“I don’t know. Right now I’m tired and I would just like to take a bath and relax.”
“I’m sure. That’s ok by me, but you have to eat.” I knew there was something to this, and its name was Lance. We walked into my apartment, “Would you like a glass of wine? I’m going to have one.”
“Sure, but a beer would be better. I didn’t know you knew Mr. Jackson.”
I knew it was coming. “Lance and I grew up in the same town.”
“Yeah, I know we talked about it over lunch, along with him doing business with the company. Candice, I know I didn’t ask many questions about your family and where you grew up. I knew you would tell me in your own time. But I think some things are kind of serious if we are to be married.”
What had Lance told him about my family? “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Like the fact that you are black. Not that it matters, but you should have told me.”
“I’m black.” I thought this was about something totally different. “I didn’t know my ethnicity was in question here.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a problem, I just didn’t know.”
“Did Lance tell you otherwise?”
“No, he didn’t, I just put two and two together. I don’t care what color you are, I just know that I love you and I want you to be my wife.”
“To tell you the truth, Ashton, I’m not sure of anything. I know who my mother was, but I’m not sure who my father was. I love the man I call father, but there are some questions. Questions I will never ask because it would hurt the only father I’ve ever known.”
“I understand more than you know. Going through family secrets is never a pleasant thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Candice, every family has secrets, mine is no different. My mother and father had no perfect marriage, and we are not the perfect children. Victor and I are total opposites in every way. My father told me he would tell me something when the time was right. He hasn’t told me yet, but I fear it’s about Mother. Maybe she had an affair or something and got pregnant with me. He’s always treated us differently and I have always felt different.” Ashton seemed to be drifting into the past. “I will one day find out the truth though, even if it kills me.
Marbella
Chapter 12
I met Sofia when I came to Connecticut to look for work. Raised in Charleston, South Carolina, there was nothing but a lot of poverty for blacks in those days. My mother worked for a white lady named Rose Dubai. She was kind to my mother. She always made sure we had food and nice things to wear.
She would say, these children look white so they should be treated like white children. If something happens to me. I want these children to be educated in white colleges. Momma would tell her, nothing’s going to happen to you, Rose. Don’t be silly, May Katharine, she would tell Momma. Everybody dies and you will too, so make sure they go to college.
Mrs. Rose had a lot of money and land her husband had left her when he died. When we were at home, Momma would always say, Old Lady Rose has an ass full of money, but she is no one’s fool.
Momma kept her house spotless. She always said cleanliness is next to Godliness and I believed her because she kept us working hard to keep our house spic and span. People who came to our house would say you could eat off the floor. Marbella, you get an education so you don't have to scrub white woman’s floors, Momma would tell me.
There were three girls in our family and all of us had movie star looks. My sister, Joyce, always said she was going to move to New York and be on Broadway. And she did. Momma would tell her she needed an education. She would tell Momma, I will get an education, but right now I’m going to New York. Let her go and live her life, Mrs. Rose would tell Momma. Rose, these children are mine so let me raise them.
Mrs. Rose never had children of her own, but she treated us as her own. My baby sister, Alberta, stayed close to home and married a man from Charleston. They eventually moved to California to get away from some of the prejudice.
I graduated from the University of South Carolina, just like Momma and Mrs. Rose wanted, passing for white all the way. In the late fifties and early sixties, blacks went to black colleges and whites went to white colleges. I was the exception and no one knew. Mrs. Rose would come visit me. She paid for all my books and tuition.
She would bring me letters from Momma, because no one could know that I had a black mother. Momma baked cakes and goodies for me to have at school. When school was out for Christmas break, Mrs. Rose would pick me up in her brand new Buick, wearing her fancy clothes, acting as if she were my mother.
After college I stayed at home for a summer, helping Momma with Mrs. Rose, who had gotten sick. The doctor said she had cancer and wouldn’t live long. They were right because she died the next summer.
Mrs. Rose kept her word though. She left Momma her house and all the land around it. But the whites in Charleston weren’t going to take that lying down. They tried to keep my mother from getting what was rightfully hers. I guess Mrs. Rose expected that too, because she had hired some big time lawyers from New York to make sure Momma got what was hers.
It took a lot of fighting and court dates, but finally she didn’t have to work anymore. I didn’t want to live off Momma and I wanted to put that the degree to work. I left and moved to Stamford, Connecticut.
My first job was working for Judge Mathew Canton as his secretary, taking short hand and filing papers were what I did most. The pay was generous and I had my own little apartment.
I met Sofia when her parents were getting a divorce. She was a well dressed, society type girl that seemed to have it together. Her father was a well known Senator that seemed to have a way with the ladies and was a dear friend of Judge Canton.
We became fast friends. Sofia loved a man in uniform. We were at a society fundraiser on the college campus and when she met a handsome Navy Captain named Alexander Williams. She was beside herself when he asked her to dance. They looked like royalty on the ballroom floor.
Sofia, in her pink satin gown, and Alexander in his full Navel dress with all his brass. They were inseparable that night, and most nights that followed. After her father moved out, Sofia continued to live with her mother, so she would always meet him at my apartment. Alexander was all she talked about for months to come. She would go on and on about how much she loved him and how they were going to be married.
He was shipping out to Guam for six months and the wedding had to be soon. “Sofia, has Alexander asked you to marry him?”
“No, but he will when he hears that I’m carrying his child.”
“No, Sofia, please tell me you are not pregnant. Why didn’t you protect yourself from this?”
“Don’t worry, Marbella, Alex loves me and he will want to marry me.”
“Not this way. He will think you trapped him by getting pregnant.”
“I’m going to tell my father that I’m pregnant. He will make sure that he marries me.” That poor little rich girl thought she was going to get her way, but little did she know it was she who’d pay the price.
The wedding was set to happen April 1, 1974. All of the society pages were abuzz with the wedding of the year. All Sofia did was plan for it. She hired the best caterers and had designers flown in from around the world, all to make sure it went off without a hitch. Valentino, the famous dress designer, was also asked for his input. Cartier designed the rings with ten carats of diamonds.
I guess she was happy, but Alexander was only doing what he was told. All I know is the Senator spoke to someone in Washington and the wedding was set. I don’t think Alexander even knew what hit him. But one thing I did know is that this was a marriage headed for divorce in a few years.
“Marbella, do you think I’m doing the right thing by marrying Alex?” It was a fine time to ask, being the wedding was in four days.
“I hope it is, Sofia. It’s what you want, right?”
“I’m not sure what I want righ
t now. But the baby will be here in seven months and Alex will is leaving after our honeymoon, if you can call it that. Alex has changed. After I told him about the baby, he just didn’t seem interested in me anymore.”
“Sofia, I told you not to trap him the way you did.”
“Well, Marbella, it’s water under the bridge now, so I guess I’m to be Mrs. Alexander Williams.”
“It will all work out, Sofia,” I told her, but I knew better.
The wedding was beautiful. The bride and groom arrived at the church in a Phantom Rolls Royce. Sofia’s dress would put any Royal’s to shame. There was so much brass in the room, it should have set off metal detectors. I hoped Sofia was happy. After all, she had all the love that money could buy. They honeymooned in the South of France. Sofia had always said she wanted to see Paris with the man of her dreams.
I was working a lot for Judge Canton. He was always keeping me after hours for one thing or another. It seemed like he never wanted to go home. His wife was a polite enough woman, but they did have six children, who Mrs. Canton always brought to the office for me to take for ice cream.
I didn’t mind terribly because they were well mannered children. “Marbella,” Mr. Canton said, “do you have family around here?”
“No, Sir, I don’t. My family is back in South Carolina.”
“Well, you won’t mind if I ask you a favor then.”
“What would that be, Sir?”
“Gina and I would like to go on vacation and we wondered if you would watch the kids for a few days?” I had to think about that one. I hadn’t gotten my degree to babysit. “We will pay you exceptionally well. It’s just that you have a way with the kids.”
White people always think you want to take care of their brats, but Judge Canton did give me my first job and I was grateful. “Sure, Judge, I’ll help you out. When are you leaving?”
“Next week. You won’t have to work here. I’ll see that things are taken care of while you’re gone.”
The Judge’s estate was enormous and there were servants everywhere. I wondered why he had asked me when the children had their nannies. Who cares, he was going to pay me a lot of money for this week. I happened to be looking for a bigger apartment or maybe even a house.
The housekeeper showed me the room I would be staying in. “If there is anything you need, Miss, just let one of us know.”
“Sure thing and thank you. Excuse me, where are the children?”
“They have been put down for their naps, so you might want to get some rest.” I just didn’t know I would need every minute of it.
After the kids got up from their naps, they were everywhere and got into everything. The nannies didn’t know what to do with them. These children needed a little discipline and I was just the one to give it to them. I didn’t know I was so good with children until the Canton’s.
I figured out all they need was love and direction. Beth was the oldest and the quiet one, but she helped me with the little ones. We would walk around the grounds of the estate and I would call it discovery time. The boys, John and Timothy, loved it. They were always finding bugs to scare their sisters. I needed to find something all six would love.
One day, after racking my brain, Beth said, “We all like going into town.” How was I going to get them into town without one killing the other? Their nannies wanted no part of the trip to town, so I was on my own. The amusement park I thought, they would all enjoy that. I had the cook pack lunches and to town we went. The kids were as excited about the trip as I was.
I drove the station wagon into the parking lot of the amusement park. The kids went wild. “We’ve never been to an amusement park, Marbella.”
“Well today will be an adventure, but we must all stay together.” We entered the park, the kids all wide eyed, this was truly an adventure. The older boys wanted to ride the roller coasters. The girls, ages six through fourteen, stayed with me. We played games and rode a few rides. After a while, we found a picnic table and ate the lunches we’d brought. The children seemed to be having a fantastic time.
“Marbella,” Beth asked, “do you have children?”
“No, I don’t, but maybe someday I’ll have one as sweet as you.”
“Why is she the sweet one?” Kelly asked.
“You are all sweet and maybe I will have one of each of you.”
“Marbella!” Timothy shouted, “I’m done with my lunch. Can we go back to the rides now?”
“Of course you can.
I’m going to,” John stated.
“As a matter fact, John, you’re not, unless you ask nicely.”
“Can I go to, Marbella, please?”
“Yes, but stay with your brother.”
Lunch was over so Beth took the girls to get some cotton candy. I just wanted to sit and rest for a moment. This nice, attractive man sat down on the bench next to me. I didn’t want to act like I’d noticed, but I did.
“Having a nice day, Miss?”
“Are you talking to me?”
“There’s only you and me here, so I must be talking to you.” I thought that was a little coy, but I said yes anyway. “My name is Nathaniel Parker, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Marbella, and lovely to meet you.”
“A pretty name for a pretty lady. You from around here?”
“Yes, but not originally.”
“I knew I heard an accent, a southern belle,” and he laughed. He had such a charming smile. His eyes sparkled when he laughed. Momma had always said those were the signs of a good heart and it would turn out she was right.
“Yes, I’m from South Carolina, and you’re from here?”
“No, I’m from the Midwest, St Louis.”
“Seems like everybody here is from somewhere else.”
“I’d never thought about it that way, but I guess so. What brings you so far from home, Miss South Carolina?”
“Work, of course. I needed a job and found one so I stayed.”
“I travelled here from St Louis just for a change of scenery. I play some jazz from time to time. I have my own band and we travel from place to place, wherever the gig takes us.”
“So you’re a musician?”
“I call myself an artist. My music takes me places, some that people only dream about.” I noticed his fashionable clothes, wing tipped shoes, and his scent of Cuban cigars. I could hear Momma in the back of my mind saying move slow, but I knew quickly this one would be trouble. I was so caught up in that smile, I didn’t heed the warning.
The children seemed exhausted from the rides. Nathaniel looked shocked as they all came running up. “Tell me these aren’t all yours.”
“No, I’m just babysitting.”
“I’m not a baby,” John said with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Maybe I should answer that in another way. I’m watching the children. Well, Nathaniel, I had better be getting the kids home before it gets any later. It was delightful to meet you.”
“It was pleasant meeting you too, Marbella. Here’s my card. I would love for you to come and hear my band play when you’re free.”
“I'm always busy, but maybe I will give you a call.”
“Miss Marbella, give me your number, and I will call you.” I jotted down my number on the back of his card.
“Talk to you later.” I got the kids in the car and headed back to the Canton’s place. The little ones were tired and sleepy, so they were asleep in seconds after the nannies gave them their baths. Beth and the boys weren’t far behind.
“I’ve never had this happen before,” one of the nannies said.
“And what’s that?”
“The kids going down without a fight. I must say, Miss Marbella. You do have a way with kids.”
“I just think I treat them the way I want to be treated.”
Chapter 13
The Cantons arrived home late Friday evening,. “Where are the kids? I haven’t heard it this quiet in this house in sometime?”
�
��They had a long day and are getting ready for bed.”
“Thanks, Marbella, for staying and helping with the children.”
“It was my pleasure. I have my things upstairs. I’ll get them and go.”
“See you at work on Monday then. Again, thanks.”
I told the kids goodbye, got my things and headed home. It was still early, so I called Nathaniel to see which jazz club he would be playing that night. He was playing at the Club Royale and for me to stop by. He would have a table waiting just for me.
I hadn’t been out in a while so I was excited. I slipped on my black pencil skirt with my red, off the shoulder blouse and headed up town in the red mustang my mother had bought me for my graduation present.
When I got to the club there where people standing outside waiting to get in. I parked and stood in line. This guy came over to me, “You must be Marbella. Nate is expecting you. Come with me. I’m Sam, a friend of his. He told me to look for the most stunning woman out here and I knew you must be the one.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
“No need to thank me. You are.” The table was close to the stage. The band was already playing, Nate was on the tenor saxophone. He played it well. After the first set, the crowd whistled and screamed for more. He had a way with that instrument. It would turn out that wouldn’t be all he had a way with.
Nate joined me at the table, “Waiter, give me a bottle of your finest champagne.” We talked, even though the music was loud. “Marbella, you are a beautiful woman, it’s a wonder you don’t have a husband or someone you’re serious about.”
“I guess I just keep myself occupied with work.”
“All work and no play makes for a dull life, Marbella.”
“I think I will be getting out more,” I said with a smile.
“You will if you stay around old Nate long enough.”
Nathaniel and I started seeing a lot of each other. Nathaniel had a heart of gold. There was nothing too expensive for “Baby Girl.” That was his nickname for me. He would buy me the finest clothes when he went on his trips to New York. The last time he had a gig in New Orleans, he brought me back a white fox fur. Money was no object when it came to buying me things.
Black Lies White Lies Page 11