Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 20:08:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: LeslieNTammy BarberNRose <leslientammy@yahoo.com>
Subject: Beginnings: "A Time For Love"

Copyrighted by SkyeRoseNovels

Author: SkyeRose

Feedback Email Address: leslientammy@yahoo.com

A Time For Love

*For Les*

A Time For Love (3 parts)


"Ma'am honestly you just don't fit the criteria for our school system", he
said with his prejudice smirk. This was the twelfth job telling me no.

I'm Jewla. I have lived in a small, country town in Alabama all my
life. When I was 16, I got "fast" and decided to have a relationship with a
man (despite my homosexual judgment). Unfortunately, this turned out to be
not only a disaster, but it brought me a child...A beautiful little girl
(who was age 8 at this time) whose name is Onyx (named after my favorite
stone). It fit her too cause she had a deep soul and a dark personality to
be a 8 year old. I guess she got it from her mama...Who knows!

Anyway, I messed up, but I fixed it. I dropped the bastard and decided to
put myself through school. I ended up earning a Bachelors and Masters
degrees in English, and was trying to become a high school teacher. But
once again I live in a small country town where if you're not part of the
elite group of rich blondes, then you're not getting a job, especially not
in a school system teaching "their" children.

After 5 "no's" and 3 "we'll put you on the lists", I decided to follow my
destiny elsewhere. I mean I knew I was qualified but these country bumpkins
would never allow me to show my true talent. So after explaining to my
daughter that we were moving to Chicago, we packed our stuff, put it in
storage, and left on a peculiar hazy day in the south.

We drove there and I must admit it was odd. I mean driving straight to one
destination is hard on a person who has never driven out past some country
roads and a few city lights. But I couldn't really make any stops because
the landlord told me to be at the apartment at a certain time, and I didn't
want to put Onyx in any danger.

We pulled up to a nice apartment in southside Chicago and it was indeed
late. Thank goodness the place was furnished and we had some great distant
cousins who had really hooked it up for us on the inside. Along with that
my crazy cousin Charlene, who worked in the Chicago City School System, set
up an interview for me the next day. I carried Onyx inside and put her in
bed, and unloaded everything. I knew this was strange to be unpacking at
night, considering I was in a city knowing no one, but for some reason I
felt a peace about our neighborhood, and most of all inner peace about
finally doing something with my life.

I will skip some of the small details and tell you that I got the job the
next day and I have been working in the Chicago City School System for 16
years. I am one of the older teachers there and now I teach 2 college
classes at Chicago State. I finally got things settled with myself, and my
education, and I am now Dr. Jewla Simpson.

Despite all the achievements and a very intelligent daughter, I have been
alone. I haven't had a mate in 15 years. It's not that I haven't wanted
one, but my focus was elsewhere. My daughter had always been my joy and
companion, so I never really ventured out and found anyone. I managed to
get my daughter through high school and college, and she finally married
her high school sweetheart, and was moving down south (who would have
thought) to work at an exclusive black firm paying damn good money. Hell,
her husband, Tim, passed the bar on his first time and was a kick ass
lawyer with nice entities if you know what I mean.

So my daughter was settled away and now it was my turn. Here I am at age 40
"something" looking damn good I must admit. I have to tell you that the gym
had done me good and so did the high cheek bones, thanks to my full blooded
Chickasaw grandmother. Contributing was grandmother on my dad's side who
gave me beautiful curves and deep honey brown eyes. I wasn't the most
beautiful thing in the world but I could give a 20 something year old woman
a run for her money, husband, or even studsband.

"Studsband", the new word that these young "femmes" were giving their mates
who happened to be aggressive or dominating. I found the term quiet cute
and the studs in Chicago quiet sexy. They could swing like the world and
when they moved on the dance floor, I just had to watch. Yes, I was in a
club for folks over 30, where I was supposed to be meeting some friends I
had made over the years, including my still crazy cousin Charlene.

"Hey chica?"

I knew that voice anywhere and just knew that it was Cinda, my Hispanic
friend that I met a year after first moving to Chicago. She was a crazy nut
and the rest of my crew was behind her. We ordered some drinks and enjoyed
the Etta James playing in the background. Then it hit me, I was hit by
love, literally.

It just so happened that some younguns managed to get into the club and of
course a fight was started. Well my back was to the bar and I was told that
I had been hit with a table leg on accident. All I knew now is that I was
in a Chicago hospital looking damn crazy with a huge knot on the back of my
head and all of my friends hovering over me, including a young looking
studly female by the name of Les.

She explained to me that the table leg was intended to hit her but she
ducked and it was my head that it hit. She told me that she would cover my
doctor's expenses and yada yada yada. I guess she knew what to say
considering she was standing beside 3 lawyers and one probate judge who
believed that suing anyone about anything solved everything.

I faintly remember her but I knew my head hurt and that Cinda would handle
everything. I just wanted to go to sleep and that is what I did.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2 Months Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was walking in with my crew of 5 headed to the Hard Rock Cafe of
Chicago, to see Etta James perform hits off her new album. I must admit
that Etta looked damn good after her surgery for weight loss, and her
performance was excellent. I was feeling damn good and SAFE considering no
one could not get into this place unless they were 35+, and anyone starting
a fight at 35+ needed their ass whipped. After the first half of the
concert, I decided to go the bar and get a drink. ( Just a beer, I wasn't
partying too hard.)

I got my drink and as I was heading back to my crew, I felt a woman's arms
wrap around me. I turned around and when I did, it was Les. Now when I was
knocked out and shit, I remembered her being chocolate and cute; but damn
she was hella cute and looking nice in her black pants and polo type shirt
that had a Sean John logo on her left breast. (Yes I was noticing
absolutely everything.) I had to play it off like I really didn't know who
she was though.

"Les, right?"

"Yeah mami, I'm Les.", she responded back in this cute, little, husky
voice. It was then that I noticed that she had a southern drawl. (I found
out later she was from South Carolina...Columbia to be exact.)

"How's your head ma?"

"My head is much better from the last time you seen me. How did you get in
here?" (You know I just had to ask just to make sure that she was LEGAL.

"I know I don't look it, but I am actually 35...But Dr. Jewla Simpson I was
just about to ask you the same thing."

Now you know she put me on the spot because this girl was still younger
than me, and I be damned if I was even going to mention my age to her.

"I'm old enough, thanks for asking.", I said with a smirk and flirtish
grin. I heard Etta come back on stage and told Les I would her see her
around. I then went on to enjoy my crew and the music.

My favorite tune came on "Miss You", and I had to throw up my hands and
dance. I got out of my seat, went straight to the front, and danced,
alongside Cinda and her partner Jessie. I was really grooving too, and then
I felt that starting-to-be-familiar-wrap around my waist.

I turned around just to see Les dancing on me. I wanted to stop her so that
I wouldn't turn beet red but I could already feel my cheeks blushing. So I
spent back around and allowed m body to rest into hers as she swayed with
the beat of my hips. It felt good to have someone feel so comfortable with
my body, and I guess I lost track of time because me and Les and 50 other
people ended up swaying for 10 more songs when Etta stated that her time
was up. But oh the night was just beginning and I loved the way Les felt
close to me. I wanted some more of this girl and my old azz hormones were
jumping out of balance.

We broke from each other and I went to my friends and told them I had a
ride. We decided to go to a local coffee/poetry bar. (I was told to never
go. I had been warned that poets there were just a little bit on the weird
side.) But I didn't care cause I was "With Les" and I figured that she
wouldn't take me to anyplace that would cause me harm.

I was glad I went too because the place really has good java and a laid
back atmosphere, plus they were open all night long. Les and I sat on the
couch the whole time and just relaxed, and chatted. I found out so much
about her and her family that I wanted to write a book about it. She asked
me my age again, and once again I didn't tell her. But she did admit to me
that she really wasn't 35; she admitted that she was 26 and kind of snuck
past security at the cafe, but I honestly didn`t care cause this girl
rocked my socks for real.

I did however check my watch and noticed that it was 6 a.m. and I needed to
get up early in the morning, attend church, and then go home to grade 5 or
6 more research papers. I grabbed my purse and began to stand up when Les
grabbed me by my waist and said to me so intensely, "I want to feel you in
your soul." Now this kind of shocked me and I just stared in her eyes for
what seemed to be like 30-40 minutes, but was honestly just 1 or 2. I then
put on my jacket and walked out.

The next morning was spent laying on my couch with coffee in my hand
thinking about Les. I mean what did she mean when she said to me that she
wants to feel me in my soul? Those are deep words and she was 14 years
younger than me. What was I going to do with her? I mean, what could we
honestly have in common considering I had a daughter who was 2 years
younger than her. What was I really getting myself into? Just then my cell
rung.

"Hello"

"Hello Docta" (It was Les.)

"Hey, how are you this morning?"

"I am fine this morning, but I am thinking a whole lot about you."

"Oh really now?" I just knew that she could hear the shivering in my voice
as I responded back to her.

"Yes my love and I don't want to scare you. I just made myself some
breakfast and I wanted to bring you some of it cause it is really popping."

"Well Les I am really not hungry and I really need to grade these papers."
I was sounding cold, I just knew it.

"Oh well...You know just forget I called." she responded with harshness and
then she hung up the phone on me.

Why did I do that? I could give a damn less if I remotely finished those
damn papers. I really wanted her here but I didn't need to be falling for
this young kat, and definitely not trying to get involved in something
serious considering that she was so much younger and had her whole life
ahead of her. But I felt bad and my hips needed to feel her hands around
them. I picked up the phone and called her back and she answered on the
first ring.

"You know I was giving you 30 minutes to call back."

"Are we being cocky now?", I smarted off with laughter underneath my voice.

"No", she said sounding like a kid.

"Umm, I lied. I would love some of your breakfast ,but I need to jump in
the shower. The door will be open cause I don't know how far you are from
my house."

She said "ok" and I went in my bathroom to get a shower. I heard her come
in and hoped that she wouldn't try anything like sneaking in my
bathroom...She didn't either. Instead she was in the kitchen cooking some
food that smelled damn good. I got out and brushed my hair, and put on some
jeans and a t-shirt.

I walked in and she looked sexier than she normally did. She had on baggy
jeans and a tank shirt. (I later learned that those were called "wife
beaters".) She seen me smoking her over and she smiled.

"Food is smelling good Les."

"Yeah I made some of my South Carolina country omelets, turkey bacon, and
banana nut muffins-homemade."

"It looks good Ms. Chef."

"Well sit down Doc and I will fix your plate. Put on some of that good Etta
James that you just love and we can chill." (I loved the way she called me
Doc...She made me proud to be one...)

I put on some old Etta and she brought me my food with a rose on the side
and some a cup of mocha cappuccino from Starbucks. I love that stuff and I
guess I mentioned it last night when I was talking my head off.

"So how old is your daughter Jewla?"

I looked at her suspiciously and answered back.

"She is 25 now. She lives in down south in Birmingham, Alabama with her
husband."

"That's cool, how's the food?"

"Les this food is off the hook." I sounded so crazy saying that, but I
heard one of my students say it so I decided to say it too. Les thought it
was funny and broke out in laughter.

"You know Jewla, I know you have papers to grade and whatnot but I was
wondering if I can just chill and be in your presence. There's nothing more
than being in the presence of a beautiful woman while she does what she
does."

I was thinking to myself, I know this young kid isn't trying to hit on
me. I mean yeah we danced together and she did cook me breakfast, but that
last comment was one of those comments like, I want your panties, ya know!
I looked at her.

"Sure you can stay."

"Good cause it just so happened that I brought my favorite book by
Tennessee Williams, Glass Menagerie so as you grade, I will read."

That is exactly what she did. She read and looked up at me from time to
time while I graded papers. It felt like a day out of a novel by E. Lynn
Harris. You know one of those days where the two main people sit on the
couch on a cool day in September in beautiful Chicago, as workaholic grades
papers and the laid back one reads. I actually noticed that we were sitting
feet to feet and my legs were in her lap. I felt complete. (Ignore that
last thought.)

I looked up from my papers and it was almost 5. My stomach growled and
embarrassed me.

"Seems like you're hungry huh?", Les asked.

"Yeah I am hungry, but how about we go to a place I love to go to. It's in
walking distance and it will be my treat."

"Cool Jewla, let me just slip on my jumper.", she replied and jumped up to
get dressed.

I grabbed a cardigan and we headed down the sidewalk to a cafe that my
daughter and I used to go to called "Ella's". We were walking and really
wasn't talking when she did the inevitable. She grabbed my hand and
squeezed it. Now I am older and I just knew that I was not having a high
school crush with this kid. What was happening to me? When she grabbed my
hand I blushed the color of a damn apple. I think what made it so great was
that she grabbed it with confidence, so to say that I was not going to not
hold it ya know! That is something that I love: Confident women. I have
always felt that no woman wants to be touched with nervousness. That is
when rejection comes into play and then a lot of feelings are hurt. But
when a real woman touches another woman with confidence, not cockiness,
then respect between souls is felt.

I noticed that we walked down the street the whole way like that and her
hand gave me a boost. She was starting to make me feel like I was important
to her, and she was definitely important to me. We reached the cafe and
I explained to her that all the food there was either grilled or baked, and
that the vegetables were tasty.

We sat down and ordered. She stared me in the eyes when she talked and I
loved it. (That's another sign of confidence.)

"Jewla, here with you right now is a beautiful moment."

"Is it Les?"

"Yes it is my love. See, I love your intelligence and your beauty is
magnetic, and I couldn't think of a better place to be right now."

"You know Les, I have to admit that I completely understand what you are
saying. Your aura is wonderful and everything about you makes me feel calm
and collected."

She smiled and I smiled and we enjoyed our food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 Months later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Les and I were really doing good. We didn't argue or anything. The biggest
part about it all was that we didn't even hadn't even had sex. We were
great together and we enjoyed each other. We were talking one day, and Les
was telling me about a big blues fest down in Alabama. She sounded so
excited about it that I decided for our 6 month anniversary, that we would
fly down there and attend. I even managed to pick up extra tickets for my
daughter, who was 4 months pregnant, and her husband. ::Phone::

"Hello"

"Hey love, it's Les." It still surprised me when she did that considering
she knew that I knew her voice.

"Hey sweetness. How are you feeling? And Happy Anniversary!"

"Well thank you sweetness, and Happy Anniversary to you too. What are our
plans tonight?"

I purred.

"Well I think we should go to the Hard Rock Cafe because Calvin
Richardson is supposed to be there tonight along with the jazz band "Jazz
Attack". So what do you think?"

"I think I am cool for going, but how about you meet me there. I have to
finish something up here at work and then I will be right on, cool?"

I said "ok" and jumped in the shower. I always wore my hair straightened
and I remember her once saying to me that if I wore my hair naturally curly
with a rose, I would look sexy as hell. That is what I decided to do. I had
bought a product a few months back that makes hair curly for a night. It
did a wonder on mine.

I put on my wrap dress and stiletto boots along with my huge overcoat, and
got in the car. I got there and got a table, and waited on Les. Jazz Attack
was kicking butt with their sound and I was grooving in my seat.

They introduced Calvin Richardson and I was starting to worry about
Les. She hadn't called me on my cell and she had never been this late
before. I tried calling her cell and she didn't pick up. Calvin was really
moving my soul but I couldn't enjoy myself because I kept looking for Les.

"Dr. Jewla Simpson will you please come to the center of the floor."

I looked around like I knew Calvin Richardson was not talking to me. I got
up and went to the center of the floor and I could feel all eyes on me. He
started serenading me with his "More Than A Woman", and I just knew that it
was Les's doing. I was kind of rocking with his beat along with 10 or 12
other people when I felt those familiar hands wrap around me. She kissed me
on my neck and we enjoyed the rest of the show.

Later that night, at the cafe bar, she explained to me that her and
Calvin Richardson had been old high school friends. She was chatting away
about the concert when I reached in my purse and put the 2 tickets on the
table. She looked at the tickets and read them, and I saw her eyes light
up. It was the most beautiful moment. She reached across the table and
looked deeply in my eyes and confessed her love for me. I tried to speak
but her words brought tears to my eyes. I think she understood me and got
the drift that I was indeed madly in love with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Weekend of the Blues Fest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We drove to Alabama and I must admit that it was quite a road trip. We had
tons of fun and we met some weird people on our stops at the service
stations. I called my daughter and she already got our room and our key for
us. We pulled up at her house around 6:00 p.m. that Thursday evening. Onyx
came out waddling in a muumuu type dress. I had to laugh just seeing
her. She was huge.

"Hey ma!"

"Hey baby!"

She took one look at my little tight jeans and laughed. I knew what she was
thinking without her saying a word. We hugged for a long time and I forgot
my manners.

"Onyx, this is my love. This is Les."

Les grabbed Onyx and rubbed her belly. She hugged her just like they were
old friends. I noticed that Onyx liked this one and that was good cause I
was planning on holding on to Les too. Her husband walked out the door.

"Les, this is my wonderful husband Tim."

Tim grabbed Les and hugged her the same way she had hugged Onyx. Here it
was, another happy moment for us. It felt unreal and so special. The three
most important members of my family acting like family. I was feeling real
good about myself and this moment. ::Blackout::

I opened my eyes and I was quite confused. I was laying in a hospital
bed. I looked to my right and Les was holding my hand. I looked to my left
and Onyx and Tim were close by in chairs. I tried to mumble words but they
told me to be quiet. I looked at Les and asked her what happened. She
looked at me and told me not to worry about it. She knew that wasn't going
to work for me though. I was a persistent woman and I needed answers to why
I was laying in a hospital bed and not a blues fest having fun.

Just then the door opened and the doctor came in. He addressed me and
explained to me that I had blacked out and had been out for about 2
days. He began explaining in big words what was wrong with me, but I wasn't
ignorant. I completely understood the words "small mass behind your brain."
The truth of the matter was I had a tumor and it was cancerous.

Part 2---Coming Soon