Sheriff ✔

Chapter 3

With a full stomach, the rest of the work day went by quickly. I marveled at Evalyn's cooking. Herbs and spices danced on my tongue. When I had gone to the store to pick up the items she requested, I had spent what felt like ages in the baking aisle, eyes scrunched, trying to locate the numerous seasonings she has listed.

I headed home in good spirits – the Chief largely left me along for the rest of the day. I was able to handle some paperwork that I had been putting off for a while. Having my home finally in order made the few loose ends that I had been dragging my feet on at work even more glaring.

My dinner plate was sitting on the dining table, the steam wafting off of it invitingly. I could hear Evalyn's voice rising above the sound of her ironing in my bedroom.

Don't deceive me. Please don't leave me. What would I do without you to see me through?

She emphasized every sentence with a forceful thump of the iron on what I hoped was not one of my white shirts.

If you leave me, then you grieve me. What would I do without you to see me through?

I mounted the stairs, forcing myself to drop the smile I could feel playing at the corners of my lips.

How you please me. When you squeeze me.

Her back was turned to me, and I stood there watching her hips sway as she pressed and sang. Her voice was divine.

Yes I'm crazy. About my baby, yes I am.

At the end of this line, she spun on her heel, my shirt grasped in her hands, the starched lover she was pleading to stay. I saw her face drop, and I almost laughed out loud. She hastily put my shirt back on the ironing board.

"Your dinner is downstairs on the table, sir."

"I saw it."

"...Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

"Not mess about with my clothing, girl."

"Yes, sir."

I took a step closer, and she took a step back.

"You realize I'm the law in this town? Around here, they call me "sheriff", so watch yourself well. If you get on my bad side, there will be hell to pay."

She looked at me with wide eyes and nodded. I smirked. "Draw my bath, but don't leave. I'll be driving you to and from my house from here on out."

Evalyn pinched her face. "Thank you, sir, but I have someone who walks me. We-"

"I know, Charles Washington," I responded, a little too drily and venomously for my taste. She shot me a quizzical look.

"I let him know he won't need to both escorting you. You'll be just fine with me taking you."

Evalyn stifled a sigh and tried to walk past me. I caught her arm in my hand. She looked down at my grasp and then up at my face. I let go immediately. I knew that - white, Negro, or purple – when a woman gave that look, only a man with a death wish would keep on doing what he was doing.

~~~

Evalyn was waiting by the front door when I arrived downstairs after my refreshing bath. Sitting in the warm water, I had wondered if her dark skin would be soft upon my chest, and what her hair would look like wet. I shook these thoughts from my mind, though. I really needed to find a woman. I was in some sort of desperate state to be fantasizing about my house help.

Without a word, I walked outside, and she followed. "Sit in the back," I instructed her, and she did so wordlessly. The drive was largely quiet, apart from her periodic instructions from the back seat. We eventually arrived at her house, and I was taken aback by its ramshackle appearance. It seemed in serious need of paint and maintenance. From where I was sitting in my car, it looked like the roof was having a hard go of it as well.

Evalyn tapped lightly on the door of my car, causing me to jump. I had been so intently studying the house that I hadn't realized Evalyn had exited the car.

"Good night, Mr. Davis."

"Good night, Evalyn." She paused, blinked, and smiled faintly.

"I didn't know you even knew my name...Sheriff."

Before I could respond, she swayed into her house. Chuckling softly to myself, I headed back to town to go pick up Lilith.

~~~

Lilith was a sharp pillar of red, perfume, and strength. She was always friendly, but not necessarily kind, even to me.

"Will, it's about time you got here!" I grinned as I approached the grocery store counter. Lilith pinched the tip of my nose and winked. "Let me come around, and we can head out." I nodded and made my way back outside.

Lilith helped manage the local grocery store, Timmons. She wasn't technically the owner of the shop, but everyone was well aware that she was the one who called the shots and kept things running. She was a very competent woman, and I marveled at how fast her brain worked.

Lilith slid into the passengers seat, and I drove us to our favorite diner. We talked all the way, and I thanked God for the wonderful day I was having. When we arrived, I opened the car and diner door for her with a flourish, and she giggled appreciatively both times. We eased into our usual booth, and we nodded at the waitress, who placed our order into the chef without a word.

We ate, laughed, and talked. I almost always enjoyed my time with Lilith. She was a friend with the potential for more, but neither of us was rushing. She joked here and there about being a wife and mother, but I could never really tell if it was something she was interested in. I loved her, in some sort of way, I think, but was also afraid of her, if I was being honest. If crossed, her intelligence became a deftly wielded whip that dug its tongues into the tender flesh of your insecurities. She was beautiful and engaging, but wild with a slightly venomous aftertaste.

"So, Willy, tell me about this little Negro interest of yours," Lilith prodded loudly, smirking deeply. I shot her as evil as a look as I could muster.

"Well, Lilith, if you're talking about my Negro house help, the arrangement is working out fine," I said equally as loudly, ignoring the chuckles of the other restaurant patrons. They knew how Lilith liked to joke.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I was hoping for something more tantalizing, more sordid, Willy. You're so straight-laced."

Lilith leaned in close and dropped her voice. "Is she beautiful?"

Is she beautiful? Is her dark skin smooth and bright? Are her teeth a sparkling white against the soft pink of her lips? Is her short coil-y hair an intriguing crown, drawing the eyes up down to her open, beautiful face. My heartbeat thudded in my ears as my thoughts raced. What on earth is wrong with you?

Lilith laughed shortly, and I snapped into focus. "I want to meet her." Her eyes, slightly darker than usual, glimmered with some emotion I didn't recognize. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Come over for dinner tomorrow then. She has food waiting by the time I get off work."

She quirked her eyebrows and took a deep draught of her drink. "She sounds like a keeper."

~~~

I mounted the stairs and was surprised to see Evalyn standing there. She smiled and opened her arms wide, her chemise-covered body inviting me into an embrace. I closed the distance and took her in my arms. She was even warmer and softer than I could have imagined, and that warmth coiled about in my chest.

In an instant, we were on the bed, the soft sheets ensconcing us. I held her closely to me. Nothing had ever felt so natural to me in my life. My hands cupped to her chest, I felt the pulsing of her heart. I wanted nothing more, and even as I slowly awoke, realizing I had been dreaming, the warmth her small frame had imbued with me remained.