She got up and went into the bathroom to wash her face. When she glimpsed in the mirror, she couldn’t remember putting on the outfit she was wearing. There was a sheer layer of lip gloss on her lips. She didn’t recall putting that on either.
As she went down the hall toward the steps, she paused to look into her parents’ bedroom. There were clothes strewn everywhere and evidence of a struggle. Jonquinette grew scared. Had something bad happened? Had there been an intruder or something?
Jonquinette tiptoed downstairs and was relieved when she saw her aunt Elaine and aunt Louise sitting on the couch with her mother between them.
“Momma,” she called out. “What’s going on? Where’s everyone else?”
Her mother didn’t answer. Instead, she broke out in tears.
Elaine hopped up and came over to Jonquinette. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. You and your mother still have each other.”
At that point, Jonquinette’s knees went weak. “Where’s my daddy?” she asked.
Elaine cradled Jonquinette’s face in her hands. “He’s gone.”
“Gone.” Jonquinette started crying. “He died?”
“No, child. In light of what happened earlier today, your mother thought it best that he leave. He took some things with him and, who knows, maybe one day they can reconcile.”
Meredith yelled out in anger, “Don’t lie to her! There’s not going to be any damn reconciliation! He cheated on me with a hooker! A hooker! I hope he burns in hell!”
Louise patted Meredith on the back. “If there’s any justice in this world, he will burn in hell for all eternity.”
Jonquinette didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say one single word.
19
jonquinette
I heard the knock at my door and debated. I wanted to go out with Mason so bad but, in all fairness, how could I allow him to become involved with a basket case like me?
He knocked again and I realized he wasn’t going away. It was seven on the dot and we had a date. I couldn’t believe I was going on an actual date: my first for all intents and purposes.
I smoothed out the cream dress I had selected to wear, one last time, hoping it wasn’t too wrinkled. Then I opened the door.
“Hey, Mason.”
“Hey, Jonquinette.” He was standing there looking as attractive as ever. “You all set to go?” he asked.
“Um…” I was too caught up in his hazel eyes to come up with an answer at first. Then I realized I couldn’t go through with it. “Actually, could you step inside for a moment? I really need to talk about something important with you.”
“No, no, no,” Mason said, shaking his head so his dreadlocks swung from side to side. “Don’t do this to me again, Jonquinette. Don’t cancel out on our date.”
“Could you please just come in?” Grudgingly, he came inside but stood right inside the door and didn’t venture any farther. “Mason, there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
He grinned, as if to say “is that all?”
“I’m sure. There are tons of things we don’t know about each other,” he said. “That’s the whole rationale behind dating—getting to know each other better.”
“You don’t understand.” I diverted my eyes from him. “I have some issues that I need to work through before I can get caught up with someone.”
“Okay, I’ll bite.” He crossed him arms in front of him and sighed. “What kind of issues?”
I turned my back on him and went to sit down on the couch. “This is extremely complicated for me.”
After closing my front door, coming into the living room and sitting down beside me, Mason said, “Take your time.”
How could I put it without making myself sound insane?
“Let’s just say that I have a lot of emotional baggage that I’m hauling around with me.”
“Don’t we all?” Mason asked. He reached for me and gently rubbed my shoulder. “Jonquinette, I don’t profess to be some sort of saint. I’ve had troubled relationships in my past. I’m not about to give up on finding Ms. Right, though. Life is short and I intend to share mine with someone.”
“So you’re looking for a serious relationship?” I asked, because I knew that if I entered into any type of relationship at that point in my life, it would have to be a committed one. Dating numerous men was definitely out of the question. Besides, Mason was the only man I had ever been willing to take the risk for anyway.
“Eventually,” he responded. He slid his hand all the way down my arm and took my hand. “I won’t lie to you or attempt to deceive you. No one ever knows where something might lead. But, I’m at the point in my life where I could see myself settling down with my soul mate.” He leaned over and kissed me on the corner of my mouth. “I’m only being so persistent with you because I have a feeling that you might be her.”
“Then again, I might not be her,” I stated halfhearted. If I was crazy, then I certainly wasn’t the one for him or anyone else.
“There’s only one way to find out,” he said and stood up, pulling me up with him. “So, are we going out to dinner or not?”
I strained my mouth into a smile. “Sure. Why not?”
Mason gave me a strong hug. “Exactly. Why not?”
Less than thirty minutes later, we were being seated at a nice, cozy table at the Skyy Club. “This is a nice restaurant,” I commented.
Mason opened up his menu. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Do you come here often?” I asked.
“No, this is my first time here. One of my buddies told me about the place at work. He said it had a remarkable atmosphere and appetizing food.”
The place definitely had charm and the aroma throughout the restaurant was mouth-watering. “Well, he was right on both counts.” There was a band playing that was also incredible. “The music is wonderful also,” I added.
“So tell me more about yourself, Jonquinette.”
“I’m an accountant for an office supply company and that’s about it. I generally go to work and come home. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a quality control manager for a biomedical company.”
“That sounds major. Are you a brainiac?”
“Not hardly. My parents kind of forced me into the profession. They thought it would pay well and get me out of their house before I turned forty.”
We both laughed.
“It’s true that a lot of college graduates are having problems making it solo,” I said.
“Well, you seem to be holding your own.”
“I don’t really have a choice. My father is no longer in my life and my mother is not the type of person to live with. She would drive me plum foolish. So I definitely have to make it by myself.”
I was hoping Mason didn’t ask me for more details about my parents.
“What other things do you enjoy doing?” he asked.
I shrugged because I honestly didn’t know.
“Do you like movies? Plays? Museums?”
I shrugged again. “I suppose I like all of the above but it has been ages since I’ve been to any of them,” I replied honestly.
“Well, we’ll have to change that. We can’t have you hiding out in your apartment, missing out on the finer things in life.”
How did he know I hid out in my apartment?
“This is what we’re going to do. Within the next month, I’m going to take you to at least one movie, one play, and one museum. Deal?”
“Deal.” I tried to cover my blush my putting the menu up closer to my face. “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. Thank you for agreeing to spend at least three more evenings with me.”