Yes, she had to agree. Her memory was a scary place. “Just daydreaming of the new life we have planned.” She smiled behind her dark sunglasses. “You’re going to make an amazing father,” she said. “And I’m going to make a great mother.”
3
Jake
Jake had nothing against Airic Fisher. Every now and then he came across Mya’s birth certificate, always surprised to see someone else’s name under father instead of his own, as if it would magically change itself. He knew being a father meant more than the name typed in the rectangular box. Jake knew better. He’d seen his father try to strangle his mother before walking out on them forever. His father did everybody a favor by walking away. Jake discovered biology was only one-tenth of the law. The other nine-tenths went to possession, dedication, and full out love and support. Edgar Laws and his mother were only together a few years, but in that short time, he learned what a real father was supposed to be. Even after they broke up, Edgar showed up to every talent show, basketball game, open house, parent-teacher meeting. Nothing could keep that man away except the cancer that eventually took his life. Jake was fifteen when Edgar died, but the seeds of virtue and honesty had been sown. “Do what you say you’re gonna do and never turn your back on the people who love you.” At least he’d followed most of Edgar’s philosophies.
Jake had turned his back on his wife, but it was time to heal, to make everything right again.
“You’re up. I got some bagels.” She crouched, then crawled onto the king-size bed holding the bag. Her tank top was cut low, showing a healthy amount of smooth brown skin. Her hair was pulled back with a headband and the rest stood high and wide like a crescent moon. She was all natural, had been since the day he met her. So different from the video vixens he’d been used to dealing with. The very thing that captured his heart and mind was her uniqueness, her wish to stand strong with independent thoughts and actions. Even if sometimes they coarsely went against his own needs and demands.
He rolled over and leaned on one elbow to spy into the bag. Asiago cheese and onion, his favorite. “Where’d you find these?”
“There’s an Einstein Bros. right around the corner. I’m liking this neighborhood more and more.”
Jake didn’t respond. He sometimes felt guilty for making her move so far away from her family. They’d left California fast and in a hurry. He missed it, too. His mother was there. His brother who played for the Golden Warriors in the NBA. He missed the beach where he ran almost every morning. He missed his company and the one friend he could still trust, Legend, who was now running said company. When you’re ready it’ll be here, man.
He reached into the bag and gave her the first bite and then took one. Toasted to perfection with warm cream cheese. “Hmmmph.”
“I’m going to meet Airic this morning,” she announced, chewing then swallowing with some difficulty. She took a swig from the take-out coffee she held in both hands.
He stopped chewing and dropped the bagel back in the bag.
“I just want to get this over with,” she said. “He’s been calling nonstop and I can’t stand it anymore. He’s here in town for business. Two days and then he’s gone.”
“Fine. I’m going with you.”
“Oh, come on. I don’t need the drama.”
He pointed his finger, knowing exactly what she was referring to. “Ah, that wasn’t my fault with you and your boy. If you’d been honest and just told me your old boyfriend was going to be in the same hotel with you I woudn’t’ve had to kick his ass.” He stood up and pulled the drawstring closed on his pants. “I’m going with you.”
She leaned over and touched his arm. “Forget it. I’m just not going to take her. He wants to see her, he’s going to have to sue me. I can’t deal with this.”
He rose up and walked around to the other side of the bed. He kicked a few things out of the way before picking up some loose clothing. There was shit everywhere. The room was a mess. The whole house was in disarray. After four months, he was ready to make the house a home. He wasn’t used to living with his bags packed, one foot in and one foot out the door. But he felt it, too, like it was all temporary.
He paced back and forth. “No. You’re right. I don’t even know why I’m tripping. Get it over with. Take Mya with you. He’s not going to stick around. He’s going to run like a little punk just like he did three years ago.”
Jake swallowed twice in succession, trying to keep the overriding fear at bay. She came and stood in front of him, her head coming only to his chest. With that he let out the air he was holding and took a much-needed inhale. Living with asthma all his life, he knew not to play when it came to breathing. Out, in, out, in, like measured strokes when learning how to swim. Worry and fear had consumed them both for the last year and a half. This was one more hurdle they’d have to get past before the waters settled.
“Just promise me …. promise you won’t let him introduce himself as her father.”
She hesitated, knowing it was a promise she couldn’t keep. “I already told him he’s got twenty minutes. We’re meeting in the lobby at the InterContinental where he’s staying. In and out, that quick.” She snapped her finger.
Jake paced awkwardly, feeling his knees getting weaker by the second. He cautiously moved to the only clear spot in the room not filled with boxes and stuff he didn’t even know he owned. He’d lost everything else, his company, his good name, and his dignity. Waking up every day to the same reality made him want to hide. But then he’d hear Mya call his name, “Daddeee.” The sweetest sound known to mankind, he was sure. So he forged ahead, did his best to swallow the raw ball of bitterness in the back of his throat.
“Hey, Mya.” Jake saw her first as she pushed her baby doll stroller into their bedroom, oblivious to the stress level of her parents.
She took her little doll, wrapped in one of her old baby blankets, and handed it to Jake. “Give her a kiss, Daddeee.”
He scooped her up right along with the doll and hugged her harder than she was used to. Mya hugged him right back, then remembered her task at hand. “I’m going shopping, want ta come?” Mya pointed to the toy stroller.
“No, Daddy has some work to do, but you and Mommy go shopping, okay?” He put her down, her long legs touching the floor and taking off before he was ready to let go. Mya pushed off with her baby in the stroller singing a song that only made sense in her head. The child had talent.
“It’s going to be okay,” Venus assured him again. “I love you,” she said before walking out the door, leaving him alone.
4
Venus
I called Airic and let him know we were waiting in the lobby.
Mya stood only a few feet away, spinning, arms out, eyes closed, singing at the top of her voice, making guests look her way and smile. The beauty and strength of a child was that they didn’t care who approved and who didn’t. The problems started when they got older and hit the wall of self-evaluation.
I sat still and focused on the checklist of reasons I shouldn’t get up and walk right out of there. Three years ago, Airic had made it clear that if he couldn’t be a full participant in Mya’s life, he didn’t want to be there at all. He didn’t want to be a paycheck daddy who sent child support and only got to see his kid on the weekend. He’d already lived that life with his first wife and two daughters and refused to play the game again. All or nothing, he’d said in his ultimatum, which would include me being his wife. I said, No thank you. I didn’t love Airic, not in the way I should have.
Still, I believed he would come to his senses. At the time I believed a biological father should always be a part of his child’s life, so I kept my fingers crossed through year one, prayed for his heart to soften through year two, and gave up completely by year three. But why now? After all this time why had it suddenly hit him to change his course?
Airic approached, impeccably dressed in a light gray suit, holding a woman’s hand. She was also exceptionally well dressed. She was near
ly as tall as him with her four-inch heels, and slender, with elbow-length hair draped like a superhero’s cape over her shoulders.
“Venus, how are you?” He hugged me with a superficial pat on the back. He leaned to the side. “This is my wife, Trevelle.”
The word wife struck me deaf and speechless. My mouth was moving. I thought I said how nice it was to meet her. My hand guided itself out to her.
Trevelle graciously took the offer, caressing my hand between hers. “It’s so good to finally meet you.” Her elegant neckline framed by a frilly white blouse stared me in the face. She searched around. “And Mya?”
“I see her,” Airic said with profound joy. “She’s adorable,” he whispered.
I followed their eyes to Mya. I couldn’t help but smile. Mya stood gathering herself after spinning around. Her wild dark hair shot up in spirals with a pretty fabric-covered headband holding it away from her face. After a few moments’ rest she began to spin again. She was smart, funny, sweet, and quick-tempered. I could go on watching her for hours without a care in the world but I shook off the mama proud face and got right down to business. “So what’s going on?” My eyes searched his, looking for an ulterior motive.
Airic swallowed out of nervousness. “I already told you what this is about. It’s not complicated. We can start out slow, but I want visitation with Mya. We’re in the process of moving here. This is actually Trevelle’s hometown.” He turned and gave an approving nod to his wife.
I coughed when I’d meant to laugh. “So out of convenience, since we’re all in the same city, that’s your reasoning?”
“Of course not. We’re buying a house here specifically to be closer to Mya.”
“Well, that’s not necessary. She doesn’t know you, at all. I mean …. it would be like leaving her with a perfect stranger. I can’t do that.”
Trevelle spun around. The soft so-happy-to meet-you purring was replaced by a formal enunciation of every vowel and syllable. “Airic has already lost three years and it’s regrettable, but there is no time like the present to start anew.” Her shiny pink lips parted in a smile to show a full set of equally shiny white teeth. “God has a plan for all of us. Sometimes it takes longer than we’d like but it always falls into place.”
My eyes fluttered from the pure audacity of what she’d just said. I turned to Airic, putting my back to wifey. Before I could say a word I felt her shiny acrylic nail tap my shoulder. I turned around, more audacity slapping me across, upward, and sideways.
“Venus, I already know what you’re feeling and you’re right, this is none of my business. It’s just that Airic was so afraid and I’m the one who convinced him time heals all wounds. Please don’t be upset. We’ve all come so far. Please.” She began backing away. “I’ll wait over there. You two talk.” She slowly turned to leave, her glare lingering on my child for a few seconds too long.
Airic remained behind like a reprimanded child. “It really is good to see you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Cut the crap. She’s gone. You don’t have to pretend to be some man-done-wrong by his ex. We both know the real deal.” Airic wasn’t a nice person. At least not the Airic I knew. He looked harmless enough but then he’d always worn that same clueless expression even when he was milking his investors for millions of dollars.
“Venus, I’ve changed. My life is in the hands of Christ now.” His temples creased along the biting movement of his square jaw line. “I’m surprised you didn’t recognize her. Trevelle Doval, she’s famous worldwide.”
The name clicked. Trevelle Doval. It was her. I clasped a hand over my mouth. “You’re married to Trevelle Doval?” Who didn’t know the name Trevelle Doval? Books, tapes, CDs. How could I not have recognized her? She donned the long lashes, big hair, and elegant stilettos and strutted on stage better than Tina Turner in concert only she wasn’t singing “Proud Mary,” she was spreading the holy gospel.
After I was finished being impressed I landed back on my feet. “So when you said your life is now in the hands of Christ, you meant our lady Doval, the second coming. She’s obviously pulling the strings of this little reunion.”
“She encouraged me, of course. But this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, long before Trevelle came into my life.”
A child’s scream echoed through the lobby. We stopped glaring at each other long enough to turn our attention to Mya, who was on the ground and already surrounded by helping hands. Her soft cry echoed against the tall gold embossed ceilings. “Mommy.”
“Sweetie, it’s okay.” I rushed to pick her up. Her long legs scraped the sides of my knees. Tall for her age, other parents and preschool teachers would say. Then they’d look at my short stature in full wonder and say, “Her father must be tall,” followed by a preening smile. No, I wanted to shout, her father’s only five eleven. But the man who’d planted the biological seed was well over six feet, slender, and a distant memory. Until now.
Mya buried her head in my shoulder. Airic reached out for a consoling touch. I swung her around before his hand landed. For now he was still a stranger and strangers weren’t allowed to touch. I’d also taught Mya that friends and family weren’t allowed to touch, in certain ways. The message could never be emphasized enough.
“Why don’t we sit?” Airic said, indicating a place off to the side.
I followed him a short distance to the stucco planter surrounding a huge palm tree.
“You okay, baby?” I kissed Mya’s forehead. She nodded yes. “This is Airic Fisher, an old friend of Mommy’s.”
Airic gave off a tight smile. “Hey there.” Two words and he already lost his mojo. He folded his hands in his lap and tried to think of something else to say.
“She needs ice.”
“I can get ice. Hold on.” He stood up, happy for an excuse to be needed. I watched him move through the lobby to the concierge desk.
“Mommy, I want Daddeee.” Mya pouted, as if my kisses weren’t good enough.
I gave it a moment of thought. “I want Daddy, too,” I said, then slid Mya off my lap onto her feet. I took her hand and walked casually toward the double glass doors.
I turned around to see Airic coming toward me with a Ziplock bag full of crushed ice.
“Leaving?”
“No. Um, just thought she needed some fresh air.” I was grateful he didn’t remind me that it was ninety degrees outside topped off with 70 percent humidity. I led Mya back to the stucco planter and put the ice on her head. We sat on opposite sides of Mya. I noticed his expensive watch and platinum wedding band. The tie, shirt, and suit cost well into the thousands. His sandy-colored hair was cut short to his scalp, camouflaging the gray hair at his temples. Airic was almost eleven years older than me. I thought an older man was what I needed at the time. Smart, mature, no-nonsense, all the characteristics that really had no bearing on one’s ability to love.
“So, I guess you’re not teaching anymore?”
“No. I manage the Doval Ministry Foundation.”
“Nice.” I tried to clear the nagging tickle in my throat.
“I earn a living. Same as I always have.” His voice lowered. “I tried paying you child support. You didn’t want it.” He looked past me to Mya. “She deserved at least that much.”
“We don’t need your money. Not now, not then, not ever. I mean the last time I saw you, you were working as an associate professor. Not a very lucrative position.”
“And the last time I saw you, you were in Virginia. Then you’re in L.A. Now here, in Atlanta. That’s a lot of change in only a few years. One would think you were in a witness protection program the way you and your rapper husband move around.”
“I’m surprised you claim to know where I was, or where I wasn’t. You’ve never given a damn—”
“Let’s not go off on tangents. Let’s stay focused on the here and now. We need to figure out how we’re going to handle this situation. I realize it’s delicate.” Airic leaned closer to keep his voice low.
“When do you plan to tell her?” he asked.
I turned slightly, so my words wouldn’t carry. “I need time.”
“Listen. This is an unfortunate situation. I wish things were different, but it is what it is. She needs to know. We need to work out arrangements, decide on dates, times for planned visitation.”
“Okay …. um. I was looking for an easy way to say it, but over my dead body.”
“What?”
“No.” I swung my purse around my shoulder, grabbed my keys, and took Mya’s hand. “No. I’m sorry.”
Airic was quick behind me. “Wait a minute. Venus. Wait.”
The hotel entrance was lined with cars as guests unloaded their luggage. My car was still at the curb. I hadn’t planned to be there long.
I turned around. “Airic, really. I’m just not ready. I’ve had a lot happen and I just need some time.”
“Fine.” He looked over his shoulder, sensing the presence of his wife. I saw her, too. She stepped back inside the sliding doors. “I’m here until Friday,” he said. “We’re going to have to agree on something.”
“Say good-bye, Mya.” I said with little validation.
The air-conditioning wasn’t working fast enough. I adjusted the vents to blow directly on my face and heat shot out instead. There was no way to prepare for the hot humidity of the south. No getting around the dull thickness of the air the same way there was no getting around the fact that Airic was Mya’s biological father. It was the nature of things and nothing could ever change it. I sat at the light wondering how to stop the sweat from dripping out of every pore of my body. Was the air conditioner broken? I pressed the up arrow to the limit.
Nappily Faithful Page 3