A Painted Smile

  A Painted Smile

  B.M. Hardin

  Savvily Published LLC

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2015© B.M. Hardin

  ISBN-10: 0-9915281-8-2

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9915281-8-9

  This book is solely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any persons, places, events or locales are coincidental. The story is fictitious therefore a nothing more than a product of the author’s imagination.

  Acknowledgments

  First, God has blessed me with this talent and it is to him that I give thanks and honor for allowing me to borrow such an extraordinary gift.

  Secondly, I’d like to acknowledge my family. They have pushed me even when I didn’t want to be pushed so to all of you I want to say thank you.

  Lastly, I want to acknowledge all of those that help me with my writing. Whether it is editing, proofreading, reading and reviewing, all of you play a major role in my success and with helping me become a better writer and author. To you I say thank you.

  B.M. Hardin-

  A Painted Smile-2015

  Twitter: @BMHardin1

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorbm

  Email: info@savvilypublished.com Attention B.M.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to Decloria Richardson. She is one of my biggest supporters and has been there for me during my entire writing career as well as before. She’s my pudding pop on a stick and her encouragement, support, faith in me and extra push means the world to me.

  Thank you for being a friend, which we all know that a good one today is hard to find.

  A Painted Smile

  Chapter One

  “Come on, let’s do this. I’ve been waiting all day for this. I just want you to do what I need you to do and then you can go back home to your wife,” I said to Simon.

  “Wow, you don’t have to make me feel so used and cheap do you?” he pouted as I rolled my eyes.

  Without responding to his question, I simply took off my robe, exposing my naked frame.

  Simon’s eyes became as big as golf balls as the robe timidly fell to the floor…

  ***

  “Do you know why I named you Storm?” Mama asked me as she came and sat next to me on the steps.

  I smiled at her but I didn’t respond.

  “One evening, similar to this one, I was sitting on the top step of the house that your father and I’d just purchased. It wasn’t much of house; not very big at all, and even quite ugly to say the least, but it was ours. It was something that we could be proud of and we could finally say that we had something that belonged to just us. Anyway, I sat there and as your father moved things around inside, I stared up at the sky. The breeze was cool and the sky was painted a mysterious, dark grey. As my soft, black curls constantly harassed my face, I peered off into the distance. It was obvious that an awful storm was coming---but I didn’t care. Everyone else was running, scurrying about, trying to get their clothes off of their lines, and hustling inside from their cars, but I just sat there. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just sat still. I just wanted to sit in silence and wait for the rain to come. But the funny thing was, every time the sound of thunder cracked its whip at the sky, you would kick inside of my belly. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but it wasn’t. The thunder would sound, and you would kick. I found it nothing less than amazing. I knew that it was a moment that I would never forget. And I knew then that there was no better name for you, than to name you Storm.”

  Mama grinned and touched my face at the completion of her sentence. She inhaled deeply but she didn’t say another word. We both just sat there, quietly, enjoying Mother Nature.

  After a while, she stood to her feet and hesitantly began to make her way back inside. I watched her until she was out of sight.

  I smiled in remembrance of the words that she’d just said.

  Of all of the tales, stories and riddles she’d told me throughout my lifetime, she’d never told me the story of where my name had come from.

  But the name, my name, fit me perfectly.

  Almost immediately after Mama had entered the house, I heard her ordering and bossing Daddy around as usual. I could hear him chuckling, knowing that he didn’t have a choice except but to follow her demands. Sure, he’d like to think that he wore the pants in their marriage, but he and I both knew who was really in charge.

  My parents were over again for the third time this week, helping me get settled into my new home.

  I was in my late twenties, but I was on a mission. I’d just purchased my first home, which was a major accomplishment and milestone for me.

  It was one less thing on my to-do list.

  No matter what roads I had to travel, I was determined to make something of myself. My parents were going to be proud of me and most importantly, I was going to be proud of myself.

  I’d graduated second in my high school class, and ended up being fourth in my college class.

  Though I had plenty of brains, my dream was something simple, and that was to eventually start and run my very own daycare.

  I’d been working at a local daycare for the last few years, and I was about ready to make my move toward entrepreneurship.

  I absolutely loved kids. I’d always wondered if it was because I was an only child. I was sure that was part of the reason.

  I’d always hoped for siblings but when I was around five, Mama had to have a hysterectomy so that ruined my chances of a brother or sister.

  My Mama talked a time or two about adoption, but for some reason or another, the plans to do such a thing never followed through.

  But on the bright side of things, I had a host of cousins and since Mama was a stay at home mother, she was always watching or babysitting someone else’s kids, so I had plenty of interaction growing up.

  But it still wasn’t the same.

  My childhood was pretty much perfect, and other than lacking siblings, it couldn’t have been much better.

  My Daddy, Albert Rivers, was an Average Joe, who worked at a plant or factory that he eventually retired from after thirty years of service. He’d climbed all the way up the ladder to Head Supervisor of an entire department before he’d finally had enough and wanted to enjoy his golden years with Mama.

  I admired their relationship, even envied it a little. It wasn’t perfect, not at all, but if I could just get a piece of what they shared, I was sure that it would be enough to keep me happy for the rest of my life.

  A love like theirs was full of growth, encouragement and durability with just enough romance.

  Who wouldn’t want a love like that?

  On that note, I was currently single and boy did Mama find a way to remind me of it every…single…day! She reminded me constantly that if I didn’t settle soon, it might be too late.

  I thought that I had all of the time in the world, but Mama saw things differently. She was so impatient and was constantly trying to fix me, in hopes that my Boaz would recognize me and hurry up and wife me.

  I was almost there once.

  Yep, I was almost someone’s wife.

  But almost just doesn’t count…especially in Mama’s book.

  I’d gotten engaged to who I’d thought was the love of my life but before we could fully start the wedding planning process, I had to do what was best for me.

  Simon and I started out as friends, for years, and eventually fell in love. To this day, he was still one of the closet and most dearest friends that I had but he just hadn’t been the husband for me.

  He, Simon, was okay for someone who wanted a full, professional, jammed packed life. A life with him was full of money, meetings, dinner parties and things like that but that life wasn’t the life that I wanted.

  I
wanted something different, something more. I wanted an average life, with kids, a dog, and enough money so that we were comfortable, stable, but not so much that we would find ourselves paying more attention to making the money, rather than the simple things in life, and the things that mattered the most.

  Each other.

  Indeed, I was still one of the few women who preferred love over riches.

  And despite Mama’s disappointment, I was okay with being just me and waiting for the man that would fit my needs to come along.

  So, unfortunately for him, I gave him back his ring and told him to find the woman of his dreams, because I wasn’t her and eventually he’d found her.

  Now, Simon hadn’t been the only good man that had crossed my path. I’d had plenty of good men in my life and had yet to have too many bad experiences.

  Of course I’d run across the player type here and there, but I’d only been in three rather serious relationships and all of them ended on my terms.

  So, as for now, I was available, but I wasn’t exactly looking. The way I saw it was that it would happen when it was supposed to happen.

  Hopefully, my next love would be the last love, so that I could get started having these babies that I so desperately desired, though Mama probably wanted them more.

  That woman always wanted something, and would do anything in her power to get it.

  Allowing my thoughts of marriage and babies to fade away, I got up from the steps just as the rain drops began to fall.

  I stared at the rain as it hastily fell from the sky and splattered against the bottom steps. Recalling the story that Mama had shared with me only moments before, I smiled as to how perfect my name fit me as a person. I absolutely loved the rain and everything about a nice, long and loud storm.

  I entered the house still wearing the smile on my face and with my heart full of peace and joy.

  Though I lacked in a few areas of my life according to most, I knew that for the most part, I was happy.

  And there was just something about being genuinely happy.

  Life could only get better.

  ***

  To me, a bad date was like a yeast infection.

  It was like no matter how much you scratched at it or clawed at it, the itch was still there until you took care of it properly.

  That was my exact feeling at the moment and I couldn’t wait for this date to be over.

  He was a nice guy and was doing pretty much all of the right things, but the chemistry just wasn’t there.

  No matter how much I probed for it, or tried to pull it out of him, he was just an absolute bore. Not a single spark flew all night and I must say that I was just a tad bit disappointed.

  I was old enough to know by now what I was looking for in a man and I knew almost immediately that he just didn’t have it.

  But nevertheless, I kept my game face on and a painted smile on my face the entire night.

  “I enjoyed myself tonight. Thank you for such an amazing time,” I lied.

  “You’re welcome. I enjoyed being with you too. So, since we enjoy each other so much, how about a little night cap?” he smiled.

  He was kidding…right?

  I literally almost mocked him but I bit my tongue instead.

  Other than the fact that we had nothing in common, this was only our first date. I mean, I had nothing against those that gave up the goods on the first date but I wasn’t that type of woman.

  Yes, some actually ended up falling in love and getting married afterwards, but I was old school. My goodies had to be earned.

  Plain and simple.

  “No night cap for me, I have to go to work early in the morning. I’ll call you,” I lied again and hurried up the steps, slamming and locking the door behind me.

  Just as I took off my shoes, my phone began to ring.

  “So what, I’m good enough to take you out to a five star restaurant, and let you order whatever you want from the menu? Then I take you dancing, and for a stroll around the park in a carriage, but I’m not good enough to come inside of your house or lay in your bed? Hell, we didn’t even have to have sex,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes and accidently groaned aloud with frustration.

  He couldn’t be serious.

  “Look, I told you, I have to go to work early in the morning. Thank you for a wonderful night---goodnight.”

  I hung up before he had a chance to say anything else, but I guess that was what set him off.

  Out of nowhere, he started to kick at my front door and then proceeded to banging on my windows.

  I couldn’t believe that he was the same man that I’d just spent the last five hours of my life with.

  What a waste of my time!

  I didn’t hesitate to call the police and in only a matter of minutes, they arrived.

  “Police, open up.”

  I opened the door with caution and looked past the officers, but there was nothing to see.

  He was long gone.

  “Hi officers, thank you for coming but I’m fine. He’s gone.”

  “What happened?”

  Briefly I told the officers my side of the story.

  “Would you like to make a report, to have it on file…just in case he comes back?”

  The officer that spoke had to be one of the most unattractive men on the planet Earth. He reminded me of a dog…mixed with a horse. The more he spoke, the more I wanted to saddle up and go horseback riding.

  In the words of my grandmother, God rest her soul, he was surely the ugliest thing I ever did see.

  But the officer that stood beside him, silently, was intriguingly handsome.

  He just stood there, wordless, only looking at me as I spoke. He wasn’t male model handsome or anything like that, but he was still a sight to see.

  Out of habit, I glanced down at his hand for a wedding ring and I was surprised when I didn’t find one.

  “Well, if you change your mind, you can always come down to the station at a later time.”

  “Thank you officers, will do,” I nodded at them and started to close the door.

  The silent officer still didn’t say a word and I watched them as they headed back to their car.

  Closing the door behind me, I stood there for a second to get myself together.

  I couldn’t help but slightly entertain thoughts about the silent officer; it was just something about him.

  I wasn’t big on looks, and I didn’t particularly have a type of guy that I preferred, physically that is, but he had definitely caught my eye.

  Oh well, I’d probably never see him again I concluded as I checked the locks on the doors one last time before making my way to my bedroom.

  Hmm…maybe I should have at least asked his name…

  The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my wailing alarm.

  Usually I was always so eager to get my day started and get to work, but apparently, this morning, I’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

  Pressed for time, I forced myself out of bed, showered, and rushed to my car with only minutes to spare before I was due to clock in.

  Just as I reached for the car door handle, I noticed that both of the tires on my driver’s side were flat. Out of curiosity, I walked around to the passenger side, and found that those tires were flat too.

  So, one or two things must have happened.

  Either my date from Hell had come back later on that night, or he had done his dirty deed before he left.

  Either way, in my mind he was officially labeled as crazy. Its funny how there can be certain things about a person that you just don’t see, until you press the right button.

  Anyway, a trip down to the police station was definitely necessary; you know, just in case.

  “Just let us know if you need us,” the officer said, handing me a hand full of papers. I nodded my head and headed out the door.

  “Hello.”

  I smiled at the officer and gentleman.

  It was the silent, sta
ring officer from the night before.

  “Hi,” I flirted.

  “What happened? Did he come back?” He asked, nodding in the direction of the papers in my hand.

  “Yes, I think so,” I shrugged.

  He didn’t respond.

  He only nodded, put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

  He was surely a weird one wasn’t he?

  I opened my mouth but instead of yelling after him, I rolled my eyes and headed in the direction of the cab that was waiting for me.

  The cat never chases the dog---and it didn’t make sense to change the rules now.

  Despite a rough morning, work went by with a breeze and I arrived home to see that Daddy was putting the last tire on my car.

  I thanked my co-worker for the ride home, and stared at him as he worked diligently, still surprisingly unaware that he was being watched.

  Daddy was and always had been a challenging man to deal with but he was undeniably one of the smartest, loving, funniest men that I’d ever known.

  During my childhood, he was pretty much invisible. All he ever did was work. He was always working a double or pulling extra hours to make sure that Mama and I had more than enough.

  I could remember not seeing him at times for almost a whole 48 hours or so. He’d be gone to work before I got up for school some mornings, and wouldn’t come home until I’d already gone to bed.

  In my opinion, he was the ideal image of what a hardworking man looked like. He tried his best to make sure that we didn’t want for anything and he didn’t care if it took all of his free time to make it happen.

  There were a few times that I’d overheard Mama asking him if there was someone else, if he was having an affair, but he’d always insisted that he was just working. He’d managed to later buy Mama the house of her dreams, a BMW, and put me through college without any assistance or even losing a wink of sleep. It wasn’t until after all of that that Mama was sure that he had been telling the truth.

  But since he’d retired, I’d gotten to know him, the real him and not just the figure in my life that was known for paying the bills and writing the checks. Daddy was witty and told some of the funniest stories and jokes that I’d ever heard.