Femme Tales Read online

  Belinda caught Ebony’s attention. “Ebony, may I speak with you in private.” Without waiting for Ebony’s reply, she walked toward the door leading out to the back patio.

  Ebony walked out to find Belinda standing with her hands on her hips looking very annoyed.

  “You need to school that temper of yours,” she said.

  “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Ebony asked angrily.

  “I’m obviously talking to you. I know you care about Mama Ellis and you’re worried, but if you can’t watch your temper then I’m going to ask that you not come around her for at least a week. I need her focused and in a positive state of mind when I start her physical therapy, and you throwing a tantrum when we don’t act the way you expect us to will not help.”

  The look Ebony gave Belinda normally sent people scurrying from her path, but Belinda didn’t flinch, she held her ground, meeting Ebony’s hard stare with her own.

  “Is that it?” Ebony asked.

  “For now. She’s probably starting to feel the effects of the day, especially after climbing the stairs, so I’m going to get her to lie down for an hour or so,” Belinda said, walking past Ebony back into the house.

  Ebony closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, trying to get her mind and her heart to stop racing. She knew Belinda was right about her temper, but it scared her to think of losing Mama Ellis, and when Ebony was scared she lashed out. Sheree and Mama Ellis knew that about her, but it didn’t make it right to make them the target for her outbursts. She knew what she needed to do, but she never felt the need to really follow through with it, but seeing herself through Belinda’s eyes was making her realize how it affected those close to her.

  The sound of laughter from the kitchen brought her out of her reverie, but only the sound of Belinda’s husky laugh made her heart skip a beat. Ebony realized she had unwittingly let Belinda in where no one but Sheree and Mama Ellis were. She found that she didn’t just want to change for them but also for Belinda. She didn’t want Belinda to see her as the cold and quick-tempered person everyone outside of her little circle saw her as because somehow, in these few short days, Belinda had managed to chip away a large piece of the wall Ebony had built around her heart the day she realized her mother had abandoned them, and she was slowly healing the wound left behind.

  Ebony turned and walked back into the house, disappointed to find Belinda no longer there.

  “She’s getting Mama Ellis to rest,” Sheree said.

  Ebony walked over to the counter to pour a glass of the lemon water Belinda made. “I hadn’t asked anything.”

  “You didn’t have to. The look on your face when you walked in and she wasn’t here said it all.”

  “What’s that Cheshire cat grin for?” Ebony asked with a frown.

  “This is more than just some superficial thing, isn’t it?” Sheree asked.

  Ebony didn’t answer right away, gazing down into her glass of water as if the answer would suddenly float to the top. “I honestly don’t know,” she answered then sat the glass down and walked out of the apartment.

  * * *

  Belinda’s alarm clock blared loudly on her nightstand. Moaning in frustration, she reached over to turn it off. She had already hit the snooze button twice which meant she was going to have to grab breakfast on her way uptown. She slowly made her way to the bathroom, still a bit groggy from a restless night of sleep filled with dreams of her and Ebony. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been just this one dream, but it was just the latest of many that began shortly after the night they had sex. That had been three weeks ago.

  Belinda figured the dreams would stop since there was never a repeat of that night. As a matter of fact, she barely saw Ebony since Mama Ellis had come home from the hospital, and when she did they were never alone. Ebony must have taken what she said about her temper to heart because she seemed much more easygoing. Oddly enough, the less she saw of Ebony the more frequent her dreams were, particularly during her weekends off spent in her own home. The dreams this time were different from the usual erotic dreams that woke her up wet, wanting, and blushing for days with just thoughts of what happened. This one left an ache in her heart rather than in between her legs.

  Belinda was at a formal event dressed in a gold strapless dress and gold strappy high-heeled shoes with her locs wound into a chignon and entwined with sparkling gold-stringed crystals. She remembered feeling as if she was waiting for something but didn’t know what until she saw Ebony walking toward her from across the room dressed in a black fitted tuxedo with a silk black shirt unbuttoned at the collar and smooth, shining black dress shoes. She smiled as she noticed the gold socks Ebony wore that matched her dress perfectly.

  Ebony held out a hand toward Belinda as she drew near. “Dance with me,” she’d said, and when Belinda placed her hand in Ebony’s they were suddenly the only ones in the room. When Belinda stepped into Ebony’s embrace she felt as if this was who she was made for. That everything she’d ever experienced had led her to this moment. It was then that she heard what song the DJ was playing. It was her parents’ favorite song, “Sweet Love” by Anita Baker. It was shortly after that the sound of her alarm drowned out the lyrics and sent her dream fading into black. Even now, the memory of the dream was as vivid as it was while she slept, causing her heart to ache even more for the chance to go back to sleep and see the intensity of love in Ebony’s eyes and the passion she’d felt being in Ebony’s arms.

  Just as Belinda stepped out of the shower, she heard the distant sound of her cell phone ringing. For anyone to be calling this early in the morning usually meant it was an emergency. She grabbed a towel and tried to hurry as carefully as possible so that she wouldn’t slip on the tile and wood floors of her bathroom and apartment.

  “Hello!” she said breathlessly into the phone.

  “Uh, Belinda, it’s Ebony.”

  Belinda’s heart raced frantically in her chest. “Ebony? Is everything all right?”

  “You sound a little winded. Did I call at a bad time?” Ebony asked.

  “No, I was in the shower and had to run to get the phone.”

  “Oh. Well, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that I have to go out of town and won’t be back until the weekend. I’m on my way to the airport now so I won’t be at the house when you get there. Sheree has access to everything if you need anything for Mama Ellis.”

  “Okay. Thanks for calling to let me know.”

  “No problem. I’ll see you next week,” Ebony said, then hung up before Belinda could respond.

  Belinda tossed her cell phone on the bed dejectedly. “What did you expect?” she asked herself out loud. “That she was calling to claim her undying love for you?”

  She turned and retraced her wet footprints back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. An hour later, she was on the train heading uptown and trying to think of the best way to deal with her growing attraction to Ebony. They were too different, like oil and water. There would be no way they would mix. Yes, the sex was freaking awesome, but you couldn’t build a lasting relationship on sex, and that’s what Belinda wanted in her life now, a lasting relationship.

  Ebony’s womanizing reputation was well known, not only in the news but also within New York’s gay community. Ebony was definitely not the committed relationship type. There was no shame in her game, and Belinda didn’t want to be another conquest. Although, since she’d already slept with her it was probably a little too late to worry about that, but it wouldn’t change the fact that she and Ebony were not meant to be.

  When Belinda arrived at the Trent residence she felt she had made the right decision in not pursuing Ebony after that one night. Belinda also felt that Ebony being away would give her the space and time she needed to get thoughts of the sexy stud out of her head. Mama Ellis’s apartment door was already open so Belinda walked in.

  “Mama Ellis?” she called out.

  “I’m in the garden,” Mama Ell
is cheerfully called back.

  Belinda dropped her bag off in the guest room then went out to the garden through Mama Ellis’s room.

  “How are you feeling today?” she asked Mama Ellis as she sipped a cup of tea.

  “I’m feeling good, honey. How was your weekend?” Mama Ellis asked.

  “It was good. Had dinner with Daddy and Karen on Saturday, then met some friends for brunch on Sunday,” she answered as she sat in the chair beside her and poured herself a cup of tea as well. This had become their morning ritual. Relaxing with a kettle of green tea in the garden before beginning her physical therapy or just taking a walk around the neighborhood.

  “Sounds like it’s getting pretty serious with your daddy and his friend,” Mama Ellis said.

  “I think it is. This is the first time we’ve all gone out to dinner rather than Karen or Daddy cooking at the house.”

  “I’m glad. I know he loved your mama, but it’s about time for him to move on and live his life. I’m sure she wouldn’t want him putting it on hold the way he has been,” Mama Ellis said.

  “I told him that after dinner. I like Karen and I think she’s been good for him. He deserves to be happy,” Belinda said.

  “And what about you? Don’t you deserve to be happy?” Mama Ellis asked.

  “I am happy.” Belinda picked an imaginary piece of lint off her top to avoid Mama Ellis’s knowing gaze.

  “You’d be happier if you and Eb would stop walking around trying not to notice each other and just admit how you feel,” Mama Ellis said nonchalantly.

  Belinda choked a little on the sip of tea she had just taken, and it took her a moment to recover. When she did she looked at Mama Ellis in surprise.

  “Oh, don’t look all shocked. You two have been making googly eyes at each other for weeks now. I may have had a stroke, but I’m not blind.”

  Belinda managed to recover from her surprise. “Ebony is my employer. I don’t get involved with my clients or employers.”

  “Honey, when it comes to love, none of that matters. All that matters is that I’ve known Ebony since she was a little girl and after her daddy passed and her mama selfishly escaped into drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of her loss, I hadn’t seen her at peace until I saw her looking at you just a week after I came home from the hospital. You said Karen is good for your daddy, well, you’re good for our Eb, and I can tell by the way you look at her that you feel the same way about her.” Mama Ellis stood. “Now, if you working for her is all that’s in the way, then I’ll gladly fire you because I can get another nurse easier than I can find another woman like you who will make my Eb happy,” she said before heading back into the apartment.

  Belinda sat in stunned silence for a moment then stood and picked up the tea service and headed toward the kitchen entrance of the private yard. Mama Ellis was wrong. What she and Ebony had for each other was physical attraction, not love. Belinda wasn’t one of those people who believed in love at first sight. Love was something that grew over time, and she and Ebony barely had enough time to speak let alone develop emotional feelings for one another.

  As she stood at the kitchen sink absentmindedly cleaning the teapot and cups they used, she thought of a moment several nights ago when they were all in the living room after dinner and she and Sheree were sitting on the floor playing Scrabble. She had looked up for just a moment and caught Ebony watching her. She’d grown used to seeing the heated sexual need in her eyes since the night they’d had sex, but that night there was something deeper. There was a look of such tender affection that Belinda had quickly looked away, not sure how to handle it.

  A moment later, Mama Ellis announced she was going to bed, and after Belinda made sure she was okay and came back to the living room, Ebony was gone. She hadn’t seen or spoken with her since that night until she’d called this morning to tell her she had to leave for the week.

  No, she thought, it was purely sexual. It couldn’t be love. It didn’t matter that whenever Ebony walked into the room her heart skipped a beat and she felt like a silly schoolgirl crushing on the star athlete. It wasn’t love when she took pleasure in preparing Ebony’s favorites when she knew she’d be joining them for dinner or wanting to ease her stress when she noticed how tired she was after a long day at the studio.

  After all, she took care of people for a living, why wouldn’t she want to give comfort where she could? And for all she knew, Ebony could’ve been looking at Sheree the other night and she just happened to catch eye contact with her. No, Mama Ellis had to be mistaken. Belinda tried to convince herself, but the ache in her heart at not being able to see Ebony for a whole week told her otherwise.

  Belinda distracted herself from thinking further about what Mama Ellis said by changing their therapy routine with a trip to the homeless shelter Mama Ellis had been so involved with before her stroke. It was the first time she’d been back, and although she still needed the cane for assistance to get around and tired out a little quicker than she used to, the staff adored her and found ways to involve her with activities.

  Belinda enjoyed watching her reading stories to the little ones or helping the teenagers with their schoolwork when she could. It turned out Mama Ellis had been a school teacher for many years before she and her husband moved to Chicago from Ohio. She knew a break from the physical therapy and doing something with more challenging interaction to strengthen her mental capacity would be good for her. She also secretly hoped it would distract Mama Ellis from discussing her and Ebony further.

  Midway through the week, Belinda lay in bed late one night reading, when her cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. To her surprise, it was Ebony.

  After taking a deep breath to slow her racing heart, she answered. “Hello.”

  “Hey, it’s Ebony.”

  “Hey, Ebony. How’s your trip going?”

  “It’s good. How’s Mama Ellis doing?”

  “She’s had a busy few days, but she’s doing well.”

  “Yeah, Sheree told me you took her by the homeless shelter for a couple of days. She loves that place so I’m sure she had a good time.”

  “Yes, she did. It was good for her to get out and interact with the kids. If it’s okay with you I’d like to make that a regular routine for her at least once or twice a week, depending on how she’s feeling.”

  “Yeah, sure, if you feel like it’s helping with her recovery then I’m fine with it. By the way, I don’t think I’ve thanked you for the great work you’re doing with Mama Ellis. She’s recovering better than I expected.”

  “You’re welcome, but I can’t take all the credit. She’s a determined woman. I think that as long as you had a good nurse she would’ve made the same progress because of her strong will to get better.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  They were both quiet for a moment.

  Ebony cleared her throat, then said, “Well, I’ll let you go. I’m sure you’re tired.”

  “No, actually I couldn’t sleep and was just reading.” Belinda realized she missed the sound of Ebony’s voice. She didn’t want the call to end yet.

  “Oh, anything good?”

  “Just an article in the current issue of Essence about how to spice up your love life.”

  Ebony chuckled. “Does your love life need spicing up?”

  “Kind of hard to spice up something that doesn’t exist,” Belinda answered.

  “I can’t imagine you not having someone at home making sure you’re taken care of just as well as you take care of others,” Ebony said.

  Belinda felt her face heat with a blush. “My work keeps me too busy to focus on a relationship.”

  “So how do you unwind when you’re not working?” Ebony asked.

  “I spend time with my friends and my family,” Belinda answered, wondering why Ebony was suddenly so interested in her personal life. They’d been pretty much living under the same roof for weeks now, and she had never once asked anything personal.

  “What about you?” Belinda
asked, turning the tables on her. “What do you do on the rare occasion you aren’t working?”

  “You already know the answer to that. If I’m not in the studio I’m usually down at Mama Ellis’s,” Ebony answered.

  “And there’s no one special in your life outside of Mama Ellis and Sheree?” Belinda asked.

  Ebony was quiet for a moment, and Belinda’s belly fluttered nervously waiting for her to answer.

  “No,” Ebony responded.

  Belinda grew quiet once again. So much wanting to be said hanging in the silence.

  Ebony was the first to speak. “So…uh…that first night…when we…”

  “Had sex,” Belinda quietly finished for her. If there was a time to finally discuss what happened she guessed now was as good a time as any.

  “Yeah,” Ebony said. “Thank you for not letting it get in the way of helping Mama Ellis.”

  “I take my job very seriously, Ebony. You and I signed a contract, and what happened between us had nothing to do with whether or not I could perform my job and fulfill that contract,” Belinda said, a little annoyed that this is where that subject was leading rather than discussing why it happened.

  “Yeah, well, a contract never stopped some women from taking advantage of my family,” Ebony said coldly. “Hell, for all I know you could’ve been talking to a lawyer all this time trying to see what you can get.”

  “Wow, somebody must’ve really done a number on you,” Belinda said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You can’t trust anybody can you? You can’t imagine someone wanting to be with you just to be with you and not to get something from you. I feel sorry for you,” Belinda said.