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He put his hands behind his head as he mused that maybe he’d slipped up on his application process with those two, or maybe the game was just growing old. After all, he was thirty-two years old and his mother had started throwing hints about grandchildren. Maybe it was time for him to settle down. He just needed to find one woman and make it happen. In truth, Marshall had dated hundreds of women, but not one of them came to mind when he thought of the woman he’d like to have a few babies with.
* * *
Danetta and Ryla spent the rest of the day looking for clothes that didn’t make her look, as Ryla said, like “a tired old granny.”
“If you want a man to be interested, you need to let him see what you’re working with,” Ryla said as she put back a dress that Danetta thought was perfect.
“What’s wrong with that dress?” She pointed at the shapeless cloth hanging on the hanger.
“It’s too long and it billows out at the waistline,” Ryla criticized. “Need I say more?”
As if a lightbulb finally came on, Danetta smiled, saying, “No one would be able to see my curves in that dress.”
“Exactly. Now this little number is designed get a man’s attention in a hurry.” Ryla lifted a black nightclub dress off the rack. The fabric was stretchy and designed to be formfitting so it would show off every curve. The quarter-length sleeves and one side of the hem had been slashed so many times, the dress could have been made by Freddy Krueger.
Danetta’s eyes widened as she said, “Ryla Evans, if you don’t put that dress back, I’m ending this shopping trip right now.”
Laughing, Ryla put the dress back on the rack. “Hey, I was just trying to see how desperate for a man you really are.”
“Would you wear something like that?”
“Not in this life,” Ryla admitted.
“Then why on earth would you think I would go anywhere in a dress like that? It’s way too revealing.”
“You’re the one looking for a man,” Ryla joked. “The last thing on my mind is some knuckleheaded man, so I don’t have to worry about dressing to impress.”
“Ryla, everything you wear is stylish. And whether you know it or not, you attract men to you all day long. Why do you think I asked for your help?”
Ryla put her finger to her chin as she took a moment to think. “Okay, then I’m going to take you to Galleria Mall. My mom and I shop there every time she comes to Houston. You’ll love it.”
They drove over to Galleria Mall and Danetta got excited when she found a two hundred and fifty dollar Donna Karan dress that had been marked down to fifty dollars. The dress enhanced her curves, but did not make her look like a stripper. She rarely found deals at the Galleria, so she snatched that dress up real quick. Then they went to Stein Mart, and Danetta found several other outfits. When she was tired of shopping for clothes, Ryla told her that they needed to make one more stop.
As they stood in front of the cosmetic counter, Danetta thought about changing her mind. She thought that if she needed to change that much just to get a man, then maybe she was okay being alone for the rest of her life. Just then a woman pushing a baby stroller walked past her. Danetta looked inside the stroller and watched the baby cooing as she lifted her chubby little legs in the air. That was all it took. She felt like she didn’t have very many baby-making years left, so she wasn’t going to waste her time complaining about a little makeup if that’s what it took to attract her husband.
Danetta’s face held no blemishes whatsoever, which was one of the reasons that she’d never bothered with foundation. So she asked the makeup artist, “Do I really need foundation if I don’t have any freckles or blemishes to cover up?”
The woman smiled. “Foundation serves as a base for all the other makeup that we will put on your face, it helps to smooth everything out. And you are correct that you don’t need a heavy foundation. But we have a light coverage that will work for your face. Would you like to try it?”
“Yes, she would,” Ryla responded before Danetta could answer. “The foundation she needs should have a natural finish with golden/olive undertones.” Ryla spoke as if she’d worked as a makeup artist herself.
The correct shade of foundation was applied to Danetta’s honey-toned skin. Then came the eye shadow, blush and a pinky-brown lip gloss. All the things that Danetta felt were so unnecessary for daily living. However, when the makeup was applied, and Danetta held the mirror and looked at her reflection, she was stunned at the vision she saw. “I-I look beautiful!”
“If Marshall Windham could see you now, he’d turn in his playa card and become a do-right man,” Ryla said, with a knowing glint in her eye.
“Don’t kid yourself. Marshall has seen me dressed for awards banquets and business dinners. The man wants nothing from me but friendship.”
“He hasn’t seen you like this, Danetta. No one has.” Ryla took her digital camera out of her purse and snapped a few shots. “Don’t get the big head, but girl, you clean up real good.”
Danetta felt herself blush. “Thanks, Ryla. I never had on this much makeup before, and I never imagined that a new hairdo and some makeup could make this much of a difference.”
“Come on,” Ryla said, “We’ve got one last thing to do before I can get back home to my child.”
Danetta purchased all the cosmetics that were used for her makeover and then turned to walk out of the store. Two men were in front of the store having conversations with the women who were with them as Danetta and Ryla walked out. As if by sheer force of nature, both men stopped talking and turned their heads, staring in Danetta’s and Ryla’s direction.
“See what I mean, Ryla...those men will even risk the wrath of the women they are with just to stare at you.”
Ryla looked over at the men and laughed. “I don’t know how to break this to you, Danetta, but those men aren’t staring at me; they’re looking directly at you.”
Unable to fathom that any man would be staring at her while Ryla was with her, Danetta turned to see for herself. One of the men winked at her and the woman he was with punched him in the stomach and then turned and started screaming at Danetta.
Ryla grabbed Danetta’s arm, and they ran to her car. Once inside they looked at each other and began laughing hysterically. As they drove off, the woman was still fussing. “Can you believe she is mad at me? I didn’t tell her man to wink at me,” Danetta said.
“You didn’t have to. I told you before, these mongrels do just what they want to do.”
“Ryla, don’t you think it’s about time you stopped calling every man you meet a mongrel? There are some good men in this world.”
“Well, I don’t know any of them,” Ryla said and then held up a hand to halt the conversation. “But don’t let my bitterness dissuade you. If a man is what you want, then I will help you find one...mongrel or not.”
Shaking her head, Danetta leaned back in her seat. It amazed her that Ryla was so beautiful and yet so bitter at times. Danetta knew that Jaylen’s father had something to do with her friend’s attitude toward men, but Ryla never talked about him and she didn’t want to pry.
Ryla dropped Danetta off at the salon so she could pick up her car. “I’ll meet you at your house, so we can work on the final phase of our little Get Love Now plan.”
Danetta drove home anxious to discover what Ryla had planned next. If the changes her friend had suggested so far were able to garner her stares and a wink, she wondered what the final phase would bring. Danetta had high hopes that it would bring the husband and the baby carriage.
“Okay, so what’s next?” Danetta asked, once she had brought all of her new clothes and cosmetics into the house.
“Turn on your computer,” Ryla instructed.
“Has it been so long for the both of us that we need to research how to find a man?” Danetta joked as they sat in front of her computer.
“Oh no, my sistah, I know how to find a man. And I am going to show you just how to do it quickly.” Ryla turned to Danetta and asked, “You did say that you didn’t have much time to waste, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, then the first thing I need is a USB cable so I can download the pictures I took of you at the mall.”
Danetta opened her desk drawer and produced the cable.
Ryla then downloaded the pictures of Danetta from her camera onto her computer. “Sign in to Facebook.”
“What for?” Danetta asked.
“You’ll see once you get there.”
Danetta did as she was told and then relinquished her seat to Ryla. Ryla then uploaded the picture of Danetta that showed her all dolled up, to replace the one she currently had on her profile. Her previous profile picture showed Danetta with no makeup and her usual ponytail. She was holding a briefcase, looking like she was posing for Business Woman of the Year or something. Ryla updated Danetta’s info page to say that she was single and interested in men. She also changed her status to say, “Today I’m single, tomorrow...who knows?”
“Why’d you do that? Now I’m going to have a bunch of men bothering me.”
“I thought you wanted to be bothered?” Ryla lifted an eyebrow, daring Danetta to make more of a fuss.
“Well, yeah, but there’s no need to advertise that fact, is there?”
“If you want to find a man quickly, we need to advertise. As a matter of fact, we are getting ready to sign you up on BlackPeopleMeet.com.”
Danetta began shaking her head. “I don’t think I can do that, Ryla.” She stood up. “I don’t know, maybe this is too much...too fast.”
Before Ryla could respond, an instant message popped up on Danetta’s computer from someone named Frank. He said hello and informed Danetta that he liked her new picture and would like to get to know her better.
Danetta’s mouth hung open as she looked at the message. “What is wrong with this man? He doesn’t even know me.”
“Welcome to the digital age. This is the way people meet in the twenty-first century.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve met men at the grocery store or in a parking lot,” Danetta replied.
“And how’s that working out for you?” Ryla could barely keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “How many dates have you been on with the men you’ve met in parking lots or at the grocery store?”
Danetta thought about that for a moment. When she came up with a big fat zero, she leaned in to her computer and checked out Frank’s picture. “He’s kind of cute, isn’t he?”
“Sure is. Can I respond to him?”
Being more decisive, Danetta said, “Yes, ask him where he works.”
Ryla shook her head and rolled her eyes at that suggestion. “That’s something you can ask later. Right now we want to know if he lives anywhere near Houston.” So, Ryla asked if he lived in Texas.
Frank turned out to be an Ohio resident, and Danetta felt that he was just too far away. So, they logged out of Facebook and went to BlackPeopleMeet.com. Ryla uploaded Danetta’s picture and filled out her profile. She then turned to Danetta and said, “Okay, you should begin getting some hits on Facebook and BlackPeopleMeet.com tonight or tomorrow. All you have to do is decide which of the respondents you want to go out with.”
Danetta bent over and gave Ryla a hug. “Thank you so much, Ryla. I don’t think I could have done any of this without you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You could end up married to some brother who can’t even see the letters j-o-b without having a panic attack.”
Danetta laughed. “Go on somewhere with that kind of talk. My Aunt Sarah spends too much time praying for me for something like that to happen.”
Chapter 5
“My girl has another friend who wants to hook up with you,” Kevin Underwood said as he and Marshall jogged on the treadmill.
“The last friend of your girl’s that you hooked me up with keyed my car... No thank you.”
Kevin hit the stop button on his treadmill, jerked to a stop and turned to face Marshall with openmouthed disbelief. “Veronica keyed your car?”
Marshall nodded but kept his jog going.
“When?” Kevin asked as he reset the treadmill so he could walk fast and talk.
“This past weekend. She got mad because I changed my mind about taking her out of town with me.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Naw, I thought about it but—” Marshall paused as he puffed out his chest and slowed his jog. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold...can’t be running to the police like I’m scared of some girl.”
“Yeah, I feel you,” Kevin said as he laughed at the thought.
They finished up on the treadmill and then hit the showers. Marshall and Kevin had been working out three days a week together since college. They normally lifted weights, but this morning, neither man had the energy, so they elected to do a cardio workout. Not that skipping the weights would hurt either of them; both men had broad shoulders, washboard abs and muscular arms and legs that caused a lawd-have-mercy from a few women as they walked by.
Once they were dressed in their business suits, looking like they were ready to take on the world, Marshall headed toward his Lincoln SUV, while Kevin headed toward the black on black Lexus parked next to it.
“So are we going to the club tomorrow? It’s ladies’ night,” Kevin offered.
Marshall shook his head. “Naw, man, I’m getting tired of clubbing.”
“Since when has a club full of hoochies ever tired you out?”
“I’m getting too old for hoochies and my mama always used to tell me that if I want something different, I have to do something different.”
“Boy you sound like Forrest Gump... M-my mama said...my mama said,” Kevin laughed.
“Chuckle it up, homeboy, but I’m serious. These last few knuckleheads that I’ve dated have caused me to realize that I need a stable-minded woman, rather than these flakes I’ve been dealing with.”
For the second time that morning, Marshall said something that caused Kevin to stop in his tracks. “Say it ain’t so. Don’t tell me that Marshall Windham is getting ready to turn in his playa card?”
“Nobody said anything about turning in my membership. I’m gon’ keep my man cave...just looking to hang out with a woman who has common sense.” Marshall would never tell Kevin about the woman he ran into at the business retreat, but her words had really gotten to him. Marshall looked into that beautiful woman’s eyes and saw how much he had hurt her. Truth be told, it bothered him to know that his actions had caused such pain to another human being.
Kevin snapped his fingers. “You know who would be perfect for you?”
Shaking his head, Marshall said, “I don’t need a hook-up. I can handle mine.”
“Shut up, fool, I’m not trying to hook you up. I’m talking about Danetta.”
Marshall stopped, stared at his friend. “Danetta who?”
“Danetta Harris, your business partner...who do you think I’m talking about?”
Marshall shook his head and started walking toward his SUV again.
“What’s wrong with Danetta? You and her get along, you like the same things. Heck, she even roots for the same sorry sports teams that you do.”
“That’s the exact problem. Other than you, Danetta is the best friend that I have. I can’t mess that up by getting into a relationship with her.”
Kevin thought a moment. “You’re probably right. Most of your women do become disgruntled by the time they leave.”
“What you talkin’ ’bout, man? I leave my women happy and satisfied,” Marshall said with a little extra swag in his walk.
As they reached their cars in the parking lot, both Marshall and Kevin stood there for a moment looking as if their favorite dog had just been run over while they stood and watched it happen. Then as if Marshall’s head exploded, he began jumping up and down as he ran around his SUV. “She flattened three of my tires! Didn’t I tell you...didn’t I tell you, man? That woman is ten kinds of crazy.”
“Dawg, naw!” Kevin put his hands over his mouth and kept staring at the destruction before him.
Marshall flailed his arms back and forth. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“This ain’t happy and satisfied, man.” Kevin shook his head. “It’s time for you to say something.”
Lowering his head as if lowering his pride, Marshall asked, “Can you give me a ride to the police station?”
* * *
Heads swiveled and twirled around as Danetta strutted into work on Monday morning.
“You look really nice today, Danetta. I love the haircut,” Monica, her assistant, said as she passed her in the hallway.
“Thank you.” Danetta pulled her oversized Coach bag over her shoulder and continued toward her office like a woman on a mission.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, she had grown comfortable with her look and knew she looked good. The hair and makeup were positive changes and Danetta owed Ryla big time for helping her with it. But she still wasn’t so sure about the new clothes. Danetta had a strict “no cleavage” policy when it came to the workplace. But she had listened to Ryla and ignored her best judgment; now she was being ogled and stared at like she was a work-on-your-back kind of girl. She rushed to her office and dialed Ryla’s number. As the phone rang, she noticed the single red rose in the crystal vase that had been placed on her desk. She shook her head as she frowned at the rose that Marshall sent to her. He gave her a single red rose every February 13th. Years ago, she had asked him to stop sending her that single red rose the day before Valentine’s Day because it only served to remind her that she didn’t have anyone special in her life. No one had ever sent her the full dozen on the most romantic day of the year. Marshall had assured her that someone would come along and outshine his single red rose, but until they did, he would continue letting her know that she was cherished.
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