Amaryllis Read online

  “I’m fine, thank you. And how are you?”

  “Sleep deprived,” Jodie chuckled.

  “I can understand why. I just ran into your husband, Michael. He tells me that little Mya is quite active during the night hours.”

  “Hmph, like he’d know with all the noise he makes, sawing logs.”

  James laughed. “Listen, I was wondering if you know where your friend, Michelle, is.”

  Jodie returned James’ smile. “Michelle decided to go to work today.”

  “I see. What kind of work does she do?”

  “She owns a law firm.”

  His eyebrows shot up in the air. “Is that so?”

  “Yes, Price & Associates. It’s on Vegas Drive downtown.”

  The wheels in James’ head were turning. “Price & Associates on Vegas Drive. Okay, thanks a lot, Sister Frazier.”

  James turned to walk away and Jodie called after him. “Shall I tell Michelle you asked about her?”

  “If you like,” he smiled.

  Monday morning just before noon, Michelle sat behind her desk looking over briefs when her telephone extension rang.

  “Guess who asked your whereabouts in church yesterday?” Jodie said.

  “Minister Bradley?” Michelle was hopeful.

  “Yes. Apparently he’s into you just as much as you are into him.”

  “That’s good to know, Jodie. He has the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen.”

  “I can’t deny that. Hey, let’s meet for lunch.”

  Michelle looked at the amount of paperwork on her desk and exhaled. “Sorry, I can’t. I’m preparing for a major trial next week. I’ve got tons of paperwork to—” Michelle abruptly stopped talking. Her eyes were fixed on the masculine figure standing in her doorway. James Bradley was present with a dozen roses in one hand, a picnic basket in the other, and that famous gorgeous smile on his face.

  Jodie was still waiting on the other end of the telephone for Michelle to complete her sentence. “Hello? Michelle, are you there?”

  Michelle couldn’t move. James walked over to her, set the picnic basket on top of her desk, gently took the telephone from her hand and spoke into the receiver. “This is James Bradley. I’m sorry that Miss Price can’t continue this conversation due to the fact that she’s about to be swept off her feet. She will be out of the office for the remainder of the day.”

  Thinking back on that time caused Michelle’s heart to go pitter-patter. She let out a loud sigh, kissed James’ picture again, and placed it back on her desk. It was getting late and she still had to look over two more briefs before she went home to check on Amaryllis. Michelle was also excited that Amaryllis would finally meet her prince. Amaryllis’ past relationships with men were nothing to write home about. Michelle hoped that while she was visiting, Amaryllis would take notes and learn from her and James how a relationship between a man and a woman should be played out.

  Chapter 3

  Around eight o’clock, the ringing of the telephone aroused Amaryllis from a comatose-like sleep. She reached for the telephone on her nightstand and answered, sounding very groggy.

  “Hi, beautiful. Did I wake you?” a man’s voice asked.

  Feeling the effects of the Vicodin and chamomile tea, Amaryllis was delirious and had no clue where she was or who the man was she was talking to. “Uh-huh.”

  “Why are you in bed so early. Did you have a bad day?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “How about I go to your favorite Chinese restaurant and get some of that Mongolian Beef you like so much, then swing by your place? Would you like that?”

  “Uh-huh.” In the faint distance of her mind, Amaryllis heard the line go dead and she released the telephone from her hand.

  At 9:15 P.M., James Bradley was standing outside of Michelle’s town home ringing the doorbell without getting an answer. Using his cellular telephone, he called her home number and got a busy signal. James rang the doorbell again. Still no answer. He decided to call Michelle’s cellular number. He knew that no matter what Michelle was doing, she always answered her cellular phone in case it was a business call. She was sitting behind her desk at the law firm when she answered his call.

  “Hello, handsome.”

  “Mickey, why won’t you let me in?” James always chose to use his nickname for Michelle.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m standing outside; can’t you hear the doorbell?”

  “It must be out of order. Hang on and I’ll buzz you in.”

  “A buzzer? That’s just pure laziness, Mickey.”

  Michelle’s office was on the sixth floor. Of course, she’d buzz him. “James, I know I need to exercise, but if you think that I’m getting ready to walk down six flights of stairs to open the door, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  “You only have three floors, Mickey. Have you been drinking?”

  “No, I haven’t and I’m buzzing the door. Are you in yet?”

  “I can’t hear the buzzer; it must be out of order too. We wouldn’t have to go through this if you gave me a key to your house.”

  “That’s out of the question, James, and how would a key to my house benefit you if you’re trying to get into my office?”

  “Your office?” James frowned.

  “Yes; that’s where I am.”

  “What are you talking about, Mickey? Why would you go to your office when you knew I was bringing dinner to your house?”

  “I didn’t know. You should’ve called.”

  James exhaled but kept his cool. “Mickey, did I not talk to you an hour ago and say that I was bringing Chinese food to your place?”

  “No, James, you didn’t. You must’ve called one of your other women, because you certainly didn’t talk to me,” Michelle joked.

  James stood outside the town home dumbfounded. “Don’t go there, Mickey. You know good and well there are no other women. Why are you playing with me?”

  “Honestly, James, I don’t remember you calling me here.”

  “I didn’t call your office; I called your house.”

  A light bulb went on in Michelle’s head. “Oh, my goodness. You must’ve talked to Amaryllis.”

  “Who?”

  “My sister, Amaryllis. Remember I told you she was coming to stay with me for a while.”

  “That explains it then. I thought you were out of it from having a bad day.”

  “She’s on heavy pain medication, but if she can’t hear the doorbell, I wonder if it’s too heavy.”

  “You want me to bring dinner to the law office?”

  “No, sweetie, stay put. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  Michelle pushed aside the brief she was reading and turned off her desk lamp. She left the law office in a hurry, excited to see her man. As she drove into her driveway, she saw James sitting on the steps. She got out of the car and walked over to him. “Hello, gorgeous,” she greeted with a wide grin.

  James looked at her with his prize-winning smile that always melted Michelle. With his deep dimples in both cheeks, sometimes Michelle had to turn her head to break the stare. But James had the kind of smile that drew a person to him. He had all the qualities that a woman could want in a man. He was gentle, extremely handsome, kind, warmhearted, generous, loving, and most importantly, he was saved and sanctified. But out of all these qualities, it was his smile that most attracted Michelle to him.

  James stood and kissed her lightly on the lips, then reached for her hand to help her up the steps. “You’re the gorgeous one, Mickey.”

  “Uh-uh. You are.”

  “No, you are.”

  Each and every time James and Michelle came together, this was the greeting they shared. If there was ever a time when one of them didn’t compliment the other on who was the more gorgeous of the two, something was wrong.

  Michelle entered the town home and James followed. “Mi
ckey, I’m gonna get dinner set on the table. Are you hungry?” James asked as he headed toward the kitchen.

  “I’m famished, but I gotta check on my sister first. She’s been asleep way too long.”

  “Didn’t you say she’s on heavy medication?”

  “But I also gave her chamomile tea. You go ahead and start without me.”

  Michelle climbed the stairs to the third floor. She walked into Amaryllis’ room and turned on the light. Next to the bed, Michelle saw the telephone on the floor. Amaryllis was lying on her stomach with her hair strewn about her face. Michelle placed the telephone on its base, then sat down on the bed and tapped Amaryllis’s shoulder.

  “Amaryllis, sweetie, wake up.”

  Amaryllis stirred, but made no effort to turn over. Michelle removed her hair from her face and shook her. Amaryllis mumbled something, but didn’t move. Michelle stood and pulled the sheets from her. She rolled Amaryllis onto her back and lightly tapped her face. “Amaryllis, please wake up; you’re scaring me.”

  She sleepily opened one eye. “Why are you bothering me, Michelle?”

  “Because you’ve been asleep since this morning.”

  “And?”

  “And it’s almost nine-thirty at night.”

  “And?”

  “And you need to get up and eat something.”

  Amaryllis rolled onto her stomach. “I’m not hungry, I’m sleepy.”

  “We’ve got to get you off of that Vicodin. Somebody could’ve broken in here and taken everything and you would’ve never known it.”

  Amaryllis quickly sat up. “Girl, if you touch my Vicodin, I’ll put a serious hurting on you.”

  “Yeah, whatever. James is downstairs and he bought Chinese food. I want you to meet him, so let’s get you washed up and dressed so you can come down and eat with us.”

  “Michelle, I look a mess and I don’t want him to meet me for the first time with me looking all bruised up. What will he think?”

  “He won’t think anything. James doesn’t know what happened to you.”

  “I’m not going downstairs,” Amaryllis protested.

  “You have to eat.”

  “So, I’ll eat up here, in my room.”

  “Amaryllis, James is here at least twice a week. He’s bound to run into you sooner or later.”

  “Let it be later then.”

  Michelle helped Amaryllis into the bathroom and started the water in the shower. When she saw Amaryllis struggling with her broken shoulder to get undressed, she assisted her. She helped Amaryllis into the tub and gave her a bar of soap and a wash towel. “Are you gonna be okay by yourself?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll come back up in ten minutes to check on you.” Michelle left the bathroom and went to the dresser drawer to lay out a clean pair of underwear and a nightgown on the bed for Amaryllis. Michelle had unpacked her sister’s things and placed them in drawers last night, after Amaryllis had passed out from the Vicodin and chamomile tea.

  Michelle heard moaning. She went back into the bathroom, pulled the shower curtain back and saw tears streaming down Amaryllis’ face. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

  “My shoulder hurts when I lift my arm.”

  Michelle stopped the shower and helped Amaryllis out of the tub. After wrapping a huge terry cloth towel around her, Michelle inserted the plug in the drain, sprinkled a handful of Epsom salt in the tub and ran warm water. After she helped Amaryllis back into the tub and carefully sat her down, Michelle got on her knees, rolled up her sleeves and gently bathed her baby sister. The tears that began streaming down Amaryllis’ face concerned Michelle.

  “Am I too rough?”

  “I feel so helpless, Michelle. And I feel bad because your man is downstairs waiting for you, but you’re up here taking care of me.”

  “James is fine. Trust me. He’s got his food and his sports, he’s very content.”

  “I appreciate you accepting me into your home and taking care of me like this.”

  “You’re my sister, girl. It’s just me and you, so we gotta take care of each other.”

  After the bath, Michelle applied lotion to Amaryllis’ skin and helped her into her fresh clothing.

  “I used to do this for Black. I would bathe him, oil his whole body and cook his meals and then feed him.”

  Michelle looked at Amaryllis as though she was a nutcase. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No, I took care of Black like that all the time.”

  “You know that it was wrong for you to do that, don’t you?”

  “But I enjoyed doing things like that for him.”

  “And there’s nothing wrong with a woman taking care of her man like that as long as he’s her husband.”

  “We lived together, Michelle.”

  “And that was wrong too. Some things are sacred and should be saved for marriage. If you give a man all the sex he wants, bathe him and cook his every meal, then feed him too, what has he got to look forward to after you say your vows? When you promise to love, honor and cherish your man in the presence of God, that’s when the cooking, bathing and sex comes into play. You want to keep a man guessing what else you’ve got to give, Amaryllis.

  “When you’re courting your man, he should feel like a kid in a candy store with only a nickel in his pocket. There’s so much good stuff that he would like to have a taste of but can’t afford. But because he loves candy, it causes him to save his allowance and come back for more when he has enough money. You see, Amaryllis, the candy is there for him to look at and admire, but it’s not free. If a man is able to have all the candy he wants without having to pay, sooner or later, he’ll lose his appetite for it. Now don’t get me wrong; I love James with my whole heart. He’s good to me and I’m good to him. But as much as we love each other, he’s not worthy of me sexing, bathing and feeding him yet. I give him just enough of me to keep him coming back.”

  “What do you mean you give him just enough?”

  “This is my home. I worked very hard to buy this place, and God allowed me to have it. James is not allowed to bring his clothes over and take up space in any of my closets. And even though there are three bathrooms in this house, neither of them has room for James’ toothbrush. I pay the mortgage, not James. In the entire year that we’ve been together, he hasn’t once spent the night. Even if we’re watching a movie that ends at three o’clock in the morning, James has to leave here.

  “Another example is the way I cook for him, if I cook at all. I don’t like to eat restaurant food all the time, so occasionally, I may cook. I know James’ favorite meal is spare ribs, macaroni and cheese, hot water cornbread with mustard and turnip greens. I hooked him up one Sunday after church and the brotha was foaming at the mouth. He said even his mother’s greens didn’t taste that good. That was about seven months ago and he’s been begging for that meal ever since. I tell him that I don’t have time to cook it, but I’ll try and make it soon. That lets him know that he’s got something to look forward to. Now, when I have the time to cook, I do the basic fried chicken or maybe spaghetti, but I don’t cook for James everyday. Only my husband will be allowed that luxury. When he becomes my husband, he’ll get his greens.”

  To Amaryllis, Michelle’s love life sounded boring. “Okay, Michelle, I get all of that. But to me, it sounds like you and James are just existing. I mean, what do you do for your man? How do you make him feel good?”

  Michelle knew what Amaryllis was getting at. “Sex is not a part of our relationship. We hug, kiss and cuddle. However, my body is my most prized possession. James will not receive my goods until we’re in covenant with one another.”

  Amaryllis sat on the edge of her bed and looked at Michelle in awe. “Are you telling me that you’ve been dating this man for over a year and he’s never touched you?”

  “I didn’t say James doesn’t touch me. He touches me all the time and I touch him, but we’re careful where we touch each other. I told you that we hug, kiss an
d cuddle.”

  Amateurs. “And that’s it?”

  “That’s enough. James and I never put ourselves in a position to be tempted. He’s not allowed in my bedroom and I don’t enter his. When he’s here visiting, I’m dressed appropriately, and when I’m at his house, he’s dressed appropriately. We practice discipline and respect. James and I love and honor the Lord too much to be saying ‘Please forgive us, we got caught up in the moment’. God forgives, yes. But why put yourself in that place to begin with?”

  “When you showed me your bedroom today, I saw lots of pretty lingerie hanging in your closet. Why do you have all of that if you don’t wear it?”

  “I do wear it. But for God, not James.”

  “Why for God?”

  “Because He’s my true husband. Some nights, I light scented candles around my Jacuzzi tub, put on praise and worship music, then soak until the water gets cool. I get out and spray on my Perry Ellis or Ralph Lauren perfume, slip into one of those nighties and lie on my bed and tell God how much I love Him. I tell Him that no one can ever do for me what He does for me. Then I let Him know that He’s the One that I worship and adore. I let Him know that no man could ever take His place in my life.

  “Then I thank Him for my law firm and the home He gave me. I blow kisses at Him and tell Him that not only do I love Him, I’m also in love with Him. I assure God that He’s my King. When I dress intimately for God, He knows that He’s got a part of me that James doesn’t. It tells Him that my body is His temple, not James’. Then I start to praise God by telling Him how great and wonderful He is to me and how much I appreciate the way He loves me. I let Him know that until He sends my soul mate to me, only He shall have my goods.”

  Amaryllis sat on the bed and looked at Michelle like she was from another planet. “And you mean to tell me that after doing all of that, you’re sexually satisfied?”

  “Amaryllis, let me explain something to you. God satisfies me spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. When James becomes my husband, he’ll be the one to satisfy me in that way.”

  Amaryllis opted to end Michelle’s lesson. All this talk of not sexing a man was giving her a headache. She laid down on the bed with Michelle’s help. Once Amaryllis was comfortable, Michelle gave her the television remote.