by S. K. Hardy
"You mean like...this?" D.J. asked, copying his father's moves and gaining the lead.
"Oh shi...snap!" Darrell glanced at Jerra and saw her glaring at him. "Sorry, baby."
"He didn't say 'shit' this time, Mommy. He said snap."
"D.J.!" Jerra and Tina called his name at the same time.
Darrell smirked, but immediately wiped the amusement off his face when Jerra threw a pillow at him. "Watch your mouth, son," he said in a stern voice.
"Yes sir."
Shaking her head again, Jerra directed her attention back to her laptop where she was going over the household bills. Although everything was set up on automatic bill pay, she still checked to make sure the amounts they were billed equaled what was taken out of the account. It was a habit she still practiced after all these years, and now she was glad she did because something was off with the cell phone bill. The amount drafted was almost two times what it usually was every month. Obviously they were being overcharged.
She quickly went to the website for their cell phone provider and after typing their password in, she pulled up the itemized bill that showed the calls they were being charged for. She skimmed down the line of numbers, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. She did the same thing on the next page and was getting ready to call customer service to alert them to the error when a strange sequence of numbers caught her eye.
Frowning, she realized that this was where the extra charges were coming from. In fact, there were two calls in all made to the same number. International calls.
Suspicion began to form in the pit of Jerra's chest, taunting her by taking little stabs at her heart until it decided to plunge the knife completely in. The numbers started to swim on the screen. She blinked until they got back in focus.
"Jerra, are you okay?"
Jerra's head snapped up when she heard Tina's question. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine."
She immediately went back to the laptop. Jerra recognized the first part of the sequence of numbers because she'd seen them on their bill before. When they'd all gone to the Caribbean to attend Angel and Nikki's wedding several years ago, she'd called home several times to check on D.J. Jerra had an excellent memory when it came to details. Although she could easily check the country code, she didn't have to because she was she was sure she was right.
Call the number, Jerra. Call it and find out.
A persistent little voice reverberated around in her head. Without giving herself time to even think about it, Jerra snapped the laptop closed and stood up.
Darrell looked up. "Where you goin', babe?"
"To get some water. I'll be right back," she mumbled.
Hurrying to the kitchen she placed the laptop on the kitchen table and opened it. Heart thudding double time, she stared at the number and took a couple of deep breaths. Maybe she was being paranoid. Darrell wouldn't risk their family or their marriage in the way she was thinking. He just...wouldn't. But Jerra knew she wouldn't rest until she found out for sure.
With trembling hands, she picked up the cordless phone she'd scooped up on her way to the kitchen and dialed the number on the screen. Bringing the receiver to her ear, she impatiently drummed her fingers on the table and waited.
One ring...two...
"What am I doing?" she whispered. "This is-"
"Hello?"
Jerra's blood ran cold when a voice answered the other line. But not just any voice. A female voice that she instinctively knew belonged to...
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Whom am I speaking to, please?" Jerra held her breath as she waited for confirmation that she was right.
"I'm sorry, who did you want to..." Suddenly the woman became eerily quiet, as if she too knew who was on the other line.
Jerra took a deep breath then just blurted out what she wanted to know. "Is this..."
"Jerra, what's takin' you so long, baby?" Darrell asked, walking into the kitchen. "I swear that son of ours has a competitive streak a mile long. Wonder where he gets that from?" he asked with a proud grin.
A loud gasp sounded from the woman on the other end. The next second, the line went dead, but it didn't matter. Jerra had her answer. The person whom her husband had been calling was his ex-girlfriend. Roni Winston.
"Sorry, baby, I didn't know you were on the phone." Darrell stood on the other side of the island and placed his hands, palms down, on the cool surface. "You finished?"
Jerra lowered the phone with an exaggerated movement. Her hand tightened around the receiver, seriously contemplating throwing it at her husband's head. But she wanted a few answers first, wanted to see how far he would go with his lies.
"Yes. I'm finished."
"Something wrong?" Darrell peered closer. "You look upset. Who were you talking to?"
"I..." Jerra's voice cracked. Feeling as if she were in a daze, Jerra cleared her throat and tried again. "I was going over the bills, you know, like I do every month, and one of them seemed off."
Darrell's gray eyes cleared as the smile reappeared. "Ahh, okay. What happened, they got on your nerves when you called to get it straight? Shit, they didn't know who they were talkin' to, did they?" he laughed. "Baby, tell me you weren't too hard on 'em."
"No. Believe it or not, I think I'm the one who 'got got', as you would say."
Darrell's head reared back in disbelief. "What? Nah, not the infamous Jerra St. James-Monroe."
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I'm slipping." Jerra’s voice sounded hollow to her own ears.
"What bill was it?"
"The cell phone bill."
"What happened?"
"I…nothing. I didn't call them."
Confusion clouded Darrell's face. "Okay, you losin' me."
Jerra snorted at the irony of his statement.
"Jerra, what's wrong?"
Jerra stared at the phone she still held. "I called the number on the cell phone bill. It was long distance. International, actually."
Darrell tensed and became utterly still. His hands slowly curled up into tight fists as everything began to shift into place.
She pulled her gaze up to stare into his eyes. "Is there something you want to tell me? Something you should've told me before I found out like this?"
Darrell took a couple of steps to come around the island, but Jerra retreated, holding a hand up. "Don't."
But Darrell didn't stop until he was standing in front of her. "It's not what you think, Jerra."
"It's not what I think? Then tell me, Darrell. Explain to me what I'm getting wrong here." Angry accusation shined brightly in her eyes.
Seeing she was on the verge of exploding, Darrell held his hands up and spoke to her in a calm, soothing manner. "You know I've been dealing with something these last few weeks, something that's just been messing with my head like crazy, right?"
"Yes, we were supposed to talk about it, but we never did. I figured it had to do with something you and Tina discussed. Not...Roni."
"Nah, baby, it had absolutely nothing to do with her." Darrell rushed to reassure her.
Assuming he was trying to get her off the subject, Jerra's eyes grew even colder, her impatience mounting with each word he spoke. "Then why are you bringing that up now instead of answering my question. Darrell, don't think for one minute you're going to talk your way out of this. Not this time."
"I'm not."
"Then..."
"I promise I’ll get to that. I’ll tell you everything, but this all started when Tina finally told me the identity of my...father." The word still stuck in Darrell's throat. "Some grimy dude whose family was involved in all kinds of illegal shit. I already knew he was married, but what I didn't know is that I'm not her first child."
Jerra had suspected some of what Darrell was dealing with had to do with his father, but this bit of information took her by surprise. "What?"
"Yeah," Darrell nodded, staring off as he thought about the conversation he and Tina had that night. "Apparently, he got her pregnant and took the baby. His
wife wasn't able to have kids, so he took the child home to raise it with her."
"What?" Jerra asked again, this time in astonishment. She momentarily deviated from the subject of Roni. "How did he just take her baby?"
Darrell shrugged. "Just did. I guess that's how much control he had over her. Soon after that, she got pregnant again with me, but he’d made it clear he didn’t want any other children. He had his son, his heir.. Plus, he didn't want anything to take away from him being the center of her attention. He gave her some money and ordered her to have an abortion which..." Darrell gestured towards himself. "She obviously didn't do. Guess I should be grateful for that."
"This is unbelievable. And I guess when he found out, he wanted nothing to do with her. Or you."
"That about sums it up."
"What about your brother?" Jerra brought a hand up to her forehead. "It sounds weird even saying that."
"No shit. Tina found out that Isaac - my father - still lives in New York where she first met him. So does her other son. A couple of days before she told me all of this, she tried to get in contact with my brother for the first time, but he wasn't there. Isaac found out and called her back. Scared her and threatened her about what he'd do to her if she ever tried to contact his son again."
"His son? You mean the child she gave birth to, the one he stole from her when she was little more than a child herself? What kind of monster is he?"
Darrell's eyes grew a frosty gray. "What’s so crazy is that it’s been thirty-some odd years since she last saw him and she's still afraid of him. I still fault Tina for a lot of things, but let’s just say I understand the circumstances a little better. But that son of a bitch? I won't rest until I look him in the eye and get some things off my chest."
"What about your brother?"
Darrell grew quiet for a moment. He'd asked himself that question a hundred times. Was it best to just let that go? He'd gone this long without even knowing he had any other relatives other than Gabrielle. Did he even want to open up that can of worms after all this time?
"J, I don't know, I guess I'll just play it by ear and take it as it comes. But as far as Tina reaching out to him, that’s her decision. Not Pattel’s. If he wants to threaten someone, let him threaten me. In fact, I dare him to."
Jerra's heart jumped in her chest at the thought of the danger Darrell could possibly be in if this man was still involved in crime, but she just as quickly shut that part of her down because he still hadn't addressed the original issue.
Her face stiff and arms folded protectively over her chest, she said, "Are you going to tell me why you've been calling Roni?"
"After I talked to Tina, I did a little research about the Pattels."
Jerra frowned when she heard that name again. "Pattel. Where have I heard that name?"
"I said the same thing," Darrell nodded. "Come to find out Isaac Pattel and his brother Joseph, are two of the most dangerous crime bosses on the East coast. They been runnin' shit for years, serious shit. Guns, drugs, prostitution...everything you could think of. The justice department has been after them for years, but they've never been able to make anything stick. They have shitloads of legit businesses, too. Guess what a couple of them happen to be?"
Jerra raised a brow and waited.
"Club Fantasy, Club Ecstasy, and Club Bliss."
Jerra’s lips parted in surprise. "They own all of them?"
"All of them. New York, Atlanta...and Vegas. Talk about a coincidence, right? So I called Bryan to find out what he knew. Seems when I sold him my share, he gave part ownership back to Roni, and I guess I can understand that. I mean, originally, these were her babies, her visions."
"You mean before she faked her death and let you think she was dead?"
Darrell stared at Jerra, the muscles in his square jaw jumping like crazy. "Yeah. Before that."
"I thought when Bryan sold his part in the clubs, he sold to foreign investors."
"He did. But Roni retained her shares. Eventually, I guess the Pattels purchased the clubs from those investors. Bryan said they wanted complete ownership, but initially Roni refused to sell. After a lot of back and forth negotiations, she eventually agreed. A week or so ago, Bryan says she ran into a member of the Pattel family."
Jerra's mind had put two and two together by this time. "And you're saying you called her to find out what she knew about the Pattels?"
"Yes."
Jerra's voice turned alarmingly calm. "Let me get this straight because God knows, I want to make sure I get all of the facts before I go off on your ass. You went to her for help, told her about this before you came to me?"
"It's not the way you're making it sound, Jerra."
"You keep saying that when in fact, it's exactly like that!"
Darrell's expression became perplexed as impatience seeped into his tone. "What could you have done, Jerra?" He cursed underneath his breath and briefly shut his eyes when he heard how that sounded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Jerra took a step back as if he'd physically slapped her in the face. "Yes you did. Wow." Seconds later, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "You've actually forgotten who I was before I met you, haven't you? Forgotten that I worked for one of the best law firms in the country and was one of the youngest lawyers ever offered a partnership there. A partnership, I might add, that I turned down to marry you and move to Las Vegas. And now, because I've chosen to stay at home and raise our son instead of continuing with my career, you've made the mistake of thinking I’m just your little ‘wifey’, and D.J.'s mom, and nothing else."
"What? That’s not true."
But Jerra was convinced she'd gotten it right. "No, I think it is or else you wouldn't have insulted my intelligence the way you just did. I could've gotten you the information you needed with just a few phone calls, Darrell. I still have connections and stay in touch with lawyers from my old firm in Atlanta. But it didn't even occur to you to talk to me about it. Instead you chose to go to Roni."
Guilt caused him to go on the offense because she was absolutely correct. He struggled to keep his voice evenly toned. "Why are you making a bigger deal out of this than it is?"
Jerra stared at him incredulously, unable to believe he'd even said something so utterly...stupid! "Are you forgetting what we went through a couple of years ago because of what you did, leaving me to run to Roni's side for 'closure'. And now this."
"Jerra, come on!" Darrell scoffed. "This is not the same thing and you know it. See, I knew you'd react like this."
"So you hid it from me? Is that what you're saying?"
Darrell's chest heaved with the huge breath he took. "Look, let's just calm down and try to discuss this rationally."
"No, the time to discuss this was weeks ago before you lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you," Darrell pushed out through clenched teeth.
"You lied to me by omission and you know it. You knew you were wrong, you can't tell me that you didn't." Her voice lowered as she held his gaze. "You promised me Roni would never be an issue between us, but once again, she is. And what's so crazy is that as much as I want to, I can't blame her for this. This is all your doing. It's like you can't help yourself when it comes to her."
"This is not about me wanting to be with Roni. Jerra, as much as you might want me to, I can't just wave a magic wand and erase my past with her. Damn, you gonna have to get over this insecurity when it comes to her."
Jerra drew herself up straight and eyed him with icy cold directness. "You did not just say that. The issue isn't me being insecure. The problem is every time we seem to be in a good place, you reel her back into our lives and into our marriage."
"That's bullshit, Jerra, and you know it."
"No, what's bullshit is the fact that I trusted you, Darrell! I trusted you!" she screamed "After everything we went through, I made a choice to put it behind me because I thought you were as committed to making our marriage work as I was. And now you have the audacity to st
and there and try to belittle my feelings and actually make me think I'm crazy for being upset?"
Darrell ran an agitated hand over his hair. This situation was quickly taking a downward tailspin, all because his inability to admit he'd made a mistake had caused him to handle things completely wrong.
"Can we just sit down and talk about this in a calm, rational manner? I'm sorry. You're right, I should've come to you first. I apologize."
Jerra pointed a finger at him. "You know what? Screw you and screw your apology. Feel free to take it with you when you leave. I want you out."
Darrell backed up a step, his eyes never straying from her face. "What do you mean, you 'want me out'?"
"Just that. I want you out. Out of this house. Gone."
Darrell's lips tightened. His gut reaction was to stay here and talk this out, but if she needed a few hours to calm down, then that’s what he'd give her. "Alright. Fine. I'll go drive around for a while, maybe go into the office and try to get some work done, but-"
"You misunderstand me. I don't want you gone 'for a while'. I want you to move out."
Darrell frowned. Surely he hadn’t heard what he thought he’d heard. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me. You can come back and pack your things later when I'm not here, but right now, this instant? I want you to leave."
Darrell snorted out a laugh and shook his head. "Nah, that shit ain't happenin'. You want me to leave my house? Uh uh."
Jerra bristled. "This might be our house, but it's no longer your home. Not anymore."
"Alright, look. You have a right to be upset. Go on and throw that phone you've had in a death grip since I walked in, if it'll make you feel better. Curse me out if you want to, but me leavin?" He shook his head again and repeated his previous answer. "That ain't happenin'."
"You…arrogant son of a bitch." Jerra was struggling to hold it together, but she was fast losing her composure. "Get... out...now!"
When he pursed his lips and shook his head, Jerra saw red. She wasn’t one prone to violence, but before she could even think about it, she did exactly what he taunted her to do. The phone went flying out of her hand towards his head. Her aim was unerringly accurate, and the only thing that saved Darrell from being hit square in the face was his lightning quick reflexes.