"Let's give it all we got

Let's hang on to our dreams

That made us fall in love, so many nights

I know your pride touched, in a way that hurts you much

Baby don't you know

We should try to work things out

Let's do things right

What we've got's a lifetime love affair"

Loose Ends – "Love Controversy, Pt. 1"

It was not the dramatic exit she had hoped it would be.

Kris tasted the cold, slimy, and very dark brown mud on her tongue as her fingers squished the wet earth with pathetic attempts to lift herself up. Rainwater fell from the fat gray clouds above, and when she thought she found her footing, she slipped again watching her left leg do an unwanted New York Rockettes high kick in the air as she fell flat on her back.

She smacked the drenched earth with clenched fists in a fit of embarrassed rage and the feeling grew worse when Erik hovered above her while she spat out a mouthful of liquid dirt. Erik reached down to help her with a lopsided grin on his face and it infuriated her. She dug her fingers in the mud and flung it in his face. When he pulled back to wipe his mud-stained cheek, his right heel slipped, and he fell on his ass hard.

Kris rolled forward onto her hands and a sharp sting slapped her in the forehead and cool sludge ran down into her eyes. She screamed at battle cry and slung mud at him and he returned the attack. Their mud fight commenced under a fresh deluge of rain. Falling water quickly rinsed the constant splatters of mud on her face. Erik lobbed bombs at her and she ran toward her car to get away but his long legs caught up to her and he smashed a soupy mud pie into her face.

"Bastard!" she shrieked.

He ran from her and skidded in a slick patch and she grabbed a handful of mud and charged after him. He ran past his house but tripped over his feet and fell down. She overtook him and smooshed the mud onto his head. Erik raised up on his haunches to get away and she swung her leg out to knock him over. When he crashed onto his back, she pounced on him, stuffing more mud inside his shirt. He laughed and wrangled her hands away from his body. Thrashing on top of him, she stopped moving when he stopped squirming. Erik stared at her, his rain-tinged eyes raking down her body. The slick mud plastered her t-shirt to her chest. It outlined her breasts in an illicit display of soft heavenly mounds. She became acutely aware of how her frame straddled his body in their favorite position when they used to sleep together.

Her breath hitched in her chest when he thrust up his hips to reposition his body. She clutched onto his shirt to keep from falling over and when he sat up cradling her back with his hands, her heart fooled itself into thinking it was like old times by budding open like a sunbathed flower. Inches from her face, their noses lined up perfectly. Streams of water trailed down his forehead and cheeks washing away the mess she made of his face. His breathing slowed to match hers.

Erik's arms snaked around her, and he forced her body against him. Her left cheek pressed into his and she shuddered in the embrace, her eyes taking in the open land that spread out far beyond his house. A tiny gasp escaped her parted lips as the hurt of knowing he loved another woman stung her once more. Kris wanted to stand in her truth and heed the guidance of her prayers, meditation, and honoring her ancestors by stepping out on faith that working on her personal growth was the best thing for her. Erik didn't want to wait for her. That hurt just as much too. She wasn't worth waiting for?

Sitting back from him, her eyes caught sight of the silver necklace and the charm Dionne gave him. She clawed her fingers around it and yanked hard, breaking the chain. She threw it far behind him.

"What are you doing?!"

He pushed her away and scrambled to his feet running after it. He stomped around in the mud and rain searching for it in vain. He gave up out of frustration and stalked back over to her.

"That was a gift!"

"It was a root you dumbass! If she wants you, then she has to have you the right way—"

He shoved her aside and stormed his way back to his house. Kris walked in dirty sneakers that fought being sucked down into muddy death traps toward her car. Snatching up her soggy purse, she dug for her keys and climbed into her car making a mess all over the car seat and steering wheel.

The car roared to life, but when she shifted into drive, the back wheels spun in place with no traction. She pounded her fist onto the steering wheel.

"C'mon! C'mon!" she yelled.

Giving up after five minutes of sliding to the side, she put the car in park and sat quietly. She closed her eyes while forcing deep breaths to expand her chest. Agitation shook her fingers, and she tried to drive away again with little progress. The car only moved a few inches forward before rolling back in place. The rain continued to dump and her windshield wipers couldn't wipe it away fast enough for her to see. Windows completely fogged up, Kris slumped back into her seat and wept.

Erik opened her driver's side door.

"Come back to the house. You won't be able to drive in this right now. Get cleaned up in the house and I'll pull you out with my truck later."

She ignored him and gripped the steering wheel with her cool wet fingers.

"Kris… it's cold out here and you're shivering. Come get warm."

He tugged on her shirt, and she swatted his hand. But it was cold. And grew colder. Giving in to the offer, she snatched up her purse and followed him back to the house. She kicked off her sneakers and left them on the covered porch.

"Go in the bathroom and take a shower. Leave your dirty clothes on the floor in the bedroom and I'll put them in the washer and dryer.

Kris gave him sullen eyes and did what he told her. She peeled off clothes and underwear and left the soaked muddy pile on his floor.

She washed her hair and took her time cleaning her body. The warm steam enveloped her and her mood shifted to calm purpose. Once she left The Roux, she would call Blue and give her two-week notice. Her small book advance and the few hundred dollars she made from selling her oils and herbs online could float her for the next six months that it would take her to write her book. She could find another job later, something part-time. Maybe a bookstore or a small café.

Leaning against the shower wall as hot water splashed across her legs, she heard Erik moving around in his bedroom. She wrapped a thick green towel around her body and a smaller one around her hair. Not wanting to face him, she sat on his bed and listened to the rainfall outside.

"I have your stuff in the washer," he said.

Erik walked into the bathroom and shut the door. The shower came to life, and she fell back on the bed. The high ceiling greeted her eyes, and she relaxed on the soft blanket that cushioned her back. Minutes later the bathroom door flew open. She heard Erik walk into the bedroom. Sitting up, her eyes nearly fell out of her skull. He was butt naked and strolled to his bedroom closet. He heard her slight gasp and turned to look at her. Water beaded down his steamy skin, and he stopped walking to stare at her.

"You used both towels," he said with a slight grin on his face.

Her eyes fluttered away as he dug for a towel on a shelf. She could still see his backside in the dresser mirror and she watched him snatch up a towel and dry himself quickly. Kris stayed brazen with her sneak peeks as he rummaged for underwear and pants in the dresser. Her face grew warm when he turned back to her draped in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. A buzzer from the other room sounded. Erik gathered up his dirty clothes.

"You want a t-shirt to wear?" he asked.

"No. I can wait."

He left the room to stuff her clean clothes into the dryer. He had his washer and dryer hookup in a small room next to his kitchen.

Kris stayed in his bedroom until her clothes were dry. He brought them to her, and she slipped back into his bathroom to change. The warm garments and the fresh lavender smell from his detergent felt good on her body. She French-braided her hair into two braids and wandered into the living room. Erik was on his cell phone talking to someone. It sounded like his grandmother.

"She's fine. Had to wash her clothes. Nah, I can get it out. It's supposed to stay like this for a couple of hours. Nana… it's not like that. Y'all doing too much over nothing. No… that's not true… I didn't…"

The muscles in his face were tense and by the time he hung up his phone rang again.

"Baby…"

It had to be Dionne. He left her in the living room and walked to his home office shutting the door behind him.

Ten minutes later he returned.

"Let's go. Nana wants us up at the house."

Kris followed him back outside and looked down at her filthy shoes. Erik went back into his house and came back out with some dark house slippers. She put them on even though they were too big for her feet.

"Wait here," he said.

He darted off of the porch and drove his truck close to the front of the house. Kris jumped in and they made the bouncy ride in mud and rain up to the main house. It smelled delicious inside, and she left Erik's slippers next to his shoes by the front door as she entered behind him.

Nana Rae and Granny sat in the living room. Caddo lounged in a Lazy Boy chair with a terse expression on his face. Their eyes watched Erik with dark concern.

"I don't want you bringing Dionne here to my house."

Nana Rae's words made Erik tense up.

"If she's mixed up with Nedi Charles—"

"Who is Nedi Charles?"

"The woman who made that charm," Kris said.

"She's no good. And if Dionne is mixed up with her, then she's no good too," Nana Rae said.

"Nana… Dionne is my woman. She hasn't done anything for you to ban her—"

"This is my house and I say who can come in or out!"

Nana Rae bolted up from her seat.

"Hey! What's all this yelling in here?"

Pop Pop entered from upstairs. He had a pair of glasses hanging low on his nose and a book in his hand. He held onto the banister as he walked down into the living room. Nana Rae shifted a hand on her hip and tilted her head.

"What's going on?" Pop Pop demanded.

His eyes glanced between his wife and his grandson.

"Nedi Charles is using that girl… against me," Nana Rae said.

Kris moved closer to her grandmother. Erik's nose crinkled and then his lips became a confused scowl.

"What are you talking about?"

Granny May leaned forward from her seat on the couch and clasped her hands together.

"Erik, when did Dionne give you that charm pendant?"

Granny May's voice was calm and even. The tone used was familiar to Kris. Granny was fishing for information even though she already knew the answer.

"Four months ago. When I went to Austin to sign my contract."

"Had you interacted with her before?"

"Over the phone. Some video chats. Then she took me and Blue around Austin. My mother recommended her through a friend."

"Listen to me son, the charm she gave you is used to bind people—"

"I'm not listening to this," Erik backed up from them all, his eyes bouncing wildly as he took in every face there.

"There was brick dust at his house in front of the porch. Dionne planted Witch's Burr on me too," Kris blurted out.

"Jesus, y'all sound like… I'm outta here."

Erik did a one-eighty and headed for the door.

"I don't want to see that woman anywhere near here. You can't trust her when she's dealing with that bitch—"

"What about Miss May, Nana? Huh? She does the same thing and you don't care. Hell, y'all probably put a root on me to get with Kris—"

"What we had was real, Erik."

The words flew out before she remembered where she was. Nana Rae and her Granny both stared at her.

"Was it?"

His eyes burned into hers.

"Everyone's been tryna get me hemmed up for years, and when I finally bring a woman home that I love, now it's a problem because of this Hoodoo bullshit—"

"Erik, watch your mouth!" Nana Rae spat out.

"No, you watch your mouth. How are you gonna tell me what to do with my love life? I've done everything you've ever wanted me to do, stayed here to make sure you and Pop Pop continue to live well and I can't see who I want? Dionne is the type of woman that you expected from your sons and what you drilled into all of your grandsons. She's good to me. Makes me happy. And you all will respect her!"

"I will do no such thing if it brings harm to this house—"

"Then to hell with this house, I won't come here then!"

Erik left with angry strides, slamming the front door after him. Nan Rae stepped forward to follow, but Pop Pop cradled her elbow and stopped her.

"Let him go. He's not going to listen," Pop Pop said.

"You know I'm right," Nana Rae said.

"I know… I know… but he won't listen when his blood is up and he's defending his love. It's all going to come off as an attack. He just doesn't understand," Pop Pop said.

"Then you go talk to him."

"Maybe later. Let him be for now."

"We can't just wait. If this girl has her hooks in him, it'll be too late if we wait longer. Look how he spoke to me! He's never talked to me like that before!"

"Well, he's never been in love before," Pop Pop said.

Kris felt her stomach tumble. That wasn't true.

Nana Rae stared at Kris. She held her hand out toward her and Kris took it. The woman pulled her onto the larger couch that faced Granny May. Pop Pop gave Nana Rae a look and then he left the room. Caddo stayed quiet but watched them all intently.

"That woman, Nedi… she used to be my friend," Granny May said.

Kris could see that her Granny was nervous. Almost afraid.

"We were friends long before I met Rae. We were little girls together. First grade. Then when we went to fourth grade, I met Rae…"

Granny May chuckled from the memory and there was a clucking from Nana Rae's mouth.

"Nedi was my quiet little sunflower. Sweet… a little shy. But Rae… ooh chile… a ball of fury. We all got along so well. I think we balanced one another. Brought out the best in each other. Nedi and I had a special connection because we were raised up in the old ways. It's good to have another person in your life who understands rootwork and does it too. It creates a powerful bond of friendship."

"So what happened?" Kris asked.

"Erik's grandfather, Noble," Nana Rae said.

Caddo's eyes looked away for a second and his body language told Kris that he was familiar with the story.

"Before my father died, we used to all be here and ride horses and hang out. Then Noble started working here. Nedi saw him first, but she was too shy to approach him."

"You stole him from her?" Kris asked.

"No… at least I didn't think so," Nana Rae said.

Granny May waved her hand and continued the story.

"None of us knew she was sweet on him. Plus, Noble had eyes for Rae, anyway. I was already courting your granddaddy and was excited that Rae finally settled down on one man. By the time they were dating, Nedi went ballistic. She cried and threw a fit over it. Dropped us both as friends. Told Rae that she stole her life."

Nana Rae hopped back in.

"She never said a goddamned word. Had she just spoken up once and said, 'I like this man', I would've let Noble be. She just caved into herself. Never married. Never had children. But I thank God every day that she stayed quiet. Noble is my everything. Gave me my children, built up the ranch with me… I can't imagine my life without him."

"And because of that, there's been bad blood," Granny May interjected, "I tried to stay friends with her, but once Rae was engaged, she grew cold…mean. Blamed me for not supporting her. It was just an ugly time. Her rootwork is not to be trusted. She's powerful. Uses her gifts in ways that aren't my cup of tea. Her clients aren't really people you want to associate with. If Dionne went to her for anything…"

Granny May wrung her hands as she fidgeted in her seat.

"She's strong, ya hear me, girl?" Granny May said.

"I hear you."

"She made me lose my first baby," Nana Rae whispered.

Caddo's eyes grew wide. She glanced at her grandson.

"I never told anyone this. Before Noble and I were married, I was pregnant with my first baby. We were so happy. Nedi found out about it. I did everything I could to stay away from her or anyone from her family. I heard she had been speaking ill about me and cursed the child I was carrying. I lost it early. Didn't even get through my first trimester. I was healthy as a horse. Caught that baby fast and lost it just as quickly. May found burned walnut shells around the yard of our old house when we lived over on Brightwood. We packed up and moved into this house. May put some protections over us and I had all my big healthy boys after that. But that heifer stole my first. I'll never forgive her. She just turned sour…became a witch."

Nana Rae glanced over toward her front door.

"Now she has her influence on my boy. That's a bad omen."

Granny May nodded.

"I'll need your help again," Nana Rae said.

"I'll handle it," Kris said.

She stood up and smoothed down her t-shirt.

"You need to check your house and take precautions," Granny May warned.

"I'm going to see Nedi," Kris declared.

Granny May and Nana Rae stared at one another and laughed suddenly.

"Why is that funny?"

"Honey, that's like a parakeet going against a dragon," Granny May said.

"God bless you for going to Erik's defense, but Nedi is not for you. Let your Granny handle it," Nana Rae said.

"It's stopped raining," Caddo said as he stepped toward the bay window. The sun tried to come out again.

Granny May stood up and held Kris's hand.

"Stay away from Nedi Charles," she whispered.

Kris steeled herself and lied through her teeth.

"Okay."

###

The Dip.

That's what everyone called the area Kris drove to through another summer rain shower. No thunder or lightning came around, but the light downpour helped cool the air. Her GPS system brought her to a well-kept two-story beige home that was taken care of better than the other houses in the cul-de-sac.

Kris found parking and pulled out an umbrella. She wrapped her hair for extra protection. Not for the rain, but from the conjurer she was about to confront. No loose hairs would fall in that house. She would accept no food or drink.

Before she knocked on the front door, she sprinkled pink salt that anointed herself on the tan welcome mat. Grinding her feet into the salt, she made a blessing sign of protection with her right fingers that she learned from Granny May when she was five. Kris smeared her skin with sweet almond oil that was soaked in myrrh and frankincense resin for seven days. If she was going to face a hex throwing goon, then Kris was bringing the power of the Old Testament with her. From the information she could gather from Rekia, Nedi Charles was a respected Deaconess of a small popular revivalist church that had members talk in tongues and have spirits ride them. She traveled throughout the state spreading the gospel. People feared and revered her.

Kris hesitated before ringing the doorbell.

She had to center herself on her purpose. Collect information. Lay eyes on the enemy. Draw a line in the proverbial sand.

Pressing the little button on the left side of the door, she waited for the woman to answer. Her throat was dry, just as dry as her mouth, and her left hand clutched tight to her closed umbrella and purse. She heard shuffling behind the door and she stood ready.

A pleasant-looking woman with a beatific smile greeted her. Long silvery-gray hair hung down in a long ponytail. She looked nothing like the wicked witch Nana Rae painted her as. The sunny-looking woman with the unlined cinnamon-brown skin stepped back from the door.

"Hello, Kris. Please… come in. I hope the drive over wasn't too bad."

Kris stepped over the threshold and allowed her eyes to take in everything around her like a detective.

"Just leave your umbrella by the door,"

Clean, neat, and smelling like lemon floor cleaner, the house didn't spark any negative vibes when she followed the woman into a parlor room.

"Sit, make yourself comfortable."

Kris sat down on a small loveseat and Nedi dropped onto a wing-backed chair.

A beautiful lit candle display sat in the middle of a parlor table The flickering candlelight gave the room a soft romantic glow in the middle of the afternoon.

"Would you like anything to drink? I have Coke, Seven-up, water…"

"No, thank you. I'm good. I don't want to take up too much of your time."

Kris pulled out a new journal from her purse and set it open to the first blank page. She fondled a new pen and inhaled a breath of confidence. The parlor had well-kept older furniture with a lovely cherry wood accent table under a wide oval mirror. There were family photos in polished picture frames stacked all over it.

"This is a beautiful room," Kris said trying to sound polite and relaxed.

"Thank you."

A cordial smile still painted the woman's lips. She was pretty, a vintage beauty really, and Kris tried to imagine what she looked like as a young girl running around with her Granny and Nana Rae. Her grandmother had never mentioned this woman in Kris's entire life. It was probably easy to ignore one another. They lived on opposite sides of the city. They went to different churches. They didn't mingle around the same people.

"I'll just get started with my questions. Do you mind if I record you?"

"Go right ahead."

Kris slipped out her cell phone and tapped the recorder app.

"Okay… well… could you tell me how old you were when you decided Hoodoo was a path that you wanted to follow?"

The wing-backed chair that Nedi sat in squeaked a bit when she sat forward and touched Kris's cell phone, stopping the recorder.

"You didn't come here to learn about my work. I know who you are. How is your grandmother?"

The smile that had plastered her mouth was still there, but the warmth from earlier had vanished.

Kris closed her pen inside the journal.

"I'm surprised you agreed to let me come inside your house since you know who I belong to."

"I was curious. I've heard of your talents."

"You have?"

"Oh, yes. Word travels around town when a new conjurer makes waves. I hear you are a strong one. May even surpass your Granny in the future. I also hear you are close to Rae Stevens."

"I'm friends with her grandson—"

"Erik."

Kris fell silent. Nedi's eyes had a devilish gleam in them. Her lips quirked and parted and Kris saw a sliver of the woman's tongue.

"Yes."

"I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some?"

"No. I'm not thirsty."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't lace it with anything."

Kris's eyes bulged with surprise.

"I'll be right back."

Nedi left Kris alone. A small miniature version of England's Big Ben clock sat on a mantle that may have once had a fireplace below it long ago. Kris stood and moved over to the accent table. Nedi was in every picture. A recent one had Nedi standing next to a young woman that recognized. Dionne.

She picked up the picture frame. The two women stood in front of a church.

"My Goddaughter," Nedi said.

She returned with a saucer and teacup and sat back in the wing-back chair. Kris looked back at the woman. Nedi's eyes narrowed. There was no smile on her mouth.

Goosebumps rose on Kris's skin when she saw Nedi's right index finger and middle hovering above the arm of the chair moving slowly in a sly pattern. Kris dropped the picture back on the table and made a small circle with her entire hand in front of her stomach before striding back to the small loveseat where her journal sat. The old woman was bold. Not even hiding her shadow work. Painting hand sigils all out in the open.

"You have been trained well," Nedi said.

"I have, so let me get to it."

"Please do little girl."

Kris's mind tied up what she suspected into a neat bow.

"Dionne is your Trojan horse. You couldn't have Noble Stevens, so you'll take his grandson to get back at your ex-friend."

Nedi sipped her tea. The candle flames flickered wildly. There was no air blowing in the room. No open window allowing a sudden breeze to disrupt the once static flames. Whatever caused the flames to bend toward Kris came from Nedi. The woman's energy was thick throughout the parlor. It weighed on Kris making her eager to leave the house.

"That's only the half of it little girl."

Kris's skin had the sensation of small bugs crawling up and down her arms. She jumped up grabbing her things.

"He doesn't love Dionne. Your tricks won't work for long."

"I don't do tricks. Believe that. Ask your grandmother, better yet, ask Rae what I can do when I really get cooking."

"I know about what you did to her first baby."

Nedi blinked then. A new cruel smile spread across her lips.

"I'm working a little different this time around. I'll be helping to bring new life into the world. Not taking it out. Yes, Lord. Big plans are in the works. We'll have what's ours."

"We?"

"Yes. Me, Dionne… and now Erik. All that was lost will be found. What does the good book say? Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you…"

Nedi sipped her tea again as Kris rushed past her. She grabbed her umbrella and flung the front door open. Her legs pumped fast to get to her car. She tried not to skid or hydroplane in the rain as she barreled down the highway.

TLS was half full when she ran in searching for Erik. Rekia stood behind the bar pulling receipts out of the cash register.

"Thought you quit," Rekia teased.

The expression on Kris's face made her drop her smile fast.

"What is it?"

"Erik here?"

"He's over at the bull ride—"

Kris ran to the side of the bar and headed toward the back. Erik stood next to the barrier watching his customers hoot and holler with excitement. She grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"We have to talk."

"About?"

"Dionne."

He rolled his eyes.

"Erik, please. I'm trying to help you."

He shook his head and closed his eyes for a second.

"I don't want to see you."

His words were flat. Unfeeling. When he opened his eyes, a coldness seeped out from them. Eyes that were as cold as Nedi's when Kris left her parlor.

Let him get taken.

The thought floated into her mind.

"I hate you. You'll never see my ass again," she said.

Her words were just as flat as his.

"Good. We finally agree on something."

Kris noticed a brand-new chain hanging around Erik's neck. It was gold and dangling from it was a new charm. He was a damn fool. She reached for it and flicked the jewelry with her finger.

"Watch your condoms, playboy," she called to him as she left the saloon.

###

Kris's threats to never see Erik again proved fruitless.

He saw her everywhere he went.

Concerts. A movie theater. Furniture store. Cookout parties.

A lot of it was because she was pals with Rekia, and Rekia knew everyone and went everywhere anyway. Sometimes Kris was with Rekia. Sometimes it was Rekia and a group of other women. Sometimes she was by herself. It was inevitable he'd see her at family brunches, but he had stopped going once his grandmother denied Dionne. He stopped hanging around his cousins because the guilt would get to him. Dionne hadn't done one unkind thing to anyone, and she was treated like a pariah because of superstitious women who played with bones and powders and claimed to read auras and shit.

Erik questioned Dionne about her Godmother so she took him to meet her. The woman was harmless. She seemed lonely and was very chatty with him and Dionne. He let all talk and thoughts of Hoodoo fall away and just focused on enjoying his woman. TLS Austin was doing well. He was making money hand over fist and Blue was excited about looking into Dallas sooner than later. He was a little exhausted though. Biandro left for North Carolina and he took on more responsibilities at The Roux.

He spent his downtime with Dionne and her family. Sunday dinners with her parents. Bowling with her siblings and friends. Life was different. Hectic. He missed his house. Big Man. There were sneak onto the ranch days when his grandmother was at church. He'd ride Big Man for an hour, switch out his clothes, then head back over to Dionne's for the rest of the week. His lady wasn't a homebody, so they were out in the streets every night. He spent a lot of money on her. But she was extravagant with him too. Fancy weekend getaways. Jewelry. Expensive restaurants. It had been months since he'd enjoyed a home-cooked meal or spent a weekend in bed.

Spotting Kris out and about reminded him of his time with her in her house. Cooking together. Long days making love and then binging tv shows. Just sitting next to each other doing nothing but talking.

Dionne noticed Kris a lot too with him, and that didn't make her happy. When those moments happened, they'd get back to Dionne's place, and she'd insist on giving him body massages or back rubs. She'd oil up her hands and knead out all memories of the day in the knotted muscles across his body and he would drift into a blissful sleep with her curled on top of him, cooing in his ear, and tracing her fingers across his skin.

One night he ran the bar to cover for a bartender who had a birthday. He'd cut back his time at TLS focusing more work time on The Roux to help Selena. But mainly it was to be with Dionne more. She started complaining that he worked too much and had already stopped working long hours with her company to make time for him. Dionne expected the same in return.

The night jumped with action, and he enjoyed himself. One customer who came and sat at the bar was a dude he knew from high school who ran with a rough crowd. Erik chatted with him, catching up on who was doing well and who wasn't from their shared past. It was scary to think how his life could've gone dangerously left hanging with the man like he used to.

The evening wore on, and Erik ended up sitting with the man who went by the nickname Peanut. They drank beer and listened to the live band until Erik noticed Savion walking in. He was alone and took a booth in a corner and ordered some food. Two other men walked in and gave Savion some Dap and sat with him.

"Peanut, see that dude over there in the red Hockey shirt? I'm trying to figure out who he is. I know this lil honey he tips around with sometimes, but no one can tell me who his people are."

Peanut squinted.

"Where he stay?"

"Near The Dip. I've seen him with Vernon's cousin one time, but I don't fuck with Vernon, so y'know… can't get much from that."

"I'll check him out for you."

"Thanks."

Peanut kept staring at Savion.

"He do look like this dude from down in Beaumont, but that nigga long gone or dead," Peanut said.

Erik slapped Peanut on the shoulder.

"Alright, partna, I'ma get on home," Erik said.

He walked past Savion and gave the man a once over, and for a tiny fraction of a second, he thought of Kris and wondered if that man was going to sleep with her when he left TLS. His cell vibrated in his pocket.

A text from Dionne.

She couldn't wait to give him another massage.

When Erik saw Savion's face again, the man turned away from him quickly, like he didn't want to be seen.