by Tina Martin
Yep. Hotdogs.
Now, that she’d had a taste of that burger last weekend, she realized what she’d been missing – good ol’ American comfort food. The last time she’d eaten a hotdog was about three years ago, on date number two with Everson, ironically. They were at the Riverwalk, holding hands, enjoying the beautiful, summer day when they came upon a hotdog stand. He ordered two and they ate, walked and talked. She smiled fondly thinking about it.
Relationships were always easier in the beginning – when you’re more concerned with impressing the other person rather than actually being yourself. Then, after the beginning was over and the true you emerged, it was the staying together that proved challenging. Living together. Getting on each other’s nerves with stupid jokes, poor habits and mannerisms that the other person couldn’t stand. Feeling like one person was working harder at the marriage than the other. She and Everson had those problems – nothing they couldn’t work through. But this…
“Okay, I’m not going to focus on that right now,” June said in a low tone. “Today’s a good day. I just need to cook these hotdogs.”
Stirring the ground beef, she took two cans of Hormel chili from the pantry and set them on the counter. Then she got the hotdogs out of the refrigerator and turned on the George Foreman grill.
Stirring the ground beef more until it was fully cooked, she drained the excess grease into a bowl and poured the chili over the ground beef. Unlike Calista, she couldn’t make the perfect chili from scratch, but she knew how to revise store-bought chili into a version of her own and still make it delicious.
She danced her way to the recycle bin, dropped in the two empty chili cans and then saw her phone light up on the countertop. She looked at the display and saw Calista’s number. She hadn’t talked to Calista since that day – the day Calista told her about what she witnessed at the beach. In a way, she blamed her – wanted to blame somebody for what had happened, but she knew that person was none other than Everson.
So, wiping her hands on a kitchen cloth, she picked up her cell phone, pressed the green button on the display to answer and said, “Hello.”
“Um…hello?” Calista said.
“Hi, Cali.”
“Hi. I’m surprised you answered.”
June smiled. “Let me make this a little easier. First, thank you for calling me and leaving those voicemails. I got them all. I just wasn’t ready to talk to you yet. Now, I am, and I want to apologize for yelling at you—blaming you for something Everson did. It wasn’t your fault. You saw what you saw and you and Barringer chose to handle it in a specific way. I can’t be mad at that. So, I’m sorry.”
Calista blew a sigh of relief. “Thank you, June, and I’m sorry, too.”
June smiled. She missed talking to the girls. “Hey, Cali, do you and Barry have plans today?”
“It’s Friday, so you know he’s going to meet up with the fellas to play cards.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Why? What’s up? It sounds like you’re having a party over there.”
June laughed. “Girl, I’m cooking and dancing. Why don’t you call the girls and tell them to meet up over here at my house, that’s if y’all didn’t already make plans without me?”
“No. We didn’t make any plans, and I’m sure everyone would love to come over and see you.”
“Okay. Tell them to get here around six-thirty. It’s a little after five right now.”
“Will do, June.”
Chapter 21
He thought it was appropriate to give her the courtesy of not confronting her in front of her coworkers, so Everson waited for Eliana in the parking lot at Seaton Data. The moment she walked out, the second she was only a few steps away from her car, he emerged from his and said, “We need to talk, Eliana.”
Stunned, she looked at him. “You…you’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here. I told you I was coming for Jaxson. Just because I don’t want a relationship with you doesn’t give you the right to keep him from me.”
“I can do whatever I want.”
Everson’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure about that, because my lawyer would have a field day with you in court. I’m sure the judge would be extremely sympathetic to my story of how a woman kept me in the dark about my child for over a decade. And then, after telling me about him, she refuses to let me see him because I don’t want a relationship with her.”
Eliana rolled her eyes.
“Oh, and another thing,” Everson said taking the folded email from his pocket. “I’m certain he’d love to see how you perpetrated a fraud with this phony email you printed out and gave to me, claiming my parents were the ones who instructed you to keep Jaxson from me when it’s not true. I showed the email to my parents. They had no idea what this was!”
“I didn’t make that up. My parents gave it to me!”
“Then they typed it up. Maybe your parents are the frauds.”
She frowned. “I’m not going to let you disrespect my parents. Keep them out of this.”
“That depends on you, Eliana. I want to see my son today and I’ve already scheduled an appointment for a DNA test tomorrow.”
She hissed. “Like you need a DNA test. Just follow me home. You’ll see him, and when you do, you’ll know that a DNA test isn’t necessary.”
And so he did – he followed her home, making every turn she made until they arrived at a single-level, red brick home with a well manicured-yard. Near the end of the driveway was a basketball goal.
Eliana parked and got out.
Everson opened his door and followed her toward the front door asking, “Is he home from school yet?”
“Yes. He’s here,” she said. Unlocking the door, she called out, “Jax.”
“Yeah, Ma?”
“Come here. You have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“Just come here.”
“Seriously?” Everson said. “This is how you’re going to let him know that I’m here?”
“No need for formalities. It is what it is, right?”
He shook his head, then focused his attention on the tall, lean, brown-skinned boy walking into the room moments later wearing a white T-shirt and baggy sweatpants.
“Hey. What’s up?” Jaxson asked his mother while glancing over at Everson.
“Jaxson, this is Everson.”
“Hi, Jaxson,” Everson said.
“Hi. Um…are you my dad?” Jaxson asked him.
Reluctant to say that he was without having officially taken the test yet, Everson replied, “We’ll find out for sure tomorrow.”
“Oh. Okay,” Jaxson said. “You kinda look like me.”
Everson smiled, staring at the boy. What else was he supposed to say? Or ask? How do you make up for fourteen years? Stepping closer to him, he gave him a quick hug (so it wasn’t too awkward).
“When did you get out?” Jaxson asked. “Mom told me you were locked up.”
Locked up? Everson frowned, glaring at Eliana then he looked at Jaxson. “I wasn’t—”
“Okay, Jaxson, go back to your room so I can talk with Everson. Okay,” Eliana said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once Jaxson was out of sight, Everson said, “You told the boy I was locked up?”
“I had to tell him something. I was the one raising him and dealing with all the questions.”
“And you couldn’t think of a better lie than to tell him I was behind bars?” Everson questioned.
Eliana shook her head and sighed.
“Okay. Alright. Forget about all that,” Everson said. “Jaxson has good manners. You did a good job raising him alone.”
“Thank you for acknowledging that.” Eliana was still standing, holding her purse. She looked flustered. Uneasy. This was a lot for her to handle too, especially with knowing that she had failed to finagle her way back into her high school sweetheart’s arms.
“Why don’t you go get situated,” Everson told her. “We need to talk more about
Jaxson.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Eliana headed down the hall, same direction as Jaxson had gone.
Too edgy to sit and wait, Everson he walked around the small living room, looking at different pictures of Jaxson throughout various stages of his life. A smile came to his face when he saw the boy’s kindergarten graduation picture. And then there were others – from cookouts and professional school portraits. He also saw pictures of Eliana’s parents – he remembered them from when he used to visit her back in the day.
“I really need to get started on dinner,” Eliana said, her voice behind him. “Let’s have this discussion and get it over with.”
“Let’s,” he said, turning around, noticing she had her hair clipped up, wearing a purple, V-neck shirt and light blue jeans that were so faded, they may as well had been white.
She sat down on the couch, folding a leg underneath her.
Everson chose to remain standing. “First, I want to apologize for what happened between us at Myrtle Beach. I didn’t mean to come on to you and I wasn’t trying to lead you on in any way, Eliana, so if I hurt you, I apologize.”
She expelled a breath. “Let’s just talk about Jaxson, please.”
“Okay. How are we going to handle custody? Being that he’s my son, I would like for him to be home with me sometimes. I want him to meet his grandparents and the rest of my family.”
“I suppose you could have him one weekend a month,” she said, bouncing her leg.
He raised a brow. “One?”
“To start out, yes. He doesn’t know you, remember? It’ll be difficult being around a bunch of strange people he doesn’t know, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. He doesn’t seem shy to me. He’s a teenager for crying out loud. My family would welcome him with open arms.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“And what about your wife? Would she welcome him with open arms?”
Not answering her question directly, he said, “Don’t try changing the subject, Eliana. He’ll be just fine.”
“Well, I think I know him better than you, so…”
He glared at her. “This is how it’s going to be, huh?”
“What did you think? That I would just hand you my child and send you on your way? No. I’m the one who raised him. I’ve been his mother and father.”
“By choice, Eliana. It was your decision so you can’t very well be angry at me for not being there when I had no idea Jaxson existed. I realize you’re angry about all of this, but we need to get along for Jaxson’s sake. Don’t you agree?”
Eliana rolled her eyes. “Whatever. What time is the appointment tomorrow?”
“Ten. I’ll be by here around 9:30.”
She shot him a look of surprise. “For what?”
“What do you think? To pick up Jaxson for testing.”
“Not gonna happen. We’ll meet you there.”
Everson’s jaw twitched. “This isn’t a game, Eliana.”
“I didn’t say it was! I will meet you there tomorrow morning.”
“There where?” Everson snapped. “I haven’t even given you the address.”
“Then give it to me!” she hollered at him.
He had a bad feeling about this. Still, he took out his phone and texted her the address to the DNA center. He’d play her game, but he would ensure that she’d be there, even if he had to get up early and camp out in front of her house.
When she heard her phone ding, she said, “There. Got it. Was there anything else you needed?”
“No. I’ll be back in the morning,” he said, then let himself out.
Chapter 22
June didn’t know a five-minute-long hug could be this therapeutic. But as she embraced Calista, smiling with happy tears in her eyes, she knew she had a friend, a sister, for life.
“I’m so glad you’re not angry with me,” Calista said, pinching the small tears from the corner of her eyes.
“I realized I had no need to be angry with you. Now, Everson on the other hand—”
Calista shook her head.
“Hey, where’s Junior?”
“Gary picked him up early today since he only worked ‘til noon. I didn’t want to let Junior go with his cute, little self.”
“He’s so adorable,” June said.
“Yes, he is.” Calista inhaled a breath. “You got it smelling good in here.”
“That’s the glorious smell of chili cheese dogs. I see you’ve come prepared with the right kind of pants on,” June said, looking at Calista’s yoga pants. She didn’t know Calista was wearing stretchable pants for a different reason – like being two months pregnant.
Calista laughed. “I’m hungry, too…so glad I wore these.”
“Well, come on back to the kitchen. You told Candy and Kalina, right?”
“I did. They were both still at work, but they should be here shortly.”
“That’s fine,” June said. “I have some things to talk to all of you about. I mean, you’re in this family. You know what happened. You and Barry had a firsthand, eyewitness account of it.”
Calista nodded. “Yeah. Unfortunately…”
“Before Candy and Kalina get here, tell me exactly what you saw.”
“With Everson?”
“Yes, and Eliana. That’s her name. Eliana Simmons.”
“Um…” Calista didn’t expect that she would be asked to relay this story again. “Well, Barry and I were just sitting there eating, enjoying the night and I glanced up to see Everson walking in. I wasn’t sure if it was him, at first, especially since I knew he was supposed to have been in Atlanta, so I asked Barry to look and sure enough, it was Everson. He pulled out the woman’s chair, then kissed her on the cheek.”
“Kissed her on the cheek,” June repeated with derision in her voice, taking a bag of shredded cheddar cheese from the refrigerator. “How long did he kiss her?”
“It was like a peck…wasn’t long at all.”
“And then they just sat there and ate dinner together?”
“Yep.”
June took a breath and shook her head, baffled. “How did he not see you guys?”
“We were sitting closer to the back and they were in the center of the restaurant. It was a weird configuration in the place.”
“Did you leave before they did?”
“Yep. After we got up, they were still eating.”
When the doorbell sounded, Calista quickly got up and said, “I’ll get the door. You just keep putting cheese on those hotdogs. They look soooo good.”
“Thanks, girl.” June put the tray of sixteen hotdogs – all in the bun, all smothered with beefy chili and topped with cheddar cheese – in the oven and would leave them in just long enough to toast the bread slightly and melt the cheese.
“Hey, June!” Candice sang as she walked into the kitchen. She jogged around the island and wrapped her arms around June.
“Hey, Candy,” June said, just as happy as Candice was.
And then June hugged Kalina and said, “See. I told you I would reach out when I was ready.”
“I’m glad you did. You look good, June…had me worried there for a minute, but you bounced back. Your hair is gorgeous, your eyes are bright and your face is beaming.”
“Thank you. I do feel a lot better. I think I feel better today than I have in quite a while actually, even before all this stuff occurred. Anyway, get comfy, ladies. I hope y’all are hungry. I made sixteen chili cheese hotdogs and crinkle-cut fries.”
“Girl, as soon as I walked in my stomach started growling,” Candice said, sitting on a barstool, joining Kalina and Calista who were already sitting.
“And I made a pitcher full of pineapple juice, fruit punch and vodka,” June said.
“You should’ve told us to just wear our pajamas,” Candice said, excited. “After this meal and cocktail, I’m going to be out for sure, especially after the day I had.”
“How are things do
wn there at Blackstone Financial?” Kalina inquired.
“Girl…it’s been crazy. People are on edge, thinking they’re going to get laid off and I’ve been working my tail off trying to keep our clients happy.”
Calista looked at Candice. “Barringer told me how hard you’ve been working.”
“He has been, too. I was so glad when he actually took a break.”
“I was, too,” Calista said.
June took the tray of hotdogs from the oven, oozing with cheese. Then she removed a large pan of fries, preferring to have them baked instead of fried to avoid making them greasy.
“My, my, my. I do believe you’ve outdone yourself, June,” Kalina said.
“It’s the easiest meal I’ve ever cooked,” June said. “Grab a plate, ladies, and let’s get into it.”
And so they all got plates and got into it. June insisted that everyone get at least two hotdogs and a handful of fries. She’d wrap up a few hotdogs to drop by Garrison’s house tomorrow. Maybe he could enjoy them for lunch.
After preparing her plate and squeezing ketchup on her fries, Calista took the first bite, moaning how good the hotdog was.
Candice wasn’t shy about tearing into hers like she was in the middle of a hotdog eating contest.
Kalina took a bite, chewed a bit, then mumbled, “Mmm. Delicious.”
June started with fries first. She’d squeezed a glob of ketchup on her plate and then dipped the fries to her liking. “So, ladies, guess who decided to go back to work?”
Calista’s eyes brightened. “You’re going back to work, June?”
“I am. I’ve had a lot of time to think and I realized something. I actually had a life before marriage. I want that life again.”
“Wait…does this mean you and my brother are not getting back together?” Candice asked.
“It means, I want a life outside of Everson. Through all of this, I’ve recognized the fact that I lost myself doing what he wanted me to do which was being a wife and doing all of this domestic stuff when I could actually be somebody. I went to college for four years. I have a degree, and I intend to use it.”