‘What do you mean sir?’
‘You know. If you don’t, you will learn soon.’
After making the statement, Mr. Lewis sat back in his chair. What he meant was unclear at the time, but would show itself in the future. The tone of the conversation changed once we discussed Lisa. It was apparent that Nico wouldn’t be hurt by me because my head was stuck up another ass.
Tanico never talked much about Anthony anymore, but from what I gather, her father didn’t like him much. Apparently, he wasn’t treating her the way she should be treated. She had been spending quite a bit of time with me, so he couldn’t have been too concerned with her whereabouts.
‘So tell me about yourself Rajah. Give me all the details’ he replied. It was hard to know where to start, but before my mouth moved, Nico popped back into the room.
‘What are you two talking about?’
‘Rajah was just going to tell me about himself, weren’t you?’
‘Sure.’
Tanico took a seat and my mouth told all of the sorted details about my life. Her dad sat there seemingly interested in what was coming out of my mouth. Even Nico was involved in the story running from my lips. The words were about the marriage that just destroyed my reality. After telling the story, Mr. Lewis replies speaking in Nico’s direction, “Damn you tell a good story. How come you can’t date a young man like this?”
‘Son, you are too nice though.’
‘What do you mean,’ I reply.
“Dad! Would you stop trying to pry in people business!” Nico yelled as she smiled at the same time.
‘I’m just trying to help the young man. Anyway, you let women take advantage of your kindness. Lead the woman, don’t let them lead you.’
These same exact words came to me from a woman. The exact woman he told me to watch out for.
‘I just don’t want to hurt them,’ I replied.
‘Leading a woman is not hurting them.’ He suddenly turned towards Nico and began to give her the eye.
‘Yes’ Nico said.
“Nico, what kind of man do you want?’ he asked.
‘What?’ she uttered.
‘Tell me.’
‘Well, a nice man who respects me and decisions I make; someone who is strong and supportive, but will have the courage to tell me when I’m wrong.’
The whole statement seemed contradictory to me, so I asked, “If a man is supportive and respects your decisions, why would he tell you that you are wrong?” Mr. Lewis burst out into this loud laughter.
‘Son, you are being too logical. They want someone to argue with them.’
Nico turned up her lips and began addressing her dad about his statement.
‘That isn’t it at all dad. We want someone who can meet us halfway when needed, and then take charge when we don’t feel like making a decision. Respect is a simple thing and wanting someone you can trust to make decisions for you when you can admit that you don’t know what to do is what I want.’
Mr. Lewis turned up his right eye as to say, she knows what she wants; however, the plot thickened when he addressed a personal issue of Nico’s.
‘If you know what is good for you, why are you with that clown Anthony?’
‘Dad, please don’t start on him,’ she said softly.
‘Not starting at all. You have time to leave that fool before you make a decision to marry him.’
‘See dad!’
‘What?’
‘You don’t trust my decisions!’
While she was getting louder and louder, Mr. Lewis was calm about the whole conversation. That is where I needed to be in my life. The art of communicating without arguing is something that takes time. He replied in a simple manner:
“It’s not that your decisions aren’t trusted, but it’s more that I know how sneaky men can be towards women. That boy lacks discipline, drive, and respect. He walked up in here like I owed him something.”
‘Dad, stop it now!’ She yelled. ‘We are not talking about this anymore. I’m done with this conversation. Rajah, are you ready to go?’
It didn’t seem as though there was a need for a yes or no, so my body jumped out the seat, shook Mr. Lewis’ hand and headed for the car. Nico walked up the stairs fussing about her dad and proceeded to do so in the car.
On the way home, she cried out of anger. “All I ask him to do is support me and he can’t even do that. God, he makes me so angry sometimes!” It was apparent that there was nothing to say but one thing. “Is it because he is right?” I replied. Nico looked at me with this stern glance. Not 15 minutes away from the house, Nico turned around the car and headed back to Mr. Lewis’ home. When she pulled up in the driveway, Mr. Lewis was sitting on the porch in an oak chair. It was as if he was waiting for her to come back. The next scene would truly blow me away. Nico jumped out of the car, ran to the porch. Mr. Lewis stood up and they embraced. Mr. Lewis put his hands on her face as to say, everything is okay. He meant the world to her and deep down, she knew he was right. When Nico returned to the car, it was as if nothing occurred. The thought that went through my head was “Wow!” Many women and men dream of having a relationship like that with their father. It was truly a beautiful thing.
Her dad had a way with words it seems. The two of us talked for a long time that day and he told me that “You don’t meet many genuine people, but you young man, are genuine.” That comment meant more to me than anything. It made me feel like somebody and these were the types of people worth being around daily. In a way, Nico really liked the fact that there was a connection between the two of us. It was apparent that my worth was being measured by her father’s reaction. Truthfully, the fact that I passed was great for me because Nico would turn out to be a true friend.
It is not uncommon for an attractive young man and woman to hang out together. Lisa didn’t initially mind that we spent so much time together. It was true that she was merely spending time to avoid attachments or for no strings attached. There was a slight separation between Lisa and myself. She was trying to work out some things with her husband who she knew was cheating on her. The two of them collided once while I was there visiting with her. It was pretty intense to say the least.
Mike was not at all threatened by the two of us spending time together because I was not seen as a threat. Actually, one afternoon shopping, these eyes spotted him with another woman and we spoke to one another like nothing was going on there. It wasn’t my responsibility to tell her since she already knew he was cheating. They were young lovers and she was still trapped in his aura. Of course, Lisa was not pressed about dating. Tanico and I would talk about it and could never understand how this woman so strong could allow this. That is probably why she was helping the two of us. Her absence would do nothing but drive Nico and me closer together.
It’s very hard to talk about one of these women without talking about both. The more time we spent, the more it seemed that Lisa would grow jealous because she was number one at all times. After the death of her grandmother, Lisa psychologically changed on us and it was swift. We understood because of the situation with her husband. Granted, she was cheating on him with me; however, this began after he cheated on her constantly. Does that make her any better? No; however, the sting of being cheated on lessens. They always say that nothing good lasts long and nothing bad lasts forever. This saying rang true for me many times in my life and it would really ring true now.
These women were like the family I never had. Lisa used to tell me family is what you make it today, tomorrow, and the day after that. Imagine my devastation when we began to stop hanging together as much. The reasoning behind our group demise can be attributed to the actions of Lisa. She began to act differently and sometimes disrespectfully towards Nico and me.
The night that we all said our goodbyes was unlike any other night. It all happened during one of our normal trips to Detroit. We visited a local club at the time. This was one of our spots where the group, including Nico’s boyfriend would hang. It was a typical night. While Nico and I danced, Lisa was off doing what she does and Anthony was sitting at the table being cool with his drink. Nico and I sweat to some song while doing the running man and acting silly. Once we were tired from all the dancing, Nico grabbed my arm and took me for a walk outside. She had something she wanted to talk about. It was easily noticeable.
“If I tell you something, do you promise not to get angry?’ she stated.
“Sure, why not. What is it?’
‘You said that too easy…….Do you promise for real?’
“YES! Now tell me.’
‘Ant,’ as she called him, ‘asked me to move in with him.’
“Sinners have a Soul Too” is on every Monday at 9am EST. Please participate in the show by leaving comments and suggestions about the show or what you think it should happen next! Our author might consider your ideas for the next episode!
Rate This Post:
Did you like this article? Submit it to your favorite social bookmarking sites:
Comments:
1 Comment Already
Pingback & Trackback
Sorry, you must register to leave comments.