Chapter 27
With a heavy heart, Korey watched as his son loaded a collection of video games into a cardboard box. Jared unrolled a strip of masking tape and taped the lid shut, running his hand over the seam. He then climbed to his feet, carrying the heavy box in his arms.
“I can take that for you,” Korey said softly, stepping forward.
“I got it,” Jared snapped, pulling the box out of his father’s reach. Jared walked around Korey and into the hallway. He then sat the box next to the others that were stacked already in the living room, creating a mini-tower of cardboard.
Jared had been snapping at Korey a lot lately. Harsh words were the only thing he seemed to have for his father now that they had gotten the paternity test results and discovered that Clarissa was indeed Korey’s daughter. Korey found out that Clarissa had broken up with Jared as soon as she heard the news. He could understand why. Siblings couldn’t date—no matter what the mitigating circumstances were. But that didn’t mean Jared’s heart understood.
This is a big mess, Korey thought with frustration as he looked around him at the bare walls and half-empty floor of his son’s bedroom. And he couldn’t fix any of it.
Jared was moving out. He said there was no reason to come back to Chesterton now that this had happened. He had no desire to run into Clarissa again, though the fact was, now that they were brother and sister, it would be nearly impossible to avoid each other completely. But Korey respected his son’s decision, even if it hurt him to see Jared go.
“I think that’s the last of it,” Jared mumbled, just as his mother threw open Korey’s front door.
“Where’s my baby?” Vivian shouted. “Where is he?” She opened her arms and ran toward Jared, making Korey roll his eyes heavenward and Jared cringe.
Vivian was wearing one of her colorful ensembles today, an orange and red dress that hugged her body like Saran Wrap. In her younger days, it may have been flattering, even sexy. But Vivian had put on quite a few pounds in the last two decades, and the dress did nothing for her now ample frame. Korey supposed she tried to deflect attention from her expanding waistline with the teased wigs she always seemed to wear now. He was surprised she made it through the front door with the big curls she wore today.
“Hey, Viv,” he muttered halfheartedly.
She glared at him. “I’ll deal with you later.” She then returned her attention to their son. “Don’t worry, honey! Mama will take care of everything!”
She wrapped Jared in her arms like a swaddled babe and planted a kiss on his cheek, leaving a smear of red lipstick near his chin. Jared instantly shrugged out of his mother’s grasp.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
“You don’t look fine!” she exclaimed. “And you didn’t sound fine on the phone either! What the hell happened?” She turned and faced Korey with her hands on her hips. “What did you do to my baby? I knew it was a mistake having him stay here all the—”
“He didn’t do anything,” Jared said tightly. “I just . . . I just wanna go home. That’s all.”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured, sounding far from convinced. “Well, you are coming home—permanently. Harvey’s here,” she said, referring to her husband. She gestured toward the front door. “He brought the van so we can load all of your things and make just one trip.”
Jared nodded and began to pick up one of his boxes.
“Please don’t do this, son,” Korey pled, taking a step toward Jared and feeling his heart break. “I know you’re hurt by how all this has gone down, but we can work it out somehow. Don’t just—”
“Work it out how, Pops? Just how are we supposed to work this out, huh?”
Korey fell silent.
“I told you I can’t stay in Chesterton! If Clarissa’s going to be anywhere around here, I damn sure don’t wanna be here too.”
Vivian frowned at the mention of a girl’s name. “Who’s Clarissa?”
“She’s nobody,” Korey answered hastily, not wanting to get Vivian further involved in the drama.
“No one, huh? I bet! Is she one of your hussies, Korey? Are you throwing my son over for some woman?” She crossed her arms over her bountiful chest. “Is that what this is all about?”
“Viv, you know damn well—”
“Korey Walker, I should have known you—”
“She’s Pops’s daughter, all right?” Jared shouted, cutting them both off.
“What?” Vivian squawked, now resembling a barnyard rooster in both colors and sound.
Korey closed his eyes. “Jared . . .”
“She’s his daughter and . . . and . . .” Jared took a deep breath. “She and I were going to get married, Mom.”
“What?”
“Look, I didn’t know she was Pops’s daughter when we first started going out. No one did. But now we do, and Clarissa doesn’t want to be engaged anymore. She said we can’t.”
“You’re damn right you can’t! Not if I have anything to say about it!” Vivian shouted, pointing her finger at Jared. “You’re too young to be tied down to some fast-tailed hussy anyway, baby!”
“Tied down to some fast-tailed hussy? Viv, did you just hear what the boy said? Don’t you get it? They’re brother and sister! They can’t date anymore or get married because it would be incest. That’s why they broke up!”
She paused and looked at both men. “So that’s what this is about? Jared wants to leave because he thinks what he and this girl did was incest.”
“I don’t think it, Mom. I did it. Multiple times,” he mumbled. “Look, can I just take my stuff to the car now?”
Vivian grimaced. “You’re really upset by this, aren’t you, baby?” she asked softly, staring at his face.
He hesitated, then finally nodded. “I really liked her, Mom.”
“All packed and ready to go?” Harvey asked. The squat, balding man walked through the front door. He rubbed his hands eagerly and looked around the room. “What do you need me to—”
“Hold on,” Viv said softly, holding up a hand. “Give us a few more minutes, honey.”
Harvey’s round face creased into a frown as he watched his wife walk across the living room. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Just wait for us in the van, will you?”
“Wait in the van?” Harvey paused. “Why?”
“ ’Cuz I just need you to,” Vivian said firmly. Harvey glanced at Korey and Jared, silently seeking an answer from them. Korey shrugged. He was just as confused as Harvey was. But Harvey knew there was a limit to how much he could question Vivian. She wore the size forty pants in their house.
“All right then,” Harvey mumbled. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
After Harvey left, Vivian lowered herself onto Korey’s plaid love seat. “I have to sit down. Both of you should sit down too.”
Korey furrowed his brows. “Why do we need to sit down?”
“Because I have to tell you both something.”
Korey didn’t like the sound of that. “If it’s all right with you, Viv, I think I’ll stand.”
“I think I’ll stand too,” Jared echoed, after lowering his cardboard box back to the floor.
“Fine. Have it your way.” She started to wring her plump hands. “Well, you see . . . you see, the thing is, Jared, baby. Well—”
“Damn it, Viv, just spit it out! What is it?”
She puffed out her chest and glared at Korey. “Fine, I’ll just come out with it. Jared couldn’t have done any incest with that girl, because she’s not his sister.”
“Of course she’s his sister! She’s his half sister because they both have the same father!” He pointed at his chest. “Me!”
“No, they don’t,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Mom, what are you saying?”
She shifted forward on the love seat and gazed up at her son. “Jared, honey, Korey isn’t your father.”
At those words, Korey felt the blood drain from his head. He grabbed the wall behin
d him to steady himself.
“I wanted him to be,” she continued. “That’s why I chose him. I knew he would be a good daddy to you and take care of us.” She curled her lip. “He was much better than your real father—Dustin Graves.”
“Dustin Graves?” Korey shouted. “You mean Boogie?”
Jared cringed. “My father’s name was Boogie?”
“Viv, that guy was the biggest damn pothead in our high school!”
She sucked her teeth. “He wasn’t always high! When he wasn’t smoking, he was actually pretty nice.” She shrugged. “But he was too irresponsible. He couldn’t take care of himself, let alone a wife and child. I knew when I got pregnant by him that I had made a mistake—a big mistake.” She turned to Korey. “So a few days later, when I heard that you and Cynthia had broken up, I knew you were back on the market. I figured that was my chance.”
Korey closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, fighting to hold back his burgeoning anger. First, Cynthia had lied to him about having his baby, then Vivian had lied about having someone else’s! Did these women know something about him that he didn’t? Did he walk around with the word “sucker” printed on a sign clipped to his shirt?
“So you lied to me. You seduced me and made me have sex with you so I’d think Jared was my child?”
“I didn’t make you do anything! I don’t remember you fighting me off, honey! You were just as eager to get into my pants as I was to get to that big dick of yours!”
“Mom!” Jared shouted, cringing in disgust. “Come on! I don’t wanna hear that!”
Viv sheepishly glanced at her son. “Well, it’s true. I was just defending myself.”
“What is wrong with you people? Have you ever heard of condoms?” Jared ranted. “And how is this story supposed to make me feel better? You’re telling me that Pops isn’t my dad! You telling me that my real father is some dude named Boogie?”
“No, I am your dad, Jared.” He walked toward his son and placed his hands on the young man’s shoulders. “I don’t care what the hell your mother says. You have my last name. I raised you and I love you. You are my son.”
“But not by blood,” Vivian said quietly. “So you see, it wasn’t incest. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” She grunted as she pushed herself up from the love seat. She fluffed the curls in her wig as she walked toward the front door. “Now when we head home, I’ll tell you whatever else you wanna know, baby. Whatever questions you have, I’ll—”
“I’m not going home,” Jared said, slowly shaking his head.
Vivian stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her son. “Huh?”
“I said I’m not going home with you. I’m . . . I’m staying here—with Pops.”
The weight in Korey’s chest suddenly lightened. For the first time in days, he smiled.
Vivian dropped her hands to her hips. “But I told you that Korey isn’t your daddy! He’s not—”
“Yes, he is. He’s the only father I’ve ever known, and I bet he’s a better dad than some pothead.” Jared turned to Korey. “Can you help me carry my stuff back in my room, Pops?”
Korey’s smile widened. “I’d be happy to.”
Vivian’s mouth fell open. She began to sputter.
“I’ll give you a call later, Mom.” Jared picked up one of the boxes and began to walk back down the hall to his bedroom. “It probably won’t be until late tonight. I’ve got a few things I’ve gotta do.”
“B-but . . . what about . . . I thought you—”
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Viv,” Korey said. He leaned down, grabbed one of the boxes, and winked at her. “You and Harvey have a safe drive home.”
He then turned around, still grinning as his ex-wife stammered and fumed.
Chapter 28
Cynthia was working in her flower garden and kneeling in potting soil when she heard her doorbell ring. She laid down her spade, waved away an annoying fruit fly, and lifted the front of her wide-brimmed straw hat. She turned to look at the glass door on her sundeck.
“Clarissa, can you get that, honey?” Cynthia shouted. She then returned her attention to her small pots of geraniums.
The doorbell rang again, making her frown. “Clarissa? Honey, can you get the door?”
When it rang a third time, Cynthia sighed. She should have known Clarissa wouldn’t answer. Her daughter had been holed up in her room for the past few days. She had only left to eat or use the bathroom. Cynthia was starting to seriously worry about her.
Cynthia tugged off her gardening gloves and, with a grunt, climbed to her feet. She rubbed her sore back, adjusted the straps of her gingham halter top and the hem of her jean shorts before wiping off the dirt from her knees and shins. She climbed the steps of her sundeck and opened the glass door leading to the sunroom. The doorbell was still ringing when she swung open the front door seconds later.
She found her sister Dawn standing on her welcome mat in a canary-yellow, one-shoulder silk top, tight-fitting navy sailor shorts, and platform canvas sandals. The beautiful vision, who looked like she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, was smiling.
“Well, it’s about time!” Dawn exclaimed, pushing her gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses to the crown of her head. “I thought you were going to leave me standing out here forever!”
Cynthia dropped a hand to her hip as her sister walked past her and into the foyer. “Come in, why don’t you?” she muttered sarcastically, shutting the door behind her.
“I don’t mind if I do!” Dawn strode through the foyer and into Cynthia’s living room. “I’ve come to rescue you. You two have been stuck in this house way too long. It’s like you’re sitting shivah or something. Your hearts have been broken. I get that. But no one died. Life goes on!”
Cynthia cocked an eyebrow as she watched her sister plop down in the leather armchair and cross her long, ebony legs.
“Funny,” Cynthia muttered, “I can remember giving you the same damn advice when you and Xavier had your little dustup.”
Dawn had stopped talking to Xavier when she thought he couldn’t choose between her and her half-sister, Constance. Before they reunited, getting Dawn out of her funk had been a trial.
Dawn waved her off. “That was then, this is now. Come on, girl! What better way for both of you to assert life than to get mani-pedis and have a fabulous lunch with moi?”
“Mani-pedis?” Cynthia took off her straw hat and tossed it on the coffee table. “I was in the middle of gardening when you just barged in, and I can assure you that Clarissa is in no mood for a spa day.”
“But you’ll need a manicure and pedicure if you want to look nice for the party next weekend.” She glanced at Cynthia’s nails and curled her lip. “Your hands are looking rather rough, my dear.”
Cynthia frowned again. “Party? What party?”
“Steph’s engagement party! The one that you still haven’t RSVP’d for. Remember?”
“Ah, hell!” Cynthia slapped her forehead. “It is next weekend, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed. So . . .” Dawn grabbed the arms of her chair and pushed herself to her feet. “I suggest that you change into something that makes you look a little less like Daisy Duke.”
Cynthia narrowed her eyes.
“And you and Clarissa meet me downstairs in thirty minutes,” Dawn said.
Cynthia opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she heard Clarissa shriek upstairs. Both of their gazes darted to the ceiling.
“Lord, what’s happened now?” she muttered, rushing to the staircase. Dawn was right at her heels. When Cynthia skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, Dawn ran into the back of her, and they both had to grab the newel post to keep from falling down.
They heard Clarissa’s thudding footsteps a second later as she raced down the hall. The nineteen-year-old was in a tank top and pink yoga pants and was jumping up and down, flapping her hands wildly in front of her face. She was crying.
“What’s wrong?�
� Cynthia asked. “Baby, what’s the matter?”
“Jared and I are back together!” Clarissa shouted, then ran down the stairs.
Cynthia’s mouth fell open in shock, while Dawn cringed.
“Wait, isn’t he her brother?” Dawn whispered loudly as she nudged Cynthia’s shoulder. “Cindy, you need to have a talk with that girl and set her straight, or we’ve got a Greek tragedy on our hands!”
Cynthia cleared her throat. She took a step forward. “Now, Clarissa . . . honey, we talked about this. I know you’re upset that you had to break up with Jared. Believe me, I understand. But you and Jared can’t go out anymore because of—”
“Yes, we can!” Clarissa grinned. “All of that is fixed now, Ma! He explained everything! He asked me to take him back and I said yes . . . and he’s on his way here!”
“On his way here?” Cynthia pointed down at the floor. “You mean to our house? You mean now?”
Clarissa nodded.
The doorbell rang again, and Clarissa resumed her crazed hopping on the foyer’s ceramic tile. She skipped to the front door and threw it open. Jared stood in the doorway with his eyes downcast. When he saw Clarissa, he gave a nervous smile and started to open his mouth to say something, but he didn’t get the chance. Clarissa immediately jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist like she hadn’t seen him for months, like he was a soldier who had just returned from overseas deployment. Jared immediately grabbed her bottom and her back to brace her weight and keep them both from tumbling to the brick walkway. He looked dazed and a little confused when Clarissa started to kiss him on his cheeks, mouth, nose, and even his eyes. After a minute or two, he finally kissed her back.
Despite her initial misgivings, Cynthia’s heart melted a little as she watched the reunited couple. And Clarissa was happy again. What mother wouldn’t love that? She was still baffled as to how this whole disaster was “fixed,” according to Clarissa, but she’d keep her thoughts to herself for now. She’d give them their moment.
“Are you ready to be a grandmother, Cindy?” Dawn asked, gazing wide-eyed at Clarissa and Jared.
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