Dar Isses

Dark Kisses – Black Magic Woman… Part I

Copyright @ calibeachgirl and Jim Crowell

All rights reserved, 2011

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Chapter 1: Surf’s Up

I Got a Black Magic Woman…

I Got a Black Magic Woman…

Yes, I Got a Black Magic Woman…

She's got me so blind I can't see…

Kendra Smith stopped typing into her laptop and listened to David Christy as he once again explained the difference between wavelength, frequency and sets of waves at the beach. Unfortunately, except for her, there were no surfers in class to appreciate the information; unfortunately for them, next week was a lesson on the history of surfing and she already knew from former students the importance of Pipeline.

She followed his Powerpoint presentation downloaded the night before, adding her own interpretation and comments as she saw fit. At least the others, if not exactly paying close attention, were quiet. Why take an elective science class if you weren't really interested in the subject, especially one as esoteric as oceanography?

Each morning, she sat entranced as he spoke about one aspect or another of oceanography and when they went on the whale watch trip, she finally made up her mind. As the bell rang, ending the class, she walked out, smiling. He was the one she wanted, even if he was white and thirty-five.

**********

"Are you sure, Kendra, ma petite fille'? I don't know if you're old enough..."

"Grand mère, I've got to try before it's too late. I've found the man I want and I'm graduating in just a few months and then..."

"Bien, Kendra, I'll help you but it's powerful things that you're wanting to do. You must be convinced because there's no turning back. If you're wrong it will only lead to bad things."

"Grand mère..." Kendra said, giving the old woman a look she knew would melt her grandmother's heart.

"Très bien, do you have what I told you to get?"

Kendra hesitated. There would be no turning back once the incantation started. She looked at her grandmother and then at the objects she had removed from her book bag. Magie noire... the ability always skipped a generation and the secrets shared were never known by her mother. It was better that way, Kendra thought. If her mother knew what she was going to do, there'd be hell to pay.

The young woman pulled out the ziplock bags, each one holding a separate portion of the love spell she was desperate to cast. Onto the black velvet she put the rose petals, the corn, and the rock she had taken from Christy's collection at school. From her finger, she pulled the silver ring she bought two years earlier at the antique jewelry store in Torrance. Another plastic bag contained hair from the hairbrush.

The old lady looked at her granddaughter and smiled. She went into her kitchen and soon returned with two leaves from her orange tree, a spool of white thread, and a small silk bag. "Do you have the dirt?" she asked.

"Yes..." Kendra dug around in her bag and found the last plastic bag with dirt from her back yard. "...and here's his pen and I took his picture and printed it out."

"Then, let us begin..."

It never occurred to Kendra to wonder if David Christy already had a girlfriend.

**********

"Oh, Mom, don't be silly. You need un petit ami, un amant, is all I'm saying..." Kendra put another piece of cookie dough down on the pan. "...et, il est l'un pour vous. Why just today..."

Carolyn Smith looked at her daughter. Lately all she could talk about was her science teacher at the high school. As the evening arrived, they giggled like two young girlfriends, eating the chocolate cookies watching Angela Bassett in 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back.'

Kendra looked at her mother, wondering if the incantation had already begun to work.

**********

Carolyn looked closely into the mirror and peered at the tiny worry lines near her dark eyes. She teased out her curly ringlets a little more, wrapped a bright golden scarf around her dark skin, then stepped back and looked in the mirror, once last time. Satisfied, she stepped into her high heels and immediately rose four inches to a full six feet.

Ever since her daughter started filling dinner conversations with praise for her oceanography teacher, she tried to close her eyes to the gentle prodding Kendra gave her at least two-three times a week to meet the man. What man could be that wonderful? Against her better judgment, Carolyn's interest in the man grew and grew; until she realized this would be her best and possibly only opportunity to meet him.

Michael was never around when Kendra made her impassioned pleas to at least try... at least, once... with the man. She wasn't sure what her son would say and didn't want to argue with him about it.

After her husband had died in Iraq seven years earlier, Carolyn had devoted her life to her two children, Kendra and Michael. Trying to keep them away from the path that had destroyed so many others, she lived the life of a devoutly chaste nun... quite a trick, she thought, considering she was a Southern Baptist.

Last month, the radio talk shows starting discussing black women dating outside their race; Kendra heard it and immediately suggested her teacher, David Christy. Michael said nothing and finished his dinner in a silent sulk. Carolyn was sure that he would be unhappy if she dated; she was sure he still lived in the unreal shadow of his father... and, the idea that she would date a white man... she really wasn't sure what his reaction to that would be.

Kendra's constant praising of the man finally led her to this desperate ploy. If it didn't work, then, she vowed to just give up but at least her daughter would leave her alone. It was just, when she cried at night, so lonely. But, she thought, what would a reasonably good-looking single white man want with a 37-year-old black woman with two teenage children? Kendra was probably SO wrong.

One last look into the mirror, a light and almost sentimental touch on her wedding picture... satisfied as possible, she left for the school. "You turned my world upside down," she said to the photo, "and before I knew what was happening, we were married." She wondered what HE would have thought but then, he should have stayed home.

**********

"C'mon, here's your food, you stupid echinoderm." As soon as he said it, David realized how silly it was to talk to a starfish, even one as active as this one. He tapped the glass as he watched the five-armed, bumpy-skinned animal slowly making its way across the glass of the aquarium and moving over the thawed piece of shrimp. Its tiny sucking tube-feet waved in the water like something from a space-monster movie and carried the shrimp toward its mouth.

In the next tank, several dark, green striped shore crabs, Pachygrapsus crassipes to be exact, savagely attacked their share of the shrimp. Each one grabbed a piece and scuttled back into a corner or tiny rock cave to eat its dinner.

He was glad his new 'pets' had acclimatized themselves to the glassy confines of their new home. The weekend before, they had been living along the rocky, wave-splashed breakwater near Venice Beach. It was amazing, he reflected, what you could catch with a little time, some pieces of hot dog and a California scientific collector's permit. Sometimes, he felt he was a character in Steinbeck's Cannery Row.

If the weather held up, he planned on returning the next afternoon to get some sea anemones. He had left small rocks for them to shift to and planned on just picking them without any problem; trying to get them any other way usually ended with a dead animal.

Against his own advice, David tapped the glass, watching them raise their claws at the unseen threat.

He glanced at his cell phone... four o'clock and time to get a move on, he reflected. It was Friday afternoon and he was still undecided about the last league basketball game of the season. Most of the team had been his students at one time or another and they had been begging him to come all week. He sighed, deciding to go home... his empty home. Basketball had never been his game and he doubted anyone would miss him, anyway. The games were always packed.

When he had returned to his old high school to teach, it was strange to be one of the few whites, mostly faculty, on campus. The students now arrived courtesy of the bus from the north side of town instead of across the street.

There was a hesitant knock-knock-knock; as he turned his head, he saw a slightly older woman at the door, her bright smile in sharp contrast to her mocha-colored skin. Her gleaming dark hair, in fashionable ringlets, had a touch of red highlights. Her face was strangely sensual, with delicate brows arching above eyes so dark and lips so lush they were incredibly erotic.

Tall, slender and fine-boned, she had a splendid figure and her dark coloring was set off by a form-fitting white jacket and short, yellow pleated skirt baring her incredible legs to just above her knees.

David stood there with his hands in his pockets, though he didn't remember putting them there. He seemed entranced the moment he saw her.

Standing with her fingers loosely linked together before her, Carolyn's dark eyes were fixed on his face. Kendra had failed to mention how attractive the man was. How had that happened? It was magical.

He stood just about five ten, she guessed and maybe 170, 175 pounds. His dark reddish-brown hair had started to thin out a bit but it was his flashing gold-flecked amber eyes that really caught her attention. They seemed to smile at her as she caught his attention.

Her reaction was almost imperceptible, just a slight tightening of those lush lips and a flash of emotion skimming the darkness of her eyes.

"Mr. Christy? Hi, I'm Carolyn Smith... Kendra's mother? She mentioned you were thinking of going to tonight's game. It's the last one of the regular season and she said you haven't been to one game all year." She wondered how foolish she looked.

It was true, he hadn't been to one since he started teaching; he laughed, but kept it to himself. After all, at the high school, basketball was a way of life.

"Yes, Mrs. Smith.... how nice to finally meet you. Your daughter is a wonderful girl and an excellent student..." He held out his hand to her. "...and a great cook. I love the cookies she brings me every Monday."

"You can ride with us... that is, if you'd like?" She looked uncertainly at him, questioning at the last moment if it was such a good idea, after all, putting the man on the spot. She nervously rocked from one foot to the other. Oh, she fearfully thought, I am such a fool to do this. Why did I ever listen to Kendra?

"That's really nice of you. Sure... just let me close up, here." He immediately wondered what had caused him to agree. He had a strict and simple rule about socializing with parents. Don't...

"Let me help you," she said as she walked over to the street-side windows and began pulling them closed.

Kendra walked into the classroom and went to her mother. "Let me do that, mom," she said. The girl reached for the venetian blinds cord and pulled.

"Have you heard from Loyola, yet?" David asked. "They should have gotten back to you by now." He looked down into the tank at small ripples rapidly moving across the water's surface. Two of the small crabs had gotten into a fight over the last piece of shrimp and with claws up, faced off in the middle of the tank. He lowered the glass top silencing the constant hisssss of the bubbles and turned off the aquarium lights.

"Not yet, Mr. Christy; I hope they haven't lost it." The girl had a worried tone to her voice. College admissions were a life or death opportunity for graduating seniors and she was more deserving than most.

"Ah, don't worry. No matter what, I'll give Dr. Gentrilli a call Monday and see what's the 'hold up'. All finished with the windows?"

"Yes, thanks for your help with the college."

David straightened his tie and put on his sport coat. Satisfied the room was closed for the weekend, he closed and locked the door and followed them out of the building.

In the parking lot, Carolyn's clean but tired Honda Civic waited for them, resplendent in its fading silver-gray paint. She had hoped that the science department chairman would acquiesce to her invitation and come with them but now admitted to herself that her car wasn't all she hoped it would be. Once again, maybe offering him a ride wasn't such a good idea, after all. Too late for self-recriminations, now, she knew.

She was surprised he had not been caught up in the fever everyone else had about the undefeated team... maybe, he didn't care about sports. That was always possible, she thought but her wonderings were caught short as they turned the corner to the almost deserted parking lot.

"Mrs. Smith; thanks for the ride," he said, cheerfully as he settled into the car's front seat and buckled his belt.

"No, thank you for coming with us. Please, call me Carolyn. Mrs. Smith is SO formal. I was thinking... that is, we were thinking, we could treat you to dinner before the game... a small thank you for everything you've done for Kendra... and Michael, of course."

David looked at the woman. Her clothes, spotlessly clean and cared for, were still 'tired' and he felt strange accepting dinner from her. He was about to break his personal rule even further.

"Thank you, very much." He resolved to find a way to pay the bill, even if it meant stealing the receipt out from under her hand. He knew he'd have to find a more subtle solution to his situation... he couldn't bear to embarrass the two.

Kendra got into the back of the small car and as David got in and closed the door, he wondered why Mrs. Smith... that is, Carolyn, was so friendly. Helping Kendra get into his alma mater only seemed natural considering her grades and friendly attitude and certainly not worthy of this extra gratitude. He would have done it for anyone deserving the extra attention but now, he felt so much better helping the girl reach for her dreams.

**********

"...and, so I used ROTC to pay for college and joined the Air Force. Nothing exciting, I just got lucky to be stationed eventually at LAAFS working with satellites, finally becoming a lieutenant colonel. No excitement or anything like that, just did my job. Then, I came back to the school." David put down his iced tea. "Thanks, so much, for dinner... and the company, of course. How'd you know I'd like Red Lobster?"

"I... we just thought, you know, with your aquariums and all..." Carolyn said, smiling. The evening was going much better than expected. Instead of being shy or boastful, David had been the perfect dinner companion and had not ignored her daughter during the evening. He was so different from her husband's sometimes obnoxious friends. Fortunately, they had stopped coming around once they realized she wasn't interested in 'expanding' her lifestyle, as one had put it.

He laughed. "Well, that's funny." Looking at Kendra, he smiled. "Remind me to call the college, Monday. If necessary, I can arrange a visit for you, that is, if you and your mother would like that," he said. "We could go together... a personal tour."

"We'd appreciate any help you can give us. Kendra wants to be a marine biologist, like you," she said, taking another hot biscuit from the bowl. "I think you've had a great influence on her." Carolyn looked at her daughter trying to hide behind her hands, self-conscious from her mother's remarks. "I never thought I'd have a daughter that surfs!" She laughed. "Beach girl!"

"That's great! Especially living here on the coast..." David looked in the basket but all the biscuits were gone. He looked for the waitress.

Carolyn appreciated his enthusiasm but had one question. "How did someone so interested in the sea join the Air Force? It doesn't..."

"...make sense? Well, you'd think so but it allowed me to stay here. I did have to take a double major, though, one in engineering. I still use it once in a while, to explain things in class, like today's lecture on waves and frequency and things like that but that's about it." He looked at his cell phone. "Uh oh, I think we missed... what is it? tip-off? ...looks like we're going to be late." He hated it went he looked ignorant about sports but his interests had always lain anywhere else.

"Would you like dessert?" Carolyn asked, glancing at the small dessert cards near the edge of the table.

"Only if you let this be my treat," he quickly responded. "I'd like the key lime pie. How about you? Kendra?" He could tell the girl had been wistfully looking at the dessert pictures. He wondered how often they were able to eat out.

"This was supposed to be our treat," Carolyn gently disagreed... embarrassed, now.

"I insist. It's the least I can do." David flipped the dessert card over. "C'mon. Mmmm... chocolate..." He slowly pushed the cards toward her, a smile on his face. "Chocolate..." he said, making a passable imitation of the Cookie Monster.

Carolyn decided to give in. She saw his masculine ego required him to offer and she had taken grocery money to pay for dinner. She really couldn't afford the dinner and yet... she was glad she had taken the chance.

"Thank you. You're most kind." She chose the apple crumb and Kendra, the chocolate lava cake. The waitress took the orders and left.

"No, thank YOU," he said. "I haven't had such a nice evening since I don't know when. You know, we could always pretend we went to the game." He knew he'd rather be there, at dinner with them than any basketball game.

"We'll get there, sooner or later... even if it's the last two minutes. You know how long that can take."

A look of incomprehension flashed across his face.

"You know," she said, feeling his embarrassment, "with all the time outs." Was he really that ignorant of the game? How could he not know basketball?

"Oh, yes, of course, with the time outs." He realized his lack of interest in the game put him at a distinct disadvantage and he was looking foolish.

"You really don't like basketball, at all, do you?" She had to wonder... how could he not like basketball? What kind of man was he? With Michael, it was a way of life.

He looked at both of them and then surreptitiously looked around the restaurant. "Can you keep a secret? Never really watched a game at all... I never had the time, either studying or working and then, of course, the Air Force and the war... so, no, I've never really watched a game. Tonight would have been the first one."

David took another small bite of his pie. "Truth is... sports pales in comparison to protecting this country. After that..." He let the comment die on his lips, remembering her son was playing even as they ate.

She graciously let him pay the check. His words brought her husband's memory to the forefront. David was right. Everything else paled in comparison.

That night, Carolyn slept with a smile on her face. It had been years since she had gone out to dinner and the evening, even with Kendra's chaperoning eye there, had been wonderful. They arrived, indeed, for the last two minutes of the game which lasted close to ten more and at the end of the game, Kendra went with her friends, leaving the two of them alone.

Even the long drive back to the school went quickly as he told her about life in the Air Force and she told him about her husband, John, and his two tours in Iraq. The last one ended with his death from a roadside bomb two weeks before he was to come home. Even after all the years, she still felt a piece of her life was missing. She wondered if David would be able to fill part of it. Was she trading one warrior for another? A gentle warrior? She wished she had met him years earlier when she needed so much help raising Kendra and her brother. But, she wondered, would she have been so open to start a new relationship?