One Love (15 page)

“
It’s Hargrove. Let’s
meet.”

***

Lanessa fidgeted in her seat
across from Tia and Nia. Alex seemed blissfully unaware that
anything was amiss. He was happy to have three of his favorite
females together at last. Shauntelle had dropped the girls off just
a few minutes before and now they sat in Alex’s spacious den.
Lanessa had expected to get attitude from her. There was frank
curiosity and even a hint of amusement in her eyes. Yet Shauntelle
had been cordial. Her last words to the twins were to behave
themselves. Shauntelle had put special emphasis on the word
behave
, an indication
she’d had a talk with them about proper behavior toward their
father’s new love interest. Lanessa only wished she could see this
situation in an amusing light. Tia and Nia were too polite. They
were stiff little dolls. When Alex left to check on dinner, Lanessa
decided to try and loosen things up.

“
So how are you enjoying
summer vacation?” Lanessa said with her best smile.

“
Fine,” they said back in
unison.

“
Have you done a lot of fun
things?”

“
Yes.” In unison
again.

Lanessa assumed a relaxed listening
pose. “Sounds wonderful. What things have you done?”

“
Lots of stuff,” they said
in perfect twin harmony.

“
Like what?” Lanessa began
to realize for the first time that this was a test of
wills.

“
The usual.” Nia spoke up
this time before her sister.

Tia, who had seemed poised to say
more, glanced at Nia and then only nodded. Lanessa resisted the
urge to join Alex in the safe kitchen. Then she thought how
ridiculous she was being. The poor children were just nervous
meeting someone new. Lanessa decided to try a language females
always understood.

“
I love those outfits. That
shade of green is really hot this summer. Didn’t I see that teen
star Brandi wearing one like it?”

Tia shook her head causing her thick
black braids to bounce. “No, ma’am. Hers was orange and the pants
short. This is the closest mama would let us get. She says little
girls should dress like little girls,” she said in a quick
spurt.

“
I told you mama would say
no. Brandi’s fit tight, too.” Nia gave her sister look of
scorn.

“
Well it seems you were all
right in this instance,” Lanessa said.

“
Huh?” Nia looked straight
at her for the first time since she’d arrived.

Lanessa nodded. “Your mother is right;
choose what you wear to fit who you are. You always look good that
way. But following fashions is even more fun.”

“
Oh.” Nia blinked at her.
She seemed to be reconsidering her thoughts of Lanessa.

“
Besides, I think you look
much prettier in green.” Lanessa wondered if that had been too
much.

Tia beamed. “Thank you.” All trace of
stiffness was gone from her manner.

Nia seemed to still hold back. “Mostly
we don’t worry about clothes. We’re into computers and
science.”

“
I’m not into science much,”
Lanessa said.

“
Mama works in a lab. She’s
the most popular parent on “Parents Careers” day at school. She
does all kinds of great experiments,” Tia piped up.

Nia wore an expression that seemed a
dare. “What do you do?” She and Tia gazed at Lanessa
hard.

“
I do research.”

“
What kind of research?” Tia
sat forward eagerly.

“
Like in a lab on new
chemicals or machines?” Nia asked.

“
Well, no. Mostly I look up
things for people. They hire me to gather information to, uh, do
lots of different things. Things like make business
decisions.”

The girls exchanged a brief yet
significant glance. The light of interested flickered out of their
faces. “Oh,” they said.

Lanessa glanced around for
Alex. “You’ve been in there awhile. You must need help,” she called
out.
Please say you need help! I sure need
it in here!

“
No, babe, I’m almost done,”
he called back in cheery tone. “I’m going to serve three lovely
ladies tonight. Won’t be but a minute more.”

Lanessa turned back to find Tia and
Nia still staring at her. The minute Alex had promised passed
without a word from him. “Dinner smells wonderful. You dad is a
great cook.”

“
You come over here often?”
Nia asked.

“
Occasionally. Sometimes we
go out to eat,” Lanessa said.

“
Have you known daddy long?”
Tia hitched to the edge of her seat to wait for an
answer.

“
We first met back when we
were freshmen in college. He was on the wrestling team and a
scholar.” Lanessa smiled at her.

“
He showed us pictures.” Tia
giggled. “He looked funny with that thing on his head.”

“
If you’ve known daddy so
long, how come we’ve never met?”Nia’s wore an intense, judgmental
expression as though she were gathering evidence.

“
Just one of those things.
We didn’t date that long, well it was off and on.” Lanessa snapped
her mouth shut. No way was she going to try and explain the three
times before when they’d broken up.

“
You dated daddy before?”
Tia seemed appalled by the notion.

“
Before he met your mother.
And then after they divorced,” Lanessa said in a rush. “It was long
before they got married and way, way after their divorce.” She
added the last for emphasis.

“
Oh. Like on the soap
operas.” Tia grinned. “I get it.” She was back to being
friendly.

Lanessa had to laugh. That summed up
the last ten years of her life with a sharp and painful accuracy.
“Something like that.”

Nia was less than impressed. “You
don’t get along too well if you keep breaking up,” she stated
boldly.

“
I, uh...” Lanessa blinked
rapidly as she tried to fashion an answer.

Alex appeared at the doorway rubbing
his hands and wearing a grin of satisfaction. “Dinner is served.
Come on.” He led them down the hall to the dining room.

The room had hardwood floors and an
oak table with matching chairs. The chair seats were upholstered in
a dark red, green and beige striped pattern. A china cabinet was
against one wall. A small modern chandelier lit the room. Yet it
was the decorations that drew gasps of approval. Alex had used a
Caribbean theme. He had a large vase filled with tropical flowers
as the centerpiece. Whole pineapples and bananas were arranged
artfully on the china cabinet and another table that usually held
candelabra. He’d placed used banana tree leaves as wall
decorations. Each setting had a place card and lei. Lanessa stood
in wonder along with the twins.

“
Daddy, it’s beautiful!”
Tia’s big brown eyes sparkled with delight.

“
Look!” Nia picked up a
small seashell.

“
So this is what you were up
to so long. Alex, this is... awesome.” Lanessa was moved by all the
care he’d taken.

“
Wait for the finishing
touch.” Alex beamed. He darted off. Seconds later the music of a
steel drum band came from the speakers of his home sound
system.

“
Voila. We travel to the
islands, mon,” he said using his best West Indian
accent.

Tia and Nia giggled at his antics.
Alex kept up the accent as he brought in each dish. They had a
fruit salad to start. Then he brought out barbecue chicken with a
special sauce that was what Alex called his secret recipe. This was
along with rice pilaf and steamed broccoli. The girls balked at
eating the vegetable.

“
They don’t eat this on the
islands,” Nia said with a skeptical look at Alex.

“
Of course they do. Besides,
growing girls need green vegetables. So eat up.” Alex winked at
her. “There’s a surprise for later.”

This followed an extended game of the
girls trying to guess the surprise. Lanessa was relieved that Alex
had broken the ice. All four of them talked non-stop about the
Caribbean Islands. The objects on the table made for great
conversation pieces. Lanessa was even included as the girls teased
of Alex. The three of them giggled so hard when he danced in with
their dessert wearing a straw hat they were in tears. Lanessa was
overwhelmed watching him with the girls. She’d known in some
distant way he was a good father, but seeing them together brought
it home to her with force. Alex was amazing. They finished the kiwi
and mango sorbet then followed him back to the den.

“
Just a minute. I’ll yell
when it’s okay.” Alex darted ahead and shut sliding double doors
before they could react.

“
What do you think he’s up
to?” Lanessa said.

“
It’s the surprise!” Nia
nodded happily.

“
Hurry, daddy. I wanna see,”
Tia called out.

A few seconds later Alex opened the
doors with twinkle of mischief in his brown eyes. “All right. You
may enter.” He stepped aside to show them the room.

Lanessa was speechless. Somehow he’d
managed to bring in three large potted banana plants. In the center
of the floor were three huge beach towels. Pillows from the sofas
were arranged on the floor in front of the big screen
television.

“
Ladies, take off your
shoes. Come on, don’t be shy.” Alex laughed with them as they all
kicked off their shoes.

“
You have gone insane. Where
did you hide these plants,” Lanessa asked.

“
Easy, on the patio.” He
pointed to the sliding glass doors that led outside. “Now pay
attention. We’re going to the beach.”

“
We can’t go to the beach at
night, daddy.” Nia bounced on a large pillow.

“
Honey, daddy can work
magic. Observe.”

Alex whipped out the remote control,
pressed a button and the screen came alive. A video played lively
reggae music as scenes of stunning blue water and beaches were
shown. The girls sat captivated by the sights. Lanessa leaned
against Alex as they sat with their backs propped against the
sofa.

“
This was sheer brilliance.
You turned what could have been an awkward and very long evening
into a party.” Lanessa risked a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thank
you.”

“
I’m glad you like it. The
girls seem to be having a good time, too,” he murmured close to her
ear.

“
Are you serious? They’re
having a ball!” Lanessa smiled.

For another hour they watched the
video laughing and joking. They all joined in when a man on the
video gave instructions on popular Caribbean dance steps. The
doorbell rang three times before they realized it wasn’t part of
the music. Still laughing, Alex danced to the front door and came
back with Shauntelle. She stood with her mouth open at the scene
before her.

“
Looks like I went to the
wrong party!” Shauntelle said.

“
Come on, mama.” Tia ran to
her with a flower. “Come to the islands, dear.” She tried to
imitate a Jamaican accent with comical results.

Shauntelle was laughing so she could
hardly follow the dance instructions. Now the five of them were
caught up in the moment. Shauntelle glanced at the
clock.

“
Goodness, it’s almost
midnight. Time to go.” Shauntelle glanced around for her
shoes.

“
Aw, mama. Ms. Lanessa was
gonna show us how to find out about Jamaica and the Virgin Islands
on the Internet!” Nia protested.

“
And see tropical fish,
too!” Tia added.

Over much whining and attempts to
stay, Shauntelle stood firm. She explained to Lanessa that even on
weeknights a decent schedule was important.

“
I don’t like to let them
stay up all hours. When they’re off their routine too much, it
takes days to settle them down. And school starts in a few weeks.”
Shauntelle sighed. “What a mad time those first days will
be.”

“
Thank God I didn’t do it
alone. Alex is a fabulous father.”

“
Yes, I know.” Lanessa
watched him help the girls get ready to leave. She tried to imagine
being a parent.

“
It’s a lot of hard work.
Trust me it ain’t always a day at the beach.” Shauntelle laughed at
her own joke. “But it’s the most satisfying hard work I
do.”

“
I’m sure it is,” Lanessa
said. She genuinely liked Shauntelle. Strange to think how she’d
felt such animosity years ago when she’d heard about their
marriage. This despite the fact that she’d once again driven Alex
away.
Jackie and Yasmin will never believe
this!
Lanessa smiled and shook her
head.

Shauntelle glanced at Lanessa. “Seems
like you wouldn’t be so bad at it.”

Lanessa remember her panic of only a
couple of hours ago. “Believe me Alex saved my butt. I don’t know a
thing about kids. Finding tropical fish web sites will only get me
so far.”

“
I know my daughters. You’ve
made an impression,” Shauntelle said in a low conspiratorial voice.
“But I won’t say anything. Let it sneak up on ‘em.”