Once out of the shower, she was surprised to see how chipper Neal was. He was buzzing about the apartment like all was right with the world.
“I bet you got pregnant last night,” he said excitedly.
Damita felt like all the blood drained from her body. “I’m going running.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Neal asked.
“I used to run every day. I haven’t gone running since before the wedding. I’m going back to work tomorrow. It’s time I get back to my normal routines.”
Neal eyed her suspiciously. “I could run with you, like we did when we first met.”
“I’d rather go alone,” she replied.
Damita went into the bedroom, opened the armoire and removed an athletic bra, a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. From her briefcase she removed her CD player and wallet and walked out the front door as quickly as possible.
“Will you be long?” Neal asked, as the door was closing.
Since she had already opened the door, she pretended she didn’t hear him and kept going. The moment she was out the door, she breathed a sigh of relief.
• • •
Rather than run her usual route down Third Avenue, Damita decided she would head to the Central Park Reservoir. The one-and-a-half-mile loop encircled the reservoir and allowed her to pace herself and easily keep track of her distance. There was a large pool of water on one side and the greenery of the park on the other. It was the perfect place for her to run and think.
By the time Damita was at Ninety-sixth Street, she heard someone calling her name. She turned to find Brandon running behind her.
“Hey, beautiful,” Brandon said.
She was happy to see him but her smile was still forced. “Brandon!”
“I never expected to see you out here running, newlywed.”
As soon as Brandon said the word newlywed, she burst into tears.
“What’s wrong, Dee? Come on. Let’s sit this one out.”
Brandon guided Damita through the park and they found a bench to sit down. There was a cart in front of them that sold hotdogs, ice cream and drinks and Damita watched as children excitedly bought ice cream from the vendor.
“Now tell me, what’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. I made the worst mistake of my life, that’s all.”
“Then correct it, whatever it is.”
“I don’t know if I can. I’m afraid.”
“Tell me what’s going on, Dee.”
“I don’t think I can yet, but I will, eventually.”
“You realize that I’m here for you, whatever you need, right?”
“I know. Some things a girl’s got to do alone. But thank you, B-Boy.”
Damita laughed with the use of her old nickname for Brandon.
“Remember way back when, when I was Dee, you were B-Boy and Carmella was Chica?”
“How could I forget?”
“What I remember is that guy; what was his name? Oh, yeah, I remember. His name was Alejandro. He had the biggest crush on our little B-Boy. He followed you everywhere.”
“Did you have to remind me of that? Remember he used to call us the A-B-C kids and, according to him, all we were missing was an A. Wow! I almost forgot about that. Thanks, Dee, for the reminder. Thanks a lot!”
“Oh stop it! You loved it! The girls loved you. The boys loved you. You were the all-American kid. I will never forget Alejandro. The way you handled him was the reason I knew we’d always be friends. You were the only straight boy in high school that wasn’t a homophobe. Hell, I’m an adult now and I still encounter grown men that are so insecure they can’t handle interacting with a gay man.”
“That’s the kind of guy I am.”
“Stop it,” Damita said, laughing.
“It’s nice to see you laughing again.”
“That’s thanks to you. Brandon, have you ever wondered why with all of our failed relationships, we never got together?”
“First of all, some of us have had more failed relationships than others,” he chided.
“Seriously though, Brandon, what’s wrong with me? If no one else can tell me the truth, you can.”
Brandon looked into Damita’s eyes while holding her chin. “There’s not a thing wrong with you, beautiful. You’re a high standard to live up to. Any man knows that. He’s either got to be secure enough to be able to match you or stupid enough to not know the difference.”
Damita smiled at Brandon regretfully. “That still doesn’t explain you?”
“By the time I was secure enough, it was too late. What they say about males being late bloomers is the truth. You were well on your way in life while I was still trying to find myself. Thank God I finally listened to my brother and decided to take the exam to become a firefighter. Otherwise, I’d probably still be ambling about, trying to find myself.”