Raging Blue (9 page)

Chapter
17

Gavin

Gavin stepped out of the steamy shower and dried his body as he grooved to his favorite
selection of Alfonzo Blackwell’s latest jazz CD. Every now and then he’d press his lips together and finger air notes as he played an imaginary saxophone to the crisp melodies floating through the house from his Bose speaker system. He was grateful to have the house to himself. Jay had been gone for a few days, and Gavin hoped he’d stay gone.

Gavin tracked moist footprints from the bath to where his iPod played in the connecting bedroom and switched genres from Jazz to R&B. The sexually-charged but soulful tunes always placed him in a good mood just before a date.

The beige button-down shirt he slipped on was starched to perfection. Monogram cufflinks finished the sleeves. Gavin slipped his well-oiled legs into dark blue jeans, and then slipped on espresso-colored shoes and a matching sports jacket. When he looked in the mirror, he jerked his collar and winked while mouthing the words to an old party song by Montell Jordan. Kenneth Cole’s Black for Men flavored the air as Gavin sprayed it over his body. He sniffed. One last squirt added the final touch.

Gavin checked his watch and
confirmed he was good on time. It was just after seven, and he had until eight p.m. to get over to Lisa’s place.

The phone rang. It was Gavin’s doorman letting him know his female guest had arrived.

“Thanks. Send her up,” he instructed the doorman.

For a moment, Gavin wondered why
Lisa hadn’t waited for him to come to her, but then he figured there was nothing wrong with getting the night started early. They could enjoy a cocktail before heading out. Gavin grabbed two glasses and had filled them with Merlot by the time the elevator doors opened.

Blue walked in and took a glass from his hand.

“Thanks!”

“Hey…you’re …uh…welcome,” Gavin fumbled, surprised to see Blue.

Blue took a long sip and closed her eyes. The moan she let out after she swallowed was a testament to how much she enjoyed the taste. She finished off the glass and handed it back to Gavin, who still hadn’t moved.

“Hey, that’s my song,” Blue said, swaying to 112’s
Anywhere
. “What’s up with the mood you’re setting here? Wine and 112. That’s a sexy combination. It’s just me, Gavin. Are you trying to tell me something?” Blue teased and snickered.

“Not at all! I thought you were my friend Lisa.”

“Oh.” A veil of embarrassment draped her. “I thought you were expecting me. I don’t mean…with the wine and all. Anyway, I called you.”

“Oh, yes! You’re right,” Gavin said, scrunching his face and sucking air through his teeth. “Ah, damn. Sorry, I forgot. There was something you wanted to talk about, right?”

“Yeah.” Blue’s eyes bounced around the room, avoiding Gavin’s.

“Hold on a minute,” he said, holding the glasses up.

He ran to the bedroom, turned off the music, and put the wine glasses in the kitchen. His glass was still full.

“Okay. Now, what’s up? What happened?”

“Um…well. You know what?” Blue took a breath. “This can wait. I didn’t realize you were going out. We can talk another time.”

“You sure? It’s not a problem. I can call and let her know I’ll be a few minutes late.”

Gavin didn’t want to let her down, but he also didn’t want to keep Lisa waiting.

There he was, putting Lisa aside for Blue. His priorities confused him. Gavin convinced himself that he was just being a good and loyal friend—again.

“No, don’t worry. Let me know when it will be a good time. I don’t want to interrupt. It looks like you’re all geared up for a hot date. Don’t let me mess that up for you.” Blue let out a nervous chuckle.

Gavin walked over to her.

“If you need to talk to me now, then let’s talk,” he said.

“No, I insist. It can wait. Go out and have fun,” Blue said and turned to walk to the elevator. She turned back to Gavin with her head hung down, but her eyes lifted slowly to meet his. They stood face to face for moments without speaking.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said.

“Call me if you need me,” he offered one last time.

“I will. Thanks…as always,” she responded, avoiding his eyes.

They stood at that place again with weighted silence between them. Gavin didn’t trust himself with her nor did he want to take advantage of her emotional frailty. This
was
his “best friend’s” wife. He'd blown his chance back in college. He pitied her, but cared for her more.

“Okay,” Blue said and sighed. “I’m going. I don’t want to hold you up.” She didn’t move and neither did he. “Thanks again. Call me tomorrow so I can fill you in. I need some advice, okay?”

“Okay.”

Blue leaned in and kissed his lips. Gavin bit down on his teeth and kept his lips tight. She leaned in again. He closed his eyes and wished her away, though his attempt failed to douse the sparks that flickered between them. He could almost hear them crackle. Blue ran her tongue across his lips and kissed him once more. Gavin responded and quickly pulled away, leaving a slight distance.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, looking past her. “I’ve got to get uptown quick.”

After pressing the call button for the elevator, he busied himself checking his watch as he walked to the kitchen, leaving Blue standing by the elevator door. He refused to turn back until just before the elevator doors closed. When he did, he could see a glistening trail of tears sliding down Blue’s cheeks.

Gavin took a deep breath. He’d never told Blue that Jay was staying with him. And he'd never told Jay that he was still in touch with Blue. He tried his best to shake off the shift in atmosphere that Blue’s visit created with her presence. He hoped Lisa wouldn’t sense his discomfort. When she pressed her lips against his at the end of the night, surely the soft, fresh touch of Blue’s lips would be on his mind.

Grabbing his keys, he headed for the elevator door. Instead of boarding right away, he stood at the entrance tossing the keys in the air as he tried to ready his heart and mind for Lisa. Blue was in his system, fastening herself to his emotions, squeezing Lisa out.

Chapter 18

Blue

Blue rushed home, burst through the door and into her bedroom where she threw herself across the bed. Her encounter with Gavin left her embarrassed. Within minutes, her pillow was soaked. She punched it a few times, then buried her face to muffle her cries. Jay was to blame for everything. She wanted revenge, but a clear plan had yet to form in her convoluted mind. Vengeance would give her temporary gratification. More than anything, she just wanted the pain and anger to go away.

Blue got up and ran to Jay’s closet, where some of his clothes were still hanging. She ripped his expensive suits and other garments from the hangers, marched to the guest room, and threw them on the floor.

“
You bastard! Why did you do this to me?” she cried.

Her breathing was ragged as she made several trips back and forth until Jay’s closet was empty. Blue trudged around the rest of the house schlepping anything she could find that belonged to Jay. High piles of clothing, sports paraphernalia, footwear, pictures, and keepsake basketballs littered the room until Blue could barely close the door. She thought about throwing a match into the heap.

“I hate you!” she screamed, then crumbled into her hands. “God. My best friend and my husband.”

             
Pictures and balls crashed into the walls as she tossed them across the room. Her breathing was reduced to spurts of air. She stopped and took several deep breaths to avoid hyperventilating. That pain in the pit of her belly burned again. Blue cradled her stomach and fell to her knees.

“Why me?”

Washed down in sweat and exhaustion, the heaviness gave way to fatigue, and she lay on top of the clothes sniffling until she fell asleep.

She dreamed that Jay was back and things were like they used to be, until he announced to her that he and Mia were getting married. He even invited Blue to the wedding with a magnificent smile. Blue’s confusion lingered until she was fully awake.

She looked around the room, squinting, trying to decipher her reality. Then the phone rang. Slowly, she pulled herself up and dragged her body back to the bedroom. The muffled ringing stopped and started again from inside her purse. She dug inside and studied the missed calls. One from her brother Richard, one from her cousin Fran, and most shockingly, the last one was from Jay. Blue tossed the phone on the bed and turned away, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stepped in closer to examine her bulging red eyes.

The phone rang again. The neon blue numbers on the clock told her it was past three in the morning. She let it ring.

Going to work the next morning was out of the question. She’d have to call in or work from home. She couldn’t show up with swollen eyes for everyone to surreptitiously query the origin of her worn appearance.

When the phone rang again, Blue snatched it off of the bed and answered. "What?"

“Are you okay?” Gavin asked.

“It’s late, Gavin.”

“I know, but I just got back in and wanted to check up on you. You looked really upset when you left earlier.”

Blue wiped her face. “How was your date?” she asked, trying to sound normal.

“It was cool. I wanted to say sorry.” Gavin paused. “Would you like to meet me for lunch so we can talk?”

Blue thought about how her face would look and decided she could hide her puffy eyes behind designer shades.

“That’s cool. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care. You pick the place.”

“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

“All right. Let’s make it for two o’clock after the rush. Cool?”

“Cool.”

“Oh, and Blue?”

“Yeah?”

“Stop crying. It’s going to be all right. It just takes a little time.”

“I’m not crying. I’m sleepy. It’s after three in the morning, remember?” Blue said, upset that she was still unable to hide the agony in her voice.

She ended the call, and while walking to the mirror, she knew she would probably stand Gavin up. She was far too raw for a public appearance, even if it was with Gavin. Though she had plans for him, she’d have to wait a day or two before she began putting them into action.

Instead of going back to bed, Blue went to the kitchen, put on water for tea, and headed to her home office. She pulled the files containing all of her financial records. Studying the statements and trust documents, she confirmed Jay wasn’t entitled to her trust, but could have access to her monthly disbursements, which she'd pooled into an investment account that was in her name only. Now she needed to find a way to protect those investments because she wasn’t about to let Jay get his hands on that money. Her mother was right. She needed to get on the ball.

By the time Blue finished going through all of her statements, the sun had made its way through the creases in her wood blinds, casting radiant stripes across the room. She called her mother and told her that she’d meet her for breakfast.

Blue showered and plundered through the junk drawer in the kitchen in search of her car keys. It had been weeks since she’d driven anywhere. Living in the city, it was easier to jump in a taxi as opposed to pulling her car from the garage and dealing with the erratic traffic just to park in another garage or spend countless minutes circling overcrowded Manhattan neighborhoods for a parking space.

When the attendant pulled her white convertible Mercedes from her designated spot, it was covered with an opaque layer of dust. Blue twisted her nose at the dirty car. She’d surely have to run it through the car wash before taking the quick ride over the bridge into Queens to meet her mother. Rolling up in that filthy vehicle
would definitely give her mother something to fuss about.

***

Blue pulled up in front of her mother’s sprawling home in Jamaica Estates and tooted the horn lightly.

Jean sprung down her front steps almost immediately, looking elegant in a sweeping, ankle-length sundress, her usual ponytail, brilliant red lips, and sandals with dazzling stones.

Blue looked at her mother and smiled. People believed they were sisters despite the twenty-five year difference between their ages.

Jean gracefully entered the car, filling the air with the sweet fragrance of her signature perfume. For as long as Blue could remember, her mother had always wore Jessica McClintock. Its distinct feminine aroma always garnered the attention of the men, who fell over themselves to offer up compliments.

“That was quick,” Jean said as she gently pulled the door close. “It’s been a long time since we’ve broken bread together. I figured it would be nice to go over to the diner on the corner of Francis Lewis and Horace Harding. You remember that one, don’t you? It’s the same one that Bill Clinton came to when he first got into office years ago. I love it over there.”

“Yes,” Blue replied as she shifted the car into gear and cruised away.

“Why don’t you put the top down,” Jean suggested, looking up at the ceiling of the car. “It’s such a nice day. I’m not worried about my hair. Are you? With the kind of hair you have, who could tell if it gets a little ruffled from the wind?” she said, lifting a lock of Blue’s coils between her index finger and thumb.

Without looking in her mother’s direction, Blue envisioned the scowl Jean wore as she commented on her hair. She bit her lip to keep from responding flippantly. Snide remarks fell from her mother’s lips with such ease that Blue assumed she was oblivious to her own thought process. Pushing the offhandedness aside, Blue called her office to tell them she wouldn’t be in. Jean continued to talk despite seeing her on the phone.

Once inside the diner, they were seated quickly. Before the hostess could walk away from the table, Jean ordered her to bring her a cup of green tea and lightly buttered wheat toast. Blue rolled her eyes and waited for their rightful waiter to approach the table before giving her order.

“Okay, so spill it. What’s up? There’s only one reason why you would have called and invited me to breakfast. Besides showing up at your house the other day, I haven’t seen you in months.” Jean shuffled in her seat and sat proud. “You’ve decided to listen to my advice from the other day, huh?”

“Actually, yes! You were right. Things aren’t going so well with Jay and me. I want to be certain that I protect my interests like you said.” Blue fed her mother’s ego. “I need to transfer some funds, and I need your help.”

A brilliant smile eased across Jean’s face as she shimmied in her seat. “Of course I’ll help.”

Jean’s excitement concerned Blue, but she understood where it came from. Winning was personal for Jean, and Blue’s request for her assistance was win number one. Helping to keep Jay’s hands off of her daughter’s money would be win number two. Right now, Jay represented all the men who had done Jean wrong or tried to get their greedy hands on her money, including Blue’s father. Jean was Blue’s ace in the hole, but she still couldn’t reveal the truth about everything that had happened.

After breakfast, they headed to the banks and transferred Blue’s investment accounts into Jean’s name. Now that the money was safe, Blue wondered what her mother’s assistance would cost her.