shows.”
“I saw it once and I couldn’t believe folks could be that silly. It has to be scripted.”
“Believe me, it’s not scripted. I know one girl who arranged for her boyfriend to be tested on the show because he kept denying her two kids were his.”
“Were they?” Lamar asked.
“Of course they were.”
“Why did he deny them?”
“Money, Lamar. His paycheck was being garnished for back child support payments from two other women.”
“Why didn’t he just use a condom when he slept with them?”
“You’re preaching to the choir. I’ve heard men complain about not being able to get ‘their feeling,’ or whatever that means if they’re wearing a condom. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life, because there are condoms that are so thin they feel like skin.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” Lamar asked as he stared at her from under lowered lids.
“Yes, I am,” she said confidently. “I’ve slept with two men and there was never a time when either of them did not use a condom. Having unprotected sex is not up for debate with me. The only time I’ll agree to not using one is when I’m married.”
“So, you’re not against marriage.”
“No. I’ve never said I was. It’s just that I don’t believe I’m ready for it.”
“What would make you ready?”
Nydia replayed Lamar’s question over and over in her mind, and had come up with a few excuses but they appeared inane even to her way of thinking. She couldn’t blame lack of employment or a permanent home, because she was going to become an innkeeper and live in a centuries-old historic mansion in New Orleans’s Garden District. She didn’t have children or a man in her life she had to consider.
“Falling in love with a man who would make me want to share my life with him.”
“What about children?”
“What about them?” she asked.
“Do you want children?”
“Of course. I love kids.”
“If that’s the case, then you should make some man very, very happy.”
Nydia smiled. “I’d hope I would.”
She did not tell Lamar that he was in the running as a potential husband. Her mother had told her a long time ago that whenever she agreed to date a man she should think of him as a potential husband with the ability to take care of his family, and if not, then stop seeing him. Her mother’s warning went out the window when she met Danny. He’d get part-time jobs waiting tables or as a deliveryman but nothing that would lead to a salary where he could live on his own. If she had a short checklist of three prerequisites for a man with whom she wanted to spend her future, then Lamar had at least two. She decided to reserve judgment on the last one.
The music changed, becoming more upbeat, which led to couples getting up and dancing in an area of the courtyard where a portable dance floor had been set up. Hannah and St. John were the first on the floor as they executed the steps they learned during their summer dance lessons.
Lamar leaned closer to Nydia when the DJ announced he was going to spin tunes for those who wanted something slower. “Please come and dance with me.”
The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You” was one of his all-time romantic favorites. His father had grown up listening to doo-wop, and whenever he played his treasured vinyl disks dating back more than a half century, the house was filled with incredible harmonies. Lamar and his sister would laugh and giggle whenever their parents danced together while singing along with the tunes that were popular when they were dating.
Nydia extended her hand, placing her palm on his as he eased her to stand. Her mention that she was still recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix was never far from his mind. Lamar led her to the dance floor and pulled her gently against his body until they were fused from chest to thigh.
Dancing with Nydia was akin to making love with her. He was able to hold her, inhale her natural feminine scent mingling with her perfume, enjoy the silken feel of her skin, and bury his face in her fragrant hair. The days she came to his house to cook with Kendra tested his so-called iron will. Whenever she stood next to him he made certain not to let their bodies touch because it would elicit erotic notions of what he wanted to share with her.
When meeting her for the first time his reaction to Nydia had been purely physical; however, over time his feelings had changed. He still wanted to sleep with her, yet that was no longer as important as getting to know who she was and what she wanted. Sex was something he could get from the woman he hadn’t slept with since meeting Nydia, but he did not want it to be the foundation of the relationship he hoped to share with her.
Lamar knew he was in denial when he told himself he wasn’t falling in love with Nydia because he felt as if he was being unfaithful to Valerie. As a flight attendant his late wife had talked about the possibility of losing her life during a plane crash, and had exacted a promise from him that if she did die that he would not remarry until their daughter turned eighteen.
Now that he looked back, he did not want to believe he continued to hold onto a promise he’d made to a dead woman when the very woman he wanted to share his life was in his arms. He knew the age of eighteen was important to Valerie because both her adopted parents had passed away a year after she graduated high school, and it was then she’d found herself orphaned once again.
Lamar glanced over Nydia’s head to see every married couple up on the dance floor dancing to the hauntingly romantic love song. The first line of the song resonated with him, because the first time he saw Nydia and their eyes met, he only had eyes for her.
When he allowed Kendra to spend the summer vacation with his sister and mother in Baton Rouge, he’d undergone a period of separation anxiety because it was the first time they’d been apart since he’d become a widower. His initial apprehension eased when he asked whether she wanted to come back to New Orleans with him, and she said wanted to stay until it was time for the new school year. It had been a wakeup call that his daughter was not only growing up but becoming more independent. She had other interests, and there would come a time when he wouldn’t be the only man in her life. Kendra staying with Evie and her daughters would allow him to spend time with Nydia and to determine where their relationship would lead.
Lamar planned to call Ramona and ask her to pack a bag with enough clothes for Kendra to last a week. All students at her school wore uniforms, which eliminated deciding what to wear every day.
He pressed his mouth to Nydia’s ear. “I’m going to take a few days off next week, and if you can take a break from your work I’d like you to come with me for a few side trips beyond the city.”
Leaning back, Nydia smiled up at him. “I’d like to see Cajun country.”
“That’s not a day trip, which means we’ll have to make arrangements to stay overnight.”
“What’s the matter, mijo? Are you afraid if we share a bed I’ll take advantage of you?”
Lamar winked at her. “Not if I take advantage of you first.”
She returned his wink with one of her own. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”
Pulling her closer, he dropped a kiss on her hair, and then spun her around and around until she admitted he was making her dizzy. What Nydia didn’t know was that he was dizzy and a little crazy since she had come into his life, and he couldn’t wait for the time when they went from friends to lovers.