Charcoal in the living room Chapter 1

She rushed into the house. It was raining delicate wisps of droplets, which stuck to her black wool jacket like a light sheen of silver. Balancing her bags and umbrella, she looked forward to running hot-as-fire water in her mauve tub. "Maybe I'll put in some bath beads," she thought while closing her umbrella in front of her door, "I know he's not home and it will give me some time to myself!” As she turned the key in the door, she shook her head at the thought. "He's my boo, I shouldn't want him to be away." Opening the door she was overwhelmed by the thick black smoke that greeted her. "Oh my fucking God," she thought, "What in the hell? I must have left the damn curling iron on and damn near burned up the place!"

She ran down the extremely long hallway with her two white Siamese cats, Simba and Nala, at her heels. "Lord, lord lord!" she thought, "I can't burn up all my shit!" In the darkness she saw the bottom of the bathroom door gleaming with a sliver of yellow light. She burst through the door and there he was dripping wet.

"Baby!” he cried, "Where's the fire?"
"I'm trying to find it myself! Did I leave the curler on?"
"No" he said, "why you think that?"
"Man don't you see the house is full of smoke?
"That's not smoke, it's charcoal."
"Nigga, you in here barbecuing? It's wintertime!"
She knew Damon was crazy but now he had gone too far!
"Margoles, I'm burning some frankincense and myrrh crystals",he cooed. Dripping water on her waxed floor he walked her to the living room. 6'3", with a chocolate brown complexion, he wasn't very muscular. Matter of fact, he was down right skinny but Damon had a smooth way of talking that would make her give him her last dime for a get rich scheme. Margoles tripped over the groceries she drooped in haste to reach the living room. Damon turned on the lights and smiled at her with a great big grin.
"I was showering and cleansing the house because the Sabbath is over and we can make love tonight!"
Margoles shook her head. "Here he goes again with this shit!"
"The Sabbath honey?” she sighed.
"You remember what I told you. The brothers say we ain't supposed to have sex from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday! It's Saturday night baby!"

The Brothers. Those damned Hebrew Israelites. For the last 2 months she watched Damon begin to change. When they first got together they had a discussion on religion. She clearly stated that she could take it or leave it. At 23, who thought about such things? Damon became very still and silent. He sat straight up in the bed and looked her with the most serious face she'd ever seen.
"We have to agree on a religion. It's so important to our relationship that we agree."
"Well to be honest with you, I'm not convinced there really is a God. I mean all they ever cared about at my church was their clothes and fur coats. Seems like a big pretense to me."
He sadly slumped off to the bathroom and she laid back looking at the ceiling. "He'll get over it," she thought, "he just gets too excited."

Then exactly 9 weeks ago he stayed out past his promised time of arrival. Margoles wasn't alarmed but she did find it strange. Damon and Margoles were the best of friends as well as soul mates. They stayed up and played chess long into the night, listening to Lite FM and making fun of the songs by changing the lyrics. They went bike riding in the park and usually found a secluded place for him to bend her over and indulge in their favorite pastime. Doggy style. Best sex position ever made! Animals knew just what they were doing by instinct and it worked so well for the couple's unequal height dimensions.
When Damon came home at 1 am, Margoles was eating butter pecan ice cream and playing Tetris on her Nintendo. She turned to ask him where he had been and he ran to her, rushed her back on the bed and gave her the longest kiss, full of passion, starting the faucet in her panties.
"Wow" she thought, " what the hell done jumped into him?"
"Baby", he said when finally coming up for breath, " I have the most wonderful news!"
"Oooh what baby? You got a job?"
"No, even better!"
"Damn," she thought, "what could better than your ass getting a job? Maybe he found a wallet full of money."

Damon held her face gently, his eyes were bloodshot, and his breath was coming out in tune with his rapid heartbeat. "Margoles, baby, we the real Jews! His crooked teeth with the overbite were spread in a Kool aid smile and you would have thought the Negroes had been set free again. Margoles took a breath and said "The real Jews Damon? What are you talking about and where you been?"
"I was coming home from the interview I had today. Nah I didn't get the gig. But as I was walking I saw some of those guys on the corner in Times Square."
"The ones who wear all the fringe? With the long beards?"
" Yeah baby, The Brothers!"
" The Brothers?"
" Yeah, the priests of the ISPK. The Israelite School of Practical Knowledge."
" How they have Priests in a school?"
"It's not only a school, it's a church."
"What kinda crazy bullshit?”, she thought.
"Yeah I was passing by and one of them asked me if I knew who I was. I said "of course". He said I know you think you black but do you know who you really are? Baby, he started breaking it down to me and I have so much to tell you!"
"OK baby," she said. She thought to herself it was going to be long ass night and her pussy began to dry up like the Sahara Desert.