Wednesday at Noon Read online

  BY TENEKA WOODS

  Hot August Nights

  Wednesday at Noon

  Wednesday at Noon is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Teneka Woods

  ISBN 978-1-7336787-2-8 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-1-7336787-3-5 (ebook)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except in brief quotes used in reviews.

  Cover design: Stefanie Fontecha

  Formatting: Polgarus Studio

  Table of Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  THIRTY-FIVE

  THIRTY-SIX

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  THIRTY-NINE

  FORTY

  FORTY-ONE

  FORTY-TWO

  FORTY-THREE

  FORTY-FOUR

  FORTY-FIVE

  FORTY-SIX

  FORTY-SEVEN

  FORTY-EIGHT

  FORTY-NINE

  FIFTY

  FIFTY-ONE

  FIFTY-TWO

  EPILOGUE

  READERS GUIDE - Questions for Discussion

  ONE

  Nate drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in frustration. He was caught on the 610 West Loop South just before The Galleria, traffic inching forward at a snail’s pace, which only reminded him why he avoided this side of Houston at all costs. No matter what day of the week or what time of day there was always a traffic jam. It was Wednesday afternoon. Their lunch date was scheduled for two o’clock and he was already a half-hour late. To her, that half-hour translated to two hours. She was no doubt sitting at the table fuming by now, swallowing down her iced tea as she contemplated calling him a third time to find out his location. He’s been on her bad side for several months and he hoped they could enjoy a peaceful lunch together for once without talk about the money.

  But she said she had something to tell him. A surprise. And he had no idea what that could have meant.

  The address she’d given led him to a small sandwich shop on Westheimer Road with limited parking. Nate knew something was up because a sandwich shop was definitely not her usual style, even if it was located just a few minutes away from her sprawling River Oaks home. He found street parking a couple blocks over and walked back to the restaurant.

  Her back was to him as he entered but the mirrored wall facing her table announced his arrival.

  “Is this a joke?” he said as he approached.

  “Your sister chose this place.”

  He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Hey, Mama.”

  “Hello my son.” Her cup of tea was almost empty.

  Nate removed his keys and smartphone from his pockets, threw them on the table before sitting down across from her. “Is that why we’re here? Is this the surprise? Because you’ve never been one to partake in an establishment in the business of cold cuts.”

  She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. “Of course not, but I let Sunny convince me to try something new today. She said their soups are really good.”

  Nate scanned the small eatery with its exposed brick walls, kooky art décor, and mix of high and low table seating that gave it a jumbled appearance. With the exception of one cashier, they were the only brown patrons in sight, surrounded by the college student-type crowd. “Where is she anyway?”

  “She’s in the ladies’ room. She’d just left the table right before you walked in.”

  Nate bobbed his head. “Did y’all order already? I’m starving.” He grabbed a menu from the holder at the center of the table.

  The corners of his mother’s mouth curved. “Now why would we do that? Unlike other folks I know, we have manners and are considerate of other people. We wouldn’t dare have lunch without our guest. Even if they show up extremely late. To everything. All the time. Oh no. We wouldn’t do that.”

  Nate could only laugh as he’d set himself up for that one. “Mama, you know how it is with my clients. I’m there for them. If they need me a few extra minutes beyond their session for some more pep talk and encouragement then I have to stay. It’s my gift to them for their support."

  She huffed. “Sure, son. It’s always the client’s fault.”

  It never failed. She stressed the word client because, in her mind, the clients he worked with were not real clients. They were not the type of clients she—Mrs. Victoria Helena Walker—raised him to work with. To her, they were just people lacking common sense and self-control, paying him a few dollars per hour to show them how to eat healthy and exercise. She wanted her son to follow in the family’s footsteps and have a successful career in law or science. She wanted her son to have the career she and his father paid for him to have.

  And he’d followed their dream and attended law school, passed the bar with flying colors, and worked as an attorney for a couple years. But his heart was never in it. His heart was in fitness and nutrition. Instead of mulling over criminal case files, he would rather demonstrate the different ways to perform a sit-up.

  This is what Victoria had a problem with. Sending him to law school was a waste of their money and she would not let him forget. “It’s the truth, Mama. It’s a valid excuse. I have no reason to lie about anything like this.”

  “What are you lying about not lying about now?”

  It was his sister Sunny. A big, rotund belly suddenly appeared in his peripheral view as she made her way back to the table. She was only six months pregnant but looked as if she should have delivered his niece a month ago. “What’s up, baby sis? How are you doing?”

  She blew out a breath as she sat down. “How do I look like I’m doing? Fat. Exhausted. Fat.” She laughed weakly.

  He laughed with her. “I think you look good. Skin glowing. I like your hair.” It looked freshly done. The golden ringlets bounced easily with the slightest movement. It reminded him of the curly fries with mustard they loved to share when they were kids.

  “Thank you, but now that you’re here we can finally eat. Baby Sunny is not happy at all. Mama and I know what we want, and since you were late again the bill is on you.”

  They told him what they wanted from the menu and sent him to the counter to place the order and to refill their drinks at the soda machine. “Alright,” he said, once back at the table, “what is this surprise you had for me, Mama?”

  “I’ll let your sister tell you.”

  Nate looked from his mother to his sister.

  Sunny’s mouth spread into a wide grin. “Well… brother, I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t notice. I’d expect my best friend, my twin, to know right away the reason my skin is all aglow as you observed.” She moved her hand from beneath the table and thrust it towards him. “We’re getting married!”
>
  She said it too loud because suddenly it was quiet in the restaurant and everyone was looking their way. And then, slowly, they started clapping. Sunny grinned some more and Victoria nodded, mouthing a quiet ‘Thank you’ all around the room.

  Nate could not share in his sister’s excitement. He narrowed his eyes at the two of them, sitting back in his seat. “This is the surprise?”

  “Yes,” Sunny continued to beam, her hand outstretched in front of her as she stared at the ring. “We’re finally doing it.”

  Victoria said, “Aren’t you happy for your sister, son? As you can see she is over the moon about it.”

  They knew his sister’s boyfriend was his least favorite person in the world. A man he believed was not worthy at all of his beautiful and smart sister. He wanted to be happy because being married to the love of her life was a dream come true for his sister, but he wished she was marrying someone else. Someone who truly respected her and his family. “Well, I’ve never bitten my tongue about anything when it comes to that dude, and I’m not about to bite it now. What made him finally decide to pop the question? This is baby number three. He was making promises to marry you after baby number one.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. “Oh, I know. It’s to seal the deal now that you’ve made partner. He can continue to sit on his ass while you bust yours every day.”

  Sunny’s face twisted.

  “Nate, looking after children is a full-time job in itself,” Victoria said. “If it works for them what do you have to say about it?”

  “Mama, I get that, but how many times do we have to hear it from her own mouth about how Levi really is at home? How he does the bare minimum for my niece and nephew? Doesn’t even get them dressed for the day, doesn’t cook, doesn’t clean or take them out to the park for fresh air and play? And he still expects Sunny to cook him a hot meal when she gets home after a long day in the office? Huh? Or about how she can’t even make it in the door good and hang up the car keys before he takes off to go to the gym?” Sunny dropped her eyes and he knew he hurt her feelings.

  “I thought you would be happy for me, Nate,” she said.

  Nate shook his head. “You can do so much better, baby sis. So much better than that bum dude.”

  “He told me he’s thinking about getting back in school to finally finish his degree. He’s been looking into online programs. Maybe law school, too.”

  Nate grunted. “And I guess you’ll be paying for that too.”

  Victoria asked, “Nate, if the roles were reversed would you be saying the same thing? Would it be a problem if Sunny was the stay-at-home mom and her husband financed her schooling? And you are one to talk about someone paying for another’s education. At least Levi’s making plans to do better. He’s considering law school. You know… something promising? Something sustainable?”

  “Oh, so now what I do isn’t promising or sustainable?” He shook his head and was glad when the waiter came over with their orders. This was not the type of conversation he wanted to have over lunch. He pushed back from the table. “I’m going to wash my hands.” In the restroom he scrubbed his hands clean all the while thinking about this surprise. His sister was everything to him and he wanted her to be happy, but for her to be such a smart woman she made the dumbest choice of a father to her children and a soon-to-be husband. And now he would have to attend a wedding he didn’t care to witness.

  “We’re throwing the engagement party at a ballroom downtown,” Victoria said when he returned to the table. “It’ll be formal.”

  Nate rolled his eyes. His mother lived for extravagance. Since they were kids there was always an affair she and his dad had to attend or host in their home. She would dress him and his older brothers in suits, Sunny in a little girl’s gown, and introduce them to their colleagues and bask in the compliments about how neatly dressed and well-behaved her children were. If one of the neighbors came over to talk about the weather, it was reason enough for Victoria to pull out her most expensive tea set or dinnerware.

  He picked up the pepper shaker to sprinkle some over his salad.

  “And this is the bonus surprise,” Sunny said, smiling at him, “I invited Kaneesa. She’s going to be in the wedding. And she’s walking with you.”

  Nate stared at his sister as he continued to spice up his bowl of mixed greens. Kaneesa was his one-night mistake, although he’d known her for ten years. She was just an intern at the medical center where his mother worked when Victoria invited her to one of their dinner parties and first introduced them. Nate recognized her attraction for him right away and soon after she was showing up to all of their family events. For ten years he ignored her as he was in and out of relationships of his own and, by then, she had become like another sister to him. But one night after one too many drinks at the Christmas party he retreated to a room upstairs to recuperate and when he finally emerged Kaneesa was right there to push him back in. For nearly an hour she did things to him in that room he wasn’t aware the nerdy and uptight Kaneesa was capable of.

  The next morning he woke up to find her preparing breakfast for him in his apartment. He didn’t have the heart to ask her to leave.

  That was several months ago. Kaneesa is still looking for a chance to spend another night with him.

  “Aren’t you supposed to ask people if they want to be in your wedding? You already know I do not approve of the groom, so… you may have to get somebody else to walk with Kaneesa.”

  Sunny threw down her fork. “Nate, are you serious? You’re not coming to my wedding?”

  Nate shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, baby sis, but no. Or the engagement party. I don’t want to see you make the biggest mistake of your life.”

  “Son, don’t be ridiculous,” Victoria said. “It’s been five years already and they’re on their third child. Why wouldn’t they marry?”

  His mother’s question fell on deaf ears because his attention was stolen by the woman that walked through the doors of the sandwich shop. A tall, statuesque beauty with legs that appeared to go on forever. His eyes followed her as she strutted over to the counter, completely oblivious to the heads turning with curiosity in her path. She removed the oversized sunglasses from her eyes, resting them atop her head as she perused the menu hanging on the wall. The tattoo spanning the length of her torso piqued his interest.

  “Now he doesn’t have anything to say.”

  “Obviously because something’s got his mind elsewhere.”

  Nate could not remember the last time he was so taken by a woman at first sight. “Speaking of marriage… I think I see my wife.”

  “What?” his mother and sister said at the same time. They turned to see for themselves who he was talking about.

  Sunny sucked her teeth and turned back around. “Oh God, no.”

  “You can’t be serious, son,” Victoria said.

  “She is beautiful.”

  “She is trashy,” Sunny replied. “What the hell does she have on? Kaneesa wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something like that.”

  His mother agreed with a nod. “But of course Kaneesa is not the young lady he wants. She’s too classy.”

  The woman wore a pair of short denim shorts, a white shredded T-shirt just long enough to cover her breasts, and shoes that looked like combat boots with a stiletto heel. He knew the long sheer floral jacket she topped the outfit with was called a kimono. His mother wore them often.

  The woman smiled at the cashier as she accepted her order number flag, and walked over to the wall next to the soda machine to wait. Nate did not know what he was going to say, but he knew he had to say something to her. “Y’all don’t understand,” he said as he grabbed his cup, getting up from the table, “that’s confidence. There’s nothing trashy about it.”

  He pulled the top off his cup of water and walked to the soda machine. She was looking at her smartphone. He poured out the water and pressed the button to refill it. “Hello,” he said.

  She looked up from her ph
one. “Hello.”

  “I like your tattoo.” It was a tribal print of elongated curves and sharp points. Now that he was close up he could see it was shiny, red and puffy around the edges. She’d just gotten it done.

  “Thanks,” she said, her attention quickly returning to her phone.

  Nate studied her profile: short forehead, concave nose and chin. A trio of miniscule moles dotted her right cheekbone. She was perfect.

  He grabbed a straw and tapped it against the counter. “How long did that take?”

  She looked at him with a slight smile and he wasn’t sure if it was a genuine smile or a smile that she was annoyed. “Three, four hours. I don’t remember to be honest.”

  He nodded. “I was thinking about getting a sleeve myself. Those look pretty cool.”

  Her eyes roved over him. “I can see that. It would look good on you.”

  He smiled and extended his hand. “I’m Nate Walker. What’s your name?”

  “Tora,” she said as she shook his hand.

  “I like that. You come here a lot?”

  “No. This is my first time. I just left the tattoo parlor down the street and decided to try it.”

  Nate took a sip from his cup before setting it on the counter. “It’s my first time here, too. Nice vibe.”

  She nodded, glancing around the room. “Yeah. I love the artwork.”

  “Tora, do you mind if I give you a call sometime? Maybe we can meet up for lunch one day?”

  She dropped the phone in her purse when her order number was called. Smiling, she said, “Thanks, but no. I don’t want to waste your time. It was nice talking to you.”

  He watched her walk away and towards the counter to pick up her meal.

  “Did she spit in your face and tell you to get lost?” Sunny laughed when he returned to the table.

  “Naw, she said she didn’t wanna waste my time.”

  “Waste your time?” Victoria said. “So, in other words, you’re beneath her?”

  Nate picked up his fork. “I’m sure she has a man. That’s all.”

  Victoria said, “That’s not it. If she had one, she would have said so.”