Pieces of Dreams

The entire week that CJ and I spent in Atlanta, all I could think about was Maxine. I couldn’t quite put my finger on whatever it was about her that had hit me. Maybe it was that moment of vulnerability I saw in her eyes, or the sensation that she’d stirred in me that made me want to take care of her and protect her—even though she seemed to have it all together, cloaked in an undeniable aura of sensuality.

Whatever it was, I couldn’t seem to shake it, and the realization unnerved me. For too long I didn’t allow myself to experience any real feelings for a woman, and I wasn’t sure what to do with them now, how to handle it. I figured I’d rap with CJ about it. Even though he wasn’t married or anything, he’d been hooked up with Tracy for what seemed like forever. What was always cool about my friendship with CJ over the years was that we could always be honest with each other, even about the dumbest stuff, how we felt from deep inside, crazy ideas we had, the things that scared us. And it was always cool.

CJ was the only person besides me who knew the real deal about me and my family, how it made me feel like half a man not knowing who they were, and what Karen had done to our baby. No one but CJ knew how that almost destroyed me, but he hung in there with me, stayed solid, stayed my man.

But even for me, trying to explain what was going on with this chick Maxine was a bit much.

We were sitting in the hotel bar in Atlanta, relaxing, taking in the sights and sounds. CJ was on his second screwdriver, while I nursed my rum and Coke. Can’t quite say when we decided these were our drinks of choice. Maybe one of those Saturday night basement parties from back in the day—the ones where it was black as pitch, with the purple light that made all the lint show up on our clothes, and almost all of the music was slow so that we could grind with our girls up against the wall or in some corner, and B.Y.O.B. was a requirement for entry. Yeah, maybe it was one of those. But that’s another story.

Anyway, CJ and I were just kicking it, not talking about anything special, just some of the stuff we needed to be ready for the next day, when CJ spotted these two fine sisters sliding onto the stools on the opposite side from us.

“Hmm. Check them out,” he said over the rim of his glass.

I looked. One reminded me of Iman, the supermodel, and the other looked like an older version of Brandy, the singer. Neither one of them looked like Maxine. Maybe Iman, around the eyes.

“Not bad,” I said.

“Not bad! Brother, are you blind?”

“Not the last time I checked. Just not interested. And with Tracy back in Frisco waiting for you, you shouldn’t be interested, either.”

He gave me a hard, get ready to rumble look, but knowing that those days were behind him I just ignored it.

“You know, Ty, I hate it when you’re right.” He took a sip of his drink. “But hey, just because I’m in love doesn’t mean I have to roll over and play dead.” He chuckled and ordered another drink. “My eyes are still workin’, even if my heart is under lock and key.” He patted his chest for extra drama.

I glanced at him for a moment and knew from the faraway look in his eyes that he was thinking about Tracy. That was my opening.

“CJ, Man—”

“Yeah?”

“How did you know that Tracy was the one for you?”

The corner of his mouth curved up in a slow grin. “Hmm.” He took another sip of his refreshed drink. “Sometimes I think it was when we first made love.” He shut his eyes for a minute and shook his head. “Blew my mind. But then other times I think that couldn’t have been it, because it wouldn’t have been that fantastic if everything else wasn’t already in place.” He turned to me. “Know what I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“Humph. Other times I think it was our first kiss, or the time we both cut out from work and had a picnic in the park.”

His brows rose and fell in thought. “But I guess it was the way she made me feel almost from the moment I met her, Man. It was just easy and right, like we’d been waiting all our lives for that day. Something just clicked.”

He angled his head in my direction and flashed me that scowl again.

“Why, Bro? Think you’ve run into Ms. Heavensent?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Oh, no.” He chuckled. “You’re not gettin’ off that light. Let’s hear it. Who is she, and why haven’t I met her?”

“I just met her myself—at the travel agency when I went to get our tickets.”

“And—”

“And that’s it.” I took a long swallow of my drink.

“Oh, no it isn’t. I know you just want to spill your guts. So you might as well get it over with.”

I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face. He wasn’t going to let up until I told him, and I wanted to, anyway.

“I don’t know, Man,” I said, trying to find a way to explain what was going on in my head. Then it dawned on me. “I guess it’s like what happened with you and Tracy. Something just clicked.”

CJ just stared at me, seemingly at a loss for a quick comeback, which was his usual style.

“Man, don’t sit there looking at me like I have two heads.”

He stared cracking up. “Ty, Man, I never thought I’d see the day when something clicked for you. I always figured you’d stay on the prowl until they had to cart you away. Tracy is going to love this. Now maybe she can stop playing matchmaker.”

Tracy’s mission in life was to hook me up with everyone from her second cousin and her hairdresser to her sorority sisters. If nothing else, she was persistent. Should things work out with me and Maxine, then maybe I could safely visit CJ on a Saturday night without the fear of a setup in the works.

CJ tossed down the last of his drink and then grew serious. He turned to me. “So, what’s she like—”

We returned to Frisco late in the day Friday and, like a man possessed, the first thing I did when I dropped my bags at the foot of my bed was to call the travel agency.

“Sherman Travel. May I help you?”

I started to hang up. It was probably a stupid idea, calling like that. She was probably just being nice when she said—

“Hello? May I help you? Hello?”

“Uh, hello. I was trying to reach…Maxine…Sherman.”

“Hold on, please.”

Oh, man, this was not a good idea. I felt like a total idiot.

“Hello?”

That voice again. My insides started to knot up. “Hello, Maxine?”

“Yes. Who’s this?”

“Taylor Collins, from the other day. I bought the tickets—”

“Hi! How are you?”

She actually sounded happy to hear from me. The knot started to loosen. “Fine. Just got back in.”

“How was your trip?”