I can always tell I’m in a different environment based on the type of restaurant that’s in the neighborhood.
As I hold the heavy leather-bound menu at Sentiment, I look over the dish selection and it feels like it’s a completely different world, despite it’s just directly across the street from USC. I wonder what the intention was with that.
“Have you decided what you want to order?” My girlfriend, Dominique Ferguson, asks me. She’s tall and thick, somewhere between a Rihanna and Beyoncé body type, and has her own dance studio on Wilshire. She just happens to be married into one of the world’s richest families.
“Oxtails, huh?” I stare down at the selection. Apparently, British men like oxtails? “Since when did this happen?”
“Since I introduced it to him when we were dating and well, that’s all she wrote.” Dominique cackles. The server comes by, takes our order, and quickly leaves. “How are you doing, Keisha?”
“I…” I shrug. The last several months have been a blur. I’m in the process of growing out my hair and I’m sporting a teeny-weeny Afro. I’m still staying with my daddy and Ashley has officially moved back in, along with my brothers. I have my own room and plenty of privacy in the palatial estate but I feel so empty.
I’m graduating in a few days and I’ll be off to USC just right across the street come this fall. Maybe being involved with college will distract me from anything Savior. “I guess I’m doing okay.”
“Has he tried contacting you?” Dominique asks and I shake my head. “Not even a single attempt?”
“I changed my number and closed my email. He hasn’t swung by the house.” It was like I never existed at all. I don’t know if I’m more devastated at the fact he didn’t even try to contact me or the fact he listened to me when I told him to leave me alone for good.
I wonder how I would’ve reacted if Savior at least attempted. Would I be happy? Would I be angry? How would I have reacted?
“I’m probably the last person you need to hear this from but I did some snooping around and Ian helped me,” Dominique begins, “well, I bribed him into helping me. It’s funny how quickly a man will change his mind when you suck his dick a few times.” She smiles. She pulls out a manila folder and slides it over to me. “Here’s something you need to look at.”
I glance down at the manila folder and back up at Dominique. “What’s this?”
“Savior’s truth.” She takes a sip of ice water.
My eyebrows rise and I open the folder. My heart is stunned when I read the contents of the envelope. There’s a high-definition picture of Thomas meeting with the city’s mayor about developing land in Inglewood, creating luxury condos and apartments. Most of the people Thomas is pictured with are Asian foreign investors.
The next page reveals Savior had his own project, creating low-income and affordable housing in the same block. Savior met with members of the city council, community leaders, and real estate developers. Savior was going against his father.
My memory jogs me to the fateful day when I witnessed Savior and Thomas fighting. I wonder if they were fighting over the development. I also wonder if Savior leaving his father’s firm played another part in the discord.
There’s still an unexplained question – how could someone who was such a champion for civil rights be so against everything he ever stood for?
The question is answered for me as I flip through more pages – money. Thomas saw the financial crisis of the people he was helping and profited off it. He’s an investor of several payday loans and on the board of directors of an international bank that caters to low-income folks.
The night of the gala becomes increasingly clear. All three sons seem almost disgusted with their father and rebelled in many ways that night. They were only there for show. My heart is broken upon receiving concrete evidence. I pushed Savior away and lost the best relationship of my life. There’s no way this can be made right.
After Dominique and I had lunch, I walk back to the Beemer and see a Mercedes pull up next to mine. Two men get out but I’m not paying any attention to them. I just need to go home and cry.
“Keisha?” Marc turns towards me and greets me with a hug. “Sista gal, where have you been? You were there and then you poof! Disappeared!”
I hug Marc back and give Paul a hug as well. “I’m doing well. Just busy. Trying to graduate, you know?”
“I hear that, I hear that.” Marc turns to Paul. “Yo, I need to holler at Keisha for a minute. Get us a nice table.”
“Not a problem.” Paul salutes me and I return the favor. “It’s great seeing you, Keisha. If you need a recommendation, holler at me!” He heads inside.
Marc waits for Paul to be out of earshot before he speaks to me. “So, what did you do to my boy?”
I shake my head. I’m sure Marc knows everything that went on between me and Savior. I’m tempted to ask him how he’s doing but I keep mute. “Things just didn’t work out.”
“They need to.” Marc states. “He’s a mess, you know? He’s all over the place. Professionally, he’s never been better. He’s finally had enough of his dad’s shit and is starting his own firm. Me and a few others are leaving to join him at the end of the month.”
“Good for you, Marc.” I’m happy to hear that. I think Savior and Marc will have a very successful firm. “I know it’ll be fantastic.”
“Fighting the good fight is never easy but it’s always worth it.” Marc grins. “Listen, Savior has a good heart and he’s not like his father. Maybe his approach was wrong, and maybe he needed to fine-tune his feelings a bit more. But lying and deceiving is not his M.O. He wouldn’t buy you a car if that was his end game.” Marc lets out a small sigh. I don’t know if he was speaking for Savior or if he just wanted to give his two cents in what was going on. I appreciate the message either way. “Listen, it’s not my business to say anything but I do know my boy was sprung over you and still is. If you two can find a way to make it, do it.”
It’s words I needed to hear but the timing might be off. “It’s too late.”
Marc begins walking towards the restaurant. He turns around and smiles again. “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
