Brown Sugar

Chapter Eleven.

"Lorenzo?" Beyoncé asked, turning to open the door.

"I saw the police driving up. It looks like they went a couple of doors down," he spoke.

Beyoncé moved to stand next to Lorenzo, watching the same officers knocking on Alice's door with the same amount of patience —or lack-there-of that they had knocking on hers.

"What's going on?" Lorenzo asked as she invited him inside of her home. She didn't mind.

"It's nothing. Well, the police came poking 'round, asking about Raymond Neely and Mary Tate— saying that he raped her. They must have nothin' better to do than harass colored folk 'cause they sure aren't protecting us," Beyoncé scoffed. "It's good to see you!" She immediately smiled at the handsome view that towered over her.  Lorenzo sat at the kitchen table with her.

Lorenzo ran a hand through his short, dark hair, wondering where to start. "It's good to see you too, Bey. Some guys at the gym say that Ray and Mary have been sneaking around together for most of the year. I train with a lot of colored guys, some of whom live here, and they swore that it was true.

Well, old Councilman Tate found out that his daughter was running 'round with a poor colored man...and you're an intelligent girl, Bey. I think you can figure out the rest," he frowned. 

Beyoncé rested her hands on the table as she exhaled loudly. "This has been happening more lately. Some colored man falls in love with the wrong white girl, and then her parents accuse him of raping her. It happened to Mr. Keller last year. The poor man— he got the chair. Oh, Jesus, I don't want that to happen to Raymond..." She frowned at the thought.

Lorenzo shook his head, too, knowing that the odds were significantly stacked against that man. "He just picked the wrong girl..." He reached out, moving to hold Beyoncé's hand, before resting his own back in his lap. She noticed the strange gesture but didn't say anything. "I didn't come here to talk 'bout Ray and Mary. I wanted to take you out for lunch. You up for it?" He questioned.

"Yeah!" Beyoncé smiled wide, nearly jumping up from her kitchen seat. "Let me go fix my hair first." Lorenzo laughed as she disappeared to her bathroom, closing the door.

Lorenzo drove Beyoncé down South Street, where most of the restaurants were. He parked his car a block away from the restaurant. They passed Rue's diner on their walk. She did not miss that place one bit.

The two enjoyed great conversation and their delicious food for over an hour. Suddenly, Lorenzo put down his glass of water and looked at Beyoncé with a serious face.
"Bey, I...Uh— I have to tell you something," he hesitated.

Beyoncé blinked nervously as she nodded. Lorenzo paused for a few more seconds. "Just say it, Lorenzo," she sighed.

"I've been offered a big deal by this huge scout from up north!" He revealed.

"Where up north?" Beyoncé furrowed her eyebrows.

"New York City...Brooklyn, actually," he replied.

"Wow! That's so awesome, Lorenzo! Congratulations. I know you're very excited," Beyoncé cheered as she knew this was his dream come true. "but you won't leave for a while, right?" She hoped.

"Not exactly... I leave in two weeks for Brooklyn. They're offering me a lot of cash and some of the best training. I'll have to do a couple of fights for them, but this is an offer I can't pass up. If I stay in this town, I'll never get recognized. This is my big shot!" Lorenzo said.

"I'm sad you must leave again, Lorenzo, but I agree. To make it big, you must go up further north. This sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime." She forced a smile.