And Then
There Was
Kandi

Kandi pulled the dress over her head and tossed it in a ball to the floor of her closet. She only had time for a quick shower. She wished she’d had time to talk to Lena some more. They had already worked up a good little profit for Ma Bell on the cellular phone. It had been an expensive call, but she had to tell Lena about the rest of her evening. The first thing Lena wanted to know was, “What got into you to make you leave your best sistah friend stranded at H-Town with no way home?”

“Oh, don’t even play that game with me, girlll.” Kandi spoke into the palm-size phone, compliments of Tyson Edwards. “I knew you and Freddy had hooked up way before I headed out the door. When I went to tell you about this tall, dark, and handsome lil chocolate thing I met, you were too busy. I mean really, you and Freddy looked like you were going to grind holes in each other’s legs. And don’t try to deny it, ’cause I was right there next to you getting my own swerve on.” Kandi let out a sinful giggle as she drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding the small black phone pressed to her ear.

“So who is he?” Lena had asked. “Or should I say, who is he trying to perpetrate?”

“Lena, I think I’m in love. I know it’s a cliché in the worst kind of way, but there is no other way to say it, umh, umh, tall, dark, and handsome. And guess what.”

“What? Wait, you’re breaking up. Are you going in a tunnel? Wait. Okay, go on.”

“He’s a doctor.” They both started screaming into each other’s ear at the top of their lungs. Kandi was glad the morning traffic hadn’t started up yet. Someone driving alongside of her would have thought she was crazy for sure.

“A doctor?” Lena asked incredulously. “Are you sure he’s not lying just to get in those panties?”

“I’m more than sure.”

“I should’ve known he was a find. You’ve never just gone off with someone like that. I was about ready to call the police this morning.”

“Oh, puhleeze, girl, you weren’t thinking about me. If you were, you wouldn’t have waited till this morning to send a posse.”

“I’m serious. When you get home, you’ll hear all the messages I left you. I was giving you till eight this morning to check in, then I was calling the pokies.”

Kandi laughed for another few minutes listening to Lena swearing her allegiance on the other end of the phone. “I’m sorry I worried ya, mocha love. I’m very much alive and kicking. Or maybe not, maybe this is all a dream. I’ve finally met a decent man, and it’s all a dream.”

It was Lena’s turn to laugh. “So what’s next? Did you guys make plans or anything?”

“No. Not yet, he’s going to call me.” The silence echoed in Kandi’s ear. “I know how tired that sounds, but he is. I know it. This guy is not the average hop-a-long-cassidy. He’s real. Sincere.”

“Kandi, when are you going to stop believing everything you hear? That’s why Tyson’s had you dangling on a hook for so long.”

“Oh, you mean like how you believed Freddy when he said he couldn’t give you his phone number because he lived with his mean mamma and she didn’t like phone calls to the house? Or maybe you’re referring to something like the one Freddy told you when he could never spend the entire night because of his religion. And after all that, you swear you didn’t know he was married till you saw him playing good Christian at church, sitting with his entire family, wife, babies, and all. And you’re still letting him play house, so don’t start in on me about being a pushover.”

“Kandi, you can be so cold.”

“I learned from the best,” Kandi barked out.

“I’m serious though. Don’t put yourself so far out there. Just be a little cautious. You and me both have made enough mistakes to last a lifetime,” Lena whined on the other end of the phone.

“I’m not thinking about Tyson, or Freddy, or any of those other lying married fools. This one is for real. They’re not all pitiful, Lena.”

“You poor naïve little thing.” Lena spoke softly at first. “Dogs! All of them, they’re dogs! Just remember that.”

“You are certifiable, Lena.” Kandi guided her car into the parking garage and turned off the ignition. “Over and out, Agent Scully. I’m home now. I’ve got thirty minutes to get out of this hoochie dress I wore last night and become Ms.Treboe to about thirty rugrats.”

“Okay. Just remember what I said. Don’t put all your prayers in one basket.”

“I know, I heard you. I’ll talk to you later.” Kandi clicked off the phone and headed up to her apartment.

She dressed and showered with the previous night still heavy on her mind. Before walking out the door, she pressed her fingers on all of her miniature elephant statues, some carved in oak, ivory, a few in brass. She’d always collected them, even as a child. They symbolized luck and good fortune. She thought it was about time for them to start working.

Kandi had a better than usual smile painted on her face when she walked into the Dearborn Elementary School. It had been a while since she had felt elated over meeting someone new. The odds of meeting a man with long-term-status possibilities in a nightclub were like a million to one. But when she’d laid her eyes on the delicious creature sitting across from her last night, she’d known right away there was something special about him. He wasn’t on a quest or mission. His mildness indicated he didn’t really want to be there at all.

Kandi never had a problem attracting men. That wasn’t what she was worried about right now. Her problem was keeping them. And in some instances getting rid of them when they hadn’t proven themselves to be worthy.

“Good morning, Kandi.” Sue Bellington was unlocking her classroom door as Kandi sassed by, bouncier than a Monday required.

“Morning, Sue. Are we still pulling our classes together for the Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters film?”

“Sure. Two o’clock is good for me.”

“Perfect. See you in the library.” Kandi’s coffee-brown eyes were glazed like shiny dark marbles.

“You sure are happy today. What’s got into you?” Sue inquired with a smirk on her face, rubbing her expansive belly. In her eighth month of pregnancy, she was as wide as she was tall.

“I guess it’s just nice to finally see the sun peek through those clouds.” Kandi walked through the Dearborn halls with a pep in her step, not conscious of the loud echo she was making with each click of her heel. She tried to tell herself to calm down. She wanted to be reasonable. She knew better, but Clint was completely on her mind. When he’d told her he was doing his last stretch in medical school, that was the whipped cream and cherry on top of what was already a delightfully tasty sundae.

Kandi knew this was the best time to catch him, before the dollars started rolling in. Once a man started raking in the big bucks, he thought he could have any woman he wanted. And Lord only knew how difficult it was to tame a man with too many choices. Look at Tyson Edwards. He was married and still had too many women, one of them being Kandi. He’d been fairytaling her along for well over a year, telling her as soon as he acquired enough backing he was going to walk out of St. John’s and start his own cosmetics company. For a while she believed Tyson. He talked a good strategy, especially the part about being able to marry her once he didn’t have to depend on his wife’s daddy. She’d been going through the motions with Tyson mostly because there really hadn’t been a better offer. He came through, always in the nick of time. By week’s end, when she was ready for a nice quiet dinner with all the amenities, there he was. He’d been her good-time sponsor and kept her mind off the fact that she was approaching thirty and still had no prospects for a future. That was, until she’d met Clint. Unlike the other men she’d dated in the past, he was a full package: good looks, a serious profession, and a sweetness about him that made her anxious to be held in his arms again. Right now all she could think about was how to make that happen. The recess bell snapped her out of her daydream. She looked down and had scribbled Dr. and Mrs. Clint at the top of her notepad unconsciously. Mrs. Clint what? She didn’t even know what her new last name was going to be.

“Miss Treboe, may I have a bathroom pass?” The little redheaded gnome with pale freckled skin was standing in front of her desk.

“Sure Gary.” She reached in her desk and handed him the small pink-and-blue rock she’d painted last year.

“Miss Treboe.”

Kandi didn’t bother to look up past the red mass of hair that was still blocking her view. She knew the face that belonged to the nasal-toned whiny voice. “Yes, Missy?”

“Can I go to the bathroom, too?”

“Missy, when Gary gets back you’ll be next.”

Another hand went up. “Yes, Leticia?”

“Miss Treboe, Josh said he likes you.”

“Well, I like Josh, too.” The rest of the class started giggling. The silent reading had been interrupted like a systematic tripping of the dominoes. Now the whole class was rustling in their seats and getting squirmish. Pretty soon everyone would have something to say whether it held any value or not.

“Okay, guys, it looks like everyone has had enough of reading. Let’s line up and get some fresh air.”

Kandi led the class outside to the playground area. The dampness from the previous night was still sitting on top of the grass like a white sheet. She looked up every now and then from the bench she was sitting on to yell a few words of safety. She didn’t have the energy to be super teacher today. She had been on her toes trying to give this new man everything she had last night. Kandi didn’t want him to forget where it came from.