Confrontation andConflict

Matheson met Val for dinner and told her about his meetings with her cousin Tameka. She frowned up her face especially when he told her about her grandmother wanting them to come over for dinner.

"I'm not going over there!" she snapped. "All they want to do is to give you the third degree and try to figure out what you see in me."

Matheson could see the pain on her face at just the mention of her grandmother. He couldn't understand why these people thought less of Val just because she was dark. It didn't make sense to him. As far as he was concerned it was no different from disliking someone because they were a red head. He felt that she needed to face her family and stand up to them.

"It can't be all that bad" Matheson protested following her to the table. Val grunted in reply. They sat down and Val looked at the menu. She held it up and he couldn't see her face. He knew that she was upset and didn't want to talk about it.

Matheson decided not to press the issue. He wanted a nice quiet dinner and he didn't want to fight with her.

"I 'm going down to Virginia next week" he said changing the subject. "I hope you can come down the following weekend.

"I'll be there" she said putting her menu down and smiling at him.

They ordered dinner and Matheson decided to let the subject of her father's mother drop for the moment. They had a pleasant dinner and were walking back to the car where they found Tameka leaning up against Matheson's car. Matheson couldn't believe this woman's gall. She grinned at the two of them. She was wearing another pair of tight jeans with silver studs coming down the sides of the legs. She had on a thin white blouse and he could see that she had on a multicolored bra underneath. The buttons on this top was stretched and her ample bosom appeared to be trying to free itself from the confines of her top.

"God, Tameka!" Val snapped. "Why don't you give it a rest?"

Val was clearly irritated. "Do I have to get a restraining order?"

"Look" Tameka replied calmly, "I'm only here because of Nana! She wants to see you. She asked me to get you to see her by whatever means necessary. I've got better things to do than chase you two all over town. In fact I've got a hot date tonight!"

"Well maybe you need to get on your way then" Matheson replied trying to keep his voice level. What in the world could be that important that Val's grandmother would sic Tameka on their trail?

Tameka leaned against the car and folded her arms looking at them. "So what do you want me to tell her?"

She quickly reached out and grabbed Val's hand holding it up to see the ring.

"Umm...nice" she said before Val snatched her hand away.

"Look Tameka" Val hissed. "I don't want to see her. Tell her that! Why is she so interested now? She never was before and certainly she wasn't interested before Papa died!"

"You're still holding onto that?" Tameka asked sighing as if she was bored. "Really, Val...what happened to being a good forgiving Christian?"

Val looked at Matheson and he quickly unlocked the doors forcing Tameka to step away from the car so that he could open the door for Val to get in.

"Such a gentleman." Tameka remarked looking at Matheson.

Val ignored her and Matheson turned to her after he shut the door.

"Look it's obvious to me that you're going to pester us until she does this. Fine! Lead the way and I'll follow you to your grandmother's house!" He was tired of this. Val needed to face her grandmother. He knew he'd have to face his own relatives soon enough.

Tameka looked surprised. "Now?"

"Yes now" Matheson replied. "Is that a problem?"

"Well alright then!" Tameka said giving him her brightest smile. She quickly got into her vehicle which was parked next to his. He opened the door and got in. He could tell by the look on Val's face that she was not pleased with him.

"I told you that I didn't want to go" she protested. "It's going to be a big mess for sure!"

"Look" Matheson replied pulling out of the parking space and following Tameka. "There's not use ducking and dodging. We need to meet this head on! We will face her together and the moment she insults you, we're out of there. You just say the word! !"

"Promise" Val whispered.

"Promise" Matheson replied.

He didn't like Val feeling unloved and inferior by her own family members! All of this weirdness was because she was dark? He didn't understand this one bit!

"Look, I'm going to need you to be strong for me when I tackle my grandparents and my aunt and uncle" Matheson said grinning at her. "They are no picnic either."

"They can't be that bad" Val replied thinking about all the things her grandmother had said to her in the past. She had to admit that it hurt and she didn't want to face her now. However, Matheson was right. She had to be strong. She could do this!

They followed Tameka to her grandmother's house and Matheson pulled up behind her. He got out and walked around the car and opened the door for Val while Tameka watched. He put his arm around her protectively.

"It'll be alright." he whispered to her giving her a quick kiss.

Tameka quickly walked up the walkway ahead of them and opened the door with her key. Matheson noticed that Val's head had dropped. He wasn't having that! She was no longer a child!

"Hold your head up" he hissed. "You are a beautiful dark woman. I love you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. They're the ones with the problem."

Val's head snapped back and she looked at him. She wasn't even aware that she was hanging her head until he said something to her.

They walked into the house and Val looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed. They walked into the front door and the marble toped table was still there with artificial flowers. The white living room furniture that no one could sit on was still there with the white plastic covers. Val could never understand why someone would buy furniture and not sit on it. Her grandmother was in the den and seeing her instantly filled her with dread. Matheson's arm tightened around her waist.

Ethel Chamberlayne was a small woman whose skin was the color of tan leather. Matheson could tell that she had been a beauty in her day and that she knew it. Her mixed grey hair was pulled back in one long braid down her back and her light brown eyes roamed over them as they entered the den.

"Well, well well" she remarked. "VaLysia. So you've decided to come by and remember that you have another grandmother."

"Hello Nana" she replied meekly. Matheson could tell that she was intimidated by her grandmother. She did not walk over to her, but stayed by Matheson's side.

"It's a shame that I had to read the newspaper like a common stranger to find out that my granddaughter is engaged." Ethel Chamberlayne remarked to Val and then turned to Matheson. "Mr. Hendricks"

"Ma'am" Matheson replied nodding his head. He looked at Tameka who was leaning against the doorway and then to Val who was staring at her grandmother. She looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but where she was at that moment. He rubbed her waist and she looked at him and he gave her a smile of encouragement.

"I must say I was surprised" Ethel Chamberlayne said looking at the two of them. "I know you come from a good family, Mr. Hendricks. Hannah's is well known and I know you can provide for my granddaughter. It is right that you come and meet the rest of her family. VaLysia has more family than just the hired help that took care of you, you know."

"If you are referring to Mavis," Matheson replied coolly "She is more than just hired help. She is family. I've never thought of her as anything else."

"But of course" Ethel said looking down her nose at him in a condescending manner.

"Your granddaughter has a career of her own." Matheson continued. "However, I am sure that I can provide her whatever she needs. You should be proud of your granddaughter, Mrs. Chamberlayne!"

Ethel's eyes roamed over Val and Matheson could see her disapproval which grated on his nerves. Someone needed to bring the old biddy down a peg or two and he just might be the one to do it!

"VaLysia, you really should do something about that nappy head of yours. God, a perm can do wonders!" Ethel said rolling her eyes.

Matheson could feel Val tense up. "I like her hair just the way it is" he replied. "I don't see anything wrong with it!"

"Hmph! That's just curiosity talking" Ethel replied. "It looks a hot mess to me."

"Nana, I'm not changing my hair" Val snapped. "I didn't come here to be insulted! You wanted to see me, so I'm here. Say what you want to say and then Matheson and I will be leaving!"

"I wasn't insulting you." she remarked. "I was just stating facts. So when's the wedding."

"We haven't set a date yet." Matheson replied sitting down and pulling Val down beside him. He could see that she was shutting down and he held her close. He hoped that making her face her grandmother wasn't a mistake.

"So tell me" Ethel said sipping her coffee. "What brought on this quick engagement, VaLysia? Are you pregnant?"

Val gasped. "No Nana, I'm not pregnant"

Matheson quickly piped in. "I'm in love with your granddaughter, Mrs. Chamberlayne. That's why I want to marry her."

Ethel stared at the two of them for a moment. "Well wonders never cease! "

"Your granddaughter is beautiful" Matheson replied. "Inside and out. You of all people should recognize that. I fail to understand your surprise!"

"Well I'm glad you think she's beautiful." Ethel replied. She looked at Val "You're very lucky, young lady!"

She looked at Matheson. "You should have some very beautiful children. They most likely won't be dark like VaLysia, but you never know. Her father was fair and so was her mother and they had Val. "

"I don't care how dark they are." Matheson replied. "That's not important to me...and not to VaLysia either."

"Hmph!" Ethel responded. "You'd better pray that they have hair like yours. It'll be easier to manage! Now, I myself have Indian blood. My hair has always been extremely long, thick and black. My son's was the same way. We were surprised that Val didn't inherit any of our tendencies. I would have thought that she would turn out with a better grain of hair at least!"

"All we care about is that they be healthy" Matheson replied. "It seems to me that wanting light skin and long straight hair is a slave mentality. It's like you love the white blood in you and hate the black. That doesn't make sense to me."

"It's Indian blood" Ethel replied correcting him.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Chamberlayne, but most black people have white blood in them and not Indian. That's a fact. There are not enough American Indians in the US to have fathered all the mixed black people who claim they have Indian blood. It's just easier to accept that you're part Indian than to admit that light blacks are a product of being raped by their white owners." Matheson watched as Ethel's face turned red in anger.

Tameka who had been quiet all this time standing in the doorway walked over to him.

"Who are you calling a slave? You don't know anything about us! If Nana says it's Indian blood and not white, then it's Indian blood."

"Have you checked it out?" Matheson continued.

"I don't need to check it out" Ethel replied. "You're a smart mouth cracker that's for sure! Maybe your people were the ones going around raping field slaves!"

"Perhaps, but I'm not proud of the fact as you seem to be" Matheson replied.

"How dare you!" Ethel snapped standing up. "You don't know anything about me!"

"I know that you're hung up on unimportant things such as skin color and hair texture!" Matheson snapped.

"Look Nana" Val said looking at her. "Why can't you just be happy for me? Why must you keep bringing up the fact that I'm not light like the rest of you all? We're all different! Why can't you accept that?"

Ethel sat back down and began sipped her coffee. She was not going to let this cracker upset her. "Honey, I accept you. The problem is you don't accept yourself. Now you've gone out here and got this white man to make up for your own insecurities and imperfections. Now I must admit that I contributed to it a little bit. For years I didn't believe that you were my granddaughter for obvious reasons. However your father bought me the proof before I died and I accept it."

"Me?" Val snapped shocked. "After all these years of you calling me the 'mailman's baby? "

"It was a joke" Ethel said sitting her cup down. "Let's not get into all that in front of company, VaLysia."

"I'm not company" Matheson said getting up. "I think we'll be leaving now. This has truly been an education!"

"Likewise" Ethel responded. She looked at Val. "How long do you think you'll remain married once he shows his true colors and calls you a nigger."

Matheson stood up. "Let's go VaLysia!"

"I touched a nerve didn't I boy?" Ethel hissed.

Val turned to her grandmother. "I don't know what's more pathetic, you sending Tameka after us or this display of bigotry that you've shown this evening. I'm ashamed to be your granddaughter. You don't ever have to worry about seeing me again!"

"You think this white man is your savior?" Ethel said following them to the door. "He'll be tired of the novelty before you have your first anniversary, mark my words!"

Matheson turned to her and Val ran past him to the car. "What kind of woman are you?" he asked his voice dripping with contempt. "Isn't it enough that you insult me, but now you're trying to destroy your own granddaughter's self esteem? Val was right. We should never have come here!"

He walked out to the car and saw her leaning on the car and wondered if she was alright. The tears were running down her face and he quickly opened the door for her and she got in.

"I'm sorry." he said pulling off. "I guess it was a mistake coming here."

Val wiped her eyes with a tissue from her purse "No, it needed to be done. I'm glad we came and now it's over. I'm never coming back here again"

They drove back to Matheson's place and she wasn't saying much. Matheson knew that she was thinking about all that her grandmother had said. No matter how much she said otherwise, he knew that her grandmother had inflicted another wound into her wobbly self esteem and it angered him.

They walked into the apartment and he walked ahead of her upstairs. Val didn't know if she wanted to stay or not. She thought about asking Matheson to take her home.

She came upstairs and was surprised that he had already undressed.

"I don't think I'm in the mood for sex, Matheson" she said looking at him.

"That's not what this is about." he replied. He pulled her to him and turned her around to face her reflection in the mirror.

He unzipped her dress and pulled it off of her shoulders and watched as it pooled at her feet. He then unhooked her bra. She didn't resist but allowed him to do what he wanted. She stood before the mirror looking at his reflection as he stood behind her.

"What do you see?" he asked kissing her shoulder.

"I see you standing behind me naked and me with just my underwear on!" she quipped.

"I see a beautiful woman." Matheson whispered. "When I first saw you, I thought you were pretty, but you were frowning the whole time you were at dinner and I wondered what it would take to make you smile. When I first saw you smile, it was in the bakery that day you gave me the almond milk, remember?"

"I remember" she said.

"I knew then that I wanted you. I didn't want to admit it then, but I did. When we first kissed in the music room, your lips felt wonderful under mine. Your grandmother is a bitter old woman whose time has passed. All she can hold onto is her light skin and long hair. I think she's jealous of you."

Val looked at him surprised.

"Jealous? I don't think so Matheson"

"Yes, I realized it today. I saw how she looked at you. She's known all along that you were your father's daughter. You look just like him. She still has his pictures all around the den. She lost him to your mother and she's angry about it. She looks at you and sees their love for each other and it pisses her off. That's the real reason she's angry. You told me that he was her only son out of six children. He left her and she was unhappy about that."

Val stared at his reflection in the mirror. Could that be it? Was that what her grandmother's lack of love for her all about?

"But it wasn't my fault!" Val protested.

"Doesn't matter. She could risk cutting him off when he was alive. It was all about separating him from your mother. It was never about you really. By the time your mother died, the damage was done. Your father still didn't come back to her, don't you see? He was devastated by your mother's death and his mother's contempt. It was just too much for him I guess."

Val turned and looked at him. "How do you know so much?"

"I look. I listen. I observe." Matheson replied kissing her neck. "You've told me a lot about your father and mother. Mavis told me a few things and tonight I was able to put it all together."

He took her breast in his hand, caressing it. "I love your breasts."

"But they are kind of small" she protested.

"But your nipples are large and I love the feel and taste of them." he replied. He fingered her nipple and it was hard from his attentions.

"It looks like a cow teat." Val replied. "I wish they were small and pebbly like other women's. I have to wear padded bras just so they don't show through my clothes."

"I don't" he said. "they really turn me on."

Val closed her eyes as he continued his leisurely caresses. She felt herself getting wet.

"I love the taste of them" Matheson continued. "I love the contrast between our skins. I'm glad you're dark."

He pulled her underwear down and stared at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that she had trimmed her pubic hair.

"Don't ever shave it all off" he said rubbing his fingers through it. "I love it"

"It's just so much and I thought that...you know you'd like it better if I did" she responded. "I didn't think you'd like a mouth full of hair."

He continued to caress her, pulling lightly on the hairs as he ran his fingers through it. " Don't worry about that" he whispered.

Val leaned back against him as his fingers brushed over her. His touch always excited her.

"I want you to forget about your grandmother." Matheson whispered. "You are loved."

"I know that" she said kissing him. She looked into his ocean eyes and saw only love and felt her heart swell.

"I'm going to need you to return the favor when my family comes to town" he said kissing her.

Val sat on the bed and pulled him down on her before falling back. "I love you Matheson Hendricks"

He grinned at her. "We'd better stop before I won't be able to control myself"

"Don't control yourself" she countered.

He responded by slowly licking his way down to her naval. Val closed her eyes and reveled in the sensations he was creating. She could feel his nose running over her mound. He hadn't used his tongue yet.

"I love the smell of you when you're aroused" he murmured as if reading her mind. "It makes me so hard."

"Well I'm glad about that" she giggled.

He responded with his tongue, wet and hot on her. She moaned as he lapped greedily and she heard herself calling his name over and over as her orgasm overtook her vocal cords. Then he moved quickly over her and filled her so deliciously that she cried out in ecstasy. He covered her mouth with his and she dug her fingers in his shoulders as she moved aggressively under him.

"Fuck me hard, Matheson!" she hissed. "Make me scream like we heard your Mama scream!"

He complied ramming into her with a force that sent her spiraling into another orgasm. It was at that moment that she realized that she liked it rough and told him so, encouraging him. He quickly turned her over grabbing her by the waist and had her on her knees.

"Oh yes!" she gasped as he filled her again and gave all of himself to her.

Val could hardly remain on her knees as he forcefully pounded into her, but she loved it. She then felt him stiffen and he cried out her name as he poured himself into her. They both collapsed on the bed breathing hard. Val looked at him.

"I think that was the best yet" she said trying to catch her breath.

"You may be right" he replied laughing. "Maybe we should visit your grandmother more often."

Val rolled her eyes at him and gave him a playful slap on the arm before kissing him.