After All (12 page)

“
There. Now we let those
dry,” Anthony said. The prints hung on a wire stung across one
corner of the room.

Anthony flipped the light switch and
led the way back to the living room. Pouring Michelle another glass
of Chardonnay, he kept of a steady stream of conversation from the
kitchen as he cooked. Michelle drifted from the kitchen to living
room and back again. They talked about everything from politics to
religion, agreeing on some subjects and sparring on others.
Michelle did not know if it was the wine, the music, or the cozy
feel of their companionship, but suddenly she became acutely aware
that the warm flush she felt was definitely not the wine. After
dinner, Michelle washed the dishes while Anthony dried. He shooed
her out and put them away alone. Michelle, after pausing to
consider, sat in the large chair. She pretended not to notice the
amused half smile Anthony wore briefly when he came out of the
kitchen.

“
You're pretty handy with a
dishcloth.”Anthony sat on the end of the sofa near her.

“
So are you. And unless you
have a maid service to clean up, you're not a bad housekeeper
either.” Michelle glanced around the tidy room.

“
No indeed. Mama taught me
everything I know. She always made it clear that keeping a house
clean should be shared by everybody that helped get it
dirty.”

“
Smart lady your mama.
You'll make some woman a fine husband.”

“
You think so?”Anthony gazed
at her, a twinkle in his eye.

Michelle hopped up from the sofa. To
hide her discomfort, she sorted through the stack of compact discs.
“Very nice collection.”

“
Thanks, I've been scouring
record stores to get Louie Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Alberta
Hunter recordings. Listen to this.” Joining her, Anthony switched
off the music to place another disc in the player.

Sarah Vaughn's voice, sweet and strong,
filled the room singing a ballad. Without warning, Anthony pulled
her away from the bookcase and led her in a slow dance. For a time,
a very short time, Michelle strained to keep him at arm’s length.
Though she couldn’t remember how or when, the song ended to find
her body pressed against his and her head resting on his shoulder.
As she lifted her head to step back, his mouth caught hers. Another
song began as they clung to each other kissing deeply,
eagerly.

“
Anthony, this isn't a good
idea.” Michelle's protest, murmured between tender caresses from
his lips, sounded weak even to her own ears.

“
Feels like a very good
idea.”Anthony flattened his body to hers, his hands gripping her
hips. “Chelle, I want you. I can't settle for being just a
friend.”

Michelle uttered a muffled moan as his
tongue found hers. Yet somehow through the velvet haze of hunger
that surged through her from head to toe, a tiny voice of caution
sounded.

“
No wait.”Breathless,
Michelle pulled back from him. The room seemed to dip and
sway.”This is too much, too soon.”She waved him away with great
effort as he tried to embrace her again.

With a tremulous breath, Anthony let
his arms fall to his sides.”We've been lying to each other for
weeks, Chelle. You don't believe we can just be buddies any more
than I do.”

“
But we started growing up
after high school, remember?”Michelle felt her equilibrium
returning gradually as the days leading up to their final
confrontation came back to her sharply. Those memories were like a
dash of cold water in her face. She inched away from
him.

“
But not enough. We were
still kids even then. Looking back on it now, I see myself not
being able to talk about my feelings and you so angry you couldn't
listen.”

Michelle closed her eyes.”Things
haven't changed, I'm afraid.”

“
I have.”Anthony took her
hand and led her to the sofa.”I'm willing to talk. And I think
you're willing to listen.”

“
You mean we should talk
about us and what happened without anger or accusations?” Michelle
said in a small voice.

“
It's what I've wanted for a
long time, Chelle.”He brushed a stray tendril of hair from her
eyes.”Can we try?”

Michelle's heart raced as she looked at
the soft, imploring expression he wore. Could she be making another
mistake? Having him look at her this way made the conviction to
keep him at a distance begin to crumble. A tiny voice whispered not
to give in. But his touch awakened a long dormant yearning. “Yes,”
she murmured.

Chapter 5

“
Hello, Marcus.”Anthony
stood in his uncle's large family room. He eyed his cousin
warily.

“
What's up?” Marcus took a
long pull from the beer bottle he held. Looking Anthony up and
down, he gave a short grunt. “Nice clothes. Nice car, too. Living
well, huh?”

“
I'm doing okay. How've you
been?”Anthony settled on the huge black leather sofa.

“
Fine since I got out. The
first few nights I had trouble sleeping though. Funny how even
after just eighteen months in prison you can get so programmed to
follow orders.” Marcus tipped the bottle and finding it empty, went
to the small refrigerator behind the bar to get another.

“
It's going to take some
time, but you'll be all right.”

“
I'll do better than all
right.” Marcus looked up at him frowning. “I've got
plans.”

“
Yeah?”Anthony kept his
voice and expression as neutral as possible. Marcus had always had
plans, plans that generally led to big trouble.

“
Yeah. I'm going to start my
own business.”

“
Really? That sounds
good.”Anthony gave him a slight smile.

“
You don't think I can do
it, right?”

“
If you work hard at
something and stick to it, you can do anything.”Anthony chose his
words carefully.

“
Maybe I'm not the big shot
you are now, but wait and see. I intend to make it big.”

“
You always do,” Anthony
muttered.

“
Say what?”Marcus glared at
him.

Ike strode into the room holding a
small cell phone. “It's always something. I tell you, Anthony, you
were right not to get into rental property. It’s one damn thing
after another with tenants. Now, what are you boys drinking? Say,
Anthony, Marcus looks pretty good, huh?” He was moving, talking,
and fixing himself a drink, still energized from a long
day.

“
Yeah, sure.” Anthony tried
to put a lift into his voice that he did not feel.

“
Yeah.” Ike took a sip of
his screwdriver and gave his son an appraising look. “Pretty good
for a jail bird.”

“
If I was white I wouldn't
have gotten time for a little marijuana.” Marcus frowned, his face
showed bitterness.

“
Lucky for you they only
found traces of cocaine. Else your butt would've been sent up for
twenty years. Not to mention you had violated probation four or
five times. I couldn't talk or buy you outta that fix. Your color
ain't had nothing to do with it.” Ike spoke
disdainfully.

“
I'm through with drugs. I
got too much going for me for that. It's not worth it.”

“
Yeah. How many times have I
heard that before?” Ike waved a hand at him.

“
I'm serious. I don't need
it anymore.”

“
Uh-huh, we'll see. Say,
boy, tell Anthony about your latest get rich scheme.”

Anthony grew uneasy with the direction
the discussion was taking. “Hey, let's not talk about business now.
What do you say we go out to Phil's for steak.”

“
No, no. You gotta hear this
one first. Go on, Marcus. Tell him.” Ike perched on one of the
leather bar stools.

“
Insurance. I want to open
my own insurance company. It's a good idea, too,” Marcus added
defensively.

Ike ignored him. “Anthony, will you
tell him how this state is cracking down on insurance companies.
They've got strict new regs.”

“
Maybe he should try it out.
Besides, Marcus does well with selling,” Anthony said, trying to
support his cousin in the face of Ike's skepticism.

“
The boy don't know a damn
thing about the insurance business.”

Marcus stared at Ike, his dark eyes
flashing defiance. He spoke in a tight, controlled voice. “I worked
for Mr. Trahan selling policies and helping his customers collect
claims. I do know about insurance.”

Ike gave a raspy grunt in derision.
“When you showed up for work. Trahan did me a favor hiring you,
boy.” Turning, he spoke to Anthony. “He tolerated his foolishness
because I got Trahan a lot of business.”

“
He was good though. Mr.
Trahan said so.”Anthony hated having to defend Marcus.

“
Like I said, when he showed
up for work. And where does he think he's going to get money to
start his own business?”

“
It wouldn't cost that much.
Just a few thousand dollars. I could have a couple of offices in
your building. I'll need to hire a secretary--”

“
Forget it,” Ike
snapped.

“
At least listen to what I'm
trying to tell you.” Marcus came from behind the bar to stand next
to his father.

“
Don't matter. I ain't
spendin' none of my money on you openin' up no business. You can't
stand getting up in the morning to work for somebody else. You got
no discipline. To have your own business means you work ten times
harder 'cause you gotta do it all yourself. What happened when I
let you manage some of my properties? Huh, boy? Let's talk about
that.” Ike set his empty glass down with a bang.

“
Uncle Ike, I think Marcus
could maybe start by working for Mr. Trahan again. Then if he
sticks to it, you might consider setting him up.”Anthony searched
for away to head off a clash, to offer some middle ground that both
could accept.

“
I don't need you to speak
for me! You stay out of this,” Marcus growled at Anthony. He turned
to Ike. “Ever since we were kids, you been putting him before me.
Where did he get the money for his business? From you, that's who.
But when I ask you for a few dollars, you start throwing up stuff
in my face from way back. How come? Why can't you show me some
respect?”Marcus shouted.

“
First thing you gonna do is
lower your voice to me, boy.” Ike rose slowly to face his son. He
stared at Marcus through eyes narrowed to slits, his rapid
breathing audible in the deadly silence that followed his
words.

“
Daddy, I...” Marcus
stammered, then stopped. Unable to take his eyes away from his
father's, he backed away until he stood against the wall next to
the fireplace.

“
Come on, now. Everybody
calm down.”Anthony stood between them. He knew from Ike's
expression that he could easily strike Marcus if further
provoked.

“
Sit down, Anthony. It's
okay.” Ike unclenched his fists. He turned around to fix himself
another drink. “This is what you're gonna do, Marcus. I got you a
job and you're gonna keep it. You better show up every day, and be
on time. Got it?” Not hearing a response, Ike looked at him over
his shoulder. “I asked you a question, son.”

Marcus nodded, his jaw muscles worked
convulsively with the effort to keep silent. When he bolted from
the room, Anthony went after him. Marcus sat in the kitchen at the
breakfast table. He faced the bay window staring through the pale
yellow curtains into the dark.

“
Say, man. You know how
Uncle Ike is. He's doing what he thinks is best for you--”Anthony
could see Marcus wiping his face.

“
Leave me alone, man. Just
get the hell outta my face.” Marcus pushed the chair back so hard
it fell over. He stomped out of the kitchen. Seconds later the
front door slammed. The engine of his 280Z roared to life. With a
sharp squeal of tires on pavement, the car shot off into the
night.

“
You were too hard on him,
Uncle Ike,” Anthony said to Ike when he walked into the
kitchen.

“
That boy had all the
advantages. He wants the easy way out of everything. Always some
excuse, always somebody else's fault for his screw ups. He'll be
all right and do what I tell him. Come on, let's go get that
steak.” Uncle Ike slapped him on the back. He pulled the keys to
his car out.

“
I'll drive.”Anthony took
the keys from his hand.

All through dinner Anthony could not
help but think about his cousin. From the moment Uncle Ike had
taken Anthony under his wing, Marcus had seen him as a rival for
Ike's attention and affection. Anthony, one year younger than
Marcus, had thought they could be like brothers. But Marcus made it
clear from the beginning that he did not see Anthony as anything
but an opponent. Nothing Anthony tried to do over the years could
change this. And Uncle Ike did nothing to help. Instead of
reassuring his son, he encouraged the competition by comparing the
boys. Anthony loved his uncle, but he had to agree he could be iron
fisted when dealing with others. Even his own family.

“
Uncle Ike, try to talk to
Marcus and smooth things out.”Anthony got out of his uncle's car in
the driveway and handed him the keys.