Small Sensations

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  “Sounds interesting.”

  The Plaines lived in an exclusive, gated community. The houses were large and lavish and the landscapes lush.

  “This is nice,” Davia said appreciatively as they passed block after block of impressive homes. “The architecture is fantastic. Did Clark design Brandon’s house, too?”

  “No, he didn’t.” Justin turned onto a wide tree-lined street and slowed as they neared the house. “But Clark did design Darnell Cameron’s house. She lives on the Peninsula, in Carmel.”

  “You’re kidding!” Davia squealed, sounding as excited as a teenage groupie. “She’s my favorite singer. Wait until I tell CeCe.”

  They pulled into a long driveway that led to a huge yellow stucco house with lots of windows. Each seemed ablaze in light. Justin stopped the car. “We’re here.”

  Brandon and Sash Plaine greeted Justin affectionately; the three of them hadn’t seen each other in quite a while. Davia was usually reserved when she first met strangers, but it didn’t take long for her to warm up to the Plaines. The handsome couple was easygoing and without a hint of pretentiousness. The dreadlock-wearing Sash was especially down to earth. With her baby girl, Imani, affixed to her hip, she gave Davia a tour of the house. It contained plenty of nooks and crannies and lots of ceiling to floor windows. Yet despite its size the house remained warm and cozy. Sash informed her that she had painted the colorful murals in her children’s rooms. Davia was impressed with her creative flair and complimented her on her good taste.

  “Thank you.” Sash flashed a pleased smile. “I did most of the decorating myself. It’s not that it was decorated badly before. Brandon had hired the best when he moved in here, but it was not a home. I called it the ‘mausoleum’ when I first saw it. But I have to admit, initially I didn’t see this place under the best of circumstances.”

  As they headed downstairs to join their husbands, Davia wondered about her last statement, and then the answer came to her. This was the Sash Plaine. Years ago, her abduction and eventual escape had made headlines. Davia had been in California on business when the story hit. Not only had Sash been kidnapped, but so had the Plaines’ oldest child, Trent. Yet despite that past trauma, Sash seemed so together. Perhaps time had healed her wounds.

  During dinner, Davia watched the family’s interaction closely. The love and warmth that Brandon and Sash showed toward each other made it clear that they were in love. They doted on Imani and Trent, whose nickname was Sweet; the little boy lived up to his name. He was adorable, with a ready smile and good manners. He was the kind of child that anyone would want for a son.

  The Plaine family reminded her of the Johnson brood, and she couldn’t help but think about what she had missed when she was young. A gentle hand clasping hers beneath the table brought her back from thoughts of the past. She looked at Justin, who gave her a knowing smile—one that assured her that one day they, too, could have a family like this. Davia dropped her eyes as she wondered if that was really possible.

  * * *

  The drive home from the Plaines household was a quiet one as Davia thought about Sash Plaine and how she seemed to have accepted life so positively.

  “Did you know about Brandon’s wife having been abducted?” she asked quietly. She would have thought that her having met Sash tonight had been a setup, except how could it have been? Justin wasn’t aware of the final secret that she harbored.

  He didn’t pretend to be ignorant of the subtext behind her question. “Yes, it was big news, especially here on the Peninsula. That’s how she and Brandon met. I also know that the life that they live now is a result of her having sought therapy for the trauma that she experienced.”

  Davia looked at his strong profile as he concentrated on the road ahead. “How do you know that?”

  “Brandon told me.”

  Sighing heavily, Davia turned to look out the window. “I don’t see how she could do it, talk about herself to some stranger. I don’t want to see some shrink. I just want to forget the past.”

  “But it doesn’t seem like it wants to forget you.” Justin continued to stare ahead. “I won’t lie to you, sweetheart, I’d like you to get some help so that you can begin to deal with everything that has happened, but you have to make the decision to do that.”

  “Justin, I…”

  “Just think about it.” He glanced at her before returning his eyes to the road. “I know that it’s hard. It’s not something that black people do easily, but there’s no shame in needing help, Davia. You’ve got a lot to be proud of in your life, and I’m proud of you.”

  Moved by his words, Davia fought the lump in her throat. She wondered how a woman like Katherine Miles could have raised a man with such character. Justin was someone very special.

  For the next few days he continued to prove to her just how true those words were.

  Justin pampered her shamelessly. He cooked all of their meals, made sure that she took her medication and saw to it that she got plenty of rest. Despite his being overbearing at times, Davia loved every minute that she spent with him. They did everything together. They went for long walks along the ocean, shopped in the abundance of stores and shops in the quaint village of Carmel, explored the Monterey Pier, rode bikes along the area’s scenic bike trails and hiked in nearby parks.

  They made endless love, creating romantic interludes in places that Davia hadn’t thought possible. Justin dispelled all of the myths that she had formed about men. His love and devotion were complete, and it was instrumental in helping her take some important steps toward self-healing.

  They talked a lot about life and love, and about Katherine and how she affected their relationship. It was Justin’s opinion that it was fear that motivated his mother’s actions. She was a woman who had lost the love of her life. She now feared that she would lose her husband’s reincarnation, her son.

  While that explanation of his mother’s behavior seemed plausible, Davia wasn’t ready to forgive the woman. It also seemed that as Justin had previously suggested, she wasn’t ready to forgive herself. In talking with him, she had to admit that over the years she had shut down emotionally. She feared intense emotions. They had always brought such pain. In the past, when it came to men, pain and love had been synonymous to her, but now things were different. She loved Justin and he loved her. She knew what love was really about. Despite this, she still wasn’t ready for the two of them to discuss all of the secrets that she still harbored. He didn’t hide his disappointment, but he continued to be supportive.

  “I don’t want to push,” he told her. “I’ll wait until you’re ready, but there’s one thing I’d like you to remember. Truth is the best foundation on which to build any relationship. The truth will set us both free.”

  Davia gave a lot of thought to those words. That evening she called Sash Plaine and invited her out to lunch. They agreed to meet the next day.

  Sash picked a quiet little bistro in Carmel in which to dine. It was tucked away on a cobblestone side street far from the onslaught of tourists that swarmed the picturesque community. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed. They dined on chicken salad sandwiches and coleslaw with large goblets of lemonade to wash it down. Conversation was light as Sash kept Davia entertained with stories about her colorful life. As a student, she had traveled throughout Europe and Africa, having lived in the latter country for quite a while. She was quirky and uninhibited, and the more they talked, the more Davia liked her. She could see the two of them becoming good friends. Lunch passed quickly and the women lingered, ordering cups of cappuccino, not wanting their time together to end.

  “I haven’t had a good sister-friend talk in a long time,” said Sash, taking another sip of her frothy drink.

  Davia nodded. “I know what you mean. I work so much that it seems that my best friend and I haven’t gotten together in ages, and we work in the same building.” She hadn’t thought about it until now, but that was true and she felt a pang of regret for having allowed that to ha
ppen. “But I sure have enjoyed today. You’re so easy to talk to.”

  “I’m glad, but it’s too bad that we haven’t discussed what you called me about.” Sash gave her an innocent smile.

  Taken aback by her honesty, Davia was speechless at first. This woman pulled no punches, but she wasn’t sure that she could be as candid. Placing her cup down on the saucer carefully, she kept her voice steady. “What do you think I called to talk to you about?”

  Sash’s gaze didn’t waver. “You want to know how I survived my past, specifically my abduction. You want to know how I moved on with my life. You’d like to know exactly what happened and whether there was more to it than was reported. But you know that it’s none of your business, and you’re too polite to ask.”

  Astonished at her amazing insight, Davia had to chuckle at her last comment. She raised her cup in mock salute. “Lady, you are something else.”

  “I know,” Sash deadpanned. “That’s why my husband adores me, and he should.” She then proceeded to tell Davia what she wanted to know.

  At the end of her story, Davia was in tears. “How did you get through all of that with your head and heart intact?” Sash seemed so together.

  “I did it with the help of the man who loves me, and the counselor who listened to me. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

  Davia nodded. She understood.

  Sash gave her a mysterious smile. “I don’t know your story, Davia, and I don’t need to know it, but I do know this. For everything there is a season, and nothing happens without a reason.”

  * * *

  Sash’s words followed Davia home and haunted her over the next few days. For everything there is a season, and nothing happens without a reason.

  This was her season. Their seventh and last day at the beach house turned out to be the time. It wasn’t an auspicious occasion. She and Justin had finished dinner on the deck of his house and he was thumbing through the evening paper. Davia was looking beyond him, wondering at the beauty of the towering pine trees surrounding the property. She was reflecting on the many blessings that had been bestowed on her in her life when—as had become her habit—without fanfare she started talking.

  “My name was Shanay Davia Wells before I changed it. His name was Money; at least that’s what everybody called him.” She grunted bitterly. “Can you believe it? This was a man who turned my life upside down, and I didn’t even know his real name.”

  Justin’s eyes slid up from the newspaper to focus on Davia. She was staring off toward the wooded area behind the house as if in a trance. Slowly, he lowered the paper, careful not to disturb her concentration. What was she talking about? Who was Money?

  “I knew who he was from the beginning, though. All it took was one good look at him, and I knew. I was only twelve when I first saw him, and I hated him.” Her voice was thick with loathing. She stopped talking and stared into the past.

  Justin was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. This was her moment of exorcism. The silence seemed endless. Every breeze through the trees seemed amplified. The distant call of the seagulls seemed louder. Then she resumed speaking.

  “Money was the main man on the block. He was the dealer that the others sold for. He was cool and slick. Nobody ever saw him directly pushing drugs, but the people who worked for him jumped to attention when he came around.

  “Every time he saw me, he had something to say. He was always offering me a little treat, as if I would take anything from him. I remembered when he came to our hotel room to be with Phyllis. I remembered when he…” Pausing, Davia reined in her emotions. Taking a sharp breath, she continued.

  “I didn’t trust him for a second.” She spat, reveling in the depth of her disgust for the man she was describing. “Anyway, my cousin Phyllis was in debt to Money for some dope she couldn’t pay for. I knew about it and it scared me, because I’d heard that he was vicious. What I didn’t know was that Phyllis had come up with a plan to pay him back.

  “One day, when I was on the block doing what I did back then, Phyllis came barreling down the street. She was carrying a shopping bag in one hand, and she grabbed my arm with the other one and told me to follow her. At first I thought that we were moving again. I wasn’t sure why, I’d paid the rent, but with her nothing was stable. So, I followed her, no questions asked. We walked a little and turned down an alley, where a car was parked. I remember that it was white, the color for purity and innocence. But there was nothing pure or innocent about what happened.

  “The windows of the car were tinted, and they came down slowly. Money was sitting in the backseat. I came to a dead stop when I realized that the car was waiting for us. I didn’t want to get in there with him, but Phyllis slapped me and told me that I’d better get in. She said that Money was giving us a ride to someplace she had to go.

  “She finally pushed me in beside him and got in on the other side. I was scared and confused about what was going on. My instincts told me that there was something wrong, but the fear lessened because she was with me. I told myself that nothing could happen with her there.” She snorted. “What a fool I was. I actually trusted her. Why, I don’t know. She never came through with anything. But when you’re a child, you want to trust somebody.

  “We drove until we reached a blue house. It wasn’t a bad place, kind of nice, in fact. I remember wondering if this was our new place. If so, it was definitely a move up. I thought maybe she was with Money now, maybe that was the payment for the debt she owned him. I wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of being there with him. You see, this was the man who had tried to attack me when I was twelve…”

  “What?” Justin hadn’t meant to interrupt, but her statement had provoked his reaction. She didn’t falter.

  “But what could I do?” Davia’s chest heaved as pent-up emotions fought for release. She turned to him with glistening eyes. “We went inside into the living room. Phyllis set the shopping bag down, turned and walked away.”

  Tears began to stream down her face. Justin placed her hand in his and squeezed it, silently urging her to go on.

  “For a minute, I stood there in shock. I couldn’t believe that she’d left me there with him. But she had. The shopping bag held my clothes, everything I owned. She had sold me, Justin, just like a slave on an auction block, in exchange for her debt to Money. She had sold me to save her life. Money owned me. Or so he thought.”

  Her words were excruciating. Justin could hardly contain his anger. He moved to her side, picked her up from the chair and placed her in his lap. Pressing her tear-stained face to his chest, he stroked her hair.

  The dam had burst. Davia couldn’t stop talking.

  “Money decided to show me who was the boss. He grabbed me, like he had tried to do all of those years before, but that was his first mistake. I wasn’t a skinny twelve-year-old anymore. I was fourteen and stronger, and I knew what he meant to do to me. So I fought him, Justin. I fought him with everything I had in me.”

  “It’s all right, baby. It’s all right.” Justin’s voice was raw with emotion.

  Davia was hyperventilating, but she kept talking. “I…I decided that I would die before I’d let him rape me. Mark’s mother had called me a whore because of what happened with him. I…I…wasn’t a whore, Justin. I’m not a whore.”

  “No, sweetheart, I know you’re not.”

  “He was stronger than me, and it was hard. I was pregnant then, but I didn’t know it. Money hit me. He got on top of me, but I still fought him. I…I swore that nobody would ever use me again. I thought quickly and stopped struggling. I told him I’d have sex with him. I—I—I just wanted him to get off of me, and let me c—c—catch my breath. He fell for it, and m…m moved enough for me to wiggle free. I pretended to take off my T-shirt, a—a—and that’s when I grabbed a bottle, broke it and cut him. I cut him badly too! I tried to kill him. I wanted t—t—to cut his heart out! B—b—blood was everywhere and he was screaming at me, saying that he would kill me when he got his hands on me
. He’d locked the door so I couldn’t get out, s—so I threw a chair through the window before his men could break the door down, and I climbed out and I ran. I—I ran a—a—away.” And she had been running ever since.

  Davia couldn’t stop crying. She cried and cried. She cried for her lost childhood and the loss of innocence. She cried for the little girl who had found more solace in a dark basement than in the light of day. She cried for the young teenager, pregnant and alone in the world, and for her precious daughter, who’d fought her own demons without her mother’s support. She cried while Justin rocked her and soothed her until she cried herself to sleep.

  After putting her to bed, Justin wanted to join her, but found that he couldn’t. He was too wound up, too enraged. He prowled the house like a caged tiger. He wanted blood so badly he could taste it, and Davia had given him a name—Money. He prayed that wherever the man was that he was dead, because if he ever came face to face with him, Justin would show him no mercy.

  CHAPTER 18

  “The woman’s a liar, Justin. Small Sensations is owned by a conglomerate called the W.J. Collective. I don’t know why she would make that claim. It can be so easily disputed.”

  Justin smiled inwardly. The W in the collective stood for Wells and the J was for Johnson. But that wasn’t for Katherine to know.

  “Don’t worry about that, Mother, just remember what I said. Whether you like Davia or not, she’s in my life to stay, and you might as well accept it. I can’t believe that you had the audacity to hire a private investigator.”

  “Well, I did, and I had a good reason.”

  “There’s no good reason. I love you. You’re my mother, but what you did was wrong and I don’t like it. If a word of what you’ve found out about Davia leaves this house I’ll never forgive you. I hope I make myself clear.”

  Katherine fell back onto the pillows propping her up in the bed. She had worried herself sick over Justin in these past two weeks. She hadn’t heard a word from him after the confrontation with that horrid woman. It was Vanessa who had informed her that he had left for his house in California. She had further informed her that the Davia woman was with him. Katherine had taken to her bed that day.