Color Blind

Chapter 20

The next morning, Tia woke up in the best mood ever and decided to cook us all breakfast. When Scott and I walked out into the kitchen, she and Lafayette both looked up and grinned. Exchanging knowing glances, they hunched their shoulders, giggled, then looked back at us and giggled some more.

"Damn," Lafayette said, watching me.

I smoothed back my wet hair, blushing at the memory of Scott slipping into the shower with me, and looked innocently back at Lafayette. "What?"

"Why are you walking like that?" he asked, then looked over at Tia and once again cackled under his breath.

Scott and I avoided each other's eyes and grinned from ear to ear. Tia gasped and pointed at us. "I knew it!" She looked over at Lafayette. "Didn't I tell you? I knew it! Y'all were loud as hell!" Clapping excitedly, she ran to sit in between us at the table. "So..."

Before she could get around to asking a thousand questions, Lafayette stepped in and saved us. "Tia. Ya'll excuse my shorty," he said to us. "She's been acting silly all morning. I don't know what's gotten into her."

The two of them looked at each other from across the room, and Tia, finally getting the joke, threw her head back and laughed. Scott and I rolled our eyes.

Throughout breakfast, Lafayette continued to watch Tia like a hawk. I knew by the way he was giving every little detail about that morning his undivided attention, that he was only looking for the right time to pop the question. At one point I thought he was actually about to do it, but instead he reached past her and across the table for more juice.

After breakfast, Lafayette slipped into my bedroom and closed the door behind him. "Hey shorty," he said to me, "let me keep this in your room a little while longer, ok?" Then he tried to hand the ring over, but I refused to take it.

"Naw, man, you should keep it. Just in case. You never know when you'll get up the nerve to ask her. Better to just have it with you."

"I guess...hey..." Lafayette struggled for the right words. "Are you sure I should do this?" His face was full of uncertainty.

I took a deep breath and chose my words carefully.

"Lafayette, it's not for me to be sure about. Are you sure that Tia's the person you want to spend the rest of your life with? I mean, after you tie the knot, there would be no chance of you ever being with anyone else."

Lafayette got the hint and chuckled. "Naw baby. I haven't even slept with anyone else since the day I met your cousin. That's not what I'm talkin' about. I'm just sayin'..." he took in a deep, shaky breath and rushed on quickly. "I'm just not sure what she wants. I mean..." He looked at me with huge, fearful eyes. I had never seen him look so vulnerable in all the years that I'd known him. "What if she says no?"

"What?" I chuckled. "Are we talking about the same Tia? I mean, you have been paying attention for the last eight years, haven't you? She probably would have said yes back in the tenth grade!"

Lafayette remained unsmiling. "No she wouldn't have. You know Tia's all about the career and stuff."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't tell me you're one of them..."

"No, no. Don't go jumpin' to conclusions. I want for my shorty everything that she wants for herself. I'm just sayin,' I don't want her to think I'm tryin' to stand in her way."

"She would never think that. She knows you better than that. Don't even worry about it." I looked down at the ring box. "Besides, after she sees this rock..." I chuckled and shook my head. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. "What?" I shouted, startled.