“That’s just it. I don’t know anything about him. We pass occasionally in the hall. The only time we’ve spoken to each other is when I accidentally bumped into him one day. And even then we barely exchanged two words.” But whenever he looks at me, I can actually feel his touch, she thought further to herself.
Taye stared at Rae’jean, frowning slightly. “I think it’s just a phase you’re going through. I once read an article that said a lot of men and women, fearful of losing their freedom, are driven to have that one final fling before taking the plunge. According to the article it’s normal to feel that way and the author even suggests that a person go ahead and indulge themself to get it out of their system.”
“Well, I don’t want to have a fling before tying the knot with Grady. I couldn’t do anything like that to him anyway. Our relationship is based on mutual trust and respect. I couldn’t betray him that way.”
Everyone was silent for a moment; then Alexia said, “After listening to you two, my problem isn’t so big after all.”
“And just what’s your problem?” Taye asked, putting her wineglass aside.
Alexia met her gaze. “I want a baby but not a husband.”
Taye sat back in her chair, gaping at her. “What! You really want to give the family something to talk about, don’t you?”
“They’ll get over it.”
“Wanna bet?”
“OK, so they won’t get over it. I’ve thought it through and have made my decision. I’m going to tell my parents about it this weekend now that I’ve decided to move ahead with it.”
Rae’jean looked at her. “And you think our problems are bigger than yours? Think again, cousin dearest. Why on earth would you want a child without a husband?”
“Because I don’t need a man to jump-start my life. Times have changed. Women are acquiring things without the benefit of a husband, and like many others, I’ve decided I want a child without being in a serious relationship with anyone.”
“You want to adopt?”
Alexia pushed her hair away from her face. “No, I want to have a child born from my body, and I don’t intend on waiting to find a husband before that happens. I’ve been married before and it wasn’t ideal. I don’t ever want to remarry.”
Taye nodded. “How do you think a child will fit into your profession, Lex? You’re in a group that travels all the time and—”
“I’m leaving the group.”
If Taye and Rae’jean were surprised to hear that news, they disguised it well. “Does that mean you won’t be singing anymore?” Rae’jean asked quietly.
“No, it means I won’t be singing with the group anymore. I’m going solo.”
They couldn’t disguise their surprise a second time. Taye sat up straight in her chair. “Starting when?”
“In another month or so. I’ll be making an official announcement to the media when I return to California.”
“Won’t that mean that then you’ll have even less time on your hands? I’d think you would have to work that much harder to get a solo career off the ground,” Rae’jean said, eyeing her cousin intently. “How will a baby fit in?”
“I think rather nicely, since I intend to handle both. A lot of women balance careers and families. You’re doing it, Taye.”
“But it’s not easy, Lex,” Taye told her.
“I didn’t say it would be easy, but I can and I will do it. I will make it work.”
“Don’t do anything hasty, Alexia,” Rae’jean said, concern evident in her voice.
“I won’t. Trust me. I’ve thought about it for a long time and now I’m going to act.”
“So, if you’re not going to adopt and you’re not in a serious relationship with anyone, who, may I ask, will be this child’s father?”
Hesitating for only a moment, Alexia said in a quiet voice, “A man I met a few months back. He’s an attorney.”
Rae’jean raised her brow. “Is this the same guy you mentioned who traveled with you from LA and who took you to dinner earlier today when you got to Atlanta?”
“Yes.”
“And just what does he think of being used for stud service?”
Alexia tried sipping her wine gracefully but ended up swallowing a few hefty gulps. She cleared her throat and met Rae’jean’s and Taye’s curious gazes before answering, “He doesn’t know anything about it. I made the decision that it would be him today while we were having dinner. There’s a lot about him that I like, so I’ve decided that he’s going to be the one. He’s going to be my baby’s daddy.”
Chapter 13
It was Friday morning and all the Bennetts, at least those thirty-something and older, decided to sleep in late. The others, those younger and who possessed an endless amount of energy, had gotten up early to take advantage of the delicious breakfast buffet the hotel had served.
No activities had been planned for the family until noon. After lunch they were to get in their cars and motorcade the five miles to Mount Olive, the cemetery where most of their deceased relatives had been laid to rest. In consideration of the heat, a very short memorial service, which included placing fresh flowers on the graves, was planned.
A shudder passed through Taye. She had an aversion to cemeteries. “What are my chances of getting out of going?” she asked Rae’jean and Alexia over lunch near the pool.
“Don’t even think it,” was Rae’jean’s quick reply as she cocked a dark brow at Taye. “Poppa Ethan expects everyone to come, and that means everyone, even the teens who’ve been trying to talk their way out of going all morning.”
“Did any of you see how Uncle Victor was checking out that lady who works at this hotel, the one who served us the food last night?” Alexia asked, changing the subject. “I bet he’s hit on her already.”
Rae’jean frowned. “You think so?”
“I’ll be willing to put some money on it.”
Taye pasted a smile on her face, trying to follow the conversation between Alexia and Rae’jean and force her gaze from Michael, who was sitting on the other side of the pool at a table with Victor Junior. “I’m not so sure Uncle Victor will be too quick to mess around on this third wife he has,” she decided to put her two cents in and add to the conversation.
“Why?” Alexia wanted to know. “Having a wife never stopped him before.”
“Yeah, but he’s never had a wife like this one before, either. Rose is the jealous type, and rumor has it she’s threatened to cut Uncle Victor’s you know what off if she ever caught him being unfaithful,” Taye informed the others about their uncle’s third wife.
Rae’jean couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious,” Taye said, chuckling. “So I expect him to be on his best behavior at this reunion.”
“I don’t know about that,” Rae’jean said as her gaze shifted around and lighted on her Uncle Victor, the youngest of the Bennett siblings. He was standing across the patio talking to Taye’s father, Uncle Joe. Victor Bennett, Sr., had always been an extremely good-looking man, and even now he still looked pretty good for fifty. Rae’jean doubted if he would ever slow down his womanizing ways. It was rumored he had fathered close to twenty kids, including one belonging to his second wife’s sister.
After checking her watch, Taye reminded everyone it was time to go pay their respects to the deceased Bennetts.
As far as cemeteries went, Mount Olive was a really nice place, with lush green grass, sloping hills, and huge oak trees. Currently the grounds were being maintained by a number of black churches in the area that still buried their members there.
Back in the 1930s, the Bennetts had purchased enough land in the cemetery to bury their kin for generations to come. This particular section of the cemetery had been named Bennetts Row.
The day was hot. The cars had been left at the entrance of the cemetery, and everyone had taken the walk to the family plots. Nearly everyone had dressed comfortably for the walk and the heat, except for Cuzin Sophie an
d Aunt Virginia. They had decided to dress up for the occasion by wearing their Sunday-best dresses, fashionable hats, and high-heeled shoes.
When Cuzin Sophie stopped to rest her sore aching feet and leaned against a huge oak tree in Bennetts Row, she remarked to everyone, “This is a good spot with plenty of shade.”
Taye whispered to Rae’jean and Alexia, “I guess now isn’t a good time to tell the nosy old bat that we’re glad she liked that spot since it’s hers anyway. That very plot has her name on it.”
It was hard for the three women to keep straight faces and not break up into stitches.
Later that day back at the hotel, Rae’jean, Michael, Taye, Alexia, and Victor Junior were sitting at a table near the pool playing bid whist. After glancing at her watch, Rae’jean pushed her chair back. “Don’t deal me in this time around. I need to run up to my room and make a phone call.”
Victor Junior, who was already sore about losing the last couple of games, glanced up at Rae’jean and sneered. “Whatcha gonna do? Call your white man?”
Rae’jean heard the scorn in his voice and frowned. He had snarled the words loud enough to get everyone’s attention, including those relatives who were sitting at another table playing their own game of cards. Conversation at the table faltered, then stopped altogether. Apparently everyone was interested in how she would respond to Victor Junior’s question. She met his narrowed gaze with one of her own. “Yeah, I’m going to call my white man. You have a problem with it?”
“Yeah, I do, and so do others in this family. I can’t believe that you don’t. You know the black folks’ history. You know what the white man did to our black women long ago. How he treated them.”
The look Rae’jean gave Victor Junior sent chills down everyone’s spine. “Oh, you mean the same way you and some brothers are treating them today, Victor Junior, by screwing their brains out and getting them pregnant with more babies than you’ll ever be able to claim?”
Rae’jean’s words hit a nerve with Victor Junior. He stood up. “I claim any baby I make as mine.”
Rae’jean stood up as well. “Really? In that case, you must never have any money for paying out child support for each and every one of them.”
Embarrassed because he knew he was not doing so, Victor Junior sat back down. “I said that I claimed them, Rae’jean. You know damn well that I can’t financially take care of every single one of them.”
“Then you should keep that thing in your pants and not use it so often if you’re not willing to be a man and take full responsibility. And I mean full responsibility. Now getting back to the issue of Grady, I would appreciate it if you never question my choice of a mate again. And don’t ever throw up in my face what his ancestors did to our black women, ’cause the way I see it, you and a number of other brothers are doing a whole hell of a lot worse to them. Take my advice and get a vasectomy.” Picking up her sunglasses, an angry Rae’jean placed them on her eyes and walked off.
Victor Junior looked around the table and saw the frowns Alexia, Taye, and Michael gave him. “What’s the matter with her? I was just telling it to her like it is.”
“Yeah, and she told it to you like it is, too,” Taye said curtly. “One day, Victor Junior, you’re going to learn not to rub Rae the wrong way. And if you have any thoughts of showing your butt when Grady arrives tomorrow, don’t. Or you just might find yourself on the way to the emergency room. Rae’jean just might decide to personally give you that vasectomy herself.”
Victor Junior squirmed in his seat at the thought of that happening. “Rae’jean ain’t that crazy.”
Alexia giggled. “That’s the same thing you said right before she tied your butt up to the bedpost and shaved half your head when you really got her mad about something when we were teenagers. Remember? I would hate for you to lose your balls over some foolishness.”
He tightened his legs together. He would hate to lose them over some foolishness, too.
After making her phone call to Grady, Rae’jean made her way back downstairs and stopped when she got to the lobby area. She sat down on a love seat, not ready to rejoin the group just yet. Victor Junior had pissed her off big-time.
She smiled. Talking to Grady had helped. Just listening to the excitement in his voice had renewed her spirits. His patient, the one he hadn’t expected to make it through surgery, had. He wanted the two of them to celebrate when he arrived and had told her to expect him sometime tomorrow. A part of her had been tempted to tell him not to bother coming, but she changed her mind. He would have to deal with her family sooner or later, so it may as well be now. Besides, Grady could handle the likes of Victor Junior.
“You all right, girl?”
Rae’jean turned toward the deep-timbred voice and saw her grandfather standing beside where she sat. “Oh, hi, Grampa. Yes, sir, I’m fine.”
Poppa Ethan eased his body in the seat beside her. “I heard you and Victor Junior had some words earlier.”
“Yes, sir, we did,” she mumbled.
A smile broke into her grandfather’s wrinkled features. “Just like old times, uhh?”
Rae’jean couldn’t help but return his smile. “Yes, sir, just like old times.” She reached out and took his hand into hers. “How have you been doing?”
“Fairly well for a man who’ll be ninety in a few months. What about you? I hear you’re thinking about getting married.”
Rae’jean lifted a brow. “Yes, sir, and what else have you heard?”
“Enough. But I’m not paying that garbage no account. I like to size a man up for myself no matter what color he is.”
Her grandfather’s words gave Rae’jean a measure of relief. She wished every other person in the family would be as open-minded. “Thanks, Grampa. I appreciate that.”
“Will your man be here for the family supper tomorrow night?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded, staring at her grandfather. “Grady is coming.”
“Good. I wanna meet the man my oldest granddaughter has chosen to marry,” he added.
“I think you’ll really like him, Grampa.”
Poppa Ethan bowed his head for a moment before lifting his gaze back to her. “Do you like him, Rae’jean?”
The tenderness in her grandfather’s expression touched her. “Yes, sir.”
“Then that’s all that matters. You’re a grown woman, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well then.”
Unable to help herself, Rae’jean reached over and hugged her grandfather. This was why she loved him and would always love him. He could make her feel so good about herself. But there was something else that was bothering her. There was something else she needed to know.
“Grampa?”
“Yeah, girl?”
“Is there anything you can tell me about my father?”
Rae’jean felt his body stiffen and heard his soul-weary sigh before he pulled away slightly and looked at her. “No, chile, I can’t. I gave my word.”
Rae’jean lifted a brow as confused thoughts raced through her mind. “You gave your word to whom?”
“I can’t say, Rae’jean.”
Rae’jean nodded, knowing that he had given her his final say on the matter. She knew that if her grandfather had given someone his word about anything then he wouldn’t break it. But she was determined to leave the reunion with the information she wanted. If her grandfather wouldn’t talk, she was determined to find someone who would.
“That’s fine, Grampa. I understand.”
After a few moments of silence her grandfather gestured to an exquisite atrium containing beautiful flowers not far from where they were sitting. “Your grandmother would have liked all those flowers, wouldn’t she?”
Rae’jean smiled as she remembered her grandmother’s love for flowers. “Yes, sir, she would have,” she said quietly.
“I’m sure she liked the flowers we took her today, aren’t you?”
Rae’jean thought about the fresh flowers t
hey had placed on Gramma Idella’s grave earlier that day. She drew in a long breath, then slowly released it. It was days like this that she missed her grandmother more than ever. “Yes, sir, I’m sure she did.”
Rae’jean studied her grandfather’s features. Suddenly he looked older and there appeared a faraway look on his face. He had loved her grandmother very much, and she knew his life must be lonely without her. “Grampa, how would you like to come visit me in Boston sometime?”
His bushy brows arched at her invitation. “That place too cold, Rae’jean. Besides, you ain’t gonna get me on a plane; you know that,” he added as his lips twisted in a chuckle before he reached up and tweaked her nose. “If God had intended for man to fly he would have given him wings.”
Rae’jean smiled as she snuggled closer to him on the seat, just like she used to do as a child. “Yeah, Grampa, I know,” she said, remembering how often she’d heard him say that while she was growing up. At that moment she silently thanked God that she still had a grandfather in her life to love and who she knew loved her.
Chapter 14
Michael retired to the comforts of his hotel room and lay stretched atop the covers watching the evening news on television. He glanced up to see Kennedy enter the room.
“Oh, hi, Dad,” she greeted him, smiling brightly. “Why aren’t you downstairs by the pool having fun like the other old people?”
Michael pasted a smile on his face. Old people? For crying out loud, he was only thirty-three and his daughter thought he was old. “I decided to come up here and chill for a while. People as old as I am need frequent breaks from so much fun.”
She nodded like she understood completely, which made Michael roll his eyes to the ceiling. “What have you been up to? I haven’t seen you practically all day,” he asked her.
Kennedy came and sat next to him on the bed. “I’ve been having so much fun, Daddy. I’m glad I came.”
Michael looked up at her, surprised but glad. “Really? What do you like about being here other than finding out that you’re related to the Alexia Bennett?”
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