Chapter 6: Kadeer

“Hi, Devyn. Nice to meet you,” I said as I sat down next to the copper-skinned beauty.

I chuckled to myself at her mannerisms and the shyness that she was displaying. There was something about her that drew me to her. It surprised me that I even wanted to know what it was.

“Nice meeting you too,” Devyn whispered nervously.

Out of my peripheral, I could see Devyn becoming even more anxious as she continuously wiped her hands on her napkin.  I assumed she knew her friend was about to put her on the spot. She didn’t have to feel uncomfortable with me, though. Her energy made me feel she was someone I needed to get to know.

“So, Kadeer, Jaleel tells me that you’re recently divorced. Are you seeing anyone? My girl, Devyn, is recently single too,” Brena announced.

“Brena,” Jaleel chided as he shook his head.

“What?” Brena questioned naively.

Devyn’s eyes widened, and I observed her nudge Brena on her arm. It was obvious Brena wanted Devyn to meet someone, but she didn’t seem like she was ready for that.

“Yeah, I’m divorced, and I’m not dating anyone. I have too much time on my hands to do that,” I commented, hoping it would place Devyn at ease.

When I turned to give her a reassuring smile, I noticed a hint of disappointment in her eyes. There was something mysterious about Devyn. Part of me wanted to find out more about her, but I knew I wasn’t in any position to entertain her with everything going on in my life.

“Don’t listen to Kadeer, Brena. I mean, yeah, he has a lot on his hands with his five daughters and with the construction company he is trying to start, but that doesn’t mean he’s too busy to find love. He has Nisa and me to help,” Zion admitted.

I shook my head at Zion’s attempt to drop my resume to Devyn. The look on Devyn’s face showed she was impressed. For some reason, that made me feel proud. I had no idea why I was so concerned about what she thought of me.

“That’s good that’s you’re starting your own business, Kadeer. You’re really good at what you do,” Bryan stated. “So are you and Zion going to order? I think we all decided on what we’re going to get,” he informed them while changing the subject.

“Yeah, I’m going to look now,” I said as I looked around the table for an available menu.

“Here, you can use mine,” Devyn offered with a closed smile.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Our hands brushed against each other’s as she placed the menu in my hand. Even though it was brief, I could feel the softness of her touch. It was so unlike my rough hands that were constantly put to use every day at the construction site.

“No problem,” Devyn responded.

As I scanned through the menu, everyone at the table carried on their own set of conversations. Jaleel, Bryan, and Zion started talking about the game while I could overhear Brena attempted to discreetly mention me. Truthfully, under different circumstances, I would have gotten to know Devyn and maybe asked her out on a date. Who was I kidding, though? I was a single father of five girls with an emotional, manipulative ex-wife. Devyn didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would want to put up with that. To be honest, I didn’t even know if she had children. So for me to have five, that was a lot to deal with. At the end of the day, my girls came first. We were a package deal. If it came between going out with a woman, no matter how nice or beautiful she was and my daughters, they would take priority.

“So, man, what do you think?” Zion quizzed.

I was so deep in my thoughts I didn’t realize he had exited the conversations about the game.

“Think about what?” I asked for clarification.

“About her,” Zion whispered as he slightly tilted his head in her direction.

“Zion, not now,” I advised.

That wasn’t the time or the place for me to give my analysis of Devyn. Even with all the conversations being held along with the music, I didn’t want to chance anyone hearing us discuss her. If I were able to hear what everyone was talking about, I was sure they could hear us as well.

“So when?” Zion urged. “That was the whole purpose of us going out, so you could meet people. Now, I don’t know her, but you know her people are cool. She seems like a nice woman. All I’m saying is it doesn’t hurt to get to know someone,” he advised.

Zion’s words held a lot of truth in them, but he knew I agreed to go out to get a break. Finding a woman was not in the cards at the moment.

“You know I didn’t come out here for that,” I reminded him as I placed the menu down.

With Zion distracting me, I really couldn’t focus on the menu. I decided to just have a few more beers and call it a night. Besides, I had to go to work the next day.

It probably was a bad idea to even go out.

“I haven’t been here in a while, but I remember the Voodoo Shrimp is good. You can’t go wrong with that,” Devyn suggested to me. “I mean, unless you’re allergic to seafood.”

“Nah, I’m not allergic. That sounds good. What are you going to get?” I questioned as I took in her beauty.

“I wanted some crawfish, but I think I’m just going to get some appetizers. I may end up getting crawfish too, though,” Devyn stated as she finally flashed a smile, showing her perfect set of teeth.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I commented as I returned the smile.

Eyeing her petite frame, Devyn was smaller than what I was accustomed to. Truthfully, Skylar and I had been together for so long that I didn’t know anything other than her. Devyn was a beautiful woman not only in her physical but in her spirit. There was something behind her eyes which exuded pain. I knew I had no business entertaining thoughts of her in that way, but she had placed a spell on me.

“So are you going to get the shrimp?” Devyn inquired as she looked at me with those hypnotic eyes of hers.

“Yeah, I think I am since you recommended it.” I flirted with her as we locked eyes.

“That’s a good choice. I think I’m going to look at the menu again,” Devyn commented as she averted her eyes quickly while reaching over to grab the menu from me.

“Oh, wow!” Devyn groaned as she spilled her drink on her shirt which complimented her well.

“Devyn, are you OK?” Brena questioned. Devyn nodded while she wiped herself with her napkin.

“I’m going to get you some napkins,” I informed her as I rose from my seat.

While I was in search of the waitress, Devyn stood up from her chair and headed toward the restroom. I caught a glimpse of her when she accidentally bumped into me at the bar. Seeing her gracefully walk allowed me to capture every inch of her beauty. It was then I made up my mind to at least see what Devyn was all about.

“May I have some napkins, please?” I requested once I found the waitress.

“OK, sure. I’m sorry about that. We are so busy in here tonight. I’m coming right over to your table to place your order,” she stated as she handed a stack of napkins to me.

Just as I was about to head back to the table, Devyn came out of the restroom. She paused for a moment when she saw me standing next to the bar. She glanced over at the table and then back at me as if she were contemplating what to do. Finally, she made up her mind and walked toward my direction.

“You OK?” I quizzed as I offered her another napkin.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I’m more embarrassed than anything. First, I bumped into you at the bar earlier. Then I’m spilling drinks on me. I’m almost afraid to eat anything. I may spill that on my clothes,” Devyn joked.

“No, you’re fine.” I chuckled. “No need for you to be embarrassed. Things happen. Plus, I’m used to all of that. With me having five girls, you couldn’t imagine some of the fires I have to put out,” I assured her.

“Actually, I could,” Devyn stated with a laugh.

“You could what?” I asked as she gazed into my eyes.

“I could imagine what it’s like dealing with five children. I don’t have five girls, but I do have five children. Three girls and two boys,” Devyn admitted.

“You have five children too?” I questioned in amazement.

Devyn nodded with a slight giggle. Her revelation shocked me because I would have had no idea she was a mother let alone a mother of five children. My mind began to wonder at the likelihood of us both being single and having five children. Our meeting one another couldn’t have been by chance. I believed that everything happened for a reason.

Two people got up from the bar, so I secured the seats so Devyn and I could talk for a bit before heading back to the table with our nosy friends.

“I would have never known,” I commented as we locked eyes once again. “If you don’t mind me asking, I know Brena mentioned you were single. Are you and their father on good terms?” I inquired.

Sadness immediately washed over Devyn’s face, which made me quickly regret my question about her personal life. I was really trying to get to know her and see exactly what her status was.

“I’m sorry, Devyn. I didn’t mean to upset you,” I expressed as I handed her another napkin.

“No, it’s OK. I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have come here. I told Brena I didn’t want to go out,” Devyn rambled while she dabbed her tears away.

“I know the feeling. I told Zion the same thing,” I informed her, causing us to both chuckle.

“Kadeer, you seem like a nice guy. I see that our friends were trying to suggest we get to know each other. Maybe under different circumstances, it would have been nice, but I have too much going on right now. To answer your question, my children’s father… my husband and I were on wonderful terms. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to continue because he was killed almost a year ago,” Devyn replied as more tears flowed down her brown face.

            “Oh, Devyn, I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t mean to pry. I’m so sorry,” I expressed.

Instinctively I touched her hand to comfort her. She lifted her head up and smiled lightly at me with tear-filled eyes.

“You didn’t know, Kadeer. It’s OK. Sterling was the love of my life. I just recently found out he wanted me to move on with my life and find happiness. Hours ago, I was committed to doing that. Now, I’m not so sure. Any memory of him triggers the pain I am left with. It’s just so hard,” Devyn explained. “But anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to hear all about my woes. I’m so sorry,” she apologized while waving me off.

“No, it’s OK, Devyn. You can talk to me if you want,” I offered.

Devyn adjusted herself on the barstool. She sighed as if she was contemplating whether to take me up on my offer. Hearing Devyn’s revelation about her husband and seeing her sadness wanted me to be there for her.

“I feel so embarrassed talking to you about this, especially since we just met,” Devyn commented.

“It’s OK, Devyn. I promise. I’m not judging you at all,” I assured her.

Devyn sighed again and looked directly in my eyes. “My husband, Sterling, was in the Army. He was killed during a routine training exercise in Afghanistan. When I found out, I felt the air escaping my body. For a split second, I wanted to go with him, but then I thought about my children. I had to be strong for them and give them double the amount of love Sterling and I did,” Devyn expressed as tears flowed.

Reaching out to hold her hand again, we sat in silence as I allowed her to gather her thoughts. I searched my mind for some comforting words other than I’m sorry. Before I could finish my thoughts, the bartender asked us if we wanted to order.

“We’re going to go back to the table with our friends in a minute,” I informed the bartender.

“No. Actually, is it OK if we just stay here and talk? I mean, they have their own conversations going on. Plus, I’m not in the mood right now for Brena to start whispering to me to find out what we’ve been talking about,” Devyn joked, flashing a soft smile.

“OK, then I guess we’re staying,” I said to the bartender.

Once we placed our orders, Devyn smiled widely and leaned toward me.

“Kadeer, thank you for listening to me. I know this seems crazy since we just met, but I actually feel comfortable talking to you. I have Brena and my family, but sometimes it’s good to talk to someone who doesn’t know you,” Devyn remarked.

“I definitely understand that. I talk to Zion a lot, but sometimes he just doesn’t get where I’m coming from,” I stated as I nodded.

“So about that. I’ve embarrassed myself telling you about me. So now it’s your turn to share your secrets with me,” Devyn teased with a chuckle.

It was good to see her smile again after being down. I wasn’t sure if she was ready for my story, though. It’s not like we were dating or anything, but for some reason, I was nervous and ashamed to tell her about my situation with Skylar. Maybe if I had lost my wife in a tragic way like she lost her husband, she would be understanding. But for me to explain that my ex-wife didn’t want me to have any type of happiness that didn’t include her, I just knew it would be an immediate turn off to Devyn.