Silk & Sheri

Chapter 2

I wore a green summer dress, open toed sandals, and Johnson’s favorite gold earrings that he loved to see me in. I hurriedly slipped through the busyness of the Port Authority bus station and found Johnson standing in front of the entrance doors. His frowning eyebrows and tapping foot did not make a me speed up the pace, but I did slow down upon seeing his outfit. He wore gray sweats, sneakers, and a gray tee-shirt that wrapped around his torso like a label to a water bottle. My frown matched his instantly. His eyes lit up when he saw me and I forced a smile. He sped walked to embrace me. I struggled to embrace him back as I eyed his attire versus my own. He wanted to take me to Red Lobster’s and I obliged. We walked slower than usual up the blocks to Red Lobster’s. He finally spoke up after we reached the middle of the first block.

“So, I saw silk last night at my job.”

I observed his face as he spoke.

“Yeah, she told me she saw you.”

He spoke an arm in front of my path and ceased walking. He swiveled his body to face me and gave me half of a smile. I flinched and looked into his eyes. He lowered his head and said,

“Oh, so you spoke to her?”

I clenched my jaw and inhaled deeply. I used to be scared when he pulled subtle stunts like this. That fear expired as I thought about her smile. I took a step closer to him and rose my chin up.

“Yes, Baby. She me that she saw you. Small world isn’t, Johnson?”

His half smile slipped away, along with his control of the current conversation.

“Well, I told her how much you talk about her.”

“No, I don’t.” I retorted.

He shook his head and we continued walking in silence for a few moments, until I remembered my album.

“You know, Johnson, she really has been helping me to continue working on my album, by reminding me to set aside time to work on it.”

I felt my cheeks rise within each syllable I released in that sentence. She holds me accountable when it comes to my goals and she always checks up on me.

He smiled with the corners of his mouth trembling and shrugged. He kept walking, but I didn’t. I watched him walk as he balled up his fist like he usually does and flipped his hair back. He finally looked to his left and I realized that I wasn’t by his side. He stopped and search through the crowd for my face. I rushed to his side and he held out his hand for me to hold. I slide my fingers between his and he clasped out union tightly. When we arrived at Red Lobster’s, we were seated immediately. I fumbled with the menu while peeking up at Johnson every few seconds. The silence made my stomach turn and I wished upon a, decal plastered on the wall, to shrink me to the size of a spider. After we ordered our meals to the server, Johnson leaned in and asked,

“So what’s your album about anyway?”

I almost forgot to breathe. Everything within me felt as though it paused. Johnson was the first person I confided in about creating a musical project. He’s never asked me about my album during the entire time we were together- until now. I told him my theme and what I still needed to work on. He stared into my eyes as I spoke and nodded his head. He was inventively listening and I wanted to scream. Where was this version of Johnson six months ago?

We ate with silence as our company and I glanced at him every now and then. I was waiting for the feeling of fullness to enter my belly. I was waiting to forget about her. Silk’s name made twisters in my head while eating and it made me queasy. He went to the bathroom after he paid for the bill. Why am I still here? What do I want?