White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel (20 page)

Jada knew that Miss Ingrid was speaking from her experience with Born. She nodded, grateful for the advice.

Jada heard her sister’s voice in the living room as Ava arrived at last. She excused herself from Miss Ingrid and went to greet her.

DJ was standing near the door with a smile on his face. It looked as if he had opened the door for Ava and as she entered, he was helping her out of her coat. Jada smiled at her baby sister, her arms spread wide in greeting. Even though they saw each other more often than ever, the love between them overflowed after all they had been through. They hugged, and Ava turned around quickly, peering at the television.

“What’s the score?”

DJ’s eyes spread wide. “You like football?”

Ava shook her head. “I don’t like it. I love it!”

DJ looked skeptical. Ava was far too gorgeous to be a tomboy. Her Miss Sixty jeans and V-neck top left little to the imagination and he was enjoying the view. “Who’s your favorite team?”

“The Jets,” she answered, confidently. “And I’m serious about my football. So, what’s the score?”

“Giants are winning. Twenty-one to fourteen.” Born was on the edge of his seat. He had money on this game.

Jada rolled her eyes. She hated sports. “You can chill out here with the guys if you want, Miss Football. Miss Ingrid and I are listening to classic R&B in the kitchen while we cook our hearts out.”

Jada noticed Sheldon scowling at her and she smiled at him anyway. He turned back to the TV.

“I’ll watch the game until halftime,” Ava said. “Then I’ll come and help out in the kitchen.”

DJ made room for Ava on the sofa beside him. “I’m a Jets fan, too,” he said.

“I thought you said—” Born began.

“You can like more than one team!” DJ defended himself, prematurely.

Born and Zion laughed and Ava got comfortable beside DJ. Jada returned to the kitchen and a commercial came on.

“Pass the chips,” Ethan said to Sheldon. Sheldon tossed them, spilling some of them all over Ethan’s lap, and didn’t seem to notice when Ethan looked at him with annoyance.

“Yo, don’t throw them next time,” DJ admonished Sheldon. “And pick those chips up off your mother’s floor.”

“Fuck my mother’s floor,” Sheldon mumbled under his breath.

Born was on his feet immediately. “What did you say?”

Sheldon shrugged his shoulders and picked up the chips.

“I know I must be hearing wrong.” Ava was shocked. Zion looked surprised as well.

“It’s aiight,” DJ said, half-laughing. “Shorty got a slick little mouth.”

Born was livid. He towered over Sheldon. “He’s gonna get knocked in his slick little mouth if he ain’t careful.”

Sheldon walked right past Born and tossed the chips in the garbage can. Then he came back and sat down in front of the TV as if nothing had happened.

If Ethan had done that—or even DJ for that matter—Born would have wrung their necks. But this wasn’t his child. And Jada hadn’t asked for his help disciplining Sheldon. Still, there was only so much that Born would be able to take. Eventually, if Sheldon continued speaking to and about his mother in such a negative way, he would reach an age where Born would no longer turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to his disrespect. He wondered how long he would be able to keep his hands off Sheldon.

Born sat back down in his chair and tried to focus on the game.

DJ anxiously tried to change the subject.

“I meant to ask if we can talk to Dominique about getting some studio session set up. She likes the last song I wrote and she said she can see it as the first single off the album. But I need more, so maybe we can sit down with her next week.”

Born nodded. “I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“I’m gonna be a rapper, too,” Ethan said. He wanted to be just like DJ when he grew up. DJ patted him on his head.

Sheldon looked on and decided that Ethan was a pussy, a crybaby, kiss-ass, teacher’s-pet kind of guy. He also decided then and there that he didn’t like him. He got up and left the room.

The game came back on and everyone’s attention was focused on the TV until it was halftime. Ava went into the kitchen and helped Jada and Miss Ingrid finish the preparation of the food. It wasn’t long before the turkey and all the fixings were done.

When they sat down to eat at last, Miss Ingrid offered up a prayer of thanksgiving for all that they had been blessed with. Everyone responded with a heartfelt amen. They feasted on turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, collard greens, sweet potatoes, biscuits, and more, and soon they were all sprawled out in Jada’s living room watching
Miracle on 34th Street
.

Eleven-year-old Adiva was the spitting image of her father. Her smooth ebony skin and long legs were reminiscent of Olivia’s, but her eyes were unmistakably Zion’s—dark, piercing, spellbinding. Her long silky hair had been inherited from him also. She was a daddy’s girl to the fullest, and she nestled into the space beside Zion on the couch and rested her head on him. He kissed her and pulled her closer.

Ava smiled at this. She had always admired fathers who protected and doted on their daughters. It was something she had longed for in her life and never found.

Zion noticed Ava watching and smiled at her. She was pretty, he thought. He had come into contact with Jada’s sister on other occasions, but he was careful not to look at her for too long. Olivia was like a hawk and seemed to have a sixth sense when Zion was attracted to another woman. He had learned over the years not to allow his gaze to fall on any woman for too long when Olivia was in close proximity.

Olivia was nowhere to be found now, and he looked at Ava with new eyes.

“Spoiled,” he said, nodding toward Adiva.

Ava laughed. “That’s a good thing. As long as she’s being spoiled by Daddy, no boy will be able to infiltrate.” She winked at Zion.

He nodded, agreeing. “You don’t have any kids, right?”

She shook her head. “No. Sheldon is as close as I’ve come to having a kid of my own. I love being an aunt.” She glanced around to see if Sheldon was within earshot. Seeing that he had retired to his bedroom, she smiled at Zion. “The best part of being an aunt is that when I get sick of playing the responsible adult, I just drop his behind back off at home.”

Zion laughed, respecting Ava’s honesty. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Ava watched him laugh at her joke and thought Zion had a nice smile. He was the type of man who spent so much time being serious that when their face relaxed into a smile it was a treat—a rare occurrence, like a shooting star.

The doorbell rang, and Ava rose to answer it since she was seated closest to the door. She swung it open and saw Sunny smiling brightly. “Happy Thanksgiving,” Ava sang, hugging Sunny. Her smile faded, though, when she saw who was behind her.

“I brought a friend,” Sunny explained, gesturing at Malcolm. She looked at Jada, who stood now behind Ava. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Jada saw Malcolm and smiled. “Of course not! Come on in.” She stole a glance at her sister, wondering what Malcolm’s presence there as Sunny’s guest meant.

Sunny and Malcolm stepped inside and greetings erupted all around.

Malcolm was smiling at Ava, but the smile faded when he noticed her reaction. She didn’t seem happy to see him at all.

“Hi,” he said, his voice low enough so that she alone could hear him. “Is it all right that I came here?” He looked uneasy. “Sunny invited me…”

Ava quickly struggled to regain her composure. “Oh … no … of course it’s okay that you came.” She plastered on a smile and ushered him inside.

“What’s up, everybody?” Sunny seemed jovial as she made the rounds, kissing cheeks and hugging everyone.

Ava shut the door and took Malcolm’s coat, determined to keep her poker face on. Her heart had sunk the moment she saw him. Sunny had snared the man Ava wanted for herself. She silently berated herself for not making the trip to L.A. with the two of them.

Sunny handed her coat to Ava and she and Malcolm sat side by side on Jada’s love seat.

Jada was thrilled to have her friend over. She hadn’t seen Sunny since her return from California, and she took her presence today as a sign that she wasn’t upset with Jada about backing out of the trip at the last minute. “How was Thanskgiving at your mom’s house?”

Sunny was radiant. “It was great!” She had enjoyed a filling Thanksgiving feast with her family. Laughter and “remember when” had filled the household and her family had played a game of Monopoly after all the dishes were cleared away. Sunny had slipped into the bathroom while everyone was enjoying themselves and snorted a little coke before rejoining the party. Afterward, Mercedes had sat on her lap, her arms wrapped lovingly around Sunny’s waist as they enjoyed the day as a family. At close to seven o’clock, Dorian’s brother, William, arrived to pick Mercedes up. In years past, when Mercedes left to spend the holidays with her father’s side of the family, Sunny had felt abandoned and lonely without her. But this time was different. Sunny had an old familiar friend (cocaine) and a new one (Malcolm) to keep her company.

He had arrived to pick her up at exactly eight o’clock that evening. He pulled up in his Mercedes SL500 and honked the horn, but Marisol wasn’t having it. With Sunny hot on her heels, she marched outside and over to Malcolm’s car.

“Hello, sir,” Marisol said, her accent thicker than ever. “No disrespect, but it is not nice for a gentleman to honk the horn for a lady. You should get out of the car and come inside and introduce yourself—”

“This is my mother,” Sunny interrupted, sarcastically. “And she
insists
on being bossy. So please come inside and meet my family. I’m sorry.”

Malcolm was smiling. “No, please, don’t apologize.” He climbed out of the car and extended his hand to Sunny’s mother. “I’m Malcolm Dean. I wanted to come inside and meet you, too … but Sunny asked me to stay in the car.”

Sunny laughed as he shifted the blame to her. Marisol was smiling at the tall, handsome man who stood before them.

“I know,” Marisol said. “It’s her fault. Very nice to meet you, Malcolm. My name is Marisol.” She led him inside and introduced him to Sunny’s dad, to her brothers and their girlfriends.

Sunny looked on as Malcolm and her brothers made small talk about man shit. Marisol caught her eye and gave a discreet thumbs-up when no one was looking. Sunny felt like she was on top of the world.

She sat now in Jada’s living room with Malcolm at her side and noticed for the first time that Zion was there without Olivia. She glanced at Adiva playing on the floor with Ethan and she frowned.

“Where’s Olivia?” she asked, her eyes focused on Zion.

Zion shrugged. “Probably at her grandmother’s house. I left her over there hours ago.”

Sunny made a mental note to call Olivia that night for the 411. Zion, meanwhile, looked from Sunny to Jada and back again, trying to figure out which of them was getting high again. Then he looked at Malcolm. Maybe Sunny’s new lawyer friend was the one who had needed the cocaine. He glanced at Born. For his sake, Zion hoped that the perpetrator wasn’t Jada.

*   *   *

The night wore on, with Born and DJ challenging Jada and Sunny to a game of Spades. Malcolm had never played before, so he pulled up a chair beside Sunny and watched her plan her strategy for each hand. The kids played video games in the living room and Ava stood alone, watching everyone enjoy themselves. She was crushed, her hopes of having a future with Malcolm dashed as he sat seemingly hanging on Sunny’s every word. She took a sip of her cognac and told herself that there were plenty of fish in the sea.

Zion emerged from the bathroom, and saw Ava standing at a distance from the gathering. He stood beside her and smiled. “What you sipping on?”

“Courvoisier. I’m usually a light drinker—wine, champagne, stuff like that.” She watched Malcolm staring at Sunny as if entranced and shrugged. “But tonight I feel like I need something stronger.”

Zion nodded. “I know exactly how you feel.”

Ava looked at him, noticing for the first time how sad he seemed. “Everything all right?”

He shrugged, too. “Nothing a glass of Courvoisier won’t fix.”

Ava smiled at him and together they hit up Jada’s bar. While the others laughed and talked the night away, Ava and Zion talked about anything that would distract them from their troubles. Soon, they had finished off the entire bottle of cognac. They were both tipsy, but felt way better than they had hours before.

*   *   *

At the end of the night, Sunny, Ava and Miss Ingrid helped Jada clean up the dishes scattered all over the kitchen. While the kids continued to play, and the men busied themselves with conversation, Jada took the opportunity to question Sunny about her new friend.

“So,” she said, smiling. “What’s up with you and Mr. Dean?”

Ava was all ears.

“He’s very handsome,” Miss Ingrid pointed out. “If I was a couple years younger, I would give you a run for your money!”

Sunny laughed and nodded. “I know you would, Miss Ingrid! He
is
cute, ain’t he?”

Jada glanced at her sister again and felt sorry for her. She knew that Ava had hoped to have a chance with Malcolm. But now that Sunny had sank her claws into him, Jada knew that it was hopeless for her sister.

Sunny told them about her trip to L.A., how she had written Malcolm off as a corny Ivy Leaguer until he literally swept her off her feet at the charity ball. She told them about the party at Sean’s estate, about Malcolm rescuing her from the media storm, the passion-filled evening they’d spent together—censoring some of the more obscene details for Miss Ingrid’s ears—and about the romantic rendezvous that had followed over the next couple of days they spent together.

“Today is the first time I’ve seen him since we got back, though.” Sunny sighed. “I like him. He has me feeling all pink inside—and I’m
not
a pink bitch!”

All the ladies laughed at that and Ava told herself that she should be happy for Sunny. Malcolm was a great catch.

“Sounds like Malcolm is a good catch,” Miss Ingrid said, as if reading Ava’s thoughts. She smiled at Sunny. “When he looks at you, it’s like there’s no other woman in the room.”