Lamesha gave her mother a hug as soon as she stepped foot into her house. Then she pulled back with a look of deep concern written all over her pretty face. “You’re not sick or nothing are you, mama? That’s not why you called me over here to talk about something really important is it?”
Diana frowned. “No...I ain’t sick, baby. God’s been keeping me and giving me good health. But there is something important that I need to talk to you about. Come on and let’s sit down.”
They sat side-by-side on Diana’s sofa. Diana looked her daughter in the eye and said, “You know I had to learn the hard way — a few years ago — to not be so judgemental of the company you keep and to stay out of your business. Well, I ain’t trying to start no mess like that back up again, but there’s something I have to tell you.”
Lamesha frowned and thought to herself, Oh no, I'm kinda scared to hear what this is going to be about.
Diana kept on speaking. "I don't trust Sharita. I know you been hanging tough with that girl all these years, but the Lord done showed me that she don't mean you no good. I had a dream last night, and that girl killed you in my dream, Lamesha. Sharita smiled right in your face and pushed you off a cliff. God put it on my heart that he himself gave me that dream...that it was a vision."
Then Diana reached out and took her daughter's hand in her own. She gave it a squeeze. "I want you to be real careful around that girl, baby."
Lamesha felt like her and her mama really had moved past her practically kicking Lamesha out of her house over Calvin five years earlier. But somewhere deep inside of Lamesha, she still was harboring a sore spot over the whole ordeal. She didn't like hearing her mother say anything bad about the girl that she considered to be one of her best friends. But she decided to keep her true feelings about all of that inside of her. At least for right now.
Lamesha gave her mama a tiny smile. "Mama, Sharita's been my girl for almost ten years now. She’s never said or done anything to hurt or harm me during that time. It's kinda hard for me to believe that she would start now." She shook her head. "I think you were just having a bad dream. Not a vision from God."
Diana sighed. She’d known there had been a chance that that was gonna be how Lamesha saw it. She gave her daughter a tiny smile. “Just be careful of her...okay?”
Just for the sake of not starting up an argument, Lamesha nodded her head and said, “Okay.”
Five minutes later, right after her daughter had walked out her front door, Diana put a frown on her face. “I guess I’m gonna have to see what I can do to keep an eye on that Sharita myself on the downlow tip. I might be saved now, but that li’l girl don’t know who’s daughter she ‘bout to mess with. Ain’t no snake in the grass hurting me and mines.”
<<<<<>>>>>
It took Lamesha all of twenty minutes to make it across town to Donovan's place. He lived out in the burbs in a really nice community right on the edge of the city. Lamesha smiled as she pulled her Toyota Camry into his driveway, right next to his Mercedes-Benz. Good, he's home.
Donovan greeted his baby at his front door with a very sensual kiss.
With her man’s arms wrapped around her back, Lamesha tilted her head to the side and said, "I could really get used to coming home to a welcome like that."
Donovan had some better ways that he wanted to welcome Lamesha home on his mind. But since they weren’t PG — and involved him putting his hands and lips places that they shouldn't be since they weren’t married. — he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. But he did lean into her ear and say, "if you run off and marry me right now, I'll have some even better ‘welcome home’ skills to show you."
Seeing that she was saved, but not a saint, Lamesha felt the twinges of desire starting in her nether regions...all from sexy words that the man she loved had just spoken to her. Lord, give me strength. I don’t want to do anything that I shouldn’t be doing up in here.
Then Donovan surprised her by suddenly chuckling. “You haven’t told me anything outside of the colors you like, but I bet you already started planning our wedding. I bet there ain’t no way in nowhere that I’m gonna get you to run off with me and not walk down the aisle.”
Lamesha smiled in response to that. “Nope. Ain’t gonna happen.” She walked over to his oversized sofa and sat down. He followed her. Then she looked up into his eyes and said, “I don’t want a big wedding, but I want a beautiful one.” She laughed and patted the sofa beside her. “Since you brought it up, let’s talk about it.”
Donovan smiled and sat down like his baby had asked him to do. Truth be told, he wasn’t really into planning weddings and all. But since it was important to his woman, it was important to him, too. I’m always gonna put her needs and happiness first. She’s my heart...how could I not?
Fifteen minutes later, they had moved on from discussing their wedding to talking about the conversation that Lamesha had just had with her mother earlier that evening.
A frown made it’s way onto Lamesha’s face and she leaned her back even closer against Donovan’s muscular midsection — she was sitting on his sofa in his arms. “You don’t believe there’s anything to what my mama said do you, babe?”
Donovan frowned, too. Then he let out a breath on a deep sigh. “I gotta keep it real with you, bae...I do believe in divine prophesy and whatnot. And I do believe that God gives his faithful followers warning signs about things that are gonna happen or things that might happen. A person only has to read the Bible to see that.” Deep in thought, he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb around in a tiny circle on her waist. Then he said, “You been knowing Sharita for ten years...have you ever had any type of problem with her in the past? Any beef or drama?”
Lamesha shook her head. “No, not really. Me and Sharita been real cool.”
“Yeah. I thought that was what you were gonna say.” He was quiet for a few seconds then added, “I have a piece of advice. This is how I’d approach the situation if I were in your shoes: Don’t give up your friendship with Sharita just yet — you really don’t have a reason to — but keep your eye on her.”
Lamesha sighed, then stifled a yawn. “Okay, babe. That sounds reasonable.”
Donovan smiled. “You look tired, babe. Wanna close your eyes for a few and take a cat nap?”
Lamesha loved just sitting there with her man doing absolutely nothing at all but talking. She nodded her head. “I’ll rest my eyes for a few minutes, but I doubt if I’m gonna be napping.” She turned her lips up in a tired smile. “Not unless you’re gonna be doping me up on some of those meds like you did that day I had my root canal. But I’m pretty much sure that’s illegal.”
He smiled and rested his chin on the top of her head. He thought back over the events of that day close to two months ago. “I knew the moment I woke up with you in my arms that night that you were special.”
“You did?” she asked sleepily.
He dropped a soft kiss where his chin had just been resting. “Yep. Sure did.”
Lamesha had had a really long day and she was tired. With her eyes closed, she simply murmured, “That’s nice, baby.”
Five minutes later, Donovan carefully removed his arms from about Lamesha’s sleeping form. Not wanting to awaken her, he stood up from the sofa. He looked down at her again. Even with her hair now a little messy from the way she’d been laying on his chest, and with not a streak of makeup on her face, she was gorgeous.
He smiled. Lord, I’d marry her fine butt tonight if she’d let me. She’s so beautiful and I’m so in love with her.Thank you for sending my soulmate into my life.
<<<<<>>>>>
Two Days Later:
Lamesha had taken everything that her fianceé had told her to heart. She'd been keeping a close eye on Sharita and nothing at all had seemed different or bad about her girl's interactions with her.
"Since we're getting off early today, do you wanna go do a late lunch at the mall? I've been having a taste for a plate from that new little Thai joint that they have in the food court."
That actually sounded like a really good idea to Lamesha. She nodded her head and said, "Sure, Sharita. Count me in. And since I got that little raise from the boss, I'm even paying."
Just rub it in my face, Lamesha. Your ass got a raise. Whoop dee damn do. Out loud she said, "Thanks, boo. That's so sweet of you." Then she smiled.
They had only been sitting in the food court for about ten minutes when Lamesha’s cousin, Shawanda, walked up to their table.
Shawanda smiled at both Lamesha and Sharita. “Hey, you two...I thought it was y’all that I saw over here.” She pointed at both of their hands. “It’s been a couple of weeks since I seen either one of you at the salon. Y’all better come on over and let me give your nails the hookup.”
“I’ll be in this weekend, cuz,” Lamesha said.
Sharita giggled. “You need to get yourself on over there today, Lamesha. Your nails starting to look raggedy. I’m surprised that doctor of yours ain’t took his engagement ring back.”
Lamesha shook her head, but she smiled. “You need to quit playing, Sharita. My nails don’t look that bad. Plus, Donovan loves me. He wouldn’t let a little thing like me needing a fill-in stop him from wanting to marry me. Girlllll...I didn’t tell you what he told me the other night.”
Grinning, Shawanda sat down in one of the empty chairs. “What did he tell you, boo?”
“He said that I’m gorgeous...that I’m a beautiful ebony goddess, but he loves me even more for my mind and my beautiful spirit.” Then she reached underneath her shirt and made visible a thin gold chain with a heart dangling from it. It had a sparkly diamond in the center of the heart. “Then he gave me this. I kept it under my shirt today, close to my heart, since it didn’t match the silver jewelry that I have on today.”
“Ohhhh, pretty,” Shawanda said as she reached out and touched the piece of jewelry. “It’s a real diamond, too. I wanted this very same necklace. In fact, I hinted to that husband of mine that I want it for my birthday next month. It’s part of the Heart’s Delight collection at Frosten’s Jewelers.”
Then Shawanda stood up. “I was just stopping to holler since I’d seen you two from ‘cross the way. I gotta get myself over to the babysitter and pick up my boys. Ms. Henrietta don’t be playing with people picking up their kids late.”
A minute or so after Shawanda had left, Sharita got up, as well. “Yeah. I got to be going, too, Lamesha. See you tomorrow morning, boo. You okay with staying here and finishing your food by yourself aren’t you?”
Lamesha nodded her head. “Girl, you know I told you plenty of times that I like coming up here to this food court and eating by myself. I don’t know what it is about being here, I just kinda like it. I know I’m gonna have my butt in this chair for at least another hour. I’m gonna break out my i-Pad and use their free wifi. I’m weird...huh?”
Sharita laughed. “We all a little weird sometimes. See you, Mesha.”
As soon as Sharita made it downstairs, she pulled out her cellphone and speed dialed one of her favorite numbers. “You out in the parking lot like I told you to be, Calvin?”
Calvin nodded his head. Then he said into his phone, “Yeah, girl.”
Sharita smiled. “Well, she up there sitting by that Thai place by herself. She said she gonna be there another hour. It’s on.” Then she frowned. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what’s up for stakes if you don’t succeed in doing this.”
Calvin shook his head. He understood the score. “I got this, Sharita. I’m gonna have Lamesha eating out of my hand just like old times.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
“Can you come to my car and give me a little quickie or something as encouragement? I parked my car right beside you in lot C.”
Sharita didn’t feel like doing any such thing. But if it was gonna help her reach her goal, she was all for it. “Okay, boy. I’ll be there in a few.”
Calvin rubbed his hands together. “A’ight, shawty. That’s what I’m talking about.”
<<<<<>>>>>
Ten Minutes Later:
Diana pulled her car into lot C of the mall, right outside of Macy’s. She hated coming to the mall nowadays because of all the crowding. But since she was trying to catch a pair of shoes she’d had her eye on for a while on sale, there she was.
When she saw Sharita walking towards her car, she frowned. When Sharita got into the backseat of somebody else’s car and not her own little Toyota, a look of curiosity came on Diana’s face. When Sharita began kissing and fondling the man who’d been sitting alone in the backseat, Diana shook her head in disbelief. That skank is out here fooling around in a public parking lot. How much more of a ho can she be?
When Sharita dipped her head so that it was in the man’s lap, Diana got a real good glimpse of the man’s face. “Lord, Jesus,” she whispered under her breath. “She out here whoring around with Mesha’s ex, Calvin.”
Instead of getting out of her car, Diana took off at that point. She didn’t know exactly how to process everything that she’d just seen. She had to go home and think about it. But one thing she did know for sure: If that girl was really my daughter’s friend she wouldn’t be sleeping around with her ex...and especially not one who had abused my baby. God is just showing me all the signs.
Diana shook her head again. “Sharita trifling behind is straight from the devil and she don’t mean my Mesha no good.”
<<<<<>>>>>
Twenty Minutes Later:
Lamesha turned her iPad off and slipped it into her oversized shoulder bag. Since she had a load of laundry waiting for her at home, she decided to leave the mall earlier than she usually would’ve done. She’d just stepped off of the escalator when she heard a familiar male voice behind her calling her name.
“Lamesha?”
Just keep walking girl, act like you didn't hear anything, she thought to herself with a quickness.
As she immediately picked up her pace, she heard the footsteps behind her quickening, too. Then she felt a large, familiar hand on her forearm.
“Lamesha, I knew that was you, Girl!” the voice said excitedly.
She frowned. She knew who it was, even before she turned around — Calvin, her ex.
“Hey,” he flashed her a thousand mega-watt grin. “It's good to see you.”
I guess he doesn't remember the circumstances under which he threw my black butt out of his apartment five years ago, she sarcastically thought to herself. But I sure do.
She frowned at him in disbelief. “It’s good to see me, Calvin? Is it really? Is it really?” She pulled her arm out of his hand. “Look, you don’t know me like that no more and I gotta go.”
He frowned. Then a solemn expression washed over his face.
She shook her head. Yeah, now you're starting to remember...aren’t you, butthole? You remembering how you tried to get me to participate in an orgy, then slapped the living daylights out of me because I refused. Then you dumped my black behind.
His eyes met hers. “Look, Lamesha...I remember how things ended between us. I was wrong. So wrong, on so many different levels.”
She didn't change the angry expression on her face. “Tell me something I don't know, Calvin.” She pulled her arm out of his embrace again. She pressed her lips together and hissed at him softly, not wanting to make a scene.“Like I said, I gotta go.”
“I've changed,” he said, willing her to stay and talk to him. “I’ve accepted Christ into my heart and he’s made a big difference in my life. I'm sorry for what I did to you and how I hurt you.” He lowered his head to his chest and shook his head slowly. “I lost the best thing in my life when I kicked you out. It didn't take me long to start missing you, but I was too proud to go to you back then and beg your forgiveness.”
He grasped her hand and looked down pleadingly into her eyes. “Look, look,” he begged. “Just sit down with me for a latte or something. It won't take long. Let me apologize to you the right way for everything I did.” He paused and bore his eyes pleadingly into hers. “Please...”
Lamesha took a deep breath. She knew that she was acting against her better judgement, but she'd at least let the fool explain. “Fine, Calvin. Five minutes. You can explain.”
He followed her back up the escalator and to a little bistro table in a secluded corner of the food court. “Thank you, Lamesha.”
He pulled her seat out for her and pushed her up to the table.
Lamesha frowned. He'd never done anything like that while they'd been together.
He came around the table and seated himself. He reached across and took her hand in both of his; but she quickly snatched her hand away and folded her arms over her chest. She met his eyes. “You're here to explain, Calvin, not touch me.”
He nodded. “Fair, enough, Lamesha. Fair enough.”
He swallowed and took a deep breath. “Okay, like I said, I'm sorry and I was wrong. I never should have coerced you into the orgy thing in the first place, that should have been your decision...I was just thinking about myself and my needs — being selfish, you know.”
He met her eyes. “I couldn't accept the fact that it might have been something wrong with my plumbing, so deep inside I blamed you. In my messed up state of mind, the reason why I couldn't nut was because you couldn't get me off.”
Lamesha shook her head in disbelief, while he shook his head sadly. “I started therapy a few months ago.” He smiled. “The doctors believe that if I keep coming to them, they’ll be able to get to the bottom of my problem. They think it’s something psychological. But the best thing is, I’ve been praying to God about it and he gave me a message in my spirit that he’s gonna heal me.”
Lamesha shook her head. She appreciated the apology, but him letting her know about the problems he was still having with his plumbing was unnecessary. She picked up her purse from the table and stood, preparing herself to leave. She gave him a little smile. It had sounded like his apology really had been sincere. “Thanks for the apology, Calvin — that was a kind thing for you to do. I appreciate it. And I’m also glad that you’ve found Christ. God bless you...okay?”
He grabbed her hand again and flashed her with his special grin, the one that he knew always made her heart skip a beat. He looked her in the eyes as he massaged her wrist with his thumb.
Calvin was her first love and she’d loved him for over five years. She knew she should’ve snatched her hand away, but for some reason, she didn't.
“I was hoping that maybe we could go out sometimes. I know we can't just pick up where we left off, but I've really missed you, Lamesha. Things haven't been the same for me since you left. You were the best thing that ever happened to me...ever. I’ve been praying for you and about you. God told me in a dream the other night that he was going to send you back into my life. And look...here you are.”
She frowned at him. “We can’t go back in time, Calvin. There’ll never be an us...a you and me. I’m engaged now and I’m in love with my fiancee.”
He frowned. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. It read: Calvin Smith, Evangelist. And it had a large crucifix on the front, right above his phone number. “Give me a call, Lamesha, if you change your mind. We had something special. We were together for five long years. In my heart of hearts, you’re still my woman. I still love you, girl.”
Then he held out his hands to her. “Can I pray for you real quick?”
Lamesha wasn’t one to turn down prayer, so she let Calvin pray for her. As soon as he’d said, “Amen”, he gave her a smile. “God’s put it on my spirit that he’s gonna work things out in both of our favor. God bless you, Lamesha and I really do pray that you’ll forgive me. I stay up in my Bible and in Ephesians 4 and 32 it says: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Then he grinned again.
Lamesha felt her heart began to soften towards the man. He really did sound repentant and it really did seem as if he’d been letting the light of Christ shine in his life. She gave him a tiny smile. “I’ve already forgiven you, Calvin. I forgave you a long time ago. I wouldn’t have been able to walk with Christ otherwise. Goodbye and God bless.”
As he watched Lamesha disappear in the crowd of shoppers, he felt something inside of him. He hadn’t been expecting to feel good about seeing Lamesha like he just had. For a second there, his little act had seemed real to him. And he wasn’t exactly sure of what to think of all of that.
<<<<<>>>>>
Ten Minutes Later:
“Well, did you hook up with her or not?”
Calvin nodded his head. Then into his cellphone he said, “I hooked up with her alright.”
The grin that materialized on Sharita’s face was as bright as the sun. “Good. Now on to the second part of what you have to do. They’re having Bible study on Friday evening at that church she be up in all the time. I need you to be there right beside her ass...front and center. You got that, Calvin?”
“Yeah. I got it alright, Sharita.”
He was going to the church because of Sharita, but part of Calvin wanted to go there for himself. Part of him wanted to see the girl he’d loved back in the day.