“Wepa!”
Lamar threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh. It had been years since he’d heard the expression, which translated into:All right! Oh yeah! Cool!Other than his marriage to Valerie and the birth of their daughter, the years he’d spent living in New York City were incredibly memorable for him. He’d bonded with Iggy when it hadn’t been with his roommates, and the bond surpassed friendship to the point that he thought of his former classmate as the brother he never had.
“Where were you living?” Nydia asked, breaking into his musings.
“I shared an apartment in Brooklyn with two other students.”
“Where did you go to college?” Nydia asked.
“New York University Tandon School of Engineering. I’d enrolled in the Brooklyn Tech Center.”
“How long has it been since you’ve been to Brooklyn?”
“It’s been about fifteen years.”
“And East Harlem?” Nydia had asked him yet another question.
“It’s been the same time. After we graduated Iggy got a position with an overseas company putting up homes, office buildings, and hotels in Dubai, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates. He fell in love with a woman from Bahrain, converted to Islam, and married her. They have three beautiful children who speak English, Spanish, and Arabic. And before you ask me, the answer is no, I’ve never been to Bahrain. However, it is on my bucket list of countries to visit. We keep in touch using email and Skype.”
“Thank goodness for social media.”
Lamar nodded. “It can be a blessing and a curse.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I have a ten-year-old daughter who’s addicted to social media. Lately I’ve put parental controls on her computer and phone, which limits her to how many hours she can access them. I’ve warned her over and over that she will lose her phone privileges if she doesn’t keep up her grades.”
“Did it work?” Nydia asked.
A wistful expression flitted over Lamar’s features as he stared at the toes of his polished slip-ons. “Yes and no. She passed all of her classes, but her attitude sucks. My mother convinced me to let her come to Baton Rouge for the summer to spend time with her aunt and cousins. I’m sorry, Nydia. I shouldn’t be unloading on you about my daughter.”
“It’s all right. Every once in a while Titi Nydia has to run interference between my nieces and sister-in-law.” She pushed off the bench, Lamar rising with her. “I think it’s time we headed back.”
Lamar tucked Nydia’s hand in the bend of his elbow. She wanted to go back and he didn’t. If possible, he wanted to spend the next hour talking to her about any and everything. There was something about her outgoing personality that reminded him of Valerie, although she looked nothing like his late wife.
“What’s on your calendar during the rest of your stay?”
“I’m going to visit with my friends. Why?”
“I’d like you to have dinner with me before you go back so we can continue our conversation.”
A cold shiver eddied its way down Nydia’s back, and it had nothing to do with the frigid air flowing from air-conditioning vents. Lamar asking her to share dinner with him mirrored Cameron making the same request of Jasmine at Hannah’s wedding reception. However, Cameron had had to wait five months to reunite with Jasmine, while Nydia did not have the excuse she was scheduled to return to New York the following day.
“I’ll give you the number to my cell and we’ll take it from there,” she stated. Although she’d enjoyed talking with him, Nydia wasn’t ready to commit to seeing Lamar again.
“Give me your number.”
“I’ll write it down for you once we get back to the ballroom.”
“You don’t have to write it down. Just tell me.”
Nydia stared at him and recited the number. “Are you certain you’re going to remember it?”
“Very certain,” he said confidently. “I have what’s known as eidetic memory.”
It was the first time Nydia had met someone who’d admitted having a photographic memory. “Your IQ must be off the charts.”
“No comment.”
