Tandi, Sweeter Than Candy

The car pulled over on the side of the road was of no interest to Drew until he drove closer. Next to it stood a dark-skinned, slender woman, wearing a sundress. He watched her kick the rear tire. Then she put one hand on her hip, made a fist with the other, and shook it at the sky. A young child stood next to her. 

Drew pulled up behind them. The trunk of the woman’s car was popped open. A cooler, with NY Yankees emblazoned on its side, a beach umbrella, and a guitar case was spread across the side of the road. A car jack lay on the ground.

He got out of his car, and the boy took his mother’s hand and hid his face in her dress. She took a step back. Drew hesitated. In the brief moment before he spoke, he admired her high cheekbones and long slender legs. Her bosom looked like it would burst out of her dress. The dreadlocks she wore were not the thick, traditional type you sometimes see. These were thin strands of hair, tightly wound. Her features were just as delicate as her hair.  

“Need some help?” he asked, approaching her.

She started to cry and took another step back. 

“I’ll be okay. It’s just a flat.” 

“Then why you crying?” he asked.

A truck speeding down the road drove past them. The rush of air it created caused her dress to fly up, covering her face and she pushed it down, but not before Drew caught a glimpse of her panties. Pink they were, and she may have realized what he saw because she turned her back to him, and covered her face with both hands.  

The boy stepped forward and said, “Momma don’t know how to change a flat.”

“You be quiet Trevor,” she said. “Go sit in the car.”

“My name’s Drew. Let me help.” 

Reluctant, but desperate for help, she nodded her approval.

Andrew reached into the trunk and pulled the spare out. 

“Damn. Your spare’s flat.” He stopped himself from using a few choice words he had known since boyhood.  

“Now what do we do?” The woman asked.

“There’s a gas station down the road. “I’ll get your spare fixed and bring it back. You can come with me, or wait here.” 

“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait here.”

“What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Tandi.”

***

Fixing the spare took longer than Drew would have liked. He was anxious to get back. It wasn’t leaving her alone on the side of the road that concerned him. No, he wanted to spend more time with her. 

He returned to find the woman sitting in the car with the boy. She looked in the rearview mirror and fixed her hair before climbing out. 

Tandi watched him change the tire. Drew wore a tee shirt, and she admired the muscles in his arms, his broad shoulders straining to loosen the tire lugs. Occasionally he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand to get the sweat and blond hair out of his eyes. His face was rugged and manly.  

Once finished he said to her, “You need to keep a good spare with you.” 

She thanked him and then noticed his hands.   

“Oh, look at how dirty you are,” she said.  

Tandi took some wet wipes from her car and smiled as she took his hand. First, she wrapped the pinky with a wet wipe, then moved on to the ring finger. Tandi pulled a bit on his gold wedding band and stared into his eyes. She moved to the middle finger and lingered on it before proceeding to the others. He turned his hand over and let her clean his palm. Tandi then did the same with his other hand.  

“How can I ever thank you,” she asked.  

“You could meet me for a drink.” Drew reached into his wallet and offered his business card.  

Tandi read the info on the card. Andrew Previn Esq. He had an office on Madison Ave.  

***

Tandi expected Drew to arrive in about an hour. She bustled about straightening her apartment. It needed to look better than the last time he visited. 

That last visit was his first, and although she couldn’t prevent Drew from seeing the hopelessness of her neighborhood, and the squalor of her building, she could have done something about the mess her apartment was in.  

This time would be different. She picked up Trevor’s toys that littered the living room and put them in his room. After cleaning up the kitchen, she straightened out her bedroom. The laundry basket, full of dirty clothes, the pile of magazines she wanted to read, it all went into Trevor’s room. She put clean sheets on her bed and lit a scented candle. Last, Tandi took a shower and put on a skirt and a tight top, but not before she slipped on a new bra and a pair of thong underwear.   

The doorbell rang, right on time, and she buzzed him in.  

Drew wasted no time with idle chit-chat. He took her hand and led her to the couch. Sitting down, with Tandi standing in front of him, he put his hands on her hips, then slid them under her skirt and slowly pulled her underwear down. 

“A thong,” he said sounding surprised. He held them up. “Maybe I should have left those on for a bit,” he laughed.

“Your loss,” she replied. She tugged at his shirt. 

He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Drew lay on top of her and said, “I want to eat you like candy.” 

***

They tried hard to satisfy their carnal lust for each other. After about an hour, their cravings not satisfied, but too exhausted to continue any longer, they stopped. 

Tandi slipped on a robe and went to take a shower.

Drew sat at her kitchen table in his shorts and lit a cigarette. He reached for an ashtray that sat on top of a stack of mail. When he pulled the ashtray closer, the envelopes shifted, and one stuck out from the pile, exposing a message in bold type. The words “FINAL NOTICE” were visible to him. 

“You call me about next week, ok handsome,” Tandi shouted from her bedroom. She came into the kitchen wearing a robe. He pulled her close to him. Tandi ended up sitting on his lap, with her back to him.

He reached around her and cupped her breasts with both hands, his head resting against her back. “Maybe next time we can meet at that hotel again,” he said. “It is our anniversary.”

“That’s convenient for you but a hassle for me. Takes me ‘bout an hour to get there. No. Let’s meet here.”

“Okay, you’re the boss.”

Tandi felt something pushing against her butt.  “Is that you knocking on my back door?” 

“Little Drew wants some more.” He kissed the back of her neck. 

She stood and gave him a playful slap. “Little Drew ain’t got time for anymore. And Daddy Drew needs to get back to where he’s supposed to be.”  

Drew dressed and hugged her goodbye. Then he took his wallet out and offered her some money. 

Tandi squinted her eyes at him. “Why you doing that?”

Using one finger, Drew pushed the envelope with the bold message on it out from under the pile. He tapped it a few times. “I thought you could use a bit of help.”

“I ain’t doing this for money.”

“I know. Don’t be offended okay?”

Drew put the money on the table and left.

***

A few weeks later, they celebrated their anniversary, as planned but at her apartment. Drew stayed a bit too long, and when Tandi realized the time, she said, “Better get your ass outa here. I gotta pick up Trevor.” 

She took a quick shower after he left, and ran down the steps from her apartment in a hurry. With her hair still wet, no makeup, and wearing an old sweatsuit, she walked as quickly as possible. Despite her lack of preparation to go outside, a man in a passing car whistled at her. Tandi turned a corner and saw Trevor. Her friend Jervaise held him with one hand, and with the other, her little girl Juanita. Jervaise frowned and shook her head from left to right as Tandi came up to her.  

Tandi ignored her. “You all right Trevor? Mommy’s sorry she’s late.” She kneeled and hugged her son. 

“You’re lucky I was on time. What if I wasn’t?” Jervaise said in a stern voice. She stood with her hands on her hips, chin thrust out and her brow riddled with lines.  

Tandi stood up. “I swear that school bus is early.”

Jervaise gave her a ‘humph,’ as she turned and walked away. Tandi followed her, making excuses as to why she was late.

“You mean you were spending time with that sugar daddy of yours.”

Tandi shushed her. “Trevor don’t need to hear none of that.”

“Well? Admit it. You ashamed or something?”

Tandi didn’t respond.  She looked at the donut shop across the street and had an idea.  

“Let me treat you to something for helping me with Trevor.” Tandi grabbed her friend’s sleeve and tugged at it. “Come on. We’ve got time.” 

“Maybe you got time but I got me a husband I got to cook for.”

Tandi laughed. “You probably got dinner just about ready. You kids want a donut before we go home?” Tandi said as they crossed over. “C’mon.” 

She didn’t wait for an answer and walked to the shop, opened the door and waited. Jervaise gave her a half smile and led the kids in. The air in the store smelled of coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon. Most of the tables were occupied. 

“You all grab a seat,” Tandi told them.  

She bought hot chocolate and a variety of donuts and then joined them at the table. The kids were excited and fought over the donuts as soon as she put the tray down. 

“Mind your manners,” Jervaise scolded them. 

Without touching the money that was on the tray, Jervaise counted a twenty, a ten-dollar bill, and some singles. 

“Sugar bring you some Christmas cheer?” Jervaise asked.

“You could say Santa paid a visit.” 

Jervaise gave her a smug smile and shook her head from left to right.  

“You kids eat up now,” Tandi said. 

The kids finished their donuts and Tandi gave Trevor a few singles and sent him and Juanita to play the arcade games in the back.  

Jervaise’s eyes went back and forth between the kids and Tandi. When they were out of earshot, she grilled her.

“Okay, so how long you gonna let this go on?”

“Girl, I ain’t hurting nobody.”

“You’re a married woman, and he’s a married man. Never mind a white man. You taking care not to get pregnant?”

Tandi nodded her head yes.  

“You’re just setting yourself up to get hurt.” 

“I know he ain’t gonna leave his wife and kid for me.”

“He say that to you?”

“No, but he say he loves me.”

“How ‘bout you? You in love too?”

“No. I just see him ‘cause the sex is good, and he helps with the bills.”

“So now you’re a whore. What does Trevor’s father say?”

“Oscar? He don’t know nothing. He’s playing with that band in Paris. Says they appreciate a black man, not like here. He sends what he can, but a musician don’t make much.”

Trevor came to the table and asked for more money. Tandi gave him two more singles and told him that was all he would get. The boy went back to the arcade game. 

“Remind me, how did you meet this fella? Drew, right? What kinda name is that?” 

“That’s short for Andrew. Says no one calls him that. He fixed my flat. Remember? I told you. I know I told you.”  

“Well, good luck is all I can say.” Jervaise stood. “Time for me to head back to the kitchen. C’mon there Juanita, say goodbye. Say thanks for the donuts.”

Tandi headed home with Travis. They walked past a group of young men who were shooting dice against the side of a building. One of them, an older fella winked at her but she paid him no mind. Tandi stopped at a street light. Close by, two men were leaning on a car. One of them discreetly showed her a small clear plastic bag with a white powdery substance in it. She turned away. 

Tandi hurried across the street to her building, The lobby smelled of cleaners and marijuana. There were flyers for a Chinese restaurant littering the vestibule. She stopped at her mailbox and retrieved her mail. There was a letter from Oscar. Tandi’s emotions went from joy at receiving his letter to consternation as to what it might say. She waited until she was in the elevator to read it.

Oscar said his gig in Paris would soon be over, and he’d be home in a few days. Tandi felt no excitement at the thought of him coming back.

Later that evening, back in her apartment, she spoke with Drew and told him how much she loved him. It weren’t no lie.