Never Say Never, page 5
breakfast, but when she arrived, the small dining spot was packed to capacity. Sabrina had to wait several minutes for a seat. Looking around, she saw several regulars and pillars of the Cuyler-Brownsville community seated at plastic booths drinking coffee and talking politics, sports and religion. There was the Reverend Caleb Williams, Raymond Brown, Jacob Young, who owned a small grocery mart, and the town barber.
Sabrina stood frozen to the spot, transported to another time and place when she and Dorian, her first love, had cuddled up in one of those plastic booths, holding hands or sharing a milkshake and fries. Why couldn’t things stay that simple? thought Sabrina, smiling.
When she brought herself back to the present, she noticed a seat open up at the counter and grabbed it before anyone else could.
Pulling a menu from the napkin holder, she surveyed the morning specials. She was famished. A healthy portion of pancakes, sausage and eggs would do her just fine.
Sabrina was deep in her menu when she looked up and noticed the waitress staring at her. Recognition took several moments.
The hair was different, cut into a stylish short, layered bob and the clothes were similar: form-fitting low-rider jeans, sexy black lace top and loud red lipstick, but the café-au-lait face with the brilliant brown eyes she would remember anywhere.
“Monique, how are you? How’s your mom? It’s so good to see you. How long has it been?” Sabrina fired off the questions.
“Humph,” Monique murmured before turning on her heel and stomping off toward the kitchen.
She hadn’t seen Monique in over ten years, but it was obvious Monique was upset with her too … Sabrina had a mind to go in there after her, but thought better of it. She’d let her cool off first and try again later.
“We meet again, fair Sabrina,” a tenor voice said from behind her.
Whirling around, Sabrina glanced up and saw Dr. Winters smiling at her. “Yes, we do. You have an uncanny knack for showing up when I’m having a really bad day.”
His face was reserved, yet Sabrina found him deliciously appealing. He surely wasn’t her type, being such a stuffed shirt. Perhaps it was the touches of human kindness he’d shown her or the glint in his eye or that strong jaw. Stop it, stop it, Sabrina scolded herself.
After his early morning appointment with Mr. Gibson, and with a light patient schedule today, Malcolm had decided to shoot out of the office for some breakfast. He joined Sabrina at the counter, where an empty seat had suddenly materialized beside her. Despite her lack of makeup and her casual look, he was impressed that she was still a real stunner. Sabrina yelled down to another waitress at the far end of the counter, “Can we get some service or what?”
Annoyed, the waitress turned her head. “Just a minute. I’ll be right with you.”
What’s with this town? Why is everyone against me? She’d allowed Tre to rule her life, but must she constantly be punished for it? What was done was done and there was no turning back.
“Do you ever have a good day?” Malcolm asked.
Sabrina chuckled. “I suppose you might think that, given the two times you’ve seen me before, but I’m hoping my luck is about to change.”
“How so?”
“Well, I’ve moved here for one.”
“To make a fresh start?” Having come to Savannah for the same thing, Malcolm understood her reasoning. They had a certain kinship. Perhaps she too was trying to escape the past.
Sabrina nodded. “For me and for Jazzy. Maybe I’ll even go back to school.”
“Good choice. Education is very important,” Malcolm said. “You can’t go wrong.”
“Thanks. It’s nice to have someone on my side, especially since my return hasn’t been well received.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I, for one, am very happy to see you again.” Since he’d met Sabrina and her daughter, he’d felt the best he had in a year. He was even smiling more often.
Malcolm’s comment touched Sabrina, and she took the opportunity to study his profile. She didn’t know what it was about Dr. Winters, but he had a calming presence, which was exactly what she needed given the upheaval in her life.
“I must admit, it is funny how fate keeps throwing us together,” Sabrina said after the waitress finally came and took their order.
“Maybe it’s trying to tell us something,” Malcolm said.
“Hmmm … and what do you think that might be?”
“I don’t know.” Malcolm paused. “But how about we find out over dinner?” The words tumbling out of his mouth surprised him. “Pardon?” Did he just ask me out on a date? If so, she was nowhere near ready to join the dating pool. The ink was barely dry on her divorce. “I couldn’t possibly.”
“Why not?” Malcolm picked up her left hand. “I don’t see any rings on your finger.”
“I’m divorced and …,” Sabrina stammered.
“And what? Is there something wrong with me? Do I smell?” He sniffed his armpits.
“No.” Sabrina laughed. “It’s just a little soon for me. Perhaps you should try hanging out with the boys down at Mimi’s after work. That might get you some companionship.”
“I prefer the female variety or to be alone.”
“Sounds a little rigid.”
“That’s the way I like it. Listen, how about I make it easy for you—dinner and a movie … as friends.” He threw that last part in hoping to sell her on the idea. The more time he spent in Sabrina Parker’s company, the more he wanted to know her.
“I don’t know.” Sabrina argued with herself in her head. Here a good-looking man was asking her out and her heart was saying, Yes, take a chance and enjoy life, but her mind was saying, No way. Don’t risk it.
“I’m sorry, Malcolm. I appreciate the offer, but I can’t.” Sabrina stood up to leave. “I’m just not ready to start dating again. It’s just too soon.”
“I understand. Please sit back down.” Once she was seated, Malcolm said, “I take it you had a bad breakup.”
“You have no idea. But mostly I need time. Malcolm, I need time to find out who I am outside of my ex-husband, Tre. For years, I’d been altruistic, catering to Tre and Jasmine’s needs before my own. And now, I’m finally at a point in my life that I feel free to be me and to find out what I want in life. Can you understand that?”
“Of course.”
Malcolm knew he’d made a gross miscalculation in pushing too soon. A casual flirtation was all this lady was ready to handle. One day soon, though, when she let her guard down long enough, he’d try again.
“I don’t want to get in the way of your self-discovery, Sabrina. Listen, I understand that you’re still getting over your ex-husband and are not looking for a relationship. And to be quite honest, neither am I. I’m getting over a traumatic event myself and my head isn’t right either. So if all we’re meant to be is friends, then that’s what we’ll be.”
“Do you mean that?” Sabrina searched his face for a sign that he was completely above board. “I’m not sure I can offer you much more than friendship.”
“And I’d be a lucky man to have that.”
Sabrina’s brow rose. Had she indeed found a man worthy of her but who had impeccably bad timing?
“Then consider Jasmine and me your friends,” Sabrina replied.
“Excellent,” Malcolm muttered.
He was used to getting exactly what he wanted. Used to the tide turning his way. He’d have to step up his game to turn this one around.
Chapter 5
As Sabrina walked back to her car from the diner, she caught her reflection in a store window. How could anyone find me attractive? Sabrina looked at herself, hard. A round face devoid of makeup and in severe need of an eyebrow wax stared back at her. Her usually beautiful hair was in bad need of a style and cut.
She looked away from the window, and right on the corner she spotted a place called “Curl and Weaves.” She aborted her trip to her car, and walked to the salon.
Sabrina was determined to free herself of some hair, but after she walked in to the almost-empty shop—it was only 10:45 a.m. on a weekday—the hairdresser, an old high school girlfriend, immediately had other ideas.
“So you want to cut off all your hair because you’re upset over some trifling man?” Stacy asked. “I think not.” She snapped her fingers. “Sabrina, this is not Waiting to Exhale and you most certainly are not Angela Bassett.” Sabrina giggled at that one. “You’ve got some beautiful thick hair. I’ll give you a good condition, add a straw set and you’ll be looking and feeling like a brand new woman.”
Sabrina thought about it for a moment. Her hair was naturally curly. When did I stop wearing my hair natural? Suddenly, the reason rushed at her. She stop wearing her hair au-naturel because Tre hadn’t liked it that way. He had told her it made her look like some bush woman or something, so he asked her to go get a relaxer, but she had steadfastly refused. Her hair was a part of her African and French heritage and she wasn’t about to change it, not even for him; still, she acquiesced and started getting her hair blow-dried out at the hairdresser’s and had been doing so ever since.
“That sounds fabulous,” Sabrina said, turning back around and leaning back in her seat. “Hook me up, Stacy.”
Stacy set Sabrina’s naturally curly hair with straw rods, then sat her under a dryer. When she emerged, Stacy unfastened the rods and neck-hugging ringlets replaced Sabrina’s normally thick curls. Sabrina absolutely loved the new look and tipped Stacy twenty bucks to prove it.
Strutting up the boulevard, Sabrina swung her purse in abandon. On the way to her car, she couldn’t resist checking herself out in that same window that had, just a couple of hours before, sent her in to some despair. But this time, her hairdo was definitely a thumbs-up.
After her new hairstyle, it was off to Dixon Elementary School to enroll Jasmine in the fourth grade. The day before, she had made an afternoon appointment with the school principal to wrap up Jasmine’s enrollment for the coming school year. When Sabrina arrived at Dixon, the parking lot was surprisingly full. Teachers must be preparing for summer school, she thought as she smoothly parked her car.
Sabrina found the architecture surprisingly modern as she opened the school’s front door and walked the long corridor to the principal’s office. When she arrived, his assistant informed her that he was running behind schedule.
Sabrina took a seat and was flipping through Essence when the door swung open and Monique Jackson and her two kids, Brianna and Brandon, walked in. Sabrina was none too happy to see the little diva after their encounter earlier in the day at the diner. Monique had treated her with such contempt that Sabrina lowered her head, and it almost touched Essence. She could only hope that Monique didn’t see her.
No such luck! While the assistant went to check on the principal, Monique turned around to survey the room and discovered Sabrina hiding behind the magazine.
Annoyed, she walked toward her chair and snatched Essence right out of Sabrina’s hands. “Trying to avoid me?” Monique asked huffily.
“Excuse you,” Sabrina replied, rising to her feet.
Monique raised one thin arched eyebrow. “Touchy, touchy.”
“Why wouldn’t I be, Monique?” Sabrina boldly met her gaze. “If I remember correctly, you want nothing more to do with me. And I can only assume that that’s still the case.”
“Are you trying to provoke another argument?” Monique stood up straight and put her hands on her hips.
“Enough, okay, Monique? You don’t wish to rekindle our former friendship, so let’s leave it at that. If we happen to see each other at school engagements, I’ll be sure to turn the other cheek.”
“Ahhh.” Monique stomped her foot in frustration. “Can’t you see that I’m hopping mad? I’m mad that you left Savannah without a backward glance. I’m mad that when you came back for the summer after meeting your husband that you’d changed. And I’m mad that you never came back to visit. And I’m mad that when I should be angry with you, all I want to do is give you a big fat hug and welcome back one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”
Sabrina’s eyes welled and she rushed into Monique’s open arms.
“Monique, I’m so sorry, ya hear?” Sabrina said. Her Southern accent came back as she squeezed her old friend. “I was wrong for forgetting about my family and friends all to please Tre. Look at what it cost me. Look at where I am now.”
Monique stepped back and wiped away the tears that were streaming down Sabrina’s honey-brown cheeks. “It’s so good to have you back, Binks.”
A smile formed on Sabrina’s lips as Monique used her old nickname.
“Let’s have a seat.” Monique gave Sabrina a reassuring touch to sit before taking the chair beside her. “I want to know everything that’s happened in the last what … nine years?”
“More like ten,” Sabrina replied. “How about I fill you in over a cup of coffee? I noticed that new Starbucks next to the dry cleaners.”
“You like that high-priced stuff?”
“Girl, you will too. I promise.”
“Ms. Jackson,” the principal’s assistant interrupted them from across the counter. “I have Brandon’s summer school schedule for you.” She held out an envelope to Monique.
Rising, Monique walked over to take it. “I swear,” she said as she walked back toward Sabrina, “if that boy fails one more class, I’m going to strangle him.”
Before Monique even got near Sabrina, the assistant announced that the principal would be tied up for at least another hour.
Sabrina just shrugged and looked at Monique. So much for her appointment. Sabrina told the assistant she’d be back in about an hour. Then she turned to Monique.
“You ready for that coffee?” Sabrina asked, reaching for the Michael Kors purse in her lap.
“I would love some.” Monique laughed.
After coffee with Monique, which she enjoyed every minute of, Sabrina went back to Dixon to register Jasmine for classes, then she headed to the food store to pick up some groceries for her mother and afterward, drove back to her parents’ bungalow.
“I’m home,” Sabrina yelled as she entered the house loaded down with several bags. She walked through the living room and into the kitchen, and deposited the bags on the counter.
Suddenly, Jasmine appeared at the kitchen entrance. “What did you do to your hair?” she asked, stunned.
“I changed it,” Sabrina stated matter-of-factly.
“Daddy liked it straight.” Jasmine folded her arms across her chest. “It was his favorite. I guess that’s why you changed it, right?”
“Young lady, you hush,” her grandmother, who now stood beside Jasmine, ordered. “You need to stay out of grown folks’ business, ya hear?”
“Yes, Grandma.” Jasmine hung her head, but Sabrina doubted the warning had sunk in.
“I, for one, love it. I’m so glad you’re wearing your natural hair again, Sabrina. I thought it was a travesty when you went for the straight look. It felt like you were trying not to be you. This is much more befitting. James, don’t you agree?” her mother asked, turning from the kitchen entrance to look in the direction of her husband, who was in his favorite La-Z-Boy in the living room, deep into his television program.
James shrugged. “I like it either way. Anyway, it’s Sabrina’s choice. Let her decide.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Sabrina replied as she put the groceries away.
“Well, it looks fabulous. I’m so glad to see the old you emerging,” her mother said as she pitched in to help.
“Thanks, Mama.” Sabrina gave her mother a quick squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.
“No problem, sweetie. I’ll tell you as many times as you need if it’ll help keep that smile on your face.”
Later that evening, Sabrina had a long talk with Jasmine as she put her to bed.
“I miss Daddy and Baltimore so much. Can’t we go back?”
“No, we can’t,” Sabrina replied emphatically. “This place just so happens to be my home. It’s where I grew up.”
“I know, but our life is back in Baltimore. That’s where all my friends are. And it’s summer now. We were all planning to hang out and go to the movies, to dance lessons or swimming at Suzie’s house. And now …” Jasmine’s voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry your summer plans were ruined, Jasmine,” Sabrina said in a firm tone, “but it couldn’t be helped. Our life is going in a different direction.”
“Great! You get what you want!” Jasmine threw back at her. “And Dad gets what he wants, but what about what I want? And you … you just don’t care.” She flung herself across her pillow.
“I’m sorry it seems that way, Jazzy.” Sabrina had switched tactics and softened her voice. “But I do care about you and your needs. It’s why I moved us here.” The firm approach was clearly going down the tubes fast, so she tried another style.
Sabrina leaned down to rub Jasmine’s back as the poor girl cried into her pillow. “Don’t you know that you’re the most important thing in this world to me?”
Sabrina tried lifting her daughter up by the shoulders, but Jasmine wouldn’t hear a word. “I want Daddy,” she cried.
Hurt by her daughter’s rejection, Sabrina rose. “Well, he’s not here. And I’m all you’ve got.”
On the other side of town, Malcolm sat listening to a pianist while he ate a solitary dinner at the bed-and-breakfast where he was staying. Parker House had a small jazz band every Thursday, which had appealed to him tremendously when he’d made his initial reservation. The blackened chicken, sautéed vegetables and garden salad, however, remained untouched on his plate. It wasn’t that the food wasn’t superb; he just didn’t have an appetite. The waiter had long stopped catering to him, retiring to the kitchen and leaving Malcolm to enjoy his glass of red wine.
