Hot Boyz (20 page)

Mason was understanding. “I’d understand if Cameron did still have bad feelings. I’m sure our home reminds him of her. And the same for Claude.”

Star added her thoughts. “I agree. She was killed on our own front porch and we act like it’s no big deal.”

“It was a big deal. It’ll always be a sad time but we have to move past that. There are memories of Fatima in our home that are good, too,” Mercedes added.

Mason spoke directly to the Reverend. “And we’ve talked about this before. We all had a family meeting and decided that we could handle it, but I see that it still needs to be discussed.”

Rashaad added, “I’m fine, I just worry about Cameron.”

“That’s commendable. And what else? What about you, Star?” asked the Reverend.

“I want the four of us to have a normal life and be together. Sometimes I hate being the daughter of a famous man. That’s all I have to say.” She crossed her arms in her lap.

Mason looked concerned.

The Reverend spoke up. “Okay. That’s something that needs to be looked into further. Is there anything else? Not that that’s not a lot right there.”

Rashaad looked at Star again who simply stared at her own hands. “No, that’s it,” he said.

“Do you think that you worry a lot?” the Reverend asked Rashaad.

“No,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Do you think you are as social as you could be?”

“Yes,” Rashaad answered again.

The Reverend summed it up. “See, I always believe in talking things out. Every concern is valid if one feels that it is. What I think we need to do is pray on it, and then the four of you need to continue talking and verbalizing your feelings. Rashaad’s concern for his cousin shows a great and healthy level of caring. And Star’s obviously very loving. She desires something that she feels she does not have. That needs to be worked on.”

“Rev, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we’ll work this out amongst ourselves. Thanks for getting us together for this discussion. Your time is much appreciated,” Mason said, sounding very formal.

“No problem at all, Mason. Now let’s all hold hands and bow our heads and pray.”

Venus waited for Claude to come home while she checked on Mattie to see how she was adjusting to her new surroundings.

“Mattie, can I get you anything?” Venus asked. “I’m about to hit the sack.”

“No, baby. I’m fine.”

“How’s your room? Is your bed comfortable?” Venus asked.

Mattie sat on her bed stroking the sheet with her flat hand. “You know, these white cotton sheets are just like the ones I used to use when the boys were little. Somehow, white sheets make you sleep better, you know?”

“I agree with you on that.”

Mattie buttoned the last couple of buttons of her pale flowered sleeper and then unbuttoned them again, looking down toward her knees. “And that Mason was always off with his dad, running up behind him, wanting to do and be everything his dad was. I always wished I had a daughter to help me with all that laundry and those dishes and such. But, I know how men are. They are the breadwinners and we do the domestic stuff.”

“Yeah,” Venus said, standing over the bed, smiling.

“One day, I’m going to move back into my house and you can come over and stay with us. When you met Claude he never
brought you over much, but we knew about you,” Mattie said to Venus, settling into her bed.

“I was never around that far back, Mattie.”

“Oh yes, you used to wear that yellow and green sundress when we went to the functions at church back then. I always liked your long hair and beautiful skin. I always told Claude how pretty you were. You’ve always been nice to me.”

“Thanks, Mattie. You’ve always been nice to me too. Well, you sleep tight.” Venus turned on the side lamp and turned off the bright ceiling light.

“And don’t let the bed bugs bite, right?” Mattie asked, looking up at Venus.

“Right. You wouldn’t want that. See you in the morning,” Venus said, starting to close the door.

“See you in the morning, Fatima.”

Venus froze. She looked straight ahead, closing the bedroom door in slow motion. She pulled the door tight to make sure it shut all the way, and then leaned her back against it. Mattie was just mixing things up, she told herself. But the bottom line was, Mattie had fond memories of Fatima and missed her very much. Mattie thought Venus was Fatima all this time. Fatima was part of her mother-in-law’s memories, not her.

During sex with Claude that night, Venus was fairly quiet, once again feeling as though she was being watched while her husband did his business with her for what seemed like forever. His drenching sweat dripped onto her hair and into her eyes. It stung as it hit her eyelids. The room was spinning with each pound of his mid-section against hers. After about forty-five minutes, Claude was finally done and he dismounted only to succumb to the exhaustion of his grinding. He crawled off of her and onto his side of the bed.

She turned on her right side to lay behind him. She looked at Claude’s back while he snored, recalling her mother-in-law’s words. She could not get Fatima out of her head. Finally, she gave in to shutting her heavy eyelids. Yet she tossed and turned every
couple of hours, all night long, waking up hot and sweaty, trying to find a comfortable place and peace of mind.

The next morning Venus awoke to Claude phoning from his car just as she had finally fallen into a deep sleep.

She snatched the phone from its base and he spoke. “Baby, I was showing a house today and met this housekeeper whose sister is a live-in nurse. She’s in between gigs and available if we need her. Why don’t you give her a call and interview her?”

“Okay,” Venus said, her eyes still adjusting to the light of day.

“Her name is Gloria Sanchez. She lives in Inglewood so she’s close. I’ll call back and leave her number on the message center.”

She squinted her eyes, realizing it was nearly ten o’clock. “Is she supposed to be a live-in for us?”

“No, you can handle most of the hours. We just need her around maybe five hours per day.”

“What about at night?”

“Mom sleeps well at night,” Claude said as if he knew.

She sat up. “Claude, sometimes she gets up and wanders around, you know.”

“Yes, but never enough to interrupt anything.”

“She could get into anything, like turn on the stove or even leave.”

“I thought that’s why we left the alarm on.”

“It is.”

“This housekeeper suggested those locks at the top of doors so Mom can’t get them open. You’ve been doing fine with her, right?”

“Yes, I have. But she needs to have her bedding changed, stuff like that. Sometimes she wets herself, and she just needs a lot of attention.”

“That’s what this woman would be for.”

Venus suddenly felt wide awake. “Claude, I want to go to night school over at West Los Angeles and take some notary classes or volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So I think we need her at night, too. Maybe even live-in.”

“It’s up to you, Venus. Just get in touch with her and check her
out before she accepts another assignment. Make it open-ended, and don’t offer her more than ten dollars per hour.”

“That’s only like fifty dollars per day.”

“That’s all housekeepers make,” he said.

“But we don’t need a housekeeper. We need a trained nurse and they get paid more than that, honey. Especially if she lives in.” Venus heard people talking in the background.

“Baby, I have to go. Just get going with it and let me know.”

“I will. I’ll call her today,” Venus assured him.

“Good girl. I’ll see you later tonight at dinner. Gotta go, bye.”

“Love you,” Venus said.

After hiring Gloria, Venus was able to focus on planning dinner herself so she invited everyone to their home for Sunday dinner. Her lavish gourmet kitchen opened up into a huge room, which included the breakfast nook, dining area, kitchen, and den.

“Hey, Venus. Look at you, getting down with a serious meal,” said Torino, walking in the den entrance with Sequoia, hand in hand. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought Sequoia.”

“Sequoia is family anyway. Hey, girl, how are you?” Venus and Sequoia kissed on the cheek.

“I’m doing fine. What can I do to help?” Sequoia asked.

Venus pointed to the counter. “Maybe you can rinse that lettuce and throw together this dinner salad. Just a few tomatoes and shredded carrots.”

“You got it,” she said as Torino went into the den to talk to Claude and Mattie.

“Hey, Mom. Good to see you,” Torino said, taking a seat on the sofa next to his mother.

Mattie told him, “Hello, boy. You walked in here smiling like you got an A on your homework.”

Claude pointed toward Sequoia. “That would make me smile, too.” He gave Torino a high-five.

“I should have known you’d be happy to see me with anyone but Colette.”

Claude chuckled. “Man, you’ve got to admit, she was a case study.”

“If you’d just have let me handle that on my own. I knew it wasn’t gonna last,” Torino said, looking relieved.

“All is well. I see you’re smiling now.” Claude leaned in to whisper, “I thought about that myself one day.”

“You did, huh? With Sequoia?” Torino asked.

“Yeah, back in the day. But Mercedes wouldn’t let me get near her back then.”

“Me, too. But more than that, Sequoia wasn’t game either,” Torino admitted.

Claude told his brother, “I see no one’s blocking right now.”

Torino leaned back and stretched his arms out. “No, man. Not now.”

“You know what I think?” Claude asked as though he had a valuable answer. “I think these ladies start getting older and then start thinking twice about the standards they’ve set for the perfect man. Their list of thirty turns into a list of three. Breathing, working, and hung.”

“And sometimes just breathing,” said Torino.

Mattie chimed in, looking at Claude, “What do you know about getting older?”

“Mom, I was just talking to Torino.”

“Okay now, watch your mouth. I’ll show you old,” Mattie said, raising her cane as she sat.

“Okay, Mom. You’re right,” said Claude, giving Torino the eye.

Torino laughed. “She gives new meaning to the term, raising cane.”

“You too, boy,” she warned Torino.

“Come on in,” said Claude, after hearing a knock at the front door.

“Hey, you all,” said Mercedes, walking in with Mason and the kids. Rashaad headed straight for Cameron’s room, giving a wave as he passed everyone. Mason headed straight for his mother.

“Hey, Mom. I miss you,” he said, giving her a bear hug.

“You, too. Where have you been?” she asked.

“Looking for you,” he joked. “Can I take you to breakfast one day next week?”

“I don’t mind as long as you’re here early because I have a meeting at noon during the week.”

“I will make sure it’s early, Mom,” he said, not letting go of her. Mattie seemed irritated and pushed him away, reaching for her purse alongside the couch. Mason helped out by handing it to her.

“What’s up?” Mason asked Claude.

“Not much. What about you?” Claude stood up and they hugged, too.

“Just loving this getting out for dinner thing. I can get used to this,” said Mason.

“Hey, Star. Come on over here,” said Mattie.

Star beamed. “Hi, Grammy.”

Mercedes said her hellos and then excused herself. “Let me go see if Venus needs any help. Oh, and I see Sequoia too, huh?” Mercedes said, glancing into the kitchen.

Torino smiled.

“Come with me, Star,” Mercedes told her daughter.

“Oh, Mom. Can I watch MTV Road Rules in Cameron’s room with Rashaad.”

“No, leave the boys to themselves. You come in here with the ladies,” Mercedes said noticing Star’s frown. “Come on now.”

“Dang, Mom. The boys always get to hang out and I never do.” Star followed like she was walking the green mile.

Mercedes and Star walked into the kitchen. Mercedes greeted her best friend. “Hey, Sequoia. Torino brought you to dinner, huh? Sounds pretty serious to me.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. We’re just hanging out.”

“Okay, hanging out.” Mercedes offered a kiss on Venus’s cheek as Venus rinsed off a few tomatoes. “Hey, Venus. Girl, you trying to outdo me, or what?”

Venus looked happy. “Just trying to hold up the standard you’ve already set.”

“From what I see and smell, you’re doing it all right. What can we do to help?” Mercedes asked.

“Nothing, we’re done. Let’s just call the guys in here so we can get started.”

Star looked relieved.

“Star, please go get the men, sweetie. Thanks,” said Mercedes, patting Star on her head. Star sauntered off expressionless.

Sequoia commented, “That slender girl is filling out in a couple of places, Mercedes. You’d better keep an eye on her. She looks at least sixteen, not thirteen.”

Venus asked, “And she’s in the ninth grade?

Mercedes said with pride, “Yes, she started school early even though she was born in January. They tested her and went ahead and approved her for admittance way back in first grade. So she’s only thirteen and already a freshman in high school.”

“She got a great education at Parent school, huh?” asked Sequoia.

“Very good,” Mercedes replied. “How’s Cameron doing in school, Venus?”

“He’s doing well in Spanish, I know that much.”

Mercedes laughed while pulling up a chair. “I guess living with a teacher is like home school, huh?”

“You could say that. If we could just break through that wall, I’d be so happy.” Venus shook her head while placing the napkin holder on the table.

Mercedes said, “Keep cooking like this and you’ll break through. You know what they say, the way to any man is directly through his stomach.”

“Let’s hope so,” Venus said, looking hopeful.

Things seemed much more calm and everyone seemed more amenable as they ate and laughed and told jokes. They used to have a routine of mentioning the highlight of their day at dinner. Claude reminded them of that tradition and family members reflected on their individual highlight. Mattie cracked everyone up when she said her highlight was passing a gallstone.