Free Natural Beauty by Leslie Dubois Page B

apparently started
without my knowledge.
    "Once
I see a woman that I know will make beautiful babes, I don't leave her alone
until we have those babies. I'm like a lion on the prowl." He smiled at me
as if that was some sort of sexy pick up line. Did women actually go for that? Apparently so. It had worked at least eleven other times.
    "Don't
worry, it's not like I'm a dead beat dad or anything. I support all of my kids.
And I'll support you as well. That's why I work so hard. Gotta support my families."
    This
was actually the first time we had a date that didn't revolve around one of his
performances. Maybe that was why the eleven kid thing hadn't come up before. He
had just called me this morning and asked if we could have lunch. And now in
the middle of lunch, I had really lost my appetite.
    Just
out of curiosity I decided to probe a little further in to James' ideas.
"So how do you feel about Halle Berry?"
    "She
looks too Caucasian for my tastes but I can see how
some men find her attractive."
    Some men? Well, that was an
understatement.
    "So
you're saying you would kick Halle Berry out of your bed if she decided to
climb in there one day for some reason."
    "Now,
I'm not saying all that. I'm just saying I wouldn't want to procreate with her
for fear that our children would come out too Caucasian."
    "Right.
Procreate. Right," I said nodding. He had a right to be wrong. No problem.
Just not with me. But the whole Halle Berry conversation gave me an excellent
idea.
    When
it was time to head back to the office, I asked James with two ‘A’s to walk me
back. And then I invited him up. I knew Trent would be at his desk. He rarely
took lunch out of the office. I didn't know whether it was because he was cheap
or because he always had a website to maintain.
    Once
we were inside, I wrapped my arms around Trent's neck and gave him a kiss on
the cheek.
    "What
are you doing?" he asked nearly jumping out of his seat.
    I
laughed. "Oh he hates when I do that at work. Jaames ,
I'd like to introduce you to my brother Trent."
    "Brother?" Jaames said looking totally confused. "But he's
white. You mean step brother or adopted brother?"
    "No. Biological brother. Our mother is white and our father
is black. Genes are a funny thing aren't they?"
    "So
you're half white?"
    I
nodded. Trent just stared at me with his classic half blank and half angry
glare. I ignored him. He'd get over it.
    "I
never would have guessed you were half white with your hair texture," Jaames continued.
    "Well,
I am. I completely understand if you don't want to see me anymore. I mean we
all have our standards. I mean what if we had a child together like you've
planned. God forbid your thirteenth child come out
with blue eyes like my brother Trent here." I pet Trent on the head like
he was a cocker spaniel or something.
    Trent's
eyes expanded as he stared back and forth between Jaames and me for a moment. I had no idea what was going on in his head, but I was
sure he would let me know later on.
    "Twelfth. It would just be my twelfth
child," Jaames said as if he was contemplating
the possibility.
    "Oh,
yeah, right, my bad."
    "Well,
I better get going," Jaames said inching his way
to the door. "Are you coming to my show tonight?"
    "I
don't know. Trent, aren't we supposed to go out with mom tonight?"
    Trent
squinted and scrunched up his nose as if he had just swallowed rancid sushi. I
thought sure my whole plan was blown. There was no way he was gonna help me out. But then he took a deep breath, shook
his head and said, "Yeah, that's right. We're having dinner together at
seven...with mom. Our mom." Trent rolled his eyes
as if he couldn't believe he was playing along.
    "Sorry, Jaames . Maybe another
time. Call me okay?"
    Jaames gave a dismissive wave and left.
    After
he was gone I let out a huge sigh of relief. Trent was staring at me again.
    "Okay,
let me explain," I said preemptively.
    Trent
held up his hand. "I don't even want to know."

 
 
 

Chapter 15: Afro