"Now I know there ain't no way somebody's slamming a door in my house!
Especially after cussing."
Antonina Bordeaux peered her head from out her office door, her eyebrows
furrowed and her dark brown eyes glaring at Andrea, "Young lady, I raised you
better than that. Oh! Hi Kaala."
Kaala rested a hand on her beating heart and exhaled the terror that had
paralyzed her moments before, "Hi, Ms. Bordeaux."
Andrea took two steps to the right of the door to pull back the curtains to look
out the window, relieved to see that the man had finally left his spot, "Momma,
do we by any chance have a gun?"
Her mother scrunched her petite nose at her, "Why in the hell would we need
one?"
"Because there's some creepy white man following us!" Kaala said, joining
Andrea by the window, "I bet he wants to shoot up Remi's."
Her mother, alarmed at hearing about a potential shoot up, finally left the
sanctity of her office to come stand before the two girls, her heart-shaped face
crowned by her hair, set like a peacock's tail now that she was at home, "Shoot
up? Kaala baby, not all white men go 'round looking for places to shoot up."
"Yeah, but like, half of them do." Kaala retorted, turning to sit down on the couch
and exhaled the last of her nerves, "Which means there's a twelve-point-five
percent chance that Andy is going to lose it one day."
That made her mother smile, "Now you're fibbing through your teeth, Kaala. And
any who, I worked damned hard to ensure that that twelve-point-five never sees the light of day."
Her mother turned her smile onto Andrea, covering the distance between them
in two strides with her long legs, and leaning over to kiss Andrea on the forehead, using her index finger to tap right in the middle of where her
eyebrows furrowed, "You really shook, huh Baby?"
Andy almost nodded her head, but her pride struck like a cobra, and forced her
to instead turn her face, "Only a little, Momma."
Her mother gave her one more kiss before wrapping an arm around her
shoulders and turning to Kaala.
"I'll set the plates, and ya'll can tell me all about this mystery man. You're welcome to spend the night, Kaala. But please do be good enough to let your
mother know that you will be sleeping here. You know how your mother gets
when you don't update her."
"What about the man who was following us?" Andrea asked, her eyes unable to
focus anywhere other than the window now. It felt like there was a magnetic pull
keeping her trapped against the window, that should she turn away for even a
moment and forget about him, he would return, and return even closer than he
had last time.
"I'll call Andre and have him patrol this side tonight." Her mother said, already
turned around and moved through the dining room towards the kitchen.
Andrea finally felt safe enough to sit back down on the couch next to Kaala, her
arms folded over her chest, "But I don't like Andre."
"You don't have to," Her mother reappeared with the plates and set them down
on the dining table, "I like him enough for the both of us. Only man nice enough
to take me out on a date in Lord knows how long."
It was Andrea's turn to scrunch her nose at her mother amidst Kaala's annoying
laughter, "Whatever."
She dished up the food and was about to say grace when there was a knock at the
door. Andrea felt her heart drop into her stomach and froze as her mother got up
from her seat, "Momma…." She called out to her, unsure of why she felt so uneasy
about her mother doing something as mundane as opening a door.
Her mother nodded her head in understanding, and was good enough to take the
baseball bat that they kept next to the cabinet with all of her Granny's pictures of
her mother and Uncle Antoine growing up, her late mother's twin brother. She
held the bat behind her back as she went to the door, and Andrea got up instantly
when she heard wood bounce off wood as soon as the door was opened.
"Momma!" Andrea screamed as she bolted towards the door, her own long legs
chewed up the distance in a handful of strides as she arrived to find the bat on
the floor and her mother stood before a tall man dressed in a navy-blue suit.
Andrea stopped, half-relieved that it was not the potential Remi's shooter, and
half-confused why the appearance of this man would have her mother so shook…
"Momma," she said again, this time without the bloodcurdling scream. Her
mother finally turned towards her, Andrea's voice apparently enough to undo
the paralysis this man's presence had instilled within her, "Oh, come here, Baby."
Andrea felt her mother's strong hands grip her arms, and forcefully pull her into
her side, the side slightly tilted away from the stranger standing at the door. Andrea
winced before looking up and being in awe of him. He had a moustache that
covered his upper lip, and a wonderful set of pearly white teeth beneath it, all
arranged in a small smile.
His chin was strong and cleft, with a jawline to match, leading to sideburns of
grey that slowly darkened the further up they went until they were black,
transforming into a thick and full bush of curly hair that was combed neatly and
parted along the right corner of his immaculately trimmed hairline. His eyes
were hidden from her behind a pair of shades that were as dark as midnight, and
cheekbones high and refined as if chiseled and molded that way, covered by
black skin that was blemish-less. His long nose sat above his moustache, a slight
curve at the top of the bridge indicating that it had once been broken. His
shoulders were very broad, almost half a distance more in width than his hips,
and behind his navy-blue blazer was a white buttoned up shirt that sat beneath a
dark brown tie and navy colored waistcoat. His height was impressive, almost a full
head taller than her already tall mother, his long legs covered by navy blue pants
that ended just perfectly by his ankles where his dark brown oxford shoes
pointed out towards them. He was a stunning man to look at, and almost perfect
save for the slight crookedness of his nose, and yet the crookedness somehow
added to the beauty in her eyes.
"Why, hello there." His voice was perfect, and gave her the exact feeling one
would experience listening to a song they once loved after a long hiatus, every
word wrapped in its own warmth that all struck directly at her heart. His accent
was thick and foreign; a French accent that sounded more like it came straight
out of those award-winning foreign films.
"Hi." Andrea's own slightly husky voice muttered in pitiful reply, but the Adonis
before them did not even seem to notice, and met her shameful attempt at giving
a greeting by sticking out his hand in offer of beginning a buddying friendship.
An offer that was refused on her behalf by her mother pushing Andrea behind
her, "What do you want… Sir?" Her mother's voice was filled with hostility, but
had very little strength to it, which was a rare sight. Antonina Bordeaux was a
well trained and respected attorney, who was able to orate and project her voice
to enrapture juries and judges alike as she went about cross-examining
witnesses, or opening her defense, or giving closing statements. Andrea had been
but a girl of nine years old when she skipped school with Kaala, Michael and
Briar to go and sit in a court case of her mother's, the bailiff knew her well
enough from the few times she had to accompany her mother to court when she
was too young to be left alone after school. Antonina Bordeaux had transformed
from her mother who sat with her and laughed at Seinfeld reruns and rolled her
eyes at Andrea whenever she did not get what was so funny, to a terrifying force
of nature that spewed out statutes and Latin as if that was her mother tongue.
Her mother had caught sight of her, and continued as if there had never been a
five-second interference in the first place, defending Georgie Galloway with
enough vigor to get the judge and jury to declare him not guilty.
That force of nature that spoke like a roman senator, and fought for her clients
like a gladiator, was absent now, gone, buried by the radiant presence of this
man.
"Oh my," the man said, retracting his hand and raising an eyebrow at her mother,
"I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, Mrs.—"
"Ms. Bordeaux." Her mother stressed, the fire returning as she leaned closer
towards the perfect stranger. There was a moment of understanding between them that was clear enough for Andrea to pick it up, but also too faint to truly
know what it was about.
"Ah yes, Ms. Bordeaux." His smile returned, less to dazzle and hypnotize, more
sheepish in nature, but it was just as alluring and reassuring as the one before,
"Forgive me for behaving so…. Familiar, for we have only just met."
"Is everything okay, Ms. Bordeaux?" Kaala was now stood behind them, picking
up the baseball bat.
Her mother's shock seemed to finally subside enough to act some semblance of
normal, "Yes, Kaala. Thank you for asking. Mr.…."
"Nerva." His soothing voice spun his name out like a weaving machine would a
silk dress, "Julian Nerva. A pleasure to meet you all."
He spent a few seconds establishing eye contact behind his shades with her
mother, and then Kaala, and a few seconds and one more establishing eye
contact with Andrea.
"Mr. Nerva came by to ask to burrow a phone," Her mother continued, "So that he
may call himself an uber. And get to where he needs to be."
Andrea had never known her mother to lie, and was shocked to see how bad she
was at it.
"Once more, do forgive me for interrupting your dinner, ladies." He continued to
smile, "Especially for the alarm I caused. I am a court clerk, you see, and have
been in town long enough to know who you are. The defender of those left to
be consumed by vultures and thrown into a cell to rot, Antonina Bordeaux, of
Bordeaux and Perkins."
That answered Andrea's curiosity well enough to move from beyond her
mother's protection and stretch out a hand of her own, "Well, Mr. Nerva, I am
Andrea Bordeaux."
His strong and large hand consumed her own, "Might I be allowed to say, you
have a beautiful name."
For the first time since he appeared, Andrea felt her face muscles pull back into a
smile, "Thank you, Mr. Nerva."
"May I come in then?" he asked, after a short but uncomfortable silence, and in
reply, her mother stood aside to allow him to enter. His height and size were
better grasped with him so close, Andrea herself had his upper chest in her eye
line as he moved through the house. He moved so lightly that the floorboards
dared not make a peep, which surprised her, as she never expected a man this
large to move so gracefully.
"Greetings," He smiled at Kaala, and Andrea could see the girl fall in love right
before her very eyes, "Julian Nerva."
"Hi." Kaala replied like a total dork, something Andrea was definitely going to
tease her about as soon as he had left.
He turned and smiled at her again, "I know that you kids of today are well versed
in technology, and I have already been such a terrible bother to your esteemed
mother. So, I hope it would not trouble you much if you would assist me in
calling an uber, Andrea."
It sounded like a request, but in truth, his charisma was so overwhelming, that
Andrea could not imagine a universe in which she would have refused him, "Sure
thing."
Andrea turned to fetch her phone, sensing her mother's annoyance at the man's
presence, and again she wondered where the two had met before.
…Is that my father?
Andrea quickly dismissed the idea from her mind. Her mother had done all she
could avoid the topic, but one day, on her thirteenth birthday, she had told her
whole truth of it. That she had met her father when she was only twenty years
old, an established and wealthy man with family based in Tennessee, who was
ten years her mother's senior. They had spent a whole year together, in love and
travelling all over America, when he had died in a tragic accident on his return
home to tell his family that he had meant to marry her mother.
My father is dead, she told herself for about the hundredth time, finding her
phone by the table and walking back to Julian, "Okay, all set. Just need the
location is all."
"The Quarter will do, Andrea." He nodded at her, and Andrea blushed, "I don't
mind paying for you…. by the way."
His chuckle was a sound that one could not help but grin at hearing, "Your
kindness is a delight, Andrea. No, my dear, I will be just fine with the cash option,
thank you."
Andrea selected the option, and showed him the screen, "The driver will be here
in like four minutes. I hope that the wait won't be too long."
"Well, seeing as how I was stranded no more than five minutes ago, what is a
four-minute wait to get back home?" He said, winking at her before eyeing the
home, "Speaking of which, you have quite the lovely one." He lied, for no doubt
he was the sort of man who stayed at five-star hotels and lived in a mansion or
penthouse. Julian began to aimlessly wander towards the staircase adjacent to
the door of her mother's office, where there were dozens of photos aligned upon
the wall going all the way up of her family.
The ones with her and her mother and Granny the nearest ones to them,
ascending in age until they were just pictures of her grandmother and her
brother taken as a little girl with her own mother and father, taken way back in
the 1930's.
"And quite the lovely family to go along with it." He added, pointing towards the
picture furthest away from them, at the top of the stairs, "A photo of your
grandmother and her own mother, perhaps?"
Andrea noticed her mother tense up, and frowned at her before speaking, "Yep.
That's my grandmother, Agatha Bordeaux. Taken in… 1938, I think… "
That answer seemed to amuse Julian to no end, "Oh? How charming."
"How far is that uber, Andrea?" Her mother glared at her, and she nervously
checked her phone, "Three minutes."
"I think you and I will wait outside for your ride." Her mother did not give
anyone an option to refuse, moving towards the door and opening it, "I would
love to talk about the new payment procedure for public defenders just
implemented."
Julian raised an eyebrow, before he turned and smiled at Kaala, "Miss." He spoke
politely before turning towards Andrea, his smile growing, "And thank you once
more, Andrea. You were an absolute godsend."
Andrea would later wonder why he was so appreciative; for all she had done was
pull out her phone and use an app she had used a thousand times before. But in
that moment, she was just glad that he had remembered her name, "Anytime."
He exited the house with his flawless gait, the floorboards groaning beneath his
weight as he left.
"You two stay here." Her mother snapped at them, before closing the door
behind her. Kaala and Andrea both bolted towards the window and fought each
other to get the best view, Kaala won.
"You think he might be your dad?"
Andrea would not entertain the thought again, "My father is dead."
"Okay, good."
"Bruh! What the fuck?!"
Kaala only seemed to realize then what she said and covered her own mouth in
shock, "Oh gosh! Sorry Andy, I did not mean it like that. Only that it's good that he
isn't your dad because I think looking at him when he called me 'miss' just made
my ovaries explode."
Can't say I don't agree with that…
Andrea focused on the two as they stood side-by-side, him looking at her mother
with a smile worth a million bucks, and her mother responding with an utter
expression of hatred, one she reserved for bigots and Celtics fans.
"I bet that he did your mama wrong once upon a time," Kaala suggested
something that Andrea had in fact never considered, "Big and tall…. Just like
Andre. Your mother seems to have a type."
Go and tell that to Remi, "Maybe… it doesn't make sense though, him being my
dad. I mean, timeline-wise. He doesn't look the type to know his way around
here, so maybe they could only have met each other as professionals, him being a
clerk and all. And I've been alive longer than Momma's been an advocate… I would
know about him…. Right?"
Kaala had decided long ago to stop listening to her, and instead focused on the
two standing outside Andrea's house, "Goddamn he is so sexy! We need to start
heading down to the courts more often and do so with swiftness!"
Andrea laughed, "La, a man like that probably goes for models or Saints'
cheerleaders. What in the hell would he want with a sixteen-year-old girl like
you?"
"You've seen this booty, right?" Kaala said without skipping a beat, "It is
immaculate!"
Andrea scrunched her nose and decided not to respond to that, and instead
focused on breaching her mother's privacy by continuing to try and make out
what they were saying. Even standing outside the house, one could make out a
few words spoken by the living room, but her mother knew that, and seemed to
have stressed that point to Julian. The two of them turned and caught Andrea
staring, Julian still amused, her mother far less so.
Kaala finally decided to stand up when the Toyota Camary pulled up, and
stretched before heading to the dining room table, "Damn… was he worth
letting my food get cold? Yeah, he was definitely worth letting my food get cold."
Andrea decided to join her, sitting back down just as the front door opened and
her mother entered the dining room, "Girls, I'm sorry I can't join you for dinner tonight. Mr. Nerva has a couple of cases for me to check out tomorrow when I
head to town, so I need to prep some."
Before Andrea had a chance to ask a single thing, her mother's back was already
faced towards her and moving towards her office, keeping the answers that
would sate Andrea's curiosity behind the door she had just slid shut.
"You mind spotting me some shorts to wear?" Kaala asked, behaving as if today
was like any other.
"Yeah, sure." Andrea said, her eyes drawn to where Julian last stood, smiling at
her with his eyes hidden behind his dark shades.