Truth be told, Toni wanted Jefferson, the man. She wanted his mind, soul, and body. She wanted to feel his arms caress her in a deep embrace. She wanted to feel his tongue exploring her mouth and whatever else he found on his expedition. She loved the way he smelled, the way he felt when he was all into her. She wanted him for more than the story that was going to rocket her to stardom. She wanted him to love her, as she was falling for him.
One day, she would be Mrs. Toni Gillette-Myles, and satisfy him in the way Margo never could. Well, she didn’t know all about how Margo and Jefferson were as a couple—no more than what Margo had shared with her, but regardless of the mistakes they’d made in their marriage, Toni’s plans were to keep her man happy for all it was worth.
Thirty-Eight
It had been more than a few minutes since Malik had stormed out of the emergency room with Ivy close at his heels. However, no other member of the Myles’ clan ventured outside to see what was going on, although Jefferson occasionally looked back at the door. They hugged their seats as if it were going to be a long vigil until they saw nurse Cassandra heading their way. As if on cue, they all stood at once—Jefferson with Evan, J.R., and Winston, and Winter.
“Hi, Mr. Myles.” Cassandra directed her attention toward Jefferson. “You all may want to go to the surgical clinic and wait for Mrs. Myles to come out of surgery. At the end of surgery, the doctor will speak with you up there.”
“Thank you, Cassandra,” Jefferson said, shifting Evan to his other arm. “Let me get my other daughter, and we’ll go on up.”
“All right. I’ll give your children directions to the surgical ward waiting room.”
“Let me take Evan, Dad,” Winter said. “That way you can rush out there and hurry back.”
“That makes sense. Take care of him.” Jefferson winked at Winter.
Jefferson moved through the lobby while Cassandra rattled off the directions to the surgical clinic. Once outside, Jefferson didn’t see hide or hair of Ivy or Malik. It was late afternoon, and the sun was still shining bright in the summer sky, but with all that light, Jefferson was unable to locate them.
In panic mode, Jefferson began to pace, looking high and low. He ventured out into the parking lot, looking left and right as he traveled through the maze of cars. Nothing. And then he heard what sounded like a muffled woman’s voice. Then a man’s voice—tit for tat. The conversation was obviously heated and Jefferson walked in the direction of the voices and stopped in front of a black BMW 750i with its passenger door standing open.
Jefferson tapped on the windshield. And the voices stopped and Ivy peeked through the window. Tears were in her eyes and a severe frown on her face.
“What are you doing here, Daddy?”
“Worried about you?”
“There’s nothing here for you to worry about,” Malik barked from his side of the vehicle.
“I beg to differ. My daughter is in there, and I don’t give a damn if she is your wife.”
“It’s okay, Daddy. I’m all right.”
“So you know about Ian?”
“I told you to mind your damn business, Jefferson. You have no jurisdiction here. This is my wife, and don’t you forget it.”
“And remember what I told you before. If you hurt my daughter, I will find you and beat you into oblivion. My word is bond, dog. Ivy, we’re going up to the surgical ward to wait for your mother to come out of surgery. Just wanted to let you know.”
“Why is this happening to me, Daddy?” Ivy jumped out of the car and ran into Jefferson’s arms. He hugged his daughter and hung on for dear life. Ivy was his heart; she was the most like him. He stroked her hair and lifted her chin.
“It’s going to be all right, baby.” Jefferson kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll get through this.”
Malik was out of the car and approached them. “I’ll take care of my wife.”
“Just remember what I said.” And Jefferson walked off.
• • •
“Maybe we should go on back to Fayetteville,” Malik said, as he turned and watched Jefferson head toward the hospital. “I’ve had enough of your family today.”
“My family didn’t get you into this mess. You did it all by yourself. You wanted my mother so bad, you pursued her until you got what you wanted. But don’t think I’m going to raise your bastard child.”
“You mean your brother.”
“Whatever, Malik. I’m sick of you. Every time it seems like we make a giant leap forward, we take twenty steps backward.”
“Look, Ivy. It doesn’t have to be that way. We have our own child that you’re carrying. Margo probably won’t let me get near Ian.”
Ivy gazed into Malik’s face, taking his comment for sarcasm. “And what if she does allow you to be in Ian’s life?”
“Then I’m going to be the best father to Ian as well as our baby. We had that one time together . . . and I believed that we were going to be together. Your mother was adamant about leaving your father because she thought he was seeing Angelica, but by the next day, she’d changed her mind. I didn’t even know she had conceived . . . that she would allow herself to be unprotected.”
“Humph. Were you wearing protection? You see, it’s not only the woman’s responsibility, it’s also the man’s.”
“I guess I don’t learn from my mistakes because I didn’t wear protection with you.”
Slap. “You can go back to Fayetteville. I’m going to stay and wait for my mother to wake up. I’ve got a laundry list of questions to ask her.”
Malik reached out and grabbed Ivy’s arm. “You don’t want to do that.”
“Take your hands off of me, Malik. You heard what my daddy said, and he wouldn’t hesitate to come after you if I told him you were manhandling me.”
“You do that, Ivy. His blood will be on your hands. Now go on and be with your family, but you need to take this time to think about us and what you’re doing. You are going to be a senator’s wife soon, and we need to deal with this issue of Ian in a private way. You are my concern, Ivy, and I don’t love you less because I found out that I have another son.”
“A son who also happens to be my mother’s child.”
“I can’t do anything about that now, Ivy. I will treat you as the woman you are. I hope you’ll stand by my side.”
Ivy was touched by Malik’s sentiment, but she wasn’t sure that she could trust him to not get deeply involved in Ian’s life and the life of her mother, especially since her mother and father’s divorce was close to being final.
“I’ll think about it, Malik. Right now, I’m going to join my family—get reacquainted. I’ll spend the night with Winter. Don’t worry about me getting home.”
“Don’t do this, Ivy. I love you.”
“How am I supposed to feel, Malik? Earlier today you found out that you were going to have a child . . . with me, and less than six hours later, you learn that you have a child with your mother-in-law. It hurts, Malik. It hurts badly. I can’t help it. I feel betrayed, and I feel like my life is getting ready to spiral out of control. I want to believe you; I really do. Let me get through this day. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
Malik sighed. He gently pulled Ivy to him. “Okay, baby. I understand. We’re going to make it. We’ll show your family what we’re made of. May I have a kiss?”
Ivy looked into Malik’s eyes. She wanted to believe him. “Yes.” She kissed him but didn’t linger.
“I’ll walk you to the entrance of the ER. I’m going to get a hotel room in the city. That way I’ll be close if you need me . . . if Ian should need me. You can reach me by cell.”
“Okay, baby,” Ivy said. Malik put his arm around his wife’s waist and escorted her to the door of the emergency room.
Thirty-Nine
Malik watched as Ivy rejoined her family and then moved out of view. He heaved a momentary sigh of relief, and then rubbed his forehead. His head was pounding and made it difficult for him to think. In his wildest nightmares, M
alik didn’t know where this one had materialized.
It started when he went in pursuit of Margo when Jefferson was still an occupant of Raleigh Central Prison. If only Margo had left Jefferson then, Malik might have convinced her to be with him. They were together almost every day after his wife died. Margo needed him like he needed her. They were friends lifting each other up—Margo as she waited on Jefferson to come home and him recovering from the aftermath of his wife’s fatal car accident.
Thinking back, he should’ve moved in early—made his feelings known. It should’ve been a risk he was willing to take, but he was a coward because he was afraid he’d lose Margo altogether. Instead he settled. He settled to just be near her . . . to hear her laughter, enjoy her chatter, and enjoy her company. And when he did make his move it was too late because the husband Margo had waited on for so long got an early release from prison.
In his heart, Malik knew that Margo felt something for him. She was clingy and into his every word. It would be in the way she would touch him, although she exercised her boundaries, but yet in a playful manner excite him. He teased. She’d tease back. But he wanted more and wasn’t sure how to approach her, especially since she saw him as a brother friend and her husband’s best friend.
But little did Margo know that Jefferson was dust to him. He had long ago torn up his friendship card. Malik recalled the numerous times that he cautioned Jefferson about his infidelity . . . how he was treating Margo, and in the end when Jefferson needed Margo, she was there and willing to wait for him. Twenty years he got, but he got out in five.
Malik reached his car and hit the remote to unlock it. He eased into the car and pounded the steering wheel. What in the hell was he going to do? It wasn’t going to be easy to deny his son by the woman he once loved—in truth still loved. But he was married to that woman’s daughter who was also carrying his baby. And now he was caught up in a four-ring-circus—he, Jefferson, Margo, and Ivy. He turned the key in the ignition and started the car.
He needed a drink and he needed a friend. “Call Perry,” Malik announced out loud. The Bluetooth system obeyed his command, and within moments Malik was talking to a familiar voice who would offer calm in the midst of his predicament.
“Perry,” Malik said before Perry was able to utter a word.
“Where are you, Malik? I hope you’re in Fayetteville and have read the email I sent you.”
“What email? I’ve been at the hospital.”
“Something happen to Ivy?”
“No it wasn’t Ivy but close enough. Her mother was in an accident this afternoon. She and her twin boys were hit by a car.”
“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that, Malik. Are they okay?”
“Margo is in surgery at this moment and one of the twin boys also may need surgery. The other twin fared much better. But that’s not the half of it Perry.”
“What do you mean?”
“You better brace yourself for this one, man. I’m a daddy.”
“Ivy had your baby and you’re just now telling me about it? That’s going to hurt your campaign.”
“Perry, I’m not talking about Ivy. I’m talking about my mother-in-law. One of the twins has my DNA.”
“What in the hell are you talking about, Malik?”
“I just told you. I’m the father of one of Margo’s twins.”
“The father of one . . . one twin? You aren’t making any sense.”
“It is complicated, man. But you heard right. I’m the father of one, and Margo’s husband is the father of the other.”
There was deathly silence at the other end of the receiver. The call wasn’t going as well as Malik had hoped. What did he think? He dropped a bombshell on Perry and he needed to give him a few minutes to recover.
“Have you told this to anyone?” Perry finally asked.
“Not a soul. I’m sure Margo isn’t anxious to announce it to the world either.”
“Malik, if you’re serious about this race, you need to get it together. Remember the woman I told you about who is writing a campaign blog? Well, last night, she posted her blog and said that Sterling was ahead of you. I’m afraid that if she gets a hold of this juicy tidbit, you can kiss your short and sweet campaign run for the senate goodbye.”
“Don’t worry, Perry. I’ve got this. I’m not going to let nothing get in the way of nabbing that senate seat. Sterling has to get up early in the morning to pull the rabbit out of the hat on me. I like a little competition, but it’s time to leave his washed-up-used-to-be-in-the-NBA playing self in the dust. We’ll figure this out. We’ve got to sniff Ms. Gillette or whatever her name is out into the open.”
“We will, frat?”
“That’s what I’m paying you for, Perry.”
“You must not be paying me enough. My advice is for you to do some hard thinking about how you’re going to handle your end of things because if the brothers get a whiff of this stink, they’re gonna drop their endorsement of you like an overcooked potato. And you need to worry about what your ex-frat friend, Jefferson, might do.”
“I don’t see him as a problem. The dutiful father is not going to do anything that will hurt his precious daughter and soon-to-be ex-wife.”
“Man, you are so nonchalant. I hope you know what you’re talking about because I’m not going to sit around and get mixed up in any scandal.”
“Don’t be scared, Perry. What you should be afraid of is what your wife, Shirley, might do if she suddenly finds out that you’re still hitting on that pool girl. Didn’t think I knew, did you?”
“Don’t threaten me, Malik.”
Forty
Several hours passed. There was an awkward silence in the waiting room where the Myles’ clan had gathered. It was so quiet one could probably hear a pin drop. They sat like crash-car dummies—stiff and robotic waiting for someone to push their buttons or give them a nudge.
The group sat at attention, even perked up a little as the tall, sandy-red haired doctor dressed in light-blue medical scrubs approached them. Jefferson stood, gave Evan to Winter, and shook the doctor’s hand. “Dr. Betts, this is my family.”
“Hello,” everyone said.
“Mr. Myles, Mrs. Myles is in recovery,” Dr. Betts began. “She’s going to be just fine.” A collective sigh came from the group. “Of course, she’ll be unable to do much on her own for the next few weeks, in which case I believe that she would be best served by being admitted to a rehabilitation facility for two to three weeks so that she’ll be able to get the best care.”
Jefferson nodded.
“Unfortunately, that will leave you all to take care of the babies because Mrs. Myles won’t be able to do so.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Winter spoke up. “I can take a leave of absence from work. What about Ian?”
“I haven’t spoken with Dr. Anderson; however, someone needs to go to the pediatric wing to see what’s going on there. Mr. Myles, why don’t you follow me to the receptionist desk, and I’ll have the reception nurse call over there for you.”
“Sure,” Jefferson said, looking back at Evan who sat on Winter’s lap.
Jefferson leaned over the receptionist’s desk and waited while she called the pediatric surgical ward. His feet were crossed as he stood, and he bounced one continuously against the floor, his agitation very apparent.
It wasn’t that Jefferson suddenly had a disdain for Ian. After all he was only a defenseless baby. But it boiled Jefferson’s brain to the point of no return because it was Malik’s blood that coursed through Ian’s veins, and where in the hell was he anyway? But Ian had a twin brother named Evan and neither asked to be born into a mixed-up, twisted DNA pool that defined their parentage. And no matter what Jefferson thought, Ian and Evan were a pair.
The receptionist nurse informed Jefferson that Dr. Alexander would be waiting for him on the surgical ward, at which time she would explain Ian’s procedure. The receptionist gave Jefferson directions to the ward, and he turned around and rejoi
ned his family.
When Jefferson stood in front of his family, he let out a little sigh. “Ian is out of surgery, and I’m going over there to get an update from Dr. Alexander. I’ll be back when I can. I’m sure you want to be here when your mother wakes up.”
Everyone nodded. Jefferson glanced at Ivy, but she avoided him. All of sudden Ivy stood up and threw her hand out. “Daddy, I’ll go with you to see about Ian.” She looked around at her brothers and sisters who had puzzled looks on their faces, then turned back to Jefferson. “Let’s go.”
“You sure, Ivy?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’m doing this for me.”
Jefferson put his arm around Ivy’s shoulder and she relaxed her head on his. And then began to walk away.
“We’ll be back,” Jefferson admonished again, tuning around to look at his remaining children again. He turned back around, and he and Ivy were gone.
“What are you thinking, Ivy?”
“Daddy, I don’t know and yet I do, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
“If you should want to talk about it, I’m here.”
“Daddy, uhh . . . uhh, I’m really sorry for the way I’ve been toward the family. I was so frustrated with you and Momma’s mess, and then after she waited all that time for you and then she just ups and walk out, it pissed me off. I can’t explain it because for a long time, I was pissed at how you treated Momma before you went to prison. But when Momma was so adamant about keeping the family together and you were released early, I had it my head that our family was going to be all right again. But it didn’t happen that way.”
“There’s something I need to tell you that you may not be aware of. The boys know; I’m not sure if Winter does. Linda gave birth to a son. Your mother and I ran into them at Cold Stone Creamery in Fayetteville. There was no denying that little boy was mine because he was the splitting image of J.R. except he was much fairer. Well, needless to say, witnessing Linda and her boy put your mother over the edge, and our marriage bottomed out. The next thing I knew, your mother had served me with divorce papers. So don’t go blaming your mother.”
In My Rearview Mirror Page 16