What We Learned Along the Way (8 page)

“Don’t worry about that. I brought you a cute
outfit. I wish you would just trust me. Everything will be
fine.”

Mariam pulled up and parked across the street
from the track. She didn’t see Isaiah yet, so she took Malikah to
the bathroom to get changed.

“Does Rashad know about all this?” Malikah
yelled over the top of the bathroom stall.

“No, you know how he is. Things are great
between us right now and I don’t want to give him another reason to
get angry. Besides, I’m doing this for you. It’s not like I’m
trying to talk to him.”

Malikah walked out in a blue and white track
suit that fit her perfectly. Mariam thought she looked great.

“Isaiah is going to love you,” she said,
clapping her hands with excitement. The two of them walked over to
the track and immediately saw Isaiah stretching on the steps.

“Is that him?” Malikah asked.

“Yep. I did good, didn’t I,” Mariam said,
obviously proud of herself.

“He’s gorgeous. Are you sure he’s single?”
Malikah could feel herself getting nervous.

“I don’t know much about him, but he gave me
his number, so, I assume so.”

The two of them walked over to greet Isaiah.
He was even cuter than Mariam remembered. With the sun shining on
his vanilla-colored skin, he looked like an athletic statue.

“Salaam, Isaiah. This is my friend, Malikah,
I was telling you about. Isn’t she cute?” Mariam said. Malikah just
smiled and hoped the embarrassment didn’t show through. She
couldn’t believe Mariam said that.

“Wa alaikum salaam, Mariam, and yeah, she is
pretty cute,” he said, turning to Malikah to give her a warm smile.
“So what did you have in mind for our workout today?” he asked.

“Malikah here is a beginner, so we want to
start with some basics.” Malikah was embarrassed again. What is
Mariam doing? she thought.

“A new runner? I like the sound of that,” he
said. “I just started stretching. Why don’t you two join me?”

“That sounds good, but I need to make a quick
call. I’ll be right back,” Mariam said as she started walking
toward the car. Just as she started to cross the street, she turned
around and yelled, “Don’t wait on me to start.”

“Well, you heard her,” Malikah said. “Let’s
get started.”

Isaiah sat on the ground and continued his
stretching. Malikah followed. After a few minutes, Malikah’s phone
started to ring. It was Mariam. Malikah looked across the street
and could see Mariam in her car.

“Looks like things are going well,” she said.
“Tell him that something came up at school and I had to leave. I’ll
call you later to see how everything goes.” Mariam started to hang
up the phone.

“Wait, how am I supposed to get home?”
Malikah asked.

“If things go well, maybe he can give you a
ride, but relax, I’m just going around the corner. He’s cute, but I
know better than to leave my friend alone with a stranger. If he
tries anything, I can be here in a flash. Good luck,” she said
before hanging up the phone.

“Um, that was Mariam. She said something
happened at school and she had to go check it out. You know how
busy she is, being the president and all,” Malikah let out a
nervous laugh.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” he said. “I was really
looking forward to spending some time with her.” Malikah could tell
he was a little disappointed. “Well, there’s still two of us. We
might as well continue.”

Malikah couldn’t believe that he wanted to
finish the workout. She was sure he’d want to cut it short once
Mariam was gone.

“Are you sure you’re a beginner? Most
beginners can’t keep up with me,” he said as they finished their
4th lap around the track. Malikah couldn’t believe it either. It
was probably just the adrenaline that kept her going. Every time
she wanted to stop, she would look over Isaiah and somehow find
more energy. She just prayed that one mile was all they were
doing.

“Alright, beginner, I’m impressed. Let’s see
how you do in the second half,” he said.

“Second half?” Malikah said, out of
breath.

Isaiah laughed. “No, I’m just joking, but we
do have to cool down. That’s the easy part.”

They talked as they walked to cool down. They
had planned to walk only one lap, but they ended up doing another
four. Malikah was surprised at how comfortable she became around
Isaiah in such a short period of time. She wasn’t sure, but he
seemed to like her. Before they knew it, the sun was starting to go
down. Isaiah noticed that his car was the only one parked on the
street.

“Do you need a ride home?” he asked.

“That would be great, especially since Mariam
ditched me,” she joked. When Isaiah dropped her off in front of her
house, he stopped her before she could get out of the car.

“This is a little awkward. I started this
date thinking about Mariam, but right now, all I’m thinking about
is you.” He paused nervously, and looked down at the steering
wheel. Malikah couldn’t believe it. Was he nervous? Had she
actually made a guy nervous?

“Could I get your number?” he finally
asked.

“Sure,” she blurted out.

After they exchanged numbers, Malikah stood
outside and watched him drive off. Then she walked slowly into the
house. She was having such a great day that she thought she might
be dreaming and she didn’t want to do anything that would wake
her.

“You look like you’re in a good mood,” her
mother said.

“I am.” Malikah didn’t give any details. Her
mother, like Jaime, had a way of ruining her fun. She went into the
kitchen to grab something to eat.

“Hey, daddy,” she said as she opened the
refrigerator. “How’s your day been?”

“Not as good as yours, I can see.” Malikah
liked talking to her father. He didn’t make her feel bad about
herself like her mother, but she still didn’t tell him about
Isaiah. Telling him would have been the same as telling her mother.
They told each other everything. If you closed your eyes and
listened to them talk, you’d swear her parents were two gossiping
teenagers.

“What are you going to get mama for your
anniversary? You know it’s a week away.” Malikah wasn’t good
remembering special days, but she always remembered her parents’
anniversary because it was exactly two months before her
birthday.

“Don’t remind me,” her father said. “Your
mother is the hardest person to shop for. No matter what I get, she
either already has it or doesn’t want it.” Malikah and her father
laughed, thinking about all the gifts her mother had sent back to
the store.

“Yea, she is pretty hard to please,” Malikah
agreed.

“Who’s pretty hard to please?” Her mother
interrupted their conversation.

“You are,” her father said.

“So what is this, mama, 24, 25 years?”
Malikah asked?

“Oh, girl, I don’t know. Something like that.
After the first 20, all the years start running together. Did you
hear about Brother Abdul’s son? He’s having another baby. That’s
number three.” Her mother shook her head. “I don’t know what’s
going on with these kids these days. That’s why I’m trying so hard
to get you married. You better not bring no babies up in this
house.” Her mother looked Malikah straight in the eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about that, mama.
Remember these?” she said, pointing at her hips. “I’m sure no guy
would want me, big as you swear I am.” She left the kitchen and
went to her room. Kalimah was lying in her bed.

“Kalimah, what are you doing here? You know,
if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you moved back in.” Kalimah
let out a soft laugh. “It’s only 8 o’clock. The night is young. Get
up,” Malikah said as she pulled the cover off her sister. Kalimah
wore a long pink nightgown, which had been scrunched up in the
covers, leaving her legs exposed.

“What happened to your thigh?” Malikah asked.
She leaned over to touch the big, purple bruise on her sisters’
leg, but Kalimah pulled the covers back before Malikah could touch
it.

“Adam bought one of those fancy treadmills
and I fell off of it. I think I was trying to go too fast.”

“I never heard of anyone falling off a
treadmill and getting a bruise on their thigh. It seems like it
would be on your knee, or maybe your shin.”

“Yea, I know. Crazy isn’t it? I don’t know
how that happened, but I’ll tell you one thing. I’m not getting on
that treadmill anymore” Kalimah laughed, harder than usual.
“Anyway, where have you been?” she asked.

“On a date,” Malikah said nonchalantly.

“A date? That’s exciting. With who?”

“He is gorgeous, Kalimah. His name is Isaiah.
He’s 24 and works at Bertino’s. Mariam hooked us up.”

“That was nice of Mariam. Wait, did you say
Bertino’s? Isn’t that that little Italian restaurant with the
yellow flowers out front?”

“Yep,” Malikah said as she changed into her
robe to take a shower.

“I hope he’s at least a manager, because you
know mama’s not going have you talking to a bus boy.”

“He’s not a bus boy,” Malikah said firmly.
“He’s a waiter, and I don’t care what mama says. Daddy was a bag
boy at a grocery store when they got married.”

“But you know mama. She wants better for us,”
Kalimah said.

“What’s better than daddy, Kalimah? Yes, he
was a bag boy. So what? He went on to open his own business and
look at him now.” Malikah’s father had a very successful
construction company. He’d built a lot of houses for people in the
community and business was going so well that he was in the process
of opening another office in Dallas. “So daddy was allowed to have
potential, but no one else?” Malikah asked.

“Hey, I agree with you. I’m just trying to
let you know what mama’s going to say.”

“Unless mama can find me someone who is
already as successful as daddy, or maybe a rich doctor like Adam, I
don’t think she should be saying too much of anything,” Malikah
said before heading to the shower.

Just then, Kalimah’s phone rang. She could
tell from the ringer that it was Adam. She didn’t answer. It rang
again, and again she didn’t answer. On the third time, she answered
it, but not before closing the bedroom door.

“Yes,” she said coldly.

“Baby, when are you coming home? I miss you,”
Adam said.

“I don’t know, but it won’t be tonight. And
don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone. I told them you had a week-long
research conference to go to.”

“You’re not going to be gone all week,
Kalimah. I want you home tomorrow!” This time he sounded angry.
“You are my wife, and you will do as I say!” he yelled.

“Why do you have to act like this, Adam?” she
yelled back. The tears made it hard for her to talk.

“You’re right, baby. I’m sorry.” His voice
was calm again. “You just make me so angry sometimes. Come home,
honey. I’ll make it up to you. I promise. Just come, baby. Come
home.”

“I don’t know, Adam. I want to come home. I
want to be with you, but I can’t…” Adam cut her off before she
could finish her sentence.

“But nothing, baby. You said you want to be
with me, so be with me. Come home. I’m miserable without you.”
Kalimah couldn’t resist her husband, especially when he apologized
like that. Adam was a smoother talker, the type that could rob you
at gun point and then offer such a convincing apology that you’d
start to feel bad for not wanting him to rob you. He was that
charming. Kalimah went home the next morning.

Malikah spent nearly every second of the next
month with Isaiah. She felt like she was cramming years of missed
dates into a few weeks. They went to the movies. They went to
restaurants. They went to parties. They went on picnics. Isaiah was
the best thing that had ever happened to her.

“Thank you so much,” she told Mariam one day
at lunch. “I think Isaiah is the one. I feel like we were made for
each other,” she said with a smile.

I know the feeling. I feel the same way about
Langston,” Aliya added. “I wasn’t sure at first when he told me
about Harlem, but she’s a sweet child and I can’t hold her against
him.”

“Oh, that’s right. How is that working out?”
Malikah asked.

“It’s great, actually. Harlem loves me. You
should have seen her yesterday. I took her shopping and gave her a
little photo shoot. She’s so adorable,” she said as she pulled up
the pictures and passed her digital camera around.

Malikah never thought she’d see the day when
Aliya was playing mother to someone else’s daughter. Last time she
checked, Aliya didn’t even want kids. Ever since Aliya started
dating Langston, Malikah noticed a change in her. She didn’t seem
as wild as she was before, and she didn’t dress as provocatively
anymore either. It seemed that Langston had tamed her, but she
still had the same fiery spirit.

I guess a good man can change a
woman
. She had only been talking to Isaiah a short period of
time and she could already see changes in herself. The most visible
change was in her posture. Now that she had the man of her dreams,
she had more pep in her step and held her head up as she walked.
She felt better about her body, too. No amount of exercising and
dieting could make her feel as good as Isaiah did. He didn’t do
much, just some nice compliments here and there, but it worked
wonders for her confidence.

As Mariam and Aliya talked, Malikah looked at
her watch. It was nearly 3 o’clock.

“Hate to cut out on you guys, but I have to
meet Isaiah. We’re having a midday workout,” Malikah said as she
gathered her things.

“Don’t let us keep you from your man,” Aliya
said. “I need to get back to work anyway. My boss has been cutting
his eyes over here for the past 15 minutes.

Malikah met up with Isaiah at the track. She
had changed in the car into a cute workout outfit. “Hey, boo,” she
greeted him. “So what are we doing today, legs, arms, chest?” She
seemed excited.