Cuff Links

Cuff Links
“That was delicious,” Arianna groaned as she fell back onto the couch.
“It was, but it’ll never be as good as Mabel’s cooking.”
“That reminds me. We need to talk about this Mammy business.”
“I see you’ve been talking to Jynelle,” Reggie huffed. “And for the record, Mabel wasn’t my Mammy.”
“My bad. My bad. I didn’t mean to offend. How long was Mabel with your family?”
“Since I was born,” Reggie admitted with a slight smile on his face. “My mother passed away before I turned one. They found out she had cancer when she was pregnant with me. She went without chemo, and by the time she had me, she was Stage III, and there was no stopping it.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your loss.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“Did your father remarry?”
“He did. He married his dealership business,” Reggie chuckled.
“So, he wasn’t around a lot?”
“No, not unless he wanted to shove the dealerships down my throat. He was no different than a lot of our fathers in our circle. They either threw themselves in their work to get rich, stay rich, or avoid their problems.”
“Did that bother you?”
“Um...not as much as you would think. I was pretty content. Mabel was enough for me.”
“Where is Mabel now?”
“Looking down on me from Heaven.”
“Oh my-”
“Please don’t apologize. She passed away my sophomore year of college. She had officially retired once I graduated high school. As my retirement present to her, I cashed in some stocks my father had for me, and I bought her a house anywhere she wanted. To this day, I still question if she was sane.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted a house right there in Austin. She literally could’ve gone anywhere she wanted in the world, but...she stayed right there...with me.”
“It’s because she loved her son.”
Arianna noticed the silent tears that slid down Reggie’s face. Reggie’s pain made Arianna think how lucky he was that he had a motherly figure who loved him so much. Arianna wouldn’t lie. Her parents had been loving growing up, but it changed when their addiction took hold of them. Arianna was no longer their beautiful and intelligent daughter. She was another mouth to feed and another back to clothe. She was a nuisance.
“I-I was in a bad place for a while. I started acting out, and it didn’t help that I was in a fraternity.”
“I did get that fraternity vibe from you.”
“Did you get it from Dallas because we were in it together?”
“Not really. It’s hard to put a finger on Dallas. He’s a very devoted husband and father, but he scares me at the same time.”
“Why does he scare you?”
“It’s the way he looks at Jynelle sometimes. He has this dark look on his face like he wants to jump on her and beat the shit out of her.”
Reggie snorted with laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“That’s the face he makes when she turns him on.”
“Really?” Arianna asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, I figured that out one night at a frat party. Jynelle entered the frat house in a not suitable for work outfit, and Dallas wouldn’t stop glaring at her the entire night while he mumbled how sexy she was under his breath. I was tempted to take him out back and hose him down.”
“Did Jynelle catch on?”
Reggie snorted. “Jynelle was very aware of the effect she had on Dallas. She loved always having his attention. But that’s enough about those two, back to me. I took Mabel’s passing very hard. My grades began to plummet, I developed a drinking problem, and became an absolute tool.”
“You? A tool? I don’t believe it,” Arianna giggled.
“You better believe it, sweetheart.”
“So, what changed? How did you go from being Mr. Tool 2009 to the man you are today?”
“Certain events happen in your life, and it forces you to take a moment to re-evaluate everything. I began wondering if Mabel would’ve been proud of the man I had become, and I knew she would’ve been disappointed in me. I focused on myself and got myself together. I quit all the hard partying and got my grades back up. To my father’s delight, I reached out to him and threw myself into the dealership business. Now here I am, in Mr. and Mrs. Stevens’ saferoom with a beautiful girl, contemplating if I’m up for the challenge of being in a long-distance relationship.”
Arianna let out a chuckle before taking a sip from her wine glass. “I hadn’t realized how smooth you were until now.”
“It’s a gift.”
“I can tell. But since we’re on the topic...let’s talk.”
“Let’s talk,” Reggie affirmed, taking one of Arianna’s hands in his. “I like you, Ava. I like you a lot, if I’m being honest, but I must know what your long-term goals are. As you know, I live in Texas, and my businesses need me to remain in Texas, if you catch my drift.”
“I’m catching what you’re selling. You don’t want to waste time if this isn’t going to go anywhere because I want to stay in California.”
“More or less. As I said, I’m open to long-distance dating. I just need to know it won’t be a forever thing.”
“And you need your answer now?” Arianna curiously asked.
“Preferably before I get on the plane back to Texas.”
“Good. I have another three days to think it over,” Arianna said, stretching to her feet. “It’s sleepy time for me.”
“I guess this is my queue to leave,” Reggie sighed as he stood to his feet.
“Are you sure you want to leave? You still haven’t retrieved your cufflinks yet,” Arianna challenged. Arianna let out a shriek once Reggie sprinted after her. He caught her and fielded angry swipes from Legs on his way to her bedroom. Unfortunately for Legs, Reggie kicked the bedroom door closed, causing Legs to run into the door.