Prologue

            Cindy stared silently out of the long, rectangular-shaped window as the old blue bus steadily puttered on, on to her hometown of Dayspring, Illinois. It was such a dreary overcast day. Even the sky looked depressed, as if at any moment it was going to cry. Cindy let out a sad sigh, closed her tired puffy eyes, and leaned her head against the worn black leather headrest. She wished that she were anywhere but here on this raggedy old bus going back home in shame.

            But Cindy had to leave. She’d had no choice. He had changed. Yes, her beloved, now ex-husband Charles had become someone else right under her very nose. A mean, manipulative, and cold-hearted someone else. Perhaps he’d been that way all along. His parting words had certainly sealed the truth of that possibility in Cindy’s heart forever. In reality, Charles seemed to have taken a sick form of pleasure in the fact that he’d deceived her for so long. And his malicious declarations seemed to somehow empower him.

            Even now as the rain began to rapidly blanket the bus with moisture, Cindy remembered how empty his hurtful words had made her feel. Had she been a fool all this time – believing in a lie? Had Charles ever really loved her? Cindy grew angrier as each mile drew her closer to her hometown. She was angry at herself and especially angry at her ex-husband.

Marriage to Charles was like a bad investment, she mused, feeling bankrupt and disappointed on more than one level.

            “I’m ready to move on to the next level of my life. Without you,” Charles had said smugly as he pushed copies of the divorce papers towards Cindy, papers that only needed her signature to be final. His bold handwriting was already on the documents, signifying that in Charles’ mind the marriage was already over.

Then he went on to tell Cindy that this was best for the both of them since she never really knew him anyway. “What do you think all those long business meetings and trips were about? I’ve found someone else. Someone who suits me better and is headed in the same direction as me. Someone I’m, quite frankly, tired of sneaking around to see. Plus, I’m tired of all the guilt,” Charles had concluded.

            The guilt! Charles actually thought that divorcing her would remove the multitude of guilt from his heart and mind. Yeah right! Cindy thought. Brother, you’re going to feel guilty for a long time for how you’ve treated me.

Cindy had wanted to say those words and a few choice others to Charles, but at the time she’d been in such a state of shock that all she could do was cry as she signed the fateful documents. But no tears flowed now. They had stopped several miles back when the bus first entered the state of Illinois. Cindy would let the sky cry the rest of her tears. And it did. The drenching rain continued to beat repetitiously against the bus. What a way to start the New Year off - divorced and alone.

            Ten miles to go. Cindy’s sister had offered to let her stay with her for a while. Thank God for that and the fact that she’d had no kids during those six years of marriage. Charles hadn’t wanted children. If they’d had kids that would have made it even harder to leave him. Cindy didn’t really know why she stayed as long as she did anyway. The marriage had been bad for years. Now she felt like such a fool for extending her loyalty to a man who didn’t deserve it or her.

Cindy folded her arms across her chest in comfort, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more than she could give herself right now, yet she was reluctant to turn to the One who could give her what she needed. She was still too angry, too ashamed, still a little too prideful to do that just yet. Instead, her mind returned to that last scene at the house.

            After Charles left the premises, Cindy had packed. There had been no use trying to stay there. She couldn’t afford to keep the house which, ironically, was the only thing she’d gotten out of the marriage according to the prenuptial agreement he’d tricked her into signing years ago. She didn’t even get to keep her silver Mercedes. It seems that Charles had purchased it on the business account and it belonged to his company.       

Cindy would really miss that car. But the house was a different story. She wouldn’t have wanted to stay there anyway. The house held too many painful memories, too much disappointment. Besides, Harrelton, Florida was Charles’ hometown. He belonged there, she didn’t.

            So among angry tears and under the weight of a heavy heart, Cindy had finished packing her basic necessities and made arrangements to leave. Knowing that she was going to have to watch her spending now, she pulled what little money she still had left out of her personal savings account and purchased a bus ticket. Cindy’s pride wouldn’t allow her to accept plane fare from her family. It was bad enough that she was going to have to live off of them until she found a job.    

Five miles left. Over the miles of highways and byways Cindy’s tears had long since dissipated, only anger remained now. The rain was getting lighter. Even the sky was refusing to cry anymore. It had cleansed what it needed to cleanse, had washed away the debris of the past. Cindy’s own tears had done some of that as well.

            Welcome to the Garden City the green and white sign above them read as the bus turned onto the proper exit. The sun had come out and its resplendent presence seemed to whisper these words to Cindy’s broken heart, “Your storm will also pass.”

Cindy wasn’t sure if she believed that just yet. For now, the most she could do was be glad that she at least made it safely back home again.

Chapter 1

            Gathering her bags, Cindy merged in with the rest of the weary travelers struggling to get out of the crowded bus depot. Where’s Mavis? she thought miserably, thinking of her habitually tardy sister. She’s late again as usual.

Suddenly she heard someone calling her name. “Cindy, Cindy, over here!”

Turning towards the voice, Cindy saw a tall handsome man with a smooth shaven head motioning to her. The man wore dark sunglasses, which made it difficult for her to recognize him at first, but as he slowly removed them and smiled, she saw that it was her childhood friend – Andre Wells.

            Returning his warm smile, Cindy said, “Hey, boy. What are you doing here? Let me guess. Mavis sent you, didn’t she?”

            He laughed. “You betcha. As usual, she’s running late so she asked me to pick you up. That okay with you, baby sister?” She’s been crying, Andre noted silently upon seeing Cindy’s puffy eyes. Yet he still kept his smile in place, wanting to do his best to cheer her up.

            “That’s fine with me, Dre,” Cindy said, handing her black leather bags over to the mocha-skinned man in front of her. In her peripheral vision, she noticed several women checking him out as they made their way to his car. Cindy smiled. She was used to females ogling Andre like that. Women have been acting that way towards him for years. Cindy ought to know since she and Andre grew up together and were next door neighbors for many years.

Andre and Cindy have known each other since she was in the third grade, he in the fifth. That was when his parents had moved into the spacious, four-bedroom house next door to hers. Since Andre only had one sibling, who happened to be an older brother, he started referring to his younger female neighbor as his baby sister in order to fulfill his need to be a big brother, too.

Andre had to go outside of his blood relatives to accomplish his goal since he’d been told by his parents that they were through bearing children and were at that time struggling to build up a successful fast-food franchise and didn’t need any more responsibilities. Now Timothy and Doreen Wells were active missionaries, traveling extensively to foreign countries six to seven months out of every year.

            “Are you staying with your parents or with Mavis?” Andre asked as he skillfully maneuvered the black Maxima into traffic.

            “Mavis. Since I’m going to be doing some light babysitting for her this summer it’ll be more convenient for me to be there. Besides, you know my parents never liked Charles and I can’t take their ‘I told you so’ attitude right now. Especially since they warned me not to marry him in the first place. But I guess I was so in love that I had to do it anyway.” Cindy snapped her mouth shut, surprised by how much venom resonated in her voice from rising anger and bitterness. She turned her head and stared out the window, trying to rein in her raw emotions. The rapidly passing green scenery did wonders to calm her down.

            “I remember some of those arguments back then. They even refused to pay for the wedding, didn’t they?” Andre looked over at Cindy, trying to ascertain her mood. Something was very different about her, and it wasn’t just the fact that her physical appearance had changed, either. Maybe I shouldn’t be talking about this with her right now, Andre mused, wishing he’d kept his mouth closed.  

            Forcing her voice to sound lighter than she felt, Cindy responded to his question. “Yes, I was deeply hurt by that. But that didn’t stop me from marrying Charles anyway. As for the wedding, his family paid for everything. I just hated being so far away from my family on my special day.” The pain momentarily resurfaced across Cindy’s face, but she quickly masked it and turned back to her friend.

            Andre’s voice softened. “Mavis and I flew down there to attend,” he reminded her gently, trying to ease some of her pain. He checked his side and rear view mirrors before getting into the far right lane that would lead to Mavis’ house. Fortunately, her home was conveniently only a few miles away from the bus station.

            Cindy patted his hand affectionately. “I know, and I certainly appreciated that gesture. But I guess I just wanted Mom and Dad to be there, too.” Pausing briefly to try to shake the foul mood she was in, Cindy swallowed the emotional lump in her throat and started again. “It just bites that they were right all along.” She smiled, warding off the threatening blues.

Suddenly something in the sky above caught her eye. Looking upwards, Cindy saw that the daylight had darkened again. Why do clouds have to block out the sun? I need as much light as I can get now.

            “Listen, kid, you’re strong and you are going to be alright. Besides, you got your family and your big brother here to help you through this, okay?” Andre said, giving her a reassuring smile as he pulled into Mavis’ circular driveway.

            “Kid? Who are you calling a kid, Dre? I’m 30-years-old, mind you. And you’re just two years older than me,” she said, playfully poking him in the side.

            Laughing at her, Andre parked the car and went to get her bags. As he retrieved the luggage from the trunk, he had a sudden urge to run back to hold the car door open for Cindy. Whoa, Dre. What’s the matter with you, man? You’ve never done that for her before.

Cindy usually bounced out of the car whenever she was with Andre or his brother, Tim. Both brothers knew that she only expected men that she was dating to hold car doors open for her. Otherwise Cindy always exerted her independence around them. Her self-reliant manner was one of the things Andre loved about her. 

True to form, Cindy bounced out of the car with an energetic spring and strolled over to the multi-colored crepe myrtles delicately planted along the walkway. As she smelled the delicious greenery before her, an equally delicious thought crossed her mind. I think my heart can heal here.

Mavis’ four-bedroom, two-bath home lay on five acres of beautifully landscaped ground. She always kept everything neat and organized and always made everyone who visited her feel welcome. Both sisters had been raised to keep everything in its place and to treat visitors like they were precious gems.

            Watching Cindy stand there with a faint smile on her smooth mahogany face, caused something deep down inside of Andre to stir, to begin to change. Even as he watched her with eyes scanning downward from her head to her feet, he wondered what was happening to him. Wondered why he was suddenly paying so much attention to Cindy’s physical appearance.

Cindy’s physical features have changed a lot over the last six years. While she was married, she’d worn her hair short in various bobb styles. Now it seems that she was allowing it to grow back to its usual mid-back length. Curvaceous hips and thighs have replaced once skinny legs. Now Cindy’s former slender frame supported ample curves on the top and bottom. Andre couldn’t decide if she was shaped more like an hourglass or a figure eight. Either way her figure was stunning.

When did Cindy get so fine? Andre mused, thinking that she reminded him of a beautiful, yet fragile chocolate china doll that needed to be handled with care. At least until her heart was completely healed.

            Actually Cindy’s looks were not Chinese at all, but more on the Korean side. Her grandmother had been from Seoul, Korea. Nana, as they affectionately called her, lost her family when MacArthur’s troops landed at Inchon (a port city near Seoul), and forced the North Koreans to retreat back across the 38^th parallel. Cindy’s grandfather, Robert, was with one of the troops that helped to rescue the Korean beauty.

After the loss of her family, Nana no longer wanted to live in a divided country and thus decided to marry the mahogany-skinned man whose bravery and tenderness had captured her heart. After the cease-fire line finally ended in July of 1953, she was more than ready to leave her country and start a new life. By early 1954, Nana and Robert had married and began their lives together in America.

            Although Cindy embraced both her African and Korean heritage, she understood from an early age that her deep brown skin was usually the first thing America saw when they looked at her. Her straight silky hair was the second. As a result, Cindy and Mavis learned to politely answer, “My Grandmother is Korean,” whenever curious people asked them where they got such long, straight black hair from. They always found it interesting how other people made a bigger deal out of the physical attributes of their heritage than they did.

            Ringing the doorbell, Cindy heard the excited voices of her niece and nephew just behind the door. “Auntie Cindy’s here, Auntie Cindy’s here,” Ashley and Eric Jr. sang in unison.

            Opening the thick, reddish-brown wooden door, Mavis quickly allowed room for the kids to gather around Cindy’s legs as they all stood in the doorway for a moment before coming completely inside. They hadn’t seen their aunt since Thanksgiving and it was obvious that they not only missed her, but still adored her as well.

Most people adored Cindy. She had the kind of personality that drew others in. She was so honest, unassuming, and very detail-oriented. Cindy’s dark, understanding eyes had a way of making a person feel accepted and important. But that obviously hadn’t been enough for her ex-husband.

Although Cindy had catered to his every need, Charles had squashed any attempt she made at independence. He hadn’t wanted her to work, except on things related to his job like fundraisers and charitable benefits, and when Cindy excelled at those things, he took the credit. As far as Mavis was concerned, she was glad that Charles was out of the picture. Maybe now her sister could spread her wings and fly to the heights that she was destined for. 

            “Hey, Dre. Thanks for picking Cindy up for me. I was late picking the kids up from their after-school program and that threw everything else off,” Mavis explained to their childhood friend as he placed the first of Cindy’s luggage by the brown leather couch in the living room.

Although Mavis was a very organized person in so many other areas of her life, she wasn’t when it came to organizing her time. In fact, her perception of time was severely distorted. She always seemed to think that she had more time than she actually did. Nodding her sister’s way, Mavis added, “But now that Cindy’s back, I can start being on time more.”   

“Yeah, right,” Cindy and Andre echoed in unexpected unison as they voiced their disbelief. Then realizing their accord, they looked at each other and laughed.

Andre has such beautiful teeth. How come I never noticed that before? Cindy found herself pondering as he came to stand beside her in the foyer area. Yet instead of voicing that observation, she addressed the other changes in his appearance. “I like your new look, Dre. That shiny shaved head, neatly trimmed goatee, and diamond stud in your ear is really working for you. Very nice. Very nice indeed.” She smiled, briefly rubbing his smooth head for emphasis.

Suddenly a sharp injection of pleasure rippled through Cindy’s body, causing her skin to tingle with delightful sensations, momentarily throwing her emotions for a loop. Huh? What?

Although Andre knew that Cindy was just being her usual playful self, her hands felt so good on his head. Too good, like they belonged there and then some. Stifling an unexpected shudder of pleasure, Andre blinked away the telltale desire in his ebony eyes, put what he hoped was a playful smile on his face, and responded with his own brand of lighthearted banter.

“Don’t touch the dome, girl. This right here is for my ladies,” he said, rubbing his head with his free hand in exaggerated front to back strokes. Then Andre moved a safe distance away from Cindy, his emotions raging. What is wrong with me? This is Cindy, remember? The girl you call your little sister, he mused, scolding himself as he went towards the front door to collect more luggage from where he’d placed it on the porch. 

            This time Cindy and Mavis responded in unison. “What ladies?” They laughed and followed him all the way into the living room area as he brought in the last of the baggage. The kids tagged along too, never too far from their Auntie Cindy.

            “You act like you have a harem or something. Boy, you know you’re a one-woman-at-a-time man,” Cindy said, rolling her eyes at Andre, loving how easy it was to talk to him. She missed being able to converse so freely with a member of the opposite sex. I’m glad I’m home.

            Andre smiled and nodded, loving the fact that Cindy knew him so well. In fact, she knew him almost too well. For one thing, Cindy knew that Andre was an impeccable dresser, caring about his appearance more than the average man. One would never find him wearing the same outfit twice in one month.

Cindy also knew that Andre was very selective when it came to dating. He tried very hard not to let his lower member lead him around. He also refused to lead a woman on just to satisfy his male ego or appetite. Andre believed in being upfront and honest with everyone. In fact, his steadfast honesty was the cause of his latest breakup.

            Andre’s last girlfriend, Julie Medders, had been gorgeous with her smooth fair skin, short, curly hair, and curvaceous body. Unfortunately, Julie had been extremely jealous, too. She required constant validation and attention from Andre and after nine months of dating, she began to pressure him into getting married with the ferociousness of a pit-bull.

The first seven months with Julie had been heavenly for him, but when her true nature finally surfaced, it quickly turned into a living hell. When Andre refused to give into her demands, citing the fact that he was not in love with her, Julie threatened to start dating someone else. That only made Andre that much more steadfast in his decision to wait. He wouldn’t be rushed into something as important as marriage and he’d told her so. Then Julie, true to her word, began dating someone else. Someone she’d been secretly seeing for months prior to their breakup. Then to rub it in more, Julie even brought her new beau into Andre’s upscale restaurant a few times.

Being the prudent businessman that he was, Andre gladly took their money with a smile every time. Business was business in his book. He’d deal with the affairs of his heart at home. The last Andre heard of her, Julie was reported to have left town with the guy two months ago. And even though he was glad that their relationship was over, he often wondered how he could have been so wrong about her. That single experience taught Andre to be much more discerning with his next woman. And as he glanced at a smiling Cindy, who looked a lot more chipper now than she did at the bus station and in the car, a prototype of the attributes he wanted his next woman to have began to form in his mind.

Chapter 2

            After leaving Mavis’ house, Andre thought even more about Cindy and the fact that it was still so easy to talk to her. It comforted him that that aspect of her was still the same. For the most part, Andre liked the changes in Cindy. But there were some differences in her that deeply disturbed him.

It bothered Andre that Cindy’s smile never quite reached her dark brown soulful eyes anymore. What did that green-eyed rascal do to her? he wondered, thinking of Cindy’s ex-husband.

Suddenly Andre’s lingering desire for Cindy gave way to a few new emotions. Not only was he angry with Charles for mistreating his friend, he also found himself jealous that the other man had had Cindy at all. Now Andre was really confused.

As he prepared to leave Mavis’ street, Andre turned left instead of right, deciding to take the long way home. He had a lot to think about. For one thing, these new feelings towards Cindy had to be sorted out and a long drive just might help make that process quicker.  

            Mavis and the kids showed Cindy to the guest bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it contained numerous hardwood pieces. The area that will now be considered as Cindy’s room sported a queen-sized sleigh bed accented with hand carved details and a pecan-colored veneer inlay. There were about six beige and white pillows of various shapes and sizes atop a matching comforter. On the nightstand sat a private telephone and an antique lamp. The two tall bay windows allowed the evening light to pour freely into the room, beckoning Cindy’s healing to begin.

            “I love it, Mavis. It’s wonderful.” Cindy sighed with pleasure, hugging her sister in gratitude.

            “I’m glad. Eric and I redid it after your last visit. We thought that this would be the best room for you during your stay. I hope you decide to stay for a while, Cindy. Not only because I need your help with the kids, but because we love having you here.” Mavis released her sister and walked over to the lamp to turn it on. It would be dark out soon.

            “Thanks, sis. I think I need to be here, too. Around family that loves me and accepts me for me.” Cindy’s eyes suddenly grew very serious.

            Mavis instantly saw the change in her sister’s countenance and responded accordingly. “Uh…kids, go watch TV for a bit. I need to talk to your auntie alone.” As they reluctantly, but obediently left the room, Mavis pulled Cindy towards the bed to sit down. “Now tell me what happened to you down there in Florida. I want to hear it all.” Her voice was gentle and caring.

            Being in such a loving environment prompted Cindy to bear her soul. Finally she could open up to someone she trusted, someone that she knew would love her no matter what. Then Mavis listened as her baby sister told her how Charles used to constantly put her down whenever she tried to move outside of the suffocating emotional box he’d created for her. How he’d cheated on her for years and how he even had the nerve to blame her for his behavior. Cindy cried as she revealed how she always felt as if she had to earn his love by doing what he wanted or expected of her.

“Charles used to make me feel as if it was a privilege to be his wife. That he could have any woman he wanted and that I should be glad he chose me,” Cindy continued, involuntarily popping the knuckles on her hands, a nervous act she’d hadn’t done since she was fifteen.

Years ago Cindy sat in her room doing the same thing to her knuckles as she waited up for her older sister to come home from a date with a football jock who had a bad reputation for ‘loving them and leaving them’. After three hours of worrying, she finally got up the nerve to wake her parents and tell them about Mavis missing her eleven o’clock curfew. Cindy had been afraid that her sister was hurt or in trouble.

As it turned out, Mavis had been in trouble. Floyd Jenkins (her date for the evening) had put her out on the side of a lonely dark road, out in the middle of nowhere, leaving her to find her own way home all because she refused to have sex with him and become another notch on his teenage libido belt.

Knowing Floyd’s address, Cindy led her parents to his house. After restraining her father from throttling Floyd and her mother from calling the police, she got the scared young man to reveal where he’d left her sister. Instead of being angry, Mavis had been extremely grateful to Cindy. And despite the fact that she received the scolding of her life for choosing Floyd simply for his outer appearance instead of his inner qualities, she was more than happy to be spared that long walk home in the cold dark night.

But tonight Mavis was extremely angry, yet still not at Cindy. She was mad with Charles. “That green-eyed, two-timing monster. He should have been glad to have someone like you!” Mavis shot out, brimming with fury.

            “Sis, I think he stayed with me as long as he did, because I made him look good among his peers. And you already know about the prenuptial agreement he tricked me into signing a week before our wedding day.” Cindy got up and started pacing the floor, trying to keep her thoughts together.

            “Honesty, Cindy, I don’t know how you stayed with him after you found those papers in his files. I mean to tell you that you’re signing the deed to the house, knowing full well that some of those forms contained a prenuptial agreement is just plain cold-hearted.”

            “I know I should have left Charles then, but I just couldn’t. I still loved him and I felt so embarrassed by my stupidity. I also didn’t want Mom and Dad to be right. I wanted to prove them wrong about him.” Cindy shrugged and continued. “And then he apologized and started treating me like such a queen that I soon lowered my defenses and forgave him. He assured me that he was sorry about the way he’d presented the papers to me, and that it was his wealthy family that had pressured him into protecting his and their interests like that.”

Charles’ explanation had made sense to Cindy who, at that time, found it easy to believe anything negative about the Kirklands. Even now she could still recall how snobbish Charles’ family had been towards her. The way they were always making subtle remarks about her complexion, saying ridiculous things like ‘you’re cute to be so black’ to remind her of how different she was from the rest of them. In fact, Cindy was the darkest in-law in the family. This was largely due to the fact that the predominantly light-skinned Kirkland clan tended to marry other same skin toned persons. In their eyes, Cindy’s only redeeming quality had been the long, straight black hair her Korean heritage afforded her.

Instead of being angry with them, Cindy had felt sorry for them, often wondering what had happened to make the Kirklands despise such a very important part of their own heritage. Their emphasis on her hair was one reason she’d kept it cut short. Charles had been another. He liked it short. Now that she thought about it, he seemed to take a perverted form of pleasure in irritating his family with little things like that, even though he appeared to go along with them on the surface.

Maybe that’s why he married me, Cindy mused hotly, wishing that she could erase the last six years from her memory altogether.

            “Why didn’t he just tear the papers up after you confronted him?” Mavis probed, trying to pull her sister out of her deep thoughts. Cindy needed to purge herself, not hold this mess in to fester and cause unnecessary problems later on.

            “Stupid me. I’m the one who kept Charles from tearing them up. I wanted to prove to him that I loved him, not his money or position in the community. I really loved Charles and he betrayed me time and time again. All I have left now is the house,” she said tearfully, sitting back on the bed with a plop. A sad sigh escaped Cindy’s lips.

            Mavis handed her a tissue from the nightstand and waited for a moment while her sister collected herself. “Well, what are you going to do with it? The house, I mean.”

            “Sell it, I guess. I don’t want it now,” Cindy resigned, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue. Oh, I hate when my eyes get all puffy, she mused, thinking that she’d already worked them enough today.

            “I tell you what, let Mom process the sell for you. You know how good she is. She can sell anything. Florida property usually goes pretty fast anyway and that gorgeous house you got ought to make you a pretty penny.” Mavis’ advice was two-fold. She wanted Cindy to have funds to reestablish herself, but she also wanted to help her sister remove all traces of that fair-skinned, wavy-haired beast she’d been married to.

            “That’s a great idea. When will they be back in town?” Cindy was feeling increasingly better by the minute.

            “Tomorrow night. I’ll go over there with you and we can work out the details then.” That reminds me, I forgot to water Mom’s plants today.

            “Thanks, Mavis. Once again you’re right on the mark. I love you, big sis,” Cindy said with a hug.

            “Love you too, little sis. Now get some rest.” Mavis gently returned the hug, before leaving the room. After she left, that’s exactly what Cindy did – rest. She hadn’t slept that good in years.

Meanwhile Mavis and the kids made a quick trip to her parents’ house. She had some plants to tend to.

Chapter 3

            The next morning, Cindy awakened feeling refreshed. She’d been set free from a bad marriage, a self-centered man, and finally the shame of having played the fool. Talking to Mavis had helped a lot. Cindy felt lighter, relieved even and that surprised her. She thought she was supposed to miss Charles more than this. Or at least have some kind of withdrawal symptoms from their relationship. But as of yet, none of that had happened.

I guess he did me a favor by divorcing me, Cindy mused as she went to take a quick shower. Then after dressing in a pair of lemon-lime sweats, she pulled her hair up into a lime scrunchie and went down for breakfast.

            She looks good and rested. That’s a good sign, Mavis mused, briefly looking up from her task to smile at her sister. “Hi, sleepy head,” she rang out before returning her focus to the five miniature pancakes on the flat griddle in front of her. One, two, three, four, and five, all flipped in perfect succession, all golden brown with no black streaks on either side. Mavis smiled at her accomplishment.

            “Auntie Cindy, come sit by me,” Little Eric said, making room for her at the white breakfast nook that he and his sister sat at. He smiled when Cindy nodded that she would. Little Eric (aka Eric Jr.) had his mother’s mahogany skin and his father’s thick eyebrows and curly hair. Ashley’s coloring was the same, except she had her mother’s long straight black hair. They were beautiful children inside and out and Cindy loved them dearly.

            “Mommy’s making mini cakes today. They’re our favorites,” Ashley said with a mouth full of syrupy bread. Her cheeks were shiny from where buttery fingers had touched them.

            Mavis turned to glare at her daughter. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, little girl.”

Ashley put her hands in front of her mouth. “Yes, Mommy.”

            Laughing, Cindy asked, “Where is Eric? I didn’t get a chance to see him last night.”

            “He’s at another medical convention. He’ll be back on Sunday. Grab a plate. I always cook pancakes on Saturdays. During the weekdays the kids eat hot or cold cereal, so I try to make Saturdays a special treat. The bacon is over there on the right, eggs to your left.” Mavis pointed as she flipped another batch, then reached for her glass of juice on the counter.

            “Hmm...don’t mind if I do,” Cindy said, fixing her plate. She quickly popped a slice of bacon into her mouth, before turning to her niece. “See how this looks when I talk with my mouth full of food?” Each chew was exaggerated, meant to make a point.

            “Ooo.. gross, Auntie, Yuck!” The pony-tailed youngster squealed. “I get the picture now.” Ashley’s nose wrinkled with displeasure while Little Eric laughed.

            “I thought you would,” Cindy said, winking at Mavis before sitting down beside her nephew.

Mavis only smiled as she sipped her juice. Cindy is a trip. Lovable as ever. She obviously hasn’t lost her sense of humor. And that was a good thing.

Later at their parents’ house, Cindy, Mavis and the kids assembled in the spacious black and white living room, ready to discuss a little business and hopefully engage in a bit of healthy family fellowship afterwards. On the striped fabric sofa, Cindy sat with Little Eric between her knees as he busily played with a red and white action figure on the floor. Ashley sat with Granddaddy Michael in the black leather recliner; a brown Barbie doll was in her hands.

            “Cindy, I’m glad to see that you let your hair grow back. That short cut didn’t accent your heart-shaped face at all,” Wilma observed warily, a frown creased her nut-brown forehead. She’d always worn her own jet-black hair straight and long, the same way she’d kept her girls’ hair when they were growing up. That ritual had been done as a testament to their Korean heritage.

            “I know, Mom.” Cindy sighed with annoyance. It was no use telling her mother the real reasons she’d kept it short. That would only spark off another argument about Charles and she didn’t come over here to argue. She came for help.

            “Uh...Mom,” Mavis intervened, seeing the look of remorse roll across their mother’s face and the look of irritation on Cindy’s. They needed to handle some business first. They could tackle the hard emotional stuff later. “Cindy needs help selling her house. We wanted to ask you to oversee the sale and hopefully get Cindy a nice little starting over package out of it.”

            Their mother’s eyes lit up at the very thought of selling real estate and for the moment she forgot about the rift between her and her youngest child. Wilma loved her work and it showed. “Sure I can help my baby girl sell her house. Be glad to do it, too. It’s a great piece of property as I remember. Let me think.” She began to tap her right index finger on her chin as she thought out loud. “That brick ranch home has a twenty by forty swimming pool, two-car garage, three bedrooms, two baths with granite counters, and oak and tile floors. Right, Cindy?”

            “Uhm…yes, Mom. How can you remember all that? You've only been there…what?...twice in the last six years?” Cindy marveled at her mother’s photographic memory.

            “Cindy, once is all it takes for me. After two visits, I can draw the floor plans in my sleep. You’ll probably be able to get six figures for that home,” Wilma said confidently, remembering some of the new tips she’d learned from her recent business trip.

            “Is my woman good or what?” Michael piped in, laughing with pride. “Cindy, don’t worry. Your house will be sold within a month tops.” Then he looked at Wilma before continuing. His tone and his face grew serious. “Also, baby girl, your mother and I want to apologize for not being there for you like we should have. We should’ve never let our feelings towards Charles drive a wedge between our love and support for you. We won’t let that happen again, no matter who you marry next time. Please forgive us.” Her mahogany-skinned father was sincere. His dark brown eyes glistened with unshed tears.

            Looking from one parent to the other, Cindy saw genuine repentance. How could she not forgive them? And especially with her big burly father growing misty-eyed. The former prize fighter had never cried in front of his children before or hardly anyone else for that matter. To Wilma’s recollection, Michael had only cried tears twice in her presence and both times had been during the birth of their daughters.

Sighing with enormous relief, Cindy joyfully jumped up and gave both parents a big hug and a kiss. “I love you guys.” This turned out well, she mused, her hopes rising for everything else in her life to fall into place, too.

            As the red minivan made its way back to Mavis’ house, Cindy and her sister had another heart-to-heart talk. “That went smoother than I thought it would,” Cindy spoke softly, careful not to wake the sleeping children buckled up in the backseat.

“Yes, it did,” Mavis said, looking briefly at her sister. “You know Mom and Dad never stopped loving you. They just didn’t like your husband, that’s all.” She returned her eyes to the road and continued. “I never told you this, but Mom had a problem with the way Charles was always primping, looking at his reflection every chance he got.” Mavis smirked as she remembered catching Charles staring at his reflection in one of her long dinner knives. The man must have had an elephant of an ego.

“I guess he did do that, didn’t he? I never realized how much though. But now that I think about it, it was a lot.” Cindy laughed when she remembered how long it took Charles to get ready to go anywhere. They usually had to start getting ready two hours in advance or he would make them late. Charles never could decide what to wear and what Cindy laid out for him was never good enough.

“And Dad didn’t like Charles, because the man always wanted you to wait on him hand and foot. Fix his food, keep the house clean, and lay out his clothes, like you were his maid or something.”

“I did those things out of love, Mavis,” Cindy said as she glanced out of the side window. The street lights reminded her of a Christmas tree, except all of these bulbs were white. Only the tri-colored traffic signal lent any hues to the dark residential street.

“I know you did. I do things like that for my husband, too. And we both know that Mom does that stuff for Dad. There was nothing wrong with what you did. It was the way Charles reacted to what you did that made us so mad. He didn’t appreciate the things you did for him. It’s like he expected you to do those things for him regardless of how he treated you. As if it was your duty or your only significance in this world. Like none of the other things about you mattered.” Mavis frowned at the thought of what her sister must have endured over the last six years, things that she might never tell them.

Cindy nodded in agreement. “You’re right, sis. I just never gave voice to those things before.”

Mavis continued, feeling her neck muscles tense with anger. Her hands tightened on the burgundy steering wheel. “And another thing that irked us was how Charles refused to see you as his equal. You had a college degree, were working as a local news reporter, and were living independently before he ever met you. However, when Charles came into your life, it seemed like he couldn’t rest until he’d reduced you to being his servant.” She glanced at her sister again. “Cindy, being a wife means being an equal. Remember Eve came out of Adam’s side, not his foot. Your husband should have been doing some of those things for you sometimes.”

“You’re right, Mavis. I remember how Nana and Mom catered to their husbands’ needs and I tried to do the same. I can see where I missed it now. I forgot how Grandpa and Dad returned those deeds with outward signs of appreciation and respect. They acted like a team. Is that how you and Eric are, Mavis?” Cindy observed how at the mere mention of Eric’s name, Mavis seemed to relax from her previous tense position. Her hands involuntarily loosened on the steering wheel.

“Yes, and I am crazy about that man. I can’t wait until he gets home tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, will you be able to watch the kids for me?”

“Yep,” Cindy said, quickly agreeing to her first babysitting gig. “I know you guys are going to want to be alone for a while.” She laughed knowingly.

“You got that right,” Mavis said, fanning herself. The very thought of her fine husband got her excited. Hurry home, baby.

Later that night, Cindy placed a call to Andre and told him about everything that had transpired since they last talked. Towards the end of the conversation she disclosed her plans for the next day.

“I’m going to church tomorrow, are you?” As Cindy pulled the covers up to her midriff, she felt a delicious yawn forming in her throat, a yawn that promised another night of sweet sleep. She looked forward to it.

Andre sat upright in his bed. It was as if Cindy’s question had pierced his heart and now echoed in his soul. Are you? Are you?

It had been such a long time since Andre had been to church and he felt ashamed of himself. After all, he was a missionary’s kid. While his parents were  out spreading the Gospel to un-churched nations, back home their two sons were allowing the world and the pressures thereof to steer them in the opposite direction. Besides that, his parents were scheduled to be the guest speakers on tomorrow, a fact that he’d forgotten all about.

Andre hung his head in shame as he cradled the phone against his ear and silently repented. Finally he said, “Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Good, I guess I’ll see you then.” Cindy yawn again, completely oblivious to what Andre had had to go through to come to that answer. “Goodnight, Dre.”

“Night, Cindy.” Then Andre flipped the television from the basketball game to a station that broadcasted Christian programming. He suddenly had the urge to hear some words of inspiration.

Chapter 4

On Sunday morning, Cindy and her family went to church. They were eager to see Andre’s parents and hear what news the seasoned missionaries had for their local congregation. Timothy and Doreen Wells always had plenty of stories to share about how God delivered them out of all kinds of frightening situations and protected them from all kinds of menacing people.

Timothy Sr. was a very handsome man with gray side burns against his smooth mocha skin. Looking at him gave Cindy a clear vision of how Andre and his brother Tim Jr. would look in twenty years since they both looked a lot like their father. Although they didn’t favor their mother very much, Andre and Tim did have her kind eyes.

Doreen Wells had bronze skin, caring ebony eyes, salt and pepper hair, and a face that exuded compassion. It was no wonder that she and her equally compassionate husband excelled on the mission field. In fact, they were both highly esteemed people in the impoverished countries they ministered in.

As Timothy continued to stand at the microphone with his wife beside him, he brought his uplifting speech to a satisfactory end. “In conclusion, whether you’re out on the mission field or not, it’s so important to have someone that you love and that loves you back at your side and on your side.” Then he smiled over at his wife and added, “Thanks for being with me all the way, beautiful lady.”

When Timothy hugged a tearful Doreen, the audience broke into encouraging applause, some stood to their feet in honor of the couple that had blessed them so much this morning with their inspirational words and genuine display of true partnership. As Timothy released his wife, he instinctively scanned the crowd for the rest of his family. It pleased him to see his two sons in attendance today. However, only one of them was standing. The other remained in his seat, looking like he was in a daze.

I wonder what’s on his mind today, Timothy mused, noticing the expression of pure elation on his youngest son’s face. Then as he followed Andre’s gaze, the wise older man quickly found his answer.

Andre and Cindy didn’t clap or stand as their eyes searched for and found each other across the crowded congregation. For a moment they seemed to be lost in their own little world. His eyes caressing her face, her eyes caressing his.

Suddenly, the connection was broken when Ashley tugged on Cindy’s red dress sleeve and rose up in her seat to whisper in her aunt’s ear. “Auntie Cindy, I need to go to the little girls’ room.”

Cindy blinked rapidly to refocus herself, then she quietly got up and slipped away with her niece to the restroom right before the pastor returned to the mike and concluded today’s program.

After church, Cindy and her family went out to eat at the upscale restaurant that Andre privately owned. Incidentally, through this establishment he serviced a completely different clientele from the ones he encountered while working at his parents’ fast-food barbecue chain. Although Andre loved working in the food service business period, he preferred the more relaxed atmosphere that fine dining offered.

Wilma and Doreen, who were the best of friends, spent much of their meal time catching up on each other’s lives. Michael and Timothy did the same while Andre went to check on things in the kitchen. That left Tim Jr, his dimpled-faced girlfriend of two years - Neisha Sage, Mavis, Cindy and the kids to occupy themselves. Cindy’s group really didn’t mind being left to themselves though. The Wells and Bloom children have always gotten along well together.

Some time after the strawberry shortcake was served, Timothy made a trip to the back to see his missing-in-action son. Andre was seated at his desk with a half-eaten plate of steak and a vegetable medley in front of him. He was going through some paperwork.

“Son, enough of that. You’re neglecting your family,” the older man said as he sat down in the black leather chair across from his son.

Andre looked up and smiled. “I’m sorry, Dad. It’s kind of hard to just be a customer in your own place.” He closed the blue notebook and picked up his fork. After a generous helping of steak and vegetables, he moaned in pleasure. “This is really good. I’ll have to tell Chef Raymond that he did an excellent job on this today.” Andre looked at his father. “How was your meal?”

Timothy smiled. “Fine. All of our meals were fine. But I didn’t come in here to talk about food. I came to talk about you and Cindy. It just occurred to me today at church what I’ve actually known for many years. You two are meant to be together. I really believe that Cindy’s supposed to be your wife, son.”

Andre stopped chewing mid-bite. “Dad, Cindy’s not ready for another relationship right now. She just got divorced, remember?” Besides she’s my little sister, he reminded himself as the very thought of Cindy being his wife sent delicious shivers through him. What Andre was feeling now was better than any meal he could have ever eaten.

Timothy leaned back in his chair and laughed. “You’re right. But when she is ready, you need to be first in line to take her hand and show her what true love is all about. You two have always been good together. And your Mom and I think that you’ll be even better together in marriage.”

Andre swallowed the food in his mouth and smiled. “How long have you and Mom been playing matchmaker?”

Timothy smiled. “Since you became a man.” Then he pointed at Andre, his tone suddenly very serious. “But, son, remember that you must only have Cindy in marriage. Anything else is gonna cause you a whole lot of trouble. Besides, you and that wonderful girl out there deserve something much better than sex outside of marriage anyway.”