Chapter Fifteen
“I didn’t dream I could be so popular,” Leticia said to herselfwhen she answered her office phone shortly before noon.
“Hi, Leticia. This is Allison. Congratulations on this great column. It’s all the buzz over here at my paper. None of us thought of getting a personal angle. People have stopped talking about the PM’s politics; after reading your column, they’re all talking about the man. I’m happy for you. This is a banner day. Leonia, Windmills’ treasurer, just called to tell me that Max’s jazz band has raised almost four hundred thousand dollars for us, and they still have two more nights to play. Our fund-raisers have never cleared more than eleven thousand dollars. We’re ecstatic.”
“With Bill Covington joining them almost every weekend,it was a cinch.”
“Nothing’s a cinch in the music business, Leticia. Bill’s a big name, but it was the music—some of the best jazz I’ve heard since the Modern Jazz Quartet. We have a deal with a recording studio that will give us a steady income from a CD. Could we have a drink somewhere this evening betweenwork and going home?”
She almost hesitated. But if she didn’t extend herself, she would never have friends. “Okay. Where?”
“Four-fifteen at Tequila Sunrise. Two blocks south of The Journal.”
“I’ll be there.” She didn’t dare drink that time of day, becauseshe wasn’t used to it, and she didn’t want to seem unsophisticated.Allison would have to understand.
They settled into the cozy lounge, and Allison got the waiter’s attention. “I’m not much on alcoholic drinks, Allison.” She felt like a fool confiding that to a woman like Allison. “I don’t have anything against it. I ... uh ... guess I’m afraid that if I drink, I’ll, uh ... ”
“You’ll embarrass yourself? Let me give you a tip. Eat peanuts, potato chips or bread, cheese or anything that will line the stomach. Gin and tonic on lots of ice is a good drink, because the ice melts and weakens the mixture. Try that after you eat a snack. Wine on an empty stomach can rough you up.”
“Are you and Bill going to the prime minister’s dinner tomorrownight?”
“Try keeping us away. Everybody who’s anybody will be there. I bought a new dress, and when Bill sees the décol-letage,he’s going to faint.” She sipped her scotch mist and released a happy giggle.
“I was going to wear the dress I wore to the Kappa dance, but I guess I’d better not.”
Allison’s frown expressed strong disapproval. “I suppose you’re going with Max. He’ll look like a walking Adonis, so show him a new dress. You have the rest of today and tomorrowto find one.”
“I’m not going with Max.” At the sharp rise of Allison’s eyebrows, she added, “My first cousin is escorting me. I’m going with my own invitation; if Max escorted me, it would seem that I was there as his date.” She took a long sip of her drink, liked it, and sipped some more. “Allison, Max doesn’t even know I’m going. I’m assuming that he hasn’t asked me because it would almost be insulting to assume that I’m not invited.”
Allison put her drink down. “Hey, wait a minute. Don’t you two communicate? Bill and I thought you’d be lovers by now.”
“Well ... we were, but only a couple of times. Then, I loused up.”
“But how was it? I mean ... was it okay?”
“It was wonderful. I love that guy, and—”
“Does he love you?”
“That’s the problem, Allison. He does, and I feel it, but how do you trust it to be real?”
“Hmm. Not good. You start by knowing that you are worth loving. I’ve known Max at least ten years, and I know there isn’t a phony molecule in that man. He’s tough, but I’ve long suspected that in some respects, he’s frail. You let him know that he’s your whole world.”
“He is.”
“I don’t mean tell him. Show him, and he’ll be a sweeter, more passionate lover and a stronger man in every aspect of his life.” She raised her glass. “We’re waiting for an invitationto your wedding.”
Leticia raised her glass, took a long sip and said, “I’ll work on it. Thanks.” After hesitating, she added, “Friend.” Allison didn’t know why Leticia smiled. It was because Leticia was looking at the only person other than Max to whom she had ever confided intimate personal information. It felt good.
On the way home, she saw an avocado-green evening dress in Saks Fifth Avenue’s window, went inside and tried it on. The color and style flattered her, so she bought it and prayed that Mark’s accessories wouldn’t clash with it. However, she needn’t have worried. He phoned her around seven o’clock.
“Hey, cuz. What color’s your dress? I don’t want my accessoriesto clash with it.”
“Avocado green. More green than yellow. Thanks for the thought.”
“I always ask. I think I’ve got it covered with gray and pale-yellow paisley. Be there tomorrow at two, provided the plane comes in on time.”
She left work early, went to the hairdresser and then met Mark in the baggage claim area at the airport. “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. I’m fairly familiar with Washington,”he said, with a hug that belied his words.
“I always meet my guests.”
They didn’t have to wait long for a taxi. “Where’s Woodley Road?” the driver asked after she gave him the address.
“I doubt he could find the market in Lagos, Nigeria,” she said to Mark beneath her breath. “They come ostensibly to go to school and head straight to a taxi company to get a job.” To the driver, she said, “Take the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Fourteenth Street Bridge, cross it, exit left on to Massachusetts Avenue and drive awhile. I’ll tell you when to turn off to get to Woodley.”
Willa opened the door for them, looked at Mark, and gave him her best, hopeful smile. “Mrs. Evans, this is my first cousin and closest relative, Mark DuPree. Mark, Willa is my housekeeper and friend.”
“If you look after Leticia, you’re my friend, too,” he said, but Leticia noted the housekeeper’s disappointment that the man was not a prospective husband. Mark radiated charm, and Willa blushed in appreciation.
“Your lunch is ready. It’s light, ’cause you gon’ have to eat dinner with those bigwigs, and I’ll bet that will be at least seven courses.”
Leticia showed Mark his room. “There’s a pool in the basement if you want to swim. I can’t go in with you, becauseI’ve had my hair done for tonight.”
“And it looks great, too.”
She left Mark to unpack and went downstairs to find Willa. “Is Mr. Baldwin taking you to this fancy dinner tonight?” Willa asked Leticia. She told her that he wasn’t and why. “Hmph. Suppose he gets the wrong idea about you and your cousin. Mr. DuPree is a choice looking man, right up there on Mr. Baldwin’slevel. You sure he’s a cousin?”
“Willa, his mother and my mother were sisters.”
“Be sure Mr. Baldwin knows that, ’cause seeing you with your cousin gon’ make him blow a fuse.”
Willa’s prediction of Max’s attitude was on target. Leticia stood at the dining room door and watched Mark stride down the hall, elegant and supremely confident. “Gee whiz, Mark, you could make millions modeling tuxedos. You look super.”
“Thanks. There’re no flies on you, cuz. You’re a beautiful woman, and you make that dress very special. Max Baldwin, eat your heart out.”
She had selected the dress without the advice or suggestionof Kenyetta or the saleswoman, and because she knew she looked great in it. A sense of pride suffused her. “You’re good for my ego. I’ll call a taxi.”
“That won’t be necessary. I ordered a limousine for the evening.”
Minutes after they entered the embassy and checked Leticia’s wrap, Max arrived. Alone. And almost at once, his gaze landed on Leticia and Mark. First, he frowned as if verifyingwhat his eyes told him he saw. Then, a scowl preceded the blaze of fury that flashed across his face.
Mark took Leticia’s arm and propelled her toward Max. “You’d better greet him before he blows up.”
“Why? He didn’t invite me.”
“You didn’t invite him, either. Soften up, cuz. He came here solo.”
The closer they got to Max, the madder he seemed to get. “How cozy! I didn’t expect to have the pleasure,” he said with a sneer.
Knowing that she should have expected his attitude, she ignored his comment, and put a possessive hand on his arm. “Max Baldwin, this is my first cousin, Mark DuPree. Our mothers were sisters.”
“This is a pleasure, Max. I’ve been anxious to know you. I think we were introduced in passing at The Journal office severalmonths back.”
“Yes, I remember. I’m glad to see you again.” After shakingMark’s hand, Max looked at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had an invitation?”
“Same reason why you didn’t invite me,” she said, miffed and not bothering to hide it.
“Look here, you two. If you’d communicate, you’d avoid friction and hurt feelings and, as much as I love my cousin, I’d be in New Orleans right now. Not that I mind enjoying an experience such as this one. I’ll probably never step inside another foreign embassy.” He looked at his watch. “Cuz, we’d better check in and get to our table. Max, let’s meet right here in this spot after the dinner and the three of us go someplace.”
“Good idea. See you back here later.”
“If you hadn’t taken control of that, I’d probably have baited him and loused up our relationship. Max doesn’t toleratefoolishness.”
“I got that much before we reached him. And you shape up. I told you when I saw him last summer that man thinks a lot of you.”
They made their way through a seven-course meal, as Willa predicted, after which coffee, cognac and liqueurs were offered in the drawing room. As she stood sipping Tia Maria coffee liqueur with Mark and Max, the prime minister joined them and reminded Leticia of his invitation to visit him and his family. She introduced Mark to him and promised to visit him the following summer.
“My secretary will contact you and send you your tickets.”She thanked him, but Max’s expression of disinterest, or was it disapproval, told her that she might have to reconsiderthe offer.
“Very generous,” Max said, “but I don’t suppose you noticedhow he looked at you.”
“Actually, I didn’t. I was too busy looking at you.”
A grin spread over Mark’s face. “I could tell you how to settle this, but I wouldn’t be minding my business.”
“Every woman here, married or single, envies me,” Leticia heard herself say, effectively changing the subject. “I’ve got the cream of the crop right here.” She raised her head and squared her shoulders in a haughty manner. Both men laughed. “This is one heck of a great feeling.”
“Don’t you think the men aren’t envying us?” Max said.
“Yeah, and they’re wondering which one of us you belongwith,” Mark added.
Max glanced at his left wrist. “It’s a quarter of ten. Let’s go to my house. My folks will be asleep, but we won’t disturbthem.”
At his home, they played jazz records, sipped liqueurs, drank more coffee and talked until two-thirty. “I wouldn’t have thought that a university professor would be such enjoyable,down to earth company,” Max said to Mark. “Next time you’re here, we’ll plan something special.”
“My home is always open to you, Max. Jazz is still alive and thriving in New Orleans. When you come, don’t forget your guitar or Dobro, and I’ll hook you up with some boss players. And bring cuz with you. We’ll have a great time.”
“Thanks. I will definitely plan to do that. I’m glad we had a chance to spend some time together, Mark, because it’s clear that you’re the equivalent of a brother to Leticia.”
“I am that. See you soon.” They told Max good night, and as they drove to Leticia’s house, Mark said, “The next time you and I meet, I want to see Max Baldwin’s ring on your finger. You’ll meet many men before you top him.”
She didn’t answer, because it wasn’t entirely up to her. Moreover, she probably had at least one strike against her, and unless she demonstrated to Max that she believed and trusted in his love for her, she could probably forget about him. She would show him if only she knew how. She said as much to Mark.
He unlocked the door of her apartment, walked in with her, removed his jacket, took her hand and led her to the livingroom. “Let’s sit here for a minute. You don’t show him by doing what you did in regard to the dinner at the embassy. You did the opposite.” He held his hands up, palms out. “I know you had a reason, but you should have called him and at least told him your plans. He would have understood. That’s the way you show him that you trust his love for you. Get it?”
“I get it.”
The next morning, Leticia went with Mark to the airport, and when she returned home, Willa told her that she had a call from Kenyetta. “She said it was important.”
“Thanks. I’ll call her, but that girl’s full of drama.” She dialedKenyetta’s number. “Hi, Ken, you called me?”
“Girl, your picture’s all over the paper. What was Mark doing up here, and who was that number twenty with you and Mark? That brother was saying something.”
“Mark was my guest, and you met Max Baldwin at the Kappa dance.”
“You go on, girl. If I’d met that brother, I’d still be salivating.How about introducing me to him?”
“You met him, flirted with him, and he didn’t like you. Period.”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me. It wasn’t the first time. You knew Wilson was my date, but you went after him, and you planned it beforeyou met him. You even had an affair with a married man named Reggie or something. Why don’t you go after a man who is unattached? Why are you always after somebody else’s man?”
“You telling me that the great Max Baldwin is your man? Don’t make me laugh.”
“He’s mine, and you’re welcome to try your luck. It wouldn’t net you a damned thing. When do you want to meet him?”
“Well, ain’t you some shit! You practically threw Wilson at me. And, honey, don’t deal me aces and think I won’t play. As for your stuffed shirt Mr. Baldwin, I don’t need him. Some teachers at school want to start an ice-skating club. You want to join? It’s only forty-five dollars a month.”
“No thanks, Ken. I’ve never had time to learn how to skate, and now I have other things on my plate. Nice talking to you.” She hung up. If Kenyetta ever learned how to apologizefor her nastiness, maybe they could be friends. Leticia started to the bathroom and stopped. She did trust Max’s love for her, otherwise she wouldn’t have given Kenyetta that dare. What a revelation! She dialed Max’s cell phone number.
“You said you wanted us to be together Monday evening. Would you have dinner with me at my place?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I can’t think of anything that would please me more. Give my love to Willa.”
Laughter, springing from the happiness she felt, poured out of her. “She’ll fix a great meal for you even if I don’t give her your message. I can hardly wait for Monday evening.”
“I’m counting the minutes.”
“You find something real pretty and sexy to wear,” Willa said when told of Leticia’s plans, “and I’ll take care of the food.”
After a day in which she reveled in more congratulations from her colleagues and friends, including Allison, Broderick Nettleson and Robert Weddington, journalistic giants, she rushed home to prepare for her evening with Max and what she hoped would be a resolution of their relationship.
Willa had set the table for two with a white linen cloth and napkins, silver-edged white porcelain, white candles and a centerpiece of white rose buds and baby’s breath. A fire crackled in the dining and living rooms.
“You’re not eating with us, Willa?”
Willa walked into the dining room, braced her hip bones with her knuckles and stared at Leticia. “Tell me you didn’t ask me that. You musta learned by now that three’s a crowd. I’m trying to get the man to propose. I don’t flute mushrooms and go to the trouble to make lobster bisque for myself. I thought you invited Mr. Baldwin to dinner because you wanted to make some headway with him. Maybe I should just give you corn fritters and warmed up ham.”
Leticia wrapped her arms around the little woman and hugged her. “You’re precious. Just keep your fingers crossed.”
“I’ll do no such thing. I’ll be in there praying. Now, you take care of business. You hear?”
Leticia greeted Max in a red silk jumpsuit, her gold coin drop earrings, and her hair hanging around her shoulders. He handed her a dozen long-stemmed red roses in a crystal vase. She put the vase on the table near the door and opened her arms to him. May as well start it off right, she figured. He held her close for a minute and then gazed down into her face.
“I’ve looked forward to this for a long time, and I can’t ever remember being this nervous about anything.”
“Don’t be. I’m the one who’s nervous. You’re all I’ve thought about this day. Thanks for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
He picked a yellow one from the bunch. “This one’s for Willa.”
“She’ll freak out. How’s your mom?”
“Walking. She hasn’t gotten up the stairs, but she’s told herself she’ll do it next week, and I expect she will. She and Ella send love to you.”
“Thanks. I’ll call them tomorrow.” She looked at him, resplendentin a gray pin-striped suit, light gray shirt, and maroontie with a paisley handkerchief. What a man!
“Thank you for my flower, Mr. Baldwin,” Willa said when she served the first course of cold sour-cherry soup. “You’re a real gentleman.”
“You’re destroying my physique,” Max said to her when he tasted the dessert, brandy Alexander pie, the seventh and last course.
“It’ll take more than this to mess you up,” Willa said. “I put the coffee in the living room.”
“I’m practically in a stupor.” He stretched his long legs out in front of him, put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the living room sofa. “Nothing like a perfect cup of espresso to top a great meal. Come closer and put your head on my shoulder. I don’t dare risk more with Willa in the kitchen.”
After a second cup of espresso, he asked Leticia, “Do you want any more?” She shook her head, and he took the tray to the kitchen. “I called a taxi for Willa,” he said when he returned.“Be back in a minute.”
“Good night, ma’am,” Willa called.
“Good night, Willa, and thanks so much for a wonderful dinner.” She put Mantovani’s recording of “Charmaine” on the CD player, dimmed the chandelier and said a silent prayer.
When he returned, she went to meet him, and at last she was in his arms. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, his hands caressed her naked back, and she thought she would die of happiness. He sat in one of her big chairs and put her in his lap.
“I’m not willing for things to continue as they’ve been. Have you decided that I love you and that you can depend on my love for you to outweigh everything and anything else?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t doubt it for a second.” He asked why she was so sure, and she told him of her conversation with Kenyetta in which she knew he wouldn’t be tempted by anotherwoman. “You can’t imagine how good it felt to have that assurance not only of my self-confidence, but especially of my faith in what I mean to you.”
“You were right about her. She’s definitely not to my taste. And I’m not interested in others now that I love you.” His arms tightened around her. “Sweetheart, I have a home, but it isn’t a real one. Until my mother and Ella came to live with me, it was too big. Now, it’s too small.”
He moved her from his lap and dropped to his knees. “I’m deeply in love with you. Will you be my wife? I’ll love and care for you and our children for as long as I live.”
She slid down beside him, wrapped her arms around him and said, “It’s what I want more than anything. I’ll be proud to be your wife.”
He put a diamond solitaire on the third finger of her left hand and kissed the tears that streamed down from her eyes. They held each other for a time, and then he got up, helped her to her feet and said, “Now comes the hard part.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to build us a house, and the only place I’ve seen that I like is in Westmoreland Hills, Maryland, about twenty minutes by car from Dupont Circle. Ella wants to retire and live with her children in Louisiana, and Mom’s raring to get back to work.”
“But surely you’re not suggesting that she go back to her house? She’s had a stroke, and she’s vulnerable to another one or even to a heart attack.”
She felt him stiffen. “What are you suggesting?”
“She should live with us. Sell the house you have now. With what you get from it and the nearly three hundred thousand I got from my grandfather’s estate, we can build a nice house without going too heavily into debt.”
He stared at her, but she plowed on. “If your mother wants privacy, the house can have a sitting room off her bedroom,though I don’t recommend that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it will look as if she’s not part of our family.”
When he closed his eyes and faced the ceiling, she wonderedif she’d said the wrong thing. Well, she was not going to take it back. “She’s still young, and you shouldn’t put her off someplace to herself.”
“If I’d been praying, I’d say my prayers had been answered.You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. Your inheritance is yours. I provide food and shelter for my family,and there’s no arguing that. We can add all of our other expenses together and split the payment sixty-five percent for me and thirty-five for you, while you work, that is. Is that okay?” She nodded. He seemed bemused. “I know you will work, but are we going to have some children?”
She looked at the big diamond on her finger, buffed it against the side of her right breast and grinned. “Absolutely. And as far as I’m concerned, we can start on one right now.”
“Hold on, sweetheart. It’ll be six or seven months before we can move into our home.”
“And in the meantime, we can live in your present house.”
“I told you this was the hard part. We can’t live in sin around my mother. When do we get married?”
“A month. March sixteenth. I’d say the fifteenth, but that’s the Ides of March and as Julius Caesar discovered, it’s a real no-no.”
Laughter poured out of him as he picked her up, carried her to her bed and made love to her until they drained themselvesand lay limp in each other’s arms like a pile of discardedclothes.
“I love you,” she said.
He gazed down at her. “You’re my life, my whole world. My Lord! I love you so much.”
Leticia awakened the following morning to what seemed to her an unreal world. She sniffed the scent of the previous night’s lovemaking, bounded upright in the bed and forced herself to look at the third finger of her left hand. Yes. She had a diamond on it, and Max Baldwin had placed it there. She threw up both arms and yelled, “Whoopee.” As quickly as she could, she completed her ablutions, dressed, changed the bedding, and hurried to the kitchen, where she knew Willa waited to know the results of her efforts.
“Well?” Willa asked her. “What happened?” She thrust the ring-bearing hand to within an inch of Willa’s face.
“Glory be! If my name ain’t Willa Evans!” She opened her arms and hugged Leticia. “Thank the Lord. I just love that man. Imagine he brought me a yellow rose. When you gon’ tie the knot?”
“March the sixteenth. You want to come work with us?”
“You know I do if it’s all right with Mr. Baldwin.”
“His housekeeper is retiring, so we’ll definitely need you.”
After breakfast, she went back to her room and telephonedAllison. “This is Leticia. I have something to tell you. Max and I are engaged, and I’m wearing his ring.”
“Leticia, I’m so happy. This is wonderful. We knew it had to happen, because we’re very close to Max, and we’ve watched the changes in him since the night we were all over at Brod Nettleson’s place. Hold it while I tell Bill.”
After a minute, Allison came back to the phone. “Would you believe Max already called Bill and asked him to be his best man, and that husband of mine didn’t tell me? Bill said Max is ecstatically happy.”
“I was planning to ask if you’d be my matron of honor.”
“I’ll be delighted. It will be an honor. I’ll come over this afternoon, and we’ll talk about our dresses and all that. Okay?”
“Super. And we’ll have some sandwiches or something, and tea or wine or gin and tonic. Whatever. Allison, I’m so excited.” After hanging up, she telephoned Mark.
“Mark, guess what? As of last night, I’m wearing Max Baldwin’s diamond ring on the third finger of my left hand.”
“Get outta here! Way to go, cuz. I’ll have to call him and congratulate him. When’s the big day?”
She told him. “And I’d like you to escort me. Will you?”
“I would have been hurt if you hadn’t asked me. It’s my job, and it will be my pleasure.”
“My best friend, Allison Wade Covington, is going to be my maid of honor, and nobody will ever guess how good it makes me feel to say that. I’ll be in touch.”
She’d come a long way. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d made it.