MORE THAN A FRIEND- PART 1

Nov 20, 2007 - 15:21 PM PST

MORE THAN A FRIEND, BUT A LOVER....
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, and 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
travellers 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 neighbours 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
neighbour as his baby sister in order to fulfil 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, travelling 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
skilfully manoeuvred 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 wonder 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 38th 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 light-hearted 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.