Frankincense & Lavender

Cedric yawned and evoked the “tired-tears”

It was the kind of yawn that hugged you in the middle and made you tremble while your eyes teared up and made ya blink. And if ya didn’t placed your palm over your eye and lightly cup your head to hide the tired-tears, as his mama used to call them, they would spill down your face and someone would eventually ask you,

“What’s wrong?” Sandy asked cocking her head to the side, “did I kill the vibe by talking about the plagued ills of our society again?”

Cedric’s eyes became as wide as saucers because he wasn’t expecting that question at all.

“So this is something you do often, you have strange men over and start talkin political in hopes they bore of you and make a polite excuse like they’re tired, for example, to end the evening early and go home?”

Sandy clenched her jaw and turned her head so dramatically slow towards Cedric that the cartilage in her neck popped. This made Cedric chuckle slightly but it seemed to give Sandy the perfect sound effect to just say, “Nah, I ain’t that passive aggressive, if I ain’t feelin your vibe, you don’t get an audition to commune with my tribe.”

Cedric frowned slightly, “So you have a tribe?”

Sandy rolled her eyes and giggled, “Lord no I know what you’re thinkin, you’re thinking concubine and I ain’t fittin to have the time nor the energy to deal with all of that…” She flung her hand as if shooing away the mere thought of juggling that many suitors was beneath her. She was always taught there was a very thin line between keeping your options open and becoming an option herself.

In Sandy’s mind, more often than not, it was easier to stay alone.

That’s why she was almost one hundred percent sure she was sweet on Cedric cuz it was a Wednesday night and typically Sandy would be all up in her favorite detective show lamenting to Minnie about how great the writers are on the show but no.

No, tonight Sandy took a chance.

Sandy thought she’d be extra ordinarily daring and invite the strange man who lives in a luxurious cabin in the woods over for faux nachos and margaritas in a can.

And eventhough Sandy has been of age for quite sometime, she hadn’t felt this grown in years.

But in her opinion that’s what a certain style of ninety’s R and B music with the nomenclature of Neo Soul was created to do…

…to make y’all feel grown.

So when Cedric winced as if on cue to to the intro to Didn’t Cha Know offa Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun album, Sandy took that as a sign that the handsome man was making his exit and of course she had mixed feelings about it. Sandy was surprisingly enjoying his company.

Cedric gingerly maneuvered one of his long legs out from under the kitchen island and stretched it out in front of him. It crackled like someone was stepping on bubble wrap which caused them both to chuckle. Sandy, however, braced herself as she spun around on the stool to slide off.

“Oh sweet Lord does that hurt?” She asked Cedric with genuine concern.

Cedric smiled at Sandy warmly again as he stood up straight towering over her, he grabbed her hand and led her to her own front door which she opened.

This startled Minnie and she jumped out of her little fleece bed and puttered towards the door. Cedric’s smile was now beaming as he pointed to Minnie.

“Sorry bout that lil mama, but Daddy C, gotta go and finish up his meds so he’ll be able to get around in the mornin.”

And with that ke kissed Sandy on the top of her head and walked out.