Excerpt From Coming Novel

Beyond The Ugly

Chapter Two

The burning summer sun grew tired and drifted beyond the horizon. The colorful rays of its evening attire painted the evening sky a breathtaking orange hue. Ayanna might have seen many sunsets, but her tiring two-hour trip on the I-71 robbed her of the focus on this heavenly splendor. Exhausted after four days of conference and a grueling workshop at her first healthcare symposium, she fought to keep her eyes open. With mixed emotions, she reflected on her desire to add a vacation day to her four-day conference and the call of home, which had left her feeling guilty.

     The hanging banner draped across the fast-flowing highway welcomed her to Cincinnati. Her body aches for home. The anticipation became unbearable as the words on the yellow overhead signs read, “Hogsville next right.” Having left the highway fifteen minutes behind her, her heart gave a happy jig from the pungent aroma of cedar and pine wafting in the fresh evening breeze as she cruised along the winding single-lane street with overhanging trees. The feeling intensified as the thoughts of her husband entered her mind. The rustic scenes and scent of good old Hogsville welcomed her. Goose pimples infested her arms. That quaint rural town, with its vast grand mansions perched on acres of wooded property, was her reprieve from the concrete congestion of Columbus.

     She ached for the comfort of her oversized tub and its foaming bubbles or the warm torrent of aromatic water flowing over her tired frame. Her favorite was the caressing spray of tiny aquatic rays flowing from the giant shower head.  Eyes closed, she drifted through her thoughts, her heart heaving with anticipation. She popped her eyes open, scaring herself. It is the feel of an enchanted forest with its arched trees and colorful leaves hanging, falling, and decorating the roadway. It evoked a romantic twilight zone, with the call of desire from the unseen, the imagined, the fictitious, everywhere yet nowhere.

     Awaken from the ghastly seconds, her eyes caught the old photo of herself that Baxter kept in his Mustang. It reminded her of her size eight days. At thirty-nine and a size twelve, she was still feeling like twenty-one. Musing about the picture and its backstory brought chills. She touched it and smiled, reflecting on when and where the photo was taken.

     Basked in her comforting thoughts, she dismissed them as sights and scenes of her little community came into view. She turned onto her street; her heart raced with anticipation.  Amused by the hideous color scheme of a house she passed, Ayanna shook her head and chuckled. The image replayed in her head, jolting her. She slammed on her brakes. “Wait a minute,” she reasoned. Her face tightened. Reaching down, she grabbed the gear stick, threw the car into reverse, and quickly backed up for a second look. It was her house. “What the hell?” she mumbled and raced the red Mustang into the driveway, parking it behind her Odyssey.

     Sitting there, she probed the building and its surroundings with the curiosity of a first-time visitor. “What in God’s name happened here?” she thought.

     Ayanna left the car in the driveway, stepped up on the front porch, jammed her key in the door, twisted it, and gave the door a vicious shove. Stepping into the spacious family room, she glanced behind the door to see what it was hitting.

    Baxter grabbed his forehead and winced, twisting his face in pain. “Welcome home, " he mumbled and forced a smile.

     “Oops, sorry. You ok?” She glanced at his forehead while rubbing his shoulder.

     “Yes, just a slight bump; my hand cushioned the impact… But what’s up with the aggression? You pushed the door as if you were mad at it or something… Had a rough trip back, uh?”

     Again, she apologized, “I’m sorry.” She nestled in his embrace, which muffled her apology and yielded to his kiss. After their quick bonding and reconnecting, she pulled away and picked up a bag containing gifts. “I am so exhausted,” she complained while they walked to the kitchen. “Oh, my bag is in the car. Could you get it for me, babe?”

     Baxter had just gone through the door, her lanky nine-year-old descended on her with hugs, an animated dance, and big, broad smiles.

Low on energy, she moved her upper body and hummed a melody to encourage his celebration.

     Ayanna sat down. He sat on her. “I missed you, mom.”

     She hugged him and kissed his forehead. “I missed you too, honey… Where is your sister?”

     Melvin’s eyes caught the bag of presents and beamed as he looked from the bag to his mom. “Did you get me an Xbox game, huh, mom? Did you, did you?”  He jumped off her lap and rummaged through the bag, assessing each gift with a vigorous shake. He buzzed from one present to another like a bee going from flower to flower.  His excitement amused Ayanna as she watched him shaking and guessing.

     She giggled and hugged him, warning, “Not all those gifts are yours.” The open door got her attention. Baxter fought his way in with two pieces of luggage. She called out, “You want my help?”

     “No, I’m good,” Baxter told her.

     “Where is Julieana?” she asked Melvin. 

     Ripping the wrapper off the bulkiest present, Melvin asked, “Is this mine, mom?”

     Ayanna yanked the box from him. He looked at her. She asked again, counting the words, with a wide-eyed reprimand, “Where - is - your - sister?”

     “She is upstairs,” he answered with a deflated sulk.

     “Go get her… Tell her I’m home.”

     Mel hurried to the living room, looked up at the loft, and yelled, “Julie, Mom’s home!”

     She hurried to her feet, and with a few brisk steps, she got to the dining room, where she could see him, and yelled, “Mel!”

     Melvin turned around. “What?”

     “I would’ve done that if it were polite. Now go upstairs and let your sister know she is to come down, and don’t you ever answer me ‘what.’ Let this be the last time. You heard me?”

     “She is to come down… But mom—”

     “No buts! No present until both of you are in this kitchen.”

     “In the kitchen.” Because of his disability, Melvin would often repeat the last phrases of a sentence in the form of a question. His parents never mentioned it to his doctor. They expected it to be temporary. Baxter ignored her interaction with Melvin and hurried the luggage upstairs to their bedroom.

     Ayanna went to the living room, threw herself on the couch, and called out, “Honey, there are gifts in the kitchen for you and the children. I have names written on them.”

     Melvin sat on the floor and ripped open his gifts, but Julieana collected hers, walked to the couch, hugged her mom, thanked her, and went up the stairs to her room.

     Ayanna removed the pins from her long brown hair and let it flow on the couch as she threw herself back. Baxter sat beside her, reached for her feet, took off her shoes, and gently massaged them.

     She always enjoyed his foot rubs, but this one was laced with something special. She closed her eyes; her body went limp as she secretly moaned with pleasure. She was like butter in his arms, but the thought of the hideous paint job kept interrupting. She knew she would have to bring it up at some point but for now, the foot rub was a reasonable down payment.

     “That’s better,” Baxter whispered. “You are so tense… are you okay…? I know that a trip from Columbus can be brutal…” Every pause and anticipated answer produced nothing. Ayanna knew if she were to tell him how she felt, the foot rub would be over, and she was not ready.

    “Honestly, Baxter continued, “I didn’t think you would get here so soon. You must have broken a few road rules to get here.” She successfully ignored his chatter until he said, “We have a surprise for you.”

     “Oh. What kind of surprise?” She sat up and looked into his eyes, hoping it was not the horrible paint job he was calling a surprise. Yes, it is really a surprise, but not a good one.

     “First, you must tell me what you got me. I missed you,” he whispered, kissing her shoulder.

 She wanted to return his affection, but she felt that ignoring the weight on her heart would be like sweeping an elephant under the rug. Trying to keep her emotions in check, she opted for a more casual interaction. “I was only gone for a few days,”

     “But it was like an eternity.” Baxter fired by kissing her neck. “We have never been apart so long.”

     His words disarmed her, penetrating the emotional forcefield she had erected. She looked into his eyes and looked away, fighting to keep a straight face and restraining her pent-up desire. She laid her back on him and allowed her eyes to wander.

    Ayanna heard the slow-counting footsteps descending the stairs and knew it was Julieana. On her way to the kitchen, she blurted out, “He bought a dog for Melvin.”

     Ayanna sprang to her feet, her eyes wide open, staring down at Baxter. “Really, really?” Her face animated with a broad smile as she turned her head in every direction, her eyes wide with expectation and anticipation.

     Baxter yelled at Julieana. “You can’t keep a secret to save your life! Oh my gosh. You just ruined the surprise.

     Ayanna continued to celebrate, asking, “What kind did you get? Where is she? Is it a female?” She probed the faces, but no one was saying anything. Julie got what she came for and returned to her room.

     Baxter spoke slowly and pointedly as the instructor he was, preparing Ayanna to meet the new family pet. “Ok, it’s a ‘he’ with unique features. He is a crossbreed with quite a challenging history.” He turned to Melvin, “Ok Champ. Go get your dog.” Melvin hurried down the basement and returned with his dog.

     Ayanna jumped back in terror and screamed. She attempted to flee, to seek protection from what she feared was a dangerous creature. Stumbling over the coffee table, she crashed into Melvin and fell to the floor. Not mindful of what might have been bruised or broken, she flipped over on her bottom and pedaled backward. With her heel dug into the floor and her hands behind her, she pushed herself away from what she deemed imminent danger.  Her deafening scream terrified Melvin. Baxter hurried to her and helped her to her feet. “She looked at him, eyes wide open, her arms trembling. “Is this a joke? If it is, it is not funny.”

     “Confused and offended, “What kind of question is that? You think I would bring a dog home just to prank you?”

     “There is no way in HELL we are keeping that thing!” She lashed out. “We are not keeping it, you hear me?” She threw up her hands and turned away. “We are not keeping it. Take it back!”