Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“But Mama I need you to tell me why you—”
“I told you once, and I’ll tell you again. I don’t hate men, and I don’t expect you to, either. I just don’t love or like them much. And that’s what they can’t tolerate. The idea of having no control over me. To that, I tell all those penis carriers to suck my left ovary, and if they can’t stand me, well then take a load off and sit the fuck down then…”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Music and Petals
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Lennox tri-folded and tucked his grandfather’s letter away in the top drawer of his bedroom bureau. Dressed only in the dark gray jogging pants he’d worn for work at the gym, he pulled back the curtains from his window and opened the blinds to take a look outside.
He stared at his front lawn, then the houses across the street as his thoughts gathered. Then he noticed his American flag flapping aggressively in the wind. The sky was ashen and ominous. The clouds spawned and spoke in broken English, breaking apart then clustering tight as lightning lit up the sky, followed by loud booms. The soft fabric from the black drapes slipped against his fingertips as he released it, and went to sit on the edge of his bed under the dim lighting.
The sounds of JamWayne’s, ‘No Problems,’ played as he closed his eyes and held his forehead. The skin that tightened beneath his touch as each tendril of disgust, each strain of stress emerged. Grandpa had reached out. He’d called and left a voicemail. It was straight and to the point:
“I plan to kill some time.”
He listened, then deleted it. This was a stark reminder that time was not on his side, and his peace was on the chopping block. After some time, he got up, stretched, and walked into his small work-out cave. It was an inviting space, after the remodel he’d put it through. He’d torn down the wood-panel partitions to replace them with ivory walls on which hung framed motivational posters, and on one side he’d filled a bookcase with health books.
He got ready to put on one of his favorite country or rock ’n roll music playlists, but then spotted the old CD that Nadia had handed to him when he was visiting her apartment after dropping in at her job. He’d joked how he hadn’t seen a CD in a long ass time, but she had an old school affinity for them, due to her mother always playing them, especially on weekends, when she was growing up. Now she uses them to create custom mixtapes to practice some of her dance moves for work. Slow jams, rap and hip hop, a little jazz and whatnot.
He picked up the CD, noting the scratches on both sides. Curious to see what was on it, he found an old CD player that had belonged to his mother and plugged it in, hoping it would play without a hitch. He waited with anticipation, then heard a slight skipping and crackling noise, reminiscent of a record player.
‘Make Love 2 Me,’ by Lorenzo, started to play.
“Oh my God.” He chuckled. “I haven’t heard this song in forever.” He only knew about it from some of the parties he’d attended back in the day. Wasn’t his typical kind of music, but some things had a way of sticking with you.
He hopped on the treadmill, his mind relaxing as stonewashed recollections of Nadia playing timeworn 1990s R&B came back to him. She’d had a portable CD player and headphones that she’d bring to work, and would sing as she cleaned and sometimes helped open the Red Rooster restaurant with him. Damn, I forgot all about that. She didn’t have a bad singing voice, either…
‘Come Inside,’ by Intro was the next song. He went to his bench press, lay down, and began to lift weights, his breathing in time with the loud music. Heavy rain pounded against his windows. ‘Moments in Love,’ by Art of Noise shook his memory box within his brain once again. Out poured something haunting and beautiful. His muscles burned and strained as he concentrated on each rep.
The good pain radiated through his body as he pushed himself to and beyond the limit, while melting into the melody that put him right back in The Red Rooster—under the flickering lights, just him and Nadia in the stock room at four in the morning. Arms wrapped tightly around one another. The moisture from her tears soaked into his shirt as he cradled her braided head in the cusp of his calloused palm. Some days she smelled like Jennifer Lopez Glow Eau de Toilette and baby powder. She felt like a soft dream on a hard night. But we all have to wake up…
He finished his reps, drenched in sweat, and sat there, allowing the extended version of the song to play on, vibrating his speakers with the rhythm of years gone past. When it was over, he turned the music up, loud as it would go as ‘Fly Girl,’ by the Boogie Boys, began to play. Then, he headed to his en suite bathroom. Turning on the shower, he made sure it was ice cold and on full blast before he got under the bursting stream.