Trouble with Luv' (19 page)

D
epending on her mood, Ebony had the ability to play the sultry siren, the coy cutie, the sexy bombshell, or the no-nonsense businesswoman. She could be mysterious and seductive one minute, hard-hitting and outspoken the next. Tonight, she was playing a role Kendall had never seen: the distraught ex-girlfriend.

When Kendall picked her up on the corner of Garfield and Seventh Boulevard, she could tell that Ebony had been crying. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were puffy and her shoulders were hunched. Ebony wasn't a crier. Aside from the occasional movie or heart-wrenching Oprah moment, she didn't tear up. Kendall could count on one hand the number of times she had seen her best friend cry, and over a man? Never. She had encouraged Ebony to talk about what happened, but she'd looked away and stared out the window.

Kendall couldn't make sense of her best friend's behavior. Ebony was a woman of action. If she didn't like the way things were going, she made changes. No whining. No complaining. No pity parties. But when Kendall pressed her for answers, she said in a sad, pitiful voice, “I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe Xavier loved me.” Name-calling was completely out of character for Ebony; Kendall had never heard her best friend chastise herself. With tears in her eyes, Ebony recounted what happened at the barbecue. Kendall could understand why she was upset, could understand why she was feeling so low, but she couldn't stomach Ebony calling herself names.

Kendall tried to reason with Ebony, but it was no use. She wouldn't listen to what she had to say and lashed out whenever Kendall tried to comfort her. Sensing she wouldn't be able to handle this situation on her own, Kendall called for backup.

Opal arrived fifteen minutes after Kendall called. Setting her sunglasses down on the counter, she said, “I got here as fast as I could.” She closed her arms around Ebony's shoulders and held her tight. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ebony didn't know why, but her eyes filled with more tears. If she started crying in front of Opal, she would never have peace again. Mother Hen would insist she come and stay at her house and wouldn't back off until she agreed. Ebony pressed her eyes shut to ward off the tears. She needed another good cry, but now was not the time. Later, alone, in the privacy of her bedroom, she would let it out.

“Has Xavier called?”

Ebony shook her head.

Opal took a seat. “Why didn't he say anything when his sister was going off on you? Why didn't he tell her to back off?”

That very question had been circling in Ebony's mind ever since she left the Reed house. What bothered her the most wasn't facing off with Jacqueline or even the malicious things she'd said. It was Xavier's reaction. Or rather, lack of reaction. Jacqueline's accusations didn't trouble her half as much as his betrayal. He never once jumped in or came to her defense. He just stood there, watching, passing judgment with his eyes.

During the course of their relationship, Xavier had convinced her that she was special; that she mattered to him. Over the last few months, he had done all the little things men did to express their love. He brought her dinner when she was stuck behind her desk. She received three, sometimes four calls a day. Text messages and e-mails crowded her message box on a regular basis. But tonight, when she needed Xavier the most, he wasn't there for her.

What would have happened if Jacqueline had tried to hit me? Would he have hung back and cheered her on?
Ebony took a sip of her tea.
Now, I'm just being silly. Xavier wouldn't let his sister beat on me, would he?
Sighing deeply, she stared down at her hands. Aspirin had alleviated her headache, but it did nothing to dilute the pain in her heart. The bubble bath had soothed her mind, relaxed her body and washed away the stench of the afternoon. She was still upset over what happened, but at least she wasn't bawling all over herself anymore. “Xavier didn't come to my defense because he believed what his sister said. Shouldn't surprise me. He's been judging me ever since day one.”

“You don't mean that,” Kendall said to her.

“Yes, I do. If Xavier truly cared about me—” she pinched two fingers together “—even a bit, he wouldn't have let his sister disrespect me like that. He would have stepped in.”

“Don't say things like that, Ebony. You know that man loves you. Think of all the things he's done since you started dating.” Kendall paused, as she thought back to yesterday. The excitement was clear in Ebony's voice when she called and told her about their romantic birthday dinner. And last week when Xavier showed up at the office with lunch for all of the staff, Ebony had kissed him in front of everyone. Her friend was still very much her own woman, but she had made room in her life for Xavier to come in. Kendall found herself amazed at the difference in her business partner. Ebony wasn't bopping around the office with a ridiculous grin on her face, or singing in the rain, but she was more patient and understanding with her employees. The staff was secretly hoping that the boss's new relationship would lead to marriage, because a happy boss meant a less stressful work environment. Kendall urged Ebony to be patient. “Wait until you've talked to him before you make any decisions. Don't discard a perfectly good relationship just because you're angry. Talk things out—”

“What's there to discuss?” Ebony asked, her voice devoid of any emotion. “We had our fun and now it's over. Xavier alluded to the fact that he loved me, but after what happened this afternoon, I'm sure any love he may have felt for me is gone.”

Opal disagreed. “Love isn't like a faucet, Ebony. You can't turn your feelings off and on. Jamal and I have been divorced for years, but there's a big part of me that still loves him. Every time he picks up the girls, everything I ever felt for him comes rushing back. I'm with Kendall. Give Xavier a chance to explain. He needs to hear your side of the story, too. What happened between you and Malcolm was years ago. Xavier's a good man, he won't hold your past against you.”

“Why bother? It's my word against hers. You don't have to be a genius to figure out who he's going to believe. Jacqueline painted the picture and he bought it.” She snorted, “To hear her tell it, I'm a whore who only goes after happily married men.”

“It doesn't matter what she thinks,” Kendall told her. “The people who love you know the truth. You just have to make Xavier see that.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, the tick of the grandfather clock the only sound in the room. A rush of cool air gushed through the kitchen window, filling the space with a soft breeze.

“I met with Yolanda this morning.”

“Oh?” Since Kendall and Ebony couldn't agree on what to do with the district manager, they had suspended her without pay until they could reach a compromise. After checking in with the employees who worked under Yolanda and hearing all the admirable things they had to say about her, they had decided to give her one last chance. Yolanda had practically gotten down on her knees when she heard the news. Firing her would have been a mistake of epic proportions. The boutiques under her care had the highest sales, the most satisfied employees and the most creative merchandise displays. She was a talent, and they were convinced that she would do better.

“She came in to help us fine-tune the Women of Sensuality promotions and ended up giving us a few slogans, as well,” Kendall said, sure the news would lift her partner's spirits.

“What did you come up with?”

Kendall filled her in. By the time she finished bringing Ebony up to speed, she had perked up a bit. “Sabrina wants us to get together on Wednesday to go over the budget, but I told her to pick another night. You have Changing Lives Through Meals in the evening and—”

“Wednesday's fine.”

“But what about—”

Ebony reiterated, “I said, Wednesday's fine, Kendall.”

“So, that's it,” Opal concluded, refilling their mugs with tea, “you're not going to try and work things out?”

Rubbing the tenderness underneath her eyes, she said, “I'm going to go about my business and forget I ever met Xavier Reed.” Ebony stared down at her cup, wrestling with the feelings in her heart. Pushing aside her insecurities about the future, she took another long sip of her tea. “I'm not going to lose any sleep over what happened. I learned a lot from him, we had some great times together, but it's over and I'm okay with that.” Kendall and Opal stared at her like she had just told them she was going to travel to South Africa and live in the jungle. “I'll be fine, you guys. Stop looking so worried. God, you two are acting like Xavier's a Greek god or something. He's no different than any of the other guys I've dated.”

Ebony was lying, and Opal and Kendall both knew it.

Kendall looked long and hard at her best friend. Ebony loved Xavier with everything she had. He was the only man who had ever been given unlimited access to her house, her cars and even her finances. In turn, she had keys to his house, equal closet space in his bedroom and now had met his family. That alone was proof enough of his commitment. A man didn't bring a woman home to meet his mother unless he was in love.

Kendall was struck by another interesting fact. Since Ebony had started dating Xavier, she had called in sick or left early for “personal reasons” a dozen or more times; last year, Ebony hadn't missed a single day of work. Kendall thought of sharing this staggering fact with her friend, but decided against it. Ebony might take exception to it, and Kendall didn't want to do anything to upset her further. Besides, she was thrilled with the changes Ebony had made in her life. For the first time ever, she had found a happy medium between work and play. She still took work home in the evenings and came in on the weekend, but the overtime hours had ceased and she delegated more tasks to her assistant. “Why would you want to stop dating someone who's made you so happy?”

“His sister hates me. Jacqueline is the most important person in Xavier's life and though I want to be with him, I can't put him in a situation where he'd have to choose. That wouldn't be fair.”

Opal covered Ebony's hand. “Talk to him. Tell him how you feel and then go from there. I know you're hurting and it may seem like things are over, but don't make any rash decisions until you've talked to him.”

Kendall thought for a moment about the problems she had encountered with her husband's side of the family when they first started dating. “Remember when I moved in with you?”

Ebony did. The few days Kendall had said she would be staying had turned out to be three weeks. Ebony hadn't minded the company, though. It was nice having someone around, and her best friend could throw down in the kitchen. “That was the weekend Turner's parents visited, right?”

“And were they ever surprised to find a half-naked black woman frying bacon in their son's kitchen!” Kendall giggled, despite the anguish that had surrounded the situation. “They told Turner if he married me, they were going to disown him. He told me he didn't care what his parents said, and begged me to stay, but I knew the best thing I could do for both of us was give him the space and time to think about what he wanted.” Her words came out powerfully. “Ebony, I had Turner's entire family to convince, and I'm still working on it, years later. You only have one person to win over—Jacqueline. You said yourself that the rest of his family welcomed you with open arms, so quit focusing on the negatives. Reach out to his sister. Go to her and tell her the truth. Do whatever it takes to change her mind.” Kendall had one more thing to say. “And take it easy on Xavier. The brother's in a tight spot.”

Ebony gave some thought to Kendall's words. She had been so busy feeling sorry for herself, she hadn't considered what Xavier must be going through. Her friend made a valid point.
This has to be a difficult time for him, too.

Opal spoke next. “Things will work out, Ebony. I'm sure of it.” She checked her watch, then stood. “I wish I could stay longer, but I left the girls at my neighbor's house and it's past Tessa's bedtime. I'll give you a call once the girls are in bed, okay?”

Ebony nodded.

“I should go, too. That husband of mine is probably wondering where I am.” Kendall rubbed a hand across Ebony's back. “If you wake up in the morning and don't feel like coming in, stay home. After the day you've had, you deserve some R&R.”

After another quick hug, Ebony walked her friends to the front door. Guilt pricked her heart as she watched Opal slip her feet back into a pair of her sandals. She had been so busy chasing after Xavier the last few months, she hadn't been much of a friend. Opal, who had been battling her weight all her life, had shed what appeared to be a good twenty pounds. Her face had thinned out, the flesh around her stomach was gone, but the most drastic change was the way her clothes fit. The clingy material of her powder-blue sundress hit the slope of her hips and showcased her slim thighs. Her loose, flowy micro braids were held together with a silver barrette, and added a soft feminine touch to her summer look. Ebony infused her voice with humor. “Looking good, Momma,” she teased. “What have you been taking and where do I get some?”

Opal giggled.