by Anna Black
“Okay, cool. I’ll run by there as soon as I get a break.”
“Okay, just go to the lab with this paperwork, and they will do what needs to be done,” she smiled.
“All right, no problem,” he said and picked up the baby. “Hey, there, li’l man. Your dad is not at all the jerk your mom says I am, so don’t listen to her,” he joked, and the baby smiled.
“I don’t call you a jerk—maybe I’ve said asshole,” she said.
“Hey, don’t be cussing around my kid,” he said, and she smiled.
“Yeah, he is your kid,” she said, and Ray put him back in his seat.
“I gotta go. I know Lauren is here waiting,” he said, talking about a client. He grabbed the baby car seat to walk them to the door. He said he’d stop by later before going home to see the baby, and then she left.
Ray finished up his morning and ran across to the hospital to do his lab work. He was so happy to finally be taking care of this and getting it out of the way. As he approached, he saw Katrina, and he wondered what she was doing there.
“Kat,” he said.
“Ray, how are you?” she said, and they did a quick hug.
“I’m fine, what are you doing here?”
“Well, my boyfriend works here, and I’m waiting for him so that we can go to lunch. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’m sure Cherae knows and told you that I had a little hiccup in my marriage, and as a result, I have a six-week-old little boy that I’m getting tested to make sure he’s mine.”
“To be honest, yes, I heard but didn’t know all the details. Heard the baby momma is crazier than I was,” she said, and they laughed.
“Yeah, she’s a little nuts, but my son is here now.”
“Well, if he’s your son, you take it cheerfully. If he’s not, crack open a bottle,” she joked.
“Either way, I know I won’t be celebrating. Relieved but not celebrating. The damage is already done,” he said sadly.
“At least Leila is one of the good ones. She has stayed with your ass through the good, the bad, and the ugly,” she said, and Ray smiled.
“Yea, she’s a good one, but this time, she didn’t,” Ray said, and put his head down in shame.
“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. I thought since you’re still wearing your ring, that things were okay.”
“No, I’m wearing it because I’m still married, and I’m praying that we work this thing out,” he said, and a guy approached the two of them.
“Wait, this is my boyfriend. Ray, this is Cordell, and Cordell, this is Rayshon.”
“Hey, Rayshon, heard a lot, I mean, a lot about you,” he said, and Ray was surprised.
“Really?”
“Yeah, they say letting go of the past helps for a better future, so Cordell was a part of my healing. Therefore, he knows everything about you,” she said, and Cordell grabbed her hand.
“And you still stayed,” Rayshon joked with him.
“Yep, it was hard work, but she’s worth it,” he said, and Katrina smiled.
“Well, Cordell and I are going to head down to the cafeteria and have our usual. It was really good to see you, Ray, and good luck with everything. I hope things work out for the best,” she smiled.
“Thanks, Kat. You take care, and, Cordell, nice meeting you, man,” he said. Then Ray proceeded to handle his business. He was nervous, but he knew that the test had to be done.
Chapter Thirty-five
Ray sat at his desk, going over and over the events of the night he and Karen made Shon. He kept asking himself why he didn’t remember the entire episode. He thought about it more and more and just couldn’t comprehend why everything about that night was so chopped up. He knew he had a couple of Long Islands, but never had he ever felt that feeling, and he wondered if Karen added a little something “extra” to his drink. “Naw, it can’t be,” he said and tried to shake it off, but he remembered that night being like no other night, and he knew he had been drunk on several occasions, but not so drunk to not remember events that took place, so he called Leila with his theory. Hell, Karen was a nurse, so it was possible, he thought. When he called, Leila wasn’t trying to hear that, so he went by the house to have a face to face with her.
“You’re telling me that she drugged you?”
“Yes, she is a fucking nurse, baby. She works at the hospital, so she can get her hands on any drug she wants,” he said. And the look on Leila’s face was incredulous.
“Rayshon, really? You expect me to believe that bullshit? Do you take me for a fool?”
“Leila, I’m serious. I know you’re mad and hate me right now, but, baby, believe me. I would have never slept with the woman in my right mind. I know you think that I was fucking her, but, Leila, I promise you I wasn’t,” he said sincerely. He knew it was going to take a miracle for her to believe him. “All I know is that I have drunk a gallon of liquor and been totally fucked up, but I’ve never been so bad that I can’t remember bustin’ a nut,” he said and caught himself because he was talking to his wife. He thought his theory was crazy, but he wanted her to consider it.
“Okay, Rayshon, I hate to admit it, but I believe you. I believe that you were not fucking her on a regular, okay, but you fucked her once to make this little boy,” Leila said, looking down at the tiles on the floor.
“That may not be true, Leila. If she drugged me, there’s a chance that nothing happened, Leila, and Shon could be someone else’s kid. You know what? I’m going to take Shon to a different doctor and have the test done again.”
“You think that’s necessary, Rayshon? I mean, she can’t make him your son if he’s not.”
“Nope, but she works at that damn hospital, and if she can get a hold of some substance to drug me, I know she may have a way to get in that system. What if she alters the results?” he said, and Leila knew he was right.
“Damn, Ray, you are so right,” Leila nodded, and then took another sip of her Merlot.
“I know, baby,” he said, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her, and she didn’t fight him. “Baby, I am so sorry for this big old mess that I got us in,” he said and kissed her neck.
“I know, Ray, but this doesn’t mean that we are back together, okay? Let’s just get our own test done, and, hopefully, we can leave this big-ass, hot mess behind,” she said, and he held her tighter.
“I miss you so much, Leila. Can I please come home, and we work this out together?” he asked, and he almost died when he heard her reply.
“Yes, we can do this together, okay? You can come home, Rayshon,” she said.
“Oh my God, thank you, baby, thank you,” he said, kissing the back of her head. He turned her to face him and kissed her passionately.
“Have you been with her, Rayshon, since you and I have been separated? Have you touched her or been with her?” she asked, and he thought that was a ridiculous question. He had spent every moment of his day trying to come back home.
“No, no, no, baby. I love you more than anything in this world. I love my kids, and I’ve never wanted her, Leila. I want you and my family. I never wanted to be with Karen, Leila—never. That night should have never happened,” he explained with tears in his eyes. He held her and was grateful that she was letting him come back.
“Okay,” she said and then polished off her glass of wine. She went up and kissed her kids good night, but when she got into the shower, she sobbed and prayed that Ray was telling her the truth.
She climbed in bed with him and had a strong urge to make love to him. Her mind and body had to be assured that he was still hers, and he wasn’t going anywhere. After they made love, she lay in his arms and asked the question that she was sure he didn’t want to answer.
“Why couldn’t you tell me in the beginning, Ray? I mean, maybe things would have gone down differently,” she said, and he squeezed her tighter.
“I was so afraid of losing you, Leila. We had just gotten back together, and you came out of your mouth ta
lking about divorcing me, and I was so scared if I’d answered you that you’d leave.”
“I understand your reason, but if I wanted to leave you, Rayshon, it wouldn’t have mattered if you told me then or later. I just feel like a fool. Like I was played by my husband and his pregnant mistress,” she cried.
“Shhh, Leila, please, baby. I was wrong for not telling you, but I don’t take you for a fool. I just prolonged the pain, and trust, I wish I could have spared you this pain,” he said, holding her. “Please, Leila, I know I’m asking a lot, but please don’t leave me. If this baby is mine, it’s going to change everything, and I don’t want you to hate me.”
“I’m not leaving, Rayshon, and no matter what you did, I could never hate you,” she said and closed her eyes. She asked God again to help her as they lay there in silence.
“Thank you, Leila,” he said and kissed her on the side of her head. She fell asleep, and he lay there staring at a picture on Leila’s nightstand of her holding li’l Ray in her arms when he was just a tiny baby. He thought about how happy he was to become a dad and to have a son, and now, he had another son, and he hated himself for not feeling the same way he felt about RJ. He blinked back the tears and asked God one more time to make this nightmare disappear. He prayed that the results proved the baby not to be his son.
* * *
The next day, Ray went inside to get the baby while Leila waited in the car. They drove to Dr. Bryce’s office, and while they sat in the waiting room, they both kept trying to find a trace of Ray in Shon, but neither one of them saw it. He had Ray’s complexion now, but at birth, he was high yellow like Karen. Now, his complexion was darker, maybe Rayven’s tone, but that was it.
The nurse called them back and did a swab, and then they went in to talk to Dr. Bryce, who told them that he would try to have the results in as quickly as possible. They rode home, holding hands and confident that they did the right thing. It was just a matter of time before they got the truth.
Chapter Thirty-six
Ray and Leila met Karen at South Suburban Hospital. Karen walked in with a huge grin on her face, and Leila just looked at her with disgust. She handed Ray the baby and signed their names on the list. Then they went to have a seat to wait for their names to be called.
“You seem pretty happy today,” Leila said, looking at Karen.
“Well, I have a reason to be happy,” she said and looked at Leila with an evil grin.
“I wouldn’t be smiling so hard if I were you,” Leila said, and Rayshon tapped her leg.
“Come on, babe, let’s not do this,” he said, encouraging her not to exchange words with Karen.
“No, Ray, it’s cool. We’re finally going to get the test results, so she can stop denying my kid just because he doesn’t look like her damn kids.”
“Oh, did you forget? He doesn’t look a damn thing like my husband, either,” Leila spat, and before Karen could reply, their name was called.
“Well, we’ll see in a moment, won’t we?” Karen said and rolled her eyes. Rayshon asked Leila to wait and let him and Karen go back and get the test results read. She agreed. When they went back into the office, the lab tech asked them to take a seat, and then he opened a file.
“Well?” Ray said, eager to hear the results.
“Congratulations, Mr. Johnson. Shon is definitely your son,” he said, and Karen jumped out of the chair.
“I told you, I told you, I told you,” she yelled, and Rayshon kissed the baby with tears in his eyes.
He looked at the lab tech and had to ask, “Are you sure? Is there any way that the results could be wrong or altered?” he asked.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now, Rayshon?” Karen snapped, aggravated.
“Look, Karen, I have to know,” he said, looking at her, and she sat down.
“Give it a rest, Rayshon,” she huffed.
“Mr. Johnson, we always run our test twice, and the results came back a little over 99 percent, both times.”
“So, he’s my son?” he asked again.
“Yes, and here is your copy,” he said, handing him an envelope. “And here is yours,” he said, giving it to Karen.
“Can we have a second, Doc?” Ray asked.
“Sure. Take all the time you need,” he said and left them alone.
“Finally,” she said, smiling and standing to leave, but Ray stopped her.
“Karen, I hope that you didn’t alter these results.”
“Ray, seriously? Come on, I don’t have access to do such a thing, and if I did, the hospital would know that I logged into the system. No way could I get away with that, Rayshon. Why are you still acting so suspicious? He’s your son, and now that we have the truth, you need to tell that wife of yours to show me some respect,” she demanded.
He opened the envelope and read the results as he prayed that he’d get the other test results soon and that they would state otherwise.
Karen walked out into the waiting room, and Leila stood as soon as she saw her.
“Allow me to give you the good news. Shon is your husband’s son, and from this day forward, you will treat me with respect, and if you dare try to stop Ray from seeing his child, you will have to deal with me,” Karen said, and Leila got in her face.
“You know what, Karen? Enjoy this day because you do not fool me. You have wanted my man from day one, and your schemes and lies and deception to get him didn’t work. I don’t know how you managed to pull this little charade off, but we’ll see who has the last laugh,” she hissed.
“Looks to me like I will,” Karen replied. Rayshon walked up, and Leila looked him in the eyes.
“Is it true?” she asked him.
“Yes, according to this,” he said, holding up the envelope. Shon is 99.7 percent a match,” he said, and Leila’s eyes glossed over from the tears.
Regardless of whether you like it, Leila, I’m going to be a part of Ray’s life for a very long time,” Karen spat.
“Correction. My son will, not you,” Ray said and moved close to Leila and put his arm around her.
“Yes, let’s just clear this up now. You will never have my man, Karen, and understand this . . . Every time you see his face, you will see my face,” Leila spat and walked away. “Rayshon, handle this, and I’ll be in the car,” she said and kept walking.
“God, she gets on my damn nerves,” Karen said, and Ray just looked at her.
“Karen, I know you put something in my drink, and I know you planned this pregnancy, and for that, I will never trust a thing that comes out of your mouth.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Karen said, holding her baby close to her face, and Ray looked at him and thought the same thing Leila thought. What if she didn’t alter the test? Shon could be his, so he just changed the subject.
“Whatever, Karen, we’ll talk later about . . . custody, visitation, and child support,” he said, leaning in to kiss the baby. “Bye, little guy, your dad has to go,” he said, and Karen couldn’t help but smile.
“Ray, things can be good, you know,” she said, looking in his eyes.
“They will be. I may have been a lousy husband, but I’m a damn good dad. Just keep in mind that this relationship between you and me is all about Shon, so don’t even attempt any tricks or games, Karen, I mean it. I am not going to have craziness in my house or my life, understood?” he said, and she nodded. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said and walked away.
Karen was bursting with joy. She couldn’t wait to tell her girl Leslie her wonderful news, so she reached in her pocket and took out her phone. Leslie told her to meet her in the cafeteria because she was on lunch break. Karen sat at the table, waiting for her, and smiled at the cute couple at the table that sat a few feet from where she sat. “Leslie, it’s done. I did it, girl. I did it,” she said with excitement as soon as Leslie sat down.
“What, girl, what?” Leslie asked.
“Girl, Rayshon is going to be mine for sure now,” she said, grinning and b
ursting with excitement.
“How so? I thought you said he and Leila got back together.”
“They did, but we just got the test results, and I told you my plan was foolproof,” she said so happily. “You should have seen the look on Leila’s face. That bitch was too through. I’m going to make her life a living hell,” Karen said proudly.
“Oh my God, Karen, tell me how in the hell did you switch the results? I’m like—” she said, then paused. “How in the hell did you do it?” Leslie quizzed.
“Girl, I told you that I had it all under control,” she said, and the look on Leslie’s face said she wanted the juicy details.
“Okay, I see, but tell me,” she said, and Karen tried to talk low.
“Well, you remember when his son broke his arm?” she asked, and Leslie nodded. “I swabbed him and kept the swab. I gave it to the lab, and now he can never deny my son again. The results came back 99.7 percent, girl,” she boasted.
“I’m going to get him for sure now. I know Leila felt stupid when we told her, and I wanted to laugh in her damn face,” she said, and Leslie looked at her like she was insane.
“Karen, I can’t believe you. I mean, you can’t continue to lie like this. I mean, damn . . .” she said.
“Leslie, what? You knew what I was planning to do. You know how much I love Rayshon. I had to do something,” she beamed. Karen was so proud of what she had accomplished.
“I know, I just didn’t think you’d take it this far.”
“Les, really? You think I drugged him, inseminated myself, and walked around with this baby in my womb, ruining my figure not to go all the way? My mission is to get Rayshon, and nothing has changed,” she said.
“Karen, you sound like a damn crazy person right now, and I can’t do this anymore, okay? How many times are you going to go down this road? As soon as one man shows you an ounce of respect or attention, you transform into this psycho stalker chick. And, no, I didn’t think you’d take it this far, and I can’t be your best friend on the sidelines, cheering for you to destroy people’s lives anymore. I suggest you tell the truth, and for Shon’s sake, get some help, Karen. It’s been married man after married man since junior high,” she said, and Karen wanted to slap her face.