ColorBlind: A Story of Forbidden Love

Chapter Two

Chapter two

"I remember the day Mista  MacloVoy announced that Lil' Toby was gon' be visiting. The whole house was in a flurry, see now, Toby hadn't been by to visit in 5 years considering he had been at college and all studying to be a lawyer. He passed the bar and the family wanted to celebrate. Mista MacloVoy said we was having a party and all the family was coming. He told me that the house had to be spotless and it was my job to get it done, along with the help of Dorothy of course. I can remember everyone's excited faces, even the cook was happy. Dorothy, when we were finally alone, asked me about Toby and why everyone seemed to love him so much. 'If he anything like that Katie, I don't see the big whoop!' I just giggled, 'that's the thing. He ain't nothing like Katie. He's the complete opposite actually. Everybody loves Lil' Toby." She just shook her head. We got to cleanin like Mista had told us. And that's when it all happened. It happened so fast you wouldn't even believe it. Everyone was doin' their own thing. Me wipin' the walls, Mista chattin on the phone, Dorothy scrubbin the floors, and Katie standing over Dorothy watching over her like a hawk. Next thing you know, in comes Toby lookin like the full grown man he was. His dark brown hair slicked back with ease and his bright blue eyes comforting, reminding you of the lil tot he used to be. Only he wasn't a tot no more. He was a full 6'1 man dressed in the most expensive suit i'd ever laid my eyes on. It was him and he was home. A warmness filled my heart. Katie ran up to him, grabbin' him into this big bear hug. Toby laughed and held his younger cousin, picking her up and swinging her around. Once he put her down he greeted the rest of the family one by one and then the help. 'Hello Miss Esther.' he grinned through his perfect teeth. 'Hey there Lil' Toby' i grinned right back at him. He pulled me into a hug. That's when he saw her. He slowly put me down, not taking his eyes off her one bit. When i was on the ground, he looked at her and held out his hand. 'Hello. I've definitely never seen you before. What is your name?' 'Dorothy-Mae Morris, sir.' she answered meekly. 'Call me Toby.' he smiled back. There was a silence in the room. Katie cleared her throat trying to obviously break the tension in the air. Everyone had been watching their little introduction. Toby turned to talk to his father and mother but still kept a side eye on Dorothy. She did the same to him. The MacloVoy house was full of personality that  night. Everyone had come to see the wonderful Toby and everyone was proud. Even some spinsters came to check out the new bachelor who was finally home but Toby paid no mind to them. He had his eye on Dorothy the whole night. Watching her serve folks they drinks and pouring sugar on the elderly's tea. He couldn't get enough of her. It was like he was watching a movie. I saw him follow Dorothy into the kitchen and decided i would be nosey and follow myself. 'Hi.' he said scaring her. I had never seen Dorothy so jumpy before. I figured he had just made her nervous. 'Mista MaclVoy,' 'Toby. I asked you to call me Toby' 'Course…Toby' they just stared at each other. waiting for one to make the next move. 'Do you need help with the dishes?' he asked her. She looked at him confused, sorta like he was crazy. 'No sir, I wouldn't want to ruin your nice suit.' Toby looked down at himself and laughed. Then he took off the suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and said 'I guess you're right.' He turned on the sink water, poured in soap, and waited on Dorothy to lead. She moved slowly toward the sink and started to wash the dishes, watching him the entire time. He just smiled his smile. 'You think it's unusual for a white man to wash dishes in his own home?' Toby asked her…still smiling. She nodded, 'Well…considering its unusual for a colored man to pick up a dish in his own home, yes. I do.' ' I was raised to help a women, not make her feel obliged to do all the chores.' he replied back to her. Dorothy handed Toby the clean, wet dish to dry. As he was grabbing the dish their fingers touched, which caused them both to jump a little. They, once again, stared at each other. 'Toby,' I interrupted while walking into the kitchen. They both jumped of fear and looked at me. 'Son, you should probably get back to your guests and let me handle that.' He just nodded in agreement, grabbed his jacket, and headed out the kitchen door. On the way out he stopped and turned back, 'It was really nice meeting you…Dorothy.' Dorothy stood there, still and stunned. Her face blushing  at the way he said her name. Then he was gone. She quickly turned back to the sink and began washing the dishes again. For a while we sat in silence. 'So, do you like Toby?' i asked her with a raised brow. 'Huh. Um, yes he's a real gentlemen.' she replied obviously trying to cover up her fascination. I nodded slowly, 'He seems to like you too.' She looked at me with wide-eyes. She looked like a frightened deer. I had never seen her like this, it was almost frightening me. 'No. No, he was just being friendly. He's probably like that to all the help….' I stopped what I was doing completely and just looked at her. 'Honey, Toby is gentlemen but never ever have i seen him look at anyone the way he looked at you just now. Not even his white lady friends.' She stopped as well, trying to figure out what i was saying in her head, 'what are you saying?' 'I'm saying…be careful.' and that was that. I began drying again, while she sat there frozen in her thoughts processing my warning."