Niki's Challenge (9 page)

“
You look good, Rissa.
Everything’s okay with you?” Nana Bea asked as she looked her
oldest granddaughter over with approval. Just then, Gale walked
over and embraced Niki while looking oddly at David. Gale was tall,
athletic build, blue-greenish eyes, a cute smile and blondish brown
wavy hair that fell to her shoulder. She wore a pair of black
Dockers and button down shirt with a colored tee peeking through
the top.

“
Yes’m, I’m doing just
fine,” Rissa answered, absently staring at Gale. Niki had always
thought her cousin was pretty. Tonight, Rissa shined. Her short
purple dress looked amazing on her. It flowed and hugged her
curves. She wore her hair swept up. The slightly glazed look in her
eyes signaled she’d been drinking. Oh well, it was her
birthday.

“
Rissa, Gale, this is a
friend of mine, David Riccio.” Niki made the introductions without
looking Rissa in the eye, knowing there would be many questions
later. “David, this goofball is my cousin, Rissa and her partner,
Gale.” Niki smiled at the face Rissa gave her as she stuck out her
tongue.

“
Hey, I’m the birthday
girl, remember?” she pouted, before turning to David. “Thanks for
having pity on my lonely, gruesome cousin and walking in the door
with her. You can go and get your real date now. We don’t mind…”
she told him straight faced before Niki pushed her shoulder,
laughing.

“
You’re crazy. Gale may
have to put up with you. Thank God I don’t.” Turning to David,
who’d chuckled in response to Rissa’s comment and moved closer to
her. “Don’t mind her; she hasn’t had her pills yet. Gale, you need
to take better care of this nut.” David put his arm around her
waist, supporting her back. She hadn’t realized she’d been pressing
her palm into it. Smiling her thanks, she leaned into him, taking
what help she could for now. She’d been as honest with him as
possible, not making any promises regarding a relationship. They’d
take each day as it came. He seemed okay with the
compromise.

“
Trust me,” Rissa said with
an impish smile. “She takes good care of me.” Rissa shared a
private smile with her lover, Gale. Niki and Gale smiled as they
exchanged pleasantries and watched Rissa accept her gift from Nana
Bea.

Elbowing Gale, Niki pointed. “She’s
such a baby. Look how she still lights up when she gets a gift.”
They both laughed when Rissa stuck her tongue out at
them.

“
It’s my birthday and I can
be greedy if I want to, right, babe?”

“
You know that’s right,”
Gale agreed immediately.

Nana Bea had two girls. Rissa and
Niki’s moms had been sisters. Niki’s mom had been the baby. Rissa’s
mom was a college professor who traveled a lot. Rissa had spent
lots of time with Nana Bea and Niki growing up. Rissa’s mom and dad
had never married, and he’d never been involved, other than
financially, in her life.

Niki had been the first person Rissa
had shared her concerns about her sexual preferences. They’d been
just teens, Rissa a few years older. At first Niki had been
shocked. Not because of Rissa’s lesbian leanings, more because of
interest in sex, period. Niki had been so busy with her studies,
playing with the finance market and learning the industry that she
had missed a large part of dating and socializing. Rissa would call
and talk to Niki about her feelings, the people she dated and the
problems she incurred, until Gale.

Moving forward, with David’s
assistance, she gave Rissa her gift bag. The two-carat diamond
earrings were nestled in the box beneath a lot of paper she wanted
to see her cousin’s frustration as she dug through the bag up
close.

“
Oh, Niki, you didn’t have
to...” Her tone was so fake, everyone laughed as she grabbed the
bag like an excited kid on Christmas morning.

Shaking it “hmmm...what do you think
this is, baby?” she asked Gale.

“
I have no idea.” Gale
shook her head and laughed as Rissa tapped the box that had been
inside the bag.

“
What are you doing? Just
open it already so I can go sit down,” Niki snapped, rubbing her
stomach trying to calm the gymnasts who jostled in her tummy. David
moved closer, ready to offer assistance, as he rubbed her back.
Nana and Gale noticed his actions. She offered them both small
smiles.

“
Really, I was going to
wait and open them all at the same time. But since you’re pregnant
and all I guess I can do that.” Rissa tore open the paper. Seeing
the telltale blue Tiffany box before reading the name on top, she
squealed.

“
What’s going on over
here?” Aunt Sherita, Rissa’s mom, asked while hugging her mom, Nana
Bea. She smiled at Gale and then went to Niki. Her eyes widened as
she took in David stroking Niki’s back. She looked at Niki and then
back at David, a question in her eyes.

Before her Aunt could blurt out
anything uncomfortable, Rissa called her. “Look, Mom.” She passed
the box under her mom’s eye. “My gift from Niki. I’m going to open
it,” she said as she lifted the lid. Everyone except Niki leaned
forward to see and be in awe of the two-carat diamond
earrings.

“
Damn, Niki,” her aunt
murmured, “those are beautiful, the clarity, everything. Well done,
sweetie, well done.” She turned to face David. “Now who is this
young man with his hands all over you?”

“
Oh, you missed the
introductions.” Niki answered accustomed to her aunt’s abruptness.
“Aunt Sherita, this is David Riccio, a friend of mine. David, this
is Rissa’s mom, my Aunt Sherita.”

David acknowledged the introduction
with a nod and a low, “nice to meet you.” He continued to rub her
back.

“
Same here, David, are you
from Atlanta?” Her aunt probed.

Smiling, he answered. “No ma’am, I’m
from Detroit, Michigan. I was here for a conference and Niki
invited me to the party. I hope that’s all right?” He smiled his
signature grin.

“
If you’re a friend of
Niki’s, then of course it’s all right. Are the two of you dating?”
Her aunt looked at David.

He gazed at Niki. “I wish,” he spoke
with such heat, five pair of eyes latched onto him. He stared at
Niki, until she turned away. Coughing to cover her embarrassment,
she looked helplessly at a grinning Rissa and a thoughtful
Gale.

“
Nana, I need to go to the
bathroom. Gale, where is it?” she asked, recognizing the familiar
pressure in her lower back.

“
Right through that door
around the corner,” Gale said. “You need me to go with
you?”

“
No, that’s okay.” Her aunt
put her arm through her niece’s arm. “Stay here and make sure Rissa
has fun. Mama and I’ll walk with Niki.” She glanced over her
shoulder. “David, she’ll be right back. We’ll take good care of
her.” Dismissing him, she wrapped her arm around her mom’s waist
and walked in the direction Gale had pointed.

As they were leaving, Gale’s brother
Tony walked over to the small group that surrounded the birthday
girl. He nodded at the tall man in greeting, noticing he watched
the action but took no part. He started to ask his sister who was
the stranger, but realized he didn’t care.

“
What’s going on?” He asked
Gale instead, as she helped Rissa put on some earrings.

“
Rissa’s just opened her
gift from her cousin.” She pointed as Rissa modeled them for the
small crowd. “These diamond earrings.”

“
Those are really nice.” He
moved closer for a better look, impressed by the size and clarity.
“Where’s her cousin and grandmamma? I’m getting ready to leave.” He
pulled Gale to the side, chuckling when she punched his arm. “I
wanted to greet all your family before I left.”

“
They walked with Niki to
the bathroom. I told you she was pregnant. She’s...let me see, I
think six months; although she doesn’t look it.” She turned to look
around. “Let me ask David, her boyfriend.” Looking around, she
noticed he’d moved and stood near the door Niki had just left
through. “Hmm, he moved, anyway, she’s all baby.” Her gaze returned
to Rissa.

“
Oh well, if I don’t see
them tonight, maybe I’ll catch them before they leave.” He knew she
was distracted with her girlfriend’s family and wouldn’t miss him.
He’d made his obligatory appearance. Now he planned to enjoy the
rest of the night at a private screening. The invitation from
Theos, a private collector, burned in his pocket. He looked forward
to comparing some of the pieces to his own. Excitement swept
through him, he threw back the watered ginger ale, and prepared to
escape.

“
Sure, sure, we’ll do
that.” Gale waved goodbye as she walked over to Rissa.

Laughing at his love-struck sister,
Tony left to say goodnight to his parents. After searching a bit,
he found them on the terrace holding court with some of the more
liberal family members. The booze had been flowing freely, and it
was obvious they were having a great time.

“
Mom, Dad,” he called out.
No response. “Mom, Dad,” he called out louder, walking further onto
the terrace and interrupted a passionate embrace between his
parents. His mom tried to pull away, while his dad held her fast in
position, hands still on her ass, causing her to duck her head onto
his dad’s chest.

Chuckling he stopped. “I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean to stop you. I just wanted to let you know I was
leaving, and I’ll talk to you later. Uhhh…carry on.” He laughed.
Turning to leave, he ignored his dad’s “smart ass”
comment.

Walking through the ballroom, he
scanned the crowd. It seemed as though everyone had someone but
him. It never really bothered him before. Once again, his thoughts
went to his mystery woman from Chicago, and he wondered if he
should try one more time. Shaking his head, he gave the valet his
ticket. What would be the point? She’d made sure they’d never meet
again, he argued, feeling a sense of loss.

“
Thanks Nana, Aunt Sherita,
I needed that l’il break,” Niki said, holding her stomach as she
walked slowly back to the party. True to form, her aunt had grilled
her about David. Everyone tried to get the name of her babies’
father from her. After being assured he wasn’t their daddy or a
gigolo, her aunt beamed, proud she had a handsome, responsible man
in the wings.

A strong kick grabbed her attention.
Looking down she rubbed her stomach, and spoke without thinking.
“Now, Nita, stop fighting Thomas. Mommy’s here at cousin Rissa’s
party, and you need to be good.”

“
Isn’t that cute,” Gale
said to Rissa, watching the three women. “She was talking to her
babies.” She had been in awe when Rissa told her Niki expected
twins.

Going back to the party, Niki sat down
and watched her Aunt and Nana dance with Rissa.

Gale sat next to her while David got
drinks and food. “How you feeling, Niki?” Gale wondered how Niki
was really handling the single mom thing. Rissa had told her Niki
wouldn’t discuss the father.

“
As well as can be expected
I guess,” she grunted through a painful kick. Her reprieve from
earlier was over and the babies were active. Niki hoped it wasn’t
the noise. She’d planned to leave soon.

“
Rissa’s so happy, I’m glad
you came,” Gale said, her voice caught. “It wouldn’t have been the
same.” Gale turned away from the dance floor to look at
Niki.

“
That’s my cuz. You know I
wouldn’t miss this.” She smiled at her cousin’s lover, twisting in
the seat to get comfortable. “You guys all right?”

“
Yeah, I think so,” she
said, then shook her head. “Yes, we are,” she said with more
confidence.

“
Good for you. Stop
second-guessing yourself. Rissa is happy with you,” Niki
scolded.

“
Really?”

“
Gale, stop it! You know
she is,” she snapped, placing her hand at the small of her back and
pushing inward to relieve stress.

“
I know. Sometimes
I...well...I get nervous. I think she’s missing something. You know
things I can’t give her,” she answered sheepishly.

Niki thought Gale forgot sometimes
that she was still a woman. “I think it’s safe to say she’s aware
of the limitations in the relationship,” Niki responded dryly. “But
Gale, she’s also aware of the benefits. Stop before you run us all
crazy.” Taking a deep breath, she reached over and touched Gale’s
hand, causing her to look up. “Don’t run her away by being so
insecure. There’s only so much she can do to reassure you. The rest
has to come from you, sweetie.”

Nodding, “yeah, you’re right. Thanks,
Niki. I’m amazed at the women in your family. You guys are so
strong.”

“
So are you, Gale. So are
you.”

Gale stood, aware of David approaching
the table. Nodding at him, she strode over to Rissa who’d just
finished her dance.

Accepting the plates of food and
water, he bought her. Niki dug in eating everything, moaning at the
flavors, and finishing by licking her fingers. She had completely
forgotten David until she drained her water glass. He stared at her
and the empty plates. Realization dawned on her that she’d eaten
all the food, his included. Embarrassed, she offered a small smile.
He broke out laughing. She joined him and took a sip of his drink.
Grimacing, at the taste she put it down.