Chapter3
Celeste stood at her register, trying to smile and talk with the customers who came through her line, but it was an enormous challenge for her. Nothing in her wanted to be there or to find cheerfulness inside of herself when it wasn’t there.
Working at the cash register to her left was a young woman named Tonia; tall and thin with short cropped hair and darker skin than Celeste’s. She was plain looking, with no makeup, dressed in brown and black colors under her uniform. Working at the register to her right was another woman, Keisha, who was round and full everywhere, and whose voice was just as big as she was. Her makeup was vibrant, her hair was braided in cornrows and hung to her shoulders. Her earrings were big, the rings on her fingers were flashy, and beneath her supermarket smock she wore clothing made with exotic and brilliant colors.
Normally the three of them would talk and laugh, but as Celeste only greeted her customers and stayed silent as she worked the rest of the time, it came to the notice of Tonia and Keisha, and Keisha spoke up about it.
“Hey, Celeste,” she began with a light upward jerk of her chin toward Celeste. “What’s got you all in a funk, girl?”
Celeste shook her head and looked down at her register, straightening a stack of coupons in her hands. “Nothing.”
“Something’s bugging you,” Keisha persisted, narrowing her round eyes at Celeste. Tonia looked up from her register and leaned closer, resting her arm on the short partition wall between their stations.
“Yeah, you been quiet all morning. What’s goin’ on with you? You sick or something? Don’t come too close. I don’t want to get sick. I can’t afford to be sick and miss work.” Tonia shook her head and stood back, eyeing Celeste with suspicion.
Celeste shook her head. “I’m not sick, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You have some kinda trouble?” Keisha pushed, ignoring Celeste’s request for solitude. She walked away from her register and waddled over to Celeste’s, leaning on the counter at the end of it, where the groceries were normally bagged. There were no customers around, and she seemed to be in the mood to talk.
“Is it men or money?” Keisha probed further, planting one hand on the large swell of her hip.
Celeste blinked and turned to look over her shoulder at her co-worker. “What?”
“I said is it men or money? Somethin’ is wrong with you, and anytime anything is wrong with any woman, it’s either got to be men or money. They both the root of all evil.” Keisha frowned and then looked over at Tonia and laughed. “But I still want ‘em both!” She laughed deep in her large rounded chest, and her body shook as she did so. Tonia nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You know that’s right!” Her mouth curved upward in agreement.
Keisha looked away from Tonia and turned her attention back to Celeste. “So, which is it? Or is it both?”
“It’s neither.” Celeste sighed heavily, turning to look at Keisha. She knew that she wasn’t going to get away with ignoring her. “I have a test at school tonight and I got forced into working a double. It was either work or get fired from here. I had no choice. Now I have to miss my test and I don’t think the instructor is going to let me retake it. It’s awful! I work too hard for this to happen!”
Keisha waved her chubby fingers in the air and all of her rings shone and sparkled with the movement. “Honey, that’s just the way it is.” She stood up then and planted both of her hands on her hips, gazing seriously at Celeste.
“Look, it don’t matter how hard you work. Your life ain’t never gonna change. I don’t even know why you bother goin’ to that fool school of yours. You are a black woman. You are at the bottom of the pole, honey, and you’re making a fool out of yourself trying to do any better with your life than what you got. This is it, Celeste. Working here with us and living at the apartments where we are, that’s it.
There ain’t nothin’ else and there ain’t never gonna be anything else. I don’t know why you live in some fantasy world thinkin’ you can work your way out of it. There ain’t no way out of it. This is it. Get used to it. You ain’t never gonna get no better than what you have right now.” Keisha smirked in a half-hearted way and shook her head as if she felt sorry for Celeste.
Celeste drew in a deep breath and turned to look at her fully. “Look, if that’s what you believe, then fine. Believe what you want to, but I believe in myself, and in my ability. I’m a smart woman. I know I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and this dump is the best that I can do for right now, but that doesn’t mean that I have to stay here for the rest of my life.
I have got a good brain in my head and I’m a hard worker. I’m going to do everything that I can to get myself out of this place and into a better life, no matter what! Nothing that you or anyone else says is going to hold me back. I want a good life, and by god I’m going to do everything that I can to get it!”
Keisha laughed and shook her head. “You a fool, honey. I love you, you know I do, but you a fool. Why don’t you just find yourself a man and try to keep him… hope he sticks around with you, like the rest of us do? There ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!”
Celeste gave her head a shake and turned away. “I’m not settling, Keisha. I’m not.”
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Keisha muttered, “Whatever,” and went back to her cash register to help some customers.
Celeste didn’t know what it was, but it seemed to her that all of her customers that day were grouchy and demanding, complaining about one thing or another, and all of them and their bad attitudes just dragged her down more.
She had a long lunch break between her shifts, and when she took it, she went outside for a breath of fresh air, and to try to leave her troubles behind her as much as she could. Reaching for her phone, she sighed and turned it on to see if there was anything new going on in the world around her. Something had to be going right somewhere, she told herself.
Her phone beeped with the notification of a message on the dating app from Kevin. A wide smile formed over her face and she swiped her finger over the screen. He sent her a phone number and asked her to call him.
She touched the number on the screen and her phone dialed it. Her heart was pounding with anticipation and elation as she listened to the phone at the other end ringing. A husky sounding male voice sounded in her ear.
“Well hello!” There was a smile in his voice and it made her smile just hearing it.
“Hi, I saw your message. How are you doing?” She felt like she was in high school, thrilled to get to talk to a boy she liked. It seemed silly to her; they had only ever met once, but they had shared such an incredible time together that there were soft tremors moving through her as she thought of their intimacy, and heard his voice in her ear once again.
“I’m good. How are you doing?” he returned.
Celeste sighed. “Well it’s been a pretty lousy day, but it just got better because I get to talk with you!” She meant it, as surprised as she was about the truthfulness of it.
There was a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “Good. Well, I’ve got some news that I hope will make your day much better.”
“Yeah?” she asked with a piqued interest, one brow raising slightly. She considered that whatever he was calling her about, it would make her day better. “I hope it’s that I get to see you again.” She knew it was forward, but she wanted to flirt with him; she had an appetite for him that was growing.
There was another chuckle from him. “Oh, we’re definitely going to see each other again, but before that happens, I have something else for you. Remember that I said I was going to try to help you get a job at the firm where I work?”
“Yes?” She breathed thinly, sitting up straighter and curling her fingers around the phone tighter as her heart skipped a beat.
His voice took on a serious note, and all the flirtation disappeared from it. “I got you an interview with one of the senior partners here. His name is Hector. You’re going to meet him tomorrow at nine. I’ll text you the address for the company and just let the receptionist in the main lobby know who you’re here to see. They’ll get you there to see him.”
Celeste couldn’t think or even speak for a long moment, all she could do was stare ahead blindly, as everything inside of her seemed to have frozen in place. Every heartbeat, every breath, every muscle, every single cell inside her. Frozen.
“Celeste?” he asked with uncertainty.
Everything in her seemed to spark with a vibrant flash and everything that had been frozen a moment before snapped back to life and vaulted into action. Blood rushed in her ears and through every part of her body.
“Yes! Yes… I’m here. I’m sorry, I just…” She trailed off.
“You didn’t know if it would really happen? Wouldn’t let yourself believe that I could or would do that for you?” he asked bluntly, though with kindness and empathy in his tone. “You know I said I’m attracted to women who work hard, and one of the other things that I’ve learned about women like that is that they are oftentimes unaccustomed to anyone doing anything for them. I get it that this surprised you. I totally get it. It’s real, though. You have an appointment with him tomorrow. Dress nice, bring your resume, and with any luck it will be enough. He’s a good man. A fair man. I have faith that you’ll do well.”
Tears stung her eyes and she swallowed hard. It seemed like no one in her whole life had gotten her or understood her as much as he did, and he barely knew her. “I… god thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you’ve done this for me. You can’t imagine how much it means.” She turned and looked at the grocery store behind her. “I just can’t believe that you got my foot in the door like that. It’s incredible.”
“Well you’re in, so it’s up to you to do the rest, and I don’t have any doubt that you’ll be great.” He paused a moment and his voice softened some more. “I was glad to do this for you. You deserve it, and I strongly suspect that you’ve more than earned it. Good things in life are rarely handed to us, but sometimes it’s one little kindness like this that can make all the difference in the world. I know you can do this. Let me know how it goes tomorrow. Good luck.” He was smiling again; she could hear it.
“Thank you. I promise you won’t regret helping me.” Gratitude was rushing through her like a river.
“You bet. Also, we’re still on for another date. Every time you cross my mind I get hungry for you. Good luck tomorrow. Call me when it’s done and we’ll set up another date.” He sounded almost casual again.
She thanked him and said goodbye to him, ending the call and pressing her phone flat in her palms as she tipped her face heavenward. “I can’t believe this… everything is going to change,” she vowed as a wide smile formed over her face. She began to laugh softly from somewhere deep inside, and then the laugh grew bigger and louder until she bent over and clapped her hands on her knees with a blissful shout.
Standing back up, she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everything was going to change. She promised herself. She looked down at her phone as it buzzed and she saw the message from Kevin with the address and Hector’s information.
She pressed her lips together in a smile and gave a nod. It was going to change. Her whole life was going to change. She was going to go to that interview and blow Hector away, and he was going to beg her to take the job.
Feeling lighter than she had in a long age, she walked back into the store with determination and the rest of her second shift seemed to fly past. Time might have dragged during her first shift, but time couldn’t seem to keep up with her in her second shift, and even Tonia and Keisha noticed the difference. When they asked her what was up, she told them it was just a second wind.
Late that night she finally pushed her time card into the clock slot and heard it punch down as it stamped the hour. With a long sigh of relief, she walked from the building to the parking lot, slipping her apron off and folding it up. The humidity had made the air cold and there was condensation on her car, which had been added to by a light rain.
She flipped on the windshield wipers and the defrost, hoping to clear the steam from the inside of the windows. Celeste clicked her seat belt closed and put the car in gear, praying for the old beast to get her home safely.
There were no other cars out on the road; it was so late. Tall street lights stood sentry at variant distances along the length of darkness ahead of her; spreading glowing orange beams down onto the road beneath them.
Celeste reached over and flipped on the radio, smiling as lyrical notes floated out around her while Ella Fitzgerald crooned a Cole Porter song. She began to hum along with such a lightness in her heart that it felt like there was a big balloon in her that was lifting her up to the heavens.
She glanced up and saw that there was a car behind her, and the headlights were keeping pace with her vehicle. There were no other cars on the road besides the two of them. She turned her attention to the road ahead. A few moments later she glanced in the rearview mirror again and saw that the car behind her had drawn nearer to her own sad car.
Her fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel and she sat up straight, carefully watching the street before her and the headlights behind her. Her heartbeat picked up and she stepped on the gas just a little to try to speed up and put some distance between her and the car tailing her.
Not a moment later, red and blue lights flipped on and swirled wildly over the car edging closer to the trunk of her vehicle and she groaned as her shoulders slumped. It hadn’t occurred to her that it might be the police, and it had been too dark to see that it was a squad car that had been tailing her.
Celeste pulled over to the side of the road and reached for her purse as a blinding white light flooded the interior of her car. She pulled her driver’s license and insurance card out and was just turning when there was a tap at her driver’s side window and the large circled beam of a flashlight blazed over her face. Her heart raced as she rolled the window down and tried to smile. Her exhaustion was only slightly replaced by tremors of anxiety.
“Good evening officer,” she began in a cautious and friendly tone. “Is there some kind of problem?” she asked, knowing full well that there had to be some kind of problem or she wouldn’t have been pulled over to begin with.
“Step out of the car,” came a deep voice.
Her heart caught in her chest. She blinked fast as fear gripped her. “But I—” she began, but the man shadowed behind the brilliant flashlight interrupted her.
“Get out of the car now.”
Outwardly silent and inwardly panicking, she nodded and released her seat belt. With her heart racing, she carefully opened the door and stepped out of the car. The officer stood back and lowered his flashlight.
She gasped when she saw him. He stood a foot taller than her small frame, with strong, broad shoulders and a muscled wall of a chest. His hair was cut so short that it was almost to his scalp, and he had no hair on his face. His skin was darker than hers, and his eyes brown. He had full lips and high cheekbones, and as he gazed down at her, arrogance emanated from him.
Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. “Wendell!” she barely whispered his name.
Wendell took a step forward, making her step back and lean the back of her body against the car. His eyes moved slowly over her face and then down over the soft curves of her form. A shiver roiled through her.
When he had seen plenty of her, he raised his eyes to hers again and spoke in a low, quiet voice. “What are you doing out this late? Why aren’t you at home?”
Her heart thudded like a bass drum, banging against the inside of her tightened chest. She tried to breathe. She tried to speak, though it seemed like the ability to do so was completely eluding her.
“I…” she began and faltered, struggling to find some courage and strength inside of herself. “I was at work. I’m going home now.”
He didn’t move, he just watched her. “Work huh? What are you doing at work so late? This isn’t your usual shift.”
Every muscle in her body tensed. She didn’t know how he could assume to know what her normal schedule might be.
“I had to work a double.” She cleared her throat and lifted her chin, giving him a brave gaze. She was determined not to quiver in fear or uncertainty before him.
He was quiet for a long moment, staring into her eyes as if he was searching for the truth, and expecting to find it there. “A double, huh.” It wasn’t a question.
She said nothing. There was nothing to say; she had worked a double and she was on her way home.
“I don’t like you being out this late at night,” he finally said, giving his head one slight shake. He spoke it like he owned her and she was his property. He spoke it as if she answered to him for everything that she did; every move she made.
Her brow furrowed sharply and she drew in a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter what you like or don’t like. We haven’t been together in over a year! You don’t get to have a say about any part of my life. That time is well over and done, and I didn’t even let you do it when we were together, so don’t go getting any ideas now that you can talk to me like that and have any expectations of me.”
Resentment flashed in his dark eyes. “You were mine! I will say what I want!”
She shook her head slowly, her eyes locked on his. “I’m not yours anymore, and I haven’t been for a long time.”
“Yeah, well that’s going to change,” he snapped low and fierce.
“No, it’s not, Wendell. That’s never going to change.” She crossed her arms over her chest almost protectively, and raised her chin a little higher. “Now how did you know where I was? You had to know. You’ve been following me since I left the store!”
The corners of his mouth turned up into a slight grin, and he chuckled quietly, just once. “Oh baby, I know everything you do.” He raised one hand and reached for her face, outstretching his fingertips and letting them caress her cheek until she pulled her head away from his reach. “I follow you all the time. I always know where you are, and what you’re doing, and who you’re with. I know everything about you baby, ‘cause you’re mine, and I’m getting you back.”
She glared furiously at him. “I am not yours and I am never going to be yours again! You’re stalking me and you can’t do that! Not even if you’re a cop! Now leave me alone!”
He shook his head very slowly, his grin in place, his eyes steady on hers. His voice was low and even. “Oh no, baby. No way. I’m watching you. I’m always watching you, and soon you’re going to give me exactly what I want.”
Wendell reached for her again but she pulled away from him and rushed to get back in her car, slamming the door behind her. He stood there near her car with his hands hanging down at his sides and laughed at her; deep, long, intent laughing.
Celeste’s body was shaking with anger as she pumped her foot on the gas pedal and prayed fervently that the engine would start. It finally did, and she only glanced at him once as she put her car in gear and pulled away from him quickly.
With a last worried glance in the rearview mirror, she saw him still standing where he had been, turned and facing her as she drove away, watching her.