When Worlds Collide Ch. 04

June 24th 1968

I knew it'd have to happen sometime. I guess we just got so comfortable with the way things was goin. Willie's still supervisor over at that there plant. They tried to replace him, brought in this white man from Connecticut to take over but for some reason white folks can barely keep the place from exploding. Two days after they brought this fool in he'd nearly killed everyone within a 50 mile radius, something about mixing hazardous materials. Wilbur got his job back with a $0.10 raise.

That happened in what, '64? Well he been workin that job ever since and things was good! That is until that day we took a family trip into town to get a family photo done. We had to borrow a car so we'd all make it to Houston together. Having a family this big is not always very convenient; Wilbur borrowed the company car and then also borrowed another car so we could all come. We was all sittin on laps and tryin not to squish each other.

The whole thing was my idea; I was the one who wanted one big professional picture of my whole family. Wanted something to hang up over my mantle, a moment in my family's lifetime. I remember getting ready that morning, pickin out clothes, the ones I spent hours mendin' the night before. It was all suits and dress shirts before my girls came along. All bow ties and slacks. Now I had colourful dresses to choose from; hair to braid and curl. I woke up extra early and fixed Cora's hair. She didn't complain at all, I think she was just so excited. I used the last bit of coconut oil I had left on her; braided it up in two braids and put pink ribbons on the ends tied in little bows. She looked so pretty, and so much like me when I was a little girl. So my mama says. I sent her on her way and told her to send her brothers in. After that it was a long procession of side parts and comb overs with a dab of pomade to hold it. Then I send em in to get dressed. The last one to come get her hair done was Evelyn. She come rushin in the room and smiled up at me as she sat down.

"Mama I'm so excited!" she said wigglin on her little stool. I just chuckled because this was the most excited I'd ever seen her. Usually it's Cora bouncing off the walls and now Eve's the one can't contain herself. She starts to calm though when I start brushing out her hair. She always did love that. Every night before bed I'd do their hair for school the next day. Cora hated it and would run and hide. As if there was a place to hide in my house. Then when I finally did pin her down long enough to get her hair combed out she would wail and cry like someone was beatin her. That's why I was so surprised she sat so well for me. Evelyn was always different; she'd come in and sit, let me gently brush out her hair and braid her pigtails. She'd always ask for the same braids as Cora too. Most times she'd fall right asleep in my lap.

Today I took extra care, braiding the pink ribbon into her hair and tieing it at the ends. The second I was done she tore out the room yellin a "Thanks mama!" over her shoulder and went to change. Before we left I went and called everybody to the front yard and inspected them all one by one, straightening ties and fixing suspenders. It's funny when you see nine people standing in front of you that all came from you. All nine of those people came from my body; eight of em from my womb, one directly from my heart. God blessed me with such a beautiful family. My girls were decked out in matching pink dresses and with the ribbons in their hair they were so sweet. I started cryin and my oldest son came and hugged me up usherin me to the car and we were off.

I knew a woman by the name of Marlene. Marlene was one of those women who could have passed for white if people still did those types of things. Anyway, Marlene worked in this house I used to clean as a nanny. We became friends and kept in touch over the years. When she wrote me and said she lived in Houston and was now working at Foley's in the cosmetics department I asked her if I could come and get our family portrait done.

I also have to mention, now that my girls are both eleven years old we're all used to the backwards sidways and upside down glances we'd get when we'd all step out together. Especially once Evelyn would call out for me or her father. Folk would act like we kidnapped her. Brainwashed the child. We lost her one time at the farmers market and I can't begin to explain the hubbub she caused when she described her parents. They really didn't want to hand her over to us, like we been beatin her or mistreatin her. It was the opposite and everybody in Brixdale knew it. Evelyn was our baby; our precious girl. Born straight from my heart. She asked me, eventually, why she didn't look like the rest of the family. I told her it's because she came from my heart. I told her I prayed to God for a little girl my Cora could play with and when she came along she made everyone so happy. I didn't have the heart to tell her where she really came from. Her own words came back into my mind.

"Just because we don't want em doesn't mean they don't deserve love!"

She deserved so much better.

Now I have to tell you that it was 1968 and the world had changed. Folks wasn't as openly hateful of colored people, well, that is to say they weren't as open about it as they were when I was a girl. I was just happy my kids would come up in a different world than I would. So when we arrived to Foley's and we all climbed out of the cars we musta looked like a mob or something because as soon as we walked in management was trying to escort us out. It was a little hectic, keeping all the kids under control when they's so curious about this huge department store. I remember all these little hands pulling on my skirt, all tryin to show me something. I had these kids saying "Mama look!" from every direction, I had the manager tryna kick us out as politely as possible when I look up and see Marlene comin towards us tryna calm everyone down. I was relieved for only a second because I looked over her shoulder and saw her. She was comin up behind Marlene; she had a nametag pinned to her shirt and wore cat eye glasses. Her black hair was in a thick bun on top her head. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I started to back up, trippin over little bodies behind me and I hear Wilbur talking to me but I couldn't get my eyes off her. She wasn't looking at me anymore her eyes had found Evelyn's and I reacted the best way I knew how. I snatched her little hand in mine and pulled her to me. I looked back up at the woman and there was this twisted look of horror on her face as she stared at my daughter.

"Mama what's wrong?" she asked me.

I still couldn't speak as I continued to stare at the person I'd often wondered about. The person cold enough to abandon a baby in a dumpster.

Evelyn's birth mother.

December 12th 2004

The thick jacket he wore to brace the Midwestern cold did little against the harsh winds stealing any warmth his body could generate. He just needed to make it a few more blocks and he'd be warm. It was just a few more blocks from residence to her house. He was still a little dumbfounded that he could feel something so strongly so quickly. It had only been a few months, and already it was more meaningful than any of his past relationships.

He carefully started to run dodging slick patches of pavement as he began to loose feeling in his fingers. It definitely didn't get this cold in Texas and he would be glad for the upcoming break. He thought back to when they returned from Chicago. Reign moved Dylan into her small apartment and gave her the living room as her bedroom. Dylan went back to what she thought she did best, and realized she made a whole lot more money when she didn't have to support a fully grown man. The day Dylan met Calvin was kinda hilarious. His first thought of Dylan being pretty was completely wrong. Once the bruised faded, the swelling reduced and the split lip healed it was painfully obvious that this woman was gorgeous. We had both come by their place for dinner bringing nothing but empty stomachs. As soon as we walked in and Calvin saw Dylan she became self conscious and he looked like a fish out of water. Kinda like how Caiden was when he met Reign.

They ate somewhat awkwardly as the two got to know each other better and Caiden got a chance to laugh at his brother. Shortly after Dylan returned to work they both decided to move into a two bedroom in the same building. The new apartment was on the ground floor which was a plus on two levels; the first being they didn't have to suffer that rickty elevator again and the second being that they could walk straight up to the apartment. The patio area was open and the back door ended up being used as the main entryway. Plus, they both had a lot more room now that they were out of the tiny one bedroom.

Things between Caiden and Reign had taken a wonderful turn. It really helped that they were friends before they became anything else because a level of trust had formed between them. Relationship wise, they'd only hit a few roadblocks; the first being when Dylan offered a copy of their key to Caiden. He didn't want to accept it first of all because reign hadn't been the one to offer it and secondly Reign wasn't the one to offer it! He didn't want to show up out of the blue one day, waltz in their house and have her freak the hell out because she didn't give him a key.

At first she objected, because it was so soon, they'd only been dating for a few weeks at that point and she didn't know how to feel about it. She'd conceded though, after a bit of a struggle because she said she felt safer when he was around.

The second, when an old campus fling reared its ugly head. They were walking to class one morning when an old drunken mistake approached them both.

"Caid," she said shortening his name. He cringed.

"Hey, Beth right?" he asked already knowing her name.

"Yeah, Beth. Hey we missed you at Paul's kegger! You should've been there it was so much fun!" she said completely ignoring Reign. That pissed him off.

"Naw, I quit drinkin a while back. Keep makin stupid choices on that stuff."

He'd hoped his dig was clear, and judging by the look on her face it was crystal.

"Beth have you met my girlfriend? This is my baby, Reign this is Beth."

Her face was definitely red now.

"I... I didn't know you two were together..." she mumbled. After that she made up an excuse and left them. The thing that pissed Reign off was the fact that she'd spread the gospel of their "interracial relationship" all over campus. This didn't bother him in the least, but for some reason Reign was beyond mad.

"It's none of her motherfuckin business who I date! And why the fuck does she even give a motherfuck?"

"Why does... she give a motherfuck? Damn, that's some creative cussin!" he replied laughing. She wasn't the least bit enthused and let him know with a sneaker flying at his head.

"Alright! Alright! She probably gives a motherfuck because we hooked up one time."

He watched as a myriad of emotions quickly crossed her face. He slowly made his way over to her and held her closely.

"A drunken mistake," he said into the top of her head. "And one I'll never make again now that I have you in my life."

She just nodded against his chest and hugged him back. He knew she trusted him, and he trusted her too. That didn't mean her guard was down. Even though they were together, there was still a wall between the two. Caiden knew there was a lot he hadn't told her about his life, secrets he'd kept so long it was like second nature to guard them. He knew she had her share as well and wondered what it would take to one day wear down her defences. He then wondered what it would take to wear down his.

As he finally reached the door he knocked twice and waited. She opened the door and he could hear music blasting from the tiny speakers of her computer in the corner. She'd come a long way from the sparse one bedroom he'd first visited, thanks to Dylan. She now had color on her walls; a bright and vibrant yellow covered the wall that flowed into the kitchen and made him smile every time he walked in. There was a couch set, big screen with TV stand, coffee tables and even a fish tank with two fish; one name Soulja boy the other named Fido. When asked about the names he was told to ask Dylan. When he did, he found she had about as little a clue as he did and she'd picked the names.

"Hey baby!" she greeted him at the door wearing an oversized tee and as far as he was concerned, nothing underneath.

He ripped off his jacket and rubbed his hands together trying to get the feeling back in them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Mmm.." he grumbled against her lips. "That'll definitely warm me up."

She pulled away from him complaining about the draft from under the door. He made himself at home, heading straight for the fridge.

"Hey Sugar, what you got to eat?" he called out. He was bent over fridge, head buried in its contents when she came up behind and slapped him hard on the ass.

"Ow! Dang girl!" he howled, chuckling. She took off running down the short hall to her bedroom and he briefly wondered if Dylan was working tonight. His tummy forgotten he suddenly remembered another neglected part of his anatomy. As he entered the bedroom he found her very unsexily gathering laundry. He'd have to put a stop to that.

"What are you doin?" he asked standing directly in front of her stopping her from leaving the room.

"What I was doing before you got here? Sorting laundry. I've gotta do a load of whites first because I don't want color blee-"

She stopped mid sentence as she caught sight of his chest. He peeled his white shirt off and threw it in the small pile she'd made on the floor. He let her look her fill of his sculpted chest and waited to see what she would do. She bit her lip as looked him over and noticed her thighs squeezing together beneath the frumpy tee. He reached his hand out for hers and she took it slowly standing up. He tried to pull her too him but she ducked under his arm and ran to the other side of the bed.

"Hey! Listen, I mean I think things are getting a little uh... um.. God it's hot in here," she said fanning herself. He smirked. She was so cute when she was flustered, her hair up in that messy bun again.

"Take your hair down, matter fact take that damn shirt off too."

"No!" she exclaimed, hands up in front of her to ward him off. He climbed up over the bed and was in front of her within seconds. She barely had time to react.

"Jesus you're fast!" she said backing up. He followed.

"You gonna run from me some more? Cause I actually like the chase. Just know your ass is gonna be punished when you get caught."

His statement stopped her cold and the color drained from her face. Her look of excitement and arousal was gone and fear had completely taken its place. Damn, he'd effectively doused them both with ice water with his failed attempt at dirty talk.

"Whoa, honey I'm sorry! What'd I say wrong?"

She said nothing, just folded her arms under her breasts and backed into the corner, as far from him as she could get.

"Was it the spanking thing? You don't like to be spanked? Cause that's fine we don't have to do that I was just trying something out but if that's not your thing, we'll scrap it and try somethin' else, how bout that?"

Her face remained blank as she stared up at him, her honey colored eyes penetrating him. He decided to change gears. This was new territory for the both of them. While they'd made out furiously as often as possible, that's as far as it went. They spent as much time as possible together but something always seemed to come up before they went any further. She either had to get to class or get to work, or she had something burning on the stove, or she had a tutorial session to get to. Come to think of it, she was really the only one making the excuses. He was ready willing and able to go a whole lot further with her. And not just because her body was the stuff rap songs were centered on, because he honestly and truly with all of his heart loved her. Damn. He really really loved her. And yet he felt like he knew nothing about her. Is that possible? How can you love someone you really know nothing about? He must've been lost in his thoughts for a bit because he realized she was now walking out the room, laundry basket in hand. He didn't move to chase her this time. He just grabbed another shirt out of his bag and stretched out on her bed. Well, as much as he could; he was so tall his feet dangled off the end.

He considered this complex specimen of a woman. She was definitely different but they were similar too, in good ways and in bad. They obviously both had tempers, evident both in the fact that she blew up at the drop of a dime and that he'd half killed a man over, well, a girl he now called a friend. But when he really thought about it, neither of them knew anything about each other. He had secrets, things those only closest to him knew. Which would mean every member of his family and that was it up until he met Reign. Now, he had to consider recounting things to her that may make her afraid to even be alone with him. Things that plagued his nightmares night after night, horrors he should have never seen let alone share with another person. He didn't know how to say it all or where to start and he realized he needed to start by sharing himself with the woman he called himself loving before he expected her to do the same.

He got up, packed together his clothes and was just putting on his jacket when Reign came back into the apartment.

"What-where are you going? You just got here! I thought we were going to spend the night together?" came her questions in rapid succession, her hands gripping the empty laundry basket at her hip.

He let out a deep breath and walked over to her. He dropped his duffel bag and knocked her laundry basket to the floor. He tilted her face up to his and her question filled eyes caught his own. He captured her mouth in a desperate kiss, wanting to devour her mouth. His other hand found her waist and travelled lower until he reached her full backside. He explored the generous territory with vigour and then firmly gripped his other hand joining the fun. She moaned into his lips when he began to massage and squeeze her flesh though the flimsy shirt and then gasped when he suddenly picked her up and pressed her against the wall. Her hands fisted in his shirt holding onto him as if he might drop her. Not a chance. She slowly released her hold and eased the jacket off his shoulders. All the while his tongue never left her mouth and she moaned as he pressed his ever present erection against the juncture of her thighs. She tasted so sweet. So sweet. She kissed him like she loved him and he kissed her like he loved her more.

When they finally parted for air he continued to hold her pinned to the wall as he gasped for breath against her neck.

"Baby," came her quiet voice. "Please don't leave."

The pleading vulnerability in her voice stopped him once again and he decided his plans could wait; she needed him. So they spent their first night together and it was a night full of firsts; the first time he'd actually just slept with a woman, first time he just laid in a bed and cuddled a woman in a non sexual way and it was also the first night he could remember sleeping through without any nightmares.

*************

Exactly a week later he finally got back in touch with Reign. She was dodging him worse than a dead beat dodges his kids. He didn't understand it. They'd spent an amazing night together, no sex either, just kissing and holding each other. Best night he'd had in, well, ever. He knew it was as good for her as it was for him too. She'd said so the next morning. When she kissed him goodbye the next day it was loaded with promise of sexual exploits to come and he wanted so badly to do all the things her luscious body was asking for. He knew she was feeling the same way he was too. The smell of a woman's arousal is distinct and unmistakeable; she wanted him. So then why the hell was she ducking him?