Nydia came out of her bedroom at the same time he exited the bathroom. She’d brushed her hair and pulled it off her face into a ponytail. She’d also changed into a pair of jeans, a gray St. Joseph’s College sweatshirt, and pair of pink-and-gray running shoes. She held a small leather wristlet in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other.
“Ready!” she announced, smiling.
Lamar returned her smile with one of his own. It was obvious she was ready to leave the apartment that had become her sanctuary. “As soon as I get my hat and glasses we can leave. I want to show you the building where Iggy and his family used to live. It’s not that far from here.”
* * *
Going down five flights of stairs was much more enjoyable than climbing them. Lamar opened the doors leading to the street, then grasped Nydia’s left hand in his right. They hadn’t made it to the corner of the tree-lined street when a woman with a microphone appeared between two park cars.
“Miss Santiago, may I have a word with you?”
Nydia lowered her head. “No comment.”
She shoved the annoying mic at Lamar. “Sir, can you tell us your connection to Miss Santiago? We saw you going into her apartment building earlier this morning. Were you on your way home?”
He stopped, turned to face Nydia, and cradled her face with his free hand. The sun glinted off the gold band on his third finger, and he deepened the kiss when he spied a man filming them. “Thank you, darling,” Lamar said, loud enough to be overhead by the two stalkers when he ended the kiss.
“Is she your wife? Focus on his left hand!” the reporter shouted at the photographer balancing a video camera on his shoulder. “Are you the reason she couldn’t marry Danny Ocasio, because she’s married to you?” the reporter screamed at Lamar and Nydia as they strolled to the end of the block and turned the corner.
Lamar saw Nydia’s shoulders shaking, and at first he thought she was crying, but then she covered her mouth with her right hand to stifle the erupting laughter. “What’s wrong with these people? I can’t believe the lengths they go to to get a scoop.”
Nydia smiled up at him. “I think it’s over now.”
A frown settled between Lamar’s eyes behind the dark lenses. “What are you talking about?” It had taken Herculean self-control not to snatch the reporter’s and the photographer’s equipment and hurl it to the ground.
She lowered her hand. “They saw your wedding band and because you kissed me they assumed we’re married, and that’s why I couldn’t accept Danny’s proposal.
Lamar’s laughter floated up from his throat and mingled with Nydia’s when she laughed again. They’d only seen his left hand and not Nydia’s because he was holding it close to his side. “I believe you’re right, sweets.” He brought her hand to his mouth and dropped a kiss on her fingers. He’d enjoyed kissing her, even if it was for show. It was something he’d wanted to do when they’d danced together, shared nearly an hour sitting in an alcove at the hotel, and especially after their date at Ruby’s.
There were more times than he could count when he’d contemplated taking off his wedding band, but hadn’t because he still wasn’t ready to let Valerie go. He knew she was gone, and he would never look for her to walk through the door of the home they made together and where they’d made memories that would stay with him for the rest of his life. And Lamar did not delude himself to say he had the perfect marriage, because there were a few rough patches they’d had to smooth over, but he could honestly say he’d enjoyed being a husband and father.
“It’s a good thing you don’t live here, or you’d become their next stalking victim,” Nydia said.
Lamar shook his head. “I don’t think so. Danny’s folks got what they came for, and now it’s time for their client to write a love song about losing the love of his life to another man.”
“Now that I look back, I don’t think I would’ve married Danny even if he was a recording star at the time we were dating.”
“Why not?”
“I loved Danny, but I wasn’t in love with him.”
Lamar’s shielded Nydia’s body with his when a man who appeared to be high on something nearly collided with them. “Is there a difference?”
“Of course there is. I can say I love horror movies or a particular dessert. This means I can give them up at any time if they prove injurious or detrimental to my health or emotional well-being. It’s the same with people. There were things I liked and disliked about my relationship with Danny, and in the end I knew it was time to let him go because nothing was going to change.”
Lamar waited at the corner for the light to change. “Is it too personal to tell me about it?”
Nydia shook her head. “Not at all.”
He hung on her every word, when Nydia revealed her ex’s reluctance to look for steady work and his bragging to his friends about her making enough money to support him until he made it big. “Did you tell him how you earned it?”
“No, because it was none of his business. One day I left him in my apartment to run to the store, and when I got back I’d discovered he’d gone through a drawer where I had my pay stubs, and when I questioned him he said he was looking for something to write with. I knew he’d lied when my cousin who was dating one of his friends told me Danny said he was going to hang onto me until he made it big because I made lots of money, then after he was a star, he could have all the bitches he’d ever want. That’s when I knew I had to leave. I wasn’t his bitch, and whenever we went out I never opened my wallet for anything.”
“How did he get money?”
“He was the lead singer in a Latin band. They were booked at different clubs for weddings and other celebrations. He spent most of his money buying studio time.”
“Did he live with you?”
