Page 2 of Nothing Even Matters
You Got Me
It had been a long time since Amy Sheppard visited Madre’s.
She used to come to the shop all the time and ordered flowers for the church where her husband and Faith’s father, the Reverend David Sheppard, ministered. Every Sunday, the church was filled with fresh roses, daisies, and some exotic plants from other places. At the end of every Sunday, Amy gave the flowers away to the parishioners, increasing Madre’s income by word-of-mouth.
When her only daughter and Eli divorced two years ago, Amy stopped coming around to Madre’s, though she missed their flower selection and service. She tried another floral shop and was so irritated by the piss-poor quality of flowers, she almost left a scathing review on Yelp. The Lord taught her better.
Now standing in Madre’s, holding her finest pecan pie and silently wondering how much hell she was going to catch from Faith, Amy hoped her mission would have one good outcome. Even if Faith temporarily hated her, at least Amy was able to get rid of one of her pies.
She glanced up when she heard footsteps down the stairs. She smiled at her former son-in-law and rushed over to give him a hug. “Eliodoro!” Amy set down the pie and wrapped him into a bear hug. “It’s been so long!”
Amy was grace personified. Long, natural hair that was always pinned up in a loose bun. A slim figure she accentuated with the best and most flattering ensembles, and a voice that was smooth like butter. “It has,” Eli wrapped his arms around her back. Amy always gave the best hugs, second to his mother. “What can I do for you?”
“First, for you,” she handed him the pecan pie, “freshly made and not store bought.”
“You came through with my favorite!” Eli lifted the foil and sniffed. It smelled like heaven. Amy always made the best pies. “Thank you so much!”
“You’re very welcome.” Amy smiled. “Now I’m here on a bit of business.”
“Oh?” Eli wasn’t planning on taking any orders until after the New Year but he would make an exception for Amy. There he went again; he just didn’t know how to say no.
“Not professional business, personal.” Amy stated. “I know things between you and Faith have been acrimonious to say the least.”
To say the very least. Eli hadn’t personally spoken to his ex in well over two years. “Yes?”
“I don’t know if you’re aware of this or if you even care, but Faith is caught up with that basketballer, Jeremy.” Jeremy Griggs was the A-list star athlete of the Los Angeles Lakers and was primed to take his team to another championship. He was also a notorious womanizer with a rumored son.
He and Faith met at a nightclub and struck up a whirlwind romance. He proposed after six months of dating with an enormous 10-carat ring and Faith was soon spotted looking at L.A. homes.
While Eli knew about the relationship via his brothers, he never publicly commented about it. In fact, he didn’t even privately commented on it. He didn’t want to give Faith any reason to turn their already cool relationship into something worse.
Instead, Eli used his IG page to promote Madre’s. He took pictures with his children. He had a few photos with other celebrities he was close with. And plenty of pictures with his brothers, including the ever-elusive and ultra-private Nick.
Any pictures of Faith were way down the history. Eli didn’t erase them because erasing them meant she never mattered to him at all and he knew that simply wasn’t the truth. But he never spoke of her, good or bad.
Now her mother was forcing Eli to say something. “Hmm?”
“Eliodoro, you’re the reason why Faith is leaving Harlem,” Amy replied.
Eli scoffed. “Doubtful. Faith has plenty of reasons to stay in Harlem. She has her shop, her family, her friends, plenty to do here.” He shook his head. “She wants to leave with her basketballer, she can. She’s grown and she do can whatever she likes.”
“Faith doesn’t love Jeremy, Eliodoro.” Amy insisted as she walked around the Madre’s shop. “She thinks because he’s rich, a bit rough around the edges, and the life of the party wherever he goes, that’s what she likes.” Amy turned to her former son-in-law. “What my Faith doesn’t understand is that what she likes, onlyyouhave. She’s searching for you in all of these different men she dates and complains about why they don’t last or they don’t turn out the way she’d expected.”
Eli dismissed Amy’s concern. Faith has had more boyfriends than he could count since their divorce and she didn’t seem like she missing him at all. “I don’t understand where I come in all of this?”
“You’re the reason why Faith is leaving,” Amy walked up to him. “And you’ll be the reason why she stays. You can act hard and standoff-ish with everyone else, Eliodoro, but I know you. I knew you when you were the 17-year-old boy with ponytail and baggy clothes. I remember how embarrassed you were because of how poor your family was and didn’t want to expose Faith to it. She didn’t care. She loved you, anyway.
“And even through the mess with Simone and Darren, when Faith acted out, when they tried to embarrass you both, you protected her. Any man would’ve given up on his marriage and believe me, Faith gave you plenty of reason to. But you stood by her. You – if I remember your words – waited for her to act right.” Amy’s voice was warm like a cup of hot tea. “You’ll be the only reason why she’ll stay here.”
Eli slowly shook his head. For years, he refused to participate in Faith’s games. She was the one that filed for divorce; he abided by her wishes. She got the home, the car, shared custody of the kids, and a hefty child support check. Whatever she wanted to do with her life, it was not his concern.
When he lost his marriage, Eli found God again. He became a regular member at his Catholic church and attended mass whenever he could. He focused more on his business, numerous endorsements, and the reality show to no longer care what Faith was up to. He became one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and it wasn’t news to him. He played up his dashing good looks into donating to charity by auctioning off a date with him.
It was a success until word got back to Faith and her friends, who took turns in various social media accounts on the “thirstiness” of the date. He didn’t know if Faith was intentionally being hateful or if she surrounded herself with bitter, lonely bitches who had nothing better to do than to be behind a keyboard, stalking him all day.
He found it comical – the people who claimed hated him, were the ones watching him the closest. It was then Eli decided all communication would be via a lawyer. “What is that you’re expecting from me, Amy?”
“Faith still loves you, Eliodoro. She’s acting out because she knows she messed up.” Amy turned to face her former son-in-law. “She’ll be coming over to your house soon. She wants you to sign off papers to relocate to L.A.”
“She can go to L.A. all she wants.” He stated. “My babies are staying here.”
Amy walked over and gave Eli a goodbye hug. It was the answer Amy wanted. She knew Eli was not going to give up without a knockdown, drag out fight. The couple would be reconciled by Christmas. “We’ll be in touch, Eliodoro.” She left the shop.
